How Do I Love Thee?

Here I am looking at Valentine's Day and seeing how differently we all approach love.  Love is not an easily described emotion and can range from the sweetest friendship to the most passionate love affair.  Love can point to love for self, but is best expressed in love for others on a day like today. 

Realizing that Valentine's is usually a day for candy and flowers to reign supreme in the high school I teach at, I prepared to teach sonnets.  Here's a quick reminder about sonnets:

• Sonnets are 14 lines of poetry
• Written in iambic pentameter (stressed syllable followed by an unstressed)  
• There are two main types of sonnets, the Italian (or the Petrarchan) and the Shakespearean (or English).  
• Sonnets tend to be about themes like love, religion, or politics. 

Together, we read Elizabeth Barrett Browning's famous "How Do I Love Thee?"--Sonnet 43, addressing things like tone, literary devices, etc.  We then followed it with Shakespeare's beautiful Sonnet 116 that has been immortalized in the 1995 film adaptation of Sense and Sensibility. In searching out the clip on YouTube, I also ran across a beautiful montage that has been adapted from this same sonnet.  Both are beautiful and now have me thinking more about types of love.  While most expressions of love seem to be aimed at "romance," I do think that both of these sonnets speak about lovely ideals that make love lasting, to endure the challenges life bears.

The first clip is the scene from Sense and Sensibility, and the second is that lovely montage that includes Pride and Prejudice, Emma, and North and South.  Enjoy!

This was actually a very nice Valentine's Day.  How was your day?

A Shakespeare Sunday

Where did my week go? That's what I've been asking myself for the past couple of days. Our school district had Friday off, but I had signed up to attend a Shakespeare conference all day. At first, I really just wanted to back out on the conference and stay home to get a few things done, but now I'm pretty glad I went. The conference turned out to be a great choice, and really inspiring.

I don't know how many of you might agree, but I've never been a terribly huge fan of Shakespeare. I know...gasp. How could it be? Truth be told, I always saw Shakespeare as something that was so high brow that I needed to be ready to engage my brain, to read with a pen, and to be ready to cross reference. I don't know that I've read Shakespeare in any other way!

At this conference, the professors there taught us new things to do in the teaching of Shakespeare that I found really exciting. Here are the things I learned:

• We can use Shakespeare's plays to do "Table Talks" where students read a scene and determine what is meant in the scene, and ways they might deliver it to the rest of the class.
• That students should be like the "groundlings" of Shakespeare's original plays by being an active part in the reading and acting of the play, that actors CAN and should include the audience.
• Students should get on their feet and read lines out loud, to feel the way the words sound in their mouths. (Most fun was when we were asked to use insults Shakespeare included in his plays and to roam around and sling them at someone. How fun to call someone a maggot pie!)
• Props should be used as a way of determining emotions and ideas not expressed through the words.
  

In short, I learned that Shakespeare can be best enjoyed through active engagement with it. I don't know that I can do that when I need to just read a play, but I'll definitely address more of these as I teach his work in the future.

As for this Sunday, I'll be trying to get through some of my library books, as I have six new books waiting for me, and I'm at my limit for number to be checked out!

Review: Macbeth by William Shakespeare

I finally settled down enough to finish off Shakespeare's famous play Macbeth. Now I know that most people believe that English teachers just adore Shakespeare. Well...I don't. I have plays that I like, and that I like to teach, but I'm not a die-hard fan. It's not that I don't think that Shakespeare is brilliant, with an amazing range and ability to utilize language and human nature. I know how amazing he is, but for whatever reason, it just wasn't my big interest in college or as an adult. Yes, be shocked. My English department teases me from time to time when/if it comes up. (I try to keep quiet about it!)

This particular play not only fulfills my requirement for "What People Expect a Teacher to Read" (of my own making), but also for the Shakespearean Summer Challenge, being hosted by Liv's Book Reviews. I have now completed one of my three, to be completed by August 31st.

Synopsis: Semi-good guy gets power hungry. Kills or schemes the murder of multiple characters. Gets just reward for said murder and killing.

Okay, so not a good synopsis, but I will say that the overriding theme of this play is power & greed. Set in Scotland, Macbeth and Banquo return from battle having pushed back the enemies. They are told by three witches a prophecy of their futures, which includes titles and even crowning as king. Rather than wait to see how this prophecy might be fulfilled, Macbeth returns to his wife and they set out to make it come true, even if that means the killing of those who stand between them and said title.

Review: Since it's been about 17 years since I last read this play, I only remembered the broad ideas and plot, so revisiting the language and story again were well worth my time. As Shakespeare was known to do brilliantly, he showed how even the most common man can fall victim to vices of pride, greed, lust, hate, envy, etc. The thirst for power, and the ensuing paranoia that endeavour creates, really sent the message across loud and clear. Overall, I found this to be a great cautionary tale for myself, reminding me that even the most centered person can be enticed by worldly pursuits to the point that they would cause harm or injury to another to get ahead.

Now for the big question. Why in the world are these lines from Act IV:I so well-known and famous?

Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.

Are they famous just because three witches recite them and they are lyrical and use assonance and alliteration to cast their spell? I get that they are increasing the trouble to come to Macbeth, but what else am I missing here? What has given these lines their power and popularity?

Two Challenges: 48 Hour Book Challenge & A Shakespearean Summer

Just really quickly, I wanted to post two new challenges I've joined. I suppose that as I look ahead at a wonderful summer of reading and relaxing, I'm thinking about ways I can push myself to read things I want AND need! So, here are the challenges I've joined:

On June 5th through June 7th, I will joining in on "The Fourth Annual 48 Hour Book Challenge" being hosted by MotherReader. I so enjoyed cheering on all those who participated in the Dewey, 24 Hour Challenge, that I decided I really should participate by being a reader/blogger in this event! Since I fly to Hawaii for the summer on June 3rd, and will be there until August 10th, I think this would be a fun way to kick off my first weekend on summer break! Check the links above for additional information.

I've also joined the "Shakespearean Summer" Challenge, to read three plays between June 1st and August 31st. The challenge is being hosted by Liv's Book Reviews, and is also being sponsored by Liz Mantchev, who will be giving away a free copy of her book Eyes Like Stars. Here are the rules to the challenge:

So onto the rules.
1. You must read three plays by Shakespeare between June 1st and August 31st. There's a list of all of his stuff toward the bottom of this page.
2. After you've finished reading one, do a post about it on your blog. Link back to this original post in your own post so people can see what it's all a part of.
3. If you don't have a blog, leave your thoughts in the comments of this post so there's some sort of documentation.
4. The Sparknote versions of the plays can count. Because yes, Shakespeare is hard to understand and sometimes we might need a little help along the way. I know that I'll be reading some Sparknotes.
5. Have fun.

Drop by to see all the information about the challenge, and to sign up. (Click on the link above.)

I'm so looking forward to both of these challenges, and can't wait to get my summer started now! If you get a chance, come join in. :)

One HECK of a Week

Sigh...so glad it's "Fall Back" time so that I get an extra hour. This last week our grades were due, so honestly, I ran this grading marathon to wrap things up on Wednesday. In fact, I went right home and climbed into bed at 6:30 pm. Ah! :) You would think that would have gotten me by, but no such thing. Keeping up with all the students I've had who have been out with mono, surgeries, and other illnesses kept me busy even after grades were due. So, Thursday night I repeated Wednesday night! Friday, I didn't get a chance to go to bed that early, as Doc, Cool Breeze, and I met at Melting Pot to discuss Dracula, which none of us had technically finished. Doc had read it before though, and so we moved on to discussing what we'll be reading this month. I'll post another "small" post to let you know what it is!

Now off to what I've either picked away at over the last week, or tore through today out of a desperate need to do what I wanted. Well, first off I have to say how completely enamored I am again with Friends!


They saved my sanity these past couple of weeks, as I have kept them running in the background as I've graded papers, and as an escape from stress at night. I love them!


Last week I finally got my hands on a new BBC set of mini-stories based on four of Shakespeare's famous plays, Shakespeare Retold. I watched the Much Ado About Nothing modernization last weekend, but didn't get a chance to watch the three others until Saturday morning (because I had to take it back to the library). Admittedly, I'm not a huge Shakespeare fan (before you freak out...I DO know he's a genius of language), and since I was in a hurry to return this to the library, I sort of fast forwarded through the remaining tales on the discs. My favorite one though was Taming of the Shrew, which starred that one girl ghost in the Harry Potter films as the Shrew. It was actually pretty good!

I also woke early (6am!) this morning, so I grabbed a nice bowl of Fiber One Cereal (YUCK), and watched BBC's adaptation of Elizabeth Glaskell's novel Wives and Daughters.


Okay, so it was good...but...I HATED THE ENDING!!! Sigh. Why watch four hours of a movie if the ending can't match the tension created in the first 99% of the film!?! Yes, it made me a bit crazy. I won't say I didn't like it, but would it kill these uptight characters to lock lips for even the minutest, most congenial kiss!!!

So, the last thing on my list then is a quick review of a book I've been TRYING to pull myself through for over six weeks (I've renewed it three times, and it's due tomorrow!), The Truth about Forever by Sarah Dessen.
A student had recommended it to me last school year, and I had meant to read it over the summer, but selfishly read mass amounts of my favorite MEG CABOT. :) Well, as several people can tell you, when pushed repeatedly to read a book, I sometimes get stubborn as a mule and decide I don't want to read it. Now it's all subconscious...I promise, but I just balk and feel like I'm somehow not choosing the book. This book happened to fall into the category of, "I'm forcing you to read this and will pull my student-who-wants-your-feedback card if I have to!" I've seen a million girls (yes, I exaggerate) packing around Sarah Dessen novels, and maybe it's the pastel colors and sweet titles that made me vomit slightly into my mouth, but I'd made a promise, and I was bound by my oath as an English teacher that makes too many promises to read the thing. Guess what? It was pretty good. I'm not big on the "my dad died and now I have to get over it" plots (as too close to home and make me roll my eyes at the emotional manipulation), but once I sat down today (sorry...lounged in a nice bubble bath) to finish the last half of the book that I'd been picking at for weeks, it wasn't half bad. The story is engaging, and while not surprising, it still made me care about her. She packs her nerdy, genius boyfriend off to "Brain Camp" for the summer, to work his boring job at the library. He basically dumps her, and she picks up the pieces by kind of finding herself. Yes, there are other love interests who pop up, but that's all I'll say.

While a little sweetsy at times, I had to smile and think about how much I would have loved this story if it were the 16 year old version of myself. I would have probably started packing around every pastel-colored copy of a Sarah Dessen book on the planet. They are relatively clean, have characters who value their insides over their outsides, and have connections to their families. Overall, I'm happy to say I can go back to my student and tell her I read it, and actually kind of liked it.

Well, back to grading essays! From one book-sex-love-entertainment-free time-time off starved single gal to another...Mahalo, and I'll be back baby. :)

Get Thee To a Nunnery!

After teaching two sections of 12th grade English this summer, I had a few questions about my students' perception of Ophelia from Shakespeare's play Hamlet. Without spoiling the issue they had with Ophelia, and thereby ruining the book, let's just say that they thought that Hamlet and Ophelia's relationship went way beyond a promise and a flirtation. I kept scratching my head over the suppositions they kept making, until I picked up Lisa Klein's YA novel Ophelia.

While not my favorite read of the summer or even year, I could appreciate yet another remake of a "classic" tale. The language tries to imitate some of the sound of Shakespeare, but NOT at the same time. It's a pretty easy read, but feels familiar, and not just becuase I've read the play. I can't really put my finger on it, but even though it was a retelling and meant to be surprising, you really could tell where it was heading. Did I enjoy it? Well...it's not bad, but it's not one I'll be keeping around.

This has me wondering though what's up with us that we keep thirsting after and reading all these reworked stories? In a way, at least from my end, it's starting to get old! I know that sounds snobby, but after reading a slew of pretty horrid retellings, I'm ready for some pretty original thinking again. Sigh...I guess I am sounding snobby, especially after recommending "Lost in Austen" as a new TV series in Great Britain.

So far (and although you have to watch it on YouTube), I'm loving it! In fact, Doc sat in the recliner in my room while we watched the 2nd installment of the show from my 27" computer screen (huge discount on it when I bought my new HP this fall). It's whitty, engaging, and funny to watch this snarky Bridget-esque girl from the present step into Pride and Prejudice of the past. It's just fun!

One last recommendation, and then I'll head back to grading response papers (yuck!). As noted previously, I have a teenage-like, yet adult size crush on Richard Armitage. Well, he's currently starring in the BBC drama "Robin Hood." I actually just finished Netflixing the first Season last week, and spent yesterday and today watching the first two discs while I was grading papers. To tell you the truth, it really floats my boat. :) Not only is Armitage smoking hot in black leather as bad dude Guy Gisbourne (wait...is that the REAL reason I'm watching???), but the story is fun to watch. If you're looking for a clean series with action, history, and a nice dose of romance (oh, and hot guys in leather), then I heartily recommend getting your hands on "Robin Hood."


Well, I have midterms this next week, and about 100 papers left to grade, so my reading for pleasure or future GRE purposes could go decidedly downhill. :( So, until I return, Cheers!

P.S. Let me know if you've read or seen any of the things I've posted. I'd love to hear anyone's response about them! Oh, and "G" from KSU...If you read this, I'm still waiting for a link to your blog! :)