Midterm already?

A. Learning Outcomes

• How have I gained Shakespeare literacy?

Over this semester so far, I have read five plays, seen two productions, watched a couple of movies, and seen a lot of bad pop culture spoofs. I feel that I've studied these plays in a shorter space of time, but in a way that focuses on the themes and overall important parts. I work generally to understand the bigger themes and relationships between characters rather than the specific meaning of a couple of lines.

• How have I analyzed Shakespeare critically?

Although I have analyzed a couple of passages critically, I tend to post on how I have analyzed the characters. I like looking at how their society differs from our own, and also how similar they are at the same time.

• How have I engaged Shakespeare creatively?

I haven't especially used Shakespeare creatively yet, but I will as the year goes on.

• How have I shared Shakespeare meaningfully?

There is more to come with this as well!

B, Self-Directed Learning

I have begun steering my own course of Shakespearean knowledge by looking into what interests me. Granted, it took a long time to find that direction, but now that I know more of what I want to look at, I can analyze it more critically in context. For the most part, I have noted in previous blog posts the relationships between characters that I find most interesting. Often enough, I won't write about something that someone else has due to a nervousness about "idea-stealing." This is probably a bad habit on my part.

C. Collaborative and Social Learning

I have been struggling more or less with working in my group so that we can all benefit. Group members, I'm sorry. I feel as though all of the good ideas to write about have already been explored, and that I cannot bring anything new and salient to the table, and so I'm always hesitant to write or speak unless I feel my ideas are original.

D. Looking Ahead

In the future, I plan to be more engaged in writing about Shakespeare and sharing my opinions more frequently with my group. I am going to post more frequently, hopefully making up what I have missed, and comment more on other people's blogs. I plan on finding a way to express myself creatively through Shakespeare (possibly the final project). I want to connect with more people about what I am learning, and have the knowledge I have gained become more important to me.