Christella, you have demonstrated a great understanding of Hermia’s anger. I wish you had explored the language that Shakespeare uses in your letter, as I feel it would make the letter seem more congueous with the actual play. Other than this I ejoyed your letter. You’ve incorporated all the parts of Hermia’s story that are relevant to the subject. Good work!
Author: erinbayas
Peer Review 2
A Response to Emma
Emma-
I enjoyed your review as it really opened my eyes to some of the casting choices. Specifically my criticism of the way Cleopatra was caste. Your description of the casting as being relative to their mental ages and a way in which to further modernise the play was something I had not understood upon watching the play, and writing my own review. It explains a lot of Cleopatra’s manerisms and expressions that I had criticised. Thanks for opening my eyes a little!
Erin
Love is a game, but she’s playing chess, and he’s playing blackjack.
On my first blog I recieved a peer review which discussed the potential for this scene to be written from Antony’s point of view, and as there are no formal topics for this week, I thought I would challenge myself a bit! I don’t really like Antony too much and I find it much more difficult writing the character being manipulated than the manaipulator, so bear with me if its bad!
Continue reading “Love is a game, but she’s playing chess, and he’s playing blackjack.”
Peer Review 1
A Response to Raina
Hi Raina!
First off, I just want to say I’m realy glad you were so inspired by Cleopatra! I too find her to be an amazing woman and her portrayal in Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra has cemented her as one of my favourite female characters in literature. I would have liked, however, for you to go into more detail about why you find her so empowering. I understand you admire that her steadfast approach to her country in the wake of Antony’s unstable emotions but I want to know why she inspires you “as a woman” as you say. I personally find her manipulative side interesting and believe it speaks to her strength in her context and am interested to see if you agree!
One final note; take care with your spelling! Calved/carved was the one i picked out – not that my spelling is perfect!
Looking forward to seeing more from you!
Erin
Bell Shakespeare: Antony and Cleopatra
Love is a game and she always wins.
Act 1 scene 3 of Antony Cleopatra dramatizes a couple in the throes of a domestic argument about allegiances. Try to create a short dramatic scene (in the form of a short drama extract) that captures some of the energy that might fly around in a modern version of this scene.
Ahahah…. short….
Cleopatra. Iconic model. Fashion superstar. Social Influencer. Monumentally pissed off. Her shrill screams rang through the halls of her Beverly Hills mansion. She burst through the doors to her bedroom, red faced and sharp eyed, followed closely by her assistant, Alexis, and Charlie, her best friend and ex-lover.
Summative Entry
American Literature has been a wild ride. From the richly descriptive natural scenes of the Native Americans to the wild and disruptive work of the Beat Generation I have found myself stunned and surprised at every corner. I have been exposed to so many new writing styles and authors that I can scarce remember all their names, however their words will stay with me long after the conclusion of this unit. My own writing has grown and matured though the study of these authors, and through regular writing both creatively and critically.
A more personal response is required for this unit however. I am easily distracted. I find things boring easily, and do not connect well with texts I do not immediately enjoy. This can be beneficial, as when I do connect to a text, I immediately absorb the information, and enthusiastically look for more, however it remains a hinderance in the texts that are more ponderous to read. For this reason I found this blog extremely helpful in expanding my literary boundaries- I was forced to study such a wide range of texts that I would have otherwise discarded out of disinterest. Do not mistake my tone here- as I, so often, have done with the texts I have commented on. I am extremely grateful for this task. This sustained effort has revealed much to me about my own abilities that I never would have realised before.
Overall, this has been the most rewarding, and interesting time of my university experience, and I thank all those who shared it with me.
Summative Entry
In reflection I feel like these blogs have definitely done me some good. Before I began writing them I found it difficult to talk about texts briefly and succinctly, however now I find it much easier. I was also glad at a chance to improve my creative writing as it is an area I feel I should practice in, but rarely do. This unit overall has broadened my writing skills, and allowed me to understand text I otherwise may have discarded. The texts we have studied have benefited me in both writing style and simple understanding of the world around me. I thoroughly enjoyed learning the contexts behind the texts we studied and furthermore being able to better understand the thoughts and feeling of Indigenous people, and Australian writers in general. It has been a journey through history to get to this point, and I am humbled and honoured to have taken it with my fellow students and with Michael and Jess.
I found love in a drug induced haze
From today’s massive, subversive and powerfully creative world of the Beats and beyond which artist and/or writer inspired you most? Which unresolved question did they bring to stir your imagination? Which innovation in language, in image most struck your sense of what was powerful and new?
I found love in Allen Ginsberg’s drug and sex induced haze. I have never fallen so completely in love with a writing style, and I found when reading the poem aloud (as is my custom with poetry) the words flowed in a way I had never heard them flow before. The movement of sound was simply marvelous, part song, part story, part poem. The simply state of free flowing, honest madness was something I couldnt look away from. The references to Moloch, the god associated with child sacrifice, further drew me in as it served to further his anti-establishment adgenda, while simultaneously turning “the greatest minds of [his] generation” into martyrs, sacrificed to an evil presence. The slow descent into true madness in this poem is so well done it set my heart to beating double, and my world to moving faster. In short- it gave me anxiety. However this does not count against it. It is by far my favourite poem I have read all semester.
Peer Review 8
Hey Jessica,
I found your poem both heartbreaking and refreshing, as it shows a side to mental illness that very few other works show. My interpretatin of the poem is of the personas friend slowly distancing themself, preparing themself for the persona’s inevitable death. Building the coffin, as you say. As somebody who suffers from mental illness I found this particularly poingant, as I have watched my friends slowly fade into the background of my life, not for lack of caring, but for fear of what I may be about to do. I watched my friends build my coffin, but luckily the experience did not leave me as it left your persona. Your use of the fire in the poem is also very striking to me, as you put it forward as a trial, as an alternative to the cold coffin, and indeed forcing yourself to pull out of that coffin is like crawling through fire. It burns, but it proves to yourself that youre alive. Overall I loved this poem, and I look forward to reading the rest of your blog.
Do You Know What Time It Is? 