Reaching Lifelong Goals as a Nontraditional Student

As a Non Traditional Student, I place high goals for myself in classes.   I just received my latest ENG 203 Shakespeare research paper back from my instructor.   It was again an A+ grade, a goal that I have reached on all of my papers for this instructor!   I try to challenge his vast knowledge of Shakespeare in all of my work by finding new references and twists on my topics…kind of a badge of courage for me!   On this paper I took on the idea that Shakespeare’s plays are full of wonderful topical references to current events in Elizabethan England.   Through Peter Jensen’s (my prof.) lectures, he opens up all sorts of new research avenues for me with explanations of these topical references (most seem to be “one-liners”, meant to entertain the Groundlings and Penny Stinkards!)  One new annotation that I found for the play Twelfth Night involved a possible new topical meaning to one of Malvolio’s lines.   Mr. Jensen’s comments on my paper opens up a new line of research for me on this one reference.   It seems that the author that I cited may have his Monarchs mixed up!    I’ll have to do some more delightful research on this reference to verify the dating of the events and their use as a “one-liner” joke by Shakespeare.   I’ll keep you all posted on what I find out.   I now submit for your enjoyment, my research paper on Shakespeare’s One Liners:

Shakespeare’s “One-Liners” – Unappreciated by Modern Audiences?

There are many levels of appreciation for the plays of William Shakespeare.   They should always be enjoyed for their literary artfulness at face value.  Theatrical productions are sensory experiences of the Bard’s works through costume, acting, and stage business.  The study of his plays for their historically topical references to Elizabethan England takes Shakespeare to a new level of understanding.   How many of these topical “one-liners” go totally unappreciated by the average theater patron?  Throughout my study of William Shakespeare this year, I have learned of several historical nuggets woven into each script.

Just by taking some of the topical references out of Twelfth Night offers hours of delightful research.  Sir Toby Belch’s line in Act I, scene 3, is a topical one-liner; “Wherefore have these gifts a curtain before ‘em?  Are they to take dust, like Mistress Mall’s Picture?” (12thN, I.3.102-103).   This is a reference to Mary Fitton, where Mall, like Moll, is a nickname for Mary.  Roger Warren’s notes in his edition of Twelfth Night single out this reference with “…various Malls have been suggested for this allusion (if it is one).  The likeliest is Mary Fitton, one of Elizabeth I’s maids of honor, disgraced for bearing the Earl of Pembroke’s child in 1601″ (Warren).  Here is a prime example of a reference that would go totally unnoticed as it passes by in lively dialogue.

Perhaps the most target-rich environment for historical research is the character of Malvolio.  Shakespearean scholars have expended gallons of ink trying to get a handle on Malvolio’s quirky nature.   The gulling of the steward in Act II, scene 5 is a treasure trove of topical Elizabethan references and comic one-liners to research.  The yellow stockings proved to be a belly laugh for the groundlings in the audience.  In a critical essay, Loreen Giese discusses a number of historical ties to their relevance, she states; “The wearing of yellow stockings had particular resonance, as two well-known usages suggest. The wearing of yellow stockings may be most commonly associated with two contexts: the children at Christ’s Hospital, which opened in 21 November 1552 and was officially founded on 26 June 1553, and the dramatic figure Malvolio in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, the first performance of which was 6 January 1601/2. Indeed, evidence of this sartorial practice from other literary and legal texts supplements and refines our understanding of their meaning by indicating the sexual symbolism of wearing yellow stockings in early modern London. Specifically, this evidence indicates that some early modern Londoners understood the wearing of yellow stockings to signal illicit sexuality and marital betrayal”(Giese).

Further, she also notes that the color of yellow was not only disfavored by Olivia, but also “Queen Elizabeth I (whose own personal colors were white and black) abhorred yellow. For six years yellow had been the color of danger in her Court–being flaunted by the faction of the Duke of Norfolk until his attainder

and execution in 1572. And the flag of her arch-enemy, Spain, was yellow”(Giese).   The Yellow stockings become a significant plot component in Twelfth Night, and stand alone comically to today’s audience, but to Shakespeare’s contemporaries, their meanings took on a larger context.

“There is example for’t: the Lady of the Strachy married the yeoman of the wardrobe”, Malvolio (12thN.II.5.34-35).  Here, with an explanation during lecture in class, I set out on a new journey of research into a topical reference which would sail over the heads of a modern audience.   William Strachy (or Strachey -1572-1621) is best referenced for his connection to The Tempest from a letter about the shipwreck of the colonial ship Sea Venture off Bermuda in 1609.  Digging for some “Elizabethan scandal” about him was unproductive, but again, Shakespearean studies often yield many interpretations of topical references within Will’s plays.

My research led me to a scholarly work posted online which was available as a book excerpt.   One other possible annotation of this seemingly obscure historical one-liner is proposed by David Frydrychowski.  The abstract for the paper immediately got my attention; “a new solution for the textual cruces of Malvolio’s “Lady of the Strachy,” (TN 2.5.35) a longstanding puzzle of Shakespearean textual annotation. Following George Stevens suggestion that the word might be read as “Starchy,” the author suggests that the reference was to Frances Howard, Countess of Somerset, and a politically significant contemporary Of Shakespeare, whose household was linked in the popular mind with a certain fashion of yellow starch”( Frydrychowski).

If there is indeed a misspelling in the text of this line, this proposed explanation is but one more plausible topical reference to Elizabethan current events that would entertain and educate Shakespeare’s audience at the Globe Theater in 1601/2.   Again, to a modern day audience watching Twelfth Night on stage in the 21^st century, the line makes a whizzing sound as it shoots over their heads.

Frydrychowski states; “the reference was an interpolation which alluded to a matter which had shaken the Crown itself and consumed the popular imagination of the capital – the death of Thomas Overbury and the subsequent popular vilification of Frances Howard, Countess of Somerset and Robert Carr, arriviste courtier”(Frydrychowski).  Which annotation to this reference is correct?  Like many of the obscure historical references in Shakespeare’s works, there can be numerous references, all depending on the Historian’s interpretation and frame of reference.

There is a lifetime of historical research that can be obtained through just the study of Shakespeare’s one-liners.  This small sample is just the tip of the ice berg in only one of the Bard’s masterpieces.   Shakespearean scholars will continue to find new historical nuggets in the cannon, building on the new research into the Elizabethan era today.   How does this affect the audiences of today?  Most patrons of the dramatic arts are not in theaters for a history lesson, they are there to see the plays of William Shakespeare for the enjoyment of the production and entertainment.   Just as they have for the past four hundred years.

Works cited

Warren, Roger Ed. Shakespeare, William, Twelfth night, or What you Will. Ed. Warren, Roger, Stanley Wells .Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.17 April 2010.web

Giese, Loreen. Malvolio’s Yellow Stockings: Coding Illicit Sexuality in Early Modern London. AccessMyLibrary.com. 2006. Promoting Library Advocacy Medieval and Renaissance Drama in England.17 April 2010.web

Frydrychowski, David. “Some old story”: A new conjecture on Malvolio’s “Lady of the
Strachy”.  2010. PL Ballaney Book Online.com. 17 April 2010. Web

Time for a refreshing change for Reaching Lifelong Goals.com.   As a Nontraditional Student, I have been spending all my time with schoolwork.   I have neglected this blog too much!   I do have some new ideas for posting about my Non Traditional Student Journey and I promise to bring them to this new blog format.   I have lots of new information about being a History Major, Shakespeare papers and my plans for starting classes on campus finally at Oregon State University.    I will post some of my latest favorite photos to spice up some of these posts, so check in often to see some of my hobby of photography.

One can spend hours with the waves at the Oregon Coast

Someone spent hours balancing

These rocks on each other!

(continue reading…)

With the short break between Winter and Spring terms, my wife and I spent a couple of days relaxing at the Oregon Coast.   I took well over 200 images and still have to process many of them.   Should have spent more time when I had it to get this done…now I’m deep into Spring Term classes.  I decided to spend a few minutes to share some of my photos from Spring Break with you all.

This fellow was on the docks in Newport Oregon along with his pals.  I thought he was quite sporty looking with his mohawk!   I guess Oregon is the home to the punk rock sea lions.

It was a wonderful day for  March in Oregon and

this group of sea lions were enjoying the smells of the bay.

I have many more shots to process from this photography expedition.   I just wanted to share some of Oregon’s interesting wildlife, just sitting on the pier sunning themselves.   This proves that Non Traditional Students do not have to spend every waking hour studying.   At least not during spring break…                   More posts later with a more topical Non Trad flair.

Another thing that I have been neglecting is the posting of my last research paper for ENG202, Middle Shakespeare.   The last play that we studied was Hamlet.  Perhaps the greatest play ever written, and possibly the most performed, the topics for research papers was great.   Again, during a class lecture, Peter Jensen, my professor made an off-hand comment about a Scandinavian legend that was possibly the origins of Hamlet.  This got my historian juices flowing and I was off to the races.   As a non traditional student, I had to go the extra mile for a simple two page paper.   I spent some very enjoyable time researching the origins of the story that was to become Hamlet.   This reprint of the paper has be reformatted to blog friendly printing.     I have a separate page of reference material in MLA format if anyone is interested, shoot me a message.   Now that Spring Term has started I’m already into the next Shakespeare paper.    Not to give anything away, but it may just be a little “R” rated, as many of the Bard’s plays were.    Hope you enjoy my paper about the origins of the story of Hamlet.

Amblothae the Jutlander – the Real Hamlet?

William Shakespeare used many sources for the body of work he produced for the world.   His histories illustrate his acumen for research in the chronicles of Sir Thomas Moore, Rafael Holinshed and John Hardyng.   Shakespeare was also influenced by the classics, such as Virgil, Plutarch and Homer.  The inspiration for the greatest play ever written, Hamlet comes from a more obscure source.  How did William Shakespeare come about the story of the Danish Prince?

The legend of Amleth, Prince of the Danes, dates back to the middle of the 12^th century, in Scandinavia’s violent early history.   Louise Cary, in an article for ELH noted, “By the time Shakespeare took on Hamlet, both the character and the basic outlines of the story were antiques. The misadventures of the Danish hero Amleth circulated as a folk-tale before they were given connected, if episodic, written form by Saxo Grammaticus in the twelfth century.” (Cary).  The author of the Gesta Danorum (Deeds of the Danes), Saxo Gramaticus, was probably a cleric writing the history of Denmark  c.1200.    The chronicle, written in Latin, comprised sixteen large volumes of Denmark’s history up to the year 1185.  The volumes tell of the rise and fall of the great rulers of Denmark. The tale of Amleth (Latin: Amblothae),  Saxo’s Hamlet, is recounted in books three and four.  The works of Saxo Gramaticus were first printed in Paris in 1514, and Francois de Belleforest translated it into French in 1570, as part of his collection of tragic legends, Histories Tragiques. “Saxo’s text did not appear in English until 1608, so either Shakespeare was fluent in French or he used another English source based on the French translation.” (Mabillard).    Shakespeare probably would have had access to these volumes and could have translated the Latin versions himself.

The story of Amleth’s tragedy is too close to Shakespeare’s Hamlet to be a coincidence, even the names were not changed much to “protect the innocent”.  Amanda Mabillard in her article, Shakespeare’s Sources for Hamlet, on website Shakespeare Online, summarizes the story of Amleth from the original chronicle.  ”King Rorik of the Danes places his trust in two brothers, Orvendil and Fengi. The brothers are appointed to rule over Jutland, and Orvendil weds the king’s beautiful daughter, Geruth. They have a son, Amleth. But Fengi, lusting after Orvendil’s new bride and longing to become the sole ruler of Jutland, kills his brother, marries Geruth, and declares himself king over the land. Amleth is desperately afraid, and feigns madness to keep from getting murdered. He plans revenge against his uncle and becomes the new and rightful king of Jutland.” (Mabillard).

The basic plot of the Saxo Gramaticus account is the basis for Shakespeare’s Hamlet.    To be fair, it amounts to a mere skeleton for the great work of literary art that Shakespeare developed it into.   The characters of the tale of Amleth were translated

into Hamlet some 400 years later.   But was Saxo Gramaticus the only influence on Shakespeare for his writing of this play?

One other source for Shakespeare quite possibly was the Ur Hamlet.  The prefix “ur” is a German term for “primordial”.  This is the name given by Frederick Samuel Boas to a play mentioned as early as 1589, a decade before most scholars believe Shakespeare’s version of the story was written.   References indicate that such a play was well-known throughout the decade of the 1590s and was a popular tragedy or revenge play so popular at the time.  Unfortunately, the play has been lost and no copies exist.

Rebekah Owens discusses the evidence of Ur-Hamlet, writing: “Evidence for the existence of such a play appears in two important sources. Phillip Henslowe’s Diary for Newington Butts has an entry for the performance of a Hamlet on 9 June 1594. Henslowe does not annotate the entry with “ne”, his code for new. This indicates that an early Hamlet was performed by the Lord Admiral’s Men and the Lord Chamberlain’s Men who were then resident at Newington Butts. A second reference comes from Thomas Lodge’s Wit’s Misery and the World’s Madness of 1596.” (Owens).

Not having an existing copy of the Ur-Hamlet is problematic; however, the story seems to have been a telling of the Amleth legend by Saxo Gramaticus.   This production was performed during Shakespeare’s early years as a playwright and was very popular.   It is also proposed that Shakespeare himself could have been the writer of both Ur-Hamlet and Hamlet.    There is no existing evidence to prove this theory, but it does suggest a possible connection to the c.1601 Hamlet.

My research suggests that both of these sources could have been used by William Shakespeare to pen the ultimate play for the ages, Hamlet. Even with the caveat that the sources were the basic plot of the story of Amleth, Prince of Denmark, it still remains that the play we have today is much more than the sum of its parts.  What William Shakespeare was able to do with this “skeleton” plot was to flesh it out with muscles of deep characters, a nervous system of twisting themes and the eyes to see deep into the human psyche.

I’ve been neglecting this blog far too long.   We are already into the second week of Spring Term and I have not posted about my classes.   This will be my last term attending classes at Linn Benton Community College.   I will be finishing up my Math requirements (I’ll take MTH 105 at Oregon State this summer) and I decided to fill the rest of my schedule with my “fun” classes – HISTORY.  I still needed some lower level History classes to fill my baccalaureate core so I’m into history big time this term.   HST103 Western Civilization on MWF in the morning, ENG203 Shakespeare-Late Plays and HST 202 Civil War/Reconstruction in the afternoons.  One thing I didn’t think about with this much History – LOTS OF READING!!   Of course, reading history books to me is like candy, but there is a heavy load from these three classes.   On Tuesday and Thursday, I am taking PE321 Lifetime Health and Fitness (another requirement).   This class should get my non traditional student butt in gear for the next two years at OSU.   Developing goals (yes, I need to do this in the health area too…) about my exercise, diet and hopefully quitting smoking this term is what this class is all about.   I’ll be posting about my progress in these areas, not that anyone really cares, but by putting these things in print will reinforce them (it’s a personal accountability thing…)   All in all, I am really going to enjoy this term.  All of the history classes will make getting through MTH 095 a little more bearable.   Being a non traditional student, I of course have to be sitting in the front of every class, doing more than is expected for study and research and having the expectation of a 4.00 GPA.    I know this is not something that all Non Trads do, but I would venture a guess that there are quite a few of us in the front rows of college classes all over the nation!!    Spring break was an opportunity for my wife and I to escape to the Oregon coast for a couple of days of relaxation and photography.   I’ll share some of my photos over the next few blog posts as a thank you for your support of Reaching Lifelong Goals.com.

Haceta Lighthouse, Oregon Coast

Surf at Adobe Resort, Oregon coast