Well, sorry for the late post! My computer has been giving me some fun difficulties today... let's get to it:
I've been having a hard time deciding what I'd like to write my paper on. Probably mainly because I'm most interested in writing a paper from a teaching perspective (since I will hopefully be teaching some Shakespeare at a high school level someday), but I don't necessarily think that my look into teaching A Midsummer Night's Dream is really my best writing idea. Originally, I was thinking of going along with a thesis something like: By reading and using activities related to A Midsummer Night's Dream, a high school teacher could effectively engage students in a study and exploration of romantic love (or relationships, love in general, etc... depending on what you wanted to emphasize in the class). Kasey then gave me an idea that I feel focuses the paper better--she told me to contrast the way that I feel (or research shows) that Shakespeare should be taught and the way that it is actually being taught, in order to create a more argumentative thesis. So that's one idea I'm considering: using A Midsummer Night's Dream as a vehicle to reach the greater purpose of most effectively teaching Shakespeare to high school students. I don't know... what do you guys think? Is it interesting and/or plausible? Consider this idea in conjunction with my others and let me know what would most spark your interest.
2nd Thesis:
The text in A Midsummer Night's Dream lends itself to modern interpretations of the play where the woods become a fantasy world free of inhibition and the palace becomes a symbol of repression and force.
The idea here (as I mentioned in class) would be to look into things like prose, verse, and the varying types of verse... how does that contribute to the overall meaning of the palace and/or the woods? The problem here is that I haven't found much to back up the correlation that I'm proposing... which could mean it doesn't exist, or could mean that it just hasn't been explored yet. Intriguing.
3rd Thesis:
In the play A Midsummer Night's Dream, dreams function as a means for characters to experience a world separate from the real world, a place where they can live out their fantasies. (I'd probably reword this, depending on where I take the focus.)
The initial idea came from a quote (that I shared earlier on digital dialogue) found here: http://kellybulkeley.com/dreams-midsummer-nights-dream/ ...looking into this idea further I found some interesting articles considering a psychoanalytic approach to this play and the value of dreams. With this thesis I would explore the value that dreams have for the characters. Are dreams just a means to enact fantasies that otherwise wouldn't be acted upon?
Those are some of my ideas--I'd be interested to hear opinions or expansions anyone has. What would you be most interested to hear more about? Any insights?
So far my favorite thesis is your first idea. I think that carries the most weight and is the most interesting. You are interesting in teaching, so I think that would carry your interest the best. I would be very interested to hear what research is being conducted on the teaching of Shakespeare. Heaven knows we need better teachers of Shakespeare at the high school level. I still get shivers up and down my spine when I remember my junior year. I love shakespeare...hated the way it was presented. So, I think that has some serious social worth.
ReplyDelete