Midterm Self-Assessment!

Learning Outcomes:

1. This course has really helped me in understanding Shakespeare. Before I really struggled with Shakespeare and understanding what was going on in the plot. But I have found that as I have continued through the course, I understand more what it happening. Don't get me wrong, I still have big help! Not only this but when I read the Dover Thrift Editions I understand the symbolism a lot more because of the footnotes. In class I have also gained a greater understanding of the conceits, analogies and themes that are repeated throughout all of Shakespeare's works. I guess what I'm trying to say is because of this class I definitely have a greater appreciation for Shakespeare's rhetoric.problems sometimes comprehending what just happened, but at those hard times I have found that Sparknotes is a

2. We have been challenged to critically analyze Shakespeare in our readings. I have done this in some post by simply breaking down lines and

talking about what I think they mean or what Shakespeare is trying to convey. Again I have done this by trying to find a common theme in all of the Shakespeare plays, specifically I have tried to find ties to reality (and dreams), that is how people construct or conceive their own. I also have tried to look at why Shakespeare makes certain stage and plots choices (see this post). I find that when I do this, I get more excited about Shakespeare and the messages he is trying to convey.

3. Engaging in Shakespeare creatively has been one of the harder things for me to do. I am a science person and we aren't very often encourage to be creative in our school work, we are more formal. So it has been difficult for me to try getting out of my solely academic mind frame. But I have tried. One of my more recent attempts has been to show how names play a role in Shakespeare's plays, specifically The Tempest. Another way I have attempted this is to compare Hamlet to one of my favorite novels The Story of Edgar Sawtelle.

4. Sharing Shakespeare meaningfully is another things I have tried hard to do this semester. I find that a lot of times the way I

posts I actually incorporated pictures of children I had worked with in orphanages this past summer. I also have tried to talk about nature in some of my posts because I am a Wildlife and Wildlands Conservation major. In addition to blog posts I have also talked to my roommates a few times about what we have

learned. For example after watching A Winter's Tale, I was really excited about the productionhave done this is through some of my blog posts. In one of my and bothered by Paulina's character, so I talked to my roommates about it. I told them the cool aspects of the play and tried to vent some frustrations. But I guess the most recently I have shared Shakespeare meaningfully was actually through this past assignment about sharing globally and locally.

Self-directed Learning:

I think I can definitely improve on my self-directed learning. I think a big part of this is getting the plays in text again. For the for few plays I obtained the Dover Thrift Editions to read and these actually really helped with my comprehension and with what I was getting out of the text. The last couple of plays I haven't been able to get a hold of and had to read online instead and I noticed that I just didn't get as much out of it. However, I always have kept up on the reading and I have tried to critically analyze the text. I don't feel as if my documentation of my learning through my blogging is always a good portrayal of what I have learned though. Sometimes I can't adequately describe what I am thinking or how I feel through my posts. This is especially true with the strange fascination I have with reality. It is really hard to document what I have been thinking or discovering about this. I guess finding some research or psychology papers about how people construct their own reality.

(By the way my blogging and my reading of the assigned plays has always been on schedule and I have been able to keep on top of everything. I have also been able to make it to both of the live productions, and I really loved Winter's Tale.)

Collaborative and Social Learning:

I like working in assigned working groups because they really help me discover new things about Shakespeare and even fuel some of my own ideas. However I do think that it would be nice sometimes to get together with another group so that we can get fresh ideas moving. I do really like when my group has a text to work with, and I know I can do better on bringing a written text to refer to, so hopefully I will be able to obtain a copy of the next play. I have found that Chris is especially involved in my blog and helps me think of new ideas. Kara has also inspired me a few times or caused me to think about new thinks in Shakespeare that I hadn't even considered before! As far as it goes for involving others in my learning experience I have talked to my roommates, my mom and even coworkers about Shakespeare. A lot of times it is as am thinking about what I am going to blog about. But sometimes I get too excited about it and I just want to tell somebody what I am thinking.

Looking Ahead:

I think I can definitely try bringing in more outside sources in my learning experience. That is researching more instead of just looking at the text so much. I mean I have done both but I can for sure use more research. I also need to work on making my blog posts more personal and so I am going to try to break out of my academic bubble and let myself shine through in my blogs. Part of bringing in part of my personal interest and hobbies I hope to bring through the final project. I hope to be working with Avril on the one act. I was talking to her on the way up to The Tempest and we came up with a few ideas and actually a whole new direction. She is thinking we may actually hope to write a play showing some of the common character and theme choices that Shakespeare has. I think this would be really fun and since I would be more personally involved in this I think I could be more open in my blog posts.

Sharing from Relief Society to Oprah

Well, I did it, I shared Shakespeare to the world! Like the assignment was I did this both locally and globally but both were actually different subjects! Here's what I did...

Locally

Not gonna lie, this one had me stumped for a few days. I couldn't decide who I wanted to share with and what about because I didn't want it to be too easy. In fact it was almost an impromptu sharing but it was interesting, and I admit I went on a few tangents.

It all started when a fellow member of the Relief Society

First I told her how it was a Shakespearean play based off of actual historical events. She was amazed. I told her the real life history of Antony and Cleopatra and then discussed with her how accurately Shakespeare drew upon these. We talked about the absence of her previous affair with Julius Cesear and their love child. It was decided this was probably done to make the play more romantic and less political than it seemed to be.Presidency came to deliver some notes, and well she saw me doing homework on my bed and asked what I was working on. (I was looking for global sharing experiences but was struggling...) I told her how I read Antony and Cleopatra and BAM she was hooked. See, she didn't know what Antony and Cleopatra was, or even who they were, and so naturally I had to explain.

Then I naturally diverged into a conversation about reality in Antony and Cleopatra and I guess in Shakespeare in general. We talked how his characters also try to shape their reality so they can justify their actions, either past or present. Which led me to a tangent about Hamlet and a clip I saw on YouTube my freshman year. (Its pretty funny, and shows how Ophelia's fate could have been different.) There's actually a few on other Shakespeare plays as well but sadly not one on Antony and Cleopatra. I was actually going to request they do one on it for part of my global outreach, but I admit I forgot....

Globally

I struggled for a long time to find something to connect with people about Antony and Cleopatra.

I looked at productions (none were current), Flickr photos (same problem, most were over two years old), and for blogs and tweets...nothing.

I was feeling rather frustrated and discouraged and then I learned we could expand outside of our play and share other Shakespeare things. So I naturally turned to my good friend Edgar...okay the book...about Edgar...that's fictional....you know the The Story of Edgar

Sawtelle by David Wroblewski , which I've had such a fervor for recently.

I started going crazy! I looked for blogs, photos, videos, reviews and even found David Wroblewski's site dedicated totally to The Story of Edgar Sawtelle (they're making a movie!! I really want to see it whenever it come out). I wanted to try to contact him personally but wasn't able to get an in. I just found contact information

for his people, and decided instead to see what people were saying.

I went once again to Flickr, but there aren't really any good photos about this book, because well, its a book! But I pressed forward to YouTube. Nothing of interest there, just a few lame videos that didn't seem worth my time to watch.

So onto a different approach! I remembered that The Story of Edgar Sawtelle had been an Oprah's Book Club book. So I thought I check out what was happening there. On his biography page there were a few comments but I thought I would try to stimulate some more comments about the book and Shakespeare. So I related to a lady who was from Wisconsin and I also left my own review of the book relating it to Shakespeare. (click here to see them)

But I didn't feel like this was enough. More people needed to know about my passion, so I joined Goodreads. (I'm actually really glad I signed up for the membership because now I'll get great recommendations.) The first thing I did was write a review of the novel, and I of course tied it into Shakespeare, I mean it is a retelling of Hamlet! I was actually shocked to see so many comments from people who did not like the book at all! A lot of it was because it had such a tragic ending, but come'on people, it's a Shakespearean tragedy! So I left a few comments here on there on people's discussions but nothing has turned up.....

Actually one thing did but this was actually one of my shorter comments and this lady was quick and short in her reply...but maybe I'll try to stimulate more in depth thought about Shakespeare....

Once again I still wanted to do more! The world needed to be educated and get an appreciation for this version of Hamlet! So I searched blogs and lo and behold, a man wrote a whole blog post just about this novel! The thing about his post is that he praised the book, but he said he didn't know the plot of Hamlet so he couldn't compare it in that way. So I educated him in a comment describing the plot and how knowing Shakespeare's tale enriches the novel. I even suggested that he read Hamlet with The Story of Edgar Sawtelle next time. (By the way that's a picture of the blogger)

So I have sown my seeds and I hope that even though the assignment is technically due today, that I will get replies and good feedback. I mean look at all the people in my post alone that have been influenced by Shakespeare. And hopefully I've influenced a few people to reconsider their views on the Shakespearean plot and maybe they'll even read Hamlet now! I hope they do because as I said in many of my comments, knowing the story of Hamlet really enriches The Story of Edgar Sawtelle.

What is in a Name?

I've been thinking about something we talked about in class, that is I've been thinking about names. Now I know that it was briefly that we spoke of this but Professor Burton mentioned that Caliban's name comes from the word cannibal. This alone tells some of what Caliban's character is going to be like, that is unrefined and prone to wicked, wild ways. Then I was reading Sparknotes to make sure I understood everything, and for Act III scene one it gave the explanation that Miranda's name means admirable. And Ferdinand plays off of this:

Admired Miranda!
Indeed the top of admiration! worth
What's dearest to the world!

So I started to wonder if any of the other characters had names that were prevalent to their personaltiy. Not surprisingly, a few more were! Here they are! ( I consulted here and here for the meaning of names.)

~ Alonso: eager for battle -- Alonso aided Antonia is overthrowing Prospero. However he does seem to later regret his actions.

~Ariel: lion of God -- I find this really interesting because Ariel is Prospero's spirit servant. However he is quite powerful in his actions and abilities but he obeys the protagonist in our plot. So I guess the name describes him. He is fierce but belongs to the so called ruler of the island.

~Ferdinand: courageous, daring, brave -- Ferdinand is the prince who falls in love with Miranda. He is ready to defend and to work for Miranda but he is also compassionate. I think this is a fitting name for our hero.

~Gonzalo:wolf -- When I think of wolves I think of quiet, yet fierce and ever alert creatures. Gonzalo is loyal and willing to defend his king. He is also wise and a peacemaker. As a quick note he aided Prospero and Miranda in their get away.

~Prospero: wealthy, prosperous -- Despite being upsurped and exiled, Prospero has done quite well for himself! He has magically abilites, an island to himself, and seemingly endless spirits at his command.


**And just for fun I decided to look up what the names of our group members mean!**

~Christopher: Christ bearer, he who holds Christ in his heart (English)

~Eric: honorable ruler (Scandinavian)

~Kara: sweet melody (Irish)

~Katie: pure (Irish and English)

~Meg: pearl (Irish)

***Oh and for more fun, Professor Burton!***

~Gideon: great warrior

Taking a Look Around...

Not gonna lie, I'm having a really hard time finding things online about what people are saying about Antony and Cleopatra. I guess it's just not one of Shakespeare's most popular plays to analyze. This might be because it is so historical in nature.

Don't worry I found a few things, but they're all a few years old so I don't know how well the connecting will go. But I guess I'll keep plugging away! If you guys have any suggestions I would love to hear them!

The few things I did find were papers on the Roman and Egyptian relationship, the historical facts about Antony and Cleopatra, and even one about how Egyptians showed affection in that time period. Oh! I guess I found this blog as well, which I hope to read in depth, but I don't know how the connecting will go because the last post was in December...

Sadly there is nothing on how the characters may choose to alter reality and why, but hopefully I'll find something or someone to begin connecting with!

They Said and Thought What?!

So in my last post about my plan for my analysis I mentioned going over some themes in Antony and Cleopatra. However if I go over all of those this post would be huge, so I'm just going to touch on two topics that I have hit in previous posts. The first will be nature references and the second with be, of course, reality perception.

Earthiness

Like I've said before, I've noticed that Shakespeare loves the nature references, and I personally find them very effective. Now the movie Cleopatra wasn't in Shakespeare's words. This is because they actually base the movie off of the fantastical perception of Cleopatra's mortal life. However, the second half is about her relationship with Antony, which Shakespeare wrote the play about! So it works. But since they don't use the actual play lines I had to just look at how they might decide to incorporate the natural world into the film.

Sadly there is only one point that stands out to me in how they used the natural world to make a point. See there is a part of the movie where a dead body is thrown over the wall as a warning to Cleopatra. So as the body is removed and Cleopatra fears for her and her son's life, the sky turns dark, the wind picks up, and it begins to rain. As with in many movies, they used nature to set the gloomy and ominous mood.

BUT don't worry! As mentioned before the play is loaded with nature references! Here are a few of my favorites that I think just really pack the punch.

"When my good stars, that were my former guides,/Have empty left their orbs, and shot their fires/Into the abysm of hell."


"His legs bestrid the ocean: he rear;d arm/Crested the world: his voice was propertied/As all the tuned spheres, and that to friends;/But when he meant to quail and shake the orb, He was as rattling thunder."


"Sometimes we see a cloud that's dragonish;/A vapour sometime like a bear or lion,/A tower'd citadel, a pendent rock,/A forked mountain, or blue promontory/With trees upon't that nod unto the world,/And mock our eyes with air."





Is this real life?

Antony and Cleopatra is full of people believing what they want to and choosing to ignore the blatant and obvious truth. Mainly it is between the two main characters themselves, and this was actually very apparent in the movie.

So there's a soothslayer in the movie who predicts that Julius Cesear will become Emperor and reign with Cleopatra at his side. Of course, this doesn't happen and Cesear is killed by the Senate and Cleopatra sent running back to Egypt. However they both obviously wanted to believe it, so they did despite obvious signs indicating otherwise.

Also, an interesting note about the movie, both Cleopatra and Cesear believe they are gods, and thus they cannot be killed by mortal hands. Cesear is so convinced that he is untouchable that even when Cleopatra expresses some of her fears about a potential assassination, he blows her off telling her she is silly. But at the same time Cleopatra constantly brags of her divinity! Neither want to admit to their weaknesses and just claim they are right because they are divine. It's crazy!

(Just as a side note, Cleopatra believes she is Isis and destined to rule the world.)

Now I'm sorry this is getting long so here are just few lines from the play how people have chosen to reconstruct their reality so they can justify their actions or get what they want. (Cleopatra is a pro at this.)

"If you find him sad,/Say I am dancing; if in mirth, report/That I am sudden sick"

"You praise yourself/By laying defects of judgement to me"

"All is lost;/This foul Eqyptian hath betrayed me." - This is actually Antony! He feels guilty about desterting his men in battle and running after Cleopatra like a dog, so he decides to find some way to be angry at her instead of himself!


You're at the end!

There are so many other great manipulations of reality, but I'm sure by this time this post is so long you don't want to read anymore! So I'll leave you with this. I just think it is so interesting that so many of Shakespeare's characters seem to have problems answering for their actions, so they feel the need to alter reality so they can feel better about themselves.

It makes me wonder how much I do this in my own life...Think about it. Do you do this is your life? I'm sure we all do in someway, because after all Shakespeare is the master and showing our human flaws in his characters.

Fuzzy Memories and Cast-off Dreams

Once again in the first act of The Tempest, I ran into the idea of reality and how our perception of it can be altered by others (see my previous post about it and dreams). Miranda has lived on an island with her wizard father all her life, and yet she finds nothing odd about it. She never questions their solitude or the sheltered and strange life she lives. However when her father, Prospero, begins to tell her about their past she seems to remember part of it. But it is a bit hazy.

"'Tis far off
And rather like a dream than an assurance
That my remembrance warrants"

The normal life of any other person seems like a dream to her because her perception of "real life" has been so altered. At the same time, I believe she is saying the memory is so dim that it seems as though it couldn't have happened. I guess this is applicable to my own life though. Sometimes things seem so long ago that I can't seem to recall if they ever happened or if I simply dreamed them or made them up! Sometimes when I wake from sleeping I have to remind myself what is real and what is not.

In fact this all reminds me of Inception. In case you haven't seen it you should it's a fantastic movie with a thrilling plot. Anyways, in the movie there is a line that I think applies to what Miranda is describing. When Cobbs go to get Saito out of limbo, Saito doesn't quite realize that he isn't in the real world. He has been trapped in limbo for so long that it has become his reality.

Saito: Have you come to kill me? I've been waiting for someone...
Cobb: Someone from a half remembered dream.
Saito: Cobb? Impossible. We were young men together. I'm an old man.
Cobb: I've come back for you... to remind you of something. Something you once knew...That this world is not real.

Miranda is much like this! She has been living in the "world" her father created out of necessity, that she doesn't know what the real "world" is like. Her sense of reality and normalcy is different, so much so that the outside, normal world seems to be a dream. I'm sure that as we read on however that the other characters may feel as if they are in a dream, or if the life they left was one. I think it will be interesting to see.

And once again I wonder what sort of things I may be forgetting in my life that are real but I think to be a dream. Or what have I dreamed or wanted to be real, so I convince myself that it is? I guess there could be a whole slew of things, but I'd have to go back and analyze my life more closely to determine what my reality really is. And are there maybe some things that are just better to believe to be reality?

Initial Reaction....WHEW!!!

Can I just say that Antony and Cleopatra was way more complicated, and a lot longer than I thought it would be?! There were so many subplots in the reading of the play that I was so thankful for online scene by scene summaries so I could make sure I was reading the play correctly!

Let's just say that in the midst of their complicated and blossoming love, Antony and Cleopatra have to deal with war! I'm not gonna lie I was often confused by motivations of characters and I think I will have to go back and examine more of why they do what they do.

While I was reading I also found themes that I would like to go back and examine. These include the following:

~Poison references
~Manipulation of others
~How the characters choose to perceive their reality
~Nature references
~Ambition versus Passion

I actually didn't find in my initial reading as many reality crisis as I thought I would find but I want to go back and examine those. I didn't see too much of this is in the movie either actually. What really interested me why how quickly the characters are to believe things that may or may not be there.

A quick thought on the movie Cleopatra is simply, wow. It was four hours long and the first two hours actually portray a plot that happens before the play even begins! In face it is more a movie about Julius Cesar and Cleopatra at first! Not only that but Cleopatra at first had such ambitious motivations and she didn't seem as cruel or cold as the play seems to make her out to be. I just thought that was such an interesting choice to do those things. In some ways it really added to the dynamics of the relationship Antony and Cleopatra had, but it also took away. I was ready to get to the point and have the movie end after the first two hours.

Yep, those are just my first thoughts after looking at the two versions of the story so just wait for the in depth analysis to come next week!!

Manly Men?

Love's Labours Lost is fraught with rhetoric as we have discussed at length in class. What I think is interesting not only in this play, but also in most of Shakespeare's works is that there are so many references to other stories that were, and still, are popular. It is just another way that Shakespeare uses the world around him to drive a point home. Here are a few that I noticed in Biron's confrontation to his friends in Act Four referencing famous characters.

To see great Hercules whipping a gig,

(Hercules was a Greek legendary demigod with extraordinary strength. Whipping a gig is another way of of saying to spin a top.)




And profound Solomon to tune a jig,

(Solomon is a Biblical king known for his great wisdom given to him by god. To tune a jig simply participate in a dance or music.)



And Nestor play at push-pins with the boys,

(Nestor is another character of Greek mythology. He was an Argonaut who fought centaurs and hunted the Calydonian Boar. Push-pin was a game geared toward very young children.)





And critic Timon laugh at idle toys!

(Timon was an Athenian philosopher. And, well, idle toys are just that, toys that aren't moving and are in essence, for babies.)



What Biron is trying to say is that the love of the women these noblemen have, is turning them into children. However Biron is hypocritical because the same thing is happening to him!

Presenting Antony and Cleopatra! - well my plan for reading...

So my play that I am going to be exploring is Anthony and Cleopatra. I'm going to be completely honest I had no idea what this play was about. I mean I recognize the names of Antony and Cleopatra as historical figures, and I knew that Shakespeare had written a play about them, but that's about the extent of my knowledge. So naturally the first went to SparkNotes to figure out what this is all about. (In case you want a quick synopsis as well click here!)

Basically it seems as if the play is full of many complicated motives and twists. I think it should be an exciting read but at the hard time very hard to keep up with! I'm excited but daunted at the same time because it does seem so complex. One thing I am going to examine in the reading of Antony and Cleopatra is once again the idea of reality as we percieve it. They both seem passionate, vengeful and driven by what they want and what they believe to be true. In other words I once again want to examine how we decide to construct our reality and what reality really is. I've found this theme in the other two plays we've read and it fascinates me! (see here for previous blogs about.)

Finally I think for my film viewing I am going to watch Cleopatra with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. It won four Oscars (and it's available on Netflix!). From reviews it looks as though this production with vary from the play, but that's almost expected in film. Here's the trailer! (Sorry its long so please don't watch the whole thing, just some to get the idea.)

Ghostly Manifestations

Earlier on my blog I discussed the nature of the dead king's ghost. I would like to return to that, but compare it to the portrayal of the ghost inThe Story of Edgar Sawtelle.

As a quick recap the ghost in Hamlet first appears to the night guard of the castle. Since other people see him we assume the ghost is real (but also begin to question that later). We are told that the ghost is "In the same figure like the King that's dead.". But that is all we know, and so a director really has a lot of room to play with what to do with the ghost.




However in The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, the portrayal is very set in stone, and I believe to be quite elegant in the way David Wrobleski decided to portray him.

And for a second time that night something moved in front of the double doors. It took a moment to makde sense of it. A change in the falling of the rain. Something about the way it fell....He squeezed his eyes shut....When he opened his eyes again, the way to see them all together had clicked into place.
Instead of raindrops he saw a man.

That's right the ghost is made of rain. Not only this but Gar only appears to Edgar. Trudy never sees her husband's form. However the dogs do and they obey the signed commands the figure gives them to prove his reality.

I just think this whole new way of portrayal is so effective and it adds to the story because whenever it rains Edgar goes rushing outside to try to see his father's form. It also adds the element of trying to discern if the ghost is real or just something Edgar has concocted to get through tragedy.

Personally, I believe the ghost is there.