Progress Report
Learning outcomes: The goals I drafted in my learning plan were to read the entire play assigned, watch two performances of each play, attain a breadth of knowledge of Shakespeare's popular plays and learn more about the history of Shakespeare. I have met those goals, but changed the two performances to one performance for times sake. I haven't blogged much about Shakespeare's life but I am in the process of watching a series of episodes about his life that BBC made. I have fulfilled learning outcomes--1: A,B,C,D, 2: A,B,C,D, and 4:C. For learning outcome 3 I'm planning to either be a part of the flash mob or memorize a passage on my own.
Reading and Research: I have read Hamlet, Richard III, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Macbeth and The Tempest. I've referenced the journal Shakespeare Quarterly a few times for critical articles on the plays. I have also pursued film adaptations of the plays, looked to my peers and family for information and study, browsed the internet, and used our textbook as a resource for introductions, bibliographies, and timelines. I plan to check out what the library has to offer, as well.
Personal Impact: I've been amazed and how much I've enjoyed simply reading the text. I guess I have been so caught up on the "Shakespeare is hard to understand" dilemma that started long ago that I assumed I would still struggle with it. I think that this class has shaped that experience because 1) I choose to read the plays I am interested in 2) I have to take the time and search for things beyond the text that bring the play to life 3) I have to also take the time to see explore my questions/thoughts/ideas on Shakespeare. I am motivated, not only for this class but for other inquiries I have in the future, by the fact that there are so many enriching resources out there! I am being drawn to the visual, hands on, aspect of Shakespeare like art, scenery, costume etc. I am also interested in a psycho-analysis of the plays. Both are broad but I'm searching for a specific focus.
Personal Evaluation: I think I've done well analyzing the text and performances of the plays, searching for ties within our contemporary world, culture and my own personal life and consistently sharing what I've learned through blogging. Some of the posts I feel I put a lot of work into and got a lot out of are Scansion and An Actor's Point of View. Shakespeare's plays are very rich and I don't feel like I've even scratched the surface with each play that I've read. I need to pay more attention to what is behind each character, plot, and the language with literary theories and analysis.
Peer Influence: These three stand out in my mind, and when I checked in my "Starred Items" in Google Reader their posts were listed most often. Brooke R. focuses on interesting visuals of Shakespeare in her "behind-the scenes" approach. I specifically remember her post Beauty is Pain about the cosmetics in Shakespeare. Cara C.'s posts have incredible amounts of historical context that range from gee-whiz-facts to essential information. I'm especially impressed by the post she did About the Author, and motivated to dip more into the life of Shakespeare. Also, Bryan M. not only has substantial posts but I've also noticed on IntenseDebate and with one of my own posts that he does really well with carrying on critical conversation--contributing to other classmate's blogs with substantial comments.
