Riley's Advice on Studying Shakespeare

Dear Rees, 

I'm thrilled that you decided to study English (I confess, I was a little taken back since I know you hate to read...). But I understand that you signed up for a Shakespeare course - which can seem a little daunting at first. But don't worry, it’s perfectly normal to be nervous. Nevertheless, I thought I’d take this opportunity to pass along some of my wisdom. 

Shakespeare and his many works are timeless and therefore lend themselves to so many different disciplines. So, if you're human and you have interests (which, if I remember correctly, you are and you do...), Shakespeare can as easily apply to your life as it has mine.

 In my Shakespeare class, my teacher emphasized the use of media; so, we read the plays via e-books, we engaged in a weekly group chats, and we used a blog to discuss our insights. The ability for Shakespeare to exist in your pocket and on your iPhone, can attest to that unquestionable timelessness. If you ever have a question, or a concern, there are hundreds of others like you who are studying Shakespeare that can be reached within minutes. For example, I wrote a paper this semester linking "Romeo and Juliet" with hip-hop. That topic may sound like a reach; nevertheless, I was able to talk with countless people (friends and strangers) about it on the internet. Shakespeare is being taught and studied around the world - and it's such an asset to tap into that shared collective experience.

Therefore, as you go about in your personal research, you can reach out to various formal and informal sources to help you formulate your thesis and provide new insights and perspectives. I would suggest that if you have a more modern take on Shakespeare (by the way, a quick search on google found tons of sources about Shakespeare and The Beatles and even some on Simon and Garfunkel *wink *wink) informal sources can help you determine how Shakespeare is being either talked about now or appropriated for modern audiences. However, formal sources can help you situate your argument around pre-existing criticism and the World Shakespeare Bibliography can help you locate those sources. However, using informal media sources can also help you in your understanding of the plays as you read them. Kindle books can let you see what passages people are highlighting in the play and what’s being said about it. Similarly, websites like Sparknotes and Shmoop can help you explicate passages which are confusing and use archaic and/or dense language.

I assure you, whatever question you may have about Shakespeare, there is someone, somewhere with the same question. So, I challenge you this next semester to interact with nontraditional sources in order to satisfy your curiosity (who knows what has been said about Shakespeare and The Beatles) and to ease your worries. Shakespeare has great potential to help us understand the world around us – but that’s only possible if were willing to have those conversations with others and share our unique insights.  

Best of luck, 

Riley 

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Riley's Review of "Much ado about Nothing"

For my play review I watched the Royal Shakespeare Company's performance of "Much Ado About Nothing, " directed by Jeremy Herrin. I confess this was my first exposure to this specific play - having neither read it nor seen it before. But I was not disappointed...the performance was exquisite. 

It was interesting to watch a performance that toyed with two forms: live performance and film. By bridging these two forms, the performance was able to enhance to the unique benefits of each. The lack of props and setting transfixed the viewers focus on the dialogue and the expression of the actors – this was helped by the use of the camera which primarily shot the scene from the waist up. The camera provided a rich perspective to the play because it controlled the viewers focus. The camera would follow the speaker as he or she walked around the stage – making the stage appear larger. Furthermore, the camera would zoom in on actors faces when they were giving a soliloquy and would zoom out on the whole stage when there was a shared group reaction or response to a situation. The use of the camera allowed the at-home viewers to see facial expressions up close whereas physical attendees did not have that opportunity. In essence, the camera allowed the viewer to enjoy the play in a fashion that highlighted the key elements of the plot and dialogue—whereas physical attendees would be limited by their location. The at home viewer was able to watch from the stage and the crowd – enjoying a plethora of perspectives and angles. However, this did limit the audience’s exposure to staging.

Apart from the interesting contrast of form, the acting itself was exemplary. This unadorned simplistic performance bereft of unnecessary props and backdrops focused solely on the richness of the play’s (at times) nonsensical dialogue. Nevertheless, the intricate costume designs helped cultivate the complexity of each character and complimented the strength of the actor’s performance. The sole focus of the play was on character and not their various interactions rather than on external aesthetics or grandiose design.  Occasionally the actors would acknowledge the audience and give them a knowing and exasperated look – cultivating a sense of solidarity and participation among the viewers. The multicultural cast subverted traditional expectations of Shakespearean drama – while nevertheless reaffirming its timeless applicability. The play was carried by the performance of Charles Edwards (Benedick) and Eve Best (Beatrice) who’s witty banter and melodrama was exaggerated by the use of the camera which zoomed in on scenes of tension and conflict and out on scenes of lightness and comic relief. 

P.s. For all the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air fans out there, the butler plays the king! 

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Riley's Annotated Bibliography (2)

Working Title: Romeo, Juliet, & Hip-Hop: Setting the Stage for Civil Disobedience
(is this title too wordy?)

Working Thesis: The modern hip-hop appropriation of Romeo and Juliet illuminates the play's salient theme of civil disobedience and reaffirms that individual expression is a weapon against institutionalized hatred.


Social Sources

Homie - I had a conversation with my roommate Elisha Ransom who is an avid Shakespeare lover and someone i've had copious conversations with about Henry David Thoreau in the past. After reading Romeo and Juliet and finding, myself, connections to Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience" I discussed with her possible comparisons between the two texts.

Peers - I discussed themes of Romeo and Juliet with my coworker, Claire Moore. I chose to speak with her (as well as a few others) because I wanted to know what people who didn't study literature thought of Romeo and Juliet; that is, the play is so well known that you can strike up a conversation with anyone around you and they have some opinion about it. The general census was that Romeo and Juliet is about two dumb teenagers who act rashly and kill themselves over "love" because they're melodramatic. No one I spoke with (Claire and 3 others) liked the play or saw any value in it. I think the various hip-hop approprations contradict such a reading.

Enthusiast - I've contacted (via email) the South African cheographer, Jessica Nupen, who cheographed one of the productions I mentioned in my first bibliography. She created this performance called "Rebellion and Johannesburg" and its a hip-hop routine that uses R&J as the backdrop to what is essentially social actvism through dance. I reached out to her to discuss why she thought R&J was the appropriate story to use in a production that highlights civil disobedience through dance. And I'm awaiting a response from her.

However, I've also contacted a local dance instructor, Celeste Maughan, and we'll be meeting tomorrow (11/19) to discuss the general culture of hip-hop and how it plays a role in creating a dialouge of civil disobedience.

Expert: I did not get the chance to speak with Robert Means in person; however, I've emailed him to discuss finding sources in regards to civil disobedience and R&J. I'm having a difficult time finding scholarship that writes explicity about rebellion or disobedience in R&J and I thought Robert Means would be able to help me identify what and/or where I should be looking for those sources.


Media/Informal Sources

Akala. "Hip-Hop and Shakespeare." Ted: (2011). Ted.com. Web. 17 Nov. 2016.

Akala, founder of the hip-hop shakespeare company, talks about the relationship of language between Shakespeare and hip-hop and how Shakespeare lends itself to hip-hop appropriation. This ted talk gives a broad overview of the relationship between hip-hop and shakespeare and his focus of language can be useful.

Wimberly, Ronald. The Prince of Cats. Vertigo: 2012. Graphic Novel. Web. 18 Nov. 2016.

This graphic novel highlights Tybalt and his "caputlet crew." It takes place in down-town Brooklyn and is written in iambic pentameter. It will be interesting to compare how hip-hop is used interpretively beyond my arguement of civil disobedience. (see below)

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Riley's Annotated Bibliography (1)

Working Title: Romeo and Juliet: Setting the Stage for Civil Disobedience

Working Thesis: The modern hip hop appropriation of Romeo and Juliet illimuniates the play's salient theme of civil disobedience and reaffirms that individual expression is a weapon against institutionalized hatred.

Scholarly Sources (4): 

1. Distiller, Natasha. "‘Petrarch's long-deceased woes’? Petrarchism and Hip-Hop." Scrutiny2 11.1 (2006): 46- .........  ........64.World Shakespeare Bibliography. Web. 14 Nov. 2016. 

This article illistrates the various similarities of petrarchan love and the unrequited love represented in modern hip-hop. While this article highlights various examples of renaissance litearture - he dedicates a page to which he discusses Romeo and Juliet and the play's petrarchan characteristics that make privvy to modern hip-hop appropriation. He argues that the shared similarities of gender, desire, and public displays/declarations that are exemplified within Romeo and Juliet make it comparable to "gangsta rap." 

2. Hulbert, Jennifer, Kevin J. Wetmore Jr, and Robert York. Shakespeare and youth culture. Palgrave Macmillan, .................2006.

Hulbert's book discusses the youth culture appropriation of Shakespeare and how it transforms Shakespeare from beyond "white old men" and gives it life within the present - literature applicable to all ages. Such an appropriation highlights the multiculturalism and contemporary nature of Shakespeare. Hulbert discusses this by elaborating on the appropriation of toys, film, rock music, and hip hop. I will focus my attention on the latter. 

3. Zaslove, Jerald. "Romeo and Juliet - and the Rites of Disciplined Youth." Paunch 23 (1965): 10-17. World .................Shakespeare Bibliography. Web. 14 Nov. 2016

Zaslove's article relates to my thesis in terms of Romeo and Juliet's disobedience. Although Zaslove does not associate their rebellious nature with civil disobedience he does, however, emphasize the rigid nature of the play's social constructs - constructs which make disobedience nearly impossible and which are only escapbale by death. Zaslove focuses on how the young lover's society seeks to repress their desires - which is a key element to my own arguement which attributes the play's hostility to institutionalized hatred. 

4. Janyes, Gregory. "The Bard in a World of Hip Hop" New York Times (1988): 9. World Shakespeare ................Bibliography. Web. 14 Nov. 2016. 

While this is a very simple article, it talks about the Royal Shakespeare Company's experience visiting 45 local London highschools and their discussions of Romeo and Juliet and hip hop. This source is valuable because it highlights student's responses to Shakespeare. 


Performances (2):

1. Honey 3: Dare to Dance. Dir. Billie Woodruff. Per. Cassie Ventura, and Kenny Wormwald. Capital Art ................Entertainment, 2016. Film. 

This movie is about a college hip hop adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. It highlights the multicultural aspect of hip hop culture and associates the rivalry of the Capulets and Montagues to racial issues in america. There are obvious parallels between the relationship of civil disobedience in the face of racism and prejudice and their appropriation of Romeo and Juliet. Furthermore, the medium itself reflects the modernity of Romeo and Juliet and it's capacity to address modern social issues. 

2. Rebellion and Johannesburg. Chor. Jessica Nupen. South African Dance Umbrella Festival, 2016. ................Performance. 

Choregrapher, Jessica Nupen, has transformed the brutal realities of social injustice and translated them into dance - in the form of Romeo and Juliet. The performance seeks to illistrate the challenges of a socio-politically changing society and the difficulty of finding a voice. The "lost generation" are young adults who feel as though they do not have a place in their communities or that they are unwelcome. This hip hop performance of Romeo and Juliet becomes an act of civil disobedience in itself. 

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Romeo & Juliet: Setting the Stage for Civil Disobedience

    Romeo & Juliet: Rebellion and Johannesburg choreographed by Jessica Nupen (jessicanupen.com)

The topic for my final paper was inspired by the brainstorming activity we did for our individual play assignments. During that assignment, I had decided to talk about Romeo & Juliet and it's relationships to Thoreau's Transcendentalism. I see the play as a form of civil disobedience - youthful idealism and perserverence that challenges institutionalized hatred. However, the other day, I walked in on my roommate watching a move about a hip hop production of Romeo & Juliet - and I realized that this is what I wanted to write my paper on. So I did some further research, and I found countless appropriations ranging from a professional production, to a high school pieces, and even a rap by 50 Cent. So in the end - the theme remains primarily the same. Nevertheless, I want to shift my focus from 19th century politics to present day. 

The picture above is a production from Johannesburg, South Africa called Rebellion and Johannesburg; the production uses the plot of Romeo and Juliet to portray "the resilience and vibrance of a 'lost generation' in search of an identity" (jessicanupen.com). In essence, the hip hop appropriation of Romeo and Juliet reflect the same unique interpreation of civil disobedience; today dancers around the world are performing Romeo & Juliet as a means of asserting, not only their individuality, but their rights (hip hop typically reflects the disenfranchisement of minority groups). 

Furthermore, a recent book, called The New H.N.I.C.: The Death of Civil Rights and the Reign of Hip Hop by Todd Boyd, argues that hip hop has replaced civil rights as our nation's change agent - today art is transforming the political scene. 

Nevertheless, while a quick google search of hip hop and Romeo and Juliet will bring up a plethora of sources, scholarly articles are difficult to find. Nonetheless, there is literary criticism that focuses on the politics of Romeo and Juliet and will contributes to an argument that asserts a disobedience to that political reality. Furthermore, there is existing criticism that highlights the rebellion (specifically teengage rebellion) and this will be of use when compared to the youthful hip hop adaptations of the play. 

The slack conversation I had about my topic, convinced me that a paper on Romeo and Juliet and Hip Hop would certaintly be more entertaining - however, the consensus was that it was likely to also be more difficult. Therefore, I think my main  argument will be how Romeo and Juliet is a precurser to Civil Disobedience (I will reference Thoreau, but I don't want him to be the focus of my paper). However, I will contextualize this arguement by demonstrating how modern hip hop productions of the play are, in their own sense, civally disobedient. 

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Riley's Recitation: Sonnet 116

Sonnet 116

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Bemoan the Careful Paths

Poetic inspiration can come from anywhere... even a stolen grounds sign.

Bemoan the Careful Paths

Shall I compare you to the white grounds sign?

You are more passive and inanimate.

And while your love is grown by inches, mine

Is dying by the feet. Dispassionate

And led by you, I kept to careful paths.

But I would rather stray to greater plans

Than hide behind some artificial masks.

Your edges dimmed by weather - your words ran

Soft with time. Just like the spark I saw in

You - living on borrowed time. And so our

love is over...a pitiful has been.

And from my mind will slip behind each hour.

        Beware the fall from out of love: bemoan.

        From quandary of broken love you've grown.

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Sonnet 116: A Dispute with Love

 (Sonnet 116's couple may not be all that they seem)

Sonnet 116: A Dispute with Love 

“Let me not to the marriage of true minds, admit impediments” opens one of Shakespeare’s most iconic poems: sonnet 116. For centuries read as a declaration of true and everlasting love – this sonnet has been used at weddings and funerals to celebrate and/or commemorate that shared love. And although, that interpretation maintains strong today, there is another interpretation that may stop wedding planners in their tracks. A deep reading of diction, rhetoric, and meter suggest an indignant narrator and the subversion of a tradition of idealized and unattainable romance – thus contradicting centuries of optimistic interpretation.

Contextualizing the Sonnet

An effortless reading of sonnet 116 can confirm to the reader a message of ideal love – a love to inspire and aspire to – a love that teaches us to push through love’s obstacles “even to the edge of doom”. However, a closer look into Shakespeare’s diction can offer a different perspective. In following Shakespeare’s iambic tradition, the stress on the first foot deliberately falls upon “me” suggesting that the narrator is speaking to another person as opposed to a mere philosophical meditation – a conversation that is arguably contentious; essentially saying "let me not," "like you have." Helen Vendler, in her essay “Shakespeare’s Sonnets: Readingfor Difference,” asserts that the “strange proliferation of negatives…is a normal sign of a rebuttal” and that “any short poem with four nots, two nevers, two nos, and one nor is refuting something” (38). Why would Shakespeare describe love in terms of what it is not? Shakespeare use of polyptotons in “alters…alternations,” “remove…. remover,” and “love is… not love” exemplifies a contentious narrator at odds with another. A narrator who will not “admit impediments” furthermore suggesting that the narrator does, in fact, know of impediments to admit. Jane Roessner, another Shakespearen scholar, argues on behalf of a narrator in denial of love’s imperfect practice. While Vendler, in turn, finds a narrator that is bitter and angry at love’s injustice. Instead of depicting a declaration and/or definition of “true love,” Shakespeare’s masterful use of diction, rhetoric, and meter sets up an angry contentious rebuttal; a rebuttal that asserts idealized love in an obvious inconsistent and unfaithful world.

How has it been used?     

Various media interpretations of sonnet 116 embrace either interpretation - indicitave of the sonnet's contrasting viewpoints. In a short 3 minute recitation, The Sonnet Project depicts a couple standing underneath an umbrella in the midst of a rainstorm - thus suggesting that despite what life throws at them, they'll be protected together under their umbrella of love. However, in the 1995 film version of Sense and Sensibility,  Austen fans and Shakespeare lovers unite in the dramatized encounter between Marianne Dashwood and Mr. Willoughby in which they recite the 116^th sonnet together - a recitation that is, perhaps, more accurate in it's depiction of the narrator and their relationship with their lover. In the moment, the sonnet represents their falling in love (complimenting Marianne’s heightened sense of romanticism); however, their relationship “alter[ed] when it alteration [found] and met a tragic end. The poem, in hindsight, foreshadows the love that could not withstand the tempests. The crying and depressed Marianne re-recites the poem to herself outside Willoughby’s home – true to Vendler’s interpretation – as someone scorned by a lover and grappling to understand the nature of love.

How Does it Compare?

This sonnet is not unlike other Shakespearean sonnets. Similar to 130, this sonnet likewise subverts a romantic tradition – although in opposite ways. Sonnet 130 uses the imperfections of his lover to describe their true love; while sonnet 116 uses idealistic standards of love to combat their lover’s imperfections.  Each poem perverting expectations and using juxtaposition to introduce new perspectives on love – in a form contrary to society's standards of love and beauty.

Conclusion

When prompted, my roommate Elisha told me that sonnet 116 is about how imperfect people try to love perfectly – and perhaps that’s how we’ve read Shakespeare. For centuries we’ve interpreted sonnet 116 as the sort of love to achieve – and while it paints a picture of love that is both inspirational and admired - it is expressed by a contentious, indignant, and ranting narrator. Therefore, the next time you scroll through Shakespearegeek’s posts and he suggests 116 for your wedding playlist – remember that sonnet 116 is a narrative of two lovers with different fundamental ideas on how to love one another.

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Riley's Draft Sonnet

I found the experience of writing this sonnet comparable to banging my head against a wall; and may I take this time to apologize for the many times today that I cursed Shakespeare in my head.

I dedicate this sonnet to the BYU-I  grounds sign I found in my fireplace - I have no idea how it got there.

Shall I compare you to the white grounds sign?
You are more passive and inanimate.
Although your love is grown by inches, mine
is dying by the feet. Dispassionate
and led by you, I kept to careful paths.
But wander yet I would rather do than
water wilted seeds - tend to open scaths.
Your edges dimmed by weather - your words ran
soft with time. Yet I can't bear to part with you
So I'll mount you on my wall. I'll muse
of times passed fondly - bid the last adieu.
From now on, I'll know better who to choose.
         Those who fall in out of love - do not despair
         When faced with someone new you can compare.


And please, I know there are a million things wrong with this sonnet, so correct me as you see fit. The syllables are off....and the rhyme too seemed forced.

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Riley's Informal Analysis of Sonnet 116

In following with my original post about sonnet 116 - I'm interested in pursuing the more unconvential readings of this sonnet. And I found some pretty interesting sources:

1. For my scholarly source, I found an article by Jane Roessner titled, "The Coherence and the Context of Shakespeare's Sonnet 116." Roessner analysizes tone and diction in her essay, and while she still reads the sonnet as one of eternal enduring love, she discusses the use of negativity and cyncism suggests that the narrator is responding to infidelity (their own or their partner's) - thus adopting a rather subversive tone: a poem of denial.

2. For my informal source, I found a blogpost by Shakespearegeek called "Not So Fast, Sonnet 116!" in which he writes about an interview he had with Dr. Carl Atkins (author of Shakespeare's Sonnets: With Three Hundred Years of Commentary). In which he argues that 116 has been misread by the general public and is, all in all, "overrated." (I like this source because it exemplifies how blogs/social media can be used to encourage literary discourse by connecting with like-minded individuals and/or experts even).

3. Okay, so for my "media source," I remembered how in the film version of Sense and Sensability, Willoughby and Marianne recite sonnet 116 together. In the moment, it represents the two of them falling in love (perfectly aligning with Marianne's heightened sense of romanticism); however, their relationship ends tragically and she weds the more pragmatic Colonel Brandon. If we consider the interpretations offered by scholars like Atkins and Roessner - the sonnet becomes foreshadowing of a tragic and unreliable relationship as opposed to the ideal.

4. For my "social source" I discussed sonnet 116 with my roommate, Elisha (see photo above). She believes that Sonnet 116 is about how imperfect people try to love perfectly; in essence, they try to keep loving each other despite all odds, and while some people make it work, others succumb to the alterations found.

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Riley's Analysis of Sonnet 116

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O, no! it is an ever-fixed mark,
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
     If this be error and upon me proved,
     I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

Sonnet 116 seems failry simple: love trumps all, love endures all obsticles, love is everlasting. And this is the common reading of this sonnet - a reading which permeates throughout Shakespearen criticism. However, I was interested in looking at alternative readings to this sonnet. For example, many critics argue that the sonnet takes on a subversive tone - a tone, I believe, is reaffirmed by Shakespeare's diction and meter. Critics argue that Shakespeare is addressing infidelity and offers some cynicism to an imperfect world searching for perfect love - because love is hard and imperfect.

Meter: The sonnet begins with two trochiac feet (affronting reader's expectations). Shakespeare is talking of ideal love (love that can be shared by "true minds" and seems to be critisizing the infidelity of his lover or of someone he knows)

Diction: "Admit" suggests that he has impediments about a relationship (a real relationship). "O no!" likewise offers a sense of mockery and a sardonic narrator. "Bears" and "doom" suggests that while the narrator is painting the picture of idealistic love he's not too optimistic about love at the present.

This sonnet appears subversive in the way it mocks idealistic visions of love - because they're unrealistic. Because not all lovers are "true." This sonnet compares to Sonnet 130 in the way it challenges idealistic visions of love - and how it altnerates between trochiac meter and iambic meter as a way of subverting reader's expectations as opposed to soley  challenging societal expectations of love. The form of the sonnet matches, at times, the nature of the message. While in sonnet 130 the narrator is more jesting rather than cynical/subvertive - they both end in a resolute assertion in the final couplet - bringing the topic of love back to a realistic platform.

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