Blog 12

I must admit that I was completely oblivious to "blogging" prior to taking this class. I knew what blogs were but I had never created or written one on my own, so I was immediately introduced to something new. That is a positive thing. It was difficult learning the format for the blogs at first but it didn't take long to get familiar with the program. For me, it was not difficult to write the blogs or meet the 250 word requirement.
It was fun to voice my opinion on the plays since Shakespeare's writings have so many moral, ethical, and social elements surrounding every scene in every play. Another cool aspect of the blogs was commenting on classmates entries as well as reading their responses to mine. Since Shakespeare is often difficult to decipher , I was interested to see if I was completely lost at times, or if people actually shared my views toward certain topics in the plays. The blogs also forced me to analyze the stories and characters a little deeper which lead to a better understanding of the plays. They also gave insight into events that may have influenced Shakespeare's work.
I like the creative aspect of blogging in that I can voice my opinion freely. However, I'm not sure i will continue to blog For two reasons:
1) I don't have anything to blog about.
2) Who is going to read my blogs?
If the opportunity to blog again arises in the future, I will embrace it.

Blog 11: Sleeepwalking scene

The sleepwalking scene in act five is a significant scene in the play because it finally exposes the vulnerability, or "human" side of Lady Macbeth. Throughout the play, she seems "ice cold" showing no remorse and little concern for her actions. The sleepwalking scene finally reveals that Lady Macbeth is in fact troubled by the events that have taken place regarding Duncan, Lady Macduff, and Banquo's deaths.
For me, an actresses portrayal of Lady Macbeth must include signs of guilt, paranoia and insecurity. Of the three scenes on Youtube, I think Judi Dench was the best.
Shirley Verrett can obviously sing. However, Their was a limit to what I could decipher from her character through song. Jane Lapotaire and Judi Dench had many similarities in their scenes. The gentlewoman and the doctor were very effective in their supporting roles and the settings presented a dark and mysterious mood. The constant rubbing of the hands was popular in both scenes as well. Clearly, both performances captured the emotions of Lady Macbeth, showing how heavily murder was weighing on her conscience.
In the end, I just felt like Judi Dench went the extra yard. She came across as a little more disturbed and hysterical. Her scream after "This Little Hand" was pretty intense and I also felt that she incorporated the candle into the scene a little better. The candle is a significant part of the scene in that it is symbolic of life, as it was in Othello also.
I must admit that Lapotaire's performance was how I envisioned Lady Macbeth and I did appreciate her passion, but Judi Dench is an Academy Award winning actress so maybe I'm a little bias.