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__Socratic Seminar on Shakespeare's Julius Caesar Reflection
What did you do well during this seminar?
I feel that during the Socratic seminar discussing Shakespeare's Julius Caesar my strength was really listening to people. One thing I have noticed from past seminars is that I often talk over people and sometimes begin to speak before their idea is allowed to sink in to everyone's minds. This seminar I really tried to keep my comments direct and based off of what others had to say as well as trying to introduce a new topic and move the conversation forward. Although my lack of talking could be contributed to the fact that I didn't have enough to say, I feel that I really was trying to just listen and absorb others ideas before I jumped into the conversations with out something really deep and valuable to say. Another way I felt I was really strong in this seminar was keeping the group focused and reminding them of the main question and topic instead of letting them drift and get caught up in that.
If you could go back a couple of days, what could you have done differently to help you improve your seminar performance?
If I had gone back a few days to when we were acting out the last scenes and watching the movie I feel that I could have contributed to the conversation a little bit more. I know that when I was just reading the play I was sort of lost by the Old English wording and the cryptic way Shakespeare wrote but then when we watched the movie and also watched the skits of specific scenes I really got a better feeling of the action happening which allowed me to better understand the content. I feel that if I could go back a couple of days this may have been a more relevant point to make to say that although Shakespeare really created strong characters with the movie and the skits it was easier to understand the play more because there were logical pauses in places I read through fluidly and there was more expression in the actors which allowed me to get a better sense of the scene and the general feeling.
What was one thing someone else said in the discussion that you found interesting. React to that comment.
During our seminar on Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Michael Noonan made a really interesting comment during the seminar that made me think deeply. We were discussing the consequences of the multiple suicides at the end of the story and we were discussing whose fault it was for the deaths. Michael made the point that essentially it was the slave, Pindarius fault because he was the one that told Cassius that Titanius died and Cassius' death was a trigger for the others. Now that's a lot coming from a guy who doesn't talk all that much. This comment made me think deeper about the whole situation because then I got to wondering if Pindarius saw that Titanius was alright, but then lied to Cassius to get himself free, or to trick Cassius into thinking that they were losing so he would give up hope because secretly Pindarius is on Mark Antony's side. This simple observation of something that may not be apparent brought up a whole new way of looking at things and introduced one of those simple little cryptic messages that Shakespeare scatters throughout his writing.
What can you learn from Shakespeare to help you write your own historical fiction?
William Shakespeare was an amazing writer who could crank out whole plays in the matter of 3 days and whose Sonnets sway people so emotionally you will be in tears one moment but laughing the next. In my imagination I would be just as good as Shakespeare and write historical fiction people would be fawning over like Shakespeare's writing but in reality that is preposterous. As a writer who has been writing and trying to improve my ideas--rather than my hand writing--I know very well how hard it is to create character that are different and have unique personalities. Often times in my writing my character reflect who I wish I was and many of my characters personalities blend together, causing fuzzy lines in between the differences and uniqueness of the characters. Shakespeare wrote many characters who all act differently, think differently and are completely individual in their ways and I would really like to try harder to make my characters in my own historical fiction diverse and unlike my other characters. Slowly but surely I will build my writing skills....AND EVENTUALLY DOMINATE THE LITERARY ARENA!
I feel that during the Socratic seminar discussing Shakespeare's Julius Caesar my strength was really listening to people. One thing I have noticed from past seminars is that I often talk over people and sometimes begin to speak before their idea is allowed to sink in to everyone's minds. This seminar I really tried to keep my comments direct and based off of what others had to say as well as trying to introduce a new topic and move the conversation forward. Although my lack of talking could be contributed to the fact that I didn't have enough to say, I feel that I really was trying to just listen and absorb others ideas before I jumped into the conversations with out something really deep and valuable to say. Another way I felt I was really strong in this seminar was keeping the group focused and reminding them of the main question and topic instead of letting them drift and get caught up in that.
If you could go back a couple of days, what could you have done differently to help you improve your seminar performance?
If I had gone back a few days to when we were acting out the last scenes and watching the movie I feel that I could have contributed to the conversation a little bit more. I know that when I was just reading the play I was sort of lost by the Old English wording and the cryptic way Shakespeare wrote but then when we watched the movie and also watched the skits of specific scenes I really got a better feeling of the action happening which allowed me to better understand the content. I feel that if I could go back a couple of days this may have been a more relevant point to make to say that although Shakespeare really created strong characters with the movie and the skits it was easier to understand the play more because there were logical pauses in places I read through fluidly and there was more expression in the actors which allowed me to get a better sense of the scene and the general feeling.
What was one thing someone else said in the discussion that you found interesting. React to that comment.
During our seminar on Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Michael Noonan made a really interesting comment during the seminar that made me think deeply. We were discussing the consequences of the multiple suicides at the end of the story and we were discussing whose fault it was for the deaths. Michael made the point that essentially it was the slave, Pindarius fault because he was the one that told Cassius that Titanius died and Cassius' death was a trigger for the others. Now that's a lot coming from a guy who doesn't talk all that much. This comment made me think deeper about the whole situation because then I got to wondering if Pindarius saw that Titanius was alright, but then lied to Cassius to get himself free, or to trick Cassius into thinking that they were losing so he would give up hope because secretly Pindarius is on Mark Antony's side. This simple observation of something that may not be apparent brought up a whole new way of looking at things and introduced one of those simple little cryptic messages that Shakespeare scatters throughout his writing.
What can you learn from Shakespeare to help you write your own historical fiction?
William Shakespeare was an amazing writer who could crank out whole plays in the matter of 3 days and whose Sonnets sway people so emotionally you will be in tears one moment but laughing the next. In my imagination I would be just as good as Shakespeare and write historical fiction people would be fawning over like Shakespeare's writing but in reality that is preposterous. As a writer who has been writing and trying to improve my ideas--rather than my hand writing--I know very well how hard it is to create character that are different and have unique personalities. Often times in my writing my character reflect who I wish I was and many of my characters personalities blend together, causing fuzzy lines in between the differences and uniqueness of the characters. Shakespeare wrote many characters who all act differently, think differently and are completely individual in their ways and I would really like to try harder to make my characters in my own historical fiction diverse and unlike my other characters. Slowly but surely I will build my writing skills....AND EVENTUALLY DOMINATE THE LITERARY ARENA!
Animas High School 3206 North Main Avenue Durango, CO 81301 (970) 247-2474
My Contact Information: [email protected]
Updated on: 11.15.11
My Contact Information: [email protected]
Updated on: 11.15.11