Dec. 4th Blog 14: Pericles

The last play that we have read in Shakespeare class is Pericles. I’m not even quite sure what to say about it. It was weird and interesting at the same time. I don’t mean a bad kind of weird but a good kind. I wanted to know what would happen if anyone other than Cleon found out about what Dionyza had done. She killed Leonine because he was a witness to what she had planned for Marina. I got the feeling especially when Act 4, scene 3 was acted out in class, that if Cleon were to even mention telling about what had been planned, Dionyza would kill him for it.

I loved the ending of this play and I was glad it was acted out in class. I really love endings that are happy and when family can reunite and finally be a family and not have to wonder who each other are. Like Marina finally gets to meet her father and mother even though she knew of them, she gets to see/hear them and get to know them on a more personal/intimate level. Pericles has went through so much throughout this play and he gets his happily ever after. He gets to meet his daughter who he left as a baby and then was told she was dead. He also gets to reunite with his wife who he thought was dead.

One thing I find crazy about Antiochus is how the only way someone could marry his daughter was to figure out the riddle. Once Pericles does, he wants to kill him because he know’s Pericles will tell about the incest. I believe he just hoped no one would figure out the riddle so the incest could continue but he had to fake trying to marry his daughter off so no one would suspect what was really going on. We never do see Antiochus’ wife in the play and do not get her perspective on what is happening. Maybe she does not know or she is like some of the women we have seen in Shakespeare’s plays, like Ophelia who is obedient and does not say anything unless she is told to.

Throughout this semester, we have read some interesting plays and I have gained knowledge about Shakespeare and some of his plays. I was kind of worried coming into this class that I would leave and still not understand a single piece of information from these plays, but I was wrong and have enjoyed this semester. One thing I was really worried about in this class was when I found out we had to act out scenes in the plays. At first, I really did not like the idea and did not understand what it really meant when we would be acting. I finally did find out what it meant and to be honest, I enjoyed the days when we did act because I felt like I learned more during those days. If we would have had more time, I think each play should have been acted out from front to back and I feel I would have learned a bit more that way. No matter what though, I had a fun semester in this class and do feel like I am on the way to understanding Shakespeare a little more each time I go back and look at the plays.

Nov. 20th Blog 13: Othello

During this semester we have only read two tragedy plays and while one, Hamlet, can be seen as completely false, the other, Othello, has some believable qualities. Iago is a very good liar and he is seen causing trouble. I would say everyone has encountered someone like Iago. We normally talk to someone who is a very good listener like Iago but they take that information and turn it around so they can use it against us. Iago sees Desdemona and Cassio hold hands when Othello arrives at Cyprus. He uses this show of affection, even though it means nothing, for his revenge. He is very observant.

In Act 3 scene 3, Othello wants Iago to give him a reason to why Desdemona is disloyal and Iago goes on to tell Othello what he has heard or seen even though we know those things are false. I like how Shakespeare has Iago though. He shows us that even if we trust someone and tell them everything and act a certain way around them; they can use those things against us so we should be careful what we say and how we act.

I do feel bad for Emilia. She’s married to Iago who is clearly, what I would call, crazy. He’s not just mean but when he kills his own wife, that shows just how crazy he is. He is so bent on his revenge that even killing his wife does not affect him.

I also feel bad for Othello. He is manipulated into thinking these things about his wife, that she’s had an affair and does not love him. So by this manipulation, he kills his wife. This does seem realistic though because some people today in this world will kill their spouse if they suspect or even catch them having an affair. But just like I hear these kinds of stories in the news, I also don’t feel bad for Othello when he finds at that his wife did not have an affair but he can’t do anything but kill himself. Like I always say when I hear these kinds of stories, just talk with your spouse or get a divorce because killing someone for an affair will just come back to harm you more. Othello knows that he will have to face the consequences for killing Desdemona so he chooses the safer option for him which is death.

Overall this story is very believable and will make people question their loyalties and whether those friends or even family members will use anything against them in the future for revenge.

Nov. 13 Blog 12: Troilus and Cressida; Othello

Othello and Troilus and Cressida are two very different plays. I think I liked Troilus and Cressida better though probably due to having read the Aeneid and the Iliad before. Othello was so much more realistic due to the racism in it and how that is still a thing today. I was very shocked by the end of the play. I did not believe Othello would kill his wife, Desdemona. I kept thinking if only he had talked to her and not just accused her of having an affair. I guess when someone like Iago plants so many thoughts into your head, like he did with everyone in the play, you believe him because he seems like a person you could tell all your secrets to.

Othello wanted to fit in even though of his race but he wanted to fit in the wrong way. He killed Desdemona because that’s what the white men around him would do if they caught their wives cheating but thats not a way to fit in. He should have just been himself and talked it out with Desdemona and she would more than likely still be alive. I find it crazy how everyone does not like that Othello is black but they don’t seem particularly hateful towards his face just like Iago going around talking about him but does not talk bad to his face. But that could be because if Iago does that then his plan to get a higher rank would not work, he needed to be honorable to Othello’s face to act like he has had no part in anything that has been going on.

I know Iago is an evil character but I can relate to him. He listens to everyone and plots against them. Its like when one person tells a confidant a secret but doesn't want someone else to know so then that confidant goes to that person that wasn't supposed to know and tells them what the other person said. This kind of thing happens now, someone tells someone something and then it makes its way around to everyone and starts some kind of conflict. Othello is a play everyone can relate to something in their life.

The one character I really liked was Emilia. I have always thought men and women are the same. Emilia is the same; she lives in a world dominated by men, but she knows things aren't the way they seem. It looks like men dominate but behind the curtains, the women have affairs and do other things men do. This still happens today, some couples look happy but behind doors its a different story.

Nov. 6th Blog 11: Troilus and Cressida

Shakespeare’s play, Troilus and Cressida, does not stick to its title. When I had first gotten the book, I thought it would be about a guy named Troilus and a woman named Cressida but no its not. The play is about this war over Helen. Helen and Cressida can be seen as foils though. Here we have Helen who left her husband for Paris while Cressida does not want to leave Troilus, she is forced to. Although she is forced to, she promises to be faithful but that does not happen; she ends up with Diomedes. So both women break their promises. I have some favorite scenes that just seem interesting and odd to me.

In Act 1, scene 2, on page 27, Cressida and Pandarus are talking about the men especially Hector and Troilus. I find it odd how Cressida says in line 78: “He is not Hector.” She keeps coming back to how Troilus is not Hector. I know Shakespeare confuses us and wants us that way so I felt like maybe this was his way of confusing us on how Cressida feels. She does have feelings for Troilus but does not want anyone to know.

In Act 3, scene 2, line 7: “...I stalk about her door”. Troilus says this to Pandarus who is trying to help him get together with Cressida. This line though, I thought was very interesting for Troilus to say. He is basically saying that he has been stalking her which does seem kind of strange and most people today would see it as something crazy and possibly call the police, but his way of doing things paid off for a little bit. I mean he did get together with Cressida.

We talked about Act 4, scene 3, today in class. This was one of the moments I had as one of my favorite scenes. I thought it was so crazy when Paris just basically tells Troilus that he can’t help him to keep the woman he loves because it is out of his hands. But, this whole war is about Paris keeping the woman he loves and Troilus has been helping him with that. I thought about it this way, just like Angela was saying in class today, that I would do anything for my brother and my family. Troilus has been doing everything he can to help his brother but when he is in need of help, his brother says oh he can’t do nothing about it.

Where I thought this play would be about Troilus and Cressida just from the title, it turned out to be about Paris, Helen, and the Trojan war, just like the Aeneid and the Iliad. Since I had already read those two, it was easier to follow along in the play and to see Shakespeare’s way of doing it his way.

Oct. 30th Blog 10: Twelfth Night

Twelfth Night was very interesting to act out in class. I got to play Viola who disguises herself as a man, Cesario, which I really liked to do. I liked it because its not something most people would do today. If someone were to dress as the opposite gender most people would stare and make fun of or something to that degree.

I had a favorite line from Fabian in ACT 3 scene 4, lines 136-137: “If this were played upon a stage now, I could / condemn it as an improbable fiction.” I thought this was funny how Shakespeare put this in his play. It was like he wanted to make it some sort of joke because this is performed on a stage and a character bringing it up is not expected. When a play is performed, its almost like a movie, actors don’t say in a movie how if this was a movie such and such. But actors in a play have more freedom and includes the audience they are performing for, so saying this line could include the audience and to make sure they know that this play is fictional, it’s not real.

I also really liked ACT 2 scene 5 where Malvolio is talking about things he would do if he were Count Malvolio. This scene was acted out in class and I really enjoyed listening to Dr. Plough play Malvolio in this scene because he really got into the role. I had already liked and thought this scene was funny before Dr. Plough acted it out but he just gave it more umph.

The Fool in this play is very different from all the rest. When I picture a fool in a Shakespeare play, I think of someone who’s funny and seemingly crazy but the fool here is none of that really. He has a way with words and every once in a while we might see a funny line but its completely different from what we have come to think of fools in Shakespeare’s plays. With all the other plays we have read so far this semester, the fools have been funny and jumping around, as I usually picture them.

The ending where Olivia, Sebastian, Viola, and Orsino get together, we know they will be getting married which reminds me of “As You Like It” where there is more than one wedding at the end. But since Shakespeare does not like repeating things, he does not show the weddings on stage, they take place offstage unlike his play “As You Like It.” He throws a curveball when he has similarities between the two plays but when we think it will be just like the other play, he says nope, its gonna be this way and puts a twist to it which I think keeps the two plays separate and interesting in their own way.

Oct. 23 Blog 9: Twelfth Night

Twelfth Night is an interesting play written by Shakespeare. It reminds me a lot about his play As You Like It. I thought Twelfth Night was so similar to As You Like it, I wondered why Shakespeare had written two plays so similar but also so different. In As You Like It, I thought it was funny how Rosalind dressed up as Ganymede, I thought it was also funny how Viola dressed up as Cesario. They both disguise themselves as men for different reasons though. Both women while they are in disguise, have other women fall in love with them. In As You Like It, Phoebe fell for Ganymede while in Twelfth Night, Olivia fell for Cesario. We can also see a similarity here because Phoebe already has someone who wants to be with her and so does Olivia and by the end Phoebe does marry the guy, Corin, who loves her but we see that Olivia does not; she marries Viola’s brother. This was a twist compared to As You Like It.

There are many other similarities between As You Like It and Twelfth Night. Olivia confesses her love for Cesario while Phoebe in As You Like It confesses her love for Ganymede. We see fools in both plays, but the fool in this play, Twelfth Night, is not funny. He is actually rude and mean. He helps Maria, Sir Toby, and Sir Andrew when they put Malvolio in a room and torture him. Maria, Sir Toby, and Sir Andrew are cruel to Malvolio and as in As You Like It, Oliver was cruel to his brother trying to kill him but in the end does not because he has an epiphany, while with the three who are mean to Malvolio leaves him in that room until the end when he is remembered and let out.

One thing that I did find very interesting was the twins in Twelfth Night, Sebastian and Viola. I think its interesting because I have never read any of Shakespeare’s plays that have two people who look alike in them. Also, when twins are in a play or any other story, like how Viola disguises herself as Cesario, once her brother comes along, they both get mistaken for the other person. I believe this is why Shakespeare put twins in this play so they would get mistaken and make the play more interesting with two people who look alike. Otherwise, if Viola did not have a twin, she would have had to tell her secret sooner or later and that would have caused more harm probably to her because Olivia had fallen in love with Cesario. With Olivia being a countess, she could have punished Viola for having deceived her.

Oct. 9th Blog 8: Hamlet

Hamlet was not as bad as I thought it was going to be when I first seen we had to read it. I guess everyone has that way about them, they see a book and they judge it before they have even read it. We hear the opinions of others and automatically think the book is no good or maybe its the other way around. Either way it goes, I judged Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, to be a play I would not like no matter what, although sometimes I didn't understand what was going on, I could understand most of what I really needed to know for the play.

I could and still can sometimes relate to Ophelia. She is basically a pawn in a big man’s world. She has to do whatever she is told and I can understand not wanting to disappoint your family and do something they said was not what you should do. She is a woman and has no voice but what others tell her to do. In Act 1, scene 3, Polonius is telling Ophelia to never speak to Hamlet again and she says she will obey but then Polonius has her to help him and the king to spy on Hamlet. We talked about this in class and I found it interesting because we can all relate to her. What I mean is that when we are young, we have to listen to our parents and we try so hard not to disappoint them no matter the cost.

In Act 1, scene 2, lines 74-75, “...all that lives must dies, / Passing through nature to eternity.” I found these two lines to be very powerful to me. I might be wrong but when I read them, especially line 75, I felt like it is saying that we all are here on Earth and we pass through nature, all these seasons, to eternity. We all weather through these seasons, storms, sickness to get to what we see at the end, eternity. Now whether eternity is in heaven or hell depends on how you came through during those bad and good times but we all must die. Every living thing around us will die and there will be nothing left once we are all gone because nature will take over.

Although I still do not particularly like how Hamlet ended, I can see why it did in a way. Hamlet killed Polonius so he was going to have to pay for that sin and die one way or another. As with the other characters, the Queen, Gertrude, is killed because of her sin and King Claudius also. Laertes, he had to die because he would not have made a good king, I do not believe. He listened to what others told him and was determined to kill Hamlet before finding out the details to his fathers death. So yes, I did enjoy learning about Hamlet even though I did judge the book before having read it; I do take back the judgement and say it is interesting and I still do not quite understand it completely but that’s okay.

Oct. 2nd Blog 7: Hamlet

Hamlet is much different than I thought it would be. First of all, some of Hamlet is interesting and other parts are difficult to understand. I mean I can mostly get the gist of what is going on but not the full understanding which I know I probably will never understand it completely but I would really like to understand it a bit more. I had never really heard much about the play Hamlet until this class and I had always had the impression that Hamlet was this person who took charge but we can see in the play that he does not kill Claudius until the end but he has his reasons for that.

The beginning of the soliloquy that Hamlet does in Act 3, scene 1 which begins with, “To be or not to be—that is the question” (line 64). I really like this line. I have actually used it in a poem that I wrote and to be honest I think a lot of people thought that I had put that quote from Shakespeare into my poem on purpose but to be honest, I did not. I have never read Hamlet before and did not realize that this line was a famous line out of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. I guess I have heard it so much that it has just stuck with me, so when I did read this line in Hamlet, I was like, wow! that’s where it came from.

Another line that I find interesting is in Act 3, scene 2, line 254, when the Queen says, “The lady doth protest too much, methinks.” I find this line interesting seeing how the play that is being performed is about the King and Queen. I felt like the Queen was saying that the Player Queen not just talks too much like someone said in class but what she talks about should not be talked about. I feel this way because the Queen did not wait two months before she married the late King, her husband’s, brother so she has no problem with saying yes to everything that goes on whereas, the Player Queen talks more and says how her second marriage is for profit and not love. The Queen never talks out about her marriage or says much to anyone in the play.

The ending of the play struck me because I did not think Hamlet would die. The whole time I was reading I kept thinking that Hamlet would kill Claudius, but when the Queen dies of poison, I figured that Hamlet would still kill Claudius and Laertes and he become King. I was shocked to see that Hamlet dies of being wounded by Laertes. Then, I see that Fortinbras comes in and is probably going to be the next King and all I could say was, hm, okay.

Sept. 25th Blog 6: As You Like It

As You Like It is a great play and I wish we could learn more about it but sadly we will be starting to discuss Hamlet the next class meeting. My favorite scene in the play is ACT 3. SC. 3, lines 433-435, Rosalind is disguised as Ganymede, “I would cure you if you would but call me Rosalind and come every day to my cote and woo me.” I really liked this scene because as we were talking about in class, a guy would normally be playing even the women during a play. But also, with Rosalind disguised as Ganymede, she could say and do whatever she wanted because women were expected to act like women and they weren’t allowed to voice their opinions. So this scene really had an impact on me because I can see how today, women can say and do whatever they want but the reason Shakespeare made Rosalind disguise as Ganymede was not just for protection for her and Celia who had went into the forest but because Rosalind would be able to voice her opinion.

Also, in this scene, I feel like Rosalind could have came out and told Orlando who she was and he would have protected her since that is the main reason she is disguised as Ganymede but she keeps who she is hidden to see how Orlando acts. She wants to find out if he loves her or not and would he do anything for her, that’s why Rosalind disguised as Ganymede wants Orlando to pretend he is Rosalind and try to woo him and to see if he really has what it takes to make Rosalind love him and be with him.

Today we acted out some of the scenes in As You Like It, which I found interesting since we focused on Jacques. It was interesting just focusing on him because he just shows up sometimes and does not have a huge part in the play. There was one part where he does not deny he is melancholy when Rosalind ask him but he says it is a melancholy of his own. But the way he says this is that it is bittersweet, he is sad about it but it really doesn’t matter. The scene where he is talking to Orlando about not seeing each other often was funny to me. He is trying to tell Orlando that he does not want to be friends, he does not want to talk with him often, and he does not like Orlando’s loves name. Orlando, on the other hand, is trying to talk with Jacques and wants to be better strangers and he tells Jacques that it does not matter if he likes Rosalind’s name or not.

Overall, I really enjoyed this play and kind of sad to be leaving this funny play to something not so funny. I do wish we could have spent more time on this play and acted out more scene’s although the Jacques play as Dr. Plough called it, was fun to do and listen to.

Sept. 18th Blog 5: As You Like It

As You Like It was much easier for me to read compared to Richard II. It was so much fun reading it because it seemed like a love story by the end. The play was very comical because I wanted to laugh when Rosalind was acting as Ganymede but was telling Orlando to think of her as Rosalind while she was dressed up as a guy. I think that was what was so comical about the play.

It seemed like everyone knew there was something feminine about this Ganymede character but no one really wants to come out and say that to a supposed man. This seems like something of today where we do not go around asking a woman or a man if they are really a woman or a man just because we think a woman is a man or a man is a woman. They would probably not be pleased and might hit us or say bad things to us.

I really want to say that I found it odd when Celia is in disguise as Aliena, Oliver comes along and falls in love with her but he says in ACT 5. SC. 2 line 8, “I love Aliena.” I find this odd because he is in love with a disguise but when they get married it says Celia and not Aliena. I kind of thought about what Dr. Plough said in class about some things happening offstage and that maybe Celia told her story to Oliver about how Aliena was just a disguise. Then he could have accepted her because even though she was using the name Aliena, she is still the same person on the inside.

Another thing that reminds me about what Dr. Plough said with things happening off stage. We see Audrey and Touchstone about to get married in ACT 3. SC. 3, but we never see Audrey before this scene so we never get to see Touchstone woo her into marrying him. They just appear, plan to get married but don’t until the end. I have to wonder how they feel in love, why they want to get married, did they spend time offstage getting to know each other? I mean we see later William, a guy who loves Audrey and wants to marry her. She knows who he is and it seems like they know more about each other than her and Touchstone do.

Another thing I found interesting was how Oliver wants to kill his brother Orlando and he even says that he has never loved his brother. I think some siblings can relate to this because when they are little and an only child they have it all, but once a sibling enters the picture, they can’t have it all so the older sibling wants to get rid of the younger sibling, although these are two older brothers, they should know the difference and the laws.

Sept. 11th Blog 4: Richard II

Studying Richard II for the past two weeks has been enlightening. I never thought I would understand even a little of what is was about. Before I even read Richard II, I thought I would just need to know enough to get through the two weeks of studying it in class, enough to get through any questions Dr. Plough asked about the play. Although that’s what I felt at first when I did read Richard II, it was not that bad, I actually enjoyed reading it.

In class when we acted out some of the scenes, I learned even more. I felt like with people acting out the scenes, it gave me new insight into the play. Dr. Plough told us to not just read the parts we were acting out but to put passion into it and if one character was angry or dying, then show it. I believe this is one reason that I learned more because when I just read the play, I did not shout or scream, show any kinds of emotions like the characters in the play so when we did this in class, it seems so much more alive.

When we did the part where King Richard is fighting off the people trying to murder him, Stephanie was playing King Richard and at first she was raising her voice and then when King Richard gets stabbed by Exton, she lowers her voice and sort of stutters like she is dying, this made me envision King Richard lying on the floor dying of his wounds. But when I just read it, I just seen him standing there, holding where he was bleeding and when she read that part and what I envisioned, changed how I saw the whole play. We acted out ACT 4 SC. 1 where everyone starts throwing down gages and challenging each other. I was Surrey and threw down my gage which was a book that Dr. Plough had for us as our gages and Angela was Fitzwater, the person Surrey was challenging, and she had to pick up the gage/book. When she picked it up, she had passion and showed how it was meant to be, she picked it up like okay, you want to fight, lets do this.

I also want to talk about a line that I really liked in ACT 3 SC. 2, line 105, King Richard says, “The worst is death, and death will have his day.” This line shows us how death will come for anyone whether you are king or not and the worst punishment is death for those who commit a terrible crime. In ACT 3 SC. 1, we see this line in action even though it comes later in the play, Bolingbroke has Bushy and Green beheaded. He is punishing them and since the worst during this time is beheading, they get beheaded. King Richard learns this later on when he is killed by Exton and I feel like this is a line that we should all remember. We will die no matter who we are or what we do.

Sept. 4th Blog 3: Richard II

I will say when I first started getting ready to read Richard II, I thought oh it will be a piece of cake, I can just zoom right through. Although it still did not take me long to read, I took my time because its a very interesting play, one that I will say needs to be read at an even pace so the reader can understand what is happening because if you just zoom right on through, you will miss some important parts. Saying that, I did take my time to understand this play but listening in class, I still missed a few points being made although I probably did get the gist of things.

I really enjoyed reading this play and seeing how Shakespeare seems to be speaking about us in this modern time. I had a few favorite lines in this play. ACT 1. SC. 4, lines 60-61: Now put it, God, in the physician’s mind, To help him to his grave immediately! and line 65: Pray God we may make haste and come too late. In these lines, I feel like we do this a lot in our lives, if someone is someplace we have to go and we don’t like them or just do not wish to see them, then we will most likely say lets go but hopefully they will be gone by the time we arrive. Also, Shakespeare includes God in these lines because if you have noticed, we say please God or something like that to ask for our prayers to be answered whether they are futile or not.

Act 3. Sc. 2. line 105: The worst is death, and death will have his day. I feel like he is saying that no matter what, death will always come and if a punishment is to be for some terrible crime then death is the worst punishment to be gave.

We were talking about how we feel for King Richard today in class and I will say that that is true, I do feel for him. Here he is just trying to do what he believes is the right thing but its not. Yes, he was a bad person to say that he hopes Gaunt would die before he had a chance to see him but who isn't a bad person? We all have flaws and so does King Richard. But its kinda sad to think that while he is being forced one way, his Queen/wife is being forced another way. I know that if I loved someone like they love each other then I wouldn't want to be away from them either. In ACT 5. SC. 1, King Richard’s queen says she will go with him because she does not want to be away from him and I found this so sweet.

Although I feel for King Richard, I do like Bolingbroke because he is very clever. If we think about it, just like Dr. Plough said today in class, Bolingbroke just came back from his banishment and with one line, he becomes King. But if we look back, we can see that he knew no one would do anything to get rid of him and he said he was only back to claim what was his but maybe that’s what he meant, that the kings position was his to claim since that seems to be what he is after for the most part even though he says it isn’t.

Sonnets 35 and 115

I read sonnets 35 and 115. My reaction to these sonnets was just wow, I thought they seemed to have went together. Although I believe this, I know we have been told that it is said that in the beginning sonnets, the auditor was a male and the later sonnets, the auditor was a female. Even knowing that I felt like sonnets 35 and 115 are talking about the same person just from what Shakespeare says in sonnet 115. Sonnet 115, first line says, Those lines that I before have writ do lie. Now in sonnet 35 what I got out of reading it, is that as we established in class, most of his sonnets that are about love, are about unrequited love. And in sonnet 35, I believe its about him trying to excuse his beloved for not loving him. Also sonnet 35, line two he says roses have thorns and silver fountains mud. I feel like he is saying this because he is mad at this person for not loving him like he loves this person so he basically says, you're as beautiful as a rose but roses have thorns that cut and hurt people and silver fountains are also beautiful like most fountains are but it has mud in it and mud is dirty. In sonnet 115, this is why I say I feel like they sort of go together because the first line, since he is saying bad things about the auditor in sonnet 35, he now comes in with sonnet 115 saying oh don’t worry about what I said then, those words lie and I do love you and all your faults. He is also saying that once the words are written down, they will also be a lie later because in the last line of 115 he says, To give full growth to that which still doth grow. So he is giving his love full room for it to grow and I believe it also means he is giving the auditor room to grow because he compared this person he loves in 35 to a rose with thorns. Sonnet 115 makes me think he had decided in sonnet 35 to forget his love for the auditor but now he has realized his love will never go away and they both need time for it to fully grow and he hopes she will see that everyone makes mistakes but he loves her more now than ever. I enjoyed reading these two sonnets together even though it is said they are about two different people, maybe they sound like they go together just because the author is the same person. I would recommend these two sonnets to everyone I know just to show them that everyone makes mistakes, to give them another chance because we have a bad habit of saying things we do not mean so we need to show people that we all lie and even though we don’t want to, it happens so just look past it unless it is too big to look past.  

Shakespeare 1

Most people have read Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet but I have not. I did not read Shakespeare in high school but I did when I attended Holmes Jr. But I have only read King Lear and about 3 or 4 of his sonnets not counting the two sonnets I chose for this Shakespeare class. Although I have not read much of his work, I did get to see a play in Memphis, TN. The play was acted out by two people and they only did their favorite scenes from Shakespeare's plays. I did enjoy it although I do not quite understand it yet, I am hoping this class will help me get a better understanding. I will say I like Shakespeare's works. I have heard a lot about his plays, mainly Romeo and Juliet which everyone seems to have read but me. I do believe one day I am going to read Romeo and Juliet just because everyone seems to like it and I love reading anyways. I looked over the words that Shakespeare coined and I just cannot believe how many words he coined that we still use today, it amazes me. I have to wonder why or how he came up with these words when people back then did not say these until he coined them. I also have to wonder why we use these words that Shakespeare came up with, I mean other people, whether they are as famous as Shakespeare or not, might have come up with words too but we do not hear about them. I suppose this has to do with him being Shakespeare and he has so many more words that he coined than others. Shakespeare just seems like a really unique individual. I do wish I could have met him. I might not have read many of his plays or sonnets as of yet but I can tell he was very passionate about his writing. He took so long to come up with his plays and that was him being a perfectionist and I would love to be like him one day. I write sometimes but I never take the time to make sure it's perfect and once I notice that, I always junk my writing where as he seemed to have stuck with it for so long and made it what he wanted it to be. I feel like he wanted his work to be perfect for his readers and to make sure it was the best for actors to act the plays out and everyone could get something out of them.