Are we there yet?: My Self Evaluation of "See Shakespeare"

Alright, we're at the end of the road people. Now it's time to evaluate this blog. Many thanks to Whitney C. and her peer-evaluation of this blog a week ago. Her advice and critiques were much need, as well as her praises! :)

Posts:

• Quantity-I have 35 posts, 13 of which are dedicated to my focus. I didn't decide my research focus until later on in the semester when we were told to choose one. I think 13 is a sufficient amount to develop my thesis, although I definitely think I could write many more posts on the subject in the future.
• Content-I think my posts have a good variety to them. Writing about my focus made it difficult for me to introduce new and different mediums like I did in my previous posts, but I included images that reflected the subject of my post and were also eye-catching. Whitney C. suggested adding some videos to my post, so I included a news report in one and a movie clip of a scene I analyzed in King Lear. I wrote a familial analysis of three primary texts: A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hamlet, and King Lear.
• Format-Once Dr. Burton mentioned we pay closer attention to our titles I started to be more specific with mine. Previously my titles were a bit informative about the post but they were mostly lures into reading my blog. I've included page breaks in some of my more lengthy posts and tagged all of my posts with Labels. I also included a Search box in the top right hand corner. I've tried to make it very easy to find what you're looking for on my blog.

Research: 

• Thematic Focus-I think my theme of Familial Shakespeare is clearly stated and either mentioned or linked back to in every research post. I attempted to make the design of my blog reflect the theme in some way but I'm not sure it worked. I tried to keep the simplicity of my blog intact, but jazzed it up a little with a world map in the background (Shakespeare's illustrations of family are universal and timeless...get it?)
• Thesis & Cohesion- My final hub post is sectioned off so the reader can clearly read my focus and formulated thesis. I've also linked back to relevant posts in the "Support/Evidence" section. 
• Sources-My sources are cited at the bottom of each post their referenced in and I've included a "Sources" tab where all the sources I've used are listed.

Personal & Social:

• Author identity-You know, I wasn't too sure how I was doing in this department. Is my personality coming through in this blog? I hope so. Whitney C. gave me some positive encouragement here in her peer-evaluation, so I think I am doing okay. After reading through the evaluation criteria when doing a peer-evaluation of Claire Hopkins blog I decided to reveal my "About Me" section. I chose to keep it hidden earlier on in the blog because it is the same "About Me" as my personal blog and I thought it might not be relevant. Either way, now the reader knows more about me. I hope it is helpful in getting my identity across.
• Documentation of Process- Just as Whitney C. said, I did not do so well with documenting my process. I think I got caught up in trying to write really good posts and forgot that I could post a snippet here and there with "this is where I'm going...this is what I'm doing." To make up for this I included a paragraph in my final hub about how my focus evolved throughout my research and why. 
• Interactions- I linked back to other student's posts that related to what I was studying. I also linked back to and commented on some student's blogs that might be interested in what I was writing about. I think I could've done a better job with this at the end. The last few posts I wrote were so focused on my thesis that I narrowed my posts to just my thoughts and findings.

Design: As I mentioned previously, I changed the color and design of my blog to be more relevant to my thesis and aesthetically pleasing. In class, Dr. Burton suggested I make my widget titles more descriptive. I've done so, but I'm afraid they might be too wordy now? I also switched up my widgets in order of relevance. I think my widgets are appropriate and geared towards making the reader's experience better.

Final Hub: Wrapping up Shakespeare and the Family

Focus:
My research focus started out as a filial analysis on Shakespeare's works. Once I realized "filial" was specific to parent-child relationship I thought I'd broaden my research to a familial analysis of Shakespeare. But then it felt too broad and overwhelming so I broke the familial analysis into five parts and then shortened it to three:

• Love & Marriage
• Tragedy in the Family
• Filial: Parent-child Relationship 

Finally, when it boiled down to the wrapping up of the blog, I realized what my focused had turned into: Shakespeare and tragedy in the family. This focus encompasses some of his plays, biological information about Shakespeare's own life, and how responses to tragedy parallel between the modern family and the Elizabethan family. 


Thesis:
Familial relationships in Shakespeare's works parallel directly with his own life and the views of the time. I argue that the Elizabethan familial relationships are the same as today, and that we can use these relationships portrayed in Shakespeare's literature as tools to learn from the pitfalls and successes. 


Support/Evidence:
First, I began learning about the life of Shakespeare in Michael Wood's documentary "In Search of Shakespeare" and wrote about Shakespeare as a son, husband, and father in one, two, three and four parts.
Then I researched Elizabethan marriage in Bruce Young's Family Life in the Age of Shakespeare. I wrote about the three types of marriage in Elizabethan times that are illustrated in A Midsummer Night's Dream:  love, lust and companionate.
Next, I wrote about how families are central to most of Shakespeare's tragedies. Shakespeare used tragedy as a way to illustrate the values of family and how the bonds are strengthened through adversary. I referred to modern examples of tragedies that affect the family like the shooting in Brazil and the earthquake/tsunami in Japan. I also referred back to the biographical research I wrote about on Shakespeare and how when his son, Hamnet, died Shakespeare responded by mending the relationship he had with his father.
Shakespeare also illustrated through some of his plays that tragedies can tear families a part. Tragedy in Hamlet is a result of "family feelings" and Hamlet being forced to internalize those feelings. I mentioned a psychological study that concluded young people have a higher risk of suicide attempt when they've experience the death of a biological parent. Shakespeare also demonstrated how tragedy can further detriment a family had an affair after his son, Hamnet's, early death.
Finishing my research focus with King Lear, I discussed how King Lear actually portrays the ideal filial relationship. I used the example of Lear and his daughter, Cordelia's, reconciliation through repentance, forgiveness and unconditional love.


Conclusion:
Shakespeare's illustration of the family not only reflects Elizabethan society but modern society as well. Focusing on subjects such as tragedy, Shakespeare's characters become timeless and their issues hauntingly familiar. Because Shakespeare experienced tragedy in his family first-hand--a failure of father, a gun-shot possibly love-less marriage, and the death of a young child---his characters are genuine and their experiences are real. We can learn from much of what Shakespeare illustrates about families in his, plays, their successes and their failures. 

The Ideal Filial Relationship in King Lear

As I conclude my focus on the familial Shakespeare, I end with the play King Lear from which my research was inspired by. In King Lear, Shakespeare focuses on the filial relationships of Lear and Gloucester. "Lear and Gloucester are both flawed fathers who learn from what they suffer and are finally reconciled with a child they have mistreated" (Young 91)*.

"Though the play initially grounds the parent-child bond in nature, duty, and reciprocity, by the end, when Lear and Cordelia are reconciled, it becomes something of even greater value and significance." When Cordelia and Lear reconcile their relationship they use language of repentance, forgiveness and unconditional love. Cordelia asks for her father's blessing, and he kneels to ask for her forgiveness (Young 92).


King Lear, Act IV Scene VII 

Shortly after the father and daughter have been reunited, Cordelia is captured and hung. Because Shakespeare made their earthly relationship short-lived, perhaps he was alluding that the importance did not lie in physical manifestations. How tragic the ending may seem, Cordelia and Lear captured the essence of an ideal parent-child relationship, and maybe even any familial relationship. Cordelia asks her father, "Sir, do you know me?" and he admits that his foolishness, ignorance and skewed perspective had previously made that question difficult to answer. But now, he is aware of his flaws and humbly accepts his daughter, "I think this lady/To be my child Cordelia". Hand in hand, Lear asks for his daughters support and forgiveness "You must bear with me./Pray you now, forget and forgive. I am old and foolish." I believe this is the scene where Shakespeare speaks the most about family. We see that repentance, forgiveness and unconditional love are the vehicles through which we may truly know those we call family.

After a career of fame, wealth, and status Shakespeare returned home to live out the last days of his life. Having been an absent father, I assume that as Shakespeare wrote King Lear, 10 years before his death, that he longed for the day when he could ask his family for forgiveness and to accept him back into the home. This is probably more speculation than not, but if you watch, listen, read and truly see the familial relationships in Shakespeare's literature, there is no doubt of the feelings--whether they be longings, lofty ideals, or realities--for his family.

*Family Life in the Age of Shakespeare by Bruce Young

Hamlet: A Detrimental Familial Response to Tragedy

Familial relationships in Shakespeare's works parallel directly with his own life and the views of the time. I believe that Elizabethan familial relationships are the same as today, and that we can use these relationships portrayed in Shakespeare's literature as tools to learn from the pitfalls and successes. 

As I mentioned in my previous post, tragedy not only directly affects families but illustrates the value of families at the same time. Revenge for a father's death is, of course, a central issue in Hamlet--not just for Hamlet himself but also Laertes and Fortinbras. In Family Life in the Age of Shakespeare, Bruce Young explains the connection between family and tragedy in Shakespeare's Hamlet:

"The tragedy results in large part from the intensity of family feelings...Hamlet's anguish...comes from his sense that his mother is deficient in family feeling, failing to grieve adequately for his father and marrying a close relative, with the result that the marriage is incestuous, as it would have been according to English standards. Even apart from that issue, Hamlet is troubled by the confusion of family roles: Claudius and Gertrude are now his "uncle-father and aunt-mother". Of course, Hamlet wants no one to substitute for his dead father. Hamlet...remains one of the world literature's richest and most fascinating treatments of family life." (91, emphasis added)

"Family feelings" is an essential issue in Hamlet because it is what ultimately drives such a tragic ending. Hamlet seems to internalize all of the family feelings about his father's death. He is the only one who expresses depression and anger and who struggles with issues of life and death. Not that his mother doesn't feel sorrow, but she does not express it and her quick re-marriage does not represent it. Hamlet, therefore, must be the one to mope around, question his beliefs, and avenge his father's death because he represents the grieving process. Sadly enough, this is a universal issue within families experiencing tragedy. Many times one child takes the brunt of the family, acts out those intense emotions and more often than not, it results in a more tragic experience than the first. As was such the case with Hamlet--suicide and murder.

I found a study from the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry that studied the young people's risk of suicide attempts in relation to the death of a parent. Interestingly enough, the study was based on a group of Danish children (if this doesn't ring a bell, Hamlet was the Prince of Denmark). The study concluded that "Experiencing the death of one or both biological parents increased the risk of suicide attempts in young people" (181). Hamlet's "To be, or not to be" speech toys with the idea of suicide and, guessing by his demeanor throughout the play, a reader knows his fate does not end well. While Hamlet does not actually commit suicide, Ophelia does after the death of her father.

While some tragedies strengthen the bonds of family, Shakespeare also illustrates in Hamlet how the results of tragedy can tear a family a part. After the death of Shakespeare's son, Hamnet, Shakespeare reacted in a couple of ways, one of which was repairing the relationship between him and his own father. Another way Shakespeare responded is a real life representation on how tragedy, if responded to inappropriately, can cause continued detriment to the family. Michael Wood speculates, in In Search of Shakespeare, that Shakespeare also reacted by taking on a mistress. He had an affair with a married woman, who was musical, and had "dark skin". This woman, Emilia Bassano, drove Shakespeare "mad with desire and guilt."

Thus, Shakespeare gives us two choices following tragedy, it can either strengthen the bond or tear the family a part. There is no in-between in the eyes of Shakespeare.

Familial Involvement and Reponse to Tragedy

Familial relationships in Shakespeare's works parallel directly with his own life and the views of the time. I believe that Elizabethan familial relationships are the same as today, and that we can use these relationships portrayed in Shakespeare's literature as tools to learn from the pitfalls and successes. 

One section of my focus, familial Shakespeare, is about tragedy in the family. I believe this is an important connection to make between the contemporary family and Elizabethan family because tragedy is universal and, quite frankly, has occurred and will occur every day. 

When I think of tragedy in the modern world involving families, I think of the latest incident in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, when a man opened gunfire in an elementary school. He killed 12 children, and injured another 12. 

Disclaimer: This video contains disturbing images.

Tragedy, like this, is sickening and depressing. It brings with it fear, anger, sadness, feelings of hopelessness and lack of control. Anything can happen, anywhere, and to anyone. You can't help but be weighed down by the disastrous reality of it. We feel and see the same thing happening in regards to the earthquake/tsunami in Japan.

 

So many helpless people were killed, homes were destroyed, and resources diminished. It's easy to become overwhelmed by darkness, yet there is always a light that emerges. Somehow familial bonds are strengthened through death and tragedy.


In Shakespeare's plays families are central to most of the tragedies. This means that families are "subject to horrific strains including betrayal, deception, egotism, jealousy, hatred, violence, and the accidents and assaults of fortune, nature and human family. Although the families succumb, in many cases, to these strains, the plays nevertheless demonstrate the value of families--otherwise we would not be moved by the tragic outcomes--as well as the powerful emotions, both positive and negative, associated with family life. The tragedies also deal with the ethical and philosophical issues, including the nature of familial love, the relation of family and personal identity, and the role of family in social and political life and in the cosmos." (Young 90)

Shakespeare's son, Hamnet, died at the age of 11 from a terrible sickness. Michael Wood believes, in In Search of Shakespeare: The Duty of a Poet, that one way Shakespeare reacted to Hamnet's death demonstrates the strengthening and/or mending of familial bonds in the midst of tragedy. Immediately after his son's death, Shakespeare applied for a coat of arms for his father, John, as a way to recompense his reputation. He was granted the coat of arms, gaining the title of a gentleman and restoring his father's name. After losing his son, it seems as though Shakespeare wanted to mend the relationship with his father as a way to cope with his son's death.

Thus, tragedy not only directly affects families but illustrates the value of families at the same time. Toru Kikawada realized the importance of families through loss. Others are reunited through tragedy, both physically and emotionally. Either way, those of us affected and those of us on-lookers, gain a renewed perspective of family when tragedy strikes.

Peer Review: Claire Hopkins, Shakespeare and Education

To begin finishing off our blogs for the semester, Dr. Burton has assigned each of us to review another student's blog. He's given us helpful evaluation criteria in order to shape our feedback to be succinct and beneficial. I reviewed Claire Hopkins Mizukawa's blog Musing's of a Wise-ish Fool Her focus is Shakespeare and Education.

Posts:
    Quantity: Claire has ample information supporting her thesis. There are 13 links in her hub posts, a few of which link to other student's blogs that relate to her focus.
    Content: Claire has a good variety of posts including book reviews, analyzing movies in relation to Shakespeare, creating a Wordle, and creating her own "book trailer". She does analyze themes of primary texts, but she does not have any direct textual analysis in relation to her focus.
    Format: The titles to her post are very clear. She uses page breaks for lengthy posts, but keeps most of her posts succinct and easily readable. Claire also uses labels.

Research:
     Thematic Focus: The theme of teaching Shakespeare is clear in her hub post, supporting posts, and overall design of the blog (if you look at the map in the back ground it reminds me of a class setting).
     Thesis & Cohesion: Claire's thesis is "the most effective way for me to teach Shakespeare would be through finding ways to apply it to students' lives." Her thesis isn't groundbreaking news but it's practical, which I think is the best way to go with a focus on teaching Shakespeare. All of her posts are cohesive and dedicated to her theme.
     Sources: Her source page is clearly organized and her information is appropriately linked and cited. Good work on the MLA formatting.


Personal and Social:
      Author identity: Claire does a great job writing facts and research with a personable, informal voice. You can tell how passionate she is about teaching by the overall feeling of the blog but also by each post. Her About Me section gives any passerby her name and a quick synopsis of the purpose of her blog (although it does not include her focus on Education).
     Documentation of Process: It seems like Claire begins every post with some sort of personal note, story, or reason of why she is writing about what follows. It makes it personable but also involves the reader in her thinking and researching process.
     Interaction: In her hub post she explicitly links to other student's blogs and explains how she has interacted with them while researching her focus. She has also made contacts outside of the classroom, one example being a renown elementary school teacher that she interviewed.
      Design: Claire has kept her blog design simple and the colors are not only aesthetically pleasing but also easy to see and read. Her only widget, apart from the default widgets, is a Label cloud so her page doesn't feel cluttered or overwhelming by any means. I really like the design of her blog and it's inspired me to make some changes on my own.






Overall, Claire's blog seems pretty much finished. She's done really well posting consistently and about interesting topics that support her focus. She's tied up all of the loose ends in her hub post and cited all of her sources. Claire's blog is an example to look to, I think, in what our Shakespeare blogs should be. I'm glad I was able to review her blog so that now I have a good idea as to what a finished product looks like. Thanks, Claire!

In honor of your soon-to-be-teacherhood! :)

Pre-Hub Hub

"hubs" via here

To be honest, I was a little shocked when Dr. Burton announced on Wednesday that we needed to write a hub post for Monday. I was planning on another week, at least, of posts that would further develop my focus of familial Shakespeare! Thankfully I was able to talk to Dr. Burton after class and share my anxiety. I told him that this hub post would not be filled with very many links or as developed since I hadn't planned for a hub post so soon, but he told me that it was fine and that this was more of a chance to get things going. Phew! I thought Mandy's hub-post was clearly formatted and informative but not intimidating, so I will follow her example with a few changes.


Focus:
I began my focus on the familial Shakespeare. I decided this was too broad to write about with each post so I broke it into 5 parts which I have now shortened to 3:

• Love & Marriage
• Tragedy in the Family
• Filial: Parent-child Relationship

Within each category is Shakespeare's own biographical information, historical information of the time, an in-depth analysis of the topic in one of Shakespeare's plays, and how it relates to the modern family.

Thesis: 

Familial relationships in Shakespeare's works parallel directly with his own life and the views of the time. I argue that the Elizabethan familial relationships are the same as today, and that we can use these relationships portrayed in Shakespeare's literature as tools to learn from the pitfalls and successes. 

Support/Evidence:

• First, I began learning about the life of Shakespeare in Michael Wood's documentary "In Search of Shakespeare" and wrote about him as a son, husband, and father in one, two, three and four parts.
• Then I started 1 of the 3 sections I am focusing on within my topic by researching Elizabethan marriage in Bruce Young's Family Life in the Age of Shakespeare. I wrote about the three types of marriages in Elizabethan times that are illustrated in A Midsummer Night's Dream.
• Next will be Tragedy in the Family with a close analysis of Hamlet. I will compare the reaction of families to tragedy in Elizabethan and modern times.
• Finally, I will spend the majority of my time analyzing filial relationships within King Lear. This was the beginning inspiration for my familial focus so I think it is appropriate to end where I began.