Literature and a Movie

One of the joys of surfing through cable TV is hitting upon a channel I normally don’t get access to and seeing a movie I would never think to watch and actually liking it.  That was my experience when I came across “Possession” on Movieplex on a Saturday night.

The 2002 movie is an adaptation of the book of the same name about two literary academics, played by Gwyneth Paltrow and Aaron Eckhart, who go on a serendipitous investigation of the lives of two Victorian poets reverently known for their fealty toward their partners.  Jeremy Northam and Jennifer Ehle portray the bards/star-crossed lovers, whose white-hot relationship is juxtaposed and connected through time with that of the intrepid investigators.

In no small way, the movie re-opened the door to my sophomore high school English class when I was introduced to poetry and ignited more than a passing fancy for language and English literature.   Although I still  open up a book of poetry to refresh my memory and rejuvenate my spirit, it slips my mind more often than not to go back to it, perhaps because it no longer has the power to ground me.  Admittedly, it feels frivolous and antiquarian.  But I should tell myself these aren’t the things that should be stowed away as I get older.  Poetry and literature is still the conduit to our souls just as the other arts continue to speak to the human experience.