I am a more informed Shakespeare reader. Thank you to my Classmates!

For my final post, I want to reflect on how my thoughts about reading Shakespeare has changed.  I came into this class as someone who enjoyed reading Shakespeare for the story each play told.  I appreciated the complexity of the characters and the historicity of the plays.  The one thing that I never considered in my reading of Shakespeare before this class was the cultural and societal relevance and impact that can be taken from reading his work.


I will admit I never considered reading Othello through the lens of racial lines or how race impacts the play.  Looking at how race factors into the play helps clarify some of the ambiguity that I had when I read the play the first time.  The same can be applied to the Merchant of Venice.  In all the plays we have read this semester there was an approach that when I read the plays I didn't consider until there was a class discussion.  


We live in a time where injustice and upheaval can be seen on the nightly news, social media, and in newspapers.  It only makes sense that there is a similar application to when Shakespeare wrote his plays.  What I found most powerful is how the discussions we had in class could be applied back to what we read and the characters in the plays.  I really enjoyed the class discussions and opinions people shared about topics that we covered.  I became a more informed consumer of Shakespeare by listening to my classmates.  A combination of scholarly articles and guest speakers helped me think outside the box when it comes to Shakespeare and his plays. 



If there was one thing I took away from this class, it was that I need to incorporate other views and opinions when I am looking at literature from the past.  As a future teacher, this can help me relate the information back to my students.  I want to thank my classmates for helping me shape my personal thoughts and views by listening to all the great comments, opinions, and views everyone had.  It has made me a better Shakespeare reader and someone that hope to help shape minds about issues that are relevant to my students.  Thank you to all!  Good Luck with future endeavors!