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| William Wordsworth 1770 ~ 1850 "Though nothing can bring back the hour Of splendor in the grass, of glory in the flower; We will grieve not, rather find Strength in what remains behind. " — William Wordsworth |
Yesterday Clint was finally able, after us purchasing two bookcases, to empty more boxes of his books. He ran across a few old English textbooks that he didn't want. I can't just throw away a book, I found the illustration of Wordsworth in it and thought I could use it. The recent reading of Wordsworth's verse on Face Book plus the picture I found yesterday of him in the over a hundred-year-old-book equaled a blog about something I love!
 The 1961 movie starring Natalie Wood and Warren Beatty. |
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| An old torn quote with the verse I found in a 1930s woman's magazine. I cut it out and glued this in my not-so-little black book. |
To this day, it is difficult to watch the scene that made
such an impression on me those many years ago
when I first saw the movie.
6 comments:
We can never duplicate those moments of passion, of genius, of discovery....
But we can learn from them, cherish them, and grow ....
The politics of passion always amaze me, Cindy. If a girl makes a pledge to be good and save herself for marriage the boy will find a bad girl who's ready for action now. If a boy is too much of a gentleman the girl gets bored with him and seeks the company of a bad boy because he is more interesting and exciting. Round and round we go.
This was a brilliant piece of acting by the talented and intelligent Natalie Wood. She deserved the Academy Award nomination for her performance in this picture. It is also difficult for me to watch Natalie, not only in this role but in all of her movies because I am reminded of her tragic death. Splendor in the Grass brings to mind several other movies of the late 50s and early 60s that caused a stir because they dealt with topics previously regarded as scandalous or taboo such as sexual repression, premarital sex, extramarital affairs, unwanted pregnancy and abortion. They included Peyton Place (1957), The Long, Hot Summer (1958) A Summer Place (1959), Return to Peyton Place (1961) and Lolita (1962) as well as the TV series Peyton Place (1964). They gave us male and female sex symbols that in addition to Natalie Wood included Warren Beatty, Ryan O'Neal, Barbara Parkins, Lana Turner, Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Sandra Dee, Troy Donahue, Carol Lynley and Sue Lyon.
Thanks, Cindy, and please enjoy the rest of your weekend, dear friend!
Thank you, Shady, for your thoughts and the list of movies and stars. I confess I have liked all the movies/TV shows you listed except Lolita, I don't remember seeing it. I have noticed that Lolita seems to always be on the 100-Best-Books List. It does seem a girl, or guy for that matter, sometimes can't win ... so true in many aspects of life, not just in love! :-) My cousin and I used to buy movie magazines and loved looking at the stars and dreaming. I can still remember seeing pictures of Sue Lyon when she waw very young, probably around 14 when she starred in Lolita. (Of course we wanted hair like hers, to look like her ...) I can also remember my cousin telling me ALL about A Summer Place; love the theme song from this movie. Speaking of movies, they just don't make 'em like they used to. ;-( Thank you, Shady, for your thoughtful and informative comment!
I really enjoy Wordsworth, Cindy- great to have this reminder from you today! And, I'm like you. I just can't throw away a book. That's why I have too many of them. When I retire from teaching in a couple of years, someone is going to hit the motherlode when I gift them all the novels from my classroom.
Shelly
That quote gives me chills! It is difficult to throw away books! I think most books that people put out on their curbs get picked up by other people! I will have to see that movie too, I'll watch the movie clip when my 2 yr old is not sitting on my lap! LOL! Hope you and Clint are well!!!!
Hi Cindy,
It's Starry Dawn.
You are indeed, writing a blog with substance. I truly enjoy reading today's post, and viewing a scene of "Splendor in the Grass," a film that I watched when I was a young girl. It brings back memories of the old times, the good times. The poem is fantastic, with much wisdom coming from its lines. Thank you, Cindy for sharing this awesome post with the world!!
God bless you, Cindy, your husband Clint, and all those you love!!
Blessings,
Poet Starry Dawn.
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