"tragically becalmed"

7 April 2025: I’ve written lots before about how ENGL 204 is my favorite class to teach. There are lots of reasons, but a major one is that you get students from all different majors and backgrounds. This semester, I’ve got another great batch, including a Biology major who immediately got on my radar for his incredibly insightful comments. Science students who also excel at the humanities give me such hope. I wasn’t surprised to see this kid’s name on the list of this year’s McMurran Scholars.

Anyway, today in class, day one of discussing A Streetcar Named Desire, I was talking through some biographical info about Tennessee Williams, including how his sister’s experience—including a lobotomy—might have impacted the way he writes his most memorable female characters. This particular student brought to my attention a phrase I had previously overlooked in reading and re-reading the anthology’s introduction to the play: “tragically becalmed.” (Frustratingly, the introduction puts it in quotation marks, but doesn’t attribute it.) “That really got to me,” the student said, “that phrase ‘tragically becalmed.’” 

You see what I mean, don’t you? What a phrase--achingly powerful. And this student--he saw it. This is a special young man. A sensitive and careful and smart reader who made me think about this text in new ways. It’s just a privilege to get to work with people like him.