1. Gain Shakespeare
Literacy
a. Breadth (knowledge of a range of Shakespeare's works):
Throughout
the class, I was exposed to four of Shakespeare’s plays that I had never personally
read. To a certain degree, I wish we had
stuck more closely to his works and been exposed to more, but it was a great
experience to become more familiar with King
Lear, Taming of the Shrew, Henry V, and
The Winter’s Tale. Beyond the reading of the plays,
interacting with my classmates and reading through their papers, I became more familiar
with a broad range of Shakespeare’s plays and on top of that, varying analyses
of these.
b. Depth (more thorough knowledge of a single work):
The majority of the class I spent analyzing
Shakespeare’s Othello, a play I had
previously read in high school, but never in the way that I did during this
course. In the effort to find my own
analysis of the work, I was introduced again to the play in an entirely new way
and became more familiar with it than I ever could have in High School.
c. Performance (stage and screen):
I
had the opportunity to watch film versions of Taming of the Shrew, Henry V, and King Lear. On top of that,
I went and saw the children’s stage version of Henry V. These productions
illustrated to me the true nature of Shakespeare and the way in which it should
be produced. Shakespeare is first and
foremost a playwright, and his works have been perpetuated because they can be
reproduced and adapted in a myriad of ways.
I
wrote papers on The Winter’s Tale and
on Othello. This experience introduced me to the
background histories of these plays, the staggering amount of scholarship, and
the way in which these particular plays have been adapted into pop culture. Shakespeare has a remarkable presence and his
influence has leached into today’s society just as much as he did during his
own time. Movie adaptations baring his
plot themes and characters have introduced the masses to Shakespeare’s mastery
often without them even realizing it.
His wide range of plays has developed into a remarkable standard for
today’s authors to achieve. He applies
to the scholarly just as much as to pop culture as I have come to realize more
and more throughout this course.
2. Analyze Shakespeare
Critically
The
final research paper that took up a majority of this class has become a
remarkable learning experience in terms of familiarity with Shakespeare. There is so much room for analysis and the
perpetuation of his works is better realized in the amount of time I spent
researching, a time period that could have carried on and I still would have
been discovering new things, new ways of looking at his works. Studying Othello,
helped open up that world to me and the potential there is in studying and
analyzing Shakespeare’s works critically.
Even with all the scholarship already accomplished, spanning decades,
there is still room for my own analysis.
3. Engage Shakespeare
Creatively
At the beginning of the semester, we
were assigned a sonnet, mirroring the pattern of Shakespeare. The assignment, to be honest, terrified me, because
I am no poet. In the process of writing
that sonnet, however feeble it was, I spent the time to read many of
Shakespeare’s sonnets and watch readings of them on YouTube. I was thoroughly introduced to the pattern of
those sonnets the sheer prowess with which Shakespeare wrote them.
4. Share Shakespeare
Meaningfully
My roommates and I often discuss the
things we are researching in our classes. My roommate Paige in particular is a psychology
major and discussing Shakespeare with her is always an interesting journey
through the literature. She especially
inspired and helped me through my final paper.
Blogging about my research and the assignments on Digital Dialogue to
share our insights on the literature tended toward tedium, but as we got deeper
into the course appreciated them nonetheless.
I was able to build off the insights of others and it helped with
beneficial discussions during class time that really introduced me to
Shakespeare’s work better than anything else could have.
5. Gain Digital Literacy
This,
for me, was probably the most difficult part of the course, but it did help me
along with the research process and introduced me to information that I never
could have approached. I learned a lot about
blogging and social media and how reaching out to other people can really aid
in how we read and interpret Shakespeare, especially in today’s society where
technology plays such a big role.
