wherefore art thou

the other day while i was watching the baz luhrmann version of william shakespeare's romeo and juliet the strangest thing happened. it was towards the end of the infamous balcony scene. the tragic couple were saying their "goodnight, goodnight, a thousand times goodnights." they had made plans to get married. juliet promises to send her nurse at 9 o'clock the next morning to get the details. and romeo responds wistfully, almost to himself, "so thrive my soul." and as soon as those words came out of his mouth i had this completely involuntary reaction and tears came streaming down my face. it was like someone had flipped a switch. words were spoke. tears fell. i wasn't having a personal problem. i wasn't sad or depressed, nor was i overjoyed. i was just moved. by the beauty of the language.

and i remembered why i wanted to be an English teacher in the first place.