English 432 Shakespeare

Though, I would agree with Clint, that our first guest lecturer set the bar pretty high, I think our second lecturer was more engaging. She really went a long way to encourage questions, and gave what looked and heard like answers that really spoke to the students. Admittedly, our first lecturer had more content to deal with, but that is not to minimize the critical analysies made by our second guest in regards to Will's Sonnets. Also, I might add, our faculty seemed to grow for this lecture and there seemed to be more engagement from them, i.e. questions. I must say that this is the first time I've been involved, though peripherally, with new faculty decisions and it is really fascinating; especially if 'you' have aspirations in becoming a professor. Exciting stuff! Well, all for now. Gotta get back to Twelfth.

Cheers.

Truly a great lecture on Friday, as far as, honing in on the significance of bonds, relationships and the implications surrounding these things. Also, our lecturer gave us some great insight into Shakespeare's source material and his arranging of content: for instance--the Flesh Bond Story that was a previous tale. The myth of Venice--land of romance and legal justice. The Casket story--a fairytalish story of luck and guided choice. And finally the clown story--Lancelot is the comic commentator and narrator of MOV.

What also occured to me during the lecture and the talk of Shylock's preoccupation and obsession with the LAW was that in the Old Testament, Torah meant the law. Torah being the Jewish scripture. Finally, Jessica and Portia are women of patrilocal bonds and it is through, either desertion--Jessica, or through manipulation--Portia, that they break their bonds with their fathers and become virilocal with their men. I'm not sure these two terms exactly fit these situations in MOV, but it just got me thinking about what bonds and bondage meant for women in the O.T..

Well, see ya in class.
Cheers.

Hello ALL, looking forward to today's guest lecturer and to our semester. Just a quick note, from last semester in Biblical and Classical, Axis Mundi-Frye's "Center of the World". Shakespeare could be considered the Axis Mundi of literature-the converging crossroads from which the world exists in literature.