Midterm Self-Assessment

"words, words, words..."

"WORDS, WORDS, WORDS!!!"

Unlike Hamlets sardonic remark to Polonius about what he was reading, "words, words, words..." I have grown to love all of the "words, words, words" we have read from the assortment of plays we have been reading.  Separate from my like or disdain for a particular character, I appreciate the art and skill of powerful verbal (Shakespeare was intended to be spoken) expression for deep feelings, complicated thoughts and clever ideas.    

LEARNING OUTCOMES

1.  How have I gained Shakespeare literacy?

I have learned that Shakespeare himself did not comment on his own plays, except by virtue of writing more plays.  In other words you cannot get the big picture by extensively studying just one play.  To study Shakespeare inherently means reading, discussing and analyzing many plays.  For this reason, breadth is important.  Finding connections within and between the plays our classes spectrum of Shakespeare has been important.  As we have discussed, Shakespeare comments through his plays on the attributes and tendencies that grace and plague our society; love, forgiveness, hatred, power, ambition, etc., are but a few of the themes Shakespeare addresses in the plays we have read in our class. 

In addition to the necessity for having a large scope in our Shakespeare experience, it is important to have depth.  Reading Shakespeare is like a road trip.  You could drive from coast to coast to get a feel for what you will find in our country; but you could also spend hours at the Lincoln Memorial, or spend a week hiking in the Rocky Mountains.  In other words, you could spend a lifetime pondering and experiencing the brilliant details of a single act or scene from a play.  In this case, it is good to be a sponge.  I have focused on Macbeth this semester.  One evening in the library, I was studying with a friend.  We had a great conversation about Macbeth.  I got to share some of my excitement for the characterization found in this play.  The characters are very complex, and it’s incredible to think about the relationship between thoughts and actions of relative to the evolution of character.  It is a tragedy that in small degrees we see all around us in the lives of individuals and our society.

My understanding of what to expect and think about when I go to a performance is greatly enhanced.  My enjoyment of an activity goes up the more I have to think about.  To say that something has an acquired taste can be a high compliment.  Baseball for example was BORING!!! until I learned more of the strategy of the game.  I didn’t realize how intense a chess match a pitcher undertakes when he faces the batting lineup.  Likewise, I now like to anticipate how a production will portray certain aspects of a play that I have studied. 

Blogging!!!  This has been particularly intimidating for me.  I feel in some ways that “I was born a hundred years too late,” to quote an old Ned Tucker song that I would always listen to in my grandpa’s truck.   I know how to send an email, and I can change the font of text in Word, but things like facebook haven’t gone airborne for me.  But I am intrigued by this new medium.  I have enjoyed reading blogs, and having a new way to discuss ideas.  In addition to liking the idea, I’ve had to learn how to portray strong ideas with different combinations of words, images, video clips, fonts, background, and other aspects of presentation. 

2.  How have I analyzed Shakespeare critically?


I have approached each play we have read with a pen in my hand.  I have underlined passages in ways that have allowed me to have quick reference in social discussion, and to focus on important lines and that highlight for me the most personally beneficial aspects of the plays.  Through marking various passages in the text, I have been able to find themes that otherwise would have been hidden to me.  For example, in my personal play Macbeth, I was able to focus on a particular theme that intrigued me, but that isn't explicitly spoken of as a classic theme from Macbeth.  I focused on an element of irony that was evidenced throughout the play, and this was at least ground breaking for me, and so I had to try and find some way of clarifying this theme for me, as well as those following my blog.

In The Winter's Tale, I decided to find a scholarly journal for my analysis.  I was drawn to the character Autolycus.  He was an interesting character that had a surprising influence on the development of the plot and the concluding experiences of the characters of the play.  Others in our class have talked about how the names of different characters have significance.  Autolycus is among that category.     

In my most recent post, I talked about how our modern concept of entertainment has perhaps imposed a different cast-audience relationship in a performance than what was expected in Shakespeare's day.  The fact that we went to the University of Utah to be entertained rather than to influence the cast in how they characterized their characters, cause me to think about my role as a spectator.

Because I have focused much of my studies this semester on analyzing Shakespeare, it is becoming apart of my speech.  I with that more people would know what I'm talking about if I make a reference to one of Shakespeare's plays.  


3.  How have I engaged Shakespeare creatively?


Hopefully it's okay that I haven't done alot of memorizing of Shakespeare yet because that is what I will be doing for my final project.  Averill and I had a recent conversation in which we bounced some ideas back a forth for how we can put together a diverse but cohesive one act play.  We will be memorizing lines, but also try our pen at writing a few lines our selves.  I actually just bought the pen Shakespeare used for everyone of his plays on ebay, so I'm off to a great start.

Though I haven't extensively memorized lines from Shakespeare's plays, and can confidently say that I can spell his name now.  In addition to this great spelling feat, there are a few one liners that have made a great impression on me, and have stayed with me.   


4.  How have I shared Shakespeare meaningfully?


This semester has been a good exposure to the medium of social learning.  I have made great strides in learning how to present my ideas in a way that others will actually take the time to read and think about them.  I just went through each of my blogs; my presentation has changed dramatically from day one.  On a piece of paper, I wrote the title of each blog I have done and next to it I wrote a comment on the presentation.  I have evolved from a the very simple and very boring black text on white background to having a few pictures, though disorganized lopsided, to variable text options with balanced and attractive pictures (at least I hope this is the case).  With this evolution of posts in by blog, I hope that the text I have written has been easier to read, and more persuasive for the ideas I am trying to progress.

SELF DIRECTED LEARNING 

Because a significant part of our learning this semester is done in class, I have always worked hard to be prepared to contribute to my group as well as class discussions.  This can be difficult at times, and I haven't done it perfectly, but the majority of the time I have a marked copy of the play we are discussing, and ideas to share.  

I have gained something of an intuition for what to expect from Shakespeare; because of this, I can read more fluidly and avoid becoming bogged down with what I don't understand yet.  One way that I have been able to accomplish this, is by watching a performance while I read each play.  Sometimes I have watched two or three different performances as I move through the acts of a play.  I appreciate the fluid speech of those acting the plays.  

Most of my documentation is in my copies of the plays we have read.  I have cross referenced, synthesized, summarized and clarified the plays I have/am reading through my marking of the texts.  

In the past, I have used tabs for quick reference to questions I have.  Perhaps this would be a good idea to apply as I read in our last play of the semester.  This would be a good way to expand what I have already done with my documentation in the text. 

COLLABORATIVE AND SOCIAL LEARNING

JJ in particular has been really helpful with my blog.  Like I said earlier in my in this post, the concept of social media combined with working with computers has been difficult.  JJ took the time to help me outside of class to organize my blog, and make it easier to read for those who are following my blog.  Matt made a comment one of my early Macbeth blogs that helped to develop where I wanted to go with my theme.  

In class my group always has good discussions that move forward good ideas, and everyone gets involved.  We are good at listening, and sharing, while at the same time discussing differences in opinions and expanding our opinions. 

For me, I've had a few discussions with friends about Shakespeare.  The effects of this class has had outside of class has been how I think.  I appreciate how reading masterpiece literature can expend how I think, and process information. 

The only improvements that I can think of are along the lines of how we make comments.  The moment I started to make more than one comment a day, I felt like I was getting involved in the blogging of others.  It is fun to check a few times a day to see what others are saying.  I don't think there is enough interaction between bloggers and followers with one comment a day.  I do think that 2 posts/week is enough to stimulate conversation on the other days of the week. 

My Macbeth vs Tempest experience

I had two very different experiences last weekend.  I saw Macbeth in a small amphitheater, and The Tempest in a large venue at the University of Utah.  The actors in the Macbeth performance were dedicated to getting the audience involved; to them audience involvement was an integral part of their experience and what they wanted for us as well.  The Tempest up at the U had a much different scope in mind.  They were much more elaborate with set and stage direction.  The set was a main stage surrounded by a three story set.  As you can see in the picture, a huge focus of The Tempest was spectacle.

I was able to have two conversations with Macbeth, one before the performance and one after.  Before they began, the actors in the play spent time walking around and talking to members of the audience; they spent time laying the foundation for what they "expected" of us as an audience.  They wanted us to be a part of that evenings performance.  To the right is man who played Macbeth.  They had their final performance on Halloween night at midnight; I hope some of you were able to go see it.  I imagine that could have been their best performance.

I was wondering how they were going to pull off a few of the scenes with such a simple set.  On the left is a picture of their stage that they set up wherever they are performing.  In our case, they set it up in a amphitheater that felt like a castle.  It was quite perfect actually.  There are several features to this simple stage that allow for a surprising amount of variation.  1-there are three levels; the ground level, the stage and the ladders.  2-there are two trap doors in the floor allowing for some clever entrances and exits and intense scenes.  3-you'll notice that the back drop is a whit sheet.  This allows them to project shadows onto the sheet; they can do a scene that is behind the scenes.  4-there are three slits cut in the sheet for more options in their stage direction/exits; one is in the middle of the stage, and the other two are in the middle of the ladders.

In my conversation with Macbeth before the performance I asked him a few questions; I was wondering how they were going to pull off the scene when Macbeth is debating within himself as to whether or not he is going to kill King Duncan.  In that scene, Macbeth hallucinates as he sees a dagger in the air.  It's an eery scene because of what he is contemplating, and for how he responds to the intangible dagger.  The Macbeth I spoke to said that they would project the shadow of a dagger onto the sheet; he said that they had debated as to how they would do that.  They have no director, because that's how it was done in Shakespeare's day, and so just work things out amongst themselves.

I also asked him about his character; "What was it like for you to portray a character like that?"  "How do you manage to portray a good sane man who goes crazy?"  He stopped me there because he had a different perspective on his character.  He said that his interpretation of Macbeth was that he was driven by fear.  It was not so much that he just went crazy, but that it was the intensity of the fear that Macbeth laid upon himself that drove him to all of the murderous acts he did following his murder of King Duncan.

To bring this back to The Tempest, I have an observation that seems to me a stark contrast to stage performances of our day compared to Shakespeare's day.  It seems to me that it is typical for the people our day to view a stage performance more like a movie than they realize; come to be entertained. From my experience at the Macbeth venue, it seemed that a member of the audience came to be a part of the performance.  Or at least that was what the members of the cast were trying to help us do; to them they were trying to change our mindset of our role as members of the audience.  In a sentence, a member of the audience goes to a performance to be a part of the play, and to have influence on the characterization of the players on the stage.

Both performances were wonderful, but I liked the involvement, and the influence we could have on the actors on the stage, and how they responded to us.