The History and Language Behind Shakespeare

       I won't lie, I did not find the essays we read for class as engaging as everyone else seems to have. I did however love reading about the history of the time. I love history and both essays gave a little window into the world Shakespeare inhabited. During his lifetime, the world moved from the Dark Ages into the Renaissance. There were all sorts of revolutions going on; religious, scientific, literature, music and so much more. All of these had effects on Shakespeare's and his contemporaries writings.
      Both Shakespeare and Marlowe were a big part of the Renaissance movement. Plays had generally been about the bible or the goings on in the time. These two men introduced the idea of the drama. The drama might not have been as successful in England at this time had it not been for the "violent revolutionary war" (Hughes pg. 6) between the Protestants and the Catholics at the time. The land was strife with religious contention. The Queen had outlawed Catholicism and anyone found practicing it would be killed. Then the Puritans emerged and caused even more contention.
      One thing about the Puritans that stuck out to me was that they disapproved of theater. They managed to close down quite a few theaters putting people like Shakespeare out of business. I knew they were rather stuck up and too strict for anyone's own good but to do away with theater? That's inhuman to me. Try to imagine our world without theater. No drama classes, no television, no movies, no plays, no actors, no film makers, nothing. Life would be dull. It's a good thing Shakespeare and others were able to appeal to the aristocracy. The aristocrats were very much attracted to theater and everything about it. And of course because the aristocrats loved theater many commoners would mimic them and choose to enjoy theater too.
     Thus comes the use of his creativeness. The aristocrats at the time were very much in the want for expanding their vocabulary. Shakespeare obliged. Of course with the introduction of new words, how does he explain it to those (mostly commoners) who did not know the words? Easy, Shakespeare simply created a new way of speaking. We even use this method today though most of us do not know this. An example of his method is : To act her earthy and abhorred commands. Everyone new what earthy meant so when he used abhorred no one would misunderstand what it meant. Using synonyms or words with similar meanings to define another word is a common practice today. Really pay attention to what you say the next time you explain something and see how you use this method.

In the Minority

I have noticed that in our lovely little Shakespeare class that one of my classmates has a friend who is a Snow Science Major (and yes, it is a major not a minor). She had very little interest in Shakespeare and other literary topics. While talking about her I got the impression that the English majors I was surrounded by  thought all science majors felt this way. Here I am to say "NAY!" I am a Paleontology major (and before anyone asks NO IT IS NOT THE SAME THING AS INDIANA JONES. He's an archaeologist who works with boring people. I work with dinosaurs which are far more awesome.) I also like to read...a lot. In fact, I have read quite a bit of Shakespeare and not once did I ever complain to a teacher about how it was boring and I couldn't understand it. I loved every minute of it. I mean, he wrote some of the best insults in the English language!

Our teacher has mentioned time and again that this class will work to "redeem the past from insignificance." What a fantastic concept for someone like me. My whole career is about digging up the past, putting it together and sharing it with the world. It's the same idea with Shakespeare. In my field, it starts with discovering a bone. This is equivalent to picking up a play by Shakespeare either for fun or by taking a class. After the bone is discovered, it needs to be cataloged, mapped and dug out. With Shakespeare, one might try reading up on a bit of his background, what society and culture were like at the time, etc, etc. After the bone is removed it is taken to a museum and cleaned and prepped for the show room. This would be where you read the play. Last, the bone is put on display with the rest of it's skeleton. By this point, you should be able to read and understand most of what the play is about.

I am currently reading King Lear in my LIT 201 class (so that puts me ahead in this one) and I couldn't help but enjoy this passage:
               "A knave, a rascal, an eater of broken meats; a base, proud, shallow, beggarly, three-suited, hundred-pound, filthy worsted-stocking knave; a lily-livered, action-taking, whoreson, glass-gazing, superserciveable, finical rogue; one-trunk-inheriting slave; one that wouldst be a bawd in way of good service, and art nothing but the composition of knave, beggar, coward, pander, and the son and heir of a mongrel bitch; one whom I will beat into clamorous whining if thou deniest the least syllable of thy addition."
             This is spoken by the Duke of Kent to a servant named Oswald. How would you like to have that thrown in your face?
             There will eventually be thoughts on Hughes and Turner soon! In the meantime, please enjoy this episode of Doctor Who where Shakespeare takes on some witches:
The Shakespeare Code

Hello World!
      This is Jennifer Cozart and I am doing this blog for an awesome Shakespeare class. Now, you may be wondering why I would take an entire class dedicated to every high schooler's worst nightmare. Frankly, his works were my favorite to read. Yes, Romeo and Juliet was basically teenage lust and kind of stupid, but I got to be Brutus in Julius and I actually got to use one of those really cool retractable Halloween knifes on the kid who played Julius Caesar, so yes, Shakespeare can be totally awesome. If you still don't believe me, here's proof:
Doctor Who
And if you still don't believe me, here's one more piece of evidence:
Harry Potter
Hopefully you will enjoy this blog and all it has to offer and hopefully, you will be convinced to read Shakespeare!