Month: June 2016
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A Formulated Argumentation on Argument Formulation… Catchy…
One of the great dangers of self-analysis is that it is inevitably biased. Our own self-views judge our own self worth by our own personal experiences. It is rather natural for us to view ourselves with lenience, to rationalize away the very shortcomings we critically denounce in others, to see the speck in another’s eye…
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A Notes Reflection by Manasi Mahashabde
Often times, reading a play-text once or watching a film once is not enough because we tend to miss some of the details or patterns we would not have noticed otherwise. My first reading or watching is relatively faster and focused on appreciating the bigger picture and understanding the message. At most, I will write…
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A Reflection on Notes
When reading a Shakespeare passage it is easy to lose track of the meaning in both the entire passage, and of the individual words on the page. Close reading serves to closely examine both of these elements and annotating the passage is the best tool to keep track of your progress. Before writing any annotations…
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Michael Ullyot: Act 4, Scene 7
[Cross-posted from my home blog.] For my English 311 course this term, I’ve been watching Kenneth Branagh’s 1996 full-text of Hamlet while I read the play in Robert Miola’s Norton edition. That edition includes an excerpt (176-82) from Kenneth Branagh’s introduction to the play, in which he describes the full text as offering more contextual richness than typically…
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Act 1 Scene 2 Comparison of Amereyda’s Hamlet (2000) and Doran’s Hamlet (2009)
Although Michael Amereyda and Gregory Doran have both directed film adaptations of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, I have an appreciation for one more than the other. Gregory Amereyda’s Hamlet (2000), is a modernist reworking of the original script but it is not the modernization of filmic elements that makes it unrealistic, underappreciated, and less compelling but rather…
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Much Ado About Nothing – Kenneth Branagh 1993 Film Review
The movie I have chosen to discuss is Much Ado About Nothing .This movie is directed by Kenneth Branagh and begins with a very lively, joyous outlook. The movie opens with such brightness(Act 1, Scene 1), where Beatrice is munching on grapes, and asking the messenger loaded questions and making jabs about Sir Benedick such as “I…
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Richard III: A True Fascist King
Richard III is a historic play detailing the conniving actions of Richard of Gloucester. Richard is seen as a sociopathic prince of York, with no apparent conscience to drive him away from wrongdoing. With this in mind, he sets upon a brutal crusade to take the English throne, slaying down family, friend and foe alike…
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Is Hamlet Mad, Possessed or Guided by His Fathers Spirit? Clues in Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet(1996)
King Claudius remarks on Hamlets mental state that “what he spake, though it lacked form a little, Was not like Madness. There is something in his soul, O’er which melancholy sits to brood”(Act 3, Scene 1, 162-165). Claudius’s observation may be astute but it also could we woefully unaware considering that he has no knowledge…
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The final play written by Shakespeare, The Tempest is widely regarded as one of his most outstanding works. With a mix of magic, manipulation, and misunderstanding, Julie Taymor has crafted a visually stimulating, forceful film that stays true to the original, while subtly playing with modern themes. The most notable change in this adaptation comes…
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Scene Comparison: Romeo and Juliet Act 4 Scene 1
Despite being so familiar with Romeo and Juliet’s plot-line through not only reading Shakespeare itself but also its frequent appearances in literature and media, Act 4 Scene 1 still remains as one of my favorite scenes in Shakespeare’s plays as it highlights key aspects of Juliet’s character which is easily overshadowed by Romeo and Juliet’s tragic…