Now Showing! Taming of the Shrew!

What: Watching Taming of the Shrew (it is two hours long)
Where: Carriage Cove Apt. 113 (Building four)
When: Tuesday, 1 Feb. 2011 at seven
Who: Everyone!

I will provide some sort of treat! If you come park on the street my complex is crazy when it comes to towing. Next week I will be showing Othello, for all who are interested!

Last night a few of us got together and watch Hamlet. Apart from the last 45 minutes skipping it was really good!  This post is my reaction to the movie and as well as answers to questions I had. 


Q: Why wasn't Hamlet King? 
A: In Denmark at this time they operated with an elective monarchy. 
Q: What is an elective monarchy?
A: "In an elective monarchy, court officials–noblemen in high standing–selected the new king by vote. The son of a king was, to be sure, the prime candidate for the royal chair, and usually he won it. But the voting nobles had the right to reject him in favor of another candidate. And that was precisely what happened in fictional Elsinore. The nobles approved the king’s brother, Claudius." (This is from a site called Short Essays on Hamlet). 

Two things

I forgot to write in my last post that watching the movie was part of the 1-c requirement of the learning outcomes. I will also be going to the showing of Hamlet tonight in another effort to fulfill 1-c.

Also as promised I have decided what the continuous theme of my blog is going to be. As I read, watch and participate in class I find myself asking with increasing frequency, what was this like in Shakespeare's time. So for my topic of discussion I am going to do the research. I have a list of things that I am going to look into and when possible compare to modern times or modern representations and the great mans work. I have not started this yet however this week end I am going  to.

Here is the list I have developed thus far: womens place in society, clothing, education, meals, soldiers (one thought along with this is, was fighting compulsory), officers, calvary, stances on plundering and pillaging, theater audiences (the structure), criminal punishment. This is just a quick list I am still working on more ideas. 

I will try to get started on this this weekend! 

War Over Tennis Balls, Really?: My Thoughts on Henry V

 I understand that there was more going on than my reactions to watching and reading along to Henry V but I think I am interesting so you can read my reactions if you want! The first reaction is the title. And one that I am not going to put in the bullet because I am willing to acknowledge you are more like to read the bullets than this, (especially as it gets longer!) is one that I am embarrassed about. Confession #1: It took me more than thirty seconds to figure out who King Harry was!

Swiss Cheese: A Holes Syllabus and Some Suggestions to Fill the Gaps

The title is because for some students there are holes in the plans for this class. I have a few bullet points that I will list below that I want to discuss about this class. This not really a rant merely and explanation of concerns and problems I know some of us are experiencing and do not know how to deal with. 

Plan B

Sarajane and Johnny (and anyone interested),

So I called around to a bunch of movie stores and they did not have any record of any copy of any Henry V. So will it still work for you Johnny to watch it at your place? Folks who are reading Henry V (and anyone interested) check Johnny's blog, Blog-O-Shakespeare, in our group today we planned out a movie night and Johnny is going to see if net flicks has Henry V so we can watch and read along together tomorrow night. It will be fun and there will be food (you are encouraged to bring some as well), you should all come! Below is a clip if you need more persuasion.

Sharing Searches?

So I thought about this after class today and want to know what you all think. I think it would be interesting if once or twice the class was to meet in a computer lab and show each other  how they are conducting their research. Or I guess we could meet in class and people just use the computer in class to do this. This might not beneficial to all but I am not the best at research and think it would be helpful. What do you all think?

Can you all comment on all the other class members pages?

Can you all comment on all of the class members pages? I read a really cool post about Shakespeare and Condalisa Rice on Natashya's blog but I could not figure out how to comment. So Natashya I entirely agree with you about aggrievement and entitlement. Hamlet should not have moped around the castle, though he did have plenty of reasons to. But if he had gone out and done something for someone else rather than think about himself for the duration of the play, a lot of people might of believed him, lived and and he might have been able to be king sooner and thereby attain as much justice as he could for his father.

Natashya thank you for your post I had not thought it that way I had just accepted it as what is and gone with it so I appreciate your thinking!

Better Late than Never!!! A Self Directed Learning Plan For English 382 at BYU

Self Directed Learning Plan

My Interpretation of the Learning Outcomes

Gain Shakespeare Literacy

a.       Breadth – After each play we are choosing to read over the next four week I will write a post about what I learned about the play. One of the things I am interested in studying based on this bullet is to study Shakespeare’s understanding of characterization. I am, as I read, going to look for other topics to write about.

Renaissance Man: Comedy Today and Shakespeare

My family has a lot of family favorite films, they include What About Bob?, Sgt. Bilko, Big Business, Father of the Bride (one and two), and My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Another film on this list is a 1994 movie with Danny Devito called Renaissance Man. This is a movie about a man who is fired from his job in advertising and after going to unemployment for a check or a job for quite some time they finally find him a position. the position is teaching kids in boot camp for the army who are just not quite as well educated as the others. There is no teacher’s manual so Devito ends up teaching them Hamlet. 

Rolling the Dice: What To Study In Skakespeare When the Decision is Left Up to the Students, My Picks

This blog is just a brief update and explanation on what plays I chose to read from each of the categories. Don't worry i did not actually roll a dice to makes this decision!

For the history I am going to read Henry V. The reason for this is because freshman year when when were learning about pathos, ethos and logos in my English 251 class my professor showed us a clip from Henry V and, the Kenneth Branagh version, and it was quite inspiring.

A Time to Kill

In class we talked about how Hamlet seems the most hesitant to avenge his father. This intrigued me. As stated in class Laertes comes to kill someone the very day he finds out his father is dead. Fortinbras is willing to go to war for the sake of his father's death, even after the man responsible has been killed. And yet it is said that two months pass between the death of Hamlet Sr. and Claudius. I found an explanation for Hamlets hesitation that I really liked. However, before I get to that I want to explain something else. I have already confessed that I have trouble reading the lines when it comes to Shakespeare let alone reading between the lines. I understood before that Hamlet was only acting crazy so as to be able to get away with things that he otherwise would not have been able to. The death of Polonius is an example of this. I understand that he meant to kill the king not Polonius, but the point is that he got out of the situation not only because he was the Prince but also because they all thought he had a couple loose screws. The point of stating the above is that I am explaining why I needed help reaching the following conclusion. On to the explanation! They wrote it so well that I am going to quote them:

He pitches! She Swings! And . . .! Foul Ball!

I am going to start by explaining my previous experience with Shakespeare. In tenth grade I read Hamlet in my English class and did not understand it until after we had watch the Mel Gibson and Kenneth Branaugh version. Also that year I was the narrator for the school play. Why? Because it was As You Like It and guess what? I was not the only high schooler who had no idea what the genius was saying. The next experience came four years later . . . oh my gosh I feel old . . . it was this summer when I went to the Shakespearean festival in Cedar City with my aunt. This is where I fell in love with Shakespeare. My sympathies could take no solid allegiance at the end of The Merchant of Venice. I was shocked and appalled at the lengths the Macbeth's went  to climb the social ladder and the how wide the doorway to the pathway to hell can swing open when one only peeks through. And cried till I laughed as I watched Beatrice and Benedick engage in battles of whit over and over again. Then crack! like a slap in the face from the first page of Hamlet I am struggling with Shakespeare again. You can call me stupid and accuse me of being in the wrong major but I could hear the whoosh as the words went flying over my head. Don't get me wrong I understand the just of what is going on, I am not a total idiot, but i feel like I am missing out on a lot as I read. This frustrating fact has lead me to the conclusion Shakespeare scholars around the world will agree on, Shakespeare is meant to be seen in a theater. Some may think there is value in reading the text, however, apart from it being cheaper, I am having difficulties with the idea. Are there any sympathizer out there?