Josh Eagle, Jonas Leavitt, David Zucker, Daniel Ferber, Alex Kershenbaum, Sammy Katz Resources

Josh Eagle, Jonas Leavitt, David Zucker, Daniel Ferber, Alex Kershenbaum, Sammy Katz

Much Ado About Nothing

Resources:

1)    The film Much Ado About Nothing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYj-2vFLbtc

From the film we gained a greater perspective and understanding of the play.  Rather than reading the play and visualizing what was happening, the movie depicts a clear and modern perspective of the play. 

2)    An additional resource that enhanced our understanding of the novel was the Shakespeare Made Easy series.  Shakespeare Made Easy are a collection of plays presented with Shakespeare's original lines on each left-hand page, and a modern, easy-to-understand "translation" on the facing right-hand page. 

Example:

Shakespeare’s English:  “By my troth’s but a night-gown respect of yours: cloth a’ gold and cuts, and lac’d with silver, set with pearls, down sleeves, side sleeves, and skirts, round underbone with a bluish tinsel; but for a fine, quaint, graceful, and excellent fashion, yours is worth ten on’t.”

Modern Day English: “Honestly is is, but it looks like a nightgown in comparison to yours.   The cloth it is made of has gold threads with cut-outs, and it is laced with silver and pearls, with long, narrow sleeves and ornamental side sleeves.  The skirts are trimmed along the hem with a bluish metallic cloth.  But considering such a superior, appealing, elegant, and outstanding piece of fashion, your dress is worth ten of them.”

3)    The Internet:

A third resource that was used to further augment the play was the internet.  The internet provided us with numerous interpretations and analysis that changed the way we read the plays.   

4)    The Play:

One truly unforgettable resource was the play itself.  After seeing the play in its original and natural form, we truly did gain a greater understanding of Shakespeare’s works and his greatness.   Upon reading the play, the wittiness and ingenuity of Shakespeare’s characters is not apparent.  Only after viewing the play did we really understand that Shakespeare’s plays were created for the sole purpose of entertainment.  

Benny Weisbrot's Renaissance Personages Assignment

          In my opinion, the two most important people of the Renaissance period were Christopher Columbus and William Shakespeare. Christopher Columbus, an Italian explorer, was given a charter by Spain to explore the Indies. He ended up landing in a completely different part of the world and  discovering the modern day continents of North America and South America. For the last two hundred years, since its birth, America has been a country that has led the world. Its technological and cultural contributions to the world have been both beneficial and crucial. One could say that without Columbus' bravery this country would not be what it is today. We pay homage to this bravery in many ways. There is a national holiday in the United States of America; countries and territories have been named after him (Columbia); and museums, monuments, schools, and much more will forever remind everyone of Columbus' explorations.
       William Shakespeare was also a very important person from the Renaissance period. Every literate man, woman, and child knows the name of Shakespeare. Shakespeare, a playwright, author, and poet, wrote 154 sonnets, 38 plays, and two long poems. He also contributed over 2,000 words to the modern-day English language. One of his most important contributions to our world today was his advancement of the English language. Before the Renaissance period, English was not the language of dignitaries, nor was it the language of love and romance; it was barely a respected language. The lower class people used English. Though Chaucer in the Middle Ages began to make English more respected, when Shakespeare wrote his plays in the beautiful way he did, the language became even more admired. Today, English is a universal language, and Shakespeare is still considered one of the language's best writers.

Michael Reinhart Personages Assignment

  

In my opinion the two most important people of the Renaissance who have made an impact on modern life are William Shakespeare and Galileo. William Shakespeare is considered one of the greatest figures in literature to this day. Shakespeare invented over 2000 words in all his works combined and helped the English language become more recognized as a legitimate and beautiful one. Although his plots were not original, the way he depicted people was. One of the reasons we still study his plays today is for their insight into human behavior. Shakespeare is one of the Renaissance's most influential people because of his contributions to the English language and his analysis of humanity

Galileo also made a great impact on the modern-day world, in the sciences. Galileo re-invented the telescope, making him able to see so much farther in space than anyone else could at the time. He actually discovered Saturn's rings using his telescope. He also helped move along the invention of the thermometer when he invented the thermoscope. Mostly, Galileo is known as the man who helped the Western world to undersatnd that the earth moved around the sun and not the other way around. Galileo is known as the father of modern science and deserves to be in the top two most influential people of the Renaissance.

Adina Waitman Renaissance Personages

Christopher Columbus and William Shakespeare are the two most important Renaissance figures to affect the modern world. These two figures molded and contributed to the formation of modern society through discovery and invention, whether by land or words. Both, who are paradigmatic examples of a Renaissance man, made astonishing contributions that are remembered and acknowledged until today.

Christopher Columbus, a name known worldwide, made the remarkable discovery of the new world in 1492. There is no doubt that Columbus is responsible for paving the way toward modern-day America. America is, without a doubt, one of the world's leading countries, and therefore it is only plausible that the founder be acknowledged as one who is crucial to history. It is impossible to know what America would be, had it not been for Columbus “sailing the ocean blue” in 1492.

Additionally, William Shakespeare is an extremely crucial figure who lived during the Renaissance period. Along with being a well known poet and playwright, he is also responsible for many “new” words. Similar to the discovery of the new world, it is impossible the imagine what society would be like bereft these words. If not for Shakespeare, would we say we “rest in sleep chambers” instead of bedrooms, and “are pumped”, instead of excited? Shakespeare's over two thousand neologisms made English a more important language and therefore led to its being the universal language it is today. Shakespeare was not only a genius playwright, but also a gifted poet. His plays show us the many ways people behave, and his poems are beautifully written.

These two important figures changed society both during their lives and after. Columbus changed society during his life by introducing the idea to the masses that there was a greater world out there (apart from the Western Hemisphere), one which was untouched and could possibly bring great affluence. Columbus changed society for eternity by discovering a whole new continent, one which would only continue to grow and will hopefully continue to grow.

Shakespeare changed society during his life by giving people the pleasure of seeing his plays, and introducing them to new ideas, such as putting life on a stage. Additionally, he changed society for eternity by adding new words and making the English language a more respected one.

For these reasons, Columbus and Shakespeare are the two most important figures of the Renaissance. Not only did they introduce new ideas during their lives, but they also changed the world forever.

Tamar Liberman- Part E

Love Is Blind

In A Midsummer’s Night Dream by Shakespeare, the use of Bottom’s guise contributes to the overall theme, which is the foolishness of love. The fairy queen’s love for a donkey-headed human articulates the message that people choose lovers groundlessly and blindly. Shakespeare uses Bottom’s veneer to convey the message that we mask our lovers in veils of perfection, without heeding to their flaws. 

In the play, the mischievous fairy Puck is ordered by Oberon to give Titania a rare love potion. Meanwhile, Puck stumbles upon an actor named Bottom, and decides to transform the actor’s head into a donkey’s head. When the Fairy Queen arises from her slumber, she espies Bottom and immediately falls in love with him. Bottom’s donkey- head, which symbolizes evident flaws, hardly even phases Titania. Titania, as the Fairy Queen, is expected to love someone of stature, but instead she loves a donkey- masked mortal.  This expresses the idea that when people fall in love, they turn a blind eye to the apparent imperfections of the relationship, or overlook the faults of their chosen partners. 

Furthermore, Titania’s love for the masked mortal shows that one does not always fall in love with the essence of a person, but one's conception of that person. Titania knows nothing of Bottom’s character, but she is magically compelled to love him. Through her lovesick, blinded eyes, Titania sees Bottom as her sublime beloved. In Act 3, Scene 1, when Titania stirs from Bottom’s singing, she cries, “What angel wakes me from my flowery bed?” The love- stricken Fairy Queen reveres her idealized love, though his true nature is concealed. Bottom’s donkey-head mask represents the shortcomings disregarded when foolishly in love. Bottom’s response to Titania’s adoration further displays this message, as he says in Act 3, Scene 1, “I don’t think you’ve got much of a reason to love me/ But to tell you the truth, reason and love have very little to do with each other these days.” Shakespeare illustrates how we tend to mindlessly overlook the masks of our lovers, or dress them in disguises of our own expectations. 

The foolishness of people in love is also displayed at the end of the play, through the use of Bottom’s “mask”.  When Titania’s infatuation fades, in Act 4 Scene 1, she remarks, “How came these things to pass/ Oh, how mine eyes do loathe his visage now!” This conveys the message that once people break out of their “love” spell, their lovers are metaphorically unmasked. Once Tatiana is no longer blindly in love, she sees not only Bottom’s flawed cover, but recognizes that she clothed him in perfect facade. Similarly, once people fall out of love they can discern between their lover and the fantasy of their beloved. 

In conclusion, through the use of Bottom’s donkey-head mask, Shakespeare highlights the irrationality of love. On one hand, Titania overlooks Bottom’s animal appearance, the way humans ignore the imperfections of their lovers. However, not only did Titania distort reality, but she conjured up an unrealistic image of her lover, the way humans do. 

Jonas' Renaissance Assignment

Johannes Gutenberg was the inventor of the printing press. He was born around 1395 and lived until around February 3, 1468. He was married to Else Wirick zum Gutenberg. Gutenberg grew up in an upper class family as the youngest son of Friele Gensfleisch. During his childhood and early adult life, he worked as a goldsmith. During the year 1411 there was an uprising in Mainz, and his family was forced to leave to Alta Villa. Later in life in he studied at the University of Erfurt. In 1450 he got money from Johann Fust to start his own printing press. In 1456 Gutenberg and Fust got into an argument about the money Fust loaned to Gutenberg. The printing press was in extreme debt at this point. Fust later sued for his money back and won and got control of the printing press. Later in life Gutenberg decided to start a new printing press. He was eventually recognized for his accomplishments and received the Hoffman award.

The invention of the printing press is considered one of the greatest inventions of all time and definitely the greatest invention of Gutenberg's time. The printing press made it easier to print books and therefore raise the level of literacy among Europeans. Up to this point books and reading were mostly reserved for the upper class, as they were the only people that were able to afford books. With this invention a lot more people were able to buy books and therefore a lot more people were taught how to read and write. This brought an influx of education into the Renaissance. 

Another important figure from the Renaissance is Galileo. Galileo re-invented the telescope, making it much more proficient than it had been. He also started the release of the church's grasp on the average person's mind; he showed that there was a need for science in understanding the universe. He was arrested by the church for spreading his knowledge of the cosmos.

Alex Kershenbaum's group project: Much Ado about Nothing (part D)

Part E: explain how the theme of appearances vs reality works in your play.

A major part of Much Ado about Nothing is the theme of appearances vs reality. For example, when Hero and Claudio are supposed to get married, Hero gets framed and it seems like she cheated on Claudio the night before the wedding. It APPEARED to be that Hero cheated on Claudio, but in REALITY, it was a different woman who made it seem as though she was Hero. Another example is when Claudio accuses Hero of cheating and she faints. Everyone else plays it off as her death to make Claudio feel bad, but really, she is waiting for Claudio to find out the truth and apologize then live happy ever after. Additionally,when Hero, Ursula, Don Pedro, Claudio, and Leonato formulate a plan to get Benedick and Beatrice to love each other by lying about the other's feelings. Benedick and Beatrice hate each other with a passion - this would be the reality. But after hearing the lies from the big plan, they both love each other - the lies would be the appearances.