Literature, Class 2: Period 3, Thursday, January 15

[clevermsbennet.livejournal.com]

"Welcome back," Miss Bennet said, smiling at her students. She was properly attired, as she had not yet suffered too greatly from the loss of the laundry machines. (Ah, the comforts of being from the past.) "Last semester, I began class by covering an author with whom I was particularly familiar, as I was not expecting to be a literature teacher, and hoped to gain more time for research by spending a week with one whose work needed little introduction to myself, and possibly just as little to many of you. This term, I have a much more thorough knowledge of the many years of literature that I have missed. However, I have decided we should start there, once more. This particular individual's works are highly regarded as classics, through many cultures, and those works open some interesting avenues for discussion. Therefore, we will begin with an 'author' who was not, in fact, an author at all."

"William Shakespeare," she began, sitting on the edge of her desk, "Was born April 26th, 1564, in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. He was a skilled wordsmith, and throughout his lifetime, he wrote a few epic poems, as well as numerous shorter works known as sonnets. However, Shakespeare's true masterpieces are said to be the countless plays he wrote and directed for the London stage. At the time, the plays were written for many different tastes: a great deal of ribald word-play, for those who enjoyed low humour; fight scenes for the violently inclined; moving, dramatic soliloquoys for the intellectuals; proper deference shown at all times to Her Majesty the Queen. Those plays are now considered classics, but I can assure you, Shakespeare would be very surprised indeed to know that his scripts were being read as part of a literature class.

"Perhaps we should start there. Is there not an essential disconnect required in reading a script? Novels provide the scenery and setting; they, further, allow you to view the inner thoughts and desires of the characters. Most plays, by contrast, give only the necessary stage directions -- though I might imagine some playwrights to be more meticulous, and others less so. Introspection is only possible through soliloquy. Watching a play allows all of these elements to come together, but is there not some degree to which reading a play is not unlike reading a recipe? A script is a blueprint, a set of instructions on how to achieve a desired result. One might read a recipe and imagine that the scones might taste wonderful, but there is no way to say so, positively, from the recipe alone. Is there a way to overcome this, in a classroom environment?

"Shakespeare directed his own plays; one may well imagine that he failed to include detailed notes on character motivations and other particulars as he fully intended to deliver those instructions, in person, to his actors. Take, for an example, the work entitled That Scottish Play. Near the end of Act I, Lady MacFinley is urging Lord MacFinley to murder the king and take his throne for himself, as he has promised to do, but his courage is failing him. Lord MacFinley asks her, 'If we should fail?' To which she replies, two simple words: 'We fail.'

Eliza glanced around the class again. "There have been untold debates on how it is that she should speak that line. Is she philosophical? Has she decided nothing else matters but achieving this end? Has she resigned herself to the possibility of discovery and execution? Is she mocking her husband? Is she ruthless? Remember that not all of these are mutually exclusive. Each production of this play must decide how to approach this line. For that matter, each production of this play must decide one hundred other similar details; the motivations of minor characters, the exact specifications of the stage, the manner of dress, the lighting, how to best achieve any effects. This is to say nothing of renditions which deliberately change the original for some decided end, such as moving the work to a different location or timeframe.

"Is that perhaps why Shakespeare remains so very popular? Is there a degree to which the flexibility of his work allows them to breathe and change and adapt along with us? Many of his ideas were taken from earlier plays, and other works. No plot is truly original, not when distilled down to its essence. Did he perhaps tell these classic stories in a way that reached the audience more poignantly than other works? Is there something universal about these tales? None of us have, perhaps, urged our husbands towards regicide, but watching Lady MacFinley grasp for power, then spiral into madness and despair from her own crippling guilt is recognizable, nonetheless."

"However," she smiled. "Those are only my thoughts. I should like very much to hear what all of you think."

Comments

Sign In [LIT-2]

[clevermsbennet.livejournal.com]

Naked as you wanna be.

Re: Sign In [LIT-2]

[shyest-eyes.livejournal.com]

Hyuuga Hinata

During the Lecture [LIT-2]

[clevermsbennet.livejournal.com]

Take notes, or pass them, if you're particularly brave. Speak to one another, if you can do so briefly.

Re: During the Lecture [LIT-2]

[stupid-toasters.livejournal.com]

Lee scribbled down some quick notes and listened all at once. The notes turned into a scrawl of almost illegible writing but it was all there!

Re: During the Lecture [LIT-2]

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

It looked, from a distance, like Katchoo was taking notes, until you realized her pencil strokes were a little too sweeping to be handwriting . . .

Re: During the Lecture [LIT-2]

[flashesforinfo.livejournal.com]

This clothing issue was getting ridiculous. Angela was left today with her best outfit choice as a little party dress, leggings, and a hoodie.

That didn't stop her from showing for class, and actually taking notes. She couldn't be the only one with this problem.

Re: During the Lecture [LIT-2]

[chic-harper.livejournal.com]

Harper didn't have a lot of clean clothes left, so this morning, she had been forced to wear the racing outfit (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v325/thena8572/wizards/harper004.jpg) -- red vinyl dress with checkered flag patches and an actual track with cars making its way down her torso. Of course, she had to wear it with the matching steering wheel hat with real working car horn. She even had a vanity plate with "HARPER" stapled to the front of her dress in case anyone forgot her name.

She took a lot of notes, since she wanted to get a feel for Shakespeare before designing the costumes for Geoffrey's play.

Re: During the Lecture [LIT-2]

[likethegun]

Sam was all about the notes today, and was writing down quite a lot as he listened.

Re: During the Lecture [LIT-2]

[ambassadorinara.livejournal.com]

Inara took careful notes, giving thought to Miss Bennet's questions. She was somewhat familiar with Shakespeare's works, which could attest to their longevity, in her opinion.

Re: During the Lecture [LIT-2]

[finding-x-dream.livejournal.com]

Agnes took careful notes, and hoped for the sake of Mr. Shakespeare's sanity that theatre was somewhat less crazy than opera.

Re: During the Lecture [LIT-2]

[iamnotallgirl]

Jill took comprehensive notes. Possibly too comprehensive; she had to stop halfway through the lecture to shake out a hand cramp.

Discussion #1: Plays [LIT-2]

[clevermsbennet.livejournal.com]

Is reading a play essentially a flawed way to approach the work? How do we account for missing elements? Have you ever read a script for a play, a movie, or a television program? Did you notice how starkly the script differed from the end product? Conversely, is there a purity in reading the script? The playwright's words, unfiltered through this particular director's intentions or any one actor's range?

(For all discussion threads, remember that chaos is what we aim for; ping to one another freely, please!)

Re: Discussion #1: Plays [LIT-2]

[stupid-toasters.livejournal.com]

"Reading scripts takes more imagination, maybe?" Lee suggested. "Gotta provide the unknown elements yourself. Maybe that's why people's interpretations of plays can be so different?"

Re: Discussion #1: Plays [LIT-2]

[peace_n_war]

"I don't think there's really any wrong way to read a script," Warren decided, mostly talking in the general direction of his desk, but at least he was talking. "That's the whole point of scripts, isn't it? To be read and interpreted as the director sees fit. It's what keeps theater interesting. Even if you see the same story done by ten people ten times, you're always watching something new."

Re: Discussion #1: Plays [LIT-2]

[chic-harper.livejournal.com]

"Well, the tough part about reading a play is that you don't know what people are wearing. The costumes can really impact your impressions of the characters," said Harper. Her outfit certainly would make an impression.

Re: Discussion #1: Plays [LIT-2]

[not_in_the_book]

"It depends a lot, I think," Ronan began, "on why you're reading the play in the first place -- what aspect you're studying. Looking at Shakespeare's work from a theatrical perspective is different from looking at it from a literary perspective. There's a lot about language, for example, that can be learned from reading Shakespeare, and a number of words that were either popularised or invented by him. Too, we study poetry in literature classes, and Shakespeare's dialogue is often that, at times, with some of his speeches going so far as to being outright sonnets."

Re: Discussion #1: Plays [LIT-2]

[ambassadorinara.livejournal.com]

"I think that it's important to remember that you are reading a play, which was meant to be staged by live performers," Inara mused, "and that it's not a novel. Sometimes, the reason things happened the way they did in the play is solely for their convenience, and, I would think, somewhat limited by the stage mechanics and effects available at the time the play was written."

Re: Discussion #1: Plays [LIT-2]

[finding-x-dream.livejournal.com]

"The playwright is only one part of a finished play," Agnes pointed out. "Comparing a script to the play itself is like comparing raw entrails to a sausage." She paused, remembering. "And sometimes what happens onstage bears very little resemblance to the script."

Re: Discussion #1: Plays [LIT-2]

[therhimineecat.livejournal.com]

"I actually had a conversation about this this past weekend," Seregil said. "I don't think reading a play, you get the full experience of the work as it is meant to be. It's something that's meant to be heard, seen, not just read. The words need to be brought to life."

Discussion #2: We Fail [LIT-2]

[clevermsbennet.livejournal.com]

How do you believe Lady MacFinley might have meant those two little words? Can you think of many possibilities? You are free to either explain your thoughts on the matter, or to stand bravely and give your best impression of Lady MacFinley. (Both are acceptable, as well.) Do you sympathize at all with her plight?

Re: Discussion #2: We Fail [LIT-2]

[stupid-toasters.livejournal.com]

"I thought it sounded like she was determined to try and if there was failure, there was failure but there could be neither failure nor success without trying," Lee decided.

Discussion #3: Shakespeare [LIT-2]

[clevermsbennet.livejournal.com]

Why do you think that Shakespeare has remained popular, four centuries after his plays were introduced? Have you read or watched any of his works, or any of the adaptations therein? Do you believe his background in poetry influenced his plays?

Re: Discussion #3: Shakespeare [LIT-2]

[peace_n_war]

Warren looked almost amused as he answered the question.

"I think Shakespeare is still popular because people still laugh at fart jokes and enjoy a good swordfight," he stated. And then paused. And decided that he was going to say some more. "But on top of that, he was a master at taking stories that were told before, making them his own, and then telling them better. Kind of like that Disney guy, nowadays."

Warren had never really cared for Disney movies, though.

Speak to the TA [LIT-2]

[clevermsbennet.livejournal.com]

After she signs in, please.

Re: Speak to the TA [LIT-2]

[shyest-eyes.livejournal.com]

She was there, of course, and quietly amused that they were covering someone whose work she knew from the theatre. Fitting, really, in a way.

Speak to Miss Bennet [LIT-2]

[clevermsbennet.livejournal.com]

She would be happy to converse with you.

Re: Speak to Miss Bennet [LIT-2]

[senor-chado.livejournal.com]

About the time Chad figured the class would be over, or coming to an end, he went in, hoping to catch Miss Bennet before she left. He gave a wave to anyone he knew in the classroom before going to bother her.

"Excuse me, Miss Bennet?"

OOC [LIT-2]

[clevermsbennet.livejournal.com]

As last time: Thanks go to raspberryturk for giving me a useful name for the Macbeths that was not, in fact, Macbeth.

... don't worry, Lizzy will be hit by the laundry mishap soon enough.