Horatius at the Bridge Reprise

Some time back I wrote a blog about Horatius at the Bridge and memorizing poetry. I baldly stated that no one seems to require it any more. I received a splendid reply from one Sean Burke who teaches at Silver Tree Steiner School in Parkerville, Western Australia. Parkerville is a suburb of Perth. When he wrote he said that he was having his students memorize Horatius. Aha, I thought, there is someone out there having their students memorize poetry. I also was amazed that he had found my blog. Now I had three readers. Apparently the Steiner Schools are private schools with a mission of nurturing creativity. You can read about this school at www.silvertree.wa.edu.au Very interesting things going on there.

To my gratification I received another e-mail from Sean the other day. Not only had his students memorized Horatius but they had performed it as a play. The poem, by Thomas Babbington Macaulay, relates how Horatius Cocles, a Roman, defended the bridge across the Tiber from the attacking Etruscans. Apparently there were two performances by the cast of eight boys and four girls. Sean attached the program and a photo of the cast. All were in costume. It must have been fun to see this performance.

I profess my profound admiration for Sean for encouraging this activity and I congratulate the boys and girls of the cast. I wish I had been there.