Hello all my literary friends! My name is Alyssa and I am from Versailles, Kentucky. Unfortunately, "Versailles" is meant to be pronounced phonetically with a Kentucky accent. This leaves one with a hearty Verrrr-sail-LLs, rather than with a soft ver-sehhh. As a reference, you can check this YouTube video.

Now that I've established my roots, I'll proceed with a short list of things I love:

• Running. I ran a marathon about two months ago... I hope to run an ultramarathon sometime in my life. 100 miles of sheer joy!
• Family. I love my three sisters and two parents. My mom was the one that helped me fall in love with reading. I got super swoll from all the heavy lifting.
• Nature. I love the smell of cut grass and pine in the morning.
• Reading. Duh. I just finished up The Road. It was fantastically dark and compelling--a dystopian novel like no other.

The theme that I noticed the most as I read through Richard II was that of Kingship. Shakespeare seemed to present a convoluted presentation of what “Kingship” really means, especially in regards to King Richard II. In Act one, Scene one, both Bolingbroke and Mowbray lavish praises on the King. Mowbray goes as far as to compare the king to something heavenly and God-like as he says, “Add an immortal title to your crown.” Though some players remark on the King’s divine majesty—especially towards the beginning of the play—most change their tune as they distance themselves from the King and revolt against his faults. Like in Act two, scene one where Northumberland remarks that they should, “Wipe off the dust that hides our scepter’s gilt, and make high majesty look like itself.” I thought that Shakespeare did a wonderful job at presenting a complex image of the reality of a King and his followers. The King lost the grace of a divinely appointed throne, but the perceived divinity of the throne was simply passed on to Bolingbroke.

A Quick Introduction

Hi everyone! My name is Jordan and I am from New Jersey. Like any typical English major, I love to read. It's what I do 90% of my spare time. My favorite book series is Harry Potter and if there was a class just about the Marauders, I would take it! My biggest hobby, other than reading, is cosplaying. I make costumes and props and then wear them to conventions. I am a huge nerd and it's great! A cosplay that you might recognize is Jack Frost from Rise of the Guardians. It's always a blast to see little kids reactions when they see me as Jack. When I have to time, I like to do a bit of writing. I usually do short stories but I would like to work my way up to bigger projects. Eventually I would like to be an editor for fiction writers. The process of creating a story fasinates me and I would love to make being a part of it my career.

Me in a Minute

My name is Shelise Rupp. I am 21 years old, from Thousand Oaks CA, and - you guessed it - an English major.  There. In one sentence I have answered all the stereotypical questions that we have all heard fifty times these first few days of school. So now that that's out of the way, I can tell you that I am addicted to reading, I love drawing, my favorite thing to write is poetry, I am a nature freak who goes googly-eyed at every tree, sunset on the mountains, or starlit night. I am the oldest of six (three boys, three girls), I am considering going to law school, and I served my mission in the Philippines Quezon City Mission. I am obsessed with the Lord of the Rings and J.R.R. Tolkien's work, and my favorite color is blue and my favorite food, chocolate. So there. That's me in a minute. :)

Myself: John Koerper

Hello everyone, I am excited to get to know all of you throughout this semester. To introduce myself, I am from Kentucky, although my family moved frequently as I was growing up. I have lived in Kansas City (on the Kansas side); Los Cruces, New Mexico; Billings, Montana; Ashland, Kentucky (a small town near the border of West Virginia); and finally Lexington. Through all the moves I have had my eight siblings to keep me company. I have two sisters and six brothers and all the normal fun and complications that come with a larger family: a mom that calls you two different names before she remembers yours, giant family monopoly games that start with jokes then proceed to yells followed by tears, shared rooms, there always being a family member at any time of the day to call for a pick-me-up etc . . .

I served my mission, Spanish speaking, in Fort. Lauderdale Florida.

A list of what I enjoy doing would include playing the piano (I started when I was six), singing (quality varies), films, basketball, and, of course reading and writing.

The last two hobbies came due, a large part, to my mom. She homeschooled myself and my siblings and was an English major herself. While she did teach the sciences and other subjects, I could not help but notice and be influenced by her, frankly biased, passion for literature. It was her assignments that first introduced me to Shakespeare. I have read many of the plays (Hamlet, Macbeth, Midsummer Night’s Dream etc . . .) and some of the sonnets though not recently, except in class.

Besides reading the plays, which I enjoy, I have had one other experience with him that was not so pleasurable. My mom required when I was eight or nine to memorize Hamlet’s “to be or not to be” monologue. That was the moment that I realized that, while I love reading and watching Shakespeare, I also love leaving the performance of his work to others (good luck Sarai!). Maybe that idea will change this semester, who knows?