Comic Relief

This week we're studying The Comedies. I have chosen:

which is a nice successor to Richard III because I think I've about had it with death. Give me some love and laughter, please.

Bevington says A Midsummer Night's Dream develops

 "..love as an imaginative journey from a world of social conflict into a fantasy world created by the artist, ending in a return to a reality that has itself been partly transformed by the experience of the journey."

Which is such a romantic description and I believe very close to what real love is. It begins as an imaginative, whimsical love that, after traveled through experience, has transformed into a deep seeded love strengthened by both reality and dreams.

This play begins with four young lovers who travel into the Athenian forest due the  laws of the land positioned against youth and romantic choice in love. The penalties against the law are either death or life-long sovereignty (i.e. virginity--which is apparently worth than a death sentence to these people). The play is about "the triumph of young love over the machinations of age and wealth" and pokes fun at the irrationality of love and its "affinity to enchantment, witchcraft, and even madness."

Theseus and Hippolyta are about to be married...
Hermia is betrothed to Demetrius but is in love with Lysander...
Lysander loves Hermia in return and plans for them to runaway together...
Helena loves Demetrius, but Demetrius loves Hermia....

and somewhere along the line a man with the head of a donkey has an affair with the Fairy Queen,
...And the dish ran away with the spoon.

Needless to say, I'm excited to start reading this play.


Schedule:
Mon 1/31--watch "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
Tues 2/1--Read Act I & II
Wed 2/2--Read Act III, IV
Thurs 2/3-Read Act V
Fri 2/4- Interview with...

I just interviewed Ian Mckellen!

I just came across a gem! There is a website called Stage Work Mckellen where you can hold your own interactive interview with Ian Mckellen about Shakespeare and Richard III. How cool is that?! You can ask him questions like:

Is the play Richard III historically accurate?

Why is the play so popular?

Should we have sympathy for Richard?

But before he'll answer you, YOU have to give him your response to these questions. He also gives his own critique and interpretation of speeches and stage and film renditions of the play. Ian Mckellen as a Shakespeare professor! He explains that his version of the opening speech in Richard III  was shortened for film purposes, and that words were put that Richard said in Henry VI part 3, like we talked about in class yesterday. You can find the screenplay Ian Mckellen wrote, with more notes, at www.mckellen.com or click here for a direct link his screenplay.

If you're not interested in Richard III, you can also ask him questions about Shakespeare like:

Should Shakespeare be read so that it's obvious it's written in verse?

Is it ridiculous to make 14 year-olds study Shakespeare?

Was Shakespeare interested in politics?

If what I wrote didn't make much sense, here's a video that explains Stage Work Mckellen.
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• How does it serve the play and the study of Shakesepare? I think this site is an excellent source for those studying Richard III. Ian Mckellen provides an interpretation of the beginning speech and gives you and opportunity to ask questions about it. He also offers other versions of the speech on film and stage for you to watch and compare yourself. The questions about Shakespeare in general are a little more tailored to Ian Mckellen and his career, so it's not the best resource for Shakespeare overall. 
• How well does it use available media? It links to videos, texts, and many other resources. Just the format of the site in general makes use of all sorts of media. 
• Will this reach audiences? Referring to the literal answer to this question I'm not too sure about this, since I don't think this site is marketed very well. It was by chance that I came along and found it. Will is reach into the lives of those who do happen to find it? Yes. It combines popular culture, modern references and historical references.
• Is it just a gimmick or is this a substantial contribution to the study of Shakespeare? I think this is a substantial contribution to the study of Shakespeare. Just like our blogs, this is a way to learn about Shakespeare through someone elses eyes! Ian Mckellen is passionate about Shakespeare, and he really does know his stuff. I think this would be a perfect media to use in a classroom setting to get students involved and interested in Richard III and Shakespeare.

 Now take a look at this site! It's a unique resource about Shakespeare through the mind of someone who knows a thing or two about him, to the say the least.

Richard III Review

Tonight I watched Ian Mckellen's Richard III. It's set in 1930 England, undoubtedly paralleling Richard with Hitler. I think this was such a creative and insightful way to shape the play because it sends the message that yes, Shakespeare may have over-dramatized Richard, but sadly enough we have allowed leaders like him in our day rise to power with a bloody trail behind them. 

The movie was captivating and some actors put an interesting twist on their characters--like Robert Downey Jr. playing a alcohol, drug and sex fiend Lord Rivers. That was...interesting, because Lord Rivers didn't seem very important to me while reading the play. Some lines showed up in different scenes and some murders were different, but over all it stayed pretty close to the script. One thing I did not understand was the rating: R?? Why? My husband seems to think that it's because it showed blood. I think it's safe to say that it didn't live up to the R rating. Dr. Burton mentioned to me in class that it was probably some marketing ploy, I'm assuming, to make Richard III seem more dramatic. Ian Mckellen succeeded, by far, in bringing the soliloquy of a guilty conscience in Act V Scene III to life. While reading it I couldn't exactly understand the frame of mind Richard III was in, but his performance made his struggle with guilt very clear.

I give this movie 4 stars based on how true it stayed to and how well it portrayed the original Shakespeare text. It didn't receive 5 stars from me on the basis that it after watching the movie, I didn't feel like there was much more that I gained from it than if I had only read the text. Shakespeare does so well in making the characters come alive, and the movie made some of the characters more tame than my mind did while I was reading. That was a disappointment.

No Fear

While I was reading the end of Act II (Act II Scene IV) I thought I had just read a pivotal point in the play but wasn't sure if I quite understood it. I hopped on to SparkNotes to find a summary of the Act to make things more clear, but instead I found No Fear Shakespeare. I remembered one of our classmates mentioning it in class so I decided to check it out.

As you can see in the picture, No Fear Shakespeare has the original Shakespeare text with a modern "translation" right beside it. Not only did it clarify any questions I had but it also adds useful information like specific places (i.e. sanctuary in Westminster Abbey) and names. I found the names particularly helpful in keeping the dialogue straight because it's easy to get mixed up in who a person is talking about.

So thank you, No Fear Shakespeare. I think you're an excellent tool that doesn't dumb down Shakespeare, or take away from the original text (because it is right there to compare). If only I would've had this in grade school!

Richard is Satan so Shakespeare was probably Mormon

I now understand what Bevington was talking about when he said that Shakespeare took the liberty to condense history in Richard III. So far, If I understand correctly, within a couple of days Richard has murdered his brother, proposed to Lady Anne (he killed her husband and father-in-law within a week I'm guessing since the scene takes place next to a fresh corpse), King Edward IV died, Hastings has been beheaded, three men have been sentenced by Richard, and Prince Edward has come to take the crown. What a week!

Richard's ability to manipulate Lady Anne into marrying him is very puzzling to me. After reading the scene I was not convinced by the dialogue that he had succeeded in seducing her, there had to be something else going on. I was very curious to see if viewing a performance of the scene would change my mind, and lo and behold Mandy posted the clip!

But I still don't think there was any romance in the scene. I see pity, fear, and selfishness on both their parts. Mandy, David and I discussed via IntenseDebate that women during that time in history were only powerful through royalty or their husband's title. While self interest is a motivator for Richard, it could be a motivator for Lady Anne, as well. I also think that Lady Anne knew well the evils Richard had done and could do and she saw this "giving in" as a way to protect herself. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, right? Also, does anyone else notice how pitiful Richard is in that scene? How much of that is an act and how much of that is a glimpse into the pathetic, cowardly man he truly is? I have to admit that this makes me think of the scripture about Satan in 2 Nephi: 24--

16They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and shall consider thee, and shall say: Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms?

1. This evil, crippled man destroys so many lives, manipulates people into throwing away their principles, exudes greed, and with one lie after another climbs his way to rule a kingdom? By no means do I intend for this to be a sermon, but it's something to think about.

"He had an eeevil plan"

Each week I'll be reading one play from each genre. Beginning with "The Histories" I have chosen....

Richard III

Why?

1. He's a villain king and seduces a woman into marrying him right after he's killed her husbad. I've got to see that. He just screams sketchy in that painting.
   
2. Dr. Burton used "fascination of abomination" when describing this play--translation: reality TV at it's best.
3. I've been told there are some great speeches.

What does Bevington have to say about Richard III?

Bevington (meaning the textbook for this class "The Necessary Shakespeare, 3rd Ed. by David Bevington) provides an introduction to each play with reference to history, theory and summary.

Richard III is the final installment of Shakespeare's history tetralogy---

te·tral·o·gy

/tɛˈtrælədʒi, -ˈtrɑlə-/ Show Spell[te-tral-uh-jee, -trah-luh-]

–noun, plural -gies.

1. a series of four related dramas, operas, novels, etc.

--which dramatizes the struggle between good (Richmond) and evil (Richard). It begins with the return of Edward IV to the throne and ends with the defeat of Richard III at the battle of Bosworth. Yes, he is defeated! But don't worry, that's not a spoiler. Bevington say's that Richard III is "the stuff of dramatic excitement." Throughout the play Richard confides in the audience with his evil plans and sets up the dynamic of verbal irony. Therefore, when his henchman says to Hastings, "The princes both make high account of you," and then to us he says with a hand to his cheek, "For they account his head upon the Bridge" we can cringe, knowing Hastings's severed head will soon be raised on a pole on London Bridge. Dramatic excitement!

Bevington say's that Richard should be grouped in the category of villians that include Iago from Othello because, like them, he is "driven by human motivation and by his preexistent evil genius." The actual history of Richard III and other literary portrayals of him have purposefully blackened his character as a way to use his example as lesson of what not to do as a ruler.

Some themes Bevington tells us to look for are:

• Psychology vs. Providence -- Did Richard III become ugly and deformed because of his evil nature, or is ugliness the precursor to evil? This may seem like an odd question, but it is something to look into.
• Was suffering under this tyrant ruler a necessary fall from innocence to bring "a restoration by divine grace" to England?
• "The political process seems endlessly prone to cynical manipulation, and triumph comes chiefly to those how know how to use rhetoric to calculated effect." ....Relevant to our day? YES

All in all, I'm looking forward to reading this play. In order to stay on track my schedule thus follows:

Mon (1/24) : Intro blog post (check!). Read Act I.
Tues (1/25): Read Act II & III
Wed (1/26): Read Act IV. Psych vs. Providence?
Thur (1/27): Read Act V. Political process? Restoration?
Fri (1/28): Watch Ian Mckellan's Richard III

"And that's the greatest thing ever written"

After such an overwhelmingly crazy week in school, this is how finishing Hamlet felt:

Phew.

taken from Whitney

Thankfully I found some more comic relief along the way.

(don't mind the quality)

Sorry Simpsons, but you didn't get the death order right...

Laertes gets stabbed by his own sword, which is poisoned, so he slowly dies from that.

Hamlet gets stabbed by Laertes poisoned sword, and starts to slowly die.

The Queen drinks from the poisoned goblet and dies.

Hamlet stabs the King and forces him to drink out of the poisoned goblet, so the King dies.

Laertes finally dies.

Hamlet dies.

The End.

But not the end for this blog--Hamlet will be revisited.

Worrier

FRUSTRATED with IntenseDebate. I set it up correctly, thought I was good to go, commented on a couple of blogs last week....but they didn't show up in my account?! It wouldn't stress me out so much if we weren't graded on comments. I think I've finally figured it out, but did that happen to any one else?

Any one feel like they're putting a lot of time into this but that it's not necessarily transferring over to something Dr. Burton is seeing?

I've really got to buckle down and regurgitate every Shakespeare thought, idea, reference, etc. I am coming across. Not too pleasant of an image...or necessarily a post for that matter, but I just had to get it out there. A couple of weeks in and I am more than uneasy about my grade.

Lucky Number 7

So I've got to get some goals set in stone before I continue on, but they will most likely evolve throughout the semester as I find certain sources I get more out of than others.

• Read the ENTIRE play or work we're assigned and underline passages. This may seem like a really simple goal, but I have a feeling I might get too caught up in other sources that I don't enjoy and take time with the primary work.
• Watch 2 performances of each play that we read. I've got to be realistic here for times sake, but I am not limiting myself to only two performances. I can think of about three Hamlet performances I reeeeally want to watch: Mel Gibson's (again), Kenneth Branagh's, David Tennant's (BBC, I saw the clip of his "To be, or not to be" speech and think it is better than Mel & Kenneth's)
• Memorize a passage....no specifics yet.
• Sarah has inspired me to really put myself out there and make a goal to be in an actual Shakespeare performance. I don't know if this will actually be fulfilled during the semester but I am determined to do it some time, however nervous it makes me just writing it...ehh.
• I'd like to have a good sense of what Shakespeare's popular plays are about. I hear them cited so often but I don't know them all. This would be more of a breadth goal, but a goal I think is useful in life. I'll write short summaries on this blog of each play we read and other popular plays that we aren't assigned.
• Going along with the theme of "quotidian Shakespeare" I want to find out more about Shakespeare's life. If I remember right, he's one mysterious guy, but I think as I search for information about his life and what parallels it has to what he wrote and when that I can find some interesting stuff. I'd love for comments of interesting tidbits people know about Shakespeare.
• I've always heard Shakespeare was a plagiarist, but never really believed it. Now there's proof of it in the back of my Shakespeare textbook, so I plan to read that about each play so I can get a better sense of what source they come from.

Seven too much? Isn't that supposed to be a lucky number? Wish me luck.

To end on:

Okay, the stares a little creepy. But the elocution? THE BEST!

Hamlet Ramblings

I chuckled to myself while reading the first scene of Hamlet:

"Holla! Bernardo!"
"Say, what, is Horatio there?"

because really, Shakespeare was a homeboy.

Seeing it this way made my husband suddenly interested in what I was reading. We searched around for Shakespeare dictionaries online and found some resources but no answers as to where "holla" came from. The site: http://www.acepilots.com/bard/ws_word.html shows you a selected amount of Shakespearean words and sayings, provides definitions and also sites a few places they're used in his literature. The creator of the website refers to Alexander Schmidt's Shakespeare Lexicon, which supposedly sites every instance of every word and in its context. Quite the gem for us Shakespeare folk. I think I might want to look into getting me a copy of that book. It would be interesting to ponder on how housewife could go from meaning "hussy, prostitute" to the image of a humble, self-sacrificing mother. But then again, these days the word housewife is regressing to Shakespeare's definition with television shows like "Desperate Housewives" and "The Real Housewives of Jersey Shore" (...or something like that).

FYI: I also found another site with a broader selection of terms(http://absoluteshakespeare.com/glossary/a.htm) that might be more helpful as a quick reference in the future. Any other suggestions or sites you know of? Our textbook has a glossary, too.


I may have just revealed my complete amateur knowledge of Shakespeare/Old English/Latin or where ever the word comes from, but come on, “Holla”? Don’t try to tell me he just misspelled “hola.”

I'm an Art history fan, so while I was reading the last scene of Act 1 where Hamlet, Horatio and Marcellus swear on their swords to keep the ghost of Hamlet’s father I couldn’t help but picture this painting…

Oath of the Horatii

…and wonder if there was a connection there. Horatio…Horatii? This painting depicts the three sons of Horatius swearing on their swords (held by their father) that they will defend Rome to the death…. Hamlet, Horatio and Marcellus each hold out their swords and swear upon them. See what I mean? “Oath of the Horatii” by Jacques-Louis David was painted in 1784, while the first edition of Hamlet appeared long before then, around 1600. That throws out the thought of Shakespeare being inspired by this painting, but I guess it could be the other way around. In any case, it’s something worth considering and I’d love to begin looking at art inspired by Shakespeare and vice versa.

A quote to end on:

Ghost: ….Remember me.
Hamlet: …Remember thee?
Yea, from the table of my memory
I’ll wipe away all trivial fond records,
All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past
That youth and observation copied there,
And thy commandment all alone shall live
Within the book and volume of my brain,
Unmixed with baser matter.

Drama queen or not, Hamlet’s sorrow and desperation go so deep that they tap into the vein of love. A fellow classmate, Martin Michalek said HERE that Hamlet is “in love with his sadness”, which I think is genius on Shakespeare’s part. What emotion has been expressed and understood through as many outlets as love? Conjoining emotions of love, sorrow and a passion for hopelessness makes Hamlet’s soliloquies a twisted sort of romantic that is heart wrenching and warming at the same time. Take these words out of context and you’ve found the key to a woman’s heart, mine at least.

When I think of Shakespeare

I think of sitting at the kitchen counter with my mom, listening to her recite from memory Hamlet's "To be, or not to be" speech and seeing, at that moment, my mother as a very intelligent woman. I was young and oblivious to those sort of details, so this sudden recognition is a distinct memory. I still remember looking down at the large, heavy Shakespeare collection sitting open on my lap and then looking back up at my mother reciting "...To die, to sleep-- To sleep--perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub..." so smartly and eloquently that I stopped looking down at the words because they were a meaningless distraction from their oration. That was the first time I truly saw Shakespeare.

In this class we'll be deeply involved with searching for other ways to view and understand Shakespeare. Along with those ways, I'd like to focus on seeing Shakespeare in the every day life of a college student, secretary, young adult, wife, friend, observer of society. I think the quotidian Shakespeare can help us discover much about our lives, the world we live in and illuminate how he is a writer more involved with today's society than any writer that has been.