This is the third major work by Shakespeare you have studied during your high school experience. What do you genuinely think, (with no fluff or b.s. permitted)? Why Shakespeare at all? How is he/is he not genius? Is his language relevant? If you despise Shakespeare, why do so many people enjoy his works? If you love Shakespeare, why do so many people loathe his works? You may type as much/little as you like, as long as you are honest and invested. Say something that really matters to you here.
You must respond to this post and to two other student comments, which will make this a legitimate discussion forum. A good way to get someone to respond to your comment is to include a question for someone to directly answer. Or, be boldly opinionated enough--without being childishly offensive--to generate a response.
Here's some boldness: Some people would say/think these things; I would not. "If you cannot or will not appreciate and love Shakespeare, you are an idiot." or "If you love Shakespeare, there is something wrong with you--you are out of touch with reality and need your brain examined (you might need a lobotomy, in fact)." or "If you don't like Shakespeare, you are not a human being, because human beings feel emotions and Shakespeare's plays are packed with emotional scenes and speeches." or "If you love Shakespeare, you are not tough, manly, or cool." or "If you do not love Shakespeare, you do not fully live." or "If you enjoy Shakespeare, you are wasting your time with out-of-date language and stupid stories of love, revenge, and so on, that will never help you think any better or get anything you don't have already. WASTE OF TIME."
Are we becoming academically lazy? Or would more interesting, relevant, and current material help us THINK CRITICALLY (the main purpose of this class) well enough and/or better than Shakespearean material? For instance, what would help you in life better, a Shakespeare semester course elective, or a film history and criticism
semester course elective? Couldn't we learn about evil through/with "The Hills Have Eyes"? Couldn't we learn about love through/with "The Notebook" or "Twilight" or "One Tree Hill"? Be "easier" and better, right? Maybe we cannot get emotionally involved in Othello, because we are too busy trying to understand what is being done and said?! Maybe we shouldn't even try to get emotionally attached to Shakespeare, but isn't that the point of drama?
Maybe we should cut all that is too tough: Anatomy, Trigonometry...?
431 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 401 – 431 of 431andrew your right there is a lot of life to live. but havnt we lived 17 years of it? isnt that a lot? i know that i have learned and have grown a lot in 17 years.
arent we all ignorant at some point i know someone who wasn't well don't know, but read about, Aaron "marty" martinson, best man alive
To Leah:
You are ignorant for thinking ignorant people are annoying. :)
Emotions are emotions, regardless of age, right?
yes there has but deffinitely not enough to get entangled into things that are way out of our reach, for instance touchy subject but suicide at a young age, were 18 so much more to life, a bad relationship, there is others more fish in the sea, i mean there comes a point where only you can make you happy so why let others bring you down or allow yourself to go nuts over a pyscho ex, or a cheathing lover
chris: it might not appeal to teenagers but it still applys. im not saying i would read it either because i probably wouldnt.
I agree with Joey B. Shakespeare truly was a master of language, and those that don't respect him enough usually don't understand that his materials are still relatable today, even though he was using 15th century words and styles.
I'm extremely ignorant (on/in many subjects), but I'm willing to attempt and listen to new ideas. Some people are not open to newness--which bothers me greatly.
tj. and your ignorant for thinking im ignorant.
Andrew;
Just because we're 17-18ish doesn't mean we have a long life in front of us and tons of stuff to experience. Life comes at you fast. I don't remember the point you were making, I was just supposed to reply to one other persons.
andrew: yes touchy subject. believe me. im not going to got there today.
andrew: yes touchy subject. believe me. im not going to got there today.
ah thats a good point everyone is ignorant to a degree but those who are a little willing to listen to a new idea are that much better or just listen to others even if they are completely wrong
I agree with TJ, sometimes we try to look too deep when we can understand what is at the surface. We can clearly see Othello being blinded by rage.
Leah not everything with relationships are the same as back then. they would probibly kill there partners for that sort of stuff. Even if you look into today devorce rates are skyrocketing. Many spouces are getting devorces then they did just 10 to 50 years ago.
I believe that Karn is ignorant
Is this true?:
Four-year colleges offer you much of what you will not "use," just like high school, because you will "grow personally."
Technical schools/colleges do not offer you much of what you will not "use," because you do not need to "grow personally."
Kaitlin G. makes a great point about Shakespeare directing us in learning how to learn. I defend math classes with this logic.
Leah,
Everyone's ignorant about something. I'm ignorant about rap. I can't stand it and no one can change my mind. The same applies to people that don't like Shakespeare.
mik if you found out your girlfriend was cheating what would you do? dump her? its the same idea. but to an extreme. and your right in todays society its very extreme. regardless you would still be pissed like othello
Andrew was right when he said everyone is ignorant to degree. What matters is whether or not you are willing to listen to a new idea, or if you are too stubborn to listen to somebody else.
ah yah very true leah sorry, but what i'm trying to say is the play entagles emotions to an extreme point that at this young age we need to realize that there is so much more so much more time so many better peopple....etc
Othello has been blind and sleeping this entire play. Shakespeare made him incapable of handling Iago's lies.
Shakespeare the Racist Bigot?
tj im not saying im not ignorant because i am. like sports. i dont get it either but i am saying that maybe people who dont understnad the connections between shakespears writings and society are ignorant to the issues. or even the writings.
Did you know that the brain can be split in two and each half will work independant of the other.
I find this VERY interesting.
Double your processing power and maybe you'll understand Shakespeare more easily?
wow tom
your right andrew. and im saying that people are still sometimes crazy. and its okay. dont worrry about it.
p.7
I'm not sure I like the plot of Othello. The stories we've read by Shakespeare have usually resulted in death, except for A midsummer Night's dream, where everybody ended up happy. I agree that Shakespeare gets people and knows human emotion, but I don't really like a lot of the emotions some humans have. In day to day life, we're constantly reminded of how cruel people can be. In books, I personally want a way to escape the world, I want everything to turn out well in the end, because in life it doesn't always. I want to get hope from reading stories. Shakespeare is hard to understand, but what I do understand is always harsh and disgustingly true.
okay so i wasn't here when we did the in class blogging so i'm just gonna put my input in anyways to get the points...
i think shakespeare is a waste of time. it seems like all the plays are the same old thing over and over again. two people fall in love that are forebidden from it. everyone gets upset over it, the good guys die. end of story. i also find it hard to read and get into because you can not understand the language that shakespeare uses. also like mallory said.. no one really even knows all that much about shakespeare other than reading his plays. he is kind of a mystery it seems like.
pd 7
Shakespeare wrote great stories, but those stories take so much time to manipulate and translate into language that's understandable to us, that it's monotonous. I think that movies definitely do help to ease the tedium, especially movies like O that do all of the translation for you. On the other hand translation to such an extent makes it unShakespeare.
And this story is good because it's more complex and deep than two young teenagers following lust to death. I knew a guy that did that, it's heartbreaking but on the surface we're all just like "why"? patience. Othello is the casualty of greed, jealousy, and deception.
Getting Rid of shakespeare would be getting rid of a language and the art form of the language. He was talented enough to twist the language into meaningful if difficult phrases.
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