It is absolutely amazing the increasing impact I learn that Shakespeare has had on the world. In my Music 201 class right now we just started a lecture about him which will be finished up in a week. I learned a little more about Shakespeare, because one can always learn more about something, and figured out the reason that my friend doesn't like Romeo and Juliet. She claims that it is the ridiculously stupid actions of two teenage children that ends in tragedy which repulses her from the story, but from what I learned today I would beg a re-evaluation. I was taught that Shakespeare had not yet mastered the language he was writing in, meaning a newer language that had a huge amount of potential, and that Romeo and Juliet was his first great Tragedy. Well, we all know that experiments are never as good as second or even third or fifth attempts, so naturally this story was not his best. But he also stuck firmly to the form, meaning his Iambic Pentameter. That means his writing was not so much naturally as it was weak-strong-weak-strong over and over again. This is quite repelling and lulling. And I believe that my friend would agree that this could be a point of dislike, if even a hidden one.
Moving on, this class is requiring, loosely of course, a reading of the play Hamlet so that we can more recognize Shakespeare and his style of writing. And obviously apply that to our overall understanding of how it changed our culture today. Basically I have to reread Hamlet. I can replace it with a watching of a movie (my professor recommended the one with Mel Gibson) and so I have decided to attempt to fulfill this reading assignment thus. Look forward to a good review of the movie!
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Blog Explanation
Shakespeare is an old figure referred to often in our everyday conversation, but he has been made into an icon, a shadow of his true greatness, someone referenced but not fully understood. As I learn more about Shakespeare through reading his works I find that his words apply to life in general and Shakespeare becomes significantly more meaningful. His words are not really erroneous, but rather they parallel true life situations and consequences and thus are applicable to each and every one of us.
Monday, April 22, 2013
Think before you Act
I am a college student at BYU. This naturally means that I am working toward marriage. Whenever that happens doesn't matter to me right now. I am focused on getting my education. But the bug going around is "get married" and nearly everyone seems to have it. If they don't, they must think about it all the time to try and avoid it! Anyway, I realized today that my post on seeing The Tempest live about a year ago can really apply to life and this whole getting married thing.
First of all I must explain the precedent: engagements at BYU happen fast. Abnormally fast decision making results in getting engaged after only two months of dating, or even two months after having met! It is slightly absurd in my mind, but before now I never really formulated the exact reason for this opinion. And now I see that critically analyzing Shakespeare's plays can apply to our real life marriage decisions.
The reason these couples get engaged and then married so quickly has in one part to do with our religion. We are LDS, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. And we are taught to find our eternal companion and marry them in the temple, which will ensure that we are together forever. Obviously this is a huge decision and should not be taken lightly. But pressure in the BYU community tends to speed up the process. The Holy Ghost gives guidance and offers answers to prayers, so I can see that if you are asking you can get that answer, sometimes sooner than expected. And it is said that any two righteous people can have a happy marriage. I believe all this and testify to it. I believe that we all have a responsibility to search hard and make an effort and choose wisely who we want to spend time and all eternity with.
In other words, you can't judge a book by its cover. You cannot marry someone who you do not know only by their outward appearance. After the initial attraction must come the critical eye and the analyzing of the situation and the person. Judging is not supported, making quick assumptions is not kind or Christ-like, and initial acceptance or rejection only shows apathy and no investment. Meek personal introspection, fasting, and prayer, and deep consideration about this person is necessary and expected of us. If you tell me you have done this, then I will not worry that you have only known the person for two months.
When I saw the Tempest I came out excited and thrilled. It was fantastic, at first glance. I let the awesome parts cover for the disappointments that I saw and I made excuses for it. And then I went to Shakespeare class, where we critically opened it up and examined it. We were not ruthless, not really, but we couldn't judge the play by initial responses, either. Mine was based solely off of feelings and as I thought more about it I realized that I needed to compare and contrast and think a little harder about this particular performance. And that is similar to what is expected when you want to marry someone. Think about the person, what they are really like, what their good qualities are and their not-so-good qualities, how they will be in twenty years, and so forth. Love is wonderful, but make sure it is sincere and will last eternity and don't settle for less than what you deserve. THINK before you ACT!
First of all I must explain the precedent: engagements at BYU happen fast. Abnormally fast decision making results in getting engaged after only two months of dating, or even two months after having met! It is slightly absurd in my mind, but before now I never really formulated the exact reason for this opinion. And now I see that critically analyzing Shakespeare's plays can apply to our real life marriage decisions.
The reason these couples get engaged and then married so quickly has in one part to do with our religion. We are LDS, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. And we are taught to find our eternal companion and marry them in the temple, which will ensure that we are together forever. Obviously this is a huge decision and should not be taken lightly. But pressure in the BYU community tends to speed up the process. The Holy Ghost gives guidance and offers answers to prayers, so I can see that if you are asking you can get that answer, sometimes sooner than expected. And it is said that any two righteous people can have a happy marriage. I believe all this and testify to it. I believe that we all have a responsibility to search hard and make an effort and choose wisely who we want to spend time and all eternity with.
In other words, you can't judge a book by its cover. You cannot marry someone who you do not know only by their outward appearance. After the initial attraction must come the critical eye and the analyzing of the situation and the person. Judging is not supported, making quick assumptions is not kind or Christ-like, and initial acceptance or rejection only shows apathy and no investment. Meek personal introspection, fasting, and prayer, and deep consideration about this person is necessary and expected of us. If you tell me you have done this, then I will not worry that you have only known the person for two months.
When I saw the Tempest I came out excited and thrilled. It was fantastic, at first glance. I let the awesome parts cover for the disappointments that I saw and I made excuses for it. And then I went to Shakespeare class, where we critically opened it up and examined it. We were not ruthless, not really, but we couldn't judge the play by initial responses, either. Mine was based solely off of feelings and as I thought more about it I realized that I needed to compare and contrast and think a little harder about this particular performance. And that is similar to what is expected when you want to marry someone. Think about the person, what they are really like, what their good qualities are and their not-so-good qualities, how they will be in twenty years, and so forth. Love is wonderful, but make sure it is sincere and will last eternity and don't settle for less than what you deserve. THINK before you ACT!
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Reminisce on Shakespeare Class
It has now been quite a few months since I took my Shakespeare class, and thankfully this blog is still alive. In trying to keep the blog interesting I looked back on the central blog for the class and found links to the videos produced as a final project by the other groups in my class. One of the groups wrote and produced a short play, linking three different Shakespeare love stories together to draw out the themes.
Lovers of Shakespeare performance from Shakespeare on Vimeo.
This performance was really exciting because students like me not only wrote it but produced it and did a good job. And since I saw the whole process from beginning to end it was very satisfying to see this last performance in person.
You can see the whole process from the beginning to the back stage to the practice if you watch the documentary that was done by another group from my class. It is a great accomplishment as well.
Loves Labours, a documentary. from Shakespeare on Vimeo.
These two videos are the product of hours of hard work and a few students who decided that they were excited about Shakespeare and wanted to engage the text in a new and interesting way. It turns out that if you have the right attitude, the right dedication, the right freedom, and the right idea, connecting with Shakespeare or with any other subject can be a pretty fun experience! And here you have had the proof!
If you ever wanted to engage Shakespeare or to apply it in a unique way just take these great examples, enjoy them, and read more Shakespeare!
For more info on the play you can visit their blog: Lovers of Shakespeare
For information on all of the projects from our class you can visit: Engaging Shakespeare or Shakespeare Unbound
Lovers of Shakespeare performance from Shakespeare on Vimeo.
This performance was really exciting because students like me not only wrote it but produced it and did a good job. And since I saw the whole process from beginning to end it was very satisfying to see this last performance in person.
You can see the whole process from the beginning to the back stage to the practice if you watch the documentary that was done by another group from my class. It is a great accomplishment as well.
Loves Labours, a documentary. from Shakespeare on Vimeo.
These two videos are the product of hours of hard work and a few students who decided that they were excited about Shakespeare and wanted to engage the text in a new and interesting way. It turns out that if you have the right attitude, the right dedication, the right freedom, and the right idea, connecting with Shakespeare or with any other subject can be a pretty fun experience! And here you have had the proof!
If you ever wanted to engage Shakespeare or to apply it in a unique way just take these great examples, enjoy them, and read more Shakespeare!
For more info on the play you can visit their blog: Lovers of Shakespeare
For information on all of the projects from our class you can visit: Engaging Shakespeare or Shakespeare Unbound
Monday, August 13, 2012
Shakespeare and Apathy Don't Mesh
Sadly, the Library asked for its book back. But that doesn't mean I'm done with Twelfth Night. Far from it! I intend to finish it soon and enjoy every last bit of it. This means you have good posts to look forward to. :)
In the meantime an old notebook was discovered on my shelf in which I found a page titled Shakespeare and Apathy Don't Mesh. The reasons are clearly stated as follows:
1. If you are apathetic it is likely that you will more readily accept or reject something. Why? Well, first a few points on apathy in general.
When someone is apathetic they will not care what happens so their choice will be fast and simple: yes or no, accept or reject. It all depends on their initial impressions.
2. You will be apathetic if you do not know much about something. With the explanation above this is simple to understand. When a person is lazy and does not learn about Shakespeare they cannot appreciate what it does for them and thus the apathy.
An example of how knowledge assists in erasing apathy: when you have a neighbor that you do not associate with you cannot be sad when they go into the hospital because you do not have a relationship with this person. But if you have known this person, visited them, and understand what pain they could be going through and what sacrifices their family might have to make when they are in the hospital then you are not apathetic. Indeed you are the opposite: empathetic, caring and understanding to their plight and imagining to yourself how they would feel, which generates a caring attitude towards them.
3. Readily accepting something does not let you analyze or think critically about it. In fact, apathy causes you to miss most of the deep and meaningful things in Shakespeare because of the lack of interest that does not allow for a deeper examination. Study comes in when curiosity is sparked and someone wants to learn more. And the more you understand about Shakespeare, the more you can learn from it and apply the meanings to yourself. This is why apathy stops progression and prevents true appreciation for Shakespeare and his writing.
If a person does not care about Shakespeare they will either accept or reject it without further knowledge and therefore will not be able to understand the true meaning that Shakespeare himself wanted people to see. So, you see, apathy and Shakespeare do not go well together at all.
In the meantime an old notebook was discovered on my shelf in which I found a page titled Shakespeare and Apathy Don't Mesh. The reasons are clearly stated as follows:
1. If you are apathetic it is likely that you will more readily accept or reject something. Why? Well, first a few points on apathy in general.
- Apathy is when you do not care or have feelings about a subject, object, or situation.
- Apathy can be the result of laziness. When you do not put out the effort to care for something you will not care what happens to it. This can apply to a lot of different things.
- An example of apathy is the growing issue with violence in the media, especially movies and television. As children and adults watch more violence it gets less harsh and disturbing to them that people are getting hurt or intentionally harming other people. This is growing an apathy to violence.
When someone is apathetic they will not care what happens so their choice will be fast and simple: yes or no, accept or reject. It all depends on their initial impressions.
2. You will be apathetic if you do not know much about something. With the explanation above this is simple to understand. When a person is lazy and does not learn about Shakespeare they cannot appreciate what it does for them and thus the apathy.
An example of how knowledge assists in erasing apathy: when you have a neighbor that you do not associate with you cannot be sad when they go into the hospital because you do not have a relationship with this person. But if you have known this person, visited them, and understand what pain they could be going through and what sacrifices their family might have to make when they are in the hospital then you are not apathetic. Indeed you are the opposite: empathetic, caring and understanding to their plight and imagining to yourself how they would feel, which generates a caring attitude towards them.
3. Readily accepting something does not let you analyze or think critically about it. In fact, apathy causes you to miss most of the deep and meaningful things in Shakespeare because of the lack of interest that does not allow for a deeper examination. Study comes in when curiosity is sparked and someone wants to learn more. And the more you understand about Shakespeare, the more you can learn from it and apply the meanings to yourself. This is why apathy stops progression and prevents true appreciation for Shakespeare and his writing.
If a person does not care about Shakespeare they will either accept or reject it without further knowledge and therefore will not be able to understand the true meaning that Shakespeare himself wanted people to see. So, you see, apathy and Shakespeare do not go well together at all.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Some Quotes For You
I was recently applying for an online scholarship with four short answer essay questions. One of the questions reads: What
would you like on your epitaph? I know, slightly strange for a scholarship question, but they wanted the judging to be enjoyable and interesting. My first thoughts turned to a quote from Shakespeare. So I scoured the web, identifying some interesting quotes.
Should I use a funny quote? Or something more meaningful?
As I searched the results never quite fit my expectations, so Shakespeare was not mentioned in the essay. But I still found several quotes that I enjoyed very much and wished to share and keep for later. Here they are:
Fishes live in the sea, as men do a-land; the great ones eat up the little ones.
Men at some time are masters of their fates;
The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves
But in ourselves
Our remedies oft in ourselves do lie,
Which we ascribe to Heaven
Which we ascribe to Heaven
In peace there's nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility;
As modest stillness and humility;
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember with advantages
What feats he did that day. Then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words. . .
Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb'red.
But he'll remember with advantages
What feats he did that day. Then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words. . .
Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb'red.
When you do dance, I wish you
A wave o' th' sea, that you might ever do
Nothing but that.
Here are the websites I found these quotes at. Feel free to find entertainment and your own favorite Shakespeare quotes from them. There's plenty more! If you find some exceptional ones I would not mind hearing them myself, so shoot up a comment. You could also answer the very interesting question posed above about yourself: what would you like on your epitaph?
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Twelfth Night, Here I Come!
I have made a plan! I want to get Twelfth Night from the library and start reading it. My scheme is, since I've read the play before, to do as I did with Hamlet by creating artwork out of whatever strikes my fancy. You know, anything that inspires some creative art-making. I enjoyed this play the first time so I'm excited to jump back into Shakespeare and get started! I am not going to give myself a time limit, seeing as it is summer and I want to do it right, so I will give myself the admonition to read and create as I feel is adequate and comfortable.
I will be regularly documenting my progress here, so keep a sharp eye for updates on TN!
I will be regularly documenting my progress here, so keep a sharp eye for updates on TN!
Friday, May 25, 2012
Shakespeare on HOLD
Seeing as school is out for the Summer you may be curious as to why I haven't been posting about my Shakespeare readings.
The reason is that I haven't been reading Shakespeare. I know, I'm lame and all that. But I just made a summer goal to keep this blog alive and with it my love of Shakespeare (because I really do love reading Shakespeare).
The truth is that this post is erroneous in that it has nothing to do with Shakespeare, only with me being extra lame. I need to choose another Shakespeare play to read or a movie to watch. I want opinions so if you would like to share any good suggestions with me I'd be happy to take them into account. My preferences for a movie would be something modern-day adapted (it's the mood I'm in) and I would prefer a play that I haven't read before (although I may consider Twelfth Night). Hopefully I can start something soon, but in the meantime you may find me posting randomness, relating Shakespeare to something rather erroneous.
The reason is that I haven't been reading Shakespeare. I know, I'm lame and all that. But I just made a summer goal to keep this blog alive and with it my love of Shakespeare (because I really do love reading Shakespeare).
The truth is that this post is erroneous in that it has nothing to do with Shakespeare, only with me being extra lame. I need to choose another Shakespeare play to read or a movie to watch. I want opinions so if you would like to share any good suggestions with me I'd be happy to take them into account. My preferences for a movie would be something modern-day adapted (it's the mood I'm in) and I would prefer a play that I haven't read before (although I may consider Twelfth Night). Hopefully I can start something soon, but in the meantime you may find me posting randomness, relating Shakespeare to something rather erroneous.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Reflection on Performance
During my semester in a Shakespeare class we had two assignments. They were to see two Shakespeare plays performed, on field trips. One was down in Cedar City during the Shakespeare festival: Winter's Tale. The second one we went to see was at the University of Utah: The Tempest. I was impressed by these plays and the great quality of acting in them. Overall in my class everyone thought that Winter's Tale was better played. I enjoyed the Tempest a lot, but as I look back I realize that Winter's Tale did have something to it that the Tempest was missing.
Today my mother was helping my sister out with her acting skills (and her skills are good, too). She explained that adding an emotional involvement to the performance made people notice an increase in value of the performance. When you add the energy of what you are doing into your performance then people can tell that what you are performing is important to you and they instinctively find it more interesting and emotionally involving to watch.
What was missing from The Tempest was that deep caring, the emotion that went with the character. It could have been that it wasn't magnified enough and we were sitting in the back. But the emotion rang through the whole theatre when we went to see Winter's Tale. The characters were so believable as real people and you could tell that they were feeling those emotions that they were portraying. That was what was missing. This one little detail can make a performance or break it. You can either become emotionally involved or stay sitting in your audience-member seat.
Today my mother was helping my sister out with her acting skills (and her skills are good, too). She explained that adding an emotional involvement to the performance made people notice an increase in value of the performance. When you add the energy of what you are doing into your performance then people can tell that what you are performing is important to you and they instinctively find it more interesting and emotionally involving to watch.
What was missing from The Tempest was that deep caring, the emotion that went with the character. It could have been that it wasn't magnified enough and we were sitting in the back. But the emotion rang through the whole theatre when we went to see Winter's Tale. The characters were so believable as real people and you could tell that they were feeling those emotions that they were portraying. That was what was missing. This one little detail can make a performance or break it. You can either become emotionally involved or stay sitting in your audience-member seat.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Much To Do
And not wanting to do any of it.
I ended up beginning Much Ado About Nothing (MAAN) while procrastinating my waking moment of getting out of bed last Saturday morning. The first act is behind me, leaving the rest of the play with high expectations. With the way it began you can tell there is a lot going to happen!
I ended up beginning Much Ado About Nothing (MAAN) while procrastinating my waking moment of getting out of bed last Saturday morning. The first act is behind me, leaving the rest of the play with high expectations. With the way it began you can tell there is a lot going to happen!
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