zBlogging the Literary Life - AP College English

Finals

So it occurred to me the other day as I was filling out my housing requests for Indiana University in Bloomington. This is it. I am ending one phase of my life and moving into another. We all are. As we have grown up, our parents have given us things. Some tangible, such as money and clothing, and others intangible, such as morals and scruples (yes, its a word.)
When King Lear's three daughters are about to move out of his life, he offers them his kingdom. The one stipulation that he makes is that they have to tell him that they love him. Two of them take it and one turns it down. Then then move on.
What we do with what are parents give us is very important. We can make both good and bad from it. What you do it your choice, and your choice alone.

The Learer

I have really liked watching the performances this week.  It helped me to understand the play better.  It was especially cool to see how the way an actor interprets a character can change how that character is portrayed in the performance.  So there were somecharacters who I saw differently after I saw how they acted in the scene.  For example, after Clare's performance Regan seemed much more viscious to me and to be the one in power.  I also liked being able to talk about the play because we didn't get to do that much last week.  What I realized in our discussions is that a lot of the themes or controversies that arise in Lear are timeless.  That can still be applied to and examined today.  It made me feel like Shakespeare wasn't just a waste of time because of how old it is and the style of writing.

Hardest and Easiest

I thought the presentations in general went pretty smoothly. They were enjoyable to watch and help to understand the play much better. I liked that each group had a section broken up for them and they had to act it out. It was incredibly helpful in grasping the true meaning and underlying messages. Props Bernie.

It was difficult to work on coming up with stage directions, blocking, and especially tone. Some lines were confusing in interpreting the way the character was talking. However, once everything was settled the acting was very easy. What did you think was the easiest and hardest part of this project?

Women = Animals

A few days ago, the idea was brought up that Goneril and Regan were animals. There are many references to it. Not Cordelia, though. So maybe it's just the "evil" women that should be portrayed as animals?

Heidkamp talked about women villains, like in Bond movies, and how they occasionally make noises while fighting, which could be animal noises. I was just wondering if anybody thinks this is either sexist, since no men are portrayed as animals because of their evil nature. Or maybe it is justified, because women are not typically evil, and maybe.. shouldn't be.

Also, 5/6 talked about the good men (Kent, Edgar) that are underneath everything, kind of holding everybody together. Can you relate that to today? Maybe not in the same sense as evil daughters fighting over their backstabbing lover, but in a different way?

Untacular: The Story of Bill Shakespeare

What I don't understand is why does ole Bill have to use all them fancy words? I mean like, instead of saying "Alack, why thus," why not say "Ah shoot, what'd you gone and done now?" It just don't make sense. That ain't even English. It ain't English if you can't understand it. Poetry ain't English either, I'll never know why ever'one likes poetry suh darn much.

And another thing, it's not like we ain't heard all of Billy Shakespeare's stories before. Why cain't he think of his own stories?

And who ever heard of themes? When I read, I read to educa-fy myself: all this theme junk is a waste of time if ya ask me.

I ain't plannin' on readin' any more dang Bill Shakespeare. He's too "smart" fer me. Like that John Kerry feller. Couldn't stand him.

The Performances

First, I want to congratulate my group (Act 5 scene 3 Period 9) on an amazing performance. For those of you didn’t see it we had blood and a pseudo-professional sword fight. Good job group!

Overall though, what did all of you think of the activity? Did you gain new insight from struggling with a certain character? Were the performances true to the play? Were they consistent with how you imagined it? Just thought I’d throw these questions out there.   

Thoughts on Performing Lear

Since all we're really doing this week is Lear, I thought I'd talk about it. I actually liked performing, which is funny because usually I have extreme stage fright. I thought I practiced my lines better than I performed them (I was Albany in the last scene) and I missed a couple of actions/body movements I wanted to do. I still thought I did OK though. My blocking wasn't that hard because I opened on one section of the stage, walked to the other side, and stayed there for the remainder of the play.

I really liked how Mr. Heidkamp let us perform without having to memorize our lines. It allowed us to focus much more on blocking, tone, etc.--all the ways to deliver lines and the things you do while delivering them, so the quality and reality of the play could be better... we didn't have to waste tons of time on memorizing the lines and could instead focus on the performing aspect. I felt like that made all of the performances much more realistic. Usually there are one or two people who completely blow it, but I felt like everyone in our class was well-prepared and everyone did well.

Of Course Tragic Heroes Have Tragic Flaws

The "Central Features of Tragedy" list in the King Lear packet says that some critics think the tragic hero's downfall is the result of a tragic flaw, rather than just an "act of injustice." I agree. If we say that the hero's downfall is spurred by one chance act that is unintentionally criminal, we imply that the act may never have occurred under different circumstances. To a degree, this removes the significance of the act to the character's development. I think the whole point of the hero's fateful act is that the act was bound to occur at one point or another because of a tragic flaw in the hero. The hero doesn't have to be malevolent, but the act is still wrong. The criminal act must be attributed to a tragic flaw, or the act becomes impersonal. The fate of the tragic hero is more dramatic because it was the criminal act that spurred it, and thus the hero is responsible for their own downfall (to an extent, of course).

sweet sacrifice

Yo.

I wanna congratulate Ree-ree, Surrah, and Surrara for the lovely and splendicular performance I shared with them. I hope my 5-6 class enjoyed it as much as I did. (Oh, p.s. - sorry for spoiling your dealie, Jeff.)

If you go to SparkNotes.com and then (on the front page) click on No Fear Shakespeare, you will find the text of King Lear in its entirety juxtaposed with a modern-day translation of the words. It's amazing. I practically re-read the first half of the play online with only the modern translation. I couldn't believe how much more I understood that way. I was able to compare the two different types of speech and see how the words correlated. It helped me better understand my character and the play as a whole.

Is anyone else really getting into their character?

Edgar's Disguise

Edgar's transformation into Poor Tom confused me later in the story.  While I understand that he needed to hide his identity to avoid capture, I did not understand why he kept his father under the impression that he was Poor Tom.  After Gloucester's eyes had been removed (something I still cannot believe), he was told that Edmund was the true evil one and that Edgar was innocent.  At this point, Gloucester only wanted to find Edgar again. 
Edgar hears his father talk of suicide as he is leading him, and while his faking Gloucester's suicide was ingenius, if he had revealed himself earlier he could have eased his father's pain.
    It reminded me of "The Princess Bride," when Wesley disguises himself as the Dread Pirate Roberts to Buttercup.  I guess he was testing her loyalty to him, but he truly hurt her.   Eventually he tells her his story and how he survived, but  it was cruel.

Just a connection, sorry to those who have not seen "The Princess Bride."  I strongly recommend it...a Grade A film.