Not with a bang but a whimper

Sonnet 30 has stuck with me, so I wanted to find some selections that matched the tone. The regret and bitterness of sonnet 30 was difficult for me to match anywhere else, especially the way sonnet 30 seems to avoid any emotional climax. However, after watching The Grassroots Macbeth, I realized that if you looked at Macbeth with some sympathy, his act 5 speeches were full of regret and resignation. There's something melancholically beautiful about trying to accept human failure. So, hopefully these selections work together. There's a total of 51 lines here.

MACBETH

III.i.51-73

To be thus is nothing;
But to be safely thus.--Our fears in Banquo
Stick deep; and in his royalty of nature
Reigns that which would be fear'd: 'tis much he dares;
And, to that dauntless temper of his mind,
He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valour
To act in safety. There is none but he
Whose being I do fear: and, under him,
My Genius is rebuked; as, it is said,
Mark Antony's was by Caesar. He chid the sisters
When first they put the name of king upon me,
And bade them speak to him: then prophet-like
They hail'd him father to a line of kings:
Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown,
And put a barren sceptre in my gripe,
Thence to be wrench'd with an unlineal hand,
No son of mine succeeding. If 't be so,
For Banquo's issue have I filed my mind;
For them the gracious Duncan have I murder'd;
Put rancours in the vessel of my peace
Only for them; and mine eternal jewel
Given to the common enemy of man,
To make them kings, the seed of Banquo kings!
Rather than so, come fate into the list.
And champion me to the utterance!

V.v.17-28

She should have died hereafter;

There would have been a time for such a word.

To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,

Creeps in this petty pace from day to day

To the last syllable of recorded time,

And all our yesterdays have lighted fools

The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!

Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage

And then is heard no more: it is a tale

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing. 

SONNET 30

When to the sessions of sweet silent thought
I summon up remembrance of things past,
I sigh the lack of many a thing I sought,
And with old woes new wail my dear time's waste:
Then can I drown an eye, unus'd to flow,
For precious friends hid in death's dateless night,
And weep afresh love's long since cancell'd woe,
And moan the expense of many a vanish'd sight:
Then can I grieve at grievances foregone,
And heavily from woe to woe tell o'er
The sad account of fore-bemoaned moan,
Which I new pay as if not paid before.
But if the while I think on thee, dear friend,
All losses are restor'd and sorrows end. 

Returning the Favor: Disability in Shakespeare

A few days ago, Nyssa very generously did some research to help me with my topic. This week has been a little busy for me, and I haven't gotten a chance to go back and look at the articles for me just yet, but even her summaries of the articles she found helped me out. I thought I should return the favor. She's already been very thorough in her research, so I though I'd approach it from a different angle.  

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.