Courtship through our very own eyes

If your idea of a typical BBGSian is that of a strait-laced Victorian schoolma'm, think again. Here's a delightful original poem presented by 5 Arts 3, who emerged as Choral Speaking Champions for the Senior section in 1983. This poem was taken from the 1983 School Magazine.


5A3's presentation of Courtship Through Our Very Own Eyes


Courtship has played an important role in mankind for many, many years
And if 5A3 has it her way
it will continue to do so for many, many more years to come
Courtship has all the ingredients of a potential bestseller,
It has adventure, intrigue,
Humour, freshness
and not forgetting the most important ingredient of all
ROMANCE.
Besides, what is a marriage without courtship?
Nothing, AB-SO-LUTE-LY nothing.

Courtship is the period for memories to be cherished,
The days of red roses,
And gaily, coloured gifts.
Of opening of car doors
and candlelight dinners
Of posh hotels and smart restaurants
.....or perhaps
A walk int he thunderstorm in his best suit
and her best shoes.
A French menu that sounds Greek, exorbitant bills
And of getting up late for work the next morning.

According to the Oxford dictionary,
Courtship is the period during which
A person tries to win the affection of another
In view of marriage,
But, according to 5A3,
Courtship is the period for his bank balance to sink drastically
And her wardrobe to increase dramatically,
In view of a longer engagement.

The concept
of tall, dark and handsome men and their fair, petite counterparts
Is still predominant,
Unfortunately, there's a little snag to this,
You see,
"We aren't fair", "He isn't tall enough"
But as they say
Beauty is in the eye of the Beholder
So there's hope for us yet.

On a more serious note, ladies and gentlemen,
Courtship is not just the time for fun and lavish attention
It is like a bed of roses
A bed of roses with many thorns
It is the period when not only the virtues
But the faults surface.
It is the perfect opportunity for jealousy to rear its ugly head
For discontentment to set in,
For frayed tempers
And for settling differences once and for all.

Courtship can bring happiness
or....tragedy
Let us take the case of modern day Romeo and Juliet
Happiness is when Juliet says
"Romeo, Romeo
Wherefore art thou?"
But tragedy when Romeo replies,
"I am here, you silly cow!"

Let us now deal with the before and after effects of courtship.
Before, she'll say
"Yes, dear
"Anything you say dear"
After, she'll say
"Do it yourself. I'm going back to mother's!"
Before, he'll say
"You look lovely tonight"
After,
"Amazing what a woman looks like without her warpaint"
Before, she'll say,
"Oh, Thank you for the lovely flowers but you really shouldn't"
After,
"You don't bring me flowers, anymore"
So much for happily-ever-after endings.

A slight twist to that famous Shakespeare phrase
More or less sums up the situation in general
It's just a matter of
To court or not to be court
To be courted or not to be courted
These are the questions
And 5A3's aswers are
To court and to be courted!


Note: I can't help thinking that these girls could have graduated to become scriptwriters for "Winter Sonata" and other Korean dramas...haha!