sketchy hamlet.

Earlier on in the semester, I started doing sketches of what I was visualizing in my mind while reading Shakespeare plays. Dr. Burton told me I should post my sketches and drawings for any of you who would care to view them!

So, here they are. Tell me what you think, and what you would do differently. I'm also thinking that for the end of the semester I'll do one really detailed watercolor of something Shakespearean, so any ideas you have for that are welcome!

"I have heard / The cock, that is the trumpet to the morn, / Doth with his lofty and shrill-sounding throat / Awake the god of day, and at his warning, /  Whether in sea or fire, in earth or air, / Th'extravagant and erring spirit hies / To his confine"
Horatio. Act 1, Scene 1

"O wretched state, O bosom black as death, / O limed soul that, struggling to be free, / Art more engaged!
 Help, angels! Make assay. / Bow, stubborn knees, and hear with strings of steel, /
Be soft as sinews of the newborn babe! / All may be well."
King. Scene 3, Act 3.

"See what a grace was seated on his brow: / Hyperion's curls, the front of Jove himself, / An eye like Mars to threaten and command, / A station like the herald Mercury / New-lighted on a heaven-kissing hill-- / A combination and a form indeed /  Where every god did seem to set his seal / To give the world assurance of a man."
Hamlet. Act 3, Scene 4.

shakespeare through the week.

Even though I've decided on a focus for research for the remaining of the semester, I thought I would still do a bit of Shakespeare randomness on the weekends; sort of a culmination of Shakespearean oddities of any sort I find during the week. This week I only came across two items.

One. While searching the Shakespeare section of the HBLL, I came across a dissertation (at least I'd like to think it to be) on "Shakespear:" How embarrassing, right?

Two. I read Psycho yesterday for my Gothic literature and film class, and I found a happy note from Mr. Bates:

Norman finished shaving and washed his hands again. He'd noticed this compulsion in himself, particularly during the past week. Guilt feelings. A regular Lady Macbeth. Shakespeare had known a lot about psychology. Norman wondered if he had known other things too. There was the ghost of Hamlet's father, for example (Bloch, 94-95).

Well Norman, you were right about one thing at least...Shakespeare did know about ALL sorts of things!

victorians taking on shakespeare.

I still have to get back to the questions I raised in my previous post on The Winter's Tale, but that will have to wait for later tonight.

Actress Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth.
John Singer Sargent. 1888.

As for now, I just wanted to get in to typing what I have decided to focus on for the remaining of the semester, that being VICTORIAN SHAKESPEARE. Dr. Burton jogged my memory last class that I had previously mentioned taking a deeper look in how Shakespeare was received and studied in the Victorian era. Thanks Dr Burton.
So Wednesday, I went to the library, and just started wandering from the very first row of Shakespeare books, and spent a good hour reading titles, until finally I reached the 19th century critiques on Shakespeare. I think I pulled all the books available on Victorian Shakespeare, plus a few Shakespeare in the arts books that centered around the Victorian and Pre-Raphaelite period.
I came home with two very full bags of books from the HBLL, and I can't wait to crack those babies open to start making connections and discoveries between two of my most favorite eras, as far as art and literature go.
Oh, I will also be referencing the Victorian Web, and I just came across a blog on the Pre-Raphaelite sisterhood that might have some fun things to explore.
Hazzah!

peer blog evaluation.

Ashely Ysasaga, Ashley Talks Shakespeare.

1. Number of posts. five
2. Quality of posts. Ashley's posts are not as frequent as the standard of two posts per week. She's done some pretty great posts, so I think if she just ups the number of blogs she puts out per week, she'd be doing great.
3. A Strength. Ashley makes some very good connections to non-Shakespeare texts, as in her post Quick Thought on Hamlet. She refers to a talk given by President Uchtdorf, and I'd say that's a pretty great way to connect Shakespeare to our times!
4. Suggested Improvement. I think if Ashley would just post more frequently, and do more of the type of posts she did for her last three, she would be doing great! I agree that it's hard to get into the rhythm of posting all the time, but it's true what Dr. Burton said in that the more you post, the higher your chances are at making a great discovery in one of your posts!

progress report on personal learning.

1. Learning Outcomes. At the beginning of the semester, I initially thought I'd go with how Shakespeare is perceived in Japan, and to study the level of influence and popularity Shakespeare has in Japanese culture. But as I got into reading the plays, I noticed that there were only a few plays that have gained popularity in Japanese culture, so I knew that plan wouldn't work for all the plays I would be reading. So, I had to sort of ditch that plan, although it is still in the back of my mind when I am reading new plays, and now I'm sort of going for a let's-get-the-most-out-of-this-play approach. I feel that with every play I've read so far, I've used different methods in understanding what's really going on in the play. I know I need to be more concise in what I'm researching, but for now, it's been very rewarding and fulfilling to research topics as they come up. As far as specific learning outcomes, I think that I'm on the road to fulfilling the breadth requirement. For the depth, I think that The Winter's Tale has been the one work that I've researched the most, mostly because it is the one work I knew absolutely nothing about when I first began reading it. I've briefly touched on the legacy of Shakespeare, but I certainly could go more into depth on that one. I think the one thing I could work more on as far as analyzing Shakespeare critically would be to do more formal textual analysis. I have yet to read in to one of the plays with a specific critique upon beginning reading, but I plan to incorporate this more thoroughly the second half of the semester.
2. Reading and Research. So far this semester I have read Hamlet, As You Like It, The First Part of Henry IV, King Lear, and The Winter's Tale. I wanted to read a lot more, but one play a week is pretty condensed as is. Some of the secondary sources I've used have been the actual sources Shakespeare used, as well as Asimov's Guide to Shakespeare, which gives more of a historical background to what was happening within the plays. Also, at the beginning of the semester, I grabbed several books from the library, which all had different approaches to Shakespeare's works and cultural themes. I was able to find a few very helpful articles online just by typing what I wanted to find out in Google. I've also talked through several of the plays with my mom, which helped to get another perspective. As I'm sure is expected, I have a lot of questions during and after reading one of Shakespeare's plays, but often times I get intimidated trying to find the answer to, sometimes, really obscure questions. That is one thing I really need to work on for the remainder of the semester.
3. Links and Connections. I need to be better at making connections with classmates' blogs. However, I do think I make connections to non-Shakespearean texts, although not very frequently. Obviously this is one thing I REALLY need to work on. 
4. Personal Impact. I've always liked Shakespeare, and I thought I had a pretty good understanding of a lot of his works, but this semester, I realized that I'm becoming a Shakespeare nerd! Although I was very insecure about the whole self-directed-learning thing, I see now that it's helped me learn more about Shakespeare than I would have if I had been told exactly what I needed to do. The self directed learning has made me search out answers I have to the text, and has made me really dig deep into what themes are that I'm reading, and to ponder on what really is happening. Because of this, I think that The Winter's Tale is one of my favorites that I've read this semester, mostly because I knew nothing going in to it, so I had to work harder at understanding it, which has made my experience with this play more enriching. I'm talking a lot more about Shakespeare with everyone now. I'm able to connect Shakespeare to conversations my family is having, and I get excited when I can share with them something meaningful I have learned from one of the plays I've been reading. It's been a great learning process, and I feel very engaged and motivated to learn more about Shakespeare.
5. Personal Evaluation. So I think I've been doing pretty okay. One of the things I think I'm doing well with is just blogging pretty consistently. I was nervous at first, but then I just sort of forced myself to do two blogs a week, so that now I feel like I WANT to blog about Shakespeare nearly every day! I don't, but I do think about Shakespeare all the time now, and try to find connections in my every-day life that I can write about. I've mentioned in the other points what I need to work on, but one of the most important things I think that I need to do now would be to really do deep research and deep readings of the plays so I can gain more knowledge about the plays in historical, cultural, religious, etc., contexts. That way, I bet I could get a lot of my won questions that creep up answered more frequently. 
6. Peer Influence. Whitney Call always does very interesting and thorough posts. I love the approach of comedy that she has chosen to take on the plays she is reading. Also, Claire Hopkin makes some very interesting points, and her blogs will often pose questions that will make me think and try to figure out the answer to. Of course, there are many others whose blogs I enjoy to read and follow, but then my list of 2-3 would turn in to a list of...many more than that! 

pandosto, a victim of time.

Before I got into my previous post's questions, I wanted to read the source from which Shakespeare drew on for The Winter's Tale, that being Robert Greene's Pandosto. The Triumph of Time. I found it to be wonderful prose, as would make sense since Greene was very popular during his time of the late 1500s. But my post here will be on what I noticed from the original to the "remake," and make connections from that.

• First off, Bohemia, in Greene's text, is still a coastal country. The history of Bohemia suggests that it only was ever a coastal country for four years, during the reign of Ottokar II from 1269 to 1273 (Asimov, 157). Very interesting. I wonder if either Greene or Shakespeare thought about this, or if they were just going for the fantastical side of things by making Bohemia a coastal country in what appears to be a pre-Christian era, which is suggested by the oracle at Delphi, which was utilized before the time of Christ. Odd mesh of time periods, wouldn't you say?
• The characters of Greene's prose are: Pandosto, King of Bohemia; Bellaria, wife to Pandosto; Egistus, King of Sicilia; Franion, servant to Pandosto; Garinter, son of Bellaria and Pandosto; Fawnia, lost daughter of Pandosto and Bellaria; Porrus, adoptive father to Fawnia; Mopsa, wife to Porrus; Dorastus / Meleangrus, son of Egistus; Capnio, servant to Egistus. So, if you've read the Shakespearean version, you'll be able to notice that he swapped places of the unfortunate king from Greene's original.
• Bellaria and Egistus are indeed very friendly, but Bellaria is only showing him affection for the sake of her husband, Pandosto, who wishes for his wife and his best friend to get along. The two would often talk late in to the night, because the queen thought she was doing what her husband wanted her to do, but there was never any inappropriate conduct between the two. 
• Pandosto is more methodical than maniacal; he thinks over the consequences if he were to poison his bff, Egistus, as well as his wife, Bellaria.
• Franion is very conflicted about what Pandosto has asked of him. Either he can be a loyal servant and poison Egistus and Bellaria, or he can remain moral and tell Egistus about the plot against his life.  Franion, while contemplating, says, "Where eagles build, falcons may prey; where lions hunt, foxes may steal." So pretty much, no matter what he does, there will be conflict and problems.
• Franion is justifying that if he does go through with poisoning Egistus, that he shouldn't feel bad because he is doing it for the king, and the king will protect his actions. But he decides to flee with Egistus in the end.
• Because Egistus is no longer in court, Pandosto has no one else to take his anger out on other than his wife, Bellaria.
• The jailor is the one that informs the king that his queen is pregnant. 
• Pandosto's nobles ALL try to persuade him not to kill his wife and his newly-born daughter.
• Bellaria is the one that puts the chain that would later identify her daughter around her neck.
• The baby was sent out to the merciless sea to be laid in the hand of fortune, just as the king has ordered to be done. The seafarers felt pity for the baby, so they built a shelter on the boat so the babe would have some chance against the sea.
• It was the queen who had requested that the oracle be inquired of Bellaria's innocence. The oracle's reply was "Suspicion is no proof: Jealousy is an unequal judge: Bellaria is chaste: Egistus blameless: Franion a true subject: Pandosto treacherous: His babe and innocent, and the king shall live without an heir: if that which is lost be not found." This is nearly word for word what Shakespeare's oracle prophesied, except for the names of course.
• After this indictment was read, the king asked his noblemen to ask his wife fir forgiveness, and he confessed all his folly, then the report came that his son dies, and upon that report his wife fell and died.
• The king then thought of taking his own life, but his courtiers stayed with him to make sure he wouldn't go through with it, and to persuade him that it wouldn't be worth it.
• The epitaph that Pandosto had on his wife's grave read:  "Here lyes entombde Bellaria faire, falsly accused to be unchaste: Cleared by Apollos sacred doome, yet slaine by jealousie at last. What eve thou be that passest by, cursse him, that causde this queene to die."
• A shepherd from Sicilia found the baby. He considered taking the baby to the king so it could be raised in the upbringing it would have deserved, but he wanted to keep the gold and money, so to justify keeping the gold and riches, he decided to just take the baby home to his wife so they could raise it. When Porrus, the shepherd, brought the baby home, his wife was furious, thinking it was a bastard child her husband had made with another woman. Then Mopsa, his wife, decided it was a blessing because they were both poor and did not have the ability to have a child. 
• Sixteen years later, Dorastus, Egistus' son, is betrothed to Euphrania, the princess of Denmark. Dorastus talks about how he will never marry, and he and his father get in quite a tiff. 
• Dorastus meets Fawnia, much the same way they met in Shakespeare's version by flying his falcon nearby Fawnia's farm, then over the next several months, or weeks, or so, they get in to many arguments of why and why not they cannot love each other, let alone marry. Then after all this debate, they decide to hit the sails and flee to Italy. In this scenario, Capnio takes the place of Shakespeare's Autolycus in tricking Porrus to not request audience with the king. Capnio then tricks Porrus on to the same ship that Dorastus and Fawnia are setting sail on, then they all have a grumpy trip, and a tempest rages and sets them off course and they land at Sicilia. Dorastus knew that the king of Sicilia, Pandosto, was not in favor with his own father, and had heard Pandosto was an awful man. So Capnio convinces Dorastus to change his name, as well as Fawnia's birthplace. Dorastus is now Meleagrus and Fawnia is from Padua.
• After a short audience with Pandosto, he realizes who Meleagrus is, and sends him, along with the seafarers, to prison. He then tries to seduce Fawnia in becoming one of his concubines and tells her he would set Dorastus free if she agreed to be his concubine. She of course cannot be persuaded.
• Word was sent to Egistus that Pandosto was keeping his son in prison, so he leaves immediately to Sicilia to retrieve his son and to send Fawnia and Porrus to death for tainting his princely son.
• All is then revealed by Porrus, because he wanted to confess before being put to death so he could have a clear conscience, then everything is lovely and happy, and The Bohemians, with their new princess Fawnia, go back. Then word is sent that because of Pandosto's tormenting guilt, he kills himself. 

So, obviously, Greene's original text has much darker elements than Shakespeare's take on the famous tragic prose. It has been interesting to ponder on the differences and wonder why Shakespeare made the changes he did. It is well worth to read the sources that inspired Shakespeare, and to see the same level of craft Shakespeare must've seen in these texts...otherwise, why would he use them to create his own works?

the slaves of chance and flies of every wind that blows.

I have been reading The Winter's Tale this week, and I absolutely love it. I went in to this play not knowing anything about it, which, i think, aided my imagination and I was really able to get in to the minds and actions of the characters, as well as really visualize the setting of the different acts and scenes.

There are a few things I noticed right off that I wanted to pursue further, so I'll just list them off here, and get to them later, either in this post or another.

• First off, TWT was mentioned by Bevington as being the best example of Shakespeare's genre tragicomedy. After reading the whole play, I was able to see why it was named so: the first half was definitely tragic, while the second half was full of love and forgiveness. What's interesting is that the play was set up in a very stark contrast between the two emotions, rather than mixing the two, as is done very frequently in even Shakespeare's tragedies and comedies, they will mix all sorts of emotions without a very clear-cut scene for each emotion. Example, Hamlet; you get wit and comedy swirled in here and there even though the whole over-arching theme is very traumatic and disturbing.
• TWT boasts to have the most unique stage direction of any Shakespeare play, that being "Exit, pursued by a bear." This made me wonder how many productions of this play really did stage a live bear, as the Bevington intro indicates. That certainly would cause a scene.
• TWT has a significant amount of prose, more so than any other Shakespeare play I've read, other than The Tempest, which I wonder, and know, there has to be some reason Shakespeare turned toward the more natural speech of man during his last years. 
• TWT is obviously set in a pre-Christian world. The play is very consistent in referring to the Roman gods that were so highly favoured, as well as the oracle at Delphi. However, I did notice one reference of a chapel in act 3, scene 2. In my mind, chapel refers to Christianity, so I'm very curious...was this word ever used in describing temples of the Roman gods? Or did Shakespeare use chapel because he knew his audience would be more familiar with that term? I could just be fixating on a small detail, but it did made me wonder enough to note it here.
• There is a fair deal of mentioning the improbability of such stories as TWT within the play. It's almost like Shakespeare is making a commentary of the silliness of fantastical tales that he himself is so expert at weaving. 
• In act 4, scene 4 there is a reference to BOWLING! I was curious about how the game has changed since Shakespeare's time.
• And finally, Queen Hermione...why did Shakespeare fool the audience in to thinking she had died? Or did she really die and Paulina was a sorceress who brought the statue of Hermione to life at the end of the play so she could offer a blessing to her daughter and forgive her husband Leontes? Either way, Bevington, once again, was right in saying that Shakespeare used "a kind of trickery found in no other Shakespearean play." 

Hopefully, during this three-day weekend, I can address most of these questions I have brought up to myself.