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Author Archives: Andy Chu
Posts: 5 (archived below)
Comments: 2
Why Time Skip?
The Winter’s Tale is the only play we’ve read (and perhaps the only play Shakespeare has written?) that takes up a period of 16 years. The importance of time in the play is obvious and I think multiple factors contributed to why Shakespeare decided to implement the usage of a time skip after act III. Below are just some of my thoughts as to why Shakespeare used the time skip as well as scenes/lines in the play that highlighted the significance of time.
1. Polixenes could’ve been staying at Leontes’s kingdom for 9 days, 9 weeks, 9 years but Shakespeare intentionally uses 9 months, “nine changes of the watery star” (1.2.1), to show the possibility that Hermione’s pregnancy is somehow caused by him (although it’s not). In this case, time plays a negative role in arousing Leontes’s suspicions about Polixenes and Hermione’s relationship.
2. By the time The Winter’s Tale was released, Shakespeare had already a done so many different plays. Perhaps he knew he was near the end of his career and reflected on what he had accomplished up till now. He might have realized the importance of time and how fleeting it was (the time between The Comedy of Errors, his first written play, and The Winter’s Tale is roughly around 16 years). Maybe at this point, Shakespeare also wanted to try something he had not done before in his previous plays and therefore went with a time skip.
3. The mass production of the watch: I remember Professor Berggren mentioned in class that more and more people at this time were getting watches. At first you had to be very wealthy and privileged to get your hands on one but by the early 1600s, it was more widespread than ever before. The idea of time ticking away must have played a role into why Shakespeare thought of speeding time up in The Winter’s Tale.
Why do you think Shakespeare used a time skip? Were there any other interesting moments in the play that stuck out to you in regards to time?
The Winter’s Tale – Group 8 Critique
My group and I had a lot of fun performing scene 3 from Act III of The Winter’s Tale. Although the scene opened with a negative vibe – stormy weather, the Mariner’s words foreshadowing that vicious animals might appear, and the abandonment of an infant – it closed on a positive, cheerful note with the kind-hearted Shepherd and his son taking in the baby.
Performing the scene certainly helped my understanding because usually I would just read the lines silently, not aloud. More importantly, listening to the words being read aloud by other people made a huge difference. From the way my group members read their lines (tone, body language, etc.), I saw how they interpreted the characters and that contributed to my overall understanding of the scene.
Violence = Manhood?
Most of us have read enough of “Macbeth” by now to know that violence is a central part of the play. What I found really interesting is Shakespeare’s emphasis on the connection between violence and manhood.
Right from the beginning, before Macbeth even shows up on stage, he is described by King Duncan as “valiant” and a “worthy gentleman” (1.2.23) for killing enemy soldiers in a ruthless, grotesque fashion. This part sets the tone for the rest of the play but the scene where Lady Macbeth questions Macbeth’s manliness (1.7.35-44) is what really captures my attention. After Macbeth decides against murdering his king, Lady Macbeth reasons with him as to why he should do it by attacking his manhood. According to Lady Macbeth, not being able to commit the violent crime means there are problems with his innate, male self. She even attacks Macbeth’s ability to make love.
I understand Lady Macbeth’s argument and her motives for saying such things. Do you agree that Macbeth would have been less of a man if he had not gone through with his promise to murder King Duncan? Which takes more courage to do — standing by your words or admitting that you are wrong and taking a step back?
Inception…?
Although I have not finished the entire play yet, my favorite part of the story has been Act II, Scene 3 and Act III, Scene 1 when both Benedick and Beatrice were tricked into falling in love with one another. The separate scenes where the men purposely lied with Benedick eavesdropping and where the women duped Beatrice were very well written.
It was funny to observe and compare all the techniques that were used during the conversations — the men created exaggerated stories about Beatrice’s passionate love for Benedick, such as how Beatrice is up “twenty times a night” (2.3.134) while scribbling the words “Benedick” and “Beatrice” over and over again. Later, the women worked together to basically beat down Beatrice’s self-esteem and stress how horrible she was for the way she acted towards a great man like Benedick. According to Ursula, “for shape, for bearing, argument, and valor” (3.1.96), Benedick was the best in Italy and Beatrice was too busy filled with scorn.
The question I pose is, did Beatrice and Benedick really fall in love with each other because of what they heard? Or was there already attraction before that?
I believe that Don Pedro, Claudio, Ursula, and Hero all played an important role in getting the relationship to progress at a faster pace. However, I don’t think they were the ones who can get the credit of planting the seeds of attraction. Despite the insults and the disdain they often showed one another (especially on Beatrice’s part), I sensed chemistry between them from the very beginning. Before Benedick ever appeared in the play, Beatrice was already denouncing him as a soldier/man of poor quality. Typically, women and men who find no interest in someone could care less about how another person was if they weren’t at least a little bit interested. Despite her insults, Benedick still alluded to Beatrice’s beauty during his discussion with Claudio early in the play.
Any thoughts or comments?
“A riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma…”
Hi everyone. My name is Andy. Looking forward to a fun semester with all of you.
After reading the Induction and first two Acts of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, it feels like NOTHING is what it seems. Almost everyone is lying in one way or another such as Lucentio dressing as a poor Latin tutor and Horensio covering himself with a cloak to portray a musician. Like the characters within, even the entire play itself is sort of in a costume, disguised as a play within a play.
With this motif of disguise prominently displayed throughout the beginning of the story, I think Shakespeare is building all these lies to a ridiculous point just so the revelation will be that much more dramatic. Although I don’t know what will happen later on in the play, I would assume that Tranio disguised as Lucentio will eventually be exposed as well as Petruchio’s insincere marriage proposal.
Keeping all of this in mind, I want to focus on Lucentio and the manipulation of his identity. Why does he pretend to be Cambio the Latin tutor? Do you think it was necessary for him to act as someone else to try and win Bianca’s love? You can argue that disguising as a tutor allowed him to get closer access to Bianca but at the same time, didn’t it make the pursuit even more challenging? Wouldn’t courting Bianca as a wealthy, clean-cut young man be more attractive than as an ordinary poor tutor? Above all else, how do you think Bianca would feel if Lucentio wins her love and then tells her that he was deceiving her the entire time about who he really was?
Feel free to share your thoughts or add onto anything I mentioned!
