7 December — As my time in
London draws to a close, I find myself much in the same boat as I was
when I first came here: sick, tired, and missing home. In the four
months we have been here, however, I have had the opportunity not only
to explore the city, but to grow an understanding of its history which I
have never had in any other place.
Recently I have been devoting much of my time to my research paper, the topic of which is Shakespeare’s Richard III. In it, I am exploring the historical differences between Shakespeare’s account and the real king, and what kind of political environment might have prompted Shakespeare to make these changes in the first place. As I pore over editions of books printed in the 1800’s (which I feel like I almost shouldn’t be allowed to touch), which themselves were originally written during the 16th century about a 15th century king, I feel a profound sense of connection between the city as King Richard knew it and the city I know today. It is incredible to me that we are as far away in time from our first president as Elizabeth I was to Richard II, and Richard II was to William the Conqueror, and William was to the founding of London itself. The monarchy is almost as old as the city, and that kind of continuity (despite its many changes) is a stunning feat, one which I have no context for. It is mind-blowing that Queen Elizabeth II, who seems ancient to me, sat on a chair that is 700 years old, a chair that every monarch has sat on since at least Henry IV. It is incredible that one can walk past Traitor's Gate at the Tower of London, where Elizabeth I, Anne Boleyn, and Sir Thomas More once entered the White Tower, where some seventy years earlier two young Princes disappeared from view.
One of my less-productive methods of entertainment has been binge-watching Netflix shows, recently Call the Midwife and The Crown. Both are set in the 1950’s and depict some of the same events, but watching both at once presents radically different experiences. Call the Midwife is set in the East End, where we live today, and shows explicitly the shocking poverty that pervaded the area. The Crown feels much more modern, doubtless due to the vastly different economic status of the subjects it portrays. When viewed in conjunction it is quite clear exactly why the reputation of the monarchy struggled.
London’s
contradictions have left me reeling. It is both ancient and
cutting-edge, hopelessly poor and stunningly wealthy, caught in a
constant cycle of rebirth and death. I am excited to return to Portland,
with its lack of ancient ruins and its simple 200-year old origins, its
slightly more flavorful food and its washers and dryers that actually
work, but I have come to love this city, with all of its marvelous
imperfections.
—Lexie Boren