Midterm Blog

After reviewing the three blogs that I posted for this course, it made me come to several conclusions. When rereading my first blog, “Portia and Bassanio: A complicated love affair?”, I noticed that I summarized a section of the plot more than I probably should have. Instead, I should have analyzed the plot and developed my own conclusions to the information presented. An interesting element that I addressed in this blog post was the characterization of Portia. I compared Portia’s characteristics to those of other female characters in Shakespeare’s plays. I came to the realization that Portia’s traits (beautiful and wealthy) are personality traits that can be found in many other of Shakespeare’s female characters. I also noticed the witty banter that was illustrated between Portia and Nerissa. This is a quality that I seemed to admire in my blog post. Overall, after reviewing this blog post I have realized that I could have done a better job analyzing the text more in depth, but did a good job of comparing characters from different plays.

In my second blog, “Characterization in Taming of the Shrew”, I also focused a great deal on the ways that Shakespeare portrayed his various characters. This blog post I believe to be my strongest of the three. I avoided summarizing the plot, and instead focused on analyzing the personality traits of several of the main characters presented in “Taming of the Shrew”. I particularly enjoyed rereading my comparison of Katherine and Bianca. This can be seen when I said: “It is obvious that Bianca serves as a foil to Katherine. Where Katherine is seen as aggressive and an almost vicious individual, Bianca is seen as the exact opposite. She is characterized as a peaceful, kind, and even-tempered woman”. This foil technique used by Shakespeare only strengthens the characterization of both characters. My comparison of Katherine and Bianca illustrates my ability to place characters against one another and determine their similarities and differences. I also enjoyed by final point in the blog, where I concluded that Katherine’s negative personality may be a result of rivalry and animosity towards Bianca. I believe that this conclusion that I arrived to is an insightful one, and a definite possibility!

In my final blog, “Blood versus Justice”, I primarily focused on the contrast between the Duke of York and the Duchess of York’s reaction to Aumerle’s plan of assassinating the King. I contrasted the different values that they each possessed. The Duke of York was concerned with bringing Aumerle to justice, whereas the Duchess of York was concerned with the well-being and safety of her son. Although I believe my subject and interpretation of this scene was appropriate, I think that I could have gone more in depth in my analysis of the play itself. 

Overall, I am satisfied with my blog performances. An underlying theme in my blog posts was Shakespeare’s use of characterization. The various personalities that he assigned to his characters made for an interesting read, and one that captivated my attention. I also concentrated on contrasting several of the characters in the plays. I think that the blogging assignments are very effective in my learning of Shakespeare. They force me to take an in depth look at specific passages that I  find interesting. As a result, it allows me to gather a deeper understanding of the plays presented.