By Brittaney Mann
Normally places of burial make me feel sad and uneasy, but Westminster Abbey beautifully honored the lives of various important figures. Rather than feeling solely sad about their deaths, I felt thankful about the lives they lived.
My favorite area was Poet’s Corner because there were so many people that I had read the works of and written essays about. One grave that I thought was very cool to see was Geoffrey Chaucer’s. Chaucer is considered one of England’s first great poets. Last fall, I was in a class where I studied The Canterbury Tales and Chaucer in general. During that time, we had the opportunity to watch a live stream where Chaucer scholars discussed new documents they found regarding a court case Chaucer was involved in. Some of the actions he included in his tales were not pleasant to read, but I still enjoyed viewing them through a lens of feminism and placing the women of his story within the context of all women at the time. It was very cool to see his grave because it made him all the more real.
While in poet’s corner I also saw Lord Byron’s grave. It took awhile to take a photo of it because everyone kept gathering on it, but I was able to walk back and quickly snap a photo. I have not read a lot of Lord Byron’s work, but I learned a little bit about him. When I was in a Frankenstein class, I learned that he was friends with the Shelleys and was there the night they shared their ghost stories. He did not have a totally pleasant life though; I also learned that he was a bit of a party person, had a child with Mary Shelley’s sister, and was just overall a very interesting person. I don’t remember much about him, but the term Byronic Hero is because of the characters he created and his persona.
Moving on to a grave outside of Poet’s Corner, I really loved the Tomb of the Unknown Solider. It was decorated with poppies and blocked off so people could not walk over it; it is the only grave with that much protection. Our tour guide, Molly, explained that the poppies along the outside represent the flowers that used to grow on the battlefields. She also told us that even though there is one solider buried here, this is a place for all people to mourn their lost loved ones of any war. I noticed parallels between Veteran’s Day and the day the UK has to honor solders; Molly mentioned the eleventh day, eleventh month, and eleventh hour, which is what Veteran’s Day in the U.S. is.
I am very appreciative of visiting Westminster Abbey. I loved to be able to honor and remember the people I learned about in school and learning about tombs of people I had not heard of before.
Theatre in London U of A 