Meta-Post

After carefully reading all three of my posts, I have come to find out that I question both myself and the text. “The Merchant of Venice is a play that I have previously read in High School, but feel like I never thoroughly understood everything,” (Act I) “What I do not understand is if he is really going to execute Bushy and Green, and for what,” (Richard II) “Who is to take pity on her? Is it the places that employ her?” (Measure Act I). I usually write about what I do not understand, which I guess is pretty good because that way the comments can be answers to my questions. I also bring up specific issues that struck me in the play rather than major themes. My specific events lead to major or broad themes, but do not specifically say they do. “Another subject that interested me was the friendship that Antonio and Bassanio share” (Act I). This is the prime example of a specific thing, the friendship, being a much broader and important theme. This is also one part of my post that would be worth revisiting. Since this friendship is more complex and important than I originally thought when first posting, it would be beneficial to revise after being informed of the information in class.

I did not find a change in the way that I have written. I think all three of the posts are on the same level. They all introduce the idea that I do not understand pieces of the play, then go on to explain specific parts that I found interesting, add in a couple quotes that reinforce that event, and question.

The post I felt the most confident with had to “Measure for Measure Act I.” After rereading, I remember the feeling of being so disgusted by the first half of the play. This is the post that has the least questioning in it. It is mostly made up of statements, quotes and disgust. “After reading the beginning introduction to the play all I could think about was the constant use of the word ‘sexual acts’ and religious consequences, and executions. I thought ‘Wow!’ (Measure for Measure Act I). This being in the introduction just set me up for a rant on this play. I talk about Claudio and the help of his sister, Mistress Overdone, and Pompey with the brothels. By the end of the post I make a bold statement in saying, “Act I of this play has already made me feel almost disgusted reading it. I don’t believe the writing will get much cleaner if Shakespeare has already made all the discussion dirty from the beginning (Measure for Measure Act I). This post was also very amusing to me because it was the only one that Professor Mulready responded to.

I think quite obviously my favorite part of the blogging process is that I am able to post many of my questions on here and get answers to them in the form of comments from fellow students. Because I am aware that Shakespeare has not always been a strong subject for me and I find his work to be very confusing. That being said, when I do my blog posts I try to come up with instances where I was confused, offer what I DO know and ask the key questions that may help me better understand the play. This process has worked positively for me because I have never had a post not responded to. I have at least one comment on each of my posts and these people have helped answer some of the questions that I put out there.