I just learned that I like Shakespeare's comedies best of all his plays. I finished the summary of the Merchant of Venice and I think I'm going to like it. Like always, I am completely overwhelmed with excitement to read this play and also to see it.
I am noticing that there is a lot of wit in this play and it brings forward an irony that parallels today's comedy, but in a cleaner and more innocent way. A note on today's comedic attempts. I do not like it. It is sarcastic and witty but so sarcastic to the point of stupidity and rudeness. I believe that the TV we watch today is a problem because it is funny, sadly, and we watch it anyway but it is wrong. We learn from the media we watch how we act and then incorporate that into our daily interactions. This is one problem with our society, in my opinion. I just read an article about evidence that violence in media results in harmful effects on children. I think that the rude humor in TV also has a bad effect on society.
On a happier note I believe that Shakespeare, though he deals with touchy subjects, he uses wit and old-timed insults to prove a point and that doesn't quite have a bad influence on people today. I think that Shakespeare does it in a better way than today's comedy and therefore I praise Shakespeare on a job well done.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Beginning
After reading the first act of The Merchant of Venice I decided that I was ready to hear the story. I want to do a preview where I go online and read a summary of it somewhere. That way I can understand what is going on, truly instead of in my broken Shakespeare translator (I never had a fixed one, I think). Well, so far it is setting up the scene for something interesting. I still don't know what to expect, though, because I don't know whether it is a comedy or what not. So, look for another post soon on my research.
I've got to finish it kind of quickly because the play is coming up soon so I'll *hopefully* be posting more but I guess we'll see.
I've got to finish it kind of quickly because the play is coming up soon so I'll *hopefully* be posting more but I guess we'll see.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Love Never Dies
I found a love of reading and experiencing Shakespeare in my study and involvement in it over the past four months of immersion. This is why this blog shall never die. In my continuing interest in Shakespeare I found that BYU is putting on a production of The Merchant of Venice. This play I have never read and therefore I have made a goal for myself: I'm going to read the play and then go to see it (with a few friends who also enjoy Shakespeare). During the experience I will record thoughts and thought processes here on my blog and I will report at the end of the experience. I am really looking forward to this!If you happen to want to go along with me, let me know with a comment!
As another part of my continuing to blog about Shakespeare I may read The Merchant of Venice again and express my understanding of it through artistic means, like I did for my Shakespeare final project. In any case, I shall be using the method again, even if it happens to be on some other of Shakespeare's plays.
Toodle-oo!
Monday, December 12, 2011
Final Assessment
This semester of Engaging Shakespeare has really been a ton of hard work, but well worth all the effort put in. I have learned a lot about people, Shakespeare, art, writing, and the social world that exists on the internet.
First of all I would like to say that our Engaging Shakespeare showcase was such a huge success! I am so proud of what we did. I look back and I am so blessed (that's the only word that describes it well enough) to have been in a class with such hard working and amazing people. I felt surrounded by amazing people who did and will do amazing things and I can only be grateful that I was a part of it. As part of the Less Matter, More Art group, first, I'd like to thank Erik Wells for being prepared with the materials it took to put our artwork up on the easels. Erik and Cassandra and Mason were also very good at making decisions and getting things done. They were our groups leaders. I think our project was a great success. We all accomplished everything we made a sure plan to do and we did it well. I am pleased with our outcomes. I have to say, it was a very interesting feeling to have my artwork on display and I feel very accomplished to have our lesson plans and artwork on the internet where everyone can access and use them. One very interesting thing that came to mind at the showcase was the fact that each of my group members had a very unique style and I found that mine was also unique. Learning this was intriguing because I also figured out that I like my style. Two things are the product of this final project. First, I learned that reading Hamlet a second time made it easier to understand and more interesting to analyze. I also have learned a lot in this class and since Hamlet was the first play we read, I didn't understand it as well as I did the second time. Second, I want to do it again. I want to be use the technique of making art to understand Shakespeare in the future when I read more Shakespeare. And one thing that I gained from the whole class in general was a love of Shakespeare and a wholehearted desire to read it for the rest of my life.
Learning Outcomes
Gain Shakespeare Literacy:
When talking to my sister, she brought up the Shakespeare ear concept. I believe that as this semester has progressed I have been better able to understand Shakespeare's writing and language because of all the exposure I've had to his works. I've read much more than I ever have before by studying Hamlet, Winter's Tale, Othello, The Tempest, King Lear. I also watched live performances of Winter's Tale and The Tempest and a movie version of Othello. Personally I studied Othello a little bit more closely, but I think that I gained a better understanding when I read Hamlet the second time for my final project and interpreted it through artwork.
Analyze Shakespeare Critically:
I think the most of this came as I applied this to my life, what I've learned in the past, and how I understand Shakespeare. As I came to understand Shakespeare's writing better I began to apply it to myself and to see connections to other things I've learned about. This helped me to understand what Shakespeare meant and I began to think more analytically. In blogging about King Lear I realized what other book I've read that helped me understand the theme better. I also decided to take a look more closely at the names in Othello and derive meanings from the themes and correlations of names in the play. I found that my understanding of characters was also increased and I recorded that in my Piece of Paper posts.
Engage Shakespeare Creatively:
I feel like the Art and Shakespeare final project was the epitome of creatively engaging Shakespeare. We applied our understanding of Shakespeare's themes and created lesson plans(this is just one of them) with artwork related to understanding those themes. We also made artwork based on what we saw and interpreted from rereading the play Hamlet. I also applied my knowledge (and love of) origami and art to understanding the character depth in Shakespeare in my Piece of Paper posts.
Share Shakespeare Meaningfully:
I have had such interesting conversations with people about Shakespeare and I learned that I like to do it. I like to talk about Shakespeare and what I'm learning. The other day I just sat down with my friend and told her all about my Piece of Paper blog post and I loved expressing what I learned with her and she was silent, listening. You can check out my Sarah and Sarah posts about a couple conversations I had. I also really enjoyed having our discussion groups. It was a starting point to get out thoughts about Shakespeare and a good environment to share ideas. The great part was, it was a discussion and not a blog so your opinion was refuted and argued and discussed.
The end of this semester of Shakespeare will not be the end of my Shakespeare Engaging. I have fallen in love with learning about Shakespeare and therefore I have a list of wonderful plays to read (all of them ;) and hopefully I can still have great discussions about Shakespeare with those I interact with. I am grateful for this wonderful opportunity and experience this class has provided me.
First of all I would like to say that our Engaging Shakespeare showcase was such a huge success! I am so proud of what we did. I look back and I am so blessed (that's the only word that describes it well enough) to have been in a class with such hard working and amazing people. I felt surrounded by amazing people who did and will do amazing things and I can only be grateful that I was a part of it. As part of the Less Matter, More Art group, first, I'd like to thank Erik Wells for being prepared with the materials it took to put our artwork up on the easels. Erik and Cassandra and Mason were also very good at making decisions and getting things done. They were our groups leaders. I think our project was a great success. We all accomplished everything we made a sure plan to do and we did it well. I am pleased with our outcomes. I have to say, it was a very interesting feeling to have my artwork on display and I feel very accomplished to have our lesson plans and artwork on the internet where everyone can access and use them. One very interesting thing that came to mind at the showcase was the fact that each of my group members had a very unique style and I found that mine was also unique. Learning this was intriguing because I also figured out that I like my style. Two things are the product of this final project. First, I learned that reading Hamlet a second time made it easier to understand and more interesting to analyze. I also have learned a lot in this class and since Hamlet was the first play we read, I didn't understand it as well as I did the second time. Second, I want to do it again. I want to be use the technique of making art to understand Shakespeare in the future when I read more Shakespeare. And one thing that I gained from the whole class in general was a love of Shakespeare and a wholehearted desire to read it for the rest of my life.
Learning Outcomes
Gain Shakespeare Literacy:
When talking to my sister, she brought up the Shakespeare ear concept. I believe that as this semester has progressed I have been better able to understand Shakespeare's writing and language because of all the exposure I've had to his works. I've read much more than I ever have before by studying Hamlet, Winter's Tale, Othello, The Tempest, King Lear. I also watched live performances of Winter's Tale and The Tempest and a movie version of Othello. Personally I studied Othello a little bit more closely, but I think that I gained a better understanding when I read Hamlet the second time for my final project and interpreted it through artwork.
Analyze Shakespeare Critically:
I think the most of this came as I applied this to my life, what I've learned in the past, and how I understand Shakespeare. As I came to understand Shakespeare's writing better I began to apply it to myself and to see connections to other things I've learned about. This helped me to understand what Shakespeare meant and I began to think more analytically. In blogging about King Lear I realized what other book I've read that helped me understand the theme better. I also decided to take a look more closely at the names in Othello and derive meanings from the themes and correlations of names in the play. I found that my understanding of characters was also increased and I recorded that in my Piece of Paper posts.
Engage Shakespeare Creatively:
I feel like the Art and Shakespeare final project was the epitome of creatively engaging Shakespeare. We applied our understanding of Shakespeare's themes and created lesson plans(this is just one of them) with artwork related to understanding those themes. We also made artwork based on what we saw and interpreted from rereading the play Hamlet. I also applied my knowledge (and love of) origami and art to understanding the character depth in Shakespeare in my Piece of Paper posts.
Share Shakespeare Meaningfully:
I have had such interesting conversations with people about Shakespeare and I learned that I like to do it. I like to talk about Shakespeare and what I'm learning. The other day I just sat down with my friend and told her all about my Piece of Paper blog post and I loved expressing what I learned with her and she was silent, listening. You can check out my Sarah and Sarah posts about a couple conversations I had. I also really enjoyed having our discussion groups. It was a starting point to get out thoughts about Shakespeare and a good environment to share ideas. The great part was, it was a discussion and not a blog so your opinion was refuted and argued and discussed.
The end of this semester of Shakespeare will not be the end of my Shakespeare Engaging. I have fallen in love with learning about Shakespeare and therefore I have a list of wonderful plays to read (all of them ;) and hopefully I can still have great discussions about Shakespeare with those I interact with. I am grateful for this wonderful opportunity and experience this class has provided me.
Just a Piece of Paper III
This is the last installment to the Piece of Paper series ( Piece of Paper post 1; Post 2) and the finishing of my thoughts on character development, exaggeration, and using of voice and writing and value.
Shakespeare was an excellent writer and character creator. Some of his characters are simple, without many folds, and therefore they seem more shallow. But the good part about these characters is that we can still see the important parts and because of their bluntness and Shakespeare's bluntness we see the big picture a little more easily. Shakespeare can also create the intensely intricate characters with many, many, hidden folds and deep meanings. Hamlet, for example, is a confusing character because he seems to have control over his mind at some points and seems to be crazy at others. He has so much going on that we, as readers, don't even understand his character completely.
Changing focus for a moment, I ask this question: what is expected of a stage performance based on exaggeration to suspend belief and spectacle? In a theater, an audience member is expecting certain things. They want to go and imagine that the characters are in a certain place, not acting but living. So what do actors need to do to provide that suspense of disbelief? If they walked around like normal people on a stage, just living their lives, it would be boring, slow, and it would look like nothing is happening. People in a big theater at the back have to be able to see what's going on as well, so actors have to exaggerate their motions, exaggerate their voice fluctuations and the story has to be too exciting for real life. People read a story or watch a play to get out of the real world, but they also want to be able to relate to the characters and the things that are going on. So writers and actors must make real life things bigger, smaller, louder, more magical than they would in real life. They also have to put in real characteristics and situations but those things need to stand out in a way that makes it seem special and more real.
Then the problem of overacting comes in. How much is too much? In the simplification of things, subtlety is lost and that makes it look too fake, and too exaggerated, and too good to be true. When someone is sarcastic all the time, you just stop believing them.
Shakespeare does it perfectly in his writing, although the acting part is up to the actors. His writing is believable to a point that we enjoy reading his plays because we see similarities to ourselves. We can relate to them and use them as examples. And this is why Shakespeare is quoted in General Conference: his writing is applicable to our lives, his characters have characteristics that each of us can see in ourselves and others, and his stories are interesting because they could almost be true. Shakespeare is universal.
Shakespeare was an excellent writer and character creator. Some of his characters are simple, without many folds, and therefore they seem more shallow. But the good part about these characters is that we can still see the important parts and because of their bluntness and Shakespeare's bluntness we see the big picture a little more easily. Shakespeare can also create the intensely intricate characters with many, many, hidden folds and deep meanings. Hamlet, for example, is a confusing character because he seems to have control over his mind at some points and seems to be crazy at others. He has so much going on that we, as readers, don't even understand his character completely.
Changing focus for a moment, I ask this question: what is expected of a stage performance based on exaggeration to suspend belief and spectacle? In a theater, an audience member is expecting certain things. They want to go and imagine that the characters are in a certain place, not acting but living. So what do actors need to do to provide that suspense of disbelief? If they walked around like normal people on a stage, just living their lives, it would be boring, slow, and it would look like nothing is happening. People in a big theater at the back have to be able to see what's going on as well, so actors have to exaggerate their motions, exaggerate their voice fluctuations and the story has to be too exciting for real life. People read a story or watch a play to get out of the real world, but they also want to be able to relate to the characters and the things that are going on. So writers and actors must make real life things bigger, smaller, louder, more magical than they would in real life. They also have to put in real characteristics and situations but those things need to stand out in a way that makes it seem special and more real.
Then the problem of overacting comes in. How much is too much? In the simplification of things, subtlety is lost and that makes it look too fake, and too exaggerated, and too good to be true. When someone is sarcastic all the time, you just stop believing them.
Shakespeare does it perfectly in his writing, although the acting part is up to the actors. His writing is believable to a point that we enjoy reading his plays because we see similarities to ourselves. We can relate to them and use them as examples. And this is why Shakespeare is quoted in General Conference: his writing is applicable to our lives, his characters have characteristics that each of us can see in ourselves and others, and his stories are interesting because they could almost be true. Shakespeare is universal.
Just a Piece of Paper II
Here I'm going to link the last Piece of Paper post together with this post: Illusionistic (Realistic) Versus Abstract which discusses how Shakespeare writes exaggerations that would never happen in real life.
Shakespeare had a lot of knowledge and a lot of power and a lot of stories and characters to write. I want to discuss events and characters that are believable because they are real and believable because they are exaggerated.
First of all, in my drawing class we had a whole month (approximately) of class devoted to learning and applying value. Value is the shading of an object that makes it look real instead of flat. It is a very interesting concept. Darks are exaggerated and lights are brighter and it makes it so much easier to see 3d instead of a piece of paper.
Another hobby of mine happens to be origami, which is the folding of paper to make it look like something that isn't a piece of paper. These objects are sometimes animals that can be 3D or just 2D (still flat). I personally think the ones that stand up on their own seem more real.
And there are also the simple ones that are easier to make because they don't have too many folds compared to the harder ones that have many many folds. I find the simpler ones harder to make out/more abstract and the more complex ones easier to understand and see the image intended.
This all relates to Shakespeare and his writing, it really does.
I've had this understanding of characters and their relationship with reality throughout almost the whole class. I look at them and judge if they would actually be able to exist in the real world the way they are. For example, Prospero from The Tempest. He has extreme characteristics and when you look at how he uses his power and how much power he has he would not be an acceptable person in real life, he'd be a dictator. But the way we view him in the play is as a good steward (mostly) and as a good, God-like figure and not a bad person.
It is amazing how Shakespeare created characters with such exaggerated characteristics, like the difference between dark and light in the drawings above, to create a strong character who works in his story. I also find that real people in real life don't have super strong exaggerated characteristics, they are a mediocre, flatter range of values and that is good (for real life). The problem with that is that it doesn't make for a good character in a story. You can take Twilight as an example. Bella may have some depth to her character, but she is very one-sided and doesn't change and grow and develop over the breadth of the story (or what I've read of it). I find that this is the main reason I do not like this story. Shakespeare, on the other hand, puts a tragic flaw into his characters, or makes them so powerful they could be gods, or he makes them the ultimate clown and comic relief character. Shakespeare uses his power of writing to create deep characters that stand out and are defined.
Shakespeare had a lot of knowledge and a lot of power and a lot of stories and characters to write. I want to discuss events and characters that are believable because they are real and believable because they are exaggerated.
First of all, in my drawing class we had a whole month (approximately) of class devoted to learning and applying value. Value is the shading of an object that makes it look real instead of flat. It is a very interesting concept. Darks are exaggerated and lights are brighter and it makes it so much easier to see 3d instead of a piece of paper.Another hobby of mine happens to be origami, which is the folding of paper to make it look like something that isn't a piece of paper. These objects are sometimes animals that can be 3D or just 2D (still flat). I personally think the ones that stand up on their own seem more real.
And there are also the simple ones that are easier to make because they don't have too many folds compared to the harder ones that have many many folds. I find the simpler ones harder to make out/more abstract and the more complex ones easier to understand and see the image intended.
This all relates to Shakespeare and his writing, it really does.
I've had this understanding of characters and their relationship with reality throughout almost the whole class. I look at them and judge if they would actually be able to exist in the real world the way they are. For example, Prospero from The Tempest. He has extreme characteristics and when you look at how he uses his power and how much power he has he would not be an acceptable person in real life, he'd be a dictator. But the way we view him in the play is as a good steward (mostly) and as a good, God-like figure and not a bad person.
It is amazing how Shakespeare created characters with such exaggerated characteristics, like the difference between dark and light in the drawings above, to create a strong character who works in his story. I also find that real people in real life don't have super strong exaggerated characteristics, they are a mediocre, flatter range of values and that is good (for real life). The problem with that is that it doesn't make for a good character in a story. You can take Twilight as an example. Bella may have some depth to her character, but she is very one-sided and doesn't change and grow and develop over the breadth of the story (or what I've read of it). I find that this is the main reason I do not like this story. Shakespeare, on the other hand, puts a tragic flaw into his characters, or makes them so powerful they could be gods, or he makes them the ultimate clown and comic relief character. Shakespeare uses his power of writing to create deep characters that stand out and are defined.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Just a Piece of Paper I
This is just the first part of many many ideas that I've been gathering about Shakespeare and applying what I've been learning in art class to writing and his plays.
I really like to do art. It is a great hobby that I hope I can continue and my classes this semester have taught me SO MUCH about not only art but the world and creative thinking and how to apply everything to everything else and my character and things I can do to improve....the list goes on and on and this Shakespeare class has just helped so much with it.
This is an idea continuation from this post: The Voice Not Heard in it I discussed how the voice of a writer is important.
Education increases awareness (are you aware of this?). For example, if you learn a different language and culture, you can't really have a prejudice and stereotype against them anymore because you recognize them as different rather than foreign. In a writing class you learn the best way to write. One thing you always learn about is voice, or the character of your writing. It can be improved upon, changed, and developed into something that it wasn't before. The more you learn about it, the more you can manipulate it. This concept applies to many things in life. The thought provoking question I have, then, is this: Can we really know about Shakespeare and his personal life (like attitude and personality) through reading his work? If he was such a great writer then he obviously knew how to manipulate voice and many many other writing techniques. The question is: Can we really know?
A theme that comes up in The Tempest happens to be: KNOWLEDGE IS POWER
I already mentioned that the last epilogue in The Tempest felt like Shakespeare's goodbye to the world of theatre and play writing. Well, Shakespeare happens to mirror Prospero by having a lot of power through his knowledge and ability to write. He can control anything and everything the characters do. He can even control the emotions of an audience through the script of his play. He had and still has so much power! Think of all the audiences his writing still influences. How can one man do that? He had knowledge and he used it and so he gained power.
I really like to do art. It is a great hobby that I hope I can continue and my classes this semester have taught me SO MUCH about not only art but the world and creative thinking and how to apply everything to everything else and my character and things I can do to improve....the list goes on and on and this Shakespeare class has just helped so much with it.
This is an idea continuation from this post: The Voice Not Heard in it I discussed how the voice of a writer is important.
Education increases awareness (are you aware of this?). For example, if you learn a different language and culture, you can't really have a prejudice and stereotype against them anymore because you recognize them as different rather than foreign. In a writing class you learn the best way to write. One thing you always learn about is voice, or the character of your writing. It can be improved upon, changed, and developed into something that it wasn't before. The more you learn about it, the more you can manipulate it. This concept applies to many things in life. The thought provoking question I have, then, is this: Can we really know about Shakespeare and his personal life (like attitude and personality) through reading his work? If he was such a great writer then he obviously knew how to manipulate voice and many many other writing techniques. The question is: Can we really know?
A theme that comes up in The Tempest happens to be: KNOWLEDGE IS POWER
I already mentioned that the last epilogue in The Tempest felt like Shakespeare's goodbye to the world of theatre and play writing. Well, Shakespeare happens to mirror Prospero by having a lot of power through his knowledge and ability to write. He can control anything and everything the characters do. He can even control the emotions of an audience through the script of his play. He had and still has so much power! Think of all the audiences his writing still influences. How can one man do that? He had knowledge and he used it and so he gained power.
Hamlet and the Final Project
Sorry that I haven't been updating my blog very much. I have been blogging, just not on this blog. Since most of the work I've been doing in Shakespeare class and outside of class has to do with my Final Project I've been posting on my group's website.
This is just a run-down of everything we've accomplished. It has been a blast! After we finally figured out what we wanted to do, we got right to work on creating artwork based on each of the acts in Hamlet, rereading 
the whole play. We also each chose a theme and then wrote a lesson plan based on that theme. I chose to look at how control is demonstrated, both physically and mentally, in Hamlet. It was lots of fun, too, to be able to go through the play again and learn more about the in depth stuff. And then to respond to it by creating a lesson plan helped me learn a lot. At first I felt inadequate to create a lesson plan because I thought: "What do I know that no one else knows about this? Nothing, therefore I have no authority to create a lesson where I am telling someone how and what to teach." That was literally how I felt. But now that I've done it, I really appreciate that I had the experience and opportunity to share my input about an idea that our group had. And now anyone can find our curriculum and use it in their classroom! Isn't that exciting!
Our curriculum basically brought up themes from Hamlet, going to the text for specifics, and tried to help the students understand them better by making them apply it through the creation of artwork. We all followed each others lesson plans to make examples for those teachers out there who'd be interested. It was great!
I also appreciated the opportunity and direction this project gave me in creating art that responded to Shakespeare. I was wishing for some spark, some lightbulb moment, to come so I could just make something. And then we created this art group and I'm happy to have had the experience and opportunity to engage Shakespeare creatively.
This is just a run-down of everything we've accomplished. It has been a blast! After we finally figured out what we wanted to do, we got right to work on creating artwork based on each of the acts in Hamlet, rereading 
the whole play. We also each chose a theme and then wrote a lesson plan based on that theme. I chose to look at how control is demonstrated, both physically and mentally, in Hamlet. It was lots of fun, too, to be able to go through the play again and learn more about the in depth stuff. And then to respond to it by creating a lesson plan helped me learn a lot. At first I felt inadequate to create a lesson plan because I thought: "What do I know that no one else knows about this? Nothing, therefore I have no authority to create a lesson where I am telling someone how and what to teach." That was literally how I felt. But now that I've done it, I really appreciate that I had the experience and opportunity to share my input about an idea that our group had. And now anyone can find our curriculum and use it in their classroom! Isn't that exciting!
Our curriculum basically brought up themes from Hamlet, going to the text for specifics, and tried to help the students understand them better by making them apply it through the creation of artwork. We all followed each others lesson plans to make examples for those teachers out there who'd be interested. It was great!I also appreciated the opportunity and direction this project gave me in creating art that responded to Shakespeare. I was wishing for some spark, some lightbulb moment, to come so I could just make something. And then we created this art group and I'm happy to have had the experience and opportunity to engage Shakespeare creatively.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Highlights of the Semester
Throughout this class, people have been learning a lot about Shakespeare (including myself) and they have been recording it on their blogs, too. So, here I am to report which blog post I found most enjoyable (since many of them are very intriguing) as I have been participating in my blogging/discussion group. Amy's Post on Hermione and Pygmalion was pretty good and I enjoyed reading it.
I also must say that some of my posts are a little surprising and impressive as well. My favorite happens to be Three is a Magic Number. I just really really enjoyed this post (even though it may not be the most mature post out there). I find it quite enlightening.
I also must say that some of my posts are a little surprising and impressive as well. My favorite happens to be Three is a Magic Number. I just really really enjoyed this post (even though it may not be the most mature post out there). I find it quite enlightening.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Indentity and the Fool
I found that I really enjoyed discovering the theme of identity in the play King Lear. I really liked how the fool would often refer to it. It was funny how he baited the king by calling him a fool and saying that Lear'd be a good fool.
But the most interesting part is what was brought up a smidgen in class. Dr. Burton mentioned that Cordelia and the fool aren't ever in the play at the same time. And because of this some people interpret Cordelia and the fool as the same actress.
What I really loved about this idea was that it was so true! The fool was always on King Lear's side, trying to help him fix his problem. But then the fool seems to suddenly and almost mysteriously disappear, never to return to the play. This is only a short time before Cordelia reenters the play and she also is on King Lear's side, trying her hardest to help him out because she actually loves him.
In the end (like all tragedies) Cordelia dies, and King Lear, lamenting, carries her body out and calls her his fool. (Dramatic Pause) Yes, I believe that it is possible that Cordelia actually was the fool. I find her devotion amazing and if she loved her father so much, wouldn't she want to be with him and help him along the whole way? How could a good character like Cordelia just disappear in the middle of the play? I think that she was disguised similarly to Edgar and Kent, seeing as there was a quite large theme of identity going on the whole time.
Just consider it: Cordelia = the fool = Cordelia
But the most interesting part is what was brought up a smidgen in class. Dr. Burton mentioned that Cordelia and the fool aren't ever in the play at the same time. And because of this some people interpret Cordelia and the fool as the same actress.
What I really loved about this idea was that it was so true! The fool was always on King Lear's side, trying to help him fix his problem. But then the fool seems to suddenly and almost mysteriously disappear, never to return to the play. This is only a short time before Cordelia reenters the play and she also is on King Lear's side, trying her hardest to help him out because she actually loves him.
In the end (like all tragedies) Cordelia dies, and King Lear, lamenting, carries her body out and calls her his fool. (Dramatic Pause) Yes, I believe that it is possible that Cordelia actually was the fool. I find her devotion amazing and if she loved her father so much, wouldn't she want to be with him and help him along the whole way? How could a good character like Cordelia just disappear in the middle of the play? I think that she was disguised similarly to Edgar and Kent, seeing as there was a quite large theme of identity going on the whole time.
Just consider it: Cordelia = the fool = Cordelia
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