By Colin Ahern – Opinions Editor & Isabelle Callan – Contributor

Bishop’s is a campus that experiences a wide array of weather over the course of each year. I believe that Bishop’s is a fantastic location to study English romanticism because it embodies the sublime – images of beauty and terror – as well as the pastoral – images of comfort and relaxation – during a school year. 

The early stages of fall are highly pastoral and feature simple pleasures. By situating the campus near the woods, Bishop’s offers calm walks and gentle sunshine. Days spent enjoying the surroundings of the campus are ones ripped from the lines of “Tintern Abbey”. 

Winter contrasts this nicely by featuring sublimity in howling winds and the bitter cold. Particularly in February, Bishop’s is home to a winter comparable to a scene in Game of Thrones. The highly volatile nature of this season has the explosive energy that runs through the ink in “Kubla Khan”. While we are shy on damsels with dulcimers, Bishop’s is often privy to the strong artistic potential and “caves of ice” that the poem features.

The spring offers a new side of Bishop’s that is also couched in literature. With new life comes the bursting potential found in courtly love. This is often manifested through the renewed motivation students experience with the melting of snow. 

I believe this range of weather provides a clear parallel to many literary themes in the English program. This allows Bishop’s to offer a unique experience for literature students by surrounding them with the very forces that they study. I would strongly urge students to take English classes that focus on the weather, environment, or the elements, since they provide an interesting perspective on the changing seasons. 

Personally, I have found that Dr. McBrine, Dr. Malley, and Dr. Jones-Square frequently teach courses that provide illuminating perspectives on the natural changes in the environment. For anyone seeking to develop a deeper appreciation for the primordial forces that influence their lives, these professors all provide fantastic classes.