The Last Man

Well, the final guest lecturer was, for me, by far the best. He was one of the most entertaining teachers I have ever had, with an emphasis on the entertaining. The thought that kept hitting me during his talk was that he was a comedian who happened to love English and enjoy teaching.

On a related note, some of the genius of Shakespeare was revealed through his discussion of the last scene, particularly with the issue of expectations.

A poor auther ignores what the readers expect, doing whatever he wants because he doesn't know any better. A good author follows the readers expectations, for he knows they're there for a reason. A great author fudges with expectations, setting them up and then going about fulfilling them in an unexpected manner. A truly excellent author, however, fill replace an expectation with an identical expectation, keeping the issue alive but constantly moving.

In the last act of Twelth Night, Shakespeare is in the last category.