As I've been reading A Midsummer Night's Dream, I've been really interested in the process of reading his work.  Obviously, his masterful grasp of the English language sets him apart from other writers throughout history... but also his creativity with language.  He does what many English teachers tell their students NOT to do.  He plays with language.  It's like a door is opened up to a new world without all the rules and formats and paragraphs.  He makes his own words and structures, and it is brilliant.  Dr. Sexson's assignment to have us memorize a passage is so powerful because a quick reading of MSND just is not the same experience that we will have soaking in a specific passage and letting it open up new doors in our mind.  When I think of memorizing literature, these are some words that come to mind.

Ruminating
Soaking
Enjoying
Experiencing
Listening

For me, there are few texts that allow for that kind of experience with language, but the work of Shakespeare is so rich and heavy that we can spend hours with a passage before uncovering its meaning.  Reading Shakespeare is a process, and even if there there was no story, plot or meaning it would still be fascinating work with depth and insight.

This is my first experience reading one of Shakespeare's comedies.  In the past I have studied tragedies, and both are great.  The comedy is light and fast to read, but the tragedy draws me into the story and helps me identify with characters.

The contrast between the craftsmen and the lovers.  Shakespeare really brings each group to life by showing their differences.
Helena's dramatic nature is very entertaining.
Demitrius's direct way of speaking to Helena.  He is blunt
Titania's sass :)
The fairies' banter and their rhythmic language.

More on my reading to come...

Seeing Everything in the Context of Nothing

The end of Hughes' essay was fascinating to me.  He is describing the debate about Nothing that takes place in The Tempest.  "What is justice, if the soul is artificial?"  This is just one of the questions that he raises, but it makes you think.  If we really are just tottering on the edge of the world and the void, what should we do?  Who should we be?  Should we follow the rules of our systems?  If everything we know is founded on nothing, to me then everything is rendered completely and utterly meaningless.  It reminds me of the famous sonnet that examines mortality and time.  None of us can escape the ticking of the clock and the knowledge that our lives are temporal.  So what are we going to do about it?

Sonnet 12

When I do count the clock that tells the time,
And see the brave day sunk in hideous night;
When I behold the violet past prime,
And sable curls, all silvered o'er with white; 
When lofty trees I see barren of leaves,
Which erst from heat did canopy the herd,
And summer's green all girded up in sheaves,
Borne on the bier with white and bristly beard,
Then of thy beauty do I question make,
That thou among the wastes of time must go,
Since sweets and beauties do themselves forsake
And die as fast as they see others grow;
      And nothing 'gainst Time's scythe can make defence
   Save breed, to brave him when he takes thee hence. 

Hughes' ends his essay with the somewhat obvious yet important observation that these thought and this confusing debate about Nothing has led to countless discoveries in algebra, astronomy, and optics and it has given us limitless poetry and drama.  Pretty cool, I guess :)

Appetite for Words

Last semester as I was thinking about teaching English, I had a sudden and terrifying thought:  I WILL have to teach Shakespeare.  It's not that I don't like Shakespeare, but more that I don't feel like I have a good grasp on it.  In high school, I got through those Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth without much engagement and I have read no Shakespeare in college... until now.  The introduction to Essential Shakespeare has already helped me so much to understand that important mystery-solving piece that I really lacked in regards to the great playwright... and that piece is context.  The introduction reminded me of some information that I learned too long ago and it brought to light new information about Shakespeare's culture.

I now know a little about the religious turmoil in England and how Shakespeare had to balance his writing carefully so as not to offend important people.

I know about his diverse audience and the pressure he had to appeal to the rich and the poor.

I know that his language was an intentional blending that he created to reach both the rich and the poor.

I know that he often made up words, and this trait was not unique to him but was a cultural fascination. I want that word craze to become popular again!

Those were just a few quick first thoughts, and I'm excited to learn more about the fascinating person of Shakespeare. :)