A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM

After reading this play i went out and bought this movie as a way of treating myself for finishing this play.

First things first, hats off to Geoff for crafting another amazing blog entry, dude you have to slow down or we all might end up reading your blog instead of going to class... just joking Professor Sexson.

For those who like hearing the plays they read i found this link to a free site where you can listen to A Midsummer Night's Dream. It helped me a lot because the different voices helped keep the characters straight. http://www.learnoutloud.com/podcaststream/listen.php?url=http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/a-midsummer-nights-dream-by-william-shakespeare.xml&all=1&title=34592. This is one resource that i enjoy using when i can. It breaks up the monotony of only hearing the characters in my own voice in my head. Finally we get to the heart of my post after all this random babble and rambling.

So far this semester Professor Sexson has tried to hammer home the point that Shakespeare is myth and myth is Shakespeare. Until today i personally hadn't completely bought into this theory. As i was reading the first act of A Midsummer Night's Dream and came across lines 175-176. "By all the vows that ever men have broke(in number more than ever women spoke)". As soon as i heard this i couldn't help but think of Original Sin and how Shakespeare was toying with it in this play. I'm not sure i'm correct in assuming this but it almost seems like he is poking fun at Original sing by creating a reverse Original Sin in these lines. What better way to call attention to your work than by invoking one of the greatest myths/truths depending on who you talk to. The bible is a cornerstone of western literary cannon and i think Shakespeare knows exactly what he's doing when he draws parallels to it in his work.

Whether or not my opinions are correct or not remains to be seen. If this elevates the level of my blogging awesome, if not i'm sure i'll be hearing about it whether or not i want to.

Turner's School of Night

I realize i probably should have read this at the beginning of the semester but as always i got behind and have finally caught up. All i have to say about this is wow. I realize why someone people came to so many different conclusions about this piece. One minute you think you have a grasp on this and the next it turns you on your head.

Here i begin my best effort at a scholarly or "Intelligent" reading and interpretation of Turner's School of Night. There is a lot of discussion on the subject of nothing and its significance. For some reason as i read this i was immediately reminded of the quote by Nietzche, "Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster, and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." What i'm trying to get at with this train of thought is that by pondering and considering nothing we become nothing. If i recall Professor Sexson's words correctly, which i might not or i remember them incorrectly, when we were discussing Borges "Shakespeare is everything and he is nothing." This seems to be where the power of creation lay because Turner quotes Hariot saying, "Out of nothing everything is made." I realize that i'm probably poaching a lot of what Turner, Professor Sexon and other people have said or alluded to on their blogs but it makes more sense now that i've read Turner for myself. So i'll give credit where credit is due and thank everyone for all their insights so far this semester.

When Dr. Sexson asked us to think of texts that are sacred to us "Scar Tissue" Anthony Kiedis's biography popped into my head. I wish i knew how to put video on this thing but i haven't quite figured that one out yet... and as i sat here typing that what would you know i figured it out. First off watch this video its amazing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0AXjUy1_gY

I've pretty much been obsessed with these guys since i can remember. Something about their musical style just presses my buttons. So one day i was walking through Barnes and Noble not even looking for this book and as i glanced to my left there it was. Without out even thinking i grabbed it knowing i was going to buy it. I just about had to stop myself from running out the door to go read it. Anytime someone has a love for or obsesses about something like i do about these guys they look for any little thing can about them. The book follows Kiedis early life as well as the beginnings of the band and the major events that take place. Kiedis is very much a poet in his own way. I look at many of their songs as poetry set to a beat. Any way enough of my obsessive rantings. Have a great day everybody!!!

The Rape of Lucrece

Unlike Shakespeare's other poem this one was all over the board in terms of the emotions and ideas it explored. With Venus and Adonis Shakespeare seems to focus on love, disinterest, and grief whereas this poem took on a far darker tone and explored some less appealing emotions and ideas.

I would like to start by exploring the idea of how beauty and passion are ultimately the reasons Tarquin does what he knows is wrong. Before he actually commits the volatile act that sets in motion the events of the latter half of the poem Tarquin goes through a bit of self exploration. Tarquin knows in the long run what his actions will bring about but is unable to halt the course to which his passion sets him. Lines 498-504 are a great example of this. Also i know this sounds horrible but if Lucrece hadn't been beautiful and Collantine hadn't praised her so i don't think Tarquin would been so inclined to commit the act he did.

Personally i found it a little daunting how much Lucrece goes through so quickly. The few emotions i want to talk about in this post are something most people have felt at some point in their lives. Shame, guilt, anger, frustration are just a few of the things that Lucrece goes through in the middle of this poem. The ways in which she explores them and deals with them is interesting. Take for instance when she is cursing the night for the vile act performed on her against her will. The night is an inanimate object which didn't really wrong her like Tarquin did. The idea of her suicide was also kind of off putting for me. I know she had a great love for her husband and didn't want to see his honor stained by what had happened to her, but it definitely seems like she took the easy way out unfortunately.

All in all this was a lot different from Venus and Adonis i enjoyed it for different reasons. Before this i had considered Shakespeare a great writer i never quite realized how he could diversify his talents and subject matter.

Venus and Adonis

I was sitting around today and decided that i needed to finish Venus and Adonis since i had started it the other day. Personally i found the first 600 way funnier and enjoyable to read. They definitely seemed to move faster and the ideas being conveyed in them were extremely humorous. I am going to make a broad generalization of the typical man in today's society.( so forgive guys and gals) Faced with Adonis's predicament the average male in today's society would bend over backwards to have girls throw themselves at him like Venus does with Adonis. I certainly don't think they would say no like Adonis does. This leads me into the next idea i want to explore from this poem. The idea of women dealing with rejection versus we might expect a goddess to.

Lines 835-80 "She, marking them begins a wailing note/And sings extemporally a woeful ditty/How love makes young men thrall, and old men dote/ How love is wise in folly, foolish witty/ Her heavy anthem still concludes in woe/And still the choir of echoes answer so." She pouts about being rejected like a 14 year old girl would. It would seem to me that a goddess might have a sense of dignity and class. Nope not Venus wah wah wah. I definitely understand her grief at the end since Adonis has died and there is no chance to ever see him again. This kind of reaction is plausible and understandable compared to how she deals with rejection. The other thing i found humorous about this whole ordeal was how she accusation that the earth might find Adonis so attractive that she trips him herself to steal a kiss from his lips. That was a clever idea i could not have imagined til i read this.

All in all i think that this is a great poem and it didn't play out at all like i thought it would. Shakespeare continues to amaze me and i look forward to reading Lucrece.

Another link i found this one contains a rendition of Adonis's "Nay Then" speech towards the end of the poem.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GftcE5FUrgk

Shakespeare and Me

My first experiences with Shakespeare probably happened like many people did in high school. Our teacher raved about how amazing Shakespeare was. Initially i was reluctant to embrace Shakespeare's style but eventually it won me over. Ever since then i've tended to enjoy Shakespeare more than not. I've read some of his plays and for the most part every one i read i tend to enjoy more than the one i read before. While i realize this isn't a lot of experience with Shakespeare i can only go up from here.

On a side note i found this song by a hip hop group, or at least i think they are, called Jon Solo and the incomparable Shakespeare. Here's the link if you want to check it out.

http://awkwordrap.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/tell-me-youre-crazy.mp3