Shakespeare's readers can find themselves caught in a series of implicit choices where, for example, a particular wording or phrasing may correspond to a specific stylistic effect, which is used by the author to persuade the audience. All of Shakespeare's plays draw on the resources of rhetoric, which is not considered as a mere method of composition, but also a tool to experiment with language. Linguistically, Shakespeare's manipulation of language serves to construct characters, conflicts, and themes. As readers of his texts and audience members of his plays, we are challenged to analyze Shakespeare's choices at the levels of word and phrase, and at a more abstract, figurative level, specifically in relation to how those word and phrase choices reveal power or powerlessness. In this regard, we focus on sound devices, such as alliteration and onomatopoetic phrasing, a range of metaphoric usage--chiefly metaphor, imagery, and symbolism. Technically, we complete a simple analysis of metrical features, such as iambic meter, rhythm, and rhyme. Through the study of Shakespeare's works, we can draw clear connections between the meaning elicited from a text and how Shakespeare went about creating that meaning stylistically.
Shakespeare never goes stale. And there are good reasons for that. Through the years, Odyssey scholars have studied the plays of A Midsummer Nights Dream, Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Taming of the Shrew, Much Ado About Nothing, and Hamlet. As your experience with Shakespeare's texts expand, so does your understanding and appreciation of the author's work and its connections to life. Shakespeare has been done and redone hundreds of times in settings as varied in time and place as one can imagine. Shakespeare had a profound understanding of humankind: our struggles, our desires, our hopes, and our fears. These common sufferings and triumphs connect the characters on his stage with those people we meet in real life. This is what it means to be universal. No matter how old we are, where we live, or in what time, all boundaries can fade to nothing in a tale of Shakespeare. As the characters fall in love, so do we; as they grow enraged at injustice, so do we; as they are overcome with jealousy or humiliation, we blush crimson right along with them. The brilliance of Shakespeare comes through his mastery of the mechanics of the English language to elaborate on his intrinsic knowledge of the human psyche.
Each year, the English Speaking Union invites students and their teachers/directors who share a love and enthusiasm for the Great Bard to participate in their National Shakespeare Competition. It all starts in the classroom. Schools all over the country conduct in house, school-wide Shakespeare competitions in which scholars present a memorized monologue of no more than twenty lines. After the school selects a winner, they are sent along with other scholars across their state, to compete at the branch level. This time, they present their monologue and one of Shakespeare's sonnets.
The lucky scholar selected at the branch level is then flown out for a week-long trip to New York
Here below, enjoy watching the winning performances of 2015 and 2016. Then, you will watch an inspirational, educational video by the creators and actors of the Oscar award-winning film, Shakespeare in Love. I promise you will enjoy it! It is about 45 minutes in length, so allow for some time to put your feet up, brew some tea or hot chocolate, and enjoy! It looks at the life and art of William Shakespeare through the lens of his play, Romeo and Juliet. For your post, please comment on the story, what you learned and anything specific that impressed you, and then see how it all comes together at the end: summary, poetry and then...the color! It is DEFINITELY worth the time...for, as we know, "Never was a story of more woe than that of Juliet and her Romeo..."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ApO737h61M
Watching the Shakespeare in Love Bonus Feature was very interesting and I learned many interesting facts. One thing that really surprised me was the the plays lasted several hours with no intermission. From my knowledge and experience a play on average can be at most 2 hours, so that seems extremely long for me especially without an intermission. I also found it really interesting that rehearsal time for the actors was short and they generally put on a play in less than a week. That is really impressive knowing that the actors had to memorize their lines, along with the other aspects that go into putting on a presentable play to the audience. I also found it interesting that the sets were not detailed so thst is why before a scene the wording was really descriptive in order to visually set the stage through the actors words; however, the costumes made up for the lack of color and detail. I also learned that back then the amount of clothing displayed social status,so sometimes men were known to put padding under their tummy to make an allusion that they were eating well. I found this very funny and ‘weird’ as compared to today's culture it is nothing like that as people idealized being skinny and healthy.
ReplyDeleteAnother interesting fact that stood out to me was learning that Romeo and Juliet was the play that set Shakespearw apart from other playwrights because it broke the traditional one type of genre in a play. Shakespeare mixed both comedy and tragedy together and that drew people's attention. Not only was his style different but his poetry and powerful language made him stand out as well. The power of poetry was used in Shakespeare's plays to convey important and impactful meanings to the audience. This is heard in the balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet when Juliet says,
“This but thy name is my enemy.
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What’s Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!”
This is a very popular line in the play. In this scene Juliet is saying to Romeo that he is not the problem but his name. In a way Shakespeare is shedding light on their families rivalries that are keeping them apart and the senseless attitudes of the families. Another instance in which Shakespeare uses his language to portray a powerful meaning is when Juliet says to Romeo,” for in a minute there are many days.” This is a hyperbole and is meant to serve to show Juliet's love interest for Romeo as without him time seems to be going by slow. This is said in a very beautiful way by Shakespear to display their affection towards one another.
In conclusion, Shakespeare is still known and performed today because of his universal ideas he presents in his plays which are power,war,violence, and passion. In the bonus feature one of the actors said that, “ Shakespear was inventing modern entertainment” and that really resonated with me! One of my favorite things to do hobby wise is to act and I could not be more grateful for Shakespeare. I may have not known him but his legacy that he started and the theater will forever be a love of mine.
This is an OUTSTANDING analysis of the video. :) Well done! Loved reading your insights!
DeleteI wanted to first comment on the winning performances. I initially thought they would add interpretation to the work of Shakespeare simply by voice intonation. I was surprised how much a actor was able to portray emotion through their body movement. For example, with the female winner in her performance of Rosaline in As You Like It. I thought it was AMAZING how she was able to switch through what seemed like ten different emotions in just a couple seconds! I think this is a testament to how many different ways emotion and a story can be told - even through methods other than words.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Shakespeare in Love Bonus Feature I really liked how they went into depth on the sources they used in the representation of Shakespeare and how they paid special detail to the cultural and social contexts of the time period. For example, the influence Queen Elizabeth had upon plays. For instance, inspiring different characters who dressed up as boys to get a certain position in life- which would have related to her position as Queen. I was shocked to hear that without her, many of the plays would have been shut down because businessmen didn't like how it drew their workers away from their jobs in the middle of the day.
In the clips from Romeo and Juliet what really stood out to me where their costumes. I think had a large impact on the dramatics of the play. I think the coloring of the costumes was also significant, for instance I think Juliet's pure white and yellow dress highlighted her innocence and purity. It made her almost shimmer on stage - an amazing feat with only day light lighting the play.
I greatly enjoyed the documentary of Shakespeare in Love. How they recited the lines of the plays and went in depth on how the lines were delivered and how the playwright/acting business worked back in the Elizabethan era was very intriguing and kept me captivated. I was surprised to find that the guards of the era attempted to shut down theatre on multiple accounts. I enjoyed how they showed clips from the movie to display how the plays would actually go, and found that in play rather than in reading, Shakespeare's works, such as Romeo and Juliet, are much more enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteIn the clips the emotion stood out to me most. The professionally displayed emotion of the actors during the play really accentuated my enjoyment of the work. Reading the play, or viewing fellow scholars act it out, is nothing compared to a legitimate Shakespeare play.
Watching Shakespeare in Love, one of the first things that stood out to me is how amazing it is that we still talk about Shakespeare and his works even when he lived hundreds of years ago. He is so popular and beloved, yet we know almost nothing about him. This shows how people can connect through the general human experience, which his plays reflect whether through humor or blunt accuracy. Shakespeare in Love was made to show how Shakespeare is a person just like us, and I really liked seeing the clips of him introducing Romeo and Juliet to the actors because it emphasizes how much the play meant to the actors and how innovative Romeo and Juliet really was. Today, we have been introduced to so many new storylines that it is difficult to imagine one that has never been seen before, and many of these stories are influenced by Shakespeare himself because he was so innovative for his time. Another thing that stood out to me was the significance of the costumes to the show. They were very detailed and impressive, and I can see how they would make the show more exciting especially since there aren’t advanced sets or lighting. I also really liked the idea that the plays may not even exist if the Queen didn’t like them. It’s crazy to think that an entire society is still affected, to this day, by one woman who lived hundreds of years ago. It makes me wonder if there is someone today that will have a similar impact on the world in a few hundred years. Overall, I found this video very interesting and I thought it was really cool to have a deeper insight on Shakespeare and I would be interested in learning more about him and the time period he lived in.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching Shakespeare in Love I truly have a deeper understanding of how his works have really stood the tests of time. The detail and effort that went into every play or word he created or even a simple line. I remember from the Shakespearean 3 little pigs the speaker mentioned that Shakespeare has a working vocabulary of 35,000 words which to me is just phenomenal. When they demonstrated how the woman disguised herself on stage to be a man and they closed down the theater for it, that was a eye opener for sure. I never knew just how detrimental it was for an owner to put a woman on stage. They could lose everything. However the scene switches from demonstration to explanation kept me intrigued the entire video. This video causes me to think about authors and creators in today's society and how maybe someday in the future someone in our society will have this great of an impact generations to come. I am extremely excited to learn more about Shakespeare as we go on due to the mystery.
ReplyDeleteActually, Shakespeare's working vocabulary was 54,000 words! Even more than that.
DeleteI enjoyed this video as it goes with my great interest in Shakespeare. I first got into Shakespeare with the play A Midsummer Nights Dream and I am so glad to have done that. This play sent me into a whole new world of acting I had never truly pursued much before. Watching this video it felt amazing to understand what they were talking about and see how these true actors give such exquisite performances for characters that are hundreds of years old. What I found most interesting was how actors back then only had a week to rehearse an entire multi act play and then perform it while rehearsing another play! I don't know how that is even possible and it makes me wonder what it was really like to see those actors perform. I also think its important to note that these actors are arguably better than today's standards because of what they could accomplish through their actions. Actors today have lots of rehearsing, special affects, detailed costuming and thorough sets, directors to block almost all their moves, etc. These actors had very little to work with except the words of their playwright and I really admire that. While they still had costuming, they were actually donations which means two things to me. One, it reinforces the idea of how much people loved and supported the theater. Two, it goes back to the idea that actors could not completely depend on their costumes to be this outstanding piece to tell the story, but only a guideline to help the audiences' imagination somewhat, leaving the rest up to them. This videos use of showing how people were stunned and crying during Romeo and Juliet illustrates just how powerful both Shakespeare's words and the actors' performance truly were in creating a whole new world.
ReplyDeleteYES. Totally agree -- love your observations and reflection here!
DeleteAfter watching the "Shakespeare in Love" I became more interested in Shakespeare. I found it really interesting that "Romeo and Juliet" started out as a comedy and turned into a tragedy towards the end of the play. During the Elizabethan time period I learned that the rehearsal time period for a play was very short. They got the play and had to memorize it in a month or so. The play lasted a few days. In the video, when they said that we only know 5 facts about Shakespeare I thought that was crazy! As a renowned play writer, I feel like we should know more about him. What shocked me was that if they put a woman on the stage, the theater could lose everything. At the time, it was a men dominated world but it was ruled by a woman. The story of William Shakespeare was very interesting and I learned a lot that I had no idea of. Shakespeare was an impressive man. He defied the odds and surrounded his plays around topics we wouldn't talk about in life. Overall, I wish we knew more about Shakespeare and his life, but the things we do know about him are really interesting and his works are pretty amazing.
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting that though Shakespeare is arguably the most famous playwright, there are only five definite things we know about his life. Even this is an overstatement considering his birthday isn't know of a surety. I also enjoyed seeing the bits of the movie and then listening to the actors' interpretations and comments about it. I think the part I liked the most was finding out Romeo and Juliet was supposed to be a comedy, but then was turned into a tragedy with the proposal of the double suicide at the end of the play. During this scene, I liked how someone from the audience yelled an answer to the question of Juliet asking where Romeo was with "DEAD!" I think this really represented how included the audience is within Shakespearean plays, and this was again shown in the beginning of the video, where Queen Elizabeth stood up and spoke to the actors when they mentioned her name. Lastly, I was very surprised to find out that the globe theater didn't have bathrooms (outhouses) or even like a bucket or something. I'm not sure about the bucket but I'm guessing they didn't even have this. For such a famous theater I was surprised that it didn't have these basic accommodations, and one of the actors made it seem like people went to the bathroom just on the floor by insinuating that it smelt bad in there. All in all, Mrs. Caraway was right and the video was worth my time, and I ended up learning a lot more about Shakespearean time and plays than I had imagined I would.
ReplyDeleteAfter viewing the film "Shakespeare in Love" I am fascinated about the time period and all of the factors that lead to the success of Shakespeare. While 500 years ago seems quite long, in reality its not. However, times were much different back then. While we have wonderful technology to spice up our entertainment, it was more simplistic back then. While most of us today lack long attention spans as we live in an "instant" world, I found it fascinating how the entire town would come together in the middle of the day to watch a play with minimal setting, lighting, effects. It is intriguing to see how interested and in the moment the audience was. Furthermore, gender roles in Shakespeare times lead to women having little rights and freedoms. Yet, the queen was the most powerful figure of the land. I found similarities in current day based on how greedy business men were always searching for profit, just as today. They disliked plays as they distracted people from work. If it wasn't for the Queen adoring the theater, theaters would have shut down and Shakespeare's gift undiscovered. Times were indeed different, death was a familiar theme and in no way foreign. The audience and businessmen would only phrase the best and most exotic plays. Actors would suffer real injuries and such all for the theater. All of these conditions now being known will make reading of Shakespeare so much more powerful and interesting. While there were many other play writes at the time, Shakespeare was able to differentiate himself which makes him so well known and studied today. At the time, a lack of setting and effects was compensated with a plot line of excellence. I find it interesting while much is not known about the life of Shakespeare, his plays allow key insights. Shakespeare was original and one of a kind. His plays containing both tragedy and comedy is lead to their fame which can still be seen today. Overall, Shakespeare's plays will continue to be regarded as timeless pieces of work. With limited capabilities in the theater, Shakespeare thought outside of the box and found success in the ideas that were thought of absurd. His success in a time period where constant issues of gender inequality, greed, and cast systems make result in him being so memorable.
ReplyDeleteDespite being a very long video it was definitely worth watching all the way through. I learned new facts about the time period and Shakespeare that I did not know before. When the video was first starting the actors explained how they only knew 5 specific facts from Shakespeare's life to be true, much of what people know about him is through the his works. Another thing that I found very interesting in the video was when they talked about clothing styles during that time. The more layers a person wore the richer they were, sometimes they would give themselves a belly to make them seem like they ate very good. Also that only very high ranking people could wear the color purple simply because purple dye was very expensive and hard to make. Aside from the clothing the video had a lot of other interesting things in it, such as how long actors would rehearse for a play and the reasons that a play house could be closed. It was interesting to hear how Queen Elizabeth would have been able to relate to many of the characters in the plays she watched. Mainly because she was a woman trying to work in male dominated world, she constantly had to think ahead of everyone. After watching the video I kind of want to watch the movie and read more of Shakespeare's play. I have only read a small portion of what he has written and I wish to read and learn more about Shakespeare through his writing.
ReplyDeleteThroughout my years of high school, I have had the chance to immerse myself in Shakespeare and his works. It is unfortunate that I did not learn more about Shakespeare at a younger age, as it took me a long time for me to truly appreciate his works and the depth to which he accurately portrays the human experience. The videos attached to this blog demonstrate how much of humanity Shakespeare understood and likely experienced, and how he so skillfully used writing to share that with others. After watching the video of the competition winner, I began to notice how structure and word choice used in his writings and plays develop a tone (both over text and audibly) that makes his work so much more powerful. There's a reason we still study and appreciate the works of Shakespeare! Until this point, I believe that Shakespeare is arguably one of the best authors of our time (if not the best) because of the way he understood people and every aspect of humanity, and this is seen through the videos on the blog.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching Shakespeare in love it was really cool to see all the different aspects of what a Shakespeare play would have been like back when it was first written. It was interesting to learn about how the building the play was in had no lighting or special technologies like what we have today so they instead they used sunlight to their advantage. It was cool learn about how important costumes were to a play. The costumes helped separate actors from the audience who are the closet to the stage. The costumes were used to help with adding color and brightness to a scene. They also showed the social statues within the play. The video was really cool to learn many different things that Shakespeare and his actors had to do in order to create exactly what Shakespeare wanted. Also I feel like I have never fully realized how Shakespeare still influences people today until reading this blog and watching those videos. There has been many renditions of the his plays through out time. We study his work constantly in schools. We have big competitions for his plays. Recently we have turned his plays into movies and have made interpretations to some of his plays to be more modern. Shakespeare truly has influenced many people through the past and I believe that will still continue on. His works have lessons and beliefs that all humans have gone though or will go through no matter what time period which will make his work live on forever.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching these videos, I have a new found respect for shakespeare and the way he has written his plays. I find it very fascinating how much of his life we can infer just from his plays. It is crazy how much emotion and how much of real life he actually put into his plays. The video made me think about how the events in Shakespeares life probably did effect the way he wrote his play and the stories he came up with. It makes me really curious to know what happened in his lifetime and what inspired each of his plays. Another thing I found very fascinating was how the lower classes couldn't wear certain colors, so when they saw the colors that the actors would wear it took them out of their normal life. I think it is amazing that the theater was the place where everybody felt equal and during the play they felt like no class existed. Something new I learned is that women would dress as men so they had the chance to act in the plays. I think it is great that we still learn about shakespeare because his plays are more then just a story. There is so much beneath the story and where it came from and why it was written the way it was.
ReplyDelete(Jaquelyn Sanchez) I enjoyed that the Shakespeare in Love bonus feature gave context to Shakespeare's time and his plays as a result, especially when they pointed out that he wrote for "people in all levels of society", because people today usually think that he only wrote for higher, wealthier classes, because of all of the fancy sounding words he uses in his plays (and probably because of how popular he is in school curriculum as well). I'm always interested in hearing and seeing what goes into costume design and concepts in media, and hearing the costume designer and other actors explain what went into how the characters looked in the movie, outside and during plays, including the artistic liberties they made to differentiate the characters' clothing in different environments was amazing to hear. I think its interesting that the flashy, colorful outfits that the upper class didn't want to wear anymore was donated to theaters to create the atmosphere that the stages and theaters often couldn't create alone. It's also intriguing to hear that there were still popular playwrights in London, despite also hearing that the city officials hated theater and frequently closed theaters down - I think the allure of it being hated so much by the officials probably made the theater even more popular, like how people often went to speakeasies during the Prohibition to get alcohol. Of course, Queen Elizabeth's adoration of plays was also a major factor in their popularity, and a major factor in keeping theaters from being closed as well. Overall, hearing more about the context behind these plays is great, and if I get the chance to read another one of Shakespeare's plays, I think this video will make the reading much more fulfilling.
ReplyDeleteThat is great to hear! I did not know of your interest in costuming! I agree, it is such an intriguing art - especially in that time period.
DeleteI really enjoyed the videos, especially "Shakespeare in Love." I find it amazing that Shakespeare's works are still just as celebrated or even more than they were today. His works truly laid the foundation of creating characters who audiences could see themselves in, which in my opinion makes any story ten times better. Something I found really cool, was the fact that the actors in his plays had 3-5 day on average to rehearse and memorize lines. That is incredibly impressive, I've done a bit of theater myself, and I can not imagine memorizing a seven hour play in 3 days! I also love that Shakespeare's plays did not have many props. While props are good to have at times, I believe they can distract from the true power of the story line. In regards to the flashy costumes, I liked that aspect because after-all, the audience is there to escape everyday life. Overall, my favorite part of the film was when they recreated the death scene from Romeo and Juliet. I loved how they captured the audience's reactions because it goes to show, this is how Shakespeare intended for his plays to be received, with passion. After watching these videos, I again have a new found love and respect for Shakespeare. He captures real-life in a way that pulls his audience in to experience tragedy, love, and laughter no matter what class you may come from.
ReplyDeleteBeing completely honest, I have never been a fan of Shakespeare or Romeo and Juliet. However after watching Shakespeare in Love, my perspective has changed. Hundreds of years later, his plays are still discussed and taught in school. His plays can be easily applied to current times and I find it interesting that he had written for every kind of person. I find it impressive how actors would be on stage for hours at a time without a break as there were no intermissions, the work and effort they had put in was astronomical.
ReplyDeleteWith how women were treated in that time period, I find it comical that the most powerful person in a completely male dominated environment was Queen Elizabeth. The Queen held immense power over the theaters, if she had not liked them, they would have been shut down.
I find it interesting how many common folk stated that they would not see a play if there wasn’t “at least one good stabbing”
I also find it crazy that we know 5 definitive facts about Shakespeare and none of these are his birthdays, even though he is the most famous playwright in all of history.
Looking at the costumes, they were stunning. The colors and designs are beautiful. Juliet and her mother’s dresses were gorgeous, they instantly stand out and grasp your attention.
After watching the videos, it's really cool to see that people get so passionate about Shakespeare and his works. They convey a lot of emotion, talent and skill to be able to preform these few lines compared to the hours long of plays the performers had to memorize back in his time. I could never imagine memorizing a whole play in 3 days haha! That just brings forth the skill and talent of Shakespeare and the beauty of his plays that they were raw and so realistic to everyday life. It's interesting how we know so much but so little about Shakespeare and his life. We know 5 facts for sure, and rely on his plays for the rest of his life. There was also many complications in conducting a play that Shakespeare pushed through such as the creativity he used in setting a scene for the play-goers to imagine while not having the money to afford many stage props of a setting. While I'm not the biggest Shakespeare fan, I appreciate all that he has done in writing complex stories with relatable characters that have influenced modern day characters in books and movies. Shakespeare started modern entertainment with ticket buyers, play writers being hired to write a play, actors being paid to play and act way back before the radio was even possible. Actors had a chance to be bigger than life like celebrities we know today with big, extravagant lines and scenes. I really appreciate how Shakespeare made his characters so relatable with so much love and emotion to move a crowd to joy and tears.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the "Shakespeare in Love" bonus feature, I found it interesting how the costume designer made sure to keep up with what the characters were allowed to wear based on their social standard. She explained how only the people of 2nd to the highest and the highest class were allowed to wear purple because the color purple in fabric took a very long time to make and the people who could afford it would like to show it off when they went to see the plays. She also explained how men used to stuff their stomachs with fabric to make them look even more rich than they did by wearing layers of clothing because it showed how they had money to be able to afford a lot of food. I also found it interesting how Queen Elizabeth loved watching plays and how it was because of how much she loved going and watching them, that theatre was not abolished. They explain in the video how Elizabeth loved going to the theatre because that was where she got most of her entertainment when she needed it because she never married and worked very hard to keep England running in a good place. To me, it is very crazy to think how the Queen of England never got married but enjoyed watching Shakespeare's plays about love.
ReplyDeleteI have seen this movie before, about 4-5 years ago, when I did not understand much about Shakespeare. But now after watching the bonus feature, I would like to watch this movie again and use the knowledge I have from learning about Shakespeare in school and through this video to see how different I interpret the movie.
Throughout my education, I have been lucky to have the opportunity to immerse myself in the world of Skakespeare. I really enjoyed the Shakespeare in Love video and had seen the movie a few years ago. The gender roles of the time, as someone who is interested in gender studies, is quite interesting and paradoxical in that Shakespeare existed in a patriarchal society- but one in which the most powerful person in the nation was a woman, the Queen. I also find it interesting how Shakespeare points fun at issues of gender in a way that is comical and lighthearted. And his stories are timeless- they transcend time and are retold in creative ways in modern society.
ReplyDeleteTo my surprise I actually did find this video to be pretty interesting. Firstly because I found myself learning a lot of things I hadn't known before. For instance, I had no idea that as a society we all know so little about Shakespeare. I'd always just assumed that as a result of his popularity that we know lots about him. It's really interesting to me that we know so little because I think that makes the idea that his work is so famous even more powerful because it means that who Shakespeare was as a person doesn't have much to do with it and his work just speaks for itself. I also found the idea of women during this time dressing up as men in order to have the opportunity to act in the play such a cool thing to learn. It’s so interesting to me because they were going after their dream despite the limitations that society had created for them by not allowing them to be on stage. I also enjoyed how they talked a lot about Queen Elizabeth in this video and brought up the notion that she is the reason for theater being able to live because she enjoyed it so much. I also think that it is so crazy how she had so much power and respect as a Queen in a time period where women were seen as weak and for the sole purpose of "breeding and being complaint". I wonder if the theater really would have shut down if she hadn’t attended the plays. Something that they also touched on in this video was Shakespeare's famous play “Romeo and Juliet”. I really enjoyed reading this play in my freshman year and I thought that the things they had to say in the video were pretty interesting. Such as when they were saying how Romeo and Juliet is the greatest love story in history. In my opinion I feel like there’s a lot of truth to that statement because of how many times in today’s society similar story lines to the one of Romeo and Juliet's has been told. Essentially the idea of two people in love with conflict between families is a relatable and relevant theme even in today's world. With this in mind I believe that it points to the idea of how Shakespeare's work transcends space and time which I think the video does a really great job of highlighting.
ReplyDeleteTo my enjoyment I found the video very interesting. I had no clue that we knew so little about Shakespeare, especially with how popular he is and how many people study his works and life. I didnt fully realize that Shakespeare was not that popular as he is now. I also found it entertaining that the people wouldn't think it was a good play if there wasnt one good death/stabbing. I also liked how one woman, Queen Elizabeth, could make or break a play/theater. However, overall I loved the costumes and how amazing they were, I especially love this style of clothes so to see them so beautifully made was amazing, they do draw your attention very easily with their beauty and colors.
ReplyDeleteI think it's interesting to see this interpretation of William Shakespeare's life. Considering there's not many factual information of his life outside of being a playwright, it's interesting to see the different interpretations of how he acts and how he created his legacy.
ReplyDeleteI also thought the differences in color to separate the classes was interesting. It makes sense that only the nobility wore the color purple since it was such a rare dye and only those with money could afford it, while peasants and common folk had to wear earthly colors or natural fabrics. Nowadays, dyes are much more easily made so it's much more common to get a purple shirt, but it's interesting to see what sorts of things divided classes.
The way women were treated back then wasn't surprising, but it always seems to come as a shock considering our modern context. Women weren't allowed to participate in plays so men had to take the parts which was interesting. Of course, in "Shakespeare in Love," we see a woman disguising herself to participate in the play which I'm not sure if that actually happened during Shakespeare's time or it was a choice of the creators of the movie. The only way a women really had power was if she was born in nobility or had money as seen with Queen Elizabeth. Ironically, she may have been the only woman a man would listen to back in those days.
I was surprised to find that I enjoyed watching "Shakespeare in Love". Despite having read many Shakespeare plays, I have always been skeptical cynical towards people's love of his works and their exclamations of his brilliance. Perhaps I was too ignorant and had a general bias to the name "Shakespeare" as I often thought my expectations were set too high (or maybe I was afraid of simply not understanding). This video really humanized Shakespeare for me, allowing me to understand that he was more than just his plays. The interpretations of Shakespeare's plays and the era in which he lived, made everything feel more concrete to me. I understand how his work really was so relatable to the people of the time period and of today. What I particularly found interesting was how little we know about Shakespeare. It's quite baffling that there's only few solid facts we know to be true (in some sense). It makes me wonder what he was like in his life. His idiosyncrasies and quirks. I appreciate his work much more now after learning more about him.
ReplyDeleteSurprisingly, I found this video very interesting due to the fact that I have not had a lot of knowledge on the impact that Shakespear has had on society back then and even still today. Shakespeare brings out a lot of emotion and ideas that are still taught in schools today and were talked about back then. One of the things that caught my attention the most was the fact that some of the actors for some specific plays would memorize up to an 8 hour play within 3 days. As an actor and a fan of acting, this is very inspiring and shows the dedication that was put into this work of art. The time that is put into these plays shows a lot about Shakespeare's personality and the impacts that he wants to have on people all around him, along with the actors that act in the plays.
ReplyDeleteAnother interesting thing that caught my attention within the video was the costumes and costume designing. It is obvious that there was a lot of thought put into them. For example, the specific colors that represented a character. The time and dedication that was put into these plays represents how plays and theaters could change someone’s life. The fact that Shakespeare would bring people together using specific words and actions in stories shows the impact that he wanted his plays to have and what they did have. The setting of the plays were not as high of Technology that we have today but it was still able to set a certain tone that captivated people all around to want to go and watch them.
I am very happy that I got to watch and experience these videos because it gave me a different insight and perspective on Shakespeare and the way he writes his plays. I have never been very interested before to read Taming of the Shrew until watching these videos and seeing all the little detail and hard work that was put in to create them.
I initially always have thought as Shakespeare's work as another language which I have a hard time understanding. I found Shakespeare in Love entertaining and very interesting especially how Joseph Fiennes explained that their intention was to "unlock the emotional power of Shakespeare's words". I am fascinated by how Shakespeare's work has been reinvented and interpreted in so many ways throughout time and how he still remains an icon even today. Also watching this video made me realize how much I appreciate the costuming and setting that goes into Shakespeare's work. Even with everything I learned from watching this video, it's intriguing to know that there is still so much about Shakespeare we still don't know. This video made me realize that Shakespeare and his work is much more complex and powerful than I thought and gave me a new appreciation of his work.
ReplyDeleteThe video was very entertaining and interesting. It is really eye opening the contributions of Queen Elizabeth as the sole ruler of the time and how she impacted gender roles in William Shakespeare's work. When we spoke in class we mentioned that female characters in Shakespeare's plays have major respectable roles. I think it's because of the Queen's contagious presence of power and the dual threat of boldness and beauty. When I thought of William Shakespeare in the past I knew he was a respected playwright but, the overall depth of his knowledge fascinates me. I love stand up comedy and the wittiness that surrounds it. The way William Shakespeare effortlessly wrote multiple genres is awesome and way before his time. When he mixes the unthinkable such as tragedies & comedies It shows his dominance in theater now and forever. Interesting facts such as his acting career and fame struck me as odd because most famous people don't get recognized until they die. Surprisingly the people of that era knew the talent of Shakespeare's play-writing and highly respected acting.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed watching ‘Shakespeare in Love: Bonus Feature’, as it clearly showed the different aspects of how a play during the time would be. I find it so fascinating the amount of details and materials that were required to produce such plays, from the rehearsals, actors, costumes, stage, and audience. I also found it interesting how actors would have an extremely short amount of time to memorize hundreds of lines. I enjoyed watching this video as it clearly displayed the art of William Shakespeare in his playwright and the use of language to establish emotions onto his audience. The thing that stood out to me the most was the choice of costumes during the Elizabethan time. The satin, jeweled, and bright dresses used by the actors establish a contrast with the audience viewing the play. The wardrobe choice in Shakespeare’s plays help add another layer to their significance. I have read ‘Romeo and Juliet’ before, and I’ve always been attracted to this play in specific, as I truly enjoy the storyline and unique language that makes it stands out from any other love story. While I do struggle at times reading Shakespeare’s writing, spending more time rereading and analyzing the choice of words is essential as it demonstrates the extent of Shakespeare's play with words. His power of language helps him clearly establish characters, conflicts, and themes. Due to this, Shakespeare’s universal ideas are still very influential today throughout the entire world.
ReplyDeleteWhat I learned in the video is what also impressed me, how little time actors had to rehearse. This impresses me because nowadays with plays actors and actresses will spend months practicing for a play, musical, movie, or more. And yet these actors only had a few days to practice, to me it is just mind blowing. I could not imagine anyone only practicing for a few days before a big show. I mean maybe for a minor class play, but not for one in a theater. For me it showed how commonplace theater was, as bbn it showed that not much time was put into it. This also makes sense as later they mention sometimes it was just random people off the street performing in the plays, as they would not want to put to much time in it if it was not their main job, but this still impressed and shocked me
ReplyDeleteThe bonus feature of “Shakespeare in Love” was surprisingly very interesting. I learned many things about Shakespeare and his time that I feel I would have otherwise never known. For example, I would have never imagined the amount of talent that actors of the time needed to have in order to compensate for the plainness of the theaters. Likewise, it was impressive to hear that actors often only rehearsed for a week or less and that many times they would rehearse for the following play at the same time that another play was going on. It was also very unexpected to hear that, despite his immense fame, the overall knowledge about Shakespeare is very limited.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of Shakespeare’s works, I remember reading “Romeo and Juliet” in freshman year and, although I enjoyed the play very much, I never felt entirely connected to the plot and its message. Looking back now, I believe this is because I didn't know much about the context in which it was written and the background of who is written by. I feel that in order to fully understand a story and to fully analyze its meaning, we need to do more than simply read the text. Especially when it comes to older texts, such as those written by Shakespeare, the context must be fully considered. Otherwise, it is impossible to fully understand a text’s meaning if we don't know why the author wrote it and to whom it was written to. In the case of the “Shakespeare in Love” bonus feature, learning about the context in which Shakespeare wrote his plays helped me better understand his texts, and made me appreciate his work more than I already did. Overall, I found the video very entertaining and am now intrigued to watch the film.
I used to really struggle with Shakespeare the first few times we read his plays in school. I can say that I was not excited to read Romeo and Juliet my Freshman year, expecting it to be cliche and over dramatic. However, this was the play that made me fall in love with Shakespeare's writing. I truly learned to appreciate the depth, the detail, and the symbolism that he weaves into his plays. I was so taken aback by the effort a writer could put into their work, that his stories could tell so much more about mankind. Romeo and Juliet is one of my all time favorite "books" and I am happy that I was able to learn more about the story and the work that went into it with this video. I find it interesting that we hardly know a thing about Shakespeare's life, yet the man has carried such influence for generations to come. I appreciate that Shakespeare was so open-minded and willing to speak to all people regardless of class. The video touched on how Shakespeare commented on gender roles in society and I am truly awestruck by his ability to bravely admit this. I appreciated that the filmmakers took time to make their film accurate to the time period so that the life and story of Shakespeare could come to life. I liked learning about how the theater would use description of the scene and elaborate costumes to really create the story in a more entertaining way. I also didn't know about the importance of color in fashion and how that could indicate status. I also appreciated the effort that the actors would put into their performance, such as the hundreds of lines they would have to memorize with very little time to rehearse. It truly demonstrates the power and importance plays held within the Elizabethan time period. Shakespeare's plays are an art and there is so much more to it that meets the eye. I'm grateful that I was able to learn more about him and the influence he held.
ReplyDeleteThe "Shakespeare in Love" video was surprisingly very interesting and contained a lot of information I was not aware of. Normally as a high school student in this generation when Shakespeare come to mind, I think of his famous plays and his confusing tongue. However, after watching and learning from this video, my knowledge and appreciation for William Shakespeare has increased. Something that really stood out to me in the video was how Shakespeare involved everyone. His plays were for everyone and in that time where people gathered to watch theater, they were equal. In addition, his plays varied in different classes and how they each played a role in society. I also appreciate Shakespeare's ability to truly relate to the people of that time. He understood exactly what made the people "tick" and was able to transform that understanding into the most powerful portrayals of human relationships ever written. With this being said, I also found in very surprising that there is very little known facts about William Shakespeare, being considered the greatest play write of all time. It was also very interesting to me how much influence Queen Elizabeth had in Shakespearean theater. For example, the remark was made by Judi Dench, that if Queen Elizabeth was not fond of the theater, there is a high possibility that it could've been shut down or banned. This in turn could have resulted in Shakespeare's plays not being as well known to this day and age. In conclusion, this video educated me not only in aspects of Shakespearean theater but also Queen Elizabeth and other roles of minorities and people in that time period.
ReplyDeleteTo my suprise, watching the winning acts of the "National Shakespeare Competition" and the bonus feature of "Shakespeare in Love" was quite entertaining.
ReplyDeleteThe thing that stood out to me about the competition winners was how despite their deviation from what I think of as old time Shakespeare they still were able to portray their craft and message. When I think of Shakespeare I think of extravagant wigs and overdone makeup and gestures but watching the winners speech, he look like a typical high schooler. His gestures were not over done, his outfit was pretty standard and yet he was still representing a timeless message. As mentioned in the blog, one of the reasons that Shakespeare was able to become the figurehead of modern day literature is because of his ability to reach so many audiences across time.
Also, I had never seen or heard of the "Love of Shakespeare" as a movie but after watching the bonus cut I think I'll have to add it to my watch list. This may be just a me thing but looking at the history and historical contexts mentioned in the cut brought to light the difference between Europe and America. This may truly be cliche but I really think that having Shakespeare as apart of your history must create such a crazy cool culture! I know there's an American "culture" but I don't think it could ever match the literary history and unity of European authors. Im very excited in the summer (even though I won't be visiting the UK) to experience something different and rich in culture.
I never really was a fan of Shakespeare because I always found it to be hard to understand and missing a lack of excitement considering the fact that it dates back many years before I was even born. However it was quite interesting to see how much work and dedication is put into trying to recreate these pieces from Shakespeare's work. Its quite impressive to see how much work actors put into making the scenes really grasp the emotion and focus of the audience. People might think some plays are boring but watching this video shows me how plays can be very exciting and nerve wracking. I enjoyed learning more about about the things that conveyed in the time of Shakespeare such as the rules and how clothing is separated by class along with other crazy things. People spend so much time interpreting the texts left behind and acting them out that it always makes me wonder how would things be if the person who wrote things came back and told us how to act it out. It would be impressive if there wasn't anything new to learn. In the end I found this video pretty cool and I would be down to watch the full movie.
ReplyDeleteI found the parallels between Shakespeare today and Shakespeare in his own time to be very interesting. In his time, Shakespeare's plays where an every night outing that could be done to pass the time as were much more laid back and rehearsed than what we would usually associate Shakespeare with. I, personally, think of all the time and grandeur that accompany Shakespearean plays with the interpretation of the language and memorizing and other worldly sets. In his time this was not the case as actors were given very little time to practice, and expected to go on and perform.
ReplyDeleteRomeo and Juliet although not my first adventure with Shakespeare was definitely the most memorable. I read it my freshman year in Mrs. Strosnider's class and got to read more in-depth to the language and understand what was being conveyed more easily and clearly than I had before. It was the reading of this play in particular that I also encountered the parallelism mentioned earlier between standards of today morphed with Shakespeare as we watched Baz Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet. You get to experience that magic and sophistication of Shakespeare while seeing it put into modern scenarios which make it easier to understand and discover the hidden messages that the audience back then would have been able to decipher easily, like we are discussing in class with Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter.
I loved getting to watch both the film and the winning acts of Shakespeare. I have always thought that Shakespeare's plays were difficult to understand, however, it is clear that when his work is performed on a stage as it was intended that there is no mistaking the message and emotion he wishes to portray. I was always skeptical of Romeo and Juliet as well as other of Shakespeare's works and assumed they would all be alike, but I couldn't have been more wrong. Each of Shakespeare's works are unique in their own right and never fail to connect to our most human of emotions. I feel like the film bonus really showed that in such a brilliant way. Overall, I loved getting to watch all of the videos and learn more about Shakespeare's work.
ReplyDeleteI think what shocked me the most from the video is that we know so little about arguably one of the most famous authors to date. Watching the story this time around was way more interesting to me than it was my Freshman year when we were forced to read it. Reading it with no emotion makes it difficult to understand but seeing it performed with such passion, it seems as easy as it is to speak normal English. I thought it was interesting to see the director's interpretation of how Shakespeare's went since so little is known about him. I also found it interesting to hear how women were allowed so little that they weren't even allowed to perform on stage as woman; So the men had to dress up as women even though the whole country was ruled by a woman!
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I think I might have misjudged Shakespeare. Any time we would have to read anything of his in class, I wouldn't be too excited because I never fully understood it & I knew that. After watching these videos, I see how I have been completely missing the excitement and messages of his plays. My respect for Shakespeare has definitely increased. Also, I had never heard of "Love of Shakespeare" until today. But, after watching the bonus, I feel like it is a movie I would really enjoy. It looks very interesting because I like historical movies (and dramas too!)
ReplyDeleteWith in the videos it was very interesting to find out all these new facts about the plays, classes, and time period. From the acting in all three videos, emotion is what connect everything together. Emotion of the characters playing the piece of art to the emotion brought from the play itself. These plays are sad seeming to be sarcastic and also enraging as well. They seem to play with the emotions of ones soul whether it is good or bad. Shakespeare's pieces are very elegant as the clothing used for the plays are too. Donated by the rich, performers would wear their old clothing made from exotic fabrics such as silk, satin, and velvet giving the play vibrant colors as the set of the stage was not all that furbished. Actor used their wording to give the setting of the set and many other details as money could fluxed at anytime for theater business. Sets props costed lots of money so words were put in place of them. As well during this time, Fathers of the town saw the theater as a place of Plague and other bad assortment. If it hadn't been for the Queen being enjoying the theater so much they would have most likely been outlawed and we would have Shakespeare or other writer's plays with us today. Women also weren't allowed to play in the theater which from the video it talked about how the Queen may have sympathized for them. She was and actor herself as she played many roles in English court which was said in the video. the only women during that time who was above men was the Queen and anyone else was nothing. It was a very different as money and class played into the factor of things. With these pieces of art, they came from one man who saw them as a way for others to not only enjoy but to relate to. I am very interested to read the Taming of the Shrew to see another perspective of Shakespeare's plays that isn't sad or all that deadly.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was really interested learning about how much passion and time Shakespeare put into his work, as i had never really cared too much for it before. I realize that watching it performed is far different than reading it in a classroom, which is probably where a lot of my past opinions on him lie. After watching these videos, I actually have a lot of respect for Shakespeare's ability to call out his society in the way he wanted to, in a way that everyone could understand.
ReplyDeleteKiran
ReplyDelete- (commenting through other account)
Shakespeare was simply amazing. While I often find it hard to follow what exactly he is trying to say due to the language he used so finely, it remains a tune of love and adventure in my eyes. What’s even more amazing, is how beautifully individuals can bring this to life. The purity and rawness of actors and actresses performances truly does give me an even greater respect for William Shakespeare. Not to mention, the dedication to his works, were actors had to be on stage for hours and speak in such perfection.
To be completely honest, when we first read Romeo and Juliet in 9th grade, I absolutely disregarded Shakespeare and his work. I thought it was brutally boring to read. That was until I emerged myself more into the language and dug much deeper into who he truly was. After watching the video I was amazed by how much I still didn’t know. There is so much to find about a single person. So much we still won’t know.
When watching Shakespeares works, the unknown comes to life. The audience feels every emotion. The sadness. The grief. The love.
And THATS the power of Shakespeare.
I feel as if all of this time, I have misjudged Shakespeare. I have always known that he must have had a great passion for his works but I never realized how much effort he actually put in and how difficult it can be. I will admit, every year when we would have to read any of his works, I dreaded every moment of it. I would get bored and not care as much because I never fully understood his works thoroughly. It made me realize how true the statement is of "written for us not to us". Since I did not grow up in the time period of Shakespeare, I can not fully comprehend each joke, but I can relate some of the scenarios to my life. It makes reading his works a little more enjoyable. (Although I would rather watch the plays instead of reading them.)
ReplyDeleteVery well put! :)
DeleteI think that Romeo and Juliet has always been one of my favorite plays, because of all the different details that fall into place throughout the story, that end up creating an often powerful overall message or theme(the intended message can be slightly or drastically different from other renditions based off of the directors inputs). Through watching the video I also realized that I also realized that Shakespeare cared about making connections with his audience and that he valued what they thought, this seems like it would be obvious but I've always seen Shakespeare as somebody who is larger than life itself, almost as if he was a thing and not a person, but after watching the video I have learned to see him in a more humane light.
ReplyDeleteI think yours is a very common perception! He does often seem larger than life because of all he accomplished, but he cared about what people thought of his work, just as we do...he worked to connect with humanity. A very noble pursuit! :)
DeleteAfter watching the the winning acts of Shakespeare I have grown to have so much respect for the people who take the time to study the art of theatre. One thing that stood out to me the most was their facials and expressions while performing. I remember being told by you that when people used to perform in The Globe Theatre it was a vital performance technique to allow everyone in the audience to see the expressions that the actors had in order to give the full effect. As a dancer I understand how hard it is to keep your face a certain way for the sake of the performance but I cannot imagine having to memorize lines, actions AND expressions. I remember first getting exposed to Shakespeare in 5th grade, we read A Midsummer Night's Dream and to be honest, I don't remember much because I used to think it was boring. But this time around, I am so eager to learn more about his work and hopefully see more by Shakespeare and other playwrights in general!
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the first two videos you see that people take up so much time to perform the work of Shakespeare with such passion. This shows that through the time that Shakespeare's work for people is inevitable in a way that cannot be described.
ReplyDeleteSo far when it comes to reading Shakespeare I had never really understood what he was all mean to be as through what I have perceived through other people is he is the G.O.A.T of playwrights.
After watching the video it goes to show that his plays are still being taught and it is now the 21 century, when you think about it, its mind-blowing knowing that his work has been studied for hundreds of years. With thinking about his work you can see how abstract it is compared to the rest and his ties with different situations allow that audience to always feel a connection.
I just overall find it interesting that through time change throughout the years his work is cherished. Through the way, women used to be treated and they could not perform in the plays so he had to work with men. Even the dive way that costumes and scenes played out to show that every action was being played to show the authenticity of what Shakespeare wanted the audience to comprehend.
I have always had a sort of disdain for Shakespeare, simply because I always had a hard time understanding what he was trying to say and I am the type of person to be frustrated by those types of things. However, after watching the videos, I was inspired by the actors' enthusiasm for their craft. On the other hand, I always find it interesting how different times are now versus when Shakespeare was writing and believe that this may also play a small part as to why I wasn't a fan of his work. For example, as part of the movie, they asked if Viola (female lead), was "fertile" to which the response was that "she will breed". I understand that, as I said, this was a different time and that would not be an offensive or more-so weird thing to ponder about a woman and how they speak/ the words they choose to make it all the more uncomfortable but I still can't shake the feeling of uneasiness. But, I want to try and keep a more open mind and really dive into the significant aspects of Shakespeare's writing and really try to understand what he is trying to do with his words so I can derive the same joy from his works that all the actors did.
ReplyDeleteI find it really interesting that there is such little factual information and appreciation for Shakespeare, given the effect he has had on the world. When I was younger I found Shakespeare confusing and the old English unnecessary. My, “Why say more when you can say less” mentality. However, I’ve come to realize now how universal Shakespeare’s stories are and how more words can create deeper meanings. It is literally colorful language as in Shakespearean time they couldn’t do much with lighting and sound effects so they had to use their words very well in order for it to be entertaining. A lot of things in the Shakespeare in Love video I knew before but watching the video really connected all of the dots. Shakespeare went through a lot to produce his plays from societal restrictions to community threats to the globe being burnt down. I just think it’s fascinating what you can learn through a person’s work and how that reflects there character, values, personality, and drive. Also, the National Shakespeare Competitions really impressed me, they didn’t look nervous at all! They really transformed into these characters and it felt like a real-life poem. However I was wondering, Are Shakespeare’s plays usually performed more quickly or slowly? Cause I noticed with Taming of the Shrew the actors recited there monologues really fast but both of the competition winners talked slower with more pausing after phrases.
ReplyDeleteShakespeare's plays are definitely to be performed on a stage - I think they're much more fun to experience that way. I've never been a huge fan of Shakespeare, but I do like to see a good performance of his works, because I think it's hard to tell what it was actually like at the time it was written. So when it is acted well, it feels fresh and new. Because of that, I really liked watching the performers from the International Shakespeare Competition. They really held a presence on stage.
ReplyDeleteI liked how the "Shakespeare in Love" documentary talked about how little we actually know about Shakespeare. We really know barely anything about him besides what he wrote. I think that shows that it's really important to write stuff down. How else are we to be remembered when we're gone? It occurred to me that we're lucky that so many people, like the owner of the theater, kept journals; otherwise we might not have any idea of what it was like.
I want to see the movie of "Shakespeare in Love" now. The behind the scenes of the Shakespeare plays was very interesting. I always knew that Shakespeare's life was not well known, but it is frustrating that we only know 5 facts about Shakespeare. I learned that plays were reputed to be moral diseases. Which was interesting because they were trying to frighten the people by alluding to the plague that was spreading at the same time. I learned that going to a play was a haven for anyone with any status to escape from violence and the plague. The fact that plays were easily accessible to anyone was probably one of the reasons why it was so famous. The intricate, colorful and creative language that Shakespeare brought to the low class people gave them meaning and life because his themes were so universal. The actors also had to perform a new play in less than a week and learn 100 lines in a day. I loved how they represented the Queen's attachment to the play by how she got emotional and spoke aloud about Romeo's death. Her outward interaction with the play shows that Shakespeare's plays and the relationships conveyed with them were written for everyone. Another thing I found interesting was when they said that cross dressing represented women escape from the societal obligations and their low status. It shows the lengths that women might go through to run away from marriage alliances and suppressed identities. One of the most interesting things that they said was that interpretations of Shakespeare's play keeps them thriving and popular.
ReplyDeleteI was previously quite afraid of reading or performing Shakespeare's works. I believed that I would be incapable of understanding the language or the meaning of the plays. But, over the course of my high school years I have grown to love Shakespeare. This is because I learned that the purpose of his work is ultimately to express human emotions, plights, dreams, and desires rather than to test reading comprehension. Each play is an attempt to reach out, to touch each and every soul in the audience. I just love how Shakespeare is able to be interpreted and reinterpreted in different ways, pulling different elements of the story into the spotlight with each new production.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, I loved Sarah's monologue as Rosalind from As You Like It, very powerful. I liked the way that she transitioned through the monologue in a very entertaining way using her entire body to really capture the audience with each new line. I loved Ari's Sonnet too! I feel like the way that he moved his hands was very effective, the way that he used them to transition though the piece and guide the audience was quite impactful. Looks like the ESU Hawaii branch is the place to beat!
Yes! That school is a private school on Oahu--VERY amazing program there!! :)
DeleteWhile watching Shakespeare In Love, I became more and more interested in how different the time period was back then and how it impacted how Shakespeare wrote his plays. I really like that we can see so much of his life reflected in the plays. Even though I never truly found myself reading Shakespeare ‘for fun’ as I sometimes find it hard to understand, I do like that Shakespeare’s plays were made for everyone to connect with and find humor or reflection in. I liked how back then actors were able to use their resources to their benefit and create such impactful storylines and truly bring the play to life. It’s really crazy how we don’t know a lot about him apart from him being a playwright such as only knowing 5 definitive facts about him, one of them not even being when he was born. The video showed how context changed from back then to now such as gender roles and societal norms, because of this I like that we can now analyze and envision those older times with his plays. I think that after watching this video, I have a deeper appreciation for Shakespeare and realize how much of an impact he has on life now, he truly was an influential playwright and person.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the video, I never realized how passionate Romeo and Juliet was. I now understand why the audience would be moved by the performance. It is truly beautiful how Shakespeare could create a play so human and so moving that the audience is touched by its story. Therefore, I now understand why Shakespeare is still studied and performed today.
ReplyDeleteWhile watching this video I couldn't help but notice all of the ways that Shakespeare lived differently than we do now today. it's amazing how even though his context was so different from hours the cm's that he attempted to portray translated perfectly well to our own contexts. This is why Shakespeare plays are considered classic pieces of literature. It never ceases to amaze me that every passage of Shakespeare that I hear or I read is chock-full of beautiful language that is able to perceive emotions so well. Also seeing the scenes acted out another time in a slightly different interpretation makes me want to explore Shakespeare even more than I have in my English classes.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the video, I learned that Shakespeare can connect to a different extent than what I thought. I had a conversation with my mother about how he is different but after watching this, I now have a better understanding of the language he was portraying. One thing that I found surprising was the fact that they would act without any intermission and I have never been to or even seen a play without one. In the end, I was more impressed with Shakespeare's work than I was before when watching the video. I always need to find a way to take his language and see how I can use it to my daily life just with a twist.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the Shakespeare in Love video, I came to appreciate how much work and time people have put into creating these plays and performances. I also came to realize the passion and emphasis put into certain words while performing Romeo and Juliet and its effect. This surprised me because I did not receive this extreme emotion while reading the play during freshman year. I learned that going to a play during Shakespeare's time way necessary during the time if you had relatively high status while it is more of a hobby or entertainment for everyone today. I also learned that the wealthy back during this time we supposed to be larger people to show that they ate well which caused many individuals to put on excess clothing to make it seem like they ate well or were very wealthy. I also realized why Shakespeare is still very popular today and it is because his ideals and themes in his plays had many aspects that are still relevant and relatable today. After viewing a play of Shakespeare, I now have a deeper appreciation for his work and the actors that perform it and realize how relevant and similar the ideals are to our daily lives today.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching this video I found that behind every line which Shakespeare wrote into his play was a deeper emotional meaning which connected with the audience and drew them into the play making them feel as tho they were a part of the plot. This is what makes Shakespeare such a studied artist because that is shows through romeo and Juliet that play writing is a art full of contrast and emotions.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the Shakespeare in Love video, I never truly understood the immense time and effort put into these plays and performers. Also realizing more and more how the specific time period had an overall affect to the thought of how Shakespeare wrote his plays in this time period and how the time period affected his process of writing the plays. The plays in this time period as well supposedly reputed to be a moral disease which I found to be interesting. For example how they alluded the disease in this time period, this showed how truly these plays were taken into consideration. There was a truly competition for the best effects and best plays in the time period, and after visualizing the who process of how a good play is created and directed was truly a whole process that was not understood or given the credit it deserved.
ReplyDeleteThe ability as well of how Shakespeare was able to call out to society in the form of his plays and to be completely honest I never took his work seriously. To emphasize, when reading Romeo and Juliet, I found the book to initially be boring but after taking his work to a deeper study and breaking down the book and analyzing it, I then truly saw the beauty, creativity and intelligence that was consistent throughout all forms of his work.
As well when I would read some of his books or plays, I would struggle here and there about the message that he was trying to convey but it appears that with his plays he knew exactly how to convey the emotions and deeply connect to the audience about what he wanted to portray. The book version of a play compared to the acting of plays showed the insight of his unique work.
Terry Grabau:
ReplyDeleteBy looking at Shakespeare through the lens of his play Romeo and Juliet, I learned about the many things that make Shakespeare such an amazing playwright. Shakespeare puts "color" into his words which places them above normal words and conversations. I found it very interesting that even the audience played a big role in the plays of Shakespeare. I also found it very surprising that most plays had very little preparation and that main roles had very little time to remember their lines.
Sammi Lacey:
ReplyDeleteWhile listening to the video on Shakespeare I was to learn much more about him and his work. I was able to read some pieces of his work last year and it made me appreciate lots of his work and the meaning and intentions he had on every one of his works. Something that stood out to me was the tone he wanted to coney to his audience. This was something that I looked at and thought about for a little bit because in that time period play writing and preforming was not something that was normal it was a whole new look of entertainment. I liked how the audience was not looked at by a class and social standard. The ones who were watching the plays were able to watch and be entertained without having to worry about their social class. It was almost like an escape to their daily life. I have much more knowledge on Shakespeare's work and will be able to use this whole reading any of his works in the future
Watching the Shakespeare in Love Bonus Feature was actually very interesting to me. I went into it thinking that it would be boring and talk more about the play than William Shakespeare and his time itself. A few facts stood out to me the most in the bonus feature that I chose to discuss here and I think that this feature also gave me more of a liking towards Shakespeare. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the snippets from the actual film, Shakespeare in Love, which I think is partly because I have never seen a professional portrayal of Shakespeare’s work.
ReplyDeleteThe most interesting things from this video to me were the facts about Queen Elizabeth. I thought it was definitely ironic that she was so independent and wise in a male-dominated society. This is mind boggling to me but I also find it somewhat empowering that she was this way. The part where they were talking about how the Queen would have related to cross dressing was very deep and something I never would have put together. Adding onto this topic, the actress who played the Queen stated that since the Queen loved plays, they are still able to be performed today. This led me to wonder how true this would be and also if there were any things that she did not like that have not been done since.
I liked how the actors analyzed little details like how the Queen related to cross-dressing because it gave me a more in depth analysis of William Shakespeare and his plays. Another one of these that I found interesting was in the prologue to Romeo and Juliet; Shakespeare states the ending of the story at the beginning revealing how the two lovers would die to destroy their families’ feud. I have never once thought about the fact that we knew the ending before the play had even begun, which is why I can see how Shakespeare was such a wonderful playwright.
Finally, I wanted to talk about the interesting portrayal of William Shakespeare in Shakespeare in Love. I have always wondered if Shakespeare was a performer himself and if he was in any of his plays. Seeing in this that Shakespeare had played the main character, Romeo, caught me off guard since I would think that he wouldn’t have done this. But then again this is a dramatization of one person’s perspective so I am unsure of whether this is true or not. It does bring up the question regarding Shakespeare as an actor which I would personally like to learn more about.
I actually found the Shakespeare bonus feature very interesting. I think that I always thought that there wasn't too much more to Shakespeare than his plays. I know that he put a lot of time and work into them, but looking back now I realize that, even though he does not live in our time period, or even one we can connect with, he has the same experiences that we do. There's more to Shakespeare's life, and every author's life, than just what he wrote. I think the video gave me better insight into my thinking of authors and works beyond what is written on the paper, and how much their life experiences actually influence their works in every way, shape, and form. I think that this will help me seek more into author's lives and how it could affect their work. I know we look into it in class, but I've never looked up an author of a book that I've read outside of school.
ReplyDeleteI also have a newfound appreciation for the true timelessness that Shakespeare's works offer. Having the insight into how different his life was is very interesting to me. How are we able to read and understand, and even relate, to a work that was written so long ago, by a man who had extremely different experiences than we do today.
After watching both performances I thought it was amazing how the words of Shakespeare are still being performed so well today, and the facts that there are festivals and competitions where students can compete is very incredible. In the Shakespeare in love double feature I thought it was interesting to see how little we know about "the worlds greatest playwright". Though I had already known that little was known about him I didn't realize it was that bad. It is amazing that despite the little knowledge of Shakespeares life his legacy has lived on through hundreds of years just through the sonnets and plays that he had written in his time. I had always had an appreciation for Shakespeare however it only keeps growing the more I learn of his work.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the two performances and the bonus feature of "Shakespeare in Love", it helps me fully realize why Shakespeare was and is so influential in theatre and pop-culture in general. It's amazing to see how the themes and stories that were written and performed by Shakespeare during a time and place with such strict societal norms, were in fact very modern and are very common themes in today's world. What interested me the most about the bonus feature were the facts about upper and lower class norms. One in particular that stood out to me was how men and women of the middle to upper class would layer there clothing to extreme lengths, and how men would try to stuff there stomach area to make it appear as if they had more of a gut. It's crazy to think how different it is today, because as people before tried to make themselves seem a little more hefty to show off their wealth, people nowadays will go to extreme lengths to show how skinny they are.
ReplyDeleteReflecting upon the two performances and the bonus feature allowed me to gain a glimpse into what past life was like through their usage of entertainment. While not all of the stories written by Shakespeare can be related to by the audience, many situations help reflect what, for them, common life was all about. Through the usage of tragedies like Romeo and Juliet the audience could be reminded of a time where their own pride or emotions backfired on them, and in their society emotions played a big part in their everyday lives. Shakespeare reflects this society through sometimes over-the-top exaggeration that, while may not be true, is a good reflection of the world that he is exposed to, allowing him to make these in-depth examinations of character through the use of plays.
ReplyDeleteI'll be honest, going into the winning performances I wasn't expecting much and did not fully understand what the competition was. It's just reading and memorizing Shakespeare how hard could it be. I didn't understand how one could add their own take to it seeing as the words are already written on the page and there are only so many ways these can be interpreted. I was astonished by their performances. The young woman's performance really stuck out to me. I thought it was incredible how many emotions she could fit into one monologue simply by changing her tone and expressions. I feel she really brought Rosalind's character to life and that I have a descent understanding of her despite the fact that I have not read As You Like It. When it comes to Shakespeare In Love, I feel we covered a lot of the information in class. Something that stood out to me was the clothing during the Elizabethan Era and how it reflected ones status. I did not realize things such as color or silhouettes such as extra padding around one's abdomen were symbols of status. Each class wore different colors because certain colors such as purple were more expensive. Gentlemen of higher classes would wear an extra layer of padding around their abdomen to show they were well fed. I found this to be very interesting. I also hadn't realized just how much influence the Queen had had on the theatre. She was generally the reason most theatres stayed open, she influenced many costume designs, and she could even impact the way the audience would react to a scene or play.
ReplyDeleteThrough my academic career at odyssey, it has been required of me to read a few of Shakespeare's works and it is only until recently that I’ve been able to partially comprehend any of the stories. I will be the first to admit that the pieces we read in middle school flew right over my head and it has only been recently in DP English that I feel like I have a better grasp of the intention and the complexity of each line written in Shakespeare’s works. Watching Shakespeare in Love made me realise how little I truly understand about Shakespeare. I learned so much about the complexity of the delivery of each line and how the word choice has a huge importance for the context in its time. I feel that the video made it clear how Shakespeare was very progressive in how he wrote for his time mainly through emphasizing his use of powerful women in lead roles. After reading Taming of the Shrew, Much Ado about Nothing, and now watching Shakespeare in Love, I find it amazing how someone in Shakespeare’s time could be so progressive though characters such as Katarina, Beatrice, and now Queen Elizabeth. I feel that after watching this bonus feature I have a better understanding of Shakespeare in context to the time period in which his works were written and hope that I carry this new perspective with me as I emerge myself into more of Shakespeare’s works.
ReplyDeleteShakespeare has always been an interesting topic that I have always heard about but never actually got to dive into. My father is a teacher and he goes to Stratford, Canada every year with his class to see Shakespeare plays and always tells me stuff about them but I have never gotten to dive into Shakespear as I have now. I love Shakespeare. I love all of the different elements and I know all of this is off topic but the winning performances really were a good look into Shakespeare I feel like. It was like a short clip of what Shakespeare is like which I really enjoyed. It was also amazing to see how good they were at Shakespear and it was just really fascinating overall to watch. For the Shakespeare in Love part it was just interesting and I LOVED it overall. I liked how we were able to see all of the different aspects and just overall it was a very intriguing video. My favorite part was towards the end when they show the clip of Shakespeare telling his cast what is going to happen in the end of Romeo and Juliet and everyone is underwhelmed and you can see it on their faces until he says that's not all and then they all are so concerned. They just all look so intrigued and I enjoyed that the most.
ReplyDeleteThe first two videos on the winning performances were very entertaining to watch especially as the performers switched between characters rapidly for each section of their performance. The informative video on Shakespear in love began by making an interesting point; why is Shakespeare’s work popular in the present day even 400 years later? I thought this was an interesting question because it is amazing how a playwriters work can transcend through centuries and communicate the same message to a different audience hundreds of years later. I believe one of the things that make Shakespeare’s work so iconic is that he took the time to make characters that are evolved and complex enough to engage the audience in the stories.
ReplyDeleteThis work of Shakespear in love is something that is really extraordinary to think about considering that we know very very few solid fact in his life. Most of the conclusions were drawn from his plays which the reader can only infer that they were based or at least inspired by events from his real life.
I will admit that before being more familiar with Shakespeare’s works, I was never really drawn to reading any of his plays. I believed they would be too difficult to understand and they would be hard to enjoy since I would spend more time trying to figure out what he is trying to say rather than just enjoying the story. Over the years I have been at Odyssey this has changed for me because I was introduced to Shakespeare and not only read some of his plays but also analyzed them. Being in my senior year of high school I can say with all sincerity that Shakespeare’s literature is quite enjoyable and has so many layers that it tends to cater to the reader’s emotions all throughout the play which is something that I believe makes his work so successful.
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ReplyDeleteLooking at the performances made me realize how truly difficult Shakespeare is to deliver properly outside of its past context. Through my readings at Odyssey I've felt like I had a grasp and Shakespeare and the language he uses but the videos made me realize how in depth the language goes and how important the inflection and delivery is. The character's they portrayed felt like they had so much depth in such a short time span because of how they were presented and it makes me realize the difficulty of an actors job to keep the characters authentic. After seeing these videos I feel like I have a much better understanding of why context is so important and how it can truly impact how you view what you read or watch in a performance. Another thing that I found interesting was that Shakespeare was himself an actor which I had never assumed. In my mind, a genius playwright like himself would be so involved with writing that acting on the stage would seem unimportant but it was nice to see that he liked to play his own roles.
ReplyDeleteFirst I would like to address the incredible performance given by the two students. I doubt I could ever deliver lines like that, even if they were written in modern English. I believe it is an incredible feat to be able to give monologues so well.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Shakespeare In Love video, I especially liked how many people tied in real historical facts about Shakespeare's time. It makes his plays seem so progressive as many of them seem to still fit modern beliefs. Had they been written to fit the time, they would have aged poorly; women and the lower class were oppressed and this may have been reflected in a play written for the time. Overall I think this was a really interesting video and exploration of Shakespeare.
I found the Shakespeare in Love Bonus Feature really interesting. The conditions in which people in the Elizabethan era performed plays was really surprising. In Shakespeare's time, plays could be performed with only only one week of practice which sounds hectic compared to the weeks and months that are taken to run through plays now. I also found it really relatable that Shakespeare was an actor in his plays as well because the first thing I thought of was my IB Film class. Though I don't regularly act, I find myself or my classmates being the main actors of our films. On one hand, this happens because of convenience but also because as the creator of a work, you understand the work deeply because you are the creator and you already know your vision. That is why it's really easy to be the editor of a film when you write the script because you already know what you want.
ReplyDeleteWhile watching the in love video I was able to understand how much time and effort was made to create these plays. Originally, I did not really care for Shakespeare nor did I understand it. Now I understand the meaning for to reading. Also the in Love video creates a clearer understanding for many people for the point in which we are studying this play which allows it to be interesting. The characters in Shakespeare times are more than what we first assume and they all have a point behind what they are talking about.
ReplyDeleteI have never really been the biggest fan of Shakespeare because I always found his works hard to understand without the ‘No Fear’ version but after watching “Shakespeare in Love: Bonus Feature” my opinion is swayed. I have always appreciated Shakespeare despite the understanding being unclear to me at times, however, after watching this I am able to appreciate Shakespeare’s work even more. In watching this I realized just how much goes into making the plays and I find it really fascinating. I give props to the actors who have to learn the lines in such a short amount of money considering that it is Shakespeare. In the end, I really enjoyed these videos and I really want to do more with Shakespeare’s plays now that I was able to see them in more ways.
ReplyDeleteShakespeare and I have had a connection since freshman year with the all time favorite,Romeo and Juliet. I wish I liked Shakespeare more because his stories are phenominal but the way he expresses them is hard to comprehend as someone who is a teen in 2020, but the "Shakespeare in Love: Bonus Feature" is absolutely what I love about Shakespeare. That we can alter the way we see Shakespeare yet deliver the same message. The play itself takes a very long time to cordinate and make work, but it truly does show anyone can pull of a shakespeare play. I enjoyed watching these videos and I now hope in my future years of schooling I get to see more Shakespeare.
ReplyDeletethis year was my first time reading one of his plays and I really like the way he uses the theater to show the real life problems and issues. Even though we all know that he was criticizing us and insulting the humanity at some points, we were enjoying the story and the events in his plays. His understanding to the world and people in general helped him showcase the other side of the human beings. Also we have mentioned before that he was a great actor and I think that's what made him get the audience interaction even through his books. His experience in the performances and shows improved his writing skills and that's why we feel ourselves as a part of the play and witnessing it in real life while we are just reading it from the book.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first was introduced to Shakespeare in my freshman year, I was opposed to learning the different form of language he displayed his work in. Overtime, I became more immersed in wanting to understand it and his influences on the language we speak today. His plays, although sometimes confusing, display the world in way I have not yet percieved it in, but later found out to be true. The evolution and progression of his characters and the actors portrayal of the roles had such a major impact on how the audience was moved by it and the experience of theater overall now and during that time. The Shakespeare in Love video was very interesting as it showed us how he has a writer and actor played out his play in a way that drew in the audience and kept them on their toes.
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