McKay's Advice on Studying Shakespeare

Dear Carter,

I heard you are taking Shakespeare this next semester and was a little worried. So I decided that I could give you some tips of what I did to enjoy and understand Shakespeare more this semester.

Probably the most rewarding experience that I had this semester was when our professor gave us the opportunity to pick any Shakespeare writing that we wanted and then basically do a book club with another student over Slack, a social media app. We picked certain times during the week where we would read the same part of the text and just dialogue with one another, researching things that we found interesting, and bounced ideas off one another. Let me tell you Carter, it was a blast! I learned so much! I felt like I needed to know as much as I could about the play we were reading (which was Julius Caesar) so I could help my partner and give valuable comments to our conversation. Overall, a great experience.

I know that one of your major concerns when it comes to studying Shakespeare is understanding it. That was one of my major concerns when I started this class too. One thing that I did throughout the course was that I would make sure I knew what was going to happen in the scene or act before I read it. I would read a summary from sparknotes, the edition we were reading, or some other source online. This way I didn’t have to worry about the content of the play and I could just soak in the beautiful language of Shakespeare. It took a little extra time, but totally worth it.

To better my ability in researching Shakespeare I started by annotating my text. I would color code my notes by literary devices, topics/themes, vocabulary words, etc. This gave me a repertoire of things to research and use in my essays. For example, in King Lear, I marked the passages yellow that had anything to do with a fool, which made it very easy to find passages about that topic when I was looking for resources in my paper.  I also cited every literary tool that I could spot in the play. So when I recognized the repetition in the speech of Lear was being done to enhance the crazy aspect of his character, I used that in my paper to show that not only the content supported my thesis, but also the literary tools Shakespeare used.

What was cool about my class was that we were able to use social and non-scholarly sources, which helped me have interesting dialogue and learn things that I never would have before. Non-scholarly sources are easier to read then the traditional published sources because they aren’t so wordy and get straight to the point, so it made reading about Shakespeare a lot more interesting and fun. This helped me think of ideas I never would have thought of by myself.

My class also focused on social-oriented learning, which really helped me because I was able to go to my peers for help and verification on my ideas without feeling weird. When you are expected to talk with your classmates about everything, it no longer becomes an issue to ask for help, so that was my favorite part about my class. If I were you, I would definitely take advantage of your classmates and try to converse with them as much as possible.

Well Carter, I hope this helps you! Have a blast this semester!

Love,

McKay

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McKay's Performance Analysis

I originally planned on attending Hamlet with everyone else, but when I forgot about that, I was happy that I still had King Lear That I could go to, but when I forgot about that I was crying with tears of joy that Dr. Burton had shown us the Globe Theater plays that we could watch online. If it weren’t for this safety blanket, I may never have seen a Shakespeare play.

I decided to watch Julius Caesar, the play that I read for my individually this semester, because I found it interesting and I thought that maybe it could me with my paper (which is about Julius Caesar) and show me different ways to interpret scenes. So, from the comfort of my own home, I was able to watch this play.

1.     Character/ Performance Analysis-While I did not recognize any of the actors in the play I did think the casting was very interesting in play. Caesar was played by an older man, who was tanner then the rest of the characters and who always moved around slowly. His movements and face gave him a feeling of royalty. When he was on the stage it was as if you knew he was meant to be the Emperor of Rome. He spoke slowly and vey clearly as if everything he said was a speech and dignified. In contrast, the men that played Brutus and Cassius were much younger and moved around quickly. These made them feel in direct opposition of Caesar, because everything that he was they weren’t. They also wore cloaks for much of the play, which gave them a conspirator feel, as if they were up to no good, which they weren’t. Their speech was much quicker and more hushed then Caesar’s showing that what they were saying was not for all to hear and that they were conspiring against Caesar.

2.     Stage- With the globe theater being outside and the play being done during the day, there really was no lighting to speak of other then natural light, but this worked to the plays effect because most scenes were done in the streets of Rome, before the people. So everything seemed a bit more real. What may have been the most interesting part of the whole play may have been how the players used the audience to make the play feel more realistic. Instead of keeping the actors solely on stage, they dispersed many in the audience, and when they spoke from the audience it made it feel as if the whole audience were people of Rome, gathering to see Caesar become king, or gathering to see his assassination. In fact, when the play first started, I didn’t know if it really was because the scene seemed so realistic as if the whole audience were shouting for Caesar to start, but in reality, they were all shouting for Caesar himself. They also used drums a lot to give off a special effect. For example, when Brutus and the other conspirators approached Caesar to slay him, the drums were going off making the scene that much more intense.

3.     Interpretation of script- While much of the play was highly dramatic and intense, there were also many jokes that I didn’t know were jokes being used. I actually laughed aloud a couple times, which was very interesting because I never had an inkling to laugh when I read the play. That was probably the biggest difference I saw. Because there were actor dispersed throughout the crowd, as if they were really a crowd, when they would talk it would always be shouting and done simultaneously, which I thought made it seem a lot more realistic. It also gave them this feeling of adoration, whether it be for Caesar, Brutus, or Mark Antony.

Overall, I thought the play was brilliantly done and it taught me new things about Caesar that I did not consider before. This analysis also kind of inspires me to go and see another one of these adaptations of Caesar so I can begin to see the differences in their interpretation and learn more about this awesome play.

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McKay's Annotated Bibliography (2)

Working Title: Well I like “Julius Caesar and Fate vs. Destiny.”

Working Thesis: In Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, the idea of fate is heavily explored as Caesar comes to believe that he must become emperor and Brutus thinks he must assassinate him. While both stoics believe they have no choice in the matter, Shakespeare identifies that both men were guided by their own decisions rather than outside forces.

Social Sources

1.     Expert- Professor Brandie Siegfried was able to meet with me and we discussed the literary concept of fate v. destiny and how Shakespeare really wrestled with this concept in his plays. She also talked about how fate and destiny could be seen through an ethical lens and how some characters made their decisions based on whether they saw the world- a world determined by choices or a world shaped by outside forces.

This source will really help me because it gives me specific ideas about my thesis as well as background to the ideas of Shakespeare. She was really great to bounce ideas off and get specific ideas for other sources that I could use.

2.     Enthusiast- A blogger from Tumblr, costlyblood, not sure what his real name is, but he is really into Shakespeare and was able to analyze some lines from Julius Caesar and talked specifically about some literary devices.

I was able to contact him and ask about his ideas of fate and destiny in the play, he hasn’t responded yet but I am hoping to get some specific ideas from him as well as use some of his ideas about form and rhythm in what he has said about the play already.

3.     Peer- Deborah Jensen, a fellow student in my British Literary History class, was able to help me out and discussed with me her thoughts on Julius Caesar and why Brutus decided to kill Caesar.

This helps my paper because she really gave me specific insight on Brutus which will be vital to my piece because I am going to analyze his decisions and speeches.

4.     Homie- Micah Campbell, my wife, was able to contribute to my paper by talking about the ethical dilemmas behind prescribing to a life of fate or a life of destiny.

This was an important source because I was able to seek an outside source of someone who does not have an opinion on the characters of the play but rather solely on the topic of the paper.

Performances

1.     Royal Shakespeare Company. “Julius Caesar, Act 3 Scene 2|2012|Royal Shakespeare Company.” YouTube. YouTube, 2012. Web. 18 Nov. 2016.

This is a performance of Brutus’ speech after Caesar died, set in a more modern time in Africa. The backdrop is dark, with a single spotlight on Brutus, surrounded by his countrymen.

This is a video of one of the most important scenes of the play and is great to analyze how the people’s attitude towards Brutus and Caesar change.

2.     Royal Shakespeare Company. “Man of Honour VS Man of Action| Julius Caesar|Royal Shakespeare Company.” YouTube. YouTube, 2012. Web. 18 Nov. 2016.

This is commentary on the scene mentioned above and how Brutus and Antony have a speech dialogue and are opposed to one another. Both actors defend their character’s stance towards the death of Caesar and the reasons for why they did what they did.

This is perfect to use in my paper because the actors talk about the ethics of the decision of Brutus. They also characterize their characters by “man of honour” and “man of action,” which in a way goes along with my thesis.

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McKay's Annotated Bibliography (1)

Overview: A lot of my paper is still rough but my main idea is that Shakespeare uses fate and destiny to give the differences of ethics and the difference in the characters.

Title: Julius Caesar and the Ethics of Fate v. Destiny

Thesis: Although many saw the assassination of Caesar as justifiable, Shakespeare portrays the ethics of Caesar’s assassination through the lenses of fate and destiny, casting doubt on the action.

Scholary Sources

Rice, Julian C. “Julius Caesar and the Judgment of the Senses.” Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900, vol. 13, no. 2, 1973, pp. 238–255. 14 Nov 2016.

 www.jstor.org/stable/449737

Rice discusses how stoicism and Epicureanism prove to be inadequate as definitions of human capabilities in the lives of Brutus, Caesar, and Cassius. He also delves into the renaissance background and how it plays a role in the characters.

This is helpful because the article identifies some of the logic behind why people during the Roman Empire believed in fate and destiny.

“Julius Caesar.” Shakespeare for Students: Critical Interpretations of Shakespeare's Plays and Poetry, edited by Anne Marie Hacht, 2nd ed., vol. 2, Gale, 2007, pp. 333-367. Gale Virtual Reference Library, 14 Nov. 2016.

This article is an overview of rhetorical tools, summary, character list, and historical context. This article really emphasizes the idea of stoicism in the character of Brutus.

This goes really well with the idea of accepting your destiny unemotional and not doing anything but accepting your draw in life. This will also help build historical context and identifying some literary tools for my paper.

GRAY, PATRICK. “Caesar As Comic Antichrist: Shakespeare's Julius Caesar And The Medieval English Stage Tyrant.” Comparative Drama 50.1 (2016): 1-31. Academic Search Premier. Web. 14 Nov. 2016.

Gray compares and contrasts the Julius Caesar potrayed by Shakespeare with the Julius Caesar embodied in other contemporary plays in Shakespeare’s time. He suggests that the Caesar by Shakespeare is vastly different because Caesar is seen as a weak man, while by contemporaries in the time, Caesar was seen as dignified and noble.

This idea of Caesar being weak helps my article because it shows that Shakespeare was purposefully identifying the idea that the only way for Caesar to become Emperor is by fate.

McDonald, Russ. The Bedford Companion to Shakespeare. Bedford Books of St. Martin’s Press, 1996.

This book is an overview of historical context that played a factor in the way that Shakespeare thought of things that influenced his playwriting.

There is one chapter that will help my paper that focuses on the historical records that Shakespeare read, Latin mostly, that influenced his thought on the character of Julius Caesar. Specifically, McDonald includes a story of Julius Caesar that was published in Shakespeare’s time that he read and was used in his play.

Media Sources

Cuchapin, Kris. “Julius Caesar: Fate, Fortune and Supernatural.” Prezi.com. N.p., 11 March 2014. Web. Accessed 01 Nov. 2016.

www.prezi.com/lri4qoi05fyv/julius-caesar-fate-fortune-and-supernatural/

Kris Cuchapin makes an insightful comment that “fate and freedom maintain a delicate coexistence.” He asserts that certain things are left up to fate while other things the characters are free to choose.

This will help my paper as it gives an argument for both fate and destiny and how each character needed to find a balance in their decisions. The presentation reinforces the importance of fate and destiny.

Jabak, Omar. “Different Literary Approaches to the Concept of Fate.” Linkedin.com. N.p., 19 Aug. 2014. Web. Accessed 01 Nov. 2016.

www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140819111740-115124175-different-literary-approaches-to-the-concept-of-fate

Jabak discusses how throughout literary history there has been this idea of fate v destiny and how society has changed its meaning in different periods of time.

This adds literary historical context to my paper as well as additional insights on how to expound on the idea of fate v destiny. This will be a great article to add credibility to my ideas on fate and destiny.

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Fate and Destiny and Julius Caesar

When I was doing my research, I came across a famous quote on twitter that really made me think about one of my classes at BYU. In my British Literary History class last semester, my teacher Professor Siegfried stressed a lot about the idea of fate v. destiny in early British literature and how many authors like to reflect this thought in their works. As I read the play, Julius Caesar I saw that not only was this principle of fate v. destiny a prominent point in the play, but it may be exactly why Shakespeare wrote this work.

Since I was inspired to write about this topic from my professor I am going to meet with her on Wednesday (we couldn’t find a time earlier) to discuss this principle and how it relates to Shakespeare. Looking at past notes from my class I realize that this idea of fate v. destiny is a huge theological point, which makes it interesting because Shakespeare lived in a Christian world while the play is set in pagan Rome, so there seems to be something that Shakespeare is saying about religion itself. From an article that I read it really talks about how Caesar himself is kind of the embodiment of the idea of fate. And the more I think about it, Brutus seems to embody the idea of destiny. So overall, I want to do a topic of how Caesar embodies fate while Brutus represents destiny. I really had a hard time picking a topic, everything just seemed like it wasn’t a good idea, but after discussing on slack, some of my peers encouraged this idea and it makes me want to go forward, even giving me more resources on the topic.

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