Mallory's Advice on Studying Shakespeare

Dear Ben,

I’m so excited that you’ve decided to take Shakespeare! Your perspective on the Bard and on the way to research and learn about literature is about to change. Be ready for your world to get rocked, and you’ll be good to go.

I think my favorite thing about taking Shakespeare was how we related it to regular life. I will never forget why Dr. Burton encouraged us to memorize Shakespeare. He said that Shakespeare is like the scriptures- it is so helpful to have a few verses (or sonnets) tucked away. You never know when having a sonnet memorized will come in handy! Dr. Burton was always encouraging us to talk to our roommates, or friends, our peers, and anyone we could about Shakespeare. Doing that was surprisingly easy- people have interacted with Shakespeare way more than you and they think.

Something that was a little harder for me to get in to, but that I learned to appreciate, was Slack. I would recommend jumping headfirst into that from the beginning. I held back, and that made it a lot harder to be fully committed by the end of the semester. However, when I did get involved I loved it. I connected with my classmates and they gave so many insights. The class itself is more lecture than discussion based, so Slack was great because it fostered the discussion that helps me connect. I know you like discussing and going over ideas with your friends, so Slack will probably be your best friend.

One of the most crucial parts of understanding Shakespeare is actually reading the text. You love to read, so I know you’ll have no problem keeping up with the reading, but not reading it will be so detrimental, so make sure you don’t get behind. Reading it and doing background research will change the way you interact on Slack. I would recommend getting the reading done early so you can participate on Slack, and do other research (google searches, scholarly article reading, talking to your friends, whatever you can).

The most beneficial thing for me was the non-traditional sources. It helped me understand the texts so much more, and it helped me way more than I expected. Non-traditional sources are easier to understand, and they’re unexpected. Don’t be afraid to check out YouTube, Pinterest, Facebook, and Tumblr to find more information. You’ll be surprised to find out that you learn more than you would expect from non-scholarly social sources.

Good luck in Shakespeare Ben! I know you’ll do great.

Love,

Mallory

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Mallory's Performance Review of "Twelfth Night"

My favorite way to experience Shakespeare is my watching it, which is probably everyone's favorite way. I love the Globe Theater (I saw Julius Caesar there the summer after I graduated high school and being in the standing audience is an experience I'll never forget), so needless to say when I found out that you can rent Globe performances to watch on your laptop, I was very excited. It might not be as authentic as being in the audience in England, but it's much cheaper and more practical as a poor college student.

I chose to watch Twelfth Night. I loved watching it performed for many reasons, but one of the biggest is because that is the play I read with a partner this semester. It was fun to watch the story unfold, especially because I was already acquainted with the characters.

1. Character/performer analysis- The most interesting part about this particular performance was the cast. Just like the original Shakespeare plays were performed, this version of Twelfth Night featured an all male cast. Considering that one of the main characters, a woman named Viola, dresses up as her brother Sebastian for the majority of the play, this casting choice was hilarious. It was so entertaining to watch a man playing a female character who disguised herself as a man. An all male cast is a hard thing to pull off now that male and female actors are equally as common, so this easily could have turned out to be a dud. However, this casting was perfect. There are several prominent female roles in the play, so the men who played woman were distinguished by their costumes. Their makeup consisted of painted white faces with bright red lips, and stiff, almost plastic looking wigs. They also constantly spoke in voices that were obviously higher than their normal tones, which led to occasional cracking and squeaking, which only added to the hilarity of this comedy. Sir Toby was also a particularly delightful character. He is drunk for the majority of the play, so his cheeks and nose were noticeably redder than the rest of his face, and his hair was a tad disheveled.

2. Stage movement and effects- The set of Twelfth Night was simple yet beautiful. Because the stage isn't gigantic, the most impressive part of the effects were the costumes. Everyone was dressed in the most authentic Shakespearean era costume imaginable, with puffy pants and full skirts and lots of red, green, and yellow fabric. The actors took full advantage of the stage. There are scenes when actors are running away from each other, and in this they used the pillars and various larger props, such as tables and plants, to weave away from each other and provide a more intricate performance than simply standing still. The actors were very mobile, standing, sitting, running, tripping, and waving their arms, keeping the audience's attention and contributing to the light, happy feel of the entire play. The light is bright and even, rather than the dark, spotlighted set you'd expect in a tragedy like Hamlet.

3. Interpretation of script- Because this was performed at the Globe, the director's stayed very close to the original script. One of the best parts about watching a Globe performance is that everything is so well done. The Globe has forever been the home of Shakespeare's plays, and so they have quite the reputation to uphold. As such, the interpretation of the script was very true to the original. The actors are well rehearsed and speak their lines in the perfect meter. The lines flowed beautifully throughout the play, and the inflections in their voice made the jokes present throughout the script even more funny. Sir Toby in particular has many lines that insinuate crude remarks without coming outright, so the actor's delivery on these lines was crucial, and he did a phenomenal job. The audience ate the jokes up and that added a whole new depth to the play that you just don't get when you read it.

I loved this version of Twelfth Night. The actors were captivating and hilarious, the costumes were beautiful, and best of all, I got to watch a Globe performance from the comfort of my apartment. I will definitely be making good use of this remarkable resource.

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Mallory's Annotated Bibliography (2)

Working title: "Do Photographic Representations Cheapen Shakespeare's Classic Characters?"

Working thesis statement: While it is normal to want to interpret Shakespeare's characters through photographs, confining a well-rounded character to a one dimensional photograph can harm the portrayal of Shakespeare's work, causing more damage than intended.

My original idea was to look at several different Shakespeare plays, but I keep drifting towards Ophelia in Hamlet... should I narrow it down just to Hamlet, or should I branch out and find some other examples?

Scholarly Sources
Belsey, Catherine. "Shakespeare and Film: A Question of Perspective." Literature/Film Quarterly, vol. 11, no. 3, 1983, p. 152-158.
Belsey starts her article talking about ambiguity and art, and how it is important to look at Shakespeare in multiple forms, rather than assuming that one particular depiction of a play is the only way to analyze it. Her paper aims to argue the same thing that my paper argues, so I believe that I can find points in her paper to back my argument up.

Rothwell, Kenneth S. A History of Shakespeare on Screen, Second Edition. Cambridge University Press, 2004.
This book is about Shakespeare representations on screen. While my paper is focused on photographic representations, this book discusses how long it took to start having Shakespeare adapted to film, and the negative reactions many people had to Shakespeare being so widely available. Many people feared it was degrading to the Bard's great work, which is exactly what my paper is on.

Pettersson, Mikael. “Depictive Traces: On the Phenomenology of Photography.” The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, vol. 69, no. 2, 2011, pp. 185–196. www.jstor.org/stable/42635475.
This paper discusses the use photography has in our society. While it doesn't talk about Shakespeare, it does analyze why we gravitate towards photos so much, and how the exactness present in a photograph changes how close we feel to the subject. Going into the psychological effect of photography could make it easier to understand our interpretation of photographs of Shakespeare's characters.

Pressly, William L. “The Ashbourne Portrait of Shakespeare: Through the Looking Glass.” Shakespeare Quarterly, vol. 44, no. 1, 1993, pp. 54–72. www.jstor.org/stable/2871172.
While at first glance, this article doesn't seem helpful, it discusses people's reactions to Ashbourne's portrait of Shakespeare. It caused some problems because people wanted to project their own idea of who Shakespeare was on to the portrait, but when something is right there in front of your face, it's hard to read too many different ways in to it. In the same way, it is hard to read too many different ways into a photograph, which causes problems when Shakespeare's characters are so multifaceted.

Media Sources
Kate Winslet as Ophelia in Hamlet. N.d. Women Reading. Web. 18 Nov. 2016.
This image shows Ophelia holding books and seemingly sane. She seems inquisitive and in complete control of her mind, which is how I believe Ophelia should be portrayed.

Waterhouse, John William. Ophelia. Digital image. Wikipedia. N.p., 13 Nov. 2016. Web. 18 Nov. 2016.
This image of Ophelia shows her drowning, which is what most people see.

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Mallory's Annotated Bibliography (1)

In my paper, I will talk about photographic representations of Shakespeare. When looking at still images of Shakespeare's work, certain scenes or aspects of a character are focused on, creating iconic scenes people immediately think of when a specific play is mentioned, like the image of Ophelia drowning when talking about Hamlet. My working title is, "Do Photographic Representations Cheapen Shakespeare's Classic Characters?" and my working thesis statement is, "While it is normal to want to interpret Shakespeare's characters through photographs, confining a well rounded character to a one dimensional photograph can harm the portrayal of Shakespeare's work, causing more damage than intended."

Performances
Gale, Mariah, actress. Hamlet. BBC Wales, 2009.
Mariah Gale is Ophelia in the movie version of Hamlet starring David Tennant.
Watching the progression and character arc of Ophelia throughout the play will provide a specific example of what we miss out on when we focus on a single photograph rather than the storyline of a character throughout a whole play.

Cavendish, Dominic. "Hamlet, Barbican, review: 'justifies the hysteria.'" The Telegraph, <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/what-to-see/benedict-cumberbatch-as-hamlet-barbican-review/>. Accessed 15 November 2016.
Sian Brooke stars as Ophelia in the on stage production of Hamlet last year starring Benedict Cumberbatch.
This review by the Telegraph analyzes the production as a whole, with a brief mention of Ophelia that I think will prove helpful.

Social Sources
Homie
Kaylie Brown
Kaylie is a composition major that I met in my ward last year. She loves art and could spend hours in a museum looking at paintings and analyzing the works of the masters.
Kaylie and I often discuss the importance of art on the general public, so I know she would have some interesting opinions regarding photographic representations of Shakespeare.

Homie
Emily Bashaw
Emily is a friend of a friend that I met over the summer. From the moment I met her I've been impressed by her diverse interests and willingness to discuss new ideas.
Emily has a history of participation in the theater, as well as an impressive list of books she's read. She spends a lot of time learning and broadening her horizons, so I highly respect her opinions on art. I know that her history of theater as well as her reading history will have encouraged her to form opinions that will be helpful in writing this paper.

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Twelfth Night and Christianity

The role of Christianity in Twelfth Night is unclear. Throughout the play, there is pagan reference after pagan reference, which contrasts Shakespeare's usual theme of Christianity. Instead of discussing heaven and hell, Viola says "My brother he is in Elysium" (1.2.4). Elysium is the heaven of the Greek afterlife, and since Viola and her brother have been separated because of a shipwreck, she assumes he is dead. Why isn't she assuming that he is in the Christian heaven?
The farther in to Twelfth Night you get, the more pagan references there are. In my discussion with Garrett on slack, we noticed this contradiction between Twelfth Night and other Shakespeare plays. Why does Shakespeare decide to reference Greek mythology rather than Christianity? Eventually, mother Eve is mentioned as well, putting the pagan alongside the Christian.
If I were to write a paper about Twelfth Night, the religious aspect is one I would want to deeply explore. I want to do more research on the presence of Greek mythology in Shakespeare's England and in the context of Twelfth Night, and try to understand Shakespeare's motives a little better. Because this theme is so prevalent, I don't think it will be too difficult to find articles and blog posts related to this topic. Does making the play more pagan than Christian add to the storyline? Or was it just a way for Shakespeare to mix things up?

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Mallory's Prewriting

I'm trying to be more consistent with my claim. I've struggled with following up in the past, so I'm working on focusing on the same thing throughout the play. I'm hoping that focusing on language the whole time will provide a more consistent and cohesive analysis.

I chose this screenshot because Shakespeare's use of the word "legitimate" really stuck out to me. This quote is what got me to start thinking about the use of language in King Lear in the first place.

I've really enjoyed reading other's slack analyses this go round because different aspects of the language have stuck out to everyone. Isaac's mention of the use of plosives in alliteration really caught my attention and got me to start thinking not only about the meaning of language but the sound of it as well and how that is used in King Lear.

[policy claim] The effect of language in Shakespeare's King Lear should not be overlooked.

[definition claim] Shakespeare's language is not just a way to tell the story, but also a way that he created tension and set the tone for the scene.

[comparison claim] Shakespeare's use of literary devices such as alliteration is unlike the use of his nonverbal devices.

[evaluation claim] Shakespeare's language is a good way to look at the play in a new way, focusing on the sounds and the meaning of individual words rather than each speeches meaning.

[causal claim] Much of the powerful in the characters' speeches was caused by Shakespeare's use of language as a a way to convey sounds as well as ideas.

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Dr. Pepper Addiction

My friends do claim I am addicted when

I go to get a dark brown fizzy drink.

Alas to their misguided deep chagrin

It cannot be as bad as they all think.

So should I let the Dr. Pepper go?

Are well meaning friends right to have concerns?

I don’t think I should really have to show

That even though my heart and tongue do yearn-

And the world starts to feel like quite a waste

When I don’t sip that carbonation- I

am not addicted to the fizz or taste

I don’t need Dr. Pepper to get by.

I’m trying but my friends can’t seem to see,

Oh what on earth can you expect from me?

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Are Self Esteem and Love Linked?

People base their self worth off many things, and in Sonnet 29, Shakespeare explores love as a means of building self esteem. Is the thought of a lover really enough to give someone the courage to love themselves? Shakespeare would argue that it is.

Sonnet 29 and Sonnet 130
Shakespeare explores love in an untraditional way in these two sonnets. Rather than going on and on about how wonderful is lover is, he starts his sonnets with more of a melancholy mood. He lists the qualities about his love that are less than desirable in Sonnet 130, and in 29, he complains about his lack of social standing and extraordinary talents. What's interesting in these two sonnets is that about halfway through the poem, he turns. None of those negative aspects of his life matter any more, because he loves and is loved by a woman. Ernest Sutherland Bates points out the difference in this kind of comparison when compared with Petrarchan sonnets. Before Shakespeare, love was seen as the source of all unhappiness, and any other misfortunes paled in comparison to that of lost love. However, Shakespeare flips this way of thinking and instead uses love as the source of all happiness, while everything else in his world goes wrong.

Shakespeare and Popular Opinion
In discussing Sonnet 29 with others, it became apparent that the thought of a loved one is often a motivating factor when someone is faced with opposition. Everyone experiences days where things are going less than swimmingly, and it is not a foreign feeling to feel alone, belittled, and hopeless. Everyone feels this way at some point or another. How does one escape these feelings, however? Shakespeare suggests that the most prominent of all these escapes is love. In Sonnet 29, he writes, "Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising, haply I think on thee... thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings that then I scorn to change my state with kings." Popular opinion suggests that Shakespeare isn't that far from the mark. The thought of a loved one, and having someone who brings happiness into one's life, makes it easier to persevere when things get hard. All is not lost when there are people to love.

While Shakespeare's approach to love may be less than conventional, especially in his time, he seems to strike a central theme still prevalent in society today. Things are never perfect, but as Shakespeare pens, love is higher than all of life's misfortunes.

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Mallory's Informal Research for Sonnet 29 Analysis

Here's two of my friends! I was having a rough day a few days ago and feeling a lot like the speaker at the beginning of the poem, but then I remembered that they love me, and everything was okay.

Sonnet 29 is about a man who is in despair and feels worthless, but then remembers the woman he loves and realizes that his life isn't the worst after all.

In this formal article by Ernest Sutherland Bates in the Modern Philology Volume 8 publication, the author is comparing Petrarchan sonnets to Shakespearean sonnets. He is writing about how in non-Shakespearean sonnets, the source of all unhappiness is the loss of love. However, Shakespeare rejects this understanding and points out the different sources of unhappiness, including low self esteem, poor social status, and lack of talent. Shakespeare then uses the presence of love as the ultimate happiness.

I looked at the No Fear Shakespeare summary of Sonnet 29, and I found it rather amusing. The summary really emphasizes the distress of the speaker, taking an approach of low self esteem rather than just misfortune. I also found it interesting how they interpret the speaker's tone as stumbling upon the thought of his love, rather than having it as a prominent place in his mind.

I found a video of Patrick Stewart reciting Sonnet 29, and it was really interesting to hear someone trained in the art of performing Shakespeare reciting it. Maybe it's just his voice, maybe it's Shakespeare, but the sonnet sounded so rice and full. The meter became a lot clearer and it flowed really well.

In discussing Sonnet 29 with my friends, they looked at it from an angle I hadn't taken before. Instead of diving deep or getting too analytical, they talked about how they liked the optimism at the end of the poem. The author is upset and feeling down on himself, but then he realizes that there is something good in his life, and that's his love. Similarly, they look to their loved ones when they get down on themselves, and it gives them a reason to keep going.

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Mallory's Draft Sonnet

My friends say that I have an addiction
to a certain dark brown quite fizzy drink.
My love for it has no real foundation,
but it is not as bad as they all think.
I maybe drink too much Dr. Pepper,
and my friends might be right to have concerns,
because without all the added sugar
for which my tongue accidentally yearns,
the world starts to feel rather dull and bland
and suddenly this drink becomes a thing
which was not in my original plan
but now I sadly need to make me sing.
Oh Dr. Pepper, I really love you.
What on earth can you expect me to do?

I had the hardest time not waxing Shakespearean towards the end and using words like thee and thou. So if you notice any awkward old times phrasing in the second half, help a sister out!

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