Recently I had a nightmare in which I suffered brain damage. It was not clear from the dream whether this brain damage resulted from or just resulted in watching an excess of daytime television. As I write this, I realize this blog may sound satirical, like an Onion headline: "Daytime TV Creates Zombie Out of Writing Professor." But it really and truly was a nightmare.
I remember specifically that, upon waking from whatever trauma had caused me to black out, I realized that I have yet to read King Lear. Upon attempting to read the text, I found that the language was foreign to me—instead, I was delighted by a made-for-TV version of Lear screened by a well-meaning family member.
I tremble just thinking about it. It forces me to wonder whether, if afflicted with brain damage, I would be better off knowing that I was only a shadow of my former self or being blissfully unaware of all the things I was missing.
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