Friday, November 17, 2023

Final Project: due no later than December 6th!

English 3213: Shakespeare

Final Project: Ten-Minute Shakespeare

For your ‘final exam’ so to speak, I want you to take a cue from The Reduced Shakespeare Company, and prepare a ten-minute version of one of the plays from class. While this is a humorous idea, it also tests how well you know a given play, and what the essence of the play’s themes and characters truly consist of. What would a ten-minute Othello or Twelfth Night look like? How could you compress most of the general theme, plot, and language into a single short scene?

Your final project should consist of two parts:

·       A 5-7 page script (since 1 page = 2 minutes of reading time) composed solely from the lines of the play you choose. Don’t add any lines, but pick and choose what parts of the play you want to present so we can see the skeleton of the story & a few of its characters.

·       A short Epilogue (1-2 pages), where you explain what you hoped to achieve in this drastic reduction of the play. Why did you make the choices you made, and what ‘story’ does this version tell, since you had to leave so much of it out?

Remember, you’re going to have to take a LOT of the play out. You can’t preserve every character, plot, and incident. But you can show us some aspect of the play that will give us a taste of the actual thing. You don’t have to use an entire speech, or an entire conversation, but edit it as you see fit. For example, you could focus solely on the journey of a single character, or a single theme, or a single relationship. Or you can give several little snapshots. But try to make it coherent, and include stage directions (the original or your own) so we see how the different moments go together.

Have FUN with it. You can make a tragedy seem more like a comedy, or vice versa. I will only grade this by how well we can still see some aspect of the story in your version, as well as how some of the great lines are preserved. I’ll also look at how thoughtful you are in your Epilogue and what kind of method went into your madness.

DUE NO LATER THAN WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6th BY 5PM

Tuesday, November 14, 2023

Class This Week: No More Reading! But Class Continues...

 I forgot remind everyone to come back to class on Wednesday, even though there's no scheduled reading. We finished the plays, so now we're going to look ahead to our final activity. Should be interesting... :) 

I'm in the process of grading everyone's Paper #2. They should all be returned to you by Friday at the latest, though some of you will get them earlier. Remember that you can revise any paper in class for a higher grade if you wish. 

Let me know if you have any questions. See you on Wednesday (tomorrow)! 

Saturday, November 4, 2023

For Monday/Wednesday: Antony and Cleopatra, Acts 2-3 (see Note)



NOTE: I'm going to push the paper back to next Monday, so we can actually finish the play this week. That way, you'll also have the weekend to write the paper. So here are questions for Acts 2 & 3, and you can turn them in as late as Wednesday. You only have to read Act 2 for Monday (since that's probably all we'll have time to discuss, anyway). We will do an in-class response over Act 3 on Wednesday as well, but I thought it would be easier to give you more time on the questions. 

Answer TWO or ONE, depending on your time, interest, and inclination: 

Q1: How would you stage Act 2, Scene 5, particularly the scenes with Cleopatra and the Messenger? Is this a scene of high comedy, where Cleopatra loses it and acts like a spoiled child? Or is this a deeply tragic scene, where she realizes that the one hold she had over Antony’s affections is lost? Use a line or two to support how you think we’re supposed to read (and stage) this scene.

Q2: When Enobarbus tells the Romans (Maecenas and Agrippa) about Cleopatra, he switches from verse to prose: why does he do this? Also, examine this speech—what does he think about Cleopatra? Does he consider her Antony’s “exotic” whore? Or does he hold her in respect and awe? 

Q3: Though Rome is notoriously racist in its views towards Cleopatra and Egypt, is the same true of Antony? Does he love her in spite of her race, or is he ‘color blind’ when it comes to his affections? How does Act III offer us a definitive portrait of their relationship, especially once the chips are down (after the disastrous naval battle)?

Q4: What role does Enobarbus seem to embody in the play, particularly in Acts 2 and 3? Though he is one of Antony’s most loyal supporters, even he is looking for a way out by the end of Act 3. Is he another Shakespearean Fool? Or is he more like Iago, plotting secretly against Antony?

Wednesday, November 1, 2023

For Friday: Antony and Cleopatra, Act 1



Answer TWO of the following as usual, or go to town with ONE if you really have a good idea: 

Q1: In many ways, this is a play about acting, and no one acts more extravagantly as Cleopatra. As Enobarbarus (her servant) says about her, "I have seen her die twenty times upon poor moment" (1.2). Why does she spend so much of her time with Antony in 'costume' rather than being more 'real'? Does he, like Othello, not appreciate a Sonnet 130 woman? Conversely, why might a woman like Cleopatra view life as a performance? 

Q2: How do the Romans in the play, such as Caesar, regard Antony's behavior? Though he's a great warrior and clearly a great lover (to win Cleopatra's affections), what makes him seem 'unmanly' to them? Do people in Egypt share the same opinion? Does he? 

Q3: After seeing the great love that Othello and Desdemona had for each other (at least in Acts 1-2), is the same true for Cleopatra and Antony? Are they madly, passionately in love, or is it more a power play? Is he using her for political advantage? Is she? How does their language in Act 1 betray their emotions? 

Q4: How does Shakespeare create the 'setting' of Egypt through his language? In other words, how does he give his audience a sense of Egyptian atmosphere through the way the Egyptians speak and act? In Shakespere's day, they wouldn't have much in the way of sets or props, so the language, alone, would make people believe they were in a different country. What makes Egypt 'sound' differently than Rome or Romans? How does he create this illusion (Act 1.2 is a good example). 

Tuesday, October 31, 2023

For Wednesday & Friday: Antony and Cleopatra, Act 1 & Paper #2 Assignment

On Wednesday, we'll watch Act One of Antony and Cleopatra in class, and then discuss it on Friday (with questions to follow). In the meantime, start thinking about your Paper #2 assignment, which I handed out in class, and is pasted below in case you lose it:

Paper #2: Tragic Reasons

In de Sousa’s Love: A Very Short Introduction, he writes, “even good reasons are never good enough. In praising a painting, a critic might adduce this ardent colour, or that graceful line, or the balance of a composition. But it will always be possible to find another painting that shares that feature, and yet fails to be good. If reasons are by definition universal, how can one really speak of such features as affording reasons?” (73-74).

In Shakespeare’s comedies, love rarely has a reason other than ‘magic’ or proximity. In the tragedies, however, characters give us very specific reasons for doing anything: falling in love, plotting revenge, planning murder, assisting their friends, etc. But are these ‘good’ reasons, or are they merely good enough? Is tragedy born from well-meaning reasons that don’t add up? Or do the reasons cause the tragedy of the play itself?  

Discuss TWO characters in the last two plays (either one from each play OR two from one) and analyze the reasons they offer the audience for their actions/decisions. These could be reasons for being in love, plotting murder, plotting revenge, assisting their friends, betraying their friends/lovers/country, etc. Is Shakespeare trying to convince us of their love/desire, or show us its fatal lack of reason? In the end, is ‘love’ enough? Or do the reasons come after, to rationalize decisions that have terrible consequences for themselves and others?

REQUIREMENTS

·       Analysis/close reading of two characters—examine their reasons and how they relate to the plot (do their reasons create the plot, complicate it, etc.)

·       If possible, find reasons that connect to one another: two characters whose reasons complement (or contradict) one another

·       At least one outside source to aid your discussion, either de Sousa (don’t use the quote above—go beyond that), or specific Sonnets

·       Due in two weeks: Friday, November 10th by 5pm [no class]

Saturday, October 28, 2023

For Monday: Othello, Acts 4-5


Last set of questions for Othello, so enjoy the rousing (and tragic) conclusion! Answer TWO or ONE, depending on your inclinations:

Q1: In Act 4, scene 3, Emilia has a fascinating exchange with Desdemona where they’re discussing if they would cheat on their husbands. How do Emilia and Desdemona differ in their willingness to make their husbands “cuckolds”? What does Emilia mean when she says, “The world’s a huge thing:/It is a great price for a small vice”?

Q2: Is Othello completely steeled to kill Desdemona in Act 5, scene 2, or does he still have doubts and misgivings? Carefully read his "It is the cause it is the cause, my soul" speech as he enters the stage. What is he telling us here, especially since it's a monologue, and addressed to himself--and by extension, to the audience?

Q3: In one of the most dramatic (though to some, comic) moments in the play, Emilia repeats the words "My husband?" four times when she learns of Iago's involvement in her mistress's death. How did you read this? How should an actress portray this? Is this total surprise/revelation? Is it disguise (if she suspected all along, and is covering her tracks)? Or is it some mixture of knowing and not knowing?

Q4: Most tragedies end in catharsis, which the Oxford English Dictionary defines as "The purification of the emotions by vicarious experience, esp. through the drama (in reference to Aristotle's Poetics)." Does Shakespeare allow the audience a sense of release and catharsis by the play's end? How might Iago's refusal to repent or even to explain his actions frustrate this? Or is that also part of Shakespeare's dramatic plan?

Wednesday, October 25, 2023

For Friday: Othello, Act Three


 

NOTE: No questions this time around, but we'll have another in-class writing when you arrive in class. So please read Act 3 by Friday's class, and try to think about some of the ideas we discussed in class, such as :

* Whether Iago is the "fool" of the play, and how he continues to play this role--or, who he plays it with and who he doesn't (Desdemona but not Othello?) 

* Iago's reasons for revenge...are they supported by his actions in Act 3? Contradicted?

* Does Iago actually lie and make up fabrications about Desdemona...or does he merely hint things and let Othello fill in the rest? In other words, is Iago more to blame, or Othello? 

* Is Cassio actually in love with Desdemona? Is Iago telling a half-truth when he 'lies' to Othello? Should Othello be worried? Does Desdemona herself betray any affections towards him in her language (or how she speaks it?)

ALSO, think about some of the following:

* What information do you feel ultimately turns Othello from loving husband to jealous cuckold? He tells Iago that he'll only believe when he sees prooft, but does Iago ever really offer it?

* Does Othello become more stereotypical in Act 3? Does Shakespeare offer a more racist portrait of a moor that his audience would expect? Would his portrayal in these later acts make it more and more difficult to stage today?

* What kind of woman is Emilia as she emerges from the shadows in Act 3? Is she more on Desdemona's side, or her husband's? Do you think she's in on the plot, or has Iago kept her mostly in the dark (given what he thinks of women in general)? 

Monday, October 23, 2023

For Wednesday: Othello, Act Two



NOTE: The film version of Othello we watched on Friday cut so much material that it actually fit all of Acts 1 and 2 in the 45 minutes we watched in class! So all of this material should be familiar to you from the film, but also note what was cut out, and whether or not that challenges our understanding of any of the characters and their actions (not a question, but still something to think about...)

Answer TWO of the following (or ONE, in sufficient detail to justify doing more work with less):

Q1: In one of Iago's many asides, he notes that his plan "'Tis here, but yet confused/Knavery's plain face is never seen till used" (2.1, 81). Is he claiming here that he has no real plan, but is just improvising and making it all up as he goes along? Does this suggest his true motive is not revenge at all, but a sort of obscene mischief? If he really wanted Othello dead, why wouldn't he plan things out more carefully and not put so much faith in chance? Or is he lying to us even here?

Q2: Iago claims that Cassio is in love with Desdemona, so convincing Othello of this fact should be fairly easy (especially once Desdemona starts begging him to forgive Cassio). What do we see in the play itself? How does Cassio present himself towards Desdemona? If you were an actor, how would you play him to make him an interesting character (since he could easily be just a boring straight man)? Is there some truth to Iago's claim?

Q3: How do you read the strange scene in Act 2, scene 1, where Iago disparages different kinds of women before his wife, Emilia, and Desdemona? He even makes up little riddles about them, which both delights and appalls Desdemona (his wife largely remains silent--an interesting point). Is Iago acting like a Fool in this passage? Does he have more in common with Feste? Or is he more like Malvolio, someone who refuses to be a fool even when people are laughing at him?

Q4: One of the consistent themes of this play is people seeing others as beasts or animals. We saw this in Act 1.1, when Iago portrayed both Desdemona and Othello as various animals mating with each other. Now, Cassio is constantly lamenting the loss of his reputation, which has left him "by and by a fool, and presently a beast!" (2.3.101). Why do you think these characters are so obsessed with the dichotomy between men and beasts/animals? Why does it seem that such a razor-sharp line separates one from the other? 

Friday, October 20, 2023

For Monday: Othello, Act 1



Be sure to read Act 1 of Othello for Monday's class, and as always, answer TWO of the following questions, or offer a much fuller reading of ONE. 

Q1: Iago is the consummate actor, always playing different roles for different people. This is most visible in his language, since he switches from poetry to prose several times in the act (though he mostly speaks verse). When does he switch into prose and why? How might it help him act a specific role?

Q2: In Act 1, scene 3, Brabantio (Desdemona's father) accuses Othello of using witchcraft and pagan charms to make his daughter fall in love with him. This plays into racial stereotypes of moors and Muslims at the time, as many theatrical Africans or moors were indeed witches and conjurers. How does he refute these charges to the court (and Shakespeare's audience)? In what language? 

Q3: Though Iago delights in playing people against each other for the sheer joy of doing it (or so it seems), does he ever give the audience an explanation for why he betrays Othello? Are these reasons plausible, or do you feel he might be lying to us and he's lying to Roderigo and Othello?

Q4: How might the language of Othello and much of its imagery, metaphors, etc., conjure up memories of the later Sonnets? How could we argue that Othello is a play that he wrote as he wrote Sonnets such as 130, 138, 144, and many others?  

Monday, October 16, 2023

For Wednesday: A Few Last Sonnets...


 

For Wednesday's class, read the following Sonnets from the end of the collection:

#'s 135, 136, 138 (see the variant of 138 below), 144, 145, 147 

Q1: Discuss how the various puns on the word "will" change how we read Sonnets 135 and/or 136. Do the puns make this sonnet obscene or playful? Intimate or obnoxious? Is this some "bedroom banter" between two lovers, or a way to lampoon and humiliate her?

Q2: Sonnet 138 is one of the few sonnets that come down to us in two versions, the earliest of which was published in an anthology of poems (some Shakespeare's, some other poets') called The Passionate Pilgrim. The 'original' version is printed below. What are some of the main things you notice between the two versions? Which one do you feel is more powerful?

Sonnet 138 a

When my love swears that she is made of truth,

I do believe her, though I know she lies,

That she might think me some untutored youth,

Unskilful in the world's false forgeries.

Thus vainly thinking that she thinks me young,

Although I know my years be past the best,

I smiling credit her false-speaking tongue,

Outfacing faults in love with love's ill rest.

But wherefore says my love that she is young?

And wherefore say not I that I am old?

O, love's best habit is a soothing tongue,

And age in love loves not to have years told.

   Therefore I'll lie with love, and love with me,

    Since that our faults in love thus smothered be. 

Q3: Looking at Sonnets 144 and 147, what has chiefly gone wrong with this relationship? Why does he now see the woman, which he claims to have loved deeply only a few sonnets ago, "as black as hell, as dark as night?" (147). Do we get any hint at what made her so 'dark' in his eyes? 

Q4: Sonnet 145 is considered an anomaly, and possibly, a sonnet that was not even written by Shakespeare. However, it contains a pun that seems to be autobiographical to Shakespeare alone (see if you can find it). Why do you think this simple, even sweet, poem is lodged at the end between so many fierce and nasty poems? How does it contrast with a poem like 144?

Friday, October 13, 2023

For Monday: The Sonnets, Redux!



Remember, we're returning to Shakespeare's Sonnets for one week before we plunge back into two Tragedies (Othello and Antony and Cleopatra). These poems pick up roughly where we left off, but they detail the very end of the poet's relationship with the young man, and the start of a new one with the 'dark lady.' 

Read the following Sonnets: 110, 116, 121, 126, 127, 129, 130

Answer TWO of the following, or ONE with a longer responses, that might combine one or more of the questions below:

Q1: How is the poet trying to justify himself and/or hs role in the relationship to the young man in these last poems (110-126)? Likewise, what is he accusing the young man of? Why is it clearly his fault? 

Q2: Sonnet 126 is the end of the road for the poet and the young man. How might this poem hearken back to the very first Sonnets in the series? Also, despite this echoing, what makes it unique in the entire sequence? In other words, what does it do that we've never seen before?

Q3: What is the biggest difference between the young man sonnets and the dark lady sonnets? What about the language, ideas, metaphors, or tone is most distinct in Sonnets 127-130?

Q4: Sonnet 130 is one of the most famous sonnets ever written, and certainly the most famous in this series, along with #s 18, 116, and 138. What makes this poem so memorable and quotable? How might it contrast with a similar love poem like 18? How might is also suggest how the poet has changed in the interval?

Final Project: due no later than December 6th!

English 3213: Shakespeare Final Project: Ten-Minute Shakespeare For your ‘final exam’ so to speak, I want you to take a cue from The Red...