Summative Task: Shakespeare and The Renaissance

How has your study of Shakespeare in the context of his times deepened your appreciation of literature and deepened your sense of its importance in the modern world?

1582-1616

Prior to enrolling into the Shakespeare unit, I had completed a drama unit called Shakespeare’s Theatre with James Marland. I honestly enjoyed studying about Shakespeare’s Histories, Tragedies and Comedies—and I could not wait to enhance my knowledge even further with Michael Griffith!

Over the past 12 weeks, I have generated a variety of blogs, both critical and creative, that have enabled me to express my understanding towards Shakespeare and his works.  I can honestly say that I have benefited significantly from the use of blogging and peer reviews this semester. The relaxed and unrestricted atmosphere of the blogging community has shaped my understanding towards Shakespeare in a variety of different ways and I will be forever grateful for that. The constructive criticism left on my blogs from peers, not only enhanced my interpretation of a Shakespearean text, but it also gave me the confidence to continue blogging. It also allowed me to see how the combination of different ideas surrounding the study of a particular text, can help build a much more developed understanding when individuals work together.

After learning about the context in which Shakespeare wrote his plays, I am truly amazed and appreciative of the power that literature holds in being able to convey such a variety of different messages and issues. Learning about the Histories and Comedies in depth such as A Midsummer Night’s Dream, As You Like it, Henry IV and The Tempest, have greatly deepened my understanding as to how the different types of themes Shakespeare explored in his plays, have major relevance in today’s society. When I reflect on the time and effort that was put into this semester (Thanks Michael Griffith!), such as the line for line analysis’, the acting out of scenes in tutorials and lectures as well as the Shakespeare performances;  I was able to see the influence that Shakespeare has had on our modern day world.  After studying Shakespeare for 12 weeks this semester, I can truly see why he is considered to be the greatest writer of all time.

Whilst a Midsummer Night’s dream deals with a variety of different themes, the complex nature of love seems to be the most dominant. Lysander’s statement in A Midsummer Night’s dream of “the course of true love never did run smooth” highlights the complications of love in which exist in the play; something that can also be seen in our modern day world. The play explores relationships of all sorts, including the soon to be newlyweds (Theseus and Hippolyta), close friends (Hermia and Helena) father and daughter (Hermia and Euegus), fairy king and fairy queen (Titania and Oberon) as well as the love quadrangle which involves Hermia, Lysander, Helena and Demetrius. In saying this, the play deals with love and relationships of all sorts that it would be hard for an individual not to find one that has applied to them. Love, is a human emotion and whilst A Midsummer Night’s dream was written ahead of our time, it does not mean the connotation of love has changed in the 21^st century. Whilst the ways in which we express love have changed due to technological advances, the meaning of love will forever remain the same. Every human that has lived on this earth, has experienced love-whether it be with another human being, religion, experience or an object.

The complications of love can be further seen in my week one post (link here) where I have discussed why love in the 21^st century is no easier than what it was in the 16^th century.  Queen Elizabeth I poem “On Monsieur’s Departure” (link to poem) explores the pain that comes along with loving someone that one cannot be with surely a pain that certain individuals in our world have experienced. After critically analysing her poem in class and in my week one blog post, I came to understand how love is indeed a complex thing. Queen Elizabeth I makes it clear to audience memebers that despite the fact that she is a monarch, she is still a human being with feelings. Her poem also allowed me to see that love is beyond an individual’s control and no matter how hard we try to resist it, it still manages to find its way into one’s life. Loving is not and has never been easy throughout history. Poets from the 16th century have shown the issues that individuals faced with love are still active with people in the 21st century. That being said, love will always remain a complicated process. The pain in which derives from love is just as unbearable in today’s society as it was in the 16th century. The loss of love, the loss of a loved one in one form or another, hurts just as much in 1600s as it does in 2015.

The visit to the Shakespeare room in the state library looked exquisite and loads of fun! Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the Shakespeare room, however, I thank Michael for posting up the recordings regarding the visit onto Leo. I would also like to thank my peers for posting up photos from the visit. The photos of the Shakespeare room  transported me back to Elizabethan times. Considering that Jacques’ monologue on “all the world’s a stage” is one of my favourite monologues written by Shakespeare, I instantly grew a love for Mr Arthur Benfield’s stained glass windows. It was quite obvious how much hard work was embedded into creating them (link to blog on Mr Benfield’s windows), as each window depicts with incredible precision, each and every stage that was described in Jacques’ monologue. Despite the fact that Jacques’ monologue was written many centuries ago, his philosophy on the fragile nature of life will forever remain prevalent. By comparing the world to a stage, Shakespeare sets up an experience that the audience can relate to and comprehend. The metaphor of actors having their “entrances” and their “exits” symbolises the sad truth about human life, illustrating just how quickly one’s life can begin, as well as end (link to blog on Jacques’ philosophy here).

Finally, the study of Shakespeare through tutorials, lectures and blogging, has enabled me to understand the power that literature holds.Whilst Shakespeare composed a variety of a texts in a world that was less advanced than ours, the issues in which he explored in his plays are issues which people of the 21st century can relate to. What I truly find astonishing, is how the control of language through a variety of literary devices, can instantly transport an individual to the time it was being written in. William Shakespeare has been hailed one of the most influential writers of all time and now that I have completed the Shakespeare unit, I can truly see why he is. His works have had a major impact on our world, as they are studied and performed by individuals from all across the globe. Now that I think of it, a world without Shakespeare would be nothing but a big, black hole!  Anyone who studies Shakespeare is bound to see that it improves their literature skills. As shown to us by Shakespeare, Literature, is more than just writing on a piece of paper. Literature, is the every day lives of human beings, evident through the timeless themes Shakespeare explored in his plays. I will forever be appreciative of how the study of Shakespeare has deepened my understanding of life and the world in so many different ways. Although Shakespeare is no longer alive, he will continue to live on forever, as he lives in the hearts of so many people. Thank you, Sir William Shakespeare. I will forever cherish the ways in which you greatly impacted the study of literature.

Of course, the study of Shakespeare would not have been that of a delightful one if it was not for (drum roll please)…Mr Michael Griffith! I would like to take this time to thank Michael for all the hard work he put into creating such a wonderful unit. His enthusiasm, knowledge and love for literature is the reason why I have grown a love for Shakespeare like never before. I cannot wait to embed what I have learned from this semester into my future English classrooms. I have enjoyed every moment of Shakespeare and the Renaissance and I cannot wait for next semester!