Mirror, Mirror, What Do You See: Self-Evaluation

For my college Shakespeare course, I have been assigned to finish up the semester's work by submitting a self-evaluation regarding my research on Shakespeare and his use of language and his contributions to the English language. Here we go!

1. Posts

A. Quantity: I should have posted several more times, according to the class criteria for the second half of the semester. I felt like I was ready to post three times a week once we switched to that policy, but I just couldn't keep up.
B. Content: I feel like I have posted useful and appropriate content relating to my studies of Shakespeare and the history of the English language. The posts since the switch in the semester have largely been focused on this study (with a couple "gee-whiz" posts in between.)

C. Format: I tried to create titles that were specific and focused on the subject at hand, while also being interesting or catchy. The design of the blog is fairly plain, which I felt like was beneficial so as to not appear cluttered or disorganized to the eye. I didn't use jump breaks, partly because I never understood how to install them in Blogger.

2. Research

A. Thematic Focus: My blogs regarding the research topic have a clear theme and they are explained in the hub post.

B. Thesis and Cohesion: My thesis was explained clearly and was supported by my posts regarding the research topic.

C. I put my main sources in the hub post, but I didn't use MLA format or formal citation (I wasn't sure of the rule on this.)

3. Personal and Social

A. Author identity: I have an "About Me" section, which shows my bio and some personal information. I didn't put a whole lot of pizazz/design in the blog, because I thought it looked nicer and was easier to read.

B. Documentation of Process: I feel like I have documented my process well, showing my thoughts and inquiries as I study and research different topics within the arena of Shakespeare and language.

C. Interactions: I didn't specifically ask for much input, besides one blog about the transformation of the English language, but I have commented on many students' blogs and have responded to several different comments on my blog.

4. Design

Appropriate to theme: The design of the blog was basic, lacking many bells and whistles, so I could have added more widgets that would contribute to the study of the English language and Shakespeare's contributions.

Evaluating Sarah Bown

Quantity: Sarah has many posts relating to her theme of art in Shakespeare; there are enough and varied posts to get a good picture of her research and her studies.

Content: She has a good mix of exploratory and expository posts, and certainly some are casual while some are analytical. I think she blends these two different syles well. There are many images showing different art representations of Shakespeare, and there are a couple examples of other types of media.

Format: She utilizes the Jump Break really well, some posts are tagged with subjects, and her titles are generally helpful.

Thematic Focus: The blog has a clear theme, but the hub post doesn't show much development (it simply labels the posts, without any links.)

Thesis & Cohesion: Her hub post details the thesis well, but there aren't any links to previous posts to make them easier to find.

Sources: Sources are appropriately cited and linked throughout the blog; no specific post of references linked to hub post.

Author Identity: Good "About Me" section, personal picture, personally connection to topics, and overall design of the blog.

Interactions: I was impressed with how well Sarah connected with other students through their comments on her blog. She interacted nicely and referred to outside interactions throughout her blog.

Design: The design is appropriate and interesting, and the side content is helpful and appropriate, not distracting in any way.

HubBlog

That's right: I invented a new word for this post, just like Shakespeare did over and over again in his writings. I'm not sure he would be proud of this one, but the fact remains--it's a new word.

So it's time to wrap things up nicely here on the Shakespeare blog for my BYU class. I am supposed to make a "hub post" that shows links to important posts regarding my topic of Shakespeare and words. It is also supposed to reference sources I've used that contributed to my writings.

The first post about words in Shakespeare was this one which discusses how Shakespeare brought hope for the future of the English language, and how he enriched the language and introduced more variety to the dictionary.

Another post that contributed nicely to my work is the post about "jaded." It was interesting to investigate a specific word and see different articles about where the word came from. It is a good example of a word that Shakespeare brought to life (although some articles and histories report that the word was already in use, Shakespeare certainly made it more popular.)

The most popular post regarding Shakespeare and words is this one about the dynamics of the English language. The Oxford English Dictionary added several acronyms to the dictionary recently, so I thought to start a debate/conversation about whether these additions are beneficial to the English language or if they dilute or corrupt it. Shakespeare certainly added many words to the dictionary, and people praise him for it. Does the same thing apply to the changes in the dictionary today?

In addition to the online sources I've linked to in these posts, I also used a couple outside literary sources to contribute to my research:

Necessary Shakespeare, by David Bevington

The Age of Shakespeare, by Frank Kermode

Oxford English Dictionary

The Riverside Shakespeare, edited by G. Blakemore Evans and J. J. M. Tobin

My thesis can be found in the most recent post before the current one.

Thesis

My thesis regarding my studies of Shakespeare is as follows:

Shakespeare was a great catalyst in the construction of the English language as we know it. His contributions to the English language appear to be greater than any other individual. However, English as we know it continues to change; the dynamicism that Shakespeare introduced to the language is as strong as ever, but popular media is the catalyst behind the current change--and this change is negative in the eyes of many people.

English is Still Changing!

I found this tweet this morning, and it made me realize: English is still a dynamic language and is changing/growing in vocabulary year by year.

What WOULD Shakespeare be thinking if he were around today? Would he really be crying? Do you guys think that the English language is becoming corrupted in our modern world? Or is it a good thing that we are adding such words to the dictionary?

Shakespearean March Madness

I have caught the March Madness bug (which is easy to do with Jimmer still around), and watched a lot of basketball today. I just randomly found this blog, where the author pits certain Shakespearean characters against each other and is asking us to vote for the winner. He has the showdowns set up in a bracket format (just like college basketball), and we can be a part of the madness!

If you love Shakespeare, his characters, the month of March, college basketball--or if you are just plain bored--check out the blog and toss your vote in!

Jaded

I have been researching Shakespeare's words, their origins, and how he has contributed to the English vocabulary. I came across a website full of words that Shakespeare "invented," and I was curious to investigate a little bit. So, I picked a word I was interested in--JADED--that was supposedly attributed to Shakespeare, and I looked into it a little bit.

I couldn't find anything about Shakespeare introducing that word, but I did learn about its origins a little bit. It was originally defined as "worn out, weary from overuse," and usually was applied to an old horse. Since then, it has become a more general term for anybody who is tired of something about life, who has been there, seen this, and done that. I think it's used quite a bit in modern conversation. In fact, one of my favorite bands has a song with the title:

Jaded lyrics (Aerosmith)

Hey j-j-jaded, you got your mama's style
But you're yesterday's child to me
So jaded
You think that's where it's at
But is that where it's supposed to be
You're gettin' it all over me X-Rated

My my baby blue
Yeah I been thinkin' about you
My my baby blue
Yeah you're so jaded
And I'm the one that jaded you

Hey j-j-jaded
In all it's misery
It will always be what I love and hated
And maybe take a ride to the other side
We're thinkin' of
We'll slip into the velvet glove
And be jaded

My my baby blue
Yeah I'm thinkin about you
My my baby blue
Yeah I'm so jaded
And baby I'm afraid of you

Your thinking's so complicated
I've had it all up to here
But it's so overrated
Love and hated
Wouldn't trade it
Love me jaded

Hey j-j-jaded
There ain't no baby please
When I'm shootin the breeze with her
When everything you see is a blur
And ectasy's what you prefer

My my baby blue
Yeah I'm talkin' about you
My my baby blue
Yeah I've been thinkin' about you
My my baby blue
Yeah you're so jaded
Baby
Jaded
Baby
You're so jaded
'Cause I'm the one that jaded you

I'm looking for more words to investigate; if any of you can attribute jaded to being Shakespeare's original word, let me know!