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.

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.

Ready...Set...Compare and Contrast!!

So I mentioned earlier in one of my posts that I am reading one of my favorite books again, which happens to be a retelling of Hamlet. So now that we are finished reading Hamlet and I am reaching climatic parts in my journey, that I start doing a comparison. (I'm actually quite excited about it, and don't worry it'll only be a few posts.)



For this post I think I'm am going to simply do a character comparison between the two great literary works. (Oh, first of all you should know that the story takes place on a dog farm in Wisconsin in the 1950s. That's right "Hamlet's" family raises and trains a fictional breed of dogs.)

Hamlet = Edgar ~ Edgar is a mute! He communicates solely by sign and written word. This is partly why he withdraws so much into himself after his father's death.

The King/Hamlet Senior = Gar ~ He is actually alive for the first 100 pages of the book. You learn to love his character and see why Edgar is so distraught.

Gertrude = Trudy ~ In this retelling you see Trudy and Gar's relationship develop as well as her distress over his death. Parts of the story are actually told from her view. She actually never marries "Claudius" but he does propose and they have a relationship.

Claudius = Claude ~ Gar's brother. They have a rocky past but neither of them seem to understand quite where the conflict began. He comes to live with them and then leaves on rocky terms. He has a natural talent with dogs and helps around the kennel after Gar's death (which he caused through an injection of poison).

Ophelia = Almondine ~ She is actually a dog! She and Edgar have been best friends since his birth but when he sees her fawning on Claude he goes into a rage and refuses to acknowledge her. Edgar feels as if she has betrayed him, and while he is away she dies of old age.

Polonius = Dr. Papineau ~ The vet who works on the Sawtelle dogs and a close family friend. He actually has a share of their kennel as well and hires Claude to work for him.

Laeretes = Glen Papineau - The county sheriff who is devastated by his father's accidental death. When Claude tells him that Edgar played a role he is determined to shake Edgar up and conspires with Claude to achieve this. He doesn't end up dying but is blinded by quicklime.

The Fateful Beginning

I've always loved Shakespeare, even if I didn't always understand it. I loved the eloquence and flow of the words and I loved the drama that occurred in the Bard's pages of text. As I entered high school and read his sonnets I was hypnotized by his lyrical sonnets and the diversity of his plots. However I never really had to opportunity to read many of his works. Sure in my ninth grade we read Romeo and Juliet, but it was when I saw Hamlet that same year that I saw some of the depth of Shakespeare. In that same year I ended up reading Shakespeare's sonnets as well as Twelfth Night and Macbeth. But then life picked up and the Bard fell in to the dust along with the Great Depression, variables and hydrogen bonds.

It wasn't until the beginning of my freshman year at BYU that the Bard came to my attention again. I have always been a theater freak, and though my major isn't theater, I decided to be in a Mask Club production of The Taming of the Shrew. I was a minor role, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself and thought how I would love to take up Shakespeare. I watched movies that were modern, but Shakespearian, such as 10 Things I Hate About You and She's the Man. I was hooked and decided that I would have to take a Shakespeare class to become more exposed. Sadly, I've had to wait a year and a half to finally make it to this fateful day. In that time I have acquired a new favorite book based off of the story of Hamlet (The Story of Edgar Sawtelle),seen a BYU production of Shakespeare, and yes, watched Gnomeo and Juliet. These spurred me forward in my quest to conquer Shakespeare and I am now excited and ready to begin the adventure and at the same time, once again immerse myself in The Story of Edgar Sawtelle.