As You Like It: Live from the Globe

I choose As You Like It because it was one that I wasn't familiar with.  Watching the recording from the Globe was AMAZING!!! It would be awesome to visit someday but this was a really good substitute for my college budget.  (You really can't beat free!)  I loved this performance because the players were interacting with the audience: fighting down by the groundlings, running away from each other INTO THE AUDIENCE, heckling the other players from the back, etc etc.  The songs also brought an interesting twist because I wasn't quite used to those melodies or harmonies that were sung, and so it brought a more authentic feel to the performance. 

However, it was interesting that it wasn't until Rosalind was picking up poetry from the forest that I realized I actually had seen this play before.  It was produced at my middle school and obviously was shortened and condensed to appropriate for younger audiences which is why I didn't quite recognize it at first.  Although both performances were enjoyable and I was laughing out loud, the Globe version is superior because when they started dancing at the end they incorporated both Shakespearean and modern dancing.  The audience recognized popular moves and clapped and cheered along with the actors.  I felt that it made the experience more realistic because that's exactly what Shakespeare would have done when his plays were originally performed.  It was perfect!

Revised Annotated Bibliography

Social Graph
I was able to bounce some ideas off my "homies" and also a hometeacher but I think the most important social graph here were my parents who are helping me to hone my ideas and clarify points. 

New MediaI was excited to find Bruce Young's book online in a digital format.  It made reading certain chapters really easy because I could just upload the chapters to my laptop and read them whenever I had a few minutes in between classes.  Rather than carry a book around I was carrying my laptop.  Although in this case I think my laptop was heavier than the book itself. . . 

Social Networks

• Goodreads Shakespeare Group
• Facebook 
• Maybe Google + I'm not really established on here but I might try it.

Traditional Scholarly Sources-

• Smith, Amy L. “Performing Marriage with a Difference: Wooing, Wedding, and Bedding in The Taming of the Shrew.” Comparative Drama 36, nos. 3-4 (fall-winter 2002-2003): 289-320.
• Martins, Maria Lúcia Milléo. “The Taming of the Shrew:  Shakespeare’s Theater of Repetition.” In Foreign Accents: Brazilian Readings of Shakespeare, edited by Aimara da Cunha Resends, pp. 126-37. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 2002.
  This has the changing ideas of marriage and how women are supposed to behave and act even though they are the vehicles through which men receive property and money.
• Crocker, Holly A. “Affective Resistance: Performing passivity and Playing A-Part in The Taming of the Shrew.” Shakespeare Quarterly 54, no.2 (summer 2003): 142-59.Argues that feminine virtue is a performance that allows women to obtain their desires of free agency within the play.
• Young, Bruce Wilson. Family Life in the Age of Shakespeare. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2009. www.npu.edu.ua. Web. 12 Nov. 2012.This is the electronic copy of the book that Professor Burton mentioned in class. (The BYU Library didn't have a copy of it so I luckily was able to find it online.)

Marriage Politics in Measure for Measure--Final Paper

I think my top publication option would be through BYU's Criterion, but another viable option would be the University of Washington's undergraduate journal Intersections. 

Troilus and Cressida: Less of a Problem Play and More of a Promise Play

Well, here is my final paper! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xUBXvTGtDI8hPC0ANP-BzgXeVAqzhwT6fe4RcDzcNt4/edit

I hope the formatting stayed intact, as I moved it from a Microsoft Word document to a Google Drive document.

I am still interested in submitting to the following venues:

Shakespeare Institute Review--I heard back from them and they said they were looking for "papers that include analysis rather than description, those that have something original to contribute, and work that is thoroughly researched and documented." My paper is long enough, but I will want to double check that I have something with enough analysis (I tried to include mostly analysis, but I may have to revise accordingly) and originality. I also don't know that my paper fits the theme of their current journal, but I'm hoping it will fit with the next one (or I can revise it to fit with the theme).

Criterion--I also am hoping to submit to Criterion. I am a little bit under the minimum word limit of 3,000 words, so I might have to expand my argument for them and make sure it is very analytically-based (as that is what I found many of the essays in this journal were like).

BYU English Symposium-- I presented a paper last year at this symposium, and I am hoping to do the same this year. If I did submit my paper, I would have to write a 200- to 250-word abstract, which wouldn't be too hard since the paper is already written. I would also have to adapt my paper for a speech format, which might involve simplifying some of my points and making sure my arguments are very clear for listeners (as they won't be able to reread what I say).

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving, and happy paper reading.

A Midsummer Night's Dream and the Graphic Novel... Final Paper

Here it is, folks: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B8dC_PASgMXnX3VoNlZoNE50SnM/edit

I think some of the screenshots got messed up in the translation over to google docs... so sorry about that.

Ultimately, I'm most interested in publishing to The English Journal, but that's more of a long-term goal that would probably happen after I've been teaching for a while. Other than that, I'm not exactly sure where to publish this type of paper. Maybe the media site that Ian mentioned would be a good place to check out?

Enjoy!

Equality Within Elizabethan Marriage

So I was super stoked because this paper was coming along so nicely.  I sent it to a few friends to have them edit it and they gave me great feedback.  However I came to realize that perhaps this paper wasn't as polished as I originally thought. . . but here is the final draft and I am happy with how it turned out. Equality Within Elizabethan Marriage

As for venues to publish this paper I tried a few conferences but all came back with negative responses so I am working on submitting this to Criterion.  I liked this over all process and hope that you all enjoyed it as well or at least found that it improved some aspect of your writing as it did mine!

Othello Paper (finally)

I feel like this final paper should he heralded by trumpet fanfare. If you feel the same way, please celebrate with me and the London Fanfare Trumpets... :)

I have two avenues that I am working towards with my paper. They are both conferences. One is the Undergraduate Shakespeare Conference that I mentioned in a previous blog post under the potential venues section. This conference would take place at Holy Cross University in Massachusetts next spring.

Another option is the Wooden O. Symposium through the Utah Shakespeare Festival. There are several levels of presentation, including an undergrad section. Although Othello is not one of their featured plays, they still accept work on some of Shakespeare's "classics."

And in case you were dying to read it, which I know you are, you can read my paper here.

The Final Villainous Installment

Shakespeare Term Paper Click Here

This paper has been a real treat to write! I have thoroughly enjoyed myself and am excited to prep it for further publication possibilities!

I am interested in Criterion. I have been reading some of their articles and have noticed that each section of their essay has its own header to set it apart. I would probably want to add something like that too mine. I also noticed the articles tended to use less outside resources. I feel like my paper has a good balance at the moment, but to fit in, I might add more to my own observations. The articles aren't afraid of using "I" so I might want to add a little more of a personal touch to everything.

I found an AWESOME online journal published by UGA called Borrowers and Lenders: The Journal of Shakespeare and Appropriation.  They like authors to include sound bits, pictures, and videos into their essays to make them more interactive. I could use clips from Kenneth Branaugh's Othello and The Dark Knight! I wonder if I would need to get permission to do that. They require a short 150-200 word paper proposal that gets the point of your paper across. They also want a short author's bio. So, my biggest chore would be to compact my paper into a single tiny paragraph. I emailed their editor to see if a BYU undergrad was eligible to submit to his journal. I haven't heard back yet, but I just found this journal yesterday. Plus, this journal looks at how Shakespeare influences modern culture! That is perfect for my paper! http://www.borrowers.uga.edu/about

The third possible venue is the Shakespeare symposium at BYU. Their guidelines are the following:

1. A 200- to 250-word abstract (including paper title)
2. 5 key terms from your paper (for purposes of indexing)
3. Contact information (your name, phone number, and email)

, Once again I would need to condense my paper into a tiny proposal. Once that is done I would need to develop a verbal way of presenting my ideas and convert my written prose into a presentation. Perhaps a power-point would be a good start.

Anyhow, on to the main even! My paper is finished and it was a doozy to write!

Finished Paper!

Hooray!
Here is a link.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1z2LuunRFfyemEqUIzxJLhz1-Qc8JqlInfLiCkj_W2AE/edit

I've only really looked into being published in Criterion, but I'll need to add about a page to meet the word limit, same as Gabe, as well as add some headings to show the transitions within my paper.

Rebellion is . . . Good?

I admittedly don't really have any original places that I've thought to submit my paper to. The first one that came to mind was Criterion, as a flyer for it was passed around during my class on the American novel. I would have to add another page or so to get the bare minimum of 3,000 words in there though.

I dabbled around in literary journals for other universities, but ones like Clemson required 6,000 words, much weightier paperwork than what I have. Based on a class member mentioning The Shakespeare Festival's (in Cedar City, Utah) call for papers, I was a little excited to look into that one. The due date for this year is past (May 1) , but maybe I can look into it again come April or so of 2013. I would have to make a 250 word abstract. There wasn't any other information on length though on the website.

I had a lot of good feedback concerning my thesis. I had done something not uncommon for me in not making my thesis the most self-evident. Everybody that skimmed and/or read my paper told me to make it more clear, so I did that. Of course, there were a few other revisions here and there. Okay, I'm done rambling now. Here's the paper.

The Merchant of Venice, Finally

For publication, I intend to submit my paper to a few different journals just to increase my chances and explore the options out there.
The Valley Review
For this one I will have to change the paper to Chicago style, which shouldn't be too difficult, and I need to increase the length by just a hundred words or so. I will be going back into my original outline to see if there is anything I feel I can incorporate back into my argument to increase the length by just a little. Submissions due Dec 15.
Philologia
For this one I will have to do minor format changes, like make the citations footnote, as well as write a 200 word abstract and cover letter. This one doesn't accept submissions again for a year I think, so I will put it on the back burner, and possibly just consider it for future papers.
Criterion
For this one, too, I will increase the length ever so slightly. I won't have to change much else. My paper relates a tiny bit to the special topic for the upcoming issue. It probably doesn't really fit into the category directly, but it would be related, which I think is cool and would be interesting. Submissions due Jan 18.
Agora
This one doesn't really require much change for my paper. It is supposed to be about great books, so talking about a famous Shakespeare play is very appropriate. Submissions for next issue are due Dec 15.

And, finally, here is the finished product.
The Merchant of Venice as a Non-Racist Text

After reviewing past issues of each of these journals, I am considering writing a more interesting title for some submissions.

Twelfth Night: Final Paper

Here is the link to my paper:

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B6ftQZFayfGPZnVFaEpQUVNlSmc

As far as publishing this paper goes, I could publish in Intersections, an online quarterly journal from the University of Washington.  This journal accepts papers any time without prompt via email. I would need to include a cover page, an abstract, and a bio.

Also, the English Journal would be incredible to be published in, although the odds of getting published would increase after I'm a teacher, or with the help of someone already teaching.  To meet the requirements for this journal I would need to lengthen my paper by two to six pages and not submit it anywhere else.

A (Graphic) Novel Approach to Teaching Shakespeare

I enjoyed doing the research for this paper, mainly because I settled on a topic that I didn't know much about. I would have never ended up writing a paper on graphic novels if it weren't for all of the social input that people gave me-- and how cool is that? 

Overall, I'm mostly concerned with the focus of the paper... I think I'm still trying to cover too much. If you notice, I don't get to the nitty-gritty (the thesis) until almost the end of the second page. So I'm wondering what you think about the information that's included in the first paragraphs about "purists" and bridging language with other things. Do you think this detracts from the focus of the argument, or does it give the argument more meaning? Anything else you want to say is also appreciated. (Oh, and just FYI... I think I'll end up adding one more paragraph that talks about students and problems with Shakespeare language comprehension.)

Elizabethan Marriage Politics

Well, my renewed efforts to get some feedback from the Shakespeare forum on Goodreads were successful! I re-phrased my question to get more general help on the topic of marriage during the Renaissance, particularly in reference to Measure for Measure, and a wonderful gentleman in the UK recommended a chapter of a book on British history that I was able to find in the BYU library. Pretty cool.
My Grandfather's online feedback on what kinds of things to look for when exploring/developing my topic helped direct my general search for specific contextual information regarding marriage customs/conflicts during Shakespeare's time.
I've also been talking with roommates about the topic, and trying to explain my paper, just like with the video exercise, has helped me clarify my argument and my understanding of how I want to develop it.
I found the majority of my most helpful sources on JSTOR and in the Shakespeare reference section of the HBLL (5th floor), as well as Tudor history books in the reference section on the 1st floor.

More info on Criterion

In looking into Criterion I learned some more particulars. They accept undergraduate as well as masters work. They are interested in a wide range of topics, so it looks like Shakespeare will be right up their alley! The deadline of submissions is the 18 of January so we have time to tweak and perfect our papers! Fun stuff! I'm definitely going for it! I need to get some stuff published if I want to be a professor.
Here is the link to their website.
http://english.byu.edu/criterion/submissions.php

Improving Macbeth & Marketing

          As it has been for many colleagues here on the blog, the social media research methods of my paper is going positive thus far. I just got an email response about half an hour ago from my Creative Writing professor here at BYU and she gave me really helpful suggestions as to how Macbeth could be marketed in a better light to attract more audience members. Here is what she suggested:

• With a play like Macbeth, where possible, use a young cast. The Cedar City Shakespeare Festival did this a few years ago and it was fantastic to see how much the audience connected with the younger Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. (As opposed to a show I saw years before, in which I didn't connect at all with the older character.)
• Capitalize on the way contemporary/timeless themes that viewers will connect to in Macbeth: peer pressure, deception, fate, jealousy/power, guilt. What does your audience like? How does that relate to the themes of the play.
• Formula pitches: 3 witches + 9 (?) ghosts + a lot of blood = Macbeth (or something like that)
• Popular casting. If popular contemporary actors are good enough for Shakespeare, use them! Sir Patrick Stewart's Macbeth was brilliant, and I loved Jeremy Irons and Tom Hiddleston in the Henriad that the BBC put out earlier this year. (Unfortunately, the British have better luck at this than we Americans do. See also, nerds.)
• Appealing to genre fiction: mystery/science fiction/fantasy/horror
• Start kids on Shakespeare young. My ten-year-old-sister has seen eight Shakespearean plays and she can't get enough of them. My brother was Oberon in Midsummer Night's Dream when he was eleven. If it's part of their culture, they have a better chance to acquire it.

          The tough part about my thesis is just getting scholarly sources that can relate Macbeth to Marketing. I suppose I could always use sources that indirectly reference these two, while maintaining the sources' scholarly nature but tailoring their use to fit my arguments. 

          I also spoke to a librarian via the chat function on the HBLL's website and him/her suggested that I find different movies and plays produced, then search through popular publications of the times looking for specific marketing for them. Again, this is a good idea, but it might veer away from a more scholarly approach.

          Feel free to give suggestions and comments. 

          Thanks! 

       

Troilus and Cressida: "Public"ations

In my last post, I talked about The Shakespeare Institute Review. I contacted the journal to find out if they accept undergraduate work (on their website they only mentioned that they accept postgraduate work). I told them about our class and told them we were looking for places to submit our work. I also asked them what topics they prefer to publish. I haven't heard back from them yet, but I'm hoping to hear back soon! One caveat of the journal is that they publish works in British English, which may make submitting to them somewhat difficult, but I'm sure there are only a few items that would need to be tweaked in order to conform to those standards. 

They also accept submissions between 1500 and 3000 words. They just had a submission deadline for the journal, and from what I could gather, they seem to be interested in a specific theme for each journal, but they seem to want a multi-faceted view on that topic. They like seeing historical views, views connected to modern-day interpretations, views on how Shakespeare relates to psychology, politics, religion, and so forth. So if their target theme is something that connects with what you are writing, I am sure they would be interested in it. As I read through one of the older journals, I found that the submissions were very textual. Just another reason to work on our close analysis of a text as we work on our drafts.

Rhetorical Research

As I have been continuing to research for my paper, I have decided the best audience for my paper would probably be teachers in the secondary school setting. I want to show my English Teaching professors my ideas and ask them what they think about trying to apply this in real schools with real students.

As I have continued my research, I have tried to expand both the social networking and the traditional research components. I have found that not many teachers in the secondary school setting are familiar or comfortable with teach rhetoric in their classroom. However, from the research I have gathered I have found that this is because they do not know that they are already teaching principles that come from rhetoric, they just did not know that it was called rhetoric. I think that teachers could help their students even more in writing and language development by making sure to overtly teach rhetoric and try to implement rhetorical exercises and principles.

Improvements in Researching A Midsummer Night's Dream

What has been working:
I've had a ton of helpful feedback through social media.
I've been able to speak personally to people involved/interested in the research that I'm doing. (As an update: In a few conversations that I've had just with friends recently I've been able to run the idea of teaching with the graphic novel by them... and I've had a lot of great responses. Even just my own peers seem interested in the idea, and a lot have expressed that this would have really helped them when they were reading Shakespeare in secondary school.)
I've found a fair amount of research backing up and/or challenging my claims.

What I've been working to improve:
Actual analysis of A Midsummer Night's Dream as a specific vehicle to prove that my ideas work. (Specifically, I was really excited to find a graphic novel version of A Midsummer Night's Dream available in the library. I've been looking at that to find more specifics of where the book could actually serve to better teach an understanding and/or analysis of the text.)
I mentioned that I've found some research regarding my claims, but not enough. I need to find more, and that's my next step.

Publishing and improvements on Merchant

From the beginning I've been told that I need to spend a little more time in the actual text to make sure my argument is well-grounded in proofs from the actual play. In order to better fulfill that requirement, I've gone through my outline and either removed or edited every main point that I felt could not be sufficiently supported by direct evidence in the text. While doing this I found some new proofs that supported my argument in new ways, but I did have to get rid of some things that I realized were pretty subjective in my argument.
Another improvement I have made is actually including some of the social proofs in the paper itself. Before this, I've just been using the material I've found as idea starters or personal encouragement or things like that, but now I'm planning on including in the paper quotes from a former high school Shakespeare teacher of mine, and an email response from the director of last year's BYU "family" production of Merchant. My former teacher shared her opinion on the racism in the text, how it teaches lessons appropriate for high school classrooms, and she even shared some tips on how she teaches it.

As far as publishing, some realistic options for publication are in the BYU English Symposium or the Criterion. There is also this blog which is accepting guest posts right now actually.
Another thought I have had is the NCTE journals, like the English Education one, or probably just the English Journal.

What I Needed Most to Make My Paper Great

So this post is supposed to be about whatever it is that we need most to get our papers to where they need to be. I feel really good about my use of social media (comments are still coming in occasionally) and although I am still waiting for a response from the conference directors, I feel good about that avenue.

Most of the work that I have been putting in over the last few days is to find scholarly research that supports what I am doing. I found a few articles that are about adolescent psychology. One of them is about how the way teachers perceive students can affect their behavior. I thought that article was interesting and could tie in to what I am researching. Just as teachers can affect their students, those in authority positions affect the characters in the play, whether those authority figures are parents, rulers, etc. Another interesting article I found tied in psychology to Macbeth. I haven't finished reading it yet, but I have high hopes!

Seeing Macbeth through Marketing Lenses

          I have been questioning my initial paper from the start. At first it was about how the play of Macbeth has been interpreted in Brazil. I initially thought this would be a cool idea, but when I got to think about I noticed that my heart simply wasn't in it. I felt it somehow wasn't relevant enough for the current times.

          Going with our theme of collaborating socially to construct our papers, over the weekend I changed my topic to be about how the Macbeth play has been marketed in the past and present (last decade mostly). I like this topic because it feels fresh for the times we live in and since we live in a society so bombarded with media, marketing and advertising, I figured there'd be a lot of sources and information to draw from. My ultimate goal is to formulate a paper that suggests new ways in which this particular play can be marketed today to attract a larger audience. The younger crowd would be the most to benefit from these marketing efforts, because they're the ones who are perhaps the least interested in Shakespeare generally.

          I hope my paper may be a stepping stone to Shakespeare production companies, theaters, etc. to better market their plays. We all know the importance of a first impression. In this day and age, the first impression, if not done right, may linger negatively for a considerably long time in people's collective consciousness, which indirectly influences thousands and perhaps even millions, of peoples' impressions.

          I have researched mainly online, sending tweets to around 50 Shakespeare "people" and also emailing a few professors of mine in the Communications department. These professors are professional advertisers, as well as BYU teachers now. Tomorrow I'm also going to meet with Robert Means, the subject librarian.

          My questions to you guys is this:

- What are some other methods of research you think I could use for my paper?

- How can I combine this contextual analysis with the text of Macbeth itself?

Wish me luck.

Mawridge, Mawridge is what brings us togewther tewday!

Initially I was stupefied at the daunting task of where to begin.  Then I went to the my common search engine, Google and found much more than I originally anticipated.  There are symposiums EVERYWHERE and even if you can't find a recent one you can look at the page of symposium that occurred in the past and (ideally) find a link to the more current page.  I found the 18th Annual CSU Shakespeare Symposium at CSU (California State University) Fullerton back in 2010.  Its a joint effort put on by The Acacia Group and As You Like Shakespeare Society.  I found that the quest speaker was a Louise Sorel who actually played Katherine in Taming of the Shrew on stage.  She would be a great example of someone who I found because of content, however, I decided to go through another individual and ask her a few questions because of her career as a professional actress.  (She is also easier to contact because I don't have an Imdb or LinkedIn account.)
In order to strengthen my mini paper I decided that I needed more historical context so I obtained the book recommended by Professor Burton, and read the chapters that I thought pertained to marriage.  I also e-mailed the author who happens to be a professor at BYU and am waiting to hear back.  Meanwhile I will probably go back to the library for more biographical/historical information as I have already proven that to be a valuable resource in the past.
If anyone sees anything regarding family life in Elizabethan times I'd love to have you link it to this page or let me know where I can find it!

Criteria for Criterion

I've heard about Criterion before, but I never seriously considered submitting a paper. Never hurts to try! I read through one essay that was excellent, it had some deep analysis which made me want to strengthen my own textual readings. Quick question though, the papers were all submitted with big headings announcing the next section of the paper, which I could do in my paper, however, I don't think Dr. Burton wants it formatted this way. I could always change it after I turn it in. I think the whole class might as well take a shot at submitting a paper to Criterion, because what is the worst that could happen?
http://english.byu.edu/criterion/submissions.php

Publishing and Researching

Publishing:

I found a really cool webpage with lists of journals for undergraduates to contribute to in art and literature. It's found at: http://unl.libguides.com/content.php?pid=207791&sid=1732413

A couple promising journals are:

Young Scholars in Writing: Undergraduate Research
A refereed journal dedicated to publishing research articles written by undergraduates in a wide variety of disciplines associated with rhetoric and writing. The Journal seeks theory-driven and/or research-based submissions from undergraduates on the following topics: writing, rhetoric, composition, professional writing, technical writing, business writing, discourse analysis, writing technologies, peer tutoring in writing, writing process, writing in the disciplines, and related topics. Submission deadline June 30.

(With its emphasis on rhetoric this one might be good for Kasey)

and...

Intersections
Intersections is a peer-reviewed quarterly online journal that features student essays and theses from a wide range of disciplinary locations within the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. They welcome submissions from students outside the University of Washington community.

Utah Shakespeare Festival Wants Our Essays

With papers well underway, this is the part where we search for a publisher, or just a way to get people to read what we've written. I'll admit I feel unworthy of such an honor as publication, but I have to give it a shot anyway right?

When I originally chose Love's Labour's Lost for the topic of my paper, it was because they are performing it next year at the Shakespeare Festival down in Cedar City. I got to thinking that maybe there is a way to publish through the festival and sure enough I found this link.

http://www.bard.org/woodeno/call.html

Apparently the Utah Shakespeare Festival puts out a journal called the Journal of the Wooden O Symposium. They take only Shakespeare related essays, sometimes asking for essays on specific plays. The problem with this journal is that the deadline was last may, but that probably means they will restart and list new requirements and new deadlines pretty soon.

This may not only benefit me, but others in the class who are looking for prestigious Shakespeare journals to go through to get their work out. I haven't done much digging yet, but I wanted to get this posted so others could take a look if they needed ideas for finding publishing resources. I'll keep you all updated as I discover more information.

People are actually RESPONDING!!!

Here is the update of my annotated bibliography and a little more information.

Video and update on progress

Ok! So here is my video. I have been working on accruing more social proof to help me generate a stronger argument. I still have a few sources i want to track down. But, things are moving along much nicer now that I have hammered out my focus. I hope everyone enjoys this and that it works. I also hope you can't hear my dishwasher roaring in the background.

It's ALL rhetoric

In my journey into the land of social proof, I received some cool responses that have helped me gain some confidence in my theory that teaching rhetoric at a secondary level is feasible and useful. I talked with Professor Gideon Burton, who gave me some great resources to peruse and also confirmed that rather than teach a full unit on rhetoric, that supplementing instruction into other routines can be a useful thing for students in their education. My uncle, who works as one the top people at Micron, also expressed his belief that all students, those who continue on to college and those who do not, can benefit from rhetoric. However, I did have some people comment that they had no idea what that meant and yet they are able to engage successfully in life. At first I was concerned that this debunked my theory, but I have decided it doesn't. I think that explicit instruction could have given these people even more ammo in their arsenal and that top producers reach this point because they can wield rhetoric with power. To some people this comes naturally, but everyone can improve their prowess of rhetorical skill and thus benefit from the power therein.

Updated bibliography: I have contacted some high school teachers about their ideas of rhetoric and I think I would really like to team up with one and put together a conference about using rhetoric in the schools. Although my paper still will be a research paper, the information I use as sources will be geared towards this purpose. I have looked up sources in both journals aimed at teaching rhetoric and also teaching Shakespeare. The product has been a really fun process!

Video Preview of Marriage in The Taming of the Shrew

The individuals who I asked for a response liked the paper and found it interesting to read however they wanted more historical context and more discussion between points.  This was insightful to me because I usually struggle with the actual points themselves but now I know where to add depth and length to my paper for Tuesday.  One pointed out that although the points I argued were strong, she didn't have enough time in between each point for her to think about and fully understand each individual concept.  (She was also confused by me quoting a facebook post from my roommate as the rest of my paper was academic. So as discussed in class, I will need to find a way to somehow maintain a good tone throughout while still including the social aspects.)

A Video, Some Progress, and the Graphic Novel

Report of feedback from initial draft:

My paper has changed in massive ways due to some of the awesome feedback that I've received from people (I've mentioned some of these changes on previous posts). Since I posted my first draft, I've already made a major change in focus--I'm planning now to focus a lot more on the graphic novel rather than trying to talk about media, AND text, AND who knows what else I would have come up with... 

I posted a link to my draft on Facebook:

A Rhetorical Approach to Teaching Shakespeare Draft 1

So I posted this a few days ago, but apparently it didn't actually post. Opps! Here's take number two. Here's what I've got so far. Let me know if you think it has promise. I need to link it to the text a little better, but it is a start. 

Video, Process, and Bibliography

Here's my video preview:

(I spent over two frustrating hours trying to get this to work, so I hope it came through okay this time... if not, I'm sorry.)

Social Networks/New Media:

Thanks to the comments on my 1st draft, I was tipped off to find a link to some scholarly essays about "Measure for Measure," which is great, since I've struggled to find sites related to this specific play. This site has other plays as well, and gives access to digital versions of first folios, prompt books, illustrations, etc., so it could be useful for others, too: http://college.holycross.edu/projects/isp/measure/mainmenu.html

Merchant Video and Outline

Some realistic options for publication are in the BYU English Symposium or the Centurion. There is also this blog (http://www.nosweatshakespeare.com/guest-blog-post/) which is accepting guest posts right now actually.

I've changed my argument a fair amount, so here's the new deal. Just read the bold parts and you've got my argument. Sorry this is so long. I don't have the patience to make a short version right now :]

Progress on Thesis and Bibliography

I have tinkered with my first paragraph thanks to Gabe's and Malory's suggestions. I still don't think it is quite where I like it but it is helping. I have been trying to find some more social proof and while my bibliography isn't quite done yet, it has gotten better.

Troilus and Cressida--Building a Better Argument

Well, here's my post! I've spent a long while on it. I had some trouble uploading the video and it is sideways, so I apologize. I'm not the best in front of cameras (I'm afraid I'm a bit camera shy, so you'll have to excuse me). Frankly, I am proud of myself for making this video, even if no one else is impressed by it! I hope it's somewhat coherent.
 

Report on feedback from initial draft:

From the comments I got from the blog, I realize that my paper wasn't making enough of an argument. It was simply just trying to explain the reasons why Troilus and Cressida wasn't a tragedy. I realize that that is not enough, but I'm wondering if I should just brashly claim that it isn't a tragedy and move on to a more lucrative claim, or if I need to spend at least a little time explaining why it isn't a tragedy (though not as much as I did in this preliminary draft). I guess what I've learned from people's comments is that I need to focus more on why Shakespeare is going against the traditional tragedy in the play and what effect that has. Since this is a pretty significant shift in the focus of my paper, I'm going to have to do some more research.

Feedback on Twelfth Night Draft and Updated Bibliography

The feedback I got on my draft was really helpful.  Janelle and Jessica gave really useful advice about including more about the relationships in Twelfth Night and strengthening that part of my paper.  Catherine helped me realize I need to explain more about the examples I used from the clown.  I also showed it to my mom and she got out her red pen and went to work, also giving me great advice about my choice of words and the overall fluidity of my paper so far.  I'm very grateful for that feedback!

Here's my updated annotated bibliography:

Video, Works Cited, and Advice From an Actor

Twelfth Night Video Preview

So, I had some technical difficulties with this movie...and it has a watermark across it. Sorry about that...

Better late than never. Rebellion, anyone?

Due to the lack of interest on my original tweethis (I feel like it was too narrow/specific), I am taking a different route. I'm going to 'tweet-this' new idea in hopes that I can get interesting/useful feedback from people. This paper is far from done, but any and all feedback will be appreciated.

One of the great themes of Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1 is how Prince Hal transitions from the carefree and raucous tavern crowd to the more serious court life that he is to inherit. While the coming of age theme is very obvious, a focus on Hal's first half of this transition, rebellion, brings about an understanding of the general idea of human change and improvement. Why rebel? There are many reasons why people choose to dissent from authority. Rebellion in general is a sort of phase in life, sometimes playing a large role once or twice, and sometimes playing many small roles here and there. Looking at Prince Hal and then the rebels from this play, much can be learned about the benefits of rebellion for humankind and individuals.

Making Progress with Othello

Response to the initial draft

One thing that was consistent in several comments on my draft was that I would do well to get input from students who are currently studying Shakespeare. I am thinking about how I will do that, but I am going to try and solicit help from my younger sister and her friends who are in high school. Several people commented on my social proof aspect, and I am going to continue to work that in. Dr. Burton suggested that I look more into if any research has been done (for example, the Ophelia Syndrome). I have narrowed my research problem down to be looking at the extent that the study of Shakespeare deals with adolescent psychology. I am really excited to see where this goes.

I was talking to one of my friends today and bouncing my ideas off her. We started talking and she asked me (in a very surprised way), "Wait, you're a Shakespeare enthusiast?"and then we just started talking. Even though she didn't give me specific ideas, it was fun to see her get excited about my topic. I expected her to be less than interested than she was. Before today I definitely felt more comfortable sharing my ideas with people in the class, because I knew that it was safe. Everyone else was doing the same thing, and so I wasn't hesitant to seek feedback. But talking to Karen gave me a new sense of excitement. If someone who isn't interested in Shakespeare thought my ideas were interesting, I bet other people will too!

LLL, Coming Soon to a Classroom Near You. . .

Video preview for my upcoming paper on Love's Labour's Lost.

Responses to Tweethis and ROUGH

Well posting my tweethis on facebook was extremely helpful. A former classmate mentioned some ideas that expanded my view on the whole question I am addressing and provided new avenues for application both within and without the play. My thesis revolves around something of a moral question actually so I got a lot of personal responses to that question that weren't really particularly helpful since they didn't relate to the applications in the text, but they did make me think, and there might be new perspectives which will help me adjust the way I look at the play. My mom actually posted a link to a talk by President Monson which related to that moral question. I've added it to the list of articles I am still planning on reading, so it may come in handy, but we'll see. Overall, I'd say this was not only helpful but definitely encouraging. Success.

And here is my current draft of the real deal. It's mostly introductory material and the beginnings of my proof. (Also, do you think it would be better and more specific if I turned this into a reading of Shylock rather than a reading of the whole play?)

The reason I did not post this earlier is because about a third of the way writing through my first draft I decided to change the focus of my essay radically. And then, of course, there were the polls to stare at...If you've seen my previous theses and thoughts, you can see that although I'm still working within the same theme, my actual argument is fairly new here. I'm still working on weeding it to get rid of the stuff from before that is less applicable now. Bolded portions are main points, so you can scan this and still get a pretty good idea of the content:

Social Proof

I was very surprised at the amount of feedback I received when I posted my ideas. My Facebook post about my thesis received a like and three comments, which was fun. I was also pleased to see that the people who responded to my post were engaging with each other. My cousin and my friend were validating each others' ideas through likes and comments, which was fun to see. Also, thanks to Jessica from our class. :)

What I was really excited about though, was the response I received from my old English teacher from high school. I was a little worried that I wasn't going to get a response, but I have been able to share ideas with her. One thing she said changed my research question a bit. She was writing to me about how Shakespeare is one the best psychologists. When she said that I thought that psychology was interesting and so I changed my research topic to focus a little more on how Shakespeare's works can apply to adolescent psychology. This is an angle that I was not planning on taking, and it is moving into a realm that I am unfamiliar with, but I'm excited. Any tips would be appreciated!

I messaged my teacher back to see if I could post our conversation on the blog, I will keep you all updated. Meanwhile though, I have enclosed a funny conversation I stumbled upon that illustrates the importance of teaching Shakespeare. We need to have a basic knowledge of Shakespeare if only so we can understand pop culture. My favorite though, is the comment that talks about the importance of "Shakespear." Oh no...

Draft of LLL paper

Sarah Landeen

Professor Gideon Burton

English 382

November 6, 2012

Title

In 1598, audiences gathered at the theater to delight in a new play. Printed on the title page of the quarto publication for the play were the words, “A pleasant conceited comedie called Loues labors lost. As it was presented before her Highnes this last Christmas. Newly corrected and augmented by W. Shakespere” (Gray). This was the first time William Shakespeare’s name appeared on one of his plays. Perhaps this was due to Shakespeare having created Love’s Labour’s Lost without borrowing from a familiar story (Shmoop). Still early in his career, Shakespeare had a lot at stake with this play. To lower chances of failure, he crafted an original idea, poured all his talents with words and writing into the script, and tested it out on a few early audiences—even Queen Elizabeth as mentioned in the above quarto. Some of these preparations worked in favor of the play while others worked against it. For example, Love’s Labour’s Lost is full of witty wordplay, but performing for a private party meant the play was full of inside jokes. Though later adapted for the stage, not all of the references meant for the premier audience could be erased from the script (Gray). Today we have 37 of Shakespeare’s plays and are able to see clearly the similarities and differences between each. Comparing the plays makes the oddities in Love’s Labour’s Lost stand out further, especially the ending. This paper will explore the ending of Love’s Labour’s Lost in its context of the play as well as historically to discover reasons for why it ended so unhappily, specifically coming to understand the effect of the premier audience which Shakespeare wrote the play for, and the uniqueness  of this play for being an original story by Shakespeare.

The ending of Love’s Labour’s Lost is unfitting because the play is categorized as a comedy. The play’s main storyline follows the characters of the King of Navarre and his three friends, Longaville, Dumain, and Biron. These four friends enter into an oath that for three years they will do nothing but study and will swear off women. As they discuss the details of their pact, it is remembered that the Princess of France is on her way to speak to the King, therefore the King must break his oath. When the Princess and her ladies arrive, however, all the King’s friends fall in love. This starts a mess of mixed up love notes, hypocritical accusations, disguises, vows of true love, and many other elements expected in a Shakespearian comedy. Yet in most plays by Shakespeare, the ending is happily ever after. In Love’s Labour’s Lost, all the labors of love performed by the character are, as the title spoils, lost. The Princess receives news that her father, the King died, and choses to go back to France with her ladies rather than stay with the King of Navarre. They assign each male character a task to perform to prove their love over the next year. If by then their feelings remain the same, the women agree to accept their offers of love. The characters themselves comment on the unresolved feeling the situation creates, but in the end they have no choice. The play ending without the marriage of the potential couples, the audience is left with a confusing mess of questions and disappointment. Shakespeare probably wanted his only play to be successful, so it is curious he would end the play in such an unhappy way.

Yet perhaps the play’s ending is not unhappy, but realistic. This could be due to the time period when Shakespeare wrote the play. Because the play was first performed for the queen in the winter of 1597, the play would have been written between 1593 and 1594; a time, Gray explains, when theaters were shut down due to an outbreak of the plague. He speculates that “he [Shakespeare] probably was not writing for the stage during 1593-1594, but this does not mean he did not write plays with a view to the theaters reopening or for the private entertainment of his aristocratic friends. In fact, it is often speculated that Love’s Labour’s Lost belongs to this period.” With the dead growing to over 10,000 in 1593 and no theaters to relieve the stress and depression, perhaps Shakespeare fell to the pressure of the times. The unresolved ending of one year until the lovers reunite could reference the abrupt ending of so many lives destroyed during this period of time. [continue to draw similarities between history and why that might cause Shakespeare to write an unhappy ending]

Many scholars have theorized that Shakespeare wrote Love’s Labour’s Lost to be performed for a private audience containing the Earl of Southampton. The relationship Shakespeare had with the earl is mostly hypothetical, but it could explain why Shakespeare could not write a happy ending in his play. At the same time Shakespeare wrote Love’s Labour’s Lost, he also wrote his 154 sonnets. Many ideas have been formed about Shakespeare because of theses sonnets. The first 126 sonnets reference what has been labeled the “lovely boy” due to sonnet 126. It is speculated that the “lovely boy” is meant to be the Earl of Southampton (Gamble). The content of the sonnet suggests a deep relationship between Shakespeare and Southampton, but a relationship that could never pass in society. Perhaps Shakespeare refused to give his characters a happy ending in Love’s Labour’s Lost because he was not granted a happy ending. [expand]

The reason for the unhappy ending could exist within the play itself. The concept of making and keeping oaths is a major issue in the play. At the end of the play the women all commit the men to new oaths with the promise of love as a reward for keeping them. Had the happy ending taken place, no lessons would be learned by the characters. They would have been rewarded for breaking their oats—not a good lesson to teach. By showing the consequences of broken promises, Shakespeare shows the importance of keeping one’s word. He also shows how careful one must be when committing to an oath. If one cannot keep the oath, it would be better not to make the oath at all. [find textual evidence and rework paragraph]

Perhaps the ending of Love’s Labour’s Lost could be better understood if it were attached to other famous plays by Shakespeare. If at the end of Much Ado About Nothing, one of Shakespeare’s most famous comedies, neither Benedict and Beatrice nor Claudio and Hero were married, the moral of the play would have greatly changed. [continue this line of thought, but possibly discard idea]

After fitting the ending of Love’s Labour’s Lost to other plays, it is only fair to search for possible resolutions in Love’s Labour’s Lost. First is to end the play in the tradition comedic fashion and marry the characters together. This is not a fitting ending because, as mentioned above, it counters the lessons the play is meant to teach. Another possibility is a sequel to the play. In 1953, Pottesman, a bookseller and antiquarian in London discovered a packing slip from 1603. The paper listed several plays by Shakespeare including marchant of vennis, taming of a shrew, loves labor lost, and loves labor won (Team Orange). [Expand on the story of this packing slip]

[Conclusion]

Non-Traditional Methods in the Secondary Classroom: Mini-Paper

Well, as a few others have stated--this is the REALLY rough draft of my paper. Because I've received sooooo much feedback from people (that's not a complaint, it has been really amazing) I only really narrowed down my topic this afternoon, and I still have a massive amount of research that I'm wading through. That being said, I expect the final product to be a bit (okay, a lot) more focused than it currently is. You might also notice that I only have one solid body paragraph arguing specifically for my thesis (about graphic novels). That's because I haven't decided what other non-traditional genres and media I want to focus on... like I said, I've found a lot of information and I'm just working at wading through it all. If anyone has any suggestions/preferences for what non-traditional ideas I should incorporate, I'd be interested to hear your ideas. Cheers!

Shakespearian Marriage Politics

Well, I didn't get as many responses to my Facebook or blog/forum posts as I had hoped, but I did get some helpful ideas from my former-English-professor grandfather in response to my Facebook message that helped me better hone my search. Imagine that! I didn't expect him to be one who communicates through Facebook, so that was fun.

In the course of my research, I found an article which references a painting by Jon van Eyck which reflects the tradition of "common consent" marriage practices I'm discussing in my analysis. Although I'm not currently planning on using the picture in my paper, I thought it would be interesting to include it here for reference. And maybe it will even be useful for one of you...?

(Interesting note: although only the couple is present, the mirror reflects four people, perhaps representing God and the painter--or observer of the painting--as witnesses of their marital vows.)

Now, normally I wouldn't be any more willing to let people read my draft at this point than I would be to let them rifle through my sock-and-underwear drawer, but... here are the first few pages of my draft in all its odious roughness:

Ambiguity is the New Tragedy: Troilus and Cressida Mini-Paper

Unfortunately, I didn't get any responses on Facebook about my thesis. Too bad! I guess I'll have to make it more accessible or go elsewhere for feedback. However, I was able to ask my roommate about what she thought about tragedy in general. Since I am doing something of a genre study, I wanted to get a feel for what people generally think of tragedies. I also have been looking up pictures of tragedies to see what the general "feel" of a tragedy is. I've found that the pictures always are very dramatic and full of exaggerated motions. They often focus on two lovers facing each other or being torn apart, or people alone with anguished faces. These pictures really set the tone for how I think people perceive tragedy. Although I didn't go as much into this perception within my mini-essay, I certainly have plans of implementing this perception and how it works specifically with Troilus and Cressida as I work on future drafts.

I focused a lot on Aristotle's Poetics because I thought it was really important to tie in a Greek source with Troilus and Cressida, especially since the play has very Greek roots. If the play goes against the conventions of the Greek tragedy, it gives more of a deliberate nature to the break, which is important.

I'm going to post a link to this on my Google+. Maybe I'll get a better response on there? At least I hope!

I know I need to incorporate a lot more close analysis and social learning into my paper, but I would appreciate any suggestions as I work through my ideas. Here's my draft: