Why I'm in Shakespeare 232

Thursday, January 5, 2012
I've been exposed to Shakespeare about as much as the average person:  from studying his plays and sonnets in high school and college to watching eggs explode in a microwave as one person's interpretation of Macbeth. 

Shakespeare has always been pretty interesting, but my attitude toward him has changed as I've developed and gotten to know him better.  When I was younger, I revered him because everyone else did; it didn't occur to me that anyone might not; then, as we began to study his works in school, I learned to appreciate the good things he wrote while ignoring the more unpleasant ones, such as violence and sexual innuendo, since I didn't want to break the good image I had of him.  Toward the end of high school, I began to be somewhat disgusted with Shakespeare because we studied only some of his darker plays; but I still latched on to whatever good nuggets I could find in them.  At this point, I still appreciate and cherish those nuggets (like Portia's speech on mercy), but I'm learning to be more tempered as I read Shakespeare--that is, to not take offense when he introduces dark, unwholesome things, but use them to stretch myself and increase my learning. 

So, when it comes to Shakespeare, I don't appreciate his mockery of sacred things (this is a reference to sexual innuendo as well as some other things), but I'm willing to tolerate and learn from him, and in many cases I like what he's done.

My reasons for taking this Shakespeare class are that:
1. It seemed like a great experience, what with participating in an experimental classroom setting, becoming digitally literate, and setting our own personal learning goals in addition to becoming more familiar with Shakespeare.
2. I want people to know that FACS Ed majors are intelligent people and not just soft-minded homebodies.
3. I need it for my English Teaching Minor.4. It sounded like lots of fun, according to the preview last night!