Purpose: Determine the ways in which Shakespeare’s revision of age-old plots so that the focus is on vision and sound rather than the mind of a reader in order to understand both the riches of subscreation as well as the value of seeing and hearing the words performed. Likewise, pay attention to his brilliant word play often missed by twenty-first century consumers of his brilliant work.
Post: Choose one of the following options for your post. Please respond if possible to the prompt you did not choose.
Option 1:
Shakespeare is known for reworking and vastly improving stock plots and characters such as the lover, the villain, the damsel, the fool in his comedies. Based on your understanding of Tolkien’s and other definitions of “story,”make an argument about the ways in which Shakespeare dips liberally into the “story soup,” yet still provides a funny, thoughtful, and smart story that is both visual and auditory. Since Shakespeare did not mean for his plays to be read, keep in mind the performance aspect as you write your post.
Option 2:
Focus on Shakespeare’s facility with language, particular puns and other word play. Note specific puns or other creative use of language in this play and explain how these add to the meaning or audience enjoyment of the play. Avoid the word “nothing,” which Dr. Stephenson explains in his lecture, and look for other evidence of clever use of language and perhaps use a dictionary to help you “read between the lines.”