Romantic Literary Period Basketball

Dale Denny & Jennifer MacAdam
© 1993
   

                                                          
       
Like Keats's game of literary checkers, Romantic Literary Period
Basketball places great poets on an unlikely field of play.  By
observing their exploits with the ball and basket , their
exploits with the quill and parchment  attain an added dimension
of action and interest.  Several games in the best of seven
series use the topics discussed in class and the plots of the
poems to determine the performance of individual players.  





Tournament Rules

                     
1.   Teams consist of five starting players and one reserve.
  
2.   No more than two starting players can be characters from
     fictional works.  The reserve player may be an author or
     character.
  
3.   Teams may acquire players from other literary periods by
     trade.

4.   No critics may play.
  
5.   No player may reenter a game after committing crimes to
     humanity or the gods, but may keep score and/or  bring
     towels to other players.





Tournament Schedule
                                 
     Game 1         Cadiz Memorial Bullfight Ring
     Game 2         Maid's Auditorium-Saragosa
     Game 3         Seduction  Sports Hall-Malta
     Game 4         Alastor  Arena
     Game 5         Mont Blanc Sublime Stadium    
     Game 6         Dartmoor  Druid Multipurpose Building 
     Game 7         Urn Amphitheater




Team Roster
                                                                  
  The Harmonispheres
  Starters:
  
  Percy Bysshe Shelley                  Forward
  John Keats                            Guard
  Felicia Hemans                        Forward
  Frankenstein (The Creature)           Center
  Claire Clairmont                      Guard
  
  Reserve:     Alastor





Team Roster

  The Giaourers
  Starters:
  
  Lord Byron (George Gordon)            Center
  Mary Shelley                          Guard
  Samuel Taylor Coleridge               Forward
  William Wordsworth                    Forward/Guard
  The Maid of Saragosa                  Guard
  
  Reserve:     Prometheus


 

  
Game One

Cadiz, Spain:  Memorial Bullfight Ring:  

A decidedly pro-Byron crowd saw the Giaourers defeat Shelley's
Harmonispheres in double overtime, 64-59.  Byron led all scorers
with 23 points.  William Wordsworth fouled out with 3:14
remaining in the game.  He said, "That Percy Shelley.  He was all
over me.  Where's the foul on him?"  As he headed for the
showers, Wordsworth flung daffodils to the cheering crowd. 

Giaourers lead series 1-0.





Game Two

Saragosa, Spain:  Maid's Auditorium:  

The hometown hero led the Giaourers to their second consecutive
victory, 117-100.  The Maid's 5 of 6 shooting from three point
range, 7 assists and 11 rebounds enthralled the screaming
Saragosans.  Impressed with the play of  The Maid, Byron said,
"She shoots the ball as she fires the cannon--with faultless aim
supreme. I am eternally in her worship." He also mocked Keats's
jumping ability by saying, "When it comes a leap, he hath
Negative Capability." 

Giaourers lead series 2-0.  





Game Three

Valletta, Malta:  Seduction Sports Hall: 

The Harmonispheres took advantage of Byron's late arrival to the
game to build a significant lead that the Giaourers could not
overcome.  Byron explained his tardiness by saying,
  "On this beauteous isle, with southern clime from Afric shores,
I had to cool my blood which hath been strangely warmed of late." 

Frankenstein(The Creature) missed all 18 of his three point
attempts and was benched late in the game by P. Shelley.  Final
score:  Harmonispheres 89, Giaourers 81.  

Giaourers led series 2-1. 





Game Four 

Kashmir, India:  Alastor Arena: 

Inspired by a local fan club, "The Maidens of the Vale", Alastor
led the Harmonispheres to an early lead. Seconds before half
time, a fight between Claire Clairmont and Mary Shelley resulted
in the disqualification of both players.  Clairmont said,
     "She can tell a decent ghost story, and she can write a
novel, but she can't dribble to save her soul."  
Shelley replied, 
     "Claire's just jealous.  She couldn't think of a  ghost
story.  She can't dribble, shoot or pass.  All she does is talk,
eternally talk"  Alastor fell ill late in the game when his fan
club left the arena to catch the last train to Punjab.
Frankenstein  went 0 for 19 from 3 point range.  Final: Giaourers
89, Harmonispheres 81. 

Giaourers led series 3-1.  




                               
Game Five

Geneva, Switzerland: Mont Blanc Sublime Stadium:  

Percy Shelley, overwrought with joy over playing in the Alps, led
the Harmonispheres to a 119-89 win over the Giaourers.  Members
of both squads were somewhat fatigued after a late-night ghost
story telling competition.  Byron skinned his knee early in the
game, and seemed intent on tasting his own blood despite Keats's
admonishments to dress the wound.  M. Shelley and C. Clairmont
avoided conflict,  but  each seemed distracted by Frankenstein,
who having learned a bit, improved his three point shooting by
going 7 for 14.  

Giaourers lead series 3-2.  





Game Six
                               
Dartmoor, England:  Druid Multipurpose Building: 

Stellar performances by Felicia Hemans and Frankenstein  helped
the Harmonispheres tie the series at three games all.  Hemans
scored 41 points, made 6 assists and hauled down 12 rebounds. 
Byron chased her all over the court, but eventually fouled out. 
"These Druid-fierce cagers doth  vex me to purple faced fury!"
said Byron.  Keats replied, "The Giaourers are but Titans
destined to fall."   Prometheus attempted to intimidate
Frankenstein by starting a towel fire, but was ejected from the
game.  Final score:  Harmonispheres 121, Giaourers 98.  





Game Seven

Moorfields Pavement: London, England, Urn Ampitheater

A sellout crowd of 18,032 watched the climactic struggle of the
Romantic Literary Period basketball teams end with a bizarre
outcome.  With the Giaourers leading 112-108 late in the game,
Milton, newly acquired by the Harmonispheres in a trade for
Claire Clairmont, inbounded the ball to Keats.  Keats was fouled
by Beowulf, acquired by the Giaourers in a trade for Coleridge,
and given two shots.  Keats made both, but a technical foul by
Byron for illegal use of his club foot in tripping Frankenstein,
gave Keats two more shots.  

Keats made both, and with the score tied at 112-112, Byron
inbounded the ball to Beowulf with  7 seconds remaining. 
Frankenstein stole the ball from Beowulf, but shot the ball over
the backboard.  The ball bounded into the royal box and struck
Princess Victoria on her crowned head.  The game was stopped. 
Victoria, though dazed, was not injured. Her immediate comment
prevented the resumption of the contest.  "Oh, let us have no
more of this physical display.  Things have gotten too improper. 
Everyone ought to cover themselves up and go home."

    



Epilogue

The game ended in a tie, as did the tournament.  The teams
disbanded and retired to their respective anthologies and
monographs,  except for   Frankenstein, who went to Hollywood and
waited 87 years in an orange grove for the movie industry to be
born.