On a whim, I decided to begin responding to one of Shakespeare's plays with the same thoroughness and attention to possibilities as I give my students in the Shakespeare class I'm teaching this year. I haven't seen anything like this--all other work on the Bard comes in the form of fully formed essays, assembled into a book. These are a delight to read, but they end up feeling the same if only because they copy one another's format so diligently. I thought it might be interesting to have a commentator on a play, someone to give some sort of response for the reader to consider. What I have to say is not necessarily worthwhile nor profound, but it's an exercise in analysis that I enjoyed. I'm pasting the first couple of pages of work here. I've not bothered to put any sort of formatting on it, so it may be a bit hard to read. Enjoy! ACT I SCENE I. Venice. A street. Enter ANTONIO, SALARINO, and SALANIO ANTONIO In sooth, I know not why I am so sad
Personal musings of Steven Dowdle