Midterm Blog

Jim Schulz
Dr. Paul Gleason
English 327
October 12, 2008
URL: jim4204.blogspot.com

Midterm Blog

This essay will examine what stage of reading development I was at before the beginning of the semester, what stage I’m at now, and look at how I can move into the next stage.

Unlike Non-Western Literature, I feel I have a somewhat better knowledge when it comes to Shakespeare. Let’s make this clear, I’m not an expert, it’s just that I knew what I was going to be reading and studying when I started the class. At least I heard of Shakespeare and was somewhat familiar with his work. I never really thought much about Shakespeare, I don’t remember studying him in High School, and I really never thought I would be interested in reading or viewing any of his work. For those reasons, at the beginning of the semester I would definitely put myself in stage one, the “Text-Self” stage. My views are very “I-centered” and I may have some subjective reactions to the text. My first blog entry dated August 27th, reflects this. I mentioned that my views on Shakespeare were very limited and I thought that he was a very dry and an eccentric person. I have read some of Shakespeare’s work but I would say my opinion never went much beyond whether I liked it or not.

After seven weeks of class, I would say I’m for the most part still in Stage one “Text-Self”, and possibly starting to enter stage two “Text-Other-Texts.” The movies we have viewed and our discussions in class have helped me to understand Shakespeare somewhat better. My blog entry of August 27th reflects on the movie “Shakespeare in Love.” I felt there was some question regarding the way they portrayed Shakespeare, as it has been stated that there was little known about him. As mentioned before, I stated that I felt Shakespeare was a very dry and eccentric person. The movie portrayed him as a person who indeed wrote plays, sonnets, and poems but that he was also a very average person.

After viewing the film adaptations of three Shakespeare plays; “Romeo & Juliet,” “Titus,” and “Hamlet,” I’m starting to evaluate things differently and question whether the film adaptation is portraying Shakespeare’s work adequately. In my blog entry dated September 3rd, I discuss acting, along with body language, facial expressions, and voice used in Leonardo DiCaprio’s version of “Romeo & Juliet.” Although I felt DiCaprio did a great job acting and that he shows great emotion, I still wonder if the modern version represents exactly what Shakespeare would want you to get out of his play.

I’m also starting to look at Shakespeare’s work in different ways. In my blog entry dated September 17th; I look at “camp” (bad taste or ironic value) in Shakespeare’s work. Without a doubt, I’m seeing this in Shakespeare’s work. In “Titus” for example; we see Titus kill his son without thinking twice. Something I feel was very ironic as this was his son, somebody you would have thought Shakespeare would have Titus respect and think more highly of. Looking at examples of Shakespeare’s work in this way, makes me feel I’m viewing things differently and taking that step into stage two.

Because I feel I’m still in stage one “Text-Self” and only entering the very beginning of stage two “Text-Other-Texts,” I feel my next step is to fully enter step two. Exactly what strategies I would use to accomplish this is hard to say but I feel I need to try and examine and read Shakespeare’s work more carefully. By doing this, I may be able to relate his work to other texts or time periods. When viewing a film adaptation of his work, I need to pay closer attention to see if changes have been made and where the changes take place. This is something I’m not picking up until class discussions take place. If some of the discussions in class seem a little confusing and hard to understand, I need to take the time to try and figure out why I do not understand what is being discussed. Our group discussions have helped, but I may need to add more to the discussions or simply ask more questions if I’m not sure of something.

In closing, studying Shakespeare has been quite interesting to this point. The class has given me the opportunity to compare and contrast Shakespeare’s work with other texts, various film adaptations, and thoughts. Something I probably would have never done before this class.