About 20 years before Shakespeare, Sir Philip Sidney wrote The Defense of Poesy. In it, Sidney wrote

Comedy is an imitation of the common errors of our life, which [the playwright] representeth in the most ridiculous and scornful sort that may be, so it is impossible that any beholder can be content to be such a one. Now, as in geometry the oblique must be known as well as the right, and in arithmetic the odd as well as the even, so in the actions of our life who seeth not the filthiness of evil wanteth a great foil to perceive the beauty of virtue. This doth the comedy handle so in our private and domestical matters . . .

Using Sidney's views as a guideline, describe the manner in which The Merchant of Venice may or may not be seen as a comedy. Provide three passages from the play's last three acts to illustrate your views. Describe how the chosen passages do or don't make the play in comedy as defined by Sidney. As with all journal assignments, respond to at least two other journals and to one response to your journal. Journal deadline is midnight, Saturday, Feb 4. Response deadline midnight, Tuesday, Feb 7.

Drama Clubs (let me know if you are not listed)

Comedy of Errors	As You Like It	Taming of the Shrew
Taylor Lauren Racheal Will Kylie Amber Anarachel	Abigail Hannah Madeline Zach Andrew Joshua Emily Allison	Isabella Nina Patricia Casey Alyssa Liz Michael Vanessa

Or, if you missed Thursday, be aware: No Class Friday!

First, finish reading the Twelfth Night, or What you Will. Then, as noted in class on Thursday, find a passage from from the play and describe how those words make the actors do something that makes the audience do something. Keep in mind that the words do not speak for themselves (a good thing) so you have latitude in determining what the actor should do because of the words and what you would hope the audience would do as well. You may focus narrowly on the title if you like, a particular line or set of lines by a single character, or an exchange between two or more characters. Your call. As with previous journals, have this posted by midnight Saturday and respond by midnight Monday.

Sorry I didn't post this earlier. Got distracted. See you Monday. Now would be a good time to start reading Twelfth Night.

Journal Three is just like Journal Two, a close reading of any one of the sonnets from the first week's assignments. Use the material presented in class last week and attached to the previous journal assignment, along with the material I've presented in class this week, to guide your response/thinking. The focus with this week should be on systems, on relationships and connections. They can be the formal (as in the form or shape, rhetorical or otherwise) system of the sonnet, or the system of the Elizabethan male perspective on women (as described in class). You might also focus on the writer's purpose (as well as you can divine it) for writing such a poem or poems. More than anything, I want you to demonstrate that you can read closely. Your reading should be at least 250 words (but don't go crazy and write pages upon pages). Be sure to illustrate your discussion with some pertinent passages from at least the one sonnet. Once you have posted your close reading, respond to two other readings, both for poems that are different from the one you addressed, and respond to a response to your reading. If you run out of time, respond to another's response to someone else's reading. Deadline for readings is midnight, Saturday, the 21st. Deadline for responses is midnight Tuesday, the 24th.

First, good job with the introductions that have been posted. I'm always amazed at the diversity of interests and experiences people have. if I understand right, we have a roller derby-er (what does one call someone who does roller derby?), actors (covers both sexes), writers, travelers, people trying to figure out what to do with their lives, gamers, readers, vegetarians and so much more. It's always nice to get a peak below the surface. I'll expose myself a bit at a time, but not in any way that should be too alarming, I hope.

In case you were wondering, your first journal was the introduction you wrote of a peer. If you haven't gotten that done yet, get it done! Journal Two is a close reading of any one of the sonnets from the first week's assignments. use the material presented in class, and I'll provide a link here as well, to guide your response/thinking. More than anything, I want you to demonstrate that you can read closely. Your reading should be at least 250 words (but don't go crazy and write pages upon pages). Once you have posted your close reading, respond to two other readings, both for poems that are different from the one you addressed, and respond to a response to your reading. If you run out of time, respond to another's response to someone else's reading. Deadline for readings is midnight, Saturday, the 14th. Deadline for responses is midnight Tuesday, the 18th.

PowerPoints (hopefully with at least a point if not power) attached.

Go to Twitter (notice how I made that a link for you, to make it easy?) and create an account.

Once you have created an account, type sfccshakespeare (you can copy and paste to omit any probability of typing error) in the search box and request to follow. I promise I'll say "yes"!

Since I will be out of town Friday, attending the conference of the Modern Language Association (MLA, the organization responsible the format you use in your papers), I have a task for you to complete. On Monday, each student will take part in introducing the class to the sonnet. Your job is to dig up information and to tell the rest of the class one distinct thing about sonnets that someone else has not already told us. That means you will need to come prepared with several elements of the sonnets, whether it's about structural form, rhetorical form, history, or what have you. You can pull this information from any source at your disposal, though you should keep in mind that some sources are better than others, that some sources are good starting points while others have greater authority and might be the sort you would cite in an essay.

Welcome to Introduction to Shakespeare for Winter quarter, 2012.

What better way to start the new year than reading some of the best literature ever written?

For those of you who were in class on Wednesday, I created an account for you, the usernames and passwords are as I said they would be. You can change either if you like.

This is your first journal assignment: write up an introduction of the person you interviewed in class. Shoot for a at least one hundred words so as to do them justice. This introduction should make a point about the person, something you want to make clear early on in the introduction. Write up the introduction in a way that develops and supports the claim of the point you seek to make. The point might be that they are incredibly literate, daring, adventurous, serious or what have you. Tie all of the supporting details to that. Afterwards, once enough introductions have been posted, read through a number of them and respond to at least two of them. Respond also to at least one response to your introduction. Have this done by Friday.

I forgot these, which you have seen in earlier quizzes.

The horror! The horror!

We four affectionately watched his back as he stood in the bows looking to seaward. On the whole river there was nothing that looked half so nautical. He resembled a pilot, which to a seaman is trustworthiness personified. It was difficult to realize his work was not out there in the luminous estuary, but behind him, within the brooding gloom.