My best entry from the second half of the semester is week 9 at this address
http://jessekants.livejournal.com/12455.html

So we are doing Henry IV for our performance and I’m happy to be doing it, because I can see similarities between my life and Shakespeare’s play (surprise, surprise! There is always something in his work that relates, I know). Those similarities are in the characters of Falstaff and Prince Harry, and I feel that me and a some of my friends have a fair bit of these types of personalities within us and not just because we like to hang out at taverns and drink (but that is certainly part of it), but more in the way that we relate to one another; joke around and generally mess about some times.

Shakespeare is so good at getting to the point of living, the nitty-gritty of it all. Through the ordinary simple things in life he can show as the importance of being. A discussion in a bar can be just as dramatic as a dialogue between kings and dukes. Living the hard life or at least experiencing all you can help show you more than if you stick to one thing or stay isolated. I think that is why Harry is ready at the end of the play to take his place alongside his father and shed his skin and start anew; for the young need to be young and behave a certain way.

Again I liked this play and felt it related to me and am looking forward to playing Falstaff in our performance.

The post I commented on for this week can be found at http://elisriture.livejournal.com/17294.html

I like this Elise (I promise I won’t use your last name, cause it could be bad!!). I had to read it twice to get the gist of it, but I like the metaphor and I think it presents a nice image of moving through life and in the end finding what you need. Good one.

My best journal entry week 1 – 6 is my week 6 entry at http://jessekants.livejournal.com/11971.html or possibly just under this entry!

For this entry I thought I might write a few words about a couple of different conversations I’ve had about Shakespeare over the last week or so. In the our discussion group the question was raised whether Shakespeare specifically left stage directions in or out of his plays or whether it was just something that has been lost or changed over time. I spoke to a friend of mine who said he didn’t like Shakespeare because of the language and he wished that the language could be changed as he believed it already had been to suit our more modern tongue. I then talked to my dad who is an actor and loves Shakespeare and has performed in many of his plays, whether this would defeat the purpose of studying or performing Shakespeare’s plays and if indeed his language had been adapted as my friend had said at sometime in the past. He agreed that it would defeat the purpose and he said that if it had been changed it would have been to make it more Shakespearian possibly because more original documents may have been found and instead of making it more adaptable to our modern ears it would be a purer and truer form of language to Shakespeare own time. This lends strength to the argument in my discussion about whether stage direction had been lost or left out intentionally which I now think is less likely because Shakespeare scholars are always looking for the most original and therefore pure material to work from. Just like how excited the Shakespeare expert became on the documentary
in class when they found an original portrait of Shakespeare.

My comment for this week is at http://rebeccabragg.livejournal.com/ on her week five entre.

After we went to the State library yesterday, I went and did the lazy thing and saw a movie instead of doing uni work, but at least the film gave me the idea for my live journal today. It was called “The Reader” and the reason I’m going to say something about it is that I found it had some similar ideas or concepts to “Venus and Adonis” about love and lust.

In “The Reader” an older woman seduces a 16 year old boy. It’s not all bad for the boy as you can imagine and unlike Adonis the boy succumbs to the advances of his seductress. But “The Reader” does give a suggestion that because the relationship is based more on sexual attraction or lust rather than love, the relationship has an adverse affect on the boy. The film shows that because of the way the woman treats him, and loves him for his body rather than because they have a real loving relationship, he becomes traumatized and cannot open up in relationships with women later in life. This is not the only moral questions that the film raises but more a side track to the main themes of the story. I did see however this part of the film as a kind of parallel to Shakespeare’s poem and it gave an opinion not dissimilar to some of the people in my discussion group.

The Film...? Three and a half stars...! One for DVD perhaps.

This is my comment on http://nancy-m.livejournal.com/ for week 5

Hey Nancy. I too thought the gallery visit was helpful, mainly just to see again the link between art and literature and to see the style of painting that was done in Shakespeare’s day. I also like your poem. I think it’s romantic and sweet and really does sum up the four seasons well. Cheers

This is a comment I left on John's live journal for week 4 at http://john-mahoney.livejournal.com/

Hey John, I like your point here and I also remember thinking when we first read it in class that times chest was to do with the body’s chest not a pirates chest. Although I don’t have the sonnet here in front of me now so I’ll have to get back to you on what I think about your theory. Nice images of time stowing away beauty in his skeletal chest came to mind as I read your description though.

Ok, so back at uni for another year and I think it may take a few weeks to fully get into the swing of it all again. But I am looking forward to studying Shakespeare with MG at the helm and as he shares again his passions for everything that is literature.
I thought I’d just say a few words about the holiday’s here although they always just seem to be a blur of work and play with generally no really specific events that happen to me. Uni is easier to remember with all the new things that we learn, on holidays I just seem to run on auto pilot and don’t really take much in. They are a good time to catch up with friends and family that you don’t see much of when drowning in uni work during the semester in that way are nice. But I feel tired of being on holidays when I get back here just like I feel tired of being uni when I reach the holidays. So I guess you could say I suppose the time spent doing both is about right.
One thing that happened during the break and a day that I remember with real excitement and emotion was the American presidential win for the democrats. I suppose you can see which side of the fence I’m on from that last sentence. But I think it was a win for literature as well in a way because most of America voted for an eloquent and elegant new president. Although I think anyone would look good after the last one. Anyway, no one knows whether real changes will happen and come about from this event but there must be a sense of hope in the air in America if I can feel it on the other side of the world in far off Australia.
Next week’s journal hopefully won’t have to be so spur-of the moment with the use of my new commonplace book to help me. I’ll be armed and ready to face this semester with extra confidence.

My comment on Lyndal’s entry at http://lyndal1.livejournal.com/

Hey lyndal, hope your holidays were good. I haven’t studied Romeo and Juliet but I’m thinking maybe studying it might have taken some of the romance out of the story. Studying stuff generally isn’t very romantic especially not in school anyway. I don’t know if I’ve ever even read the play, I think I may have seen it performed when I was younger some time. But I have seen two films: Franco Zefferelli’s production of it in 1968 (http://students.ed.uiuc.edu/bach/rnj24/rj1968.html) and then the great modern adaption by Baz Luhrmann in the 90’s (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romeo_%2B_Juliet). Did you see it? I saw it at the Cinema and it was great with a great soundtrack that I had to bye as well. It showed that Shakespeare’s writing is just so full of life and relevance even now.

Okay so I think my best entry from week 7 to week 12 is week 9 at
http://jessekants.livejournal.com/9840.html A bit of creative writing.
Cheers MG.

Okay. So. Here we are at the end of another semester at uni and I just thought I would, like some of the others in the class write about time. Or. Maybe. Not. Although it is a worthy subject to talk of, I think on second thoughts I’ll just go through each of the characters from the past century and the past semester that have had an effect on me:

Hopkins and the war poets: Very moving and powerful especially Owen and just goes to show that things haven’t changed that much in the world since these poets wrote their work, wars are still going on and their work is sadly as relevant as ever.

Conrad and Yeats: Conrad’s writing is so dense I have great respect for how much description he can put into a paragraph, but really a true powerhouse of an author, and what can I say about the Old Gandalf of poetry, some of his work is truly beautiful.

Wolfe and Mansfield: I think I’m in love; twice!

Orwell: Some heavy stuff here but I think prophetic and important from one of my favorite authors. “Keep the Aspidistra Flying” big fella.

And finally Thomas and Stoppard: I remember when we touched on Thomas way back in first year and ever since then I have been his biggest fan, so it was great to go into his work in more depth, it is so full of life. Stoppard is just a very cleaver guy, Full Stoppard!

See you round

This is a comment I wrote to http://elisriture.livejournal.com/ about her week twelve entry:

What is it about time this week that both you and John Mahoney (check his entry out if you haven’t already, it’s great) from class decided to write about it. Is it because it’s the end of the semester and we are counting down the minutes to the exams and then freedom?? Or is simply to do with the play Arcadia which I should read again obviously?
But about your piece here you always blow me away with you particular style, I’m definitely a fan. Why? Well, you seem to keep things all so focused but at the same time you can be talking about seemingly random things, especially in this piece. The clocks hitting you line and the dancing with the roses reminds me of “Alice in Wonderland” and the absurdity in Lewis Carroll’s writing, but by the end of your poem you have introduced a more somber tone. I really like it though so keep up the good work (just to coin a phrase).