Learning Outcomes: This semester, I've been able to meet many of my goals. I feel as though my effort in this class has sufficiently fulfilled many of the specific learning outcomes (I'm including Engaging Shakespeare Creatively because it is in the works). I've engaged the text by reading scholarly articles, researching cultural elements, and watching film adaptations.
Reading and Research: So far, I've successfully kept up with our class's schedule of a play a week. I've read Hamlet, Henry V, The Taming of the Shrew, King Lear, and The Tempest. Some secondary critical works that have shaped my learning include our textbook, The Necessary Shakespeare, as well as several specific scholarly articles such as "The Problem of Henry V" by Malcolm Pittock and "Rape and the Romanticization of Shakespeare's Miranda" by Jessica Slights. Many of my independent inquiries involve researching the meaning of various plant life mentioned within the plays, looking for background history to give context, and comparing Shakespeare to works read in my other classes. For example, on at least two occasions, I've compared Shakespeare to Geoffrey of Monmouth's "A History of the Kings of Britain" and "The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles."
Personal Impact: The most engaging part of my Shakespeare study so far has been simply becoming more familiar with his language and his writing. The more I read, the easier I find it to understand the Elizabethan language. My approach to reading has definitely changed during this class. Instead of jumping blindly into a text, I now spend time on each play reading summaries, background information, and watching film adaptations. When I finally get to the text, I already have questions and ideas about what I want to learn in that specific play. This course has made me become a much more active reader. Instead of simply plowing through a text just to get it done, I find myself taking more time on each page, asking questions and really wanting to know the answers. I believe that being able to design my own learning plan and decide what I want to learn about really makes an impact. I obviously don't have the same interests as the rest of the class, and this way I can take my own path.
Personal Evaluation: So far, I believe that I've done best at gaining Shakespeare literacy, analyzing themes and characters, and connecting and sharing Shakespeare meaningfully. I need to work on doing more formal writing, engaging Shakespeare creatively (although this is in the works), and analyzing Shakespeare's language more specifically.
Peer Influence: I really appreciated David Tertipes's comment on my Personal Learning Plan that helped me decide to read Henry V since I wasn't familiar with the history plays. He also wrote a great historical summary that I linked to on one of my posts. I also enjoyed Lindsay Brock's comment on one of my posts where I compared King Lear to the original text. She asked which text I thought was more effective, something I hadn't even thought about because I was too busy comparing specific words. I appreciated that her comment made me step back from the texts a little bit and just focus on the overall meanings.
