Month: May 2012

A Course! A Course! My Kingdom for a Course! I Pick my Syllabus.

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Well it’s day four of my self-taught Shakespeare course so I thought I would report on my progress so far.  I have listened to five podcasts, almost finished two books and have a nice list of Netflix movies to watch.

As I cleaned my office on Saturday (found my desk by the way) I listened to two Oxford University lectures, both so dry and boring I cannot recall what they were about. Good thing I was moving about or I might have fallen asleep.  Unless you are completely obsessed with Shakespeare or are working on a PhD.D on him (yes there is a PhD.D offered on Shakespeare) I would stay away from Oxford U.  Then again if you can’t sleep, this may be your cure!

Next up was The Bardcast. This podcast has three hosts who all sound under 30. You know the old saying “never trust a person over 30”? Well, I have a secret, we over 40 don’t really trust anyone under 30.  it was odd listening to three kids talking in-depth about Shakespeare,  (how the hell do they know anything? )their assessment of the Bard is a little suspect. What I  mean by in- depth is that they try to break down the scenes and offer some insight, but what they offer is shallow and often argued against other scholars rather than offer  real food for thought.  Now, this may be good for those who are new to Shakespeare’s work, and I can see how some newbies may use some of their info on college papers, if only for filler.

As I am writing this I am trying yet another podcast, Chop Bard, and though the host sounds young, I am finding his take on Hamlet to be very informative. I may have finally found a podcast that is worth listening to.

Saturday afternoon I took a trip to my local library. What good is a college course without a syllabus and list of books to read?  For my syllabus I decided to break my studies down into lessons:

Study Elizabethan history in order to learn about the times and events that formed Shakespeare’s world

Study some guides to enjoying Shakespeare. We can all agree the plays are not the easiest works to read.

Read at least three plays and watch at least three movies based on the plays. For this I chose  Macbeth, Hamlet and The Merry Wives of Windsor.  At the end of May I will also watch a really bad take on Hamlet as seen through the eyes of Mystery Science Theater 3000. If you don’t know what I am talking about, you owe it to yourself to find at least on episode (there are a lot on Netflix) to watch . If you love sarcastic humor you will love Mike and his robot friends. 

Back to the library. I found myself looking at shelf after shelf of books on Shakespeare. It would seem there are a lot of experts on the Bard. Some offer tomes (like Professor Harold Bloom) that seem all encompassing while others stick to particular topics.  After much debate (which including talking to myself as my beau wandered away to look at less daunting reading material)  I came up with this list:

How to Enjoy Shakespeare by Robert Thomas Fallon

Brush up on your Shakespeare by Michael Macrone

Shakespeare the invention of the Human by Harold Boom.

Here is what I have learned so far. Just because a guy is dating you and is willing to hang out in a library on a Saturday night, does not mean he will watch Shakespeare with  you. So much for a Saturday night movie date.

People in Elizabethan England did not talk like Shakespeare wrote. He wrote in rhyme (okay, I knew that already) and changed his word order (that I did not know).  His verbs and nouns are switched, very much like in the German language.  So, hey my two years of German may pay off!

I have learned more about the life and time of Shakespeare, but I will save this for my next post in which we explore the world of Shakespeare!

A Course! A Course! My Kingdom For A Course!

I’m back! Yes, it’s been awhile, and yes, once again I disappeared. But really, I do have my reasons. Between studying for finals, changing jobs,  copy-editing commitments and family issues, I stretched myself too thin. But now, I find I have a lot more time to devote to my own writing; yesterday I graduated-at the top of my class I must add-so  now I have the time and yearning to once again join the blogging world.

It’s been about a week or so since I turned in my last paper, took my last German quiz and participated in class discussions.  You’d think I would feel a huge wave of relief, or a heaviness off my shoulder now that I have achieved my first academic goal. The pressure I put on myself to achieve has been lifted. I should be happy, right? Not so much it turns out.

There is an empty feeling taking the place of the pressure, one week of no school and already I am mentally bored.  Oh sure, I found plenty to do, things I haven’t had much time for in quite awhile. I spent last weekend pulling weeds, turning the soil and planning my garden-I am going medieval herbs this year-so it’s not like I have been sitting around doing nothing.  I’ve finished two books, bowled for the first time in years and reconnected with my long suffering friends, who waited patiently for my return to the “real” world. But still, something does not feel quite right.  This feeling of emptiness  maybe due to my desire (some say unnatural obsession) to always be learning about something; what I need is an academic challenge. So, what to do? What can I do to feed my desire while waiting for the fall term, when I will start on my masters in humanities?

An idea started to form in my head a couple of days ago. Why not take a subject, something I am curious or passionate  about, and do some self education? And, to make sure I stay on track , why not blog about my adventure? Perhaps I can talk some of you into joining me and together we will explore subjects we always said we would like to learn more about, but never quite find the time.

To kick this off,  we will start with all things Shakespeare!  Not just read all of this plays and sonnets, which could be daunting enough, but to really dig down and learn all we can about the man and his work.  In the coming month I will devote many hours to the bard using a variety of mediums, from books to movies, from podcasts to Shakespeare blogs. I will write a post or two a week on my progress and critique those that I feel are Bard worthy.  I will also report on the ones to stay away from.  By the end of May, I would like us to know a little more about the works of Shakespeare and have a handy collection of go to sources for further study.

To wet your appetite for more Shakespeare,  I recommend picking up Stephen Marche’s small but entertaining book  How Shakespeare changed everything.  Here you will learn why we have starlings in North America, and why, if it was not for Hamlet,  no one would have understood young Marlon Brando’s angst.  Once you understand how much Shakespeare influences modern life,  it because lot easier to study his work. You will quickly understand why “the play is the thing”!

Now I am off to clean my office (I know there is a desk somewhere under all that paper) while starting on my first Shakespeare podcast The Bardcast.

I can’t wait to hear from you dear Readers, tell me anything. Do you engage in self education? Did you feel a little depressed or lost after finishing college or any large goal? And of course, I want to hear from those who are passionate about Shakespeare.