The Merchant of Venice Production

The Merchant of Venice play. I watched it on Saturday, and it was a definitely an interesting rendition. But I definitely thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved how they incorporated the kids into the play. The play is intense, because of the themes it covers (justice vs. mercy, racism/discrimination, etc.) and yet the theatre group made it appealing to the kids and made it interactive. A lot of the text was lost because it was a very short production and it had to be kid friendly, but overall I approve of it.

One thing that I liked was how at the end they asked about the treatment of Shylock and Antonia. Was it fair that Shylock had to become a "tharian" and give up his belongings, whilst Antonia got to keep her life and have say over half his belongings? Even though the play was fun and exciting, they still approached a deeper topic to get the kids to think, along with the adults that were watching. It definitely got me to thinking about my life, moreso than I think the actual reading of the play did. The visual effect of actually watching it helped. I got to thinking about the balance of justice vs. mercy, more specifically related to the Atonement. 

I thought it was interesting that the group portrayed Antonio as a girl, changing the character to Antonia. I was kind of thinking it might be because they were short on guys and they thought of the characters to change, that one would work the best. But I also thought it maybe showed the friendship of Bassanio and Antonio pretty well. It created a friendship that the kids were maybe able to understand more visually than a guy/guy friendship. Especially with the line "But life itself, my wife, and all the world,/are not with me esteem'd above thy life:/ I would lose all, ay, sacrifice them all/here to this devil, to delivery you." To me, just nowadays, it's more comprehensive to the kids than a bromance, if you will.

But all in all, I definitely enjoyed the production and think the group did exceedingly well in involving the kids but also making it entertaining for everyone. Kudos to them.

"Mislike me not for my complexion"

Starting on a bit of a random note, I dreamt of Shakespeare last night. I don't remember what the play was or whether my mind was just creating it. But I think it was loosely based off of Henry V. I just remember there was a guy who was mighty in power and two guys who were not. And the two guys who were not powerful talked in prose. I take that as a sign that Shakespeare is affecting me somehow, hopefully for the better.

Onto The Merchant of Venice, so I just finished the first two acts. And I'll be honest, it might because I was sick today and my mind is a little muddled but I was struggling a bit. I understood the basic gist of it. Bassanio is vying for Portia's love, but he doesn't have money. Antonio is the merchant and has trades going on overseas so he can't lend money to Bassanio. And then there's Shylock the Jew. And obviously Shakespeare makes fun of Jews and also he pokes fun of the French again (again as in after Henry V). Jessica loves Lorenzo, who is Christian, and that's a little bit of a no-go since Shylock doesn't like Christians. Etc., etc., etc.
Anyways, so I understand that. I just am losing a lot in the dialog. And I know it's supposed to be a comedy, but I'm not really amused. I mean I get it, but I don't. Maybe I'm losing the humor because this play is really old. And it's a play, so don't forget about body language (that we can't see, but will Saturday)!
But there were some quotes I did like so far. One was when Launcelot is talking to Jessica in Act II and states:
 
"these foolish drops do something down my manly spirit,"

I liked this because I hate crying. Absolutely hate it. Now I'm not a man, but I do feel as if I am losing some dignity when I cry. But maybe that's just me.

I also really liked Antonio's state to Bassanio about Shylock,

"The devil can cite Scripture for his Purpose.

An evil soul, producing holy witness,

Is like a villain with a smiling cheek,

A goodly apple rotten at the heart..."

Definitely multiple scripture references popped in my mind after reading this.

Anyways..

So that's it for now.

 

And my title quote, I just thought it applied pretty well to me since I'm a little tan by nature.

Henry V

I definitely think this play was really interesting. And I know, shame on me for posting right before class. I'll do better. But back to Henry, one of the themes that stuck out to me was the relationship between the commoner and the monarchy. At times, the distance between these two seemed great, like when Nym and Bardolph died, even though they used to be tight with Henry. Then the distance seemed less great before and during the battle of Agincourt. They were united as a group, fighting for the same cause. 
This issue of the relationship between high society and "commoners" is still prevalent today, even in the U.S. We don't have kings, but we have a president, congress, supreme court, etc. Even celebrities can fall under the high society category. And those not in the positions of power find it hard to back those in power with political issues, national problems, etc. 
But there are times when the nation unites under their leader. In Henry V, it was before their great battle, and for the U.S., one example is when the nation united after 9/11.
Along those lines, I like how in the play it continued to show the vulnerability of Henry as a person, not just a king. Sure he has his kingly responsibilities, but he also has feelings. 
It reminds of my life. I'm not royal or anything, but back home, my dad is Mayor. And he just got re-elected for his third term. However, watching politics take place in my home town firsthand and seeing how people were hatin' on my dad just because he was republican or because he was Mormon, was rough.  And even though my dad had good intentions for the city, because of the difference between a position of power and those without the position, those against my dad couldn't move past that hinderance even though my dad tried to reach out to them. 
Back to Henry V, Henry shows vulnerability and when he goes out to talk to the soldiers, he realizes not all of them have his back. As king, he realizes he needs to gain their support. He wants their support. But as a person, he's a little hurt. 


I feel like I'm rambling a little bit, but point is, I liked the portrayal of one person's humanity in the play. And I definitely appreciate the application of this play that can be used in today's life.

It Sufficeth Me to Say...

I absolutely loved The Tempest. There some parts in it, that were, I thought, quite beautiful. For example, in the beginning when Prospero is explaining how much of a blessing Miranda has been in his life:

"Thou wast that did preserve me. Thou didst smile

 Infused with a fortitude from heaven."

Really. How precious is that. 

I particularly like the theme of forgiveness in the play. Prospero's character, at the beginning, seemed bitter of his situation. But as the play develops, you see that he realizes he's been blessed to raise his daughter away from the court life, but also his grudge against his brother, the king, etc. has deteriorated over time. I love that character progression. It shows humanity. Looking past all the extravagance, the sorcery, the romanticism of it all, there is a life lesson. Compared to the other plays I've read of Shakespeare, which is actually a limited number AND was back in high school, I never really got that much out of it. I fell in love with Romeo and Juliet by watching Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet. And it wasn't really because of the story. It was because of the way it was portrayed.

But actually reading this play on its own, without a visual interpretation, was a new experience. One that I thoroughly enjoyed.

On a side note, as I was reading this, a lot of pop culture references popped up into my head. And they didn't really relate, but I'm going to share one of them with you anyways. I thought of it when I read one of Ariel's songs, in Act I, Scene II. He says:

"The watchdogs bark."

"Bow-wow."

So when I first read that, I immediately thought of Brian Regan. I don't know whether Shakespeare is the reason why we use "Bow-wow" to describe a dog's bark, but I like to think that he did.

In case you don't know what I'm talking about, here's the video. :]

 

My Personal Learning Plan.

So I'm not quite sure whether I am doing this correctly. Hopefully this is right and I have the basic gist of what I am supposed to do. So here's my personal learning plan.

1.) Gaining Shakespeare Literacy.

I plan on gaining knowledge of Shakespeare's works by reading his works and doing my best to understand each one thoroughly as I study on my own and we discuss it during class. By studying one play, I will be able to go into more depth and do more research. Through that one play, it'll help me understand Shakespeare more and come to learn about the way he writes and thinks. The performances will help me visualize how they were performed back in the day, while also bringing to light new interpretations of his work.

2.) Analyzing Shakespeare Critically.

Through blogging and discussion, I will analyze his works and understand the way he wrote. I will learn more about his style.

3.) Engage Shakespeare Creatively.

I don't like performing in front of people, unless it's musical. But I'm willing to branch out, I think. I liked the memorization idea or recitation. The individual creative work...I was thinking along the lines of writing music to songs that have already been performed in Shakespeare's works but we don't know what it sounds like. And for the collaborative creative project, I enjoy filming and making something old (such as an old story a.k.a. Shakespeare) and trying to make it relative to modern times and what is going on in the present.

4. Share Shakespeare Meaningfully.

By blogging, I will be practicing informal writing and analysis of Shakespeare. Through commenting and discussing the my classmates, friends, family, etc., I will connect with people through Shakespeare.

5.) Gain Digital Literacy.

 In order to learn more in this class, I have to be willing to put forth the effort it takes to learn Shakespeare. I have to research and use the resources around me, such as the Internet and Library, to consume more knowledge. By blogging, I am providing my insights and my interpretations, which is not only beneficial to me, but will hopefully help others see from a different perspective. By interacting with people in the class (and outside of class), we can help each other with our learning plans and help others learn about Shakespeare by sharing what we have been working on.

Well, this is a rough sketch of my plan. I know there will be changes to it that will occur due to progression in the class, but that's expected, if not wanted.

How can a month have an idea?

WELLLL.

This is my first blog ever. And I guess it's good that it's about Shakespeare, because it actually gives me something to write about. A topic to rant about, instead of just my random thoughts about life as a whole (which I'm sure not many would actually care about).

But I'm pretty stoked about this class. I've always been interested in Shakespeare, but for me, it's harder to motivate myself to read Shakespeare when I could be reading modern text I actually understand. My experience with Shakespeare has been pretty limited. I've only read a few plays and it was because of my high school English courses. But this class will help me understand it and become more interested in Shakespeare (if everything goes according to plan). 

So yeah. That's the end of this post.