Jason,
I
understand your apprehension over your required Shakespeare course for next
semester. Before taking my Shakespeare class this past semester, I was a little
bit worried about being able to understand the “archaic” language. I was nervous about the requirement to write
a sonnet, and I was insecure with my personal writing ability. My limited
exposure to Shakespeare in high school left me with the belief that Shakespeare
was inaccessible. However, through the course of this semester, my perspective
has changed and I would like to encourage you not only to approach Shakespeare
with an open mind, but also with the belief that you can do well by deciding
that studying the Bard is worthwhile.
One
positive part of the term was creating and strengthening relationships with
like-minded students that helped me to consider interpretations of the text
completely different from my own. This was mostly done over the instant
messaging, social media platform called “Slack.” While studying the text on my
own, I tuned in to see what other students thought about each play. This helped
me to watch for specific points in each story, as well as to develop their
ideas by contributing my own discoveries. It helped me to become more
comfortable recognizing formal elements and rhetorical devices because I could
draw on the knowledge of my classmates for help.
One
especially positive experience on Slack was when we separated into small groups
for studying individual plays. Mine turned out to be a group of two studying Julius Caesar. For both of our
discussions, we weren’t very far along in the play (which was reassuring that
my partner moved at the same pace that I did). We both contributed research
relating to the historical time period and cultural context of the play, and
then moved on to do an extremely close reading of the play, looking for formal
elements. It was really cool to be able to throw out ideas to one another and
then develop those ideas into thesis that we used in our eventual term-end
research papers.
Something that really helped in that process was
looking up a summary of each play ahead of time – before reading the text at
all. After I had ensured that I knew what was going on with the plot, it was a
lot easier to focus on the truly fascinating parts of Shakespeare. While the
plots are interesting, I would argue that they are not necessarily what make
Shakespeare special. Rather, it’s the language that creates the scene. When I
didn’t have to worry about understanding the plot, I could focus on formal elements that set up characters and interactions.
Before, I could talk about character motivations and themes, but now I can
evidence those through formal elements in order to show larger truths about
society at large. I know this seems a little bit silly to be so excited about,
but it really helped to improve my writing by identifying rhetorical elements
and considering their purpose. Or, to feel like an idea was being conveyed and
then discover how it was accomplished through rhetorical devices. It made the
language much more accessible.
I also saw my writing improve by
creating a tightly focused question that not only required an organized
response, but also was interesting enough to divide an educated audience. This
required me to have specific topics to research, as well as to keep my writing
extremely organized in order to tie back to that question. It also helped to
keep me focused as I studied the text. If I had something specific that I was
looking for in order to find evidence for my idea, I would pay much better
attention to the text and discovery new ideas in the process.
Because I am a social learner, “Smartphone
Shakespeare” was a very positive experience. Discussing with students online
enriched my experience with the text in a unique way that reading on my own and
then discussing in class does not. For me, it seemed more approachable. I was
more willing to share my ideas because I didn’t have to come up with them on
the spot. I wasn’t afraid of missing something important in my note taking my
participating. I know that is another silly thing to worry about, but it’s a
true struggle that I have. By socializing the course through online
participation, I was able to have a better experience than with my other
literature courses. It also helped me to realize that literature is a human
experience. Its not only meant to connect the reader and writer, but also to
connect various communities of readers. Shakespeare can be universally applied
to many situations, and it allows for human connection.
No comments:
Post a Comment