LEARNING OUTCOMES
Shakespeare Literacy
I have always enjoyed Shakespeare on a bit of a detached level, but this semester has taught me to really love Shakespeare for what it is. I have come to truly enjoy the language and the humor that the text often offers. The biggest piece of literacy that I feel I have gained is how to understand Shakespeare in context and in theme. By understanding Shakespeare in context, I mean that I have learned to consider the history of the play and the time period it was written in as well as Shakespeare's possible motives in writing it. Often these can be related to themes found in play. An example of this was the use of language in Love's Labour's Lost. At other times when I have studied Shakespeare, I have often tried to simply understand the storyline and the basic theme behind it. This semester, I have been able to examine more subtle themes and nuances in the text.
Another aspect of literacy that I have gained is an understanding of the types of Shakespeare's plays: comedies, tragedies, and histories.
After reviewing my blog posts, I do want to do a better job of engaging the text directly. I think I am guilty of often discussing ideas presented in the text but not so much the text that is presenting them. I think the best way to strengthen my Shakespeare literacy going forward would be to do that.
Analyzing Shakespeare Critically
My blog has given me several opportunities to analyze Shakespeare as well as in-class discussions with my group. Some examples are my discussion of Shakespeare's use of balance in A Midsummer Night's Dream, in which I discussed how Shakespeare uses the idea of balance to propel the play forward and to help the chaos-then-resolution that is a comedy really come to life. Another example would be my initial discussion of The Tempest. I have particularly enjoyed viewing some productions and offering some analysis of my experience doing so. A couple of examples: The Winter's Tale and A Midsummer Night's Dream. My discussions with my group in class as well as our class discussions as a whole have given me a lot of opportunities to think and consider different analyses of the play.
I think that my biggest possible improvement in this area (in addition to what I stated in the previous section) would be to more thoroughly flesh out my ideas and analysis. I think that I often think about and consider much more of an in-depth analysis than I convey in my blog. It would be beneficial for me to go through my previous posts and look for loose ends or ways that I can follow up with my initial thoughts after completing my reading of the play and use the text to either support or change my initial ideas. For instance, in one of my initial posts on A Midsummer Night's Dream, I alluded to a theme comparing dreams and love, which I never ended up returning and discussing. Another example would be my post about The Tempest relating to the story of Joseph sold into Egypt; another my opening post about Love's Labour's Lost. All of these posts provide excellent opportunities to demonstrate my learning over time and provide a good foundation for some more thorough analysis. I think I will work to bring these thoughts to a more developed point in the future.
Engaging Shakespeare Creatively
This is an area where I feel that I have been personally focusing on. I enjoy creativity and the arts, and I have been trying to find ways to engage Shakespeare visually. I have compared Shakespeare to art and paintings, discussed the use of posters and advertising for productions, and have generated some of my own visuals to illustrate my thoughts about Shakespeare. I have also sought out other examples of people interpreting and engaging Shakespeare in creative, visual ways. I haven't participated in a performance or recitation of any of the plays, but I have tried to engage Shakespeare creatively on some other levels. I have really enjoyed doing so and I plan to continue.
One of my goals has been to create more visuals illustrating my ideas and posts. This has proven difficult due to time, but I think I am going to renew my efforts in this area. Perhaps if I made a goal to create one illustration per blog post, wherever possible, to accompany my thoughts. I will work on that. I think it will be interesting to see what sort of images I can generate representing my thoughts and experience reading the plays.
Sharing Shakespeare Meaningfully
The biggest way that I have shared Shakespeare this semester has been in discussion with my wife. Often brief, but usually meaningful, I have had several opportunities to point out parts of the text I am reading that I find interesting to her, watch film productions with her, and bring her along to the productions we have attended as a class. These have all led to interesting and valuable discussions about Shakespeare and his works.
I have also reached out to an individual that I discovered to have done some work interpreting Shakespeare visually in a manner that I am interested in. I have not yet received a reply from him, but I hope I will soon.
In addition to these ways, this week I have been searching for and examining some different online venues for possible discussion with others about Shakespeare. For instance, eNotes has a lot of discussion boards that would provide excellent ways to start conversations about the plays I have been reading. I plan to begin focusing on this as a way to share what I have been learning on a more regular basis.
SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING
Much of what I have done for this class, I feel, has been self-directed. Mainly, my decisions to pursue a more visual way of analyzing Shakespeare has been self-directed. Another initiative that I have embarked on is to create visuals for the plays I have been reading. I have not been successful in doing this as much as I would like, but I have spent a good amount of time considering what I would do. It is my intention to continue to direct my learning in this way. (A post concerning visual interpretations of themes in King Lear is coming soon.) I feel like I have spent a lot of time considering modes of learning about Shakespeare and reading them online, but I have not participated enough. I have travelled around online looking at other people's analysis and discussions, viewed other visual interpretations, etc., but I have spent too much of that time being a spectator. I think the best way for me to improve in this area is to engage more in these possible modes of learning. This will demonstrate my success in this area more than anything else.
COLLABORATIVE & SOCIAL LEARNING
I have really enjoyed this aspect of the class, particularly our class discussions within our group. Everyone participates, and usually they always have something worthwhile to say. Gabe has excellent ideas about the overall themes of the plays we read, while Mason and Angela do a great job of discussing specific examples in the text, as well as relating it to other stories or literature. Justin has things to say about both. I feel like our discussions often prove quite useful. Last week, we were discussing The Tempest and had a great time researching a bit of history about special effects in Shakespeare's time. It provided me with something particular to look out for when we viewed the production in Salt Lake City and something to compare it to. We even discussed how we might stage some of the spectacle of the play if we were setting up ourselves.
The only part lacking in this area, I feel, is a lack of focus at times. Our class discussions are much more pointed, thanks to Dr. Burton's specific aspects of the play and themes he wants us to know better and discuss. Sometimes our group conversations wander or are overly broad.
GOING FORWARD
Going forward, I intend to implement the critiques I have made for myself throughout this post. In fact, I think that this post could serve as a good guide for myself as I continue to post. A quick recap:
- More textual analysis
- Revisiting posts to follow-up and further develop my ideas
- Generating visuals: at least one visual per post, if possible
- Engaging others in more meaningful discussion, mainly through online venues
- Being less of a spectator and more involved and engaged in expressing and documenting my learning
- Continuing to see the collaboration of my group through comments on each other's blogs, etc.
I also am participating in a final project for the class. My initial idea is posted here (an interactive Shakespeare video installation), but this may evolve as we work in groups and figure out what needs to happen and what we can actually accomplish. I like the idea, though, because it is both engaging of Shakespeare itself by providing an analysis of a character (or multiple characters) as well as engaging of the public through the sharing of what we have learned through a digital means. I think it meets the learning outcomes of the class rather well.
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