Midterm Blog

Sam Montagna

Professor Mulready

Shakespeare I

1 November 2012

Midterm Blog

            When I took Shakespeare II last semester, at first, I did not want to blog. I am not a big fan of technology and I will pick a paper and pen over a keyboard on most days. However, after I became familiar with blogging, I enjoyed it and even looked forward to it this semester for Shakespeare I. I like focusing on one idea that comes up during the reading that I would have never really paid any attention to if I did not have to blog. In my first post, I wrote about Helena and her girl next door/stalker attitude towards Demetrius. In my second, I questioned whether or not Much Ado About Nothing was a comedy. In my third post, I discussed how good a villain Iago was and the important use of soliloquy in Othello.

           As I read over my posts, I noticed a trend in all three of them. In all three posts, I compared the play to modern times. I wrote that Helena was a modern day Taylor Swift in her song “You Belong With Me.” I used today's standard of marriage of a man and woman being equal instead of marriage from Shakespeare's time. In Shakespeare's time, women were not equal in marriage or otherwise. Also, I also compared Iago with the Joker from The Dark Knight. I know that sometimes bringing up modern times can be useful and interesting but it can also be a distraction from the point or the theme.

          When I know I have a blog post coming up, I try to pick a character or idea that interests me that I can write or make a point about. Usually the idea comes to me very early. For example, I was thinking about Iago's soliloquies from the beginning of Act I. I work very hard to edit all of my writing to make it grammatically correct and interesting to read and it is not finished until I am satisfied with it. However, I do believe my posts need a little tuning up. I could have focused them a little better. If I could rewrite my posts, I would revisit the comedy/tragedy idea of Much Ado About Nothing or the importance of the use of soliloquy and why it is so important in Othello and not in other plays. In future posts, I will work to focus my posts better. If my posts are more focused then the idea that I want to write about will become clearer. Every piece of writing, no matter, how small is a work in progress and can always be improved.