Self-Blog-Evaluation

Using the same criteria from Dr. B that I used when reviewing Caroline's blog, I'm going to take a look at my own blog. I reference Mandy's review throughout--she gave me some great feedback and I made adjustments accordingly.

Preliminary Hub Post

As we near the end of the semester and the end of this research project, it's time to pull in all the threads of my inquiry and see what I've discovered as I've explored Shakespeare and YA literature.

Research Question and Thesis
I started this project with a question rather than a thesis. That question (as found in my Focus Project post) is "What elements of Shakespeare can be successfully translated into the young adult experience?" This served me well as I researched, and I've finally come to an actual thesis: Teen lit adaptations of Shakespeare can make the Bard more accessible to young adults, adding to--rather than detracting from--Shakespeare's original texts. 


Primary sources
I wanted to read multiple books on Shakespeare, listed in my Focus Project post.
I originally planned to read multiple books based on each play as I planned in this post for The Tempest, but then I changed my plans to read one book for each play.
I reviewed Ariel and The Loser's Guide to Life and Love. I also read Dating Hamlet and The Wednesday Wars, but I didn't have the time to write up reviews.

Textual analysis
I looked in-depth at A Midsummer Night's Dream and made two posts about teen themes that could be used in YA adaptations. The first was about frustrated love and the second was about female friendship.

Scholarly Resources
I checked out a couple of books about Shakespeare and YA literature, which I overviewed here. I followed up by reviewing several articles, one comparing Hamlet to Bridge to Terabithia and another about Harry Potter and Shakespeare as a storyteller.

Future Posting

This doesn't mean I'm posting from the future, ha ha. But as the semester winds down, I need to make sure that I know when I'm going to be posting on which topics. I've been shedding motivation like a snake sheds skin, and I didn't have much of it to start with.

To Read
Loser's Guide to Love and Life
Henry V
Scholarly research
Two other YA adaptations, probably The Wednesday Wars and either Dating Hamlet or Ophelia

To Post

Focus Project: Shakespeare and YA Literature

Main Research Question
What elements of Shakespeare can be successfully translated into the young adult experience?

YA Books
Ariel by Grace Tiffany (The Tempest)
The Loser's Guide to Life and Love by A. E. Cannon (Midsummer Night's Dream)
Lady Macbeth's Daughter by Lisa Klein (Macbeth)
Enter Three Witches by Caroline B. Cooney (Macbeth)
Ophelia by Lisa Klein (Hamlet)
Dating Hamlet by Lisa Fiedler (Hamlet)
Shylock's Daughter by Mirjam Pressler (Merchant of Venice)
Romeo and Juliet Together (And Alive!) At Last by Avi (Romeo and Juliet)
Romiette and Julio by Sharon Draper (Romeo and Juliet)
The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt (multiple plays)
King of Shadows by Susan Cooper (historical)
Swan Town by Michael Ortiz (historical)

I won't be able to read every single one of these books, but I plan to read at least five.

Excuses, excuses

Eep! I haven't posted since the self-reflection last Monday, and I haven't posted anything substantial for two weeks. I don't have time to post at the moment, but I can report that I've finished The Tempest and a graphic novel version of that play, plus I'm halfway through Ariel by Tiffany Grace. In the next couple days, I will be posting a review of the YA books along with a big planning post that will define my research focus and explain how I intend to fulfill the learning requirements from now on.

Mid-semester Progress Report

Time for a little self-reflection.

30 Post Ideas

Most of my class notes are ideas for posts and approaches to the plays, so I thought I'd gather them all here for easy reference.

1. Post class notes and continue the class conversation.
2. Make connections between the text and my life.
3. Take photographs and add Shakespeare quotes in InDesign.
4. Watch Reduced Shakespeare and comment.
5. Write notes summarizing each scene.
6. Write from the perspective of an actor or director. 
7. Compare multiple cinematic versions.
8. Read children's adaptations or YA spinoff novels (A Loser's Guide to Love and Life, Lady Macbeth's Daughter, Romiette and Julio). 
9. Research historical and cultural contexts, especially censors, relations with France, and the monarchy.
10. Watch the BBC animated versions.
11. Look at interpretations in other cultures or time periods.
12. Write an adaptation or parody.
13. Read two editions that have different footnotes.
14. Write creatively from the perspective of a minor character.
15. Make an analytical argument.
16. Interview someone.
17. Compare the usefulness of different resources.
18. Discuss how reductions and parodies affect Shakespeare literacy.
19. Reply to classmates' blog posts.
20. Find and attend a local performance.
21. Reference the learning outcomes.
22. Post webcomics.
23. Search Twitter.
24. Copy the post formats of blogs I enjoy, like Hyperbole and a Half or Mark Reads/Mark Watches.
25. Compare two plays, like Macbeth to Hamlet.
26. Use literary theory! Campbell would be fun.
27. Look at maps.
28. Do a theoretical teaching plan.
29. Propose a production--"fantasy Shakespeare."
30. Compare Shakespeare to modern playwrights and examine how Shakespeare might treat their stories, or vice versa: How would Shakespeare stage Phantom of the Opera, and how would ALW do Othello?

Macbeth: Planning

Schedule for next week:

M: Act 1
T: Act 2 and 3
Th: Act 4 and 5
F: Look at criticism

Posts:
Thought posts for each day/act
Explore the possibilities of a Gothic production of Macbeth (I'm in a Gothic lit&film class)
Review a critical article

Blargh

I haven't posted since Wednesday, so I thought I'd pop in and say that I do not have anything to post. I have not yet started reading Henry V. I have five essays to write by Thursday and I just took on two freelance editing jobs, so my enthusiasm for Shakespeare is less than, erm, enthusiastic. I plan to do the bulk of my reading on Thursday, after the essays are all turned in, and then post on Thursday and Saturday. Hopefully next week will be better than this one, which can essentially be summed up with BLARGH.

THE PLAN

Okay. So I have to figure out this whole self-directed learning thing. Here's what I have so far for how I plan to fulfill the class goals.

Reading
I've already got a decent handle on the tragedies, so I want to focus more on the comedies and histories. For the comedies, I want to read Taming of the Shrew, The Tempest, Twelfth Night, and Pericles.

I still haven't figured out which histories I want to read because I don't know anything about them--I'd appreciate some guidance. Maybe Richard II and both Henry IVs? That would make sense for getting the beginnings of the full story, but I don't know which plays are the kindest to beginning readers.

Perhaps I'll also throw in some more of the sonnets. Sonnets are fun.

Watching
Ideally, I want to watch at least one production, either stage or screen, for each play that I read. Where possible, I'd also like to watch a modern adaptation: for Taming of the Shrew, 10 Things I Hate About You; for Twelfth Night, She's the Man, etc. I think it would be interesting to look at which elements of Shakespeare's plays easily translate into the modern world, which seem forced, and which need to be discarded in a modern retelling.

Creating
It would be nifty to get together with a group of fellow classmates and read a play out loud together. Would anyone like to join such an endeavor?

I might also write an imitation sonnet or soliloquy. I've written sonnets before, but never blank verse soliloquys. Or maybe I could make something cool in InDesign and post it here. Possibilities are endless!

Writing
Obviously, I will be posting things here. For as long as possible, I want to stay away from scholarly research. I had to do four research papers last semester and I wrote about 35 essays total, and two weeks of Christmas vacation was not enough to get me over the burnout. Frankly I'm not excited to write anything about literature ever again, but since I'm about to graduate with an English degree, it's a bit late to start stewing over my educational choices.

So! My goal in writing this blog is to HAVE LOTS OF FUN. I will be posting stuff about Doctor Who. I'll make lots of commentaries about the stuff I think is awesome. Hopefully I will write at least one of my famous-among-my-roommates BREATHLESS PARODY ABRIDGMENTS. Above all, I will strive not to bore myself or my audience.

Sound peachy?

First post

Yeah, Shakespeare, woohoo! I'm not sure yet what I want to focus on this semester or even what I want to read. I've had only limited experience with the Bard, and it's been a mixed bag.

Plays I've Read
Romeo and Juliet: read it in ninth grade, hated it except for Benvolio
Julius Caesar: read it in eleventh grade, was ambivalent
King Lear: read it in twelfth grade, thought Cordelia was the bomb-diggety
Much Ado: read it on my own after seeing the film, loved it
Othello: read it sophomore year, thought it didn't measure up to Lear
Hamlet: read it sophomore year, thought Hamlet was an emo poser

Films I've Seen
Romeo and Juliet (Baz Luhrmann): saw it in ninth grade, thought it was terrible
King Lear: FOREVER SCARRED by the eye-gouging scene
Much Ado (Kenneth Branagh, of course): thought it was hilarious, minus the part in the beginning with all the butts--seriously, what is that?
Hamlet (David Tennant): BEST PLAY EVER. This view was probably influenced by my love of Doctor Who, but I thought Tennant absolutely nailed Hamlet, the production was clever, and to my surprise Hamlet is actually a pretty funny play!

Performances I've Seen
A Midsummer Night's Dream: saw this when I was six and had no idea what was going on
A Comedy of Errors: saw it in ninth grade; again, it was funny, but I really couldn't understand what was going on
Macbeth: saw it in Cedar City, thought it was boooooring
Merchant of Venice: saw it in Cedar City, was completely blown away by the moral complexity of the characters

So that's my direct Shakespeare experience in a nutshell. I think I'd like to read Taming of the Shrew, because it's my roommate's favorite, and The Tempest, because I'd like to go see the film and I think I should read it first, and probably one of the Richard or Henry plays, because I feel like I'm 'post to.