Kevin's Advice on Studying Shakespeare

Dear Alissa,

I'm happy to hear you have chosen to study English! It's a very rewarding major. Mom told me you are a bit nervous about taking English 382 (the course on Shakespeare) next semester. Hopefully this letter will help assuage your fears.

In the first unit, we studied Shakespeare's sonnets. Honestly, I initially thought it was kind of boring since, to me, they all sounded about the same. However, we were then asked to produce our own sonnet. I had never written a poem with such strict rules before--iambic pentameter, 14 lines, alternating rhyme pattern--and found it to be quite difficult. The one I wrote for class wasn't that great, but it made me appreciate Shakespeare's brilliance. Furthermore, I actually grew to really like composing sonnets--my notebook is full of them! My girlfriend likes them, too... :) It turned out to be a positive experience and probably my favorite unit. Considering how much you enjoy dabbling in poetry, I'm sure you'd love it.

Reading Shakespeare's plays were really tough. The format, the allusions, and the themes were all unfamiliar to me. Because it was so difficult to understand, researching and writing about it was even more intimidating. Nevertheless, by the end of the course I grew to appreciate (and at times even look forward to) reading the bard's excellent works. A few things that helped me out:

1.) Shmoop and Sparknotes--professors don't necessarily love to see their students run to these sources, but they really are quite helpful in introducing characters, the general plot, and themes. Don't get to reliant on these, but use them as a part of your pre-reading experience.

2.) Talk about what you are learning/reading with peers. It was a huge help to see how fellow students were interpreting the text and where they were going for research sources. Organize a reading group or an online channel (Slack) and throw around ideas.

I think one of the most helpful/insightful learning strategies I tried out was experimenting with non-traditional and social sources. I never imagined Prezis, YouTube videos, blogs, Vimeo, and even social media networks could provide information that supported an academic thesis; sometimes it was those sources that sparked inspiration or made crucial connections. When it came to social sources, I was very reserved. However, being pushed to seek out experts and enthusiasts was a great experience for me because it showed me that it is very possible to connect with brilliant minds and get quality insights. 

If I had any one overarching suggestion, I think it would be this: take chances. Don't be the introverted English major (that I sometimes am haha). Doing so will result in unforeseen learning opportunities, and you might even find yourself jumping on the Shakespeare bandwagon.

Love ya,

Kevin

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Kevin's Performance Review of "Macbeth"

I originally intended to attend King Lear in Salt Lake City, but after Professor Burton mercifully provided a much more convenient and less expensive alternative--viewing one of the Globe Theater's on-demand filmed performances--I decided to watch Macbeth, as I have previously read this work with a partner earlier in the semester.

In the comfort of the Harold B. Lee Library, I was able to sample a morsel of the famed Globe Theater's magic. While I'm certain it cannot compare to actually being in England, it was an enjoyable  experience nonetheless. Here are a few of my observations and attempts at analyzing this impressive performance:

1.) Character/performer analysis - The actor who starred as Macbeth played his role with great passion. He portrayed a mighty man racked with guilt for his heinous transgressions. He was literally sweating profusely at times, a large vein protruding from the side of his head, eyes red and bloodshot; in a heart-wrenching moment, after Lady Macbeth's death is announced, he weeps out of his love for her. Two more examples: he kissed his wife intensely after committing to their plans, but he nearly strangled her when the pressure mounts later on in the play (Lady Macbeth, in the following scene, has bruises all over her arms, neck, and face--quite alarming!). Everything he did was emotional, whether it me in movement, speech, or expression.

2.) Stage movement and effects - One of my favorite liberties the performers took was interacting with the crowd. My English 292 professor, Dr, Peter Leman, once related to us an experience he had while viewing a play at the Globe Theater (in fact, he got to lean on the stage while he watched!), specifically pointing out how excited he was when the cast members singled out members of the crowd when reciting lines or ran between them during action scenes. I looked for that, and I found that this cast, too, included the audience in the performance. They would point at individuals and run around on the ground area. One of the cool things about seeing it filmed was I got to see the delight it brought to the audience members faces when these interactions occurred. 

I liked how, in a dialouge-heavy play, the made sure to move the actors around the stage to keep up a feeling of progression. During one neatly designed scene, they had actors up in the balcony areas all around the circular theater shouting their lines. The effect it created made the whole stage seem to expand and be much bigger than it really is. The fight scenes weren't Jason Bourne-level by any stretch, but they were well-choreographed. 

The "special effect" I liked the most was the musical elements they brought into the story. They had drums to build intensity, violins to soothe, and knocking noises that effectively did its job of bugging the heck out of the listeners. I went back and viewed the script, and many of the musical insertions--including the Catholic chants and hymns during the coronation ceremony--were all experimental adaptations.

3.) Interpretation of script - The play was way funnier than I anticipated. After all, Macbeth is categorized as a tragedy. Even in serious moments, the actors would be rather humorous in their depictions of what was happening. I wonder if that was common in Shakespeare's time as well or if they just stuck to the script. 

In the script, it never has two characters talking simultaneously. However, they did during the performance. I was following along on my Kindle app while the play streamed, and I was fascinated to see how they broke up the dialouge--speeding up and slowing down--adding meaning. Because I was following along, I realized they did a scene out of order (they did Act 3 Scene 6 before Scene 5). I guess they thought it made more sense to do it this way because it wasn't out of necessity--it was right after intermission. 

This is supposed to be a "brief" analysis, so I better wrap things up. I liked it (although it got long in the middle with all the back and forth between Macduff and Malcolm), and I'd love to someday see one live in London.

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Kevin's Annotated Bibliography (2)

Performances:

1.) Royal Shakespeare Company. "First Encounter: King Lear | RSC Education | Royal Shakespeare Company." YouTube. YouTube, 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2016.

This modern interpretation of King Lear is super interesting because it makes it a Christmas story (the Fool is a reindeer!). 

Surprisingly, I really thought this performance can add to my paper--because they made it a Christmas story, it was really easy to connect it with Job, who fully believes in Christ. 

2.) Wichita Community Theatre. "Wichita Community Theatre Presents King Lear." YouTube. YouTube, 06 May 2012. Web. 18 Nov. 2016.

Yeah... this performance was pretty amateur to say the least.

But King Lear's performance was so pitiful that it reminded me of Job. I think I can make it work. 

Social Sources: 

Homie: 

• Shawn and Jennifer Dorman
• These two wonderful people are my parents. I hadn't really ever talked to them about my writing assignments before, so it was kind of fun. 
• My dad was an English major way back in the day, and he is currently a religious educator at BYU-I, so he turned out to be a really good source. My mom is an avid reader, but doesn't have too much experience with Shakespeare; however, because she is such a dang good mom, she got online and did a little research so she could have something to contribute.

My parents focused a lot on how Job is probably not a real historical event; rather, it is a story. This has potential to help me argue that they are both allegories. 

Peer: 

• Lizzy Hughes
• I recently was visiting with my mission president who lives in the area, and I asked him if he knew if any of the missionaries he served over were English majors. He said he remembered a Sister Hughes that he though probably was (based on her good writing). I Facebook messaged her and introduced myself. It turns out she is an English major at BYU-I and had some really good thoughts.
• She is an English major and has also studied Shakespeare. She is also a returned missionary and very familiar with the scriptures.

She suggested I focus on how King Lear's losses were due to his own mistakes whereas Job's were not at all his fault. I think that is more of a counterargument than a support to my paper, but I might be able to find a way to work it in. She also said, "I'm a little unsure about the assertion because I agree that King Lear parallels Job in some really interesting ways, but by definition, that doesn't make it an allegory, since allegory means the story has a symbolic message or meaning (like Young Goodman Brown or the allegory of the olive tree). Shakespeare could have written it as an allusion to Job, maybe."

Enthusiast:

• Dana Culverwell-Solomon 
• She is a self-proclaimed Shakespeare enthusiast and has written many blog posts on various topics related to Shakespeare, including King Lear. 
• I commented on her blog and attempted to contact her via email. 

*She has yet to respond.

Expert:

• Paul Edmonson 
• He is the author of  Shakespeare: Ideas in Profile and runs the blog bloggingshakespeare.com. I ran across some of his stuff while researching King Lear. I saw he had a Twitter, so I made a Twitter account and attempted to contact him.
• He lives in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, and is a genius on all things Shakespeare.

*He has yet to respond.

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Kevin's Annotated Bibliography (1)

Brief Overview: King Lear, one of Shakespeare's most famous tragedies, has an interesting biblical parallel: the Book of Job. As the Bible was highly read during that period, those attending his plays were surely familiar with Job’s story not just from reading scripture or hearing the biblical story in sermons, but also from artwork. His audience would have easily connected the character of King Lear to the Old Testament figure Job due to the many similarities in plot and theme. However, Job's story is an allegory; Lear's is a tragedy.  

Working Title: An Imitation of the Book of Job: Reading King Lear as an Allegory

Working Thesis: Although King Lear is traditionally read as a tragedy, it should be read as an allegory because of its numerous parallels with the Book of Job in plot, theme, and speech. 

Scholarly Sources:

*I tried my best not to use JSTOR, but I was unable to access many of the articles I found. Quite frustrating.

1.) Everett, Barbara. "The New King Lear." Critical Quarterly 2.4 (1960): 325-339.

This article makes a compelling argument that if King Lear is to be a Christian allegory, then a Christ-figure must be found.

This source goes along nicely with my paper because the author is making the same central claim as me, just with different supporting arguments; I can juxtapose her thinking with my own to prove I am joining an ongoing literary conversation, boosting my credibility.

2.) Frost, William. "Shakespeare's Rituals and the Opening of ‘King Lear.'" The Hudson Review, vol. 10, no. 4, 1957, pp. 577–585. <www.jstor.org/stable/3848928>

Frost's article debates that it holds together really well as allegory--his take is that "its basic constituents are simply two contests of affection, the first among Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia, the second between France and Burgundy."

I will use more of his quotes about it the structure of the play that qualifies it as allegory; I probably won't touch too much (if at all) on his plot and character analysis. 

3.) Lipshitz, Yair. "Biblical Shakespeare: King Lear as Job on the Hebrew Stage." New Theatre Quarterly 31.4 (01 Nov. 2015): 359–371. <https://www.cambridge.org/core/article/biblical-shakespeare-king-lear-as-job-on-the-hebrew-stage/99AE405C3F112889ED7DC57FBD3BB130>

This article traces the impact of the connection between Lear and Job on the staging and reception of King Lear in Hebrew theatre; in the mid-1900s, the play attracted the interest of directors looking for Hebrew ‘biblical’ theatre, and "a web of intertextual allusions in the press tied Shakespeare’s tragedy to the Book of Job and to rabbinic interpretations of it."

This is a fantastic source because it shows how the similarities between Job and Lear even affect the performance by the production company, not just the audience's interpretation--they portray it as more of an allegory than a tragedy. 

4.) Snyder, Susan. "King Lear and the Prodigal Son." Shakespeare Quarterly, vol. 17, no. 4, 1966, pp. 361–369. <www.jstor.org/stable/2867910>

This article explores the possibility of King Lear being a parable, similar to the prodigal son. 

I will use this article to show how King Lear can be closely associated with the Bible, specifically that there is already a large amount of scholarship on Lear and biblical characters. 

Media Sources:

1.) Moore, Aubri. "Shakespeare's King Lear and The Book of Job from the Old Testament." Prezi.com. N.p., 01 May 2013. Web. 21 Oct. 2016.

Aubri Moore makes this insightful connection concerning the similarities in plot: “Job's friends constantly berate him, sure that Job's fortune must have been from some fault or sin of his own. In a way, the Fool takes on this in Lear, reprimanding him for [his errors in judgement].”

I will use her quote when I am analyzing parallels in plot--her Prezi is chalked full of solid observations!

2.) Pearce, Belinda. "'King Lear in Respite Care' by Margaret Atwood." Vimeo, 12 Nov. 2012, vimeo.com/39529494.

This short video depicts lonely old men while relating Margaret Atwood's poem "King Lear in Respite Care." 

I am not sure if I will use it yet, but I want to tie it in with the Bible's depiction of Job's loneliness; I think that would be a cool new twist to my argument. 

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King Lear as an Allegory, Not a Tragedy

After conferencing with Dr. Burton, I intended to expand on my King Lear essay for my final research paper. In that paper, my thesis statement read as follows: "Despite being disguised in a pagan setting, King Lear should be read as an attempt to replicate the Book of Job in the Bible, as evidenced by numerous parallels in plot, theme, and speech." It worked well, but I had a rather dissatisfying conclusion. My last paper ended with this observation: "Understanding King Lear is based on the Book of Job is important because it shows the undeniable influence of the Bible on Shakespeare’s plays, further cementing the Bible as an invaluable work in literary history." It is very well-documented that the Bible did play a huge role in Shakespeare's works, so my statement is rather unimaginative. 

Dr. Burton helped me realize that, just like a thesis statement, the suggested literary implications that result from one's claim also need to not be obvious and (maybe?) divide an educated audience. Dr. Burton proposed that a possible implication from my claim is that King Lear should be read as an allegory rather than as a tragedy. This is a very interesting argument because King Lear is one of Shakespeare's most well-known tragedies. I would definitely be arguing against what is generally accepted, making it a good paper topic. So my new thesis statement will end up being something like this: "Although King Lear is traditionally read as a tragedy, it should be read as an allegory because of its similarities with the Book of Job." (I'll keep working on it.)

Some of my research so far:

• This excerpt from a book has potential as it discusses whether or not King Lear should be read as a Christian allegory or a different kind of allegory.
• This article from a Catholic website is interesting because it talks about how King Lear is an allegory based on Lear and Cordelia's reconciliation and how it is similar to New Testament doctrine. Maybe it would shape my thesis into including proof from both the Old and New Testaments. 
• This article by Ian Johnston could be helpful as it has a section devoted to discussing the play as a Christian allegory. However, it seems to be more philosophical than biblical. 
• I was super happy to find this article by John S. Tanner, current president of BYU-Hawaii. He doesn't expound too much on Lear as his paper is on Job, but it was neat to see he also made the connection. 
• Garret Fisher suggested on Slack that I could explore the idea of Job maybe not being a factual account and just an allegory. His suggestion could potentially add a very dynamic element to my paper. 
• Hahahaha from climate change to good vs. evil to daddy issues, this twitter search revealed that people view King Lear as a tragedy for just about everything. Maybe something useful there?

I think there is a lot of potential. I am excited to get going on it.

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Sonnet 116: Recited by an Amateur

First ever YouTube post:

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Macbeth: Rated B for Blood... Lots of It (Like, Really--People Die Left and Right)

Sam and I were assigned to read Shakespeare's Macbeth and discuss it on Slack. While our Slack conversation addressed/covered a wide range of topics relating to theme, plot, meter, and rhetorical devices, we talked quite a bit about Macbeth's rather complex character: he's so violent, but so remorseful; so logical, but sometimes so irrational; so heroic, but so doggone evil. "Stars, hide your fires;  / Let not light see my black and deep desires: / The eye wink at the hand; yet let that be,/ Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see" (1.4.55-60). WHO IS THIS GUY?

Screenshot from my eBook--(1.7)

If I were to write a paper about Macbeth, I would want to explore his remorse--the instances where it almost seems like he is going to change and do the right thing... and then doesn't. I'd like to break down the different rhetorical moves in the text that influence his ultimate tragic downfall and see if there is some kind of pattern (i.e., I want to know which appeal--logical, emotional, credible--seems to work on him the most, thus helping me better understand his character). Some possible parts of scenes I could analyze are:

• (1.7) Macbeth's thoughts laying out logical reasons (logos) for why he shouldn't kill Duncan: he'd damn his soul to hell, it's not nice to kill guests, and Duncan is a pretty good guy. He decides he won't do it.
• (1.7) Lady Macbeth's attack on Macbeth's manhood (pathos) that drives him to change his mind.
• (1.7) Lady Macbeth's explanation (logos) of how they can frame the murder on the guards. This kind of seems to set him at ease. Not at ease, but not as stressed. Well, he is still stressed because he's about to commit cold-blooded murder... I don't know. In the end he still does it.
• (2.1) Macbeth has a vision of a bloody dagger that he claims is a representation of his dark thoughts (pathos/ethos?), possibly suggesting the murder is inevitable (or maybe it's a warning?). Either way, he goes through with it. 
• (2.2) Macbeth is disturbed by the fact he couldn't say "Amen." This is depicting his accountability to God (ethos) and causes him to comprehend the seriousness of his transgression, racking his soul (pathos). 
• (2.2) Lady Macbeth tells him not to think about his murders and it won't bother him as much (logos?). Yeah, good lucking sleeping with murder on your conscience... (But as far as we know, he does go back to bed... #somepeople)

That would be a great start, and there are tons more instances throughout the play that I could look at (such as when the ghost of Banquo pays him a visit). Heck, I could write a book on this. I would also analyze the form (iambic pentameter or prose) used to see if there is a connection regarding form and persuasiveness. Or is that too unrelated? I think I could tie it in. 

Types of research I would tie in are articles such as this one. It thoroughly explains the role of guilt/remorse and provides tons of solid examples. Some informal research could be this video from YouTube, or possibly this one (both from the Slack channel discussion). They show the dagger vision scene and how the vision impacts his decision.

What do you guys (well, girls and Chris, Garrett,and McKay) think? Suggestions?

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Kevin's Paper Prewriting

A screenshot from my eBook pointing out a theme in King Lear.

My Analyzing and Annotating
Some of the feedback I've received concerning my developing efforts at literary analysis includes being too willing to go along with others' claims. I forget that even scholarly sources can and should be challenged and debated before accepted.

My peers and I have tried many different types of analysis in the last few weeks (most of which I am still quite new to) including looking for themes, placing the story in its historical context, analyzing rhyme and meter patterns, juxtaposing characters, and finding rhetorical moves. All of these approaches have yielded different, but quality insights; however, I have learned it is difficult (at least for me) to focus on more than one or two approaches at a time.

Peer and Source Influences
I've really been grateful for those students who have brought in comparatively aberrant methods of analysis/interpretation--who knew King Lear could be viewed through so many different lenses? For example, Christopher Muratore has shared music he listens to in effort to enhance the mood/inspire him to feel/look at the text differently. I never before considered how physical actions could contribute to interpreting the play.

It's also been neat to hear the actual conversations people are having with others about what we read. Before, I'd never talk about Shakespeare outside of class; however, after reading about their experiences, I've been more brave about engaging in dialogue discussing what I've recently learned/read.

My Working Claims

[Policy Claim] - Although King Lear has all the components of a story, it should be read as a dissertation on insanity as it outlines the gradual downfall from rationality to nonsensical behavior.

[Definition Claim] - Despite the fact that the characters in the play hold pagan beliefs, Cordelia is a Christ-figure as demonstrated by her role of forgiving sinners and showing love.

[Comparison Claim] - While nature and madness are two separate themes, they both can be observed in similar elements of the storm and therefore create a comparable effect on Lear.

[Evaluation Claim] - Even though Lear's journey to redemption is highly discussed, Edmund is a more complete example of repentance because he seeks to make restitution for his crimes before he dies.

[Casual Claim] - Although King Lear had good intentions when he divided the kingdom to avoid contention after his death, he is to blame for the break down in order as his decision ultimately set the nation up for a civil war.

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Thoughts of the Student Athlete Academic Center Drop-in Writing Tutor

I wait. The door (propped open to invite

the passing athletes to come in and sit

with me)—symbolic, meaning "I can't write"—

is why, each day, alone, I read. Permit

me now to dissipate this myth that they

are fearless, though they play with courage on

the field; or court; or track; for all obey

dear Pride's controlling voice. Not speed nor brawn

can separate them now from others who,

at college, struggle to complete their work. 

With knowing eyes, I watch them ponder: "Do,

today, this opportunity, I shirk?"
I bite my tongue; these thoughts don't leave my slate.
The door, still open to invite. I wait.

  

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Shakespeare's Brilliance Revealed in Simplicity

While Shakespeare's Sonnet 18 focuses on depicting beauty, and Sonnet 116 attempts to define love, at the center of each of the two poems is the concept of eternity. Sonnet 18 is rather explicit in revealing its theme—it uses the wording "eternal summer" and  "eternal lines." Sonnet 116 is slightly more subtle; it illustrates love as "an ever-fixed mark," "never shaken," and "not Time's fool."

However, where these two similarly-themed poems begin to sharply diverge is when the complexity of these lyrical compositions is analyzed. On one hand, Sonnet 18 is strung together with a creative, extended metaphor and vivid imagery; contrarily, Sonnet 116 is fairly plain. It's word choice is mostly unremarkable; its use of metaphor and imagery are seemingly dull and unimpressive, at least when compared to his other works; his usually strategically rhythmic iambic pentameter is arguably slowed to a near steady march.

This observation begs the question, if Sonnet 116 is so simple, why, then, is it one of Shakespeare's most popular sonnets? The answer lies in its curious simplicity—it is timelessly brilliant because of how it masterfully it captures the idea of a grand, eternal love with such rudimentary writing methods.


Diction 

Tucker Brooke observes, "Seventy-five percent of the words are monosyllables; only three contain more syllables than two; none belong in any degree to the vocabulary of 'poetic' diction." "Impediments," "alternation," and "remover" appear in the first four lines, but after that the words are short and common. None of the verbs Shakespeare uses (e.g., admits, bends, remove, come) are unusual. He uses the verb "alters" twice.

Brooke continues, "In short, the poet has employed one hundred and ten of the simplest words in the language... to produce a poem which has about it no strangeness whatever except the strangeness of perfection." While the words Shakespeare carefully placed aren't flashy in and of themselves, their expert placement, allowing them to flow naturally, is what is truly exceptional. For example, the line "sickle compass come," with the repetition of the harsh "c" sound, imitates the ticking of a clocking, symbolizing the passing of time. 

Imagery/Metaphor

SparkNotes points out that "Sonnet 116 is not remarkable for its imagery or metaphoric range." The imagery employed is comparable to Shakespeare's other sonnets (see Sonnet 130  for similar use of "rosy cheeks").


SparkNotes further comments, "Its major metaphor (love as a guiding star) is hardly startling in its originality." Apparently, this metaphor was quite common at the time, and it is surprising that Shakespeare would select such a well-known symbol rather than creating a new, original connection. Yet, we see his confidence in this symbol provide steadiness to his poem. 

In the third quatrain, Love and Time are both personified. Interestingly, Love is personified by what it isn't: a court jester at the beck of a ruler (Time). Time is represented by what appears to be  Grim Reaper-like figure; this interpretation is derived from the description of the "bending sickle." These metaphors were also well-understood during his lifetime—but what better way to represent death than a dark, hooded figure!

Meter

The meter in Sonnet 116 is more or less standard. Two lines have have eleven syllables (6 and 8), but other than that, it meticulously follows the rules of iambic pentameter, almost generating a march-like feel. The steady beat is consistent with the intent of the poem: to depict love as steady, unchanging, and eternal. It seems that everything about this poem, its word choice, its use of metaphor, and its meter were all perfectly crafted to contribute to its central theme.


Shakespeare was brilliant—Sonnet 116 is undeniable proof. Sometimes it isn't the hidden meaning in a text that the reader must laboriously extract until it surfaces that evidences an author's greatness; rather, it is the obvious meaning, set up so clearly that the reader cannot misunderstand, that solidifies an author's place in history.

*Images were found here*

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Kevin's Informal Research for Sonnet Analysis: Sonnet 116

Traditional Scholarly Source -  When reading this article by Ashleigh Imus, I learned that Pride and Prejudice, Gone with the Wind, and Titanic were all directly influenced by this sonnet. That means that, without this sonnet, there would be no first movie with a swear word, James Cameron would be short $600,000,000, and the world would have who knows how many less Jane Austen-inspired chick-flicks. That really changed the way I read this poem. Admiration slowly turned to animosity. 
 
Informal Online Source - I looked at SparkNotes. What stood out to me is that it explains how tame and ordinary the poem is in terms of imagery and use of metaphors. I guess that speaking of rosy cheeks and love as a guiding star was pretty standard. This got me thinking, if it's so plain, why is is so famous? As I read on, I found my answer. What is remarkable about the poem is that it masterfully captures the powerful passions of love in strictly structured, rhetorically sound lines.  
 
Media Source  - While searching for images, I came across the picture below. I tired to think really hard what this had to do with Sonnet 116. Neither of them look particularly happy; in fact, the girl looks like she is trying to sit as far away from him as possible. There is a seemingly insignificant plant between them. They look plain. And then it hit me: Shakespeare's poem is plain. The plainness represents the structure. Love can be symbolized by many things: the light coming in, the growing plant, the fixed chairs. However, I think love is portrayed by the paper crane in the tree. "Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken"--that is the line that, for me, is the crane.
 
Social Source - My friend Kirsti sent me this text when I asked her for her thoughts: "From what I get, it's basically saying that love is something way more deep and profound than something that just changes on a whim. It's constant and timeless and endures. And in the end, he says, if that's not love, then he doesn't know what it would be. It's actually very beautiful. Goodness, Shakespeare has a way with words!" From her commentary, I thought about how Shakespeare really didn't know how to describe love any better: it is timeless/eternal.

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Kevin's Draft Sonnet

The Student Athlete Academic Center Drop-in Writing Tutor

I wait. The door, propped open to invite

the passing athletes to come in and sit

with me. The door- that means "I cannot write"-

is why, each day, alone, I read. They hit

so hard, you'd think they have no fear, but no!

Like hoarding rodents stash and cache their grub,

their blatant need for help, they will not show.

A genie, I can't grant until they rub.

I wonder, the next time they went to train,

if on the sideline was set up a door,

perhaps it would connect inside their brains

a writing coach could also help them score.

     But I am shy; these thoughts don't leave my slate.

     The door, still open to invite. I wait.

I wrote this (as you probably guessed) while at work... because sometimes I don't have a whole lot to do. At first, I was convinced writing a sonnet would be a tough task; but actually, it was pretty easy. I'm not saying that what I wrote is any good, but putting together a sonnet while trying to incorporate all of the rules was way less difficult than I anticipated. Unless I totally messed up, which wouldn't be too surprising.

Does anyone have any suggestions for my sonnet? Are there any places the iambic pentameter is off? Do my metaphors make sense? 

*Confession* 

I'm always embarrassed to tell people I'm an English major. I usually just say I'm pre-law, because I really do plan on going to law school. However, I actually really enjoy some of these more artsy assignments (poetry writing, blogging, etc.) even though I'm not in the least an artsy person.

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Kevin's Sonnet Analysis: 116

Sonnet 116 is a good one. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's pretty consistent with LDS doctrine (e.g., love is eternal, it helps us overcome hardships, etc.). I'm fairly sure I've heard it used in talks before, but then again, I've yet to become a Shakespearean expert. But, hey, that's what this class is for, right?  

It can be argued that Sonnet 116 is more or less about  the most ideal form of love. Rather than speaking of marriage as a legal institution, he describes it as the coming together of "true minds." In the poem, Shakespeare considers love to be unchanging (it cannot be altered, bent, or removed). He compares love to a star, an "ever-fix'd mark," that guides wandering ships through the tempests of life. He continues to personify love, claiming it is not subject to time nor death. He concludes by kind of proposing a challenge: if someone can prove him wrong, he'll take it all back/eat his words. Bold, Bill. Very bold.

During my research, I found a bunch of neat stuff. Check out this mind-blowing observation by Tucker Brooke: "[In Sonnet 116] the chief pause in sense is after the twelfth line. Seventy-five per cent of the words are monosyllables; only three contain more syllables than two; none belong in any degree to the vocabulary of 'poetic' diction. There is nothing recondite, exotic, or metaphysical in the thought. There are three run-on lines, one pair of double-endings. There is nothing to remark about the rhyming except the happy blending of open and closed vowels, and of liquids, nasals, and stops; nothing to say about the harmony except to point out how the fluttering accents in the quatrains give place in the couplet to the emphatic march of the almost unrelieved iambic feet. In short, the poet has employed one hundred and ten of the simplest words in the language and the two simplest rhyme-schemes to produce a poem which has about it no strangeness whatever except the strangeness of perfection." (Brooke, p. 234) Dang, that's cool. I attempted to comment on it, but I can't think of anything to add. Well said.

A much more simple observation, made by yours truly, is that the volta is after the eighth line. It begins to shift gears and talk about love in a new way. Similarly, in Sonnet 23, the volta occurs in the ninth line. The change occurs when he goes from talking about how he isn't articulate when expressing the feelings of his heart to basically saying, "Never mind, my writing will reveal how I feel."

Kate Swindlehurst made some awesome observations in her blog post, including how in Sonnets 18 and 31 Shakespeare also seems to discuss this idea of everlasting love, as well as makes references to time and the human body to portray his ideas.

I know that Shakespeare is a true poet. In the name.. oh, wait. Wrong genre.

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Kevin's shelfie

Obviously I don't take a lot of selfies because I haven't figured out how to look at the camera...

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