| My little additions to our GREAT Blog in Shakespeare hardly seems worthy of any praise compared to the unrelenting and marvelous work that my partner, Kristopher Miller( remember that name, Fame!), did on this project. I am nothing without him! I must give credit where credit is due. (I wonder if that was one of Shakespeare's great lines?!) This was so much fun! I loved reading all of the other blogs from fellow classmates and must say that they were all wonderful. Dr. Clemente's Shakespeare class was the best, and was the highlight of this semester for me. My other five classes didn't "hold a candle" (Shakespeare's phrase?) to my Shakespeare class. Not only did I read great Shakespearean plays I had never had the opportunity to enjoy before, but the rewards from the readings are enormous ones for me, too many to speak of now. I will be graduating in the fall of 2008 and probably will not have any more classes on the main campus at Peru after this week, so, farewell to all of the wonderful people I have met there along the way, as well as those of you who have shared with me the enjoyment of Dr. Clemente's Shakespeare class. "Fair thee well," Kris, Dr. Clemente, and friends. "When shall we meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain? When the hurley- burley's done (Macbeth)." .........Linda |
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Thanks, for the memories!
OOOOH! Witchcraft!
Who doesn't love a scary story from time to time? Shakespeare has a way of incorporating scary characters in most of his plays, comedies and tragedies, keeping his readers entertained as well as on the edge of their seats. There are ghosts appearing in both Hamlet and Macbeth, dark fairies and a crazy, scary little guy named Puck in A Mid Summer's Night's Dream, and Caliban, the deformed slave, along with many, many spirits are found in the Tempest. How much fun is that! Shakespeare had not only added brightly colored phrases from his ingenious plays to the English Language, but caused a small child to embrace and add vivid imagery to her simple speech! Thank you, Shakespeare, where ever you are, for that. .........Linda |
Mr. and Mrs. Macbeth: Evil is as Evil Does
Mirror, Mirror on the wall, who is the Evilest one of all? Macbeth or his wife? The answer lies with whether one is talking about the beginning or the ending of Shakespeare's tragic play, "Macbeth."
Of course, love is rather blinding to the weaker in a relationship and it sets the stage for all kinds of manipulation by the stronger personality. In this case, the stronger of the two being Lady Macbeth, who also is the Evilest of the two in the beginning of the play. Lady Macbeth taunts Macbeth about doing deeds that will truly make him a man, convincing him to kill Duncan.
Her lust for power is more than ambitious, it is EVIL! Poor Macbeth had misguided ambition from that point on, getting a taste for power more and more after each killing. In the end, he became the greatest villian. I find it hard to believe that in one of the greatest Shakespeare tragedies ever written, one so evil as Lady Macbeth could so quickly get a conscience and go so 'mad' and die so abruptly. Justice? On the other hand, poor misguided Macbeth continued his quest for kingship though murder after murder, with madness on top of madness, until the mirror broke from his reflection. .......Linda
Of course, love is rather blinding to the weaker in a relationship and it sets the stage for all kinds of manipulation by the stronger personality. In this case, the stronger of the two being Lady Macbeth, who also is the Evilest of the two in the beginning of the play. Lady Macbeth taunts Macbeth about doing deeds that will truly make him a man, convincing him to kill Duncan.
Her lust for power is more than ambitious, it is EVIL! Poor Macbeth had misguided ambition from that point on, getting a taste for power more and more after each killing. In the end, he became the greatest villian. I find it hard to believe that in one of the greatest Shakespeare tragedies ever written, one so evil as Lady Macbeth could so quickly get a conscience and go so 'mad' and die so abruptly. Justice? On the other hand, poor misguided Macbeth continued his quest for kingship though murder after murder, with madness on top of madness, until the mirror broke from his reflection. .......Linda
Sunday, April 27, 2008
'Tis Been Fun...
I have enjoyed Shakespeare class for it gave me a whole new perpsective on Shakespeare and how he worked on his plays and sonnets. The class also exposed me to plays that I have never read before (Much Ado About Nothing was a surprise hit with me), or what I have always been wanting to take a glimpse at (King Lear, The Tempest).
The class in Shakespeare had another shining highlight to it: an opportunity to learn how to work with a blog. I have not used a blog before Shakespeare class and it gave me a new perspective on blogs as a whole. I know that blogs can be used for more than just personal purposes. If there is a subject that interests me and if I want to comment on it, I can make a blog exploring the subject. It is fun to use a blog overall; the ability to apply hyperlinks, photos, graphics, videos and other stuff onto posts makes for an engaging experience. It is satisfying when people look at your blog and are impressed by the work you have put together.
Creating a blog for Shakespeare made me realize how many websites there are on Shakespeare and his works. There are literally hundreds of, if not thousands or more, sites devoted to critical analyses on the plays, their characters and what influenced Shakespeare to write the way he did. Looking over famous quotes that have been used in other media, such as movies, comics, etc., has made me realize on how much of a cultural impact Shakespeare made into the English language and global culture as a whole.
Countries which do not have English as an initial language such as Japan and Russia have made their own versions of Shakespeare's plays. Russia has its King Lear. Japanese film director Akira Kurosawa filmed Throne of Blood and Ran, both adaptations of Macbeth and King Lear respectively. It is amazing how one culture who speaks one language influences another that speaks an entirely different language, as Shakespeare's stories have elements that everyone can relate to.
Making the Shakespeare blog has given me a new appreciation for Shakespeare. I hope to keep "Much Ado About Nothing and Everything Else Shakespearean" running with sonnets and plays not explored in the class.
I would like to thank my partner, Linda, for helping me out with the blog and the video performance. I know she has not been able to make as many posts as I had, but her commentary on different plays were welcome.
'Tis been fun!
- Kristopher
The class in Shakespeare had another shining highlight to it: an opportunity to learn how to work with a blog. I have not used a blog before Shakespeare class and it gave me a new perspective on blogs as a whole. I know that blogs can be used for more than just personal purposes. If there is a subject that interests me and if I want to comment on it, I can make a blog exploring the subject. It is fun to use a blog overall; the ability to apply hyperlinks, photos, graphics, videos and other stuff onto posts makes for an engaging experience. It is satisfying when people look at your blog and are impressed by the work you have put together.
Creating a blog for Shakespeare made me realize how many websites there are on Shakespeare and his works. There are literally hundreds of, if not thousands or more, sites devoted to critical analyses on the plays, their characters and what influenced Shakespeare to write the way he did. Looking over famous quotes that have been used in other media, such as movies, comics, etc., has made me realize on how much of a cultural impact Shakespeare made into the English language and global culture as a whole.
Countries which do not have English as an initial language such as Japan and Russia have made their own versions of Shakespeare's plays. Russia has its King Lear. Japanese film director Akira Kurosawa filmed Throne of Blood and Ran, both adaptations of Macbeth and King Lear respectively. It is amazing how one culture who speaks one language influences another that speaks an entirely different language, as Shakespeare's stories have elements that everyone can relate to.
Making the Shakespeare blog has given me a new appreciation for Shakespeare. I hope to keep "Much Ado About Nothing and Everything Else Shakespearean" running with sonnets and plays not explored in the class.
I would like to thank my partner, Linda, for helping me out with the blog and the video performance. I know she has not been able to make as many posts as I had, but her commentary on different plays were welcome.
'Tis been fun!
- Kristopher
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