Lady Revised

I just realized I never shared this poem
which saddens me

i wrote it a long time ago in my 292 class
it was modeled off of Tennyson's Ulysses
in the idea that it is a dramatic monologue
and goes against the common interpretation of the character

or so i remember

thus i present:

Lady Revised

Within these dark kept chambers I roam,
My ever thoughts through which I comb.
And know and know- it was not I
Who planned this death that here does lie.
For in the room by which we rest,
My dear Macbeth did plan this quest
Of murder to gain the throne
Of which the sisters did atone.
And when I could not commit the deed,
By my dear husband, Macduff did bleed.
And now my hands blood soaked they lie
Beneath the remorseful tears from each my eye.
To have power o’er a kingdom, I disgust.
Yet with this rule, I may adjust.
For threads of gold may be quite nice,
And Arabian perfumes do entice.
Thus with this power of the throne,
I shall make this sin to me unknown
And the thoughts left in my mind to obey
When “Out, damn'd spot! out, I say!”

Final Learning Outcomes

I really feel that I have completed all the course outcomes in some way or another. I will thus do what I can to expand on how so i completed this. 

• 1. Gain Shakespeare Literacy
• We read at least 6 plays that I counted with a quick count. I specifically looked into Macbeth with my research paper. I went and saw all three Shakespeare plays on campus as well as watched many movies, etc at home. We looked at a huge covering with Shakespeare now on the internet especially.
• 2. Analyze Shakespeare Critically
  
  
  I feel like this happened in class mainly. There were several blog post, however, about history, character analysis, etc.
• 3. Engage Shakespeare Creatively
  
  
  I would say the incorporation of Shakespeare into my lift definitely fulfilled this one. Also, I did some fun creative projects. I wish there would have been more avenue for this creative side though. 
• 4. Share Shakespeare Meaningfully
  
  
  First all I have to say is BLOGGING! I also got my husband and mother more engaged in Shakespeare probably than they ever would have. My high school sister went to The Comedy of Errors with me and loved it. I also participated in several meaningful conversations with professors and school teachers about Shakespeare. 
• 5. Gain Digital Literacy
• I would say I was already digitally literate. However, I was able to learn exactly how Shakespeare fits into this new digital world. 

It was a great semester. I really enjoyed the class, and I am sad it is over! There arent too many things I would change about the past semester; however, I would definitely consider taking a class similar to this again! 

Education for Everyone

I am taking a social problems class right now
and for extra credit we could watch
a documentary about education

I watched Waiting for "Superman" on Netflix

Now i am already passionate about education
but this more just supported those feelings
it was a really moving film

i strongly urge you to watch it

But one of the things i wanted to talk
about was how this is semi applicable to
my Shakespeare and what I am looking into now

One line that stood out to me was about
these charter schools --called Kipp Academies
Their big "slogan" that the man described their schools as doing is  

"closing the achievement gap and shattering
the myth that some students can't learn"

This article talks about Harriet Ball
the woman who helped to inspire these charter
schools by the way she taught
in the article it is is described as
"a 'multisensory, mnemonic, whole-body teaching technique'
designed to 'propel at-risk students toward excellence,'
 though she insists her method works for all children.
In simpler terms, she calls it Rap, Rhythm, and Rhyme."

the way i saw her approach was just
making the material accessible for students!
-breaking up the material

I want to look more into her
suggestions that she had given
and maybe work them into our "Shakespeare-ience"

but over all this film was so moving
especially the last half hour
i seriously got choked up

it is so sad to me that all of the students
want to be in these good schools
and they want to learn
but they dont get chosen for the "lottery"

i really hope to see our education
system change in my life time
and when i am a teacher

that way everyone can have an education

This film completely renewed my wants 

to be a teacher (not that they were fading).
It also helped me remember 

the importance of being a good teacher.
Half way through I was starting to question

 if i still wanted to be a teacher because

 it is such a huge responsibility and challenge, 

but by the end it just strengthened my wants.

Just thought I would share :)

and it was semi relevant 

obsessed.

some times i feel like i can take
things that i really like to "a whole nother" level

like this shakespeare class

we have had a love hate relationship these last few weeks
because of the research paper
but things are better now

and i bought tickets to Love's Labor's Lost today

and i shouldve picked up my The Comedy of Errors too
but i didnt realize they were so close together!

so excited!!!

i also want to go to the Utah Regional Ballet-A Midsummer's Night Eve
which is a ballet based on Shakespeare's A Midsummer's Night Dream
but tickets are a little more spendy :/

more woes.

friends.
I feel like I am in a rut.
Maybe it is just writers block or the apathy of put everything down into words.
but yes.
i feel like i have a lot of info and everything but no brain power to word process.
Thought I would share my woes.

wish me luck

paper narrowing

so in the mornings when i am getting ready for school
i normally will quickly scan through my social media feeds
on my phone and i have made a rule i cant get on the computer
well this morning I had to break  that rule when I found
this article comparing Macbeth and Harry Potter
let me tell you how excited I was

So what I have decided to focus more on is
learning Shakespeare through modern interpretations
not only may it be more engaging for students
but it also is able to show a lot of things
like how influential Shakespeare is in our society
to the point where his tales are almost ingrain into everyday life

so for example, with Macbeth
comparing it with Harry Potter -a story that most students would know- teaches a further understanding of motive and should help students to better see another way into understand complex characters
looking at art renditions should help to teach character analysis

So I want to show the importance of Macbeth in particular
not being taught in seclusion of just Shakespeare and the text
and more being taught in the context of Shakespeare is in everything

and I dont know how I would quite tie this in
but i have thought a lot about what Bri is looking into
with how Shakespeare is so much folklore
and how Shakespeare was the pop culture of his time teaching the folklore
and how our new pop culture is teaching the folklore of our time being that of Shakespeare
so she is moving backwards with that idea and i am looking forward

What do you think?
Does it sound better than my mess before?

Can you think of any other important things?

Hamlet: Shakespeare Appreciated. Unabridged. Dramatised. Commentary Options. and teaching students.

As i stated before, I am listening to Hamlet through audio book format
Thus far I began by listening to the commentary version

I thought the intro was interesting
i would have preferred had the intro just been the history
rather than "well Shakespeare's father just died and we just missed Julius Caesar"

I continued to listen to the play with the commentary for the first scene
while i enjoyed what the lady has to say
i find the commentary distracting.
i had a hard time focusing on the plot and what was happening
also an extra three hours is a lot more time to dedicate to listening

perhaps a recap and interesting info blurb at the end
of the scene would be better for my mind

i do have to try really hard to focus on the play
otherwise my mind wanders
i am sure that following along with the text would be helpful

after i have listened to a scene
i like to read a summary on Sparknotes per say
so that i can solidify what i have read.

i think this is how i would like to teach my students Shakespeare:

1. give students a brief overview and background of the text
2. read aloud or listen to one scene at a time --perhaps focus on important scenes by listening and then reading/ acting aloud
3. read summary of the scene
4. discuss important information about the scene
5. repeat with each scene until the end 
6. reread the summary/ overview of the play 
7. discuss important facts of the play 

I think that this would instill a really good understanding of Shakespeare for students
It has the important aspect of scaffolding to harder content
and it also has multiple modalities for students of all learning types

its funny when you you come to a place in your major
when you start to look at everything through your "major eyes"

its okay
i love it.

The Merchant of Venice: Back to High School Edition

So I had the intention that I was going to experience The Merchant of Venice as a high school student
I am not sure how I was going to do this or what I was thinking when I originally thought of it, but I got completely distracted.

I did find some great resources for teachers!

Judith Elstein created a complete unit for the Merchant of Venice
I like how much she scaffolds the lessons
The students rework the play several different ways
and also in very hand on ways
It was interesting that for one of the activities
she had students cut apart a book of the play
and then paste the pages to wall
and high light things through the entire play
i think this is really interesting
and would work very well for visualizing everything
but i think it would be over whelming using the entire text
it would however make students very comfortable with the actual lines

Folger Shakespeare Library has a huge
database of resources for teachers
they have all sorts of activities and resources
it looks like a great site for teachers
and they also have a Folger Shakespeare Education Blog

I have been watching for something good to chime in on
so hopefully I will be able to make some good conversation
in the bear future to report back on

Anyways! these look like great resources that
I will have to remember when I have my own classroom!

Audible and Hamlet and a Facelift

So I have started listening to the audio version of Hamlet

I did the month's free trial membership to Audible

What i did find out is you get two free book downloads just for trying them out

and you get to keep the down loads even after you cancel your membership if you would like

I was a little confused when I started to try to listen

You down load two files that are named "Part 1" and "Part 2"

That was 11 hours total. I have to say this idea was very over whelming that it would take 11 hours

so i was trying to figure out how to "turn off" the commentary

but part 1 is simple the files with the commentary 

and part 2 is with out the commentary

--i dont know what they dont just title the files that way....

however! I have listened to about 10 minutes of the commentary 

and still have not gotten to the play itself....

it is all interesting though and gives you a feeling of being there in Shakespeare's time

I still havent decided if three extra hours is worth the commentary though

and just a funny side note

my cat is scared to death when i play the audio book

something about the old lady who does the narration must frighten her haha

with a start of a new play also means a face lift for my phone

i am kind of sad to get rid of my Portia background though

because it has been my favorite one so far

so i guess its almost cheating
because i really didnt really find a new background

i just found Elizabeth E Schuch's Ophelia water color 

it is beautiful

she also has a beautiful Hamlet watercolor as well

i really love her work 

and i want to order some of her print

as well as i wish i was as talented as her.

I did look for other backgrounds and came across this humorous picture

It is "Hamlet" by Stevyn Colgan

haha witty literature humor. 

Portia Watercolor

So with every new play we read, 

I try to find a wallpaper for my phone to coordinate.

For the Merchant of Venice, I found this

beautiful water color by Elizabeth E Schuch

I really love it and think it is very beautiful.

She also has many other water colors that she has done for

most of Shakespeare's plays here.

They are all so beautiful; 

I really want to buy some prints for my future classroom

or even just for my home!

She has an Etsy shop where

she has but the paintings on some cool items

or just to buy the prints!

pretty cool!

interesting and lost imagination

So i have to say I am highly struggling with our chap Henry.
I just cant motivate myself with it

i was pleased and surprised to see that the movie is on netflix!
(which means we dont have to worry about Sopapilla lol --SOPA PIPA and torrentz... for now or my husband doesnt have to worry about them.)

so maybe i need to watch the movie and then hope my interest is re kindled.

i know it has been said many a times in class
but i just want to reiterate how interesting the idea of not having an elaborate scene is
it is interesting how specifically in this play we have the Chorus to set all of the scenes
i wonder how Shakespeare's people reacted to it
if it was a pretty common thing (since we saw it in the tempest now as well)
or if it was something new to his people
and whether they thought it was good or bad

it also makes me think that perhaps we are a people of lost imagination
we rely on the coolest special effects and the best computer graphics
so that makes me think that in our digital era and age of digital literacy
that we are more un imaginative than ever
we expect more things to keep us entertained than ever before
i am sure if something came out that was very minimalist
and required you to create the scene with your imagination
that it would not do very well and get bad reviews

just something interesting i thought about as always

King Henry the Moewth.

I figured since I had such a cool background for The Tempest, I needed a cool one for Henry V. So I give you Henry the Meowth by Susan Herbert.You have to check out her other renditions as well because they are hilarious.
Pretty funny. I may have to buy her books and the Shakespeare one for my future classroom...

Tara V: Shakespearean History.

As I started to write this, I believed it would be rather short and simple. Now as I plan all that I have to say, I find it interesting how much I have to say. Thus, maybe this is a testament to how impacting Shakespeare is.

To start I offer you this picture that shows my first spark of love for Shakespeare, Macbeth, and Banquo:

I was really excited to enroll in a Shakespeare class. What I was most appealing was the format of the class. It is what really turned me on to enrolling this semester and to this section. I am studying English teaching, so a more hands on teaching style appeals more to me and is what I look for for inspiration. Also, if it is something that seems more enjoyable, I think I will better enjoy it.

Shakespeare is something that I feel is not appreciated like what it should be. What people definitely do not realize is how much Shakespeare influences our world and how enjoyable it can be. And that's what I strive to do as a teacher: show my students how English and literature is really fun and matters in our world. I think that begins with my better understanding and love for English and, in this specific case, Shakespeare.

As for my history in Shakespeare, I was first specifically introduced