I feel that this class was very beneficial when it comes to learning how to pick a play apart and be able to interpret it correctly. This class gave a new outlook on plays and how they can change over time but still hold true to the tone of the original play. I feel that i can now read almost any play and be able to look more in depth at the literary devices and styles that each author is portraying. I feel that the discussions over the play in class cleared the air of any confusion people had when reading the play. This open conversation motivated people to be apart of the discussion and better enhance the classes knowledge on Shakespeare. The only thing that i feel wasn’t as beneficial was the 5 question quizzes that were weighted pretty heavily. Shakespeare is already slightly difficult when trying to understand all the information, especially without a discussion. The quizzes were very short making it easier to do poorly, I feel instead it would be more fair to do 10 questions instead of 5 that way if you miss one you’re not making a B. Other than that i feel this class was a good one.
Blog #9
Shakespeare was known for his plays whenever he released them in the 1600’s however, entertainment has changed and devices and ways of interpreting the play has changed. I don’t think reading a play really gives you the full impact as it would if you were seeing it or hearing it. Television introduced the newest “plays” by having people act and create Tv shows and movies. This is the closest thing we have to a “play” like setting that is viewed by a large audience. Now directors are finding ways of making Shakespears stories into more modern interpretations while still holding onto the basic grasp of the story. Lion King is an example of how he can keep the main concept of the story, but using animals to replace the human aspect of the play. I feel that this is a more common way of viewing Shakespeare’s plays nowadays. There are a lot of major changes in political stances and other touchy subjects that people don’t want to point out as much when trying to show an interpretation of Shakespeare and I feel that is a big reason why directors are changing up how they want to go about showing his work.
Blog #8
The idea and concept is extremely relevant in this particular story. When the story was written in the 1600’s the black culture was almost ignored in regard to how the rest of the population was treated. This was shown several times throughout the story especially with Brabantio who isn’t directly racist, but commented that the only reason why his daughter could love this man is because he used magic to convince her. Basically he was saying there is no possible way that my daughter could like a man from that race, and there had to be alternative motives. Othello was an exception to the culture at that time. He was a Moore but was respected because of his accomplishments and almost respected as a normal citizen, but sparks of racism are seen throughout the story. “a black man has nothing to give to a whit woman – even a noble soldier such as Othello.” this basically sums up the feelings towards Othello. He was respected as a warrior and a country man, but when it all came down to it, there was still racist feelings towards Othello. This was seen through the play, and it showed no matter how successful you were at the time, the era was unjustifiably racist.
Blog 7
I feel that the reason people don’t know the play as well as other Shakespeare adaptations is because the time period that the play was released. This generation is a lot more accustomed to violence and the entertainment by it. When this play was released the time period was a lot more fragile with violence and the way a story was told. The morbid aspect of the story more than likely wasn’t widely accepted like violence in todays society. I think that the constant exposure to action movies and violence has helped create a widespread acceptance of the culture and style of violence in movies and TV shows. At the time of the plays released I could see how this play would be an outcast in regards to being a new genre that people had a hard time accepting. I feel that freedom of expression no matter how much people don’t like it or are offended by the content, is a lot more relevant today. the 21st century is flooded with violent TV shows, movies, and video games which I feel created a sort of comfort with the genre that didn’t exist in the 14th an
Blog #6
I absolutely think that over generations and through different cultures that “different forms of Shakespeare” appear. This can happen through the translation of language or just modernizing his plays to be more appealing to different generations. For example, one of Shakespears interpretations of Hamlet that we watched in class took place in a Blockbuster. This isn’t the traditional setting or time period for this particular play, but at the same time the main concepts were still portrayed, but in a different setting. So while the stories setting/time changes, they still held true to the main concepts of the story. In regards to India and how they used Shakespeare to teach English to people at the time, the translation between languages might hold different meanings. It can be hard to translate an Old English Dictionary to another language due to the “sayings” at the time. Even the English language today has different interpretations for words and sayings for old English references. Over the years I feel that it’s harder and harder to determine if something is the “original”. Because Shakespeare is so well known, there are probably so many different interpretations, and language translations that make it hard to find a truly “authentic” version.
Blog #5
In the play Merchants of Venice I feel that the relationship between Bossanio and Portia varies as the story progresses. At the beginning it was evident that Bossanio was in a lot of debt because of bad business deals, and while Portia had a great inheritance I feel that she chose Bossanio due to the poor selection of males. As the story progressed however you see the characters temperament change, especially Portia who eventually opens up and really I feel falls for Bossanio. It was evident because she went to great lengths to support him, even after he told her of his financial troubles. This goes to show that Portia legitimately cared for him and not his “worth”. On the case of Bossanio I feel that his motives changed once he realized the effort she was putting into their soon to be marriage. I feel that at the beginning there were motives on both sides, but as the story progressed their relationship grew stronger. Portia disguising herself to help Bossanio goes to show how far she was willing to go to support her husband, and this scene I feel was the turning point of how their love developed through the play.
Blog #4
Kate’s final speech I feel was a way for men at the time to try to humorously portray to their “woman” how to act without directly telling them. In a way I feel that Shakespeare had motives behind the gender role he created in this play. The added sarcastic tones to her final speech that helped make the message he was trying to portray “acceptable” rather than sexist. This was a more ambiguous approach, an almost hidden message that places expectation in a woman’s and or man’s mind of how a lady should act. This I feel was exactly the outcome that I felt Shakespeare wanted to exploit through his gender role he created for this play. This play was created in a time where the male population was trying to be in control of the relationship and actions of their significant other, and this can be seen time and time again through the play. This proves the point of how Shakespeare could of possibly used this scene to expose the worst traits of a women to make the rest of the population more self conscious about how women were treating their husbands. Obviously times have changed, and the message of this play is seen in a negative light than it did when it was created.
Blog #3
In Shakespeare’s The Taming Of the Shrew there is a lot of satire in the way men and women treat each other. Just in the title, “Taming” this can be viewed as sexist because of the concept of taming a female is almost animalistic. In previous Shakespearean plays women have played powerful roles in which they had influence like Romeo and Juliet, and Macbeth. In The Taming of the Shrew that is not the case, instead of marrying for love the characters are marrying for financial purposes which is not a traditional reason to marry. I won’t go as far to say the Shakespeare was sexist, but rather he was showing the extreme of females in this story and adding a humorous value to how men go about trying to court themselves. This play almost pokes fun at both sides, how men are close-minded and only want what other people want rather than what is best for them. You see this vividly with Lucentio and Hortensio in their bitter competition to win the heart of Bianca. Neither of them are truly in love with her, but it’s almost rather a competition between the two. On the other hand they depict females as controlling, and bad character. This was relevant until the wedding day of Katherine and Petruchio in which Petruchio was able to lower Katherine on the power ladder by telling her she was his property now and that she has to listen to him now. While it shows the extremes of both sides, I feel that gender roles will probably play out to be a big part of this play.
Blog #2
Theatre in itself is an extremely powerful way to express emotion, and adding a theatre style within a play does exactly that. The play that Hamlet requests from the actors is extremely ironic in the sense that It was basically the same story as his. Being able to use a theatrical approach in this play was an effective way of exposing what he knew to Claudius. Adding scenes to better fit what Claudius did was Hamlets way of seeing if he felt guilty for the crimes that he committed. Without the addition of the play within a play I don’t think that the message that Hamlet wanted to send would nor of been possible. This is the first time in the play that the reader realizes that Claudius was the one to blame for the death of Hamlet’s father. I feel like in this particular scene that the concept of theatre being a mirror to nature is correct. The play and the struggles that were felt by Hamlet were able to be converted into a play in which Claudius realized that Hamlet knew his wrongdoings towards his family. Theatre being able to mirror the struggles that Hamlet was facing was a great addition to the story and really added a dramatic feel to the scene.
Blog #1
The use of comedy in Hamlet and other plays written by Shakespeare is far and few between. Puns, and a sort of dry humor is present in certain parts of Hamlet, but I feel it is exactly what was stated in the prompt. The use of light hearted humor helps take a slight edge off the tragedy’s intensity. The play and the story itself on paper has no sort of humor in it, especially when you get into the dark story, and the whole concept of Hamlet going through the death of his family and everyone thinking he had “gone mad”. The story was not intended to be humorous, only an added style that can give readers and viewers a slight break from the intensity of the story. I feel Shakespeare was beyond his time in regards to being able to capture several emotions that he can tie together to create a story that keeps people captivated, but still holds true to the feeling and emotions that he is trying to portray through his drama type of writing. I’m sure through several plays that we read this semester that he will still use this sort of style as an almost comic relief from the morbid stories he enjoys telling.
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