Classes
Shakespeare:
“How like a winter hath my absence been from thee” (Sonnet
97)
Where there’s a Will, there’s another will. (Looking at Shakespeare’s
will)
Sonnet 55 could have been J.K Rowlings’ inspiration for
horcruxes.
Merchant of Venice: “If exact compliance to the law (perfection)
was required, we’d all be damned.”
“In a Shakespearean comedy, you’ll get two, three, even four
couples… and one single person.” I AM that single person.
Assembling a cast of Measure for Measure using Star Wars
Characters: Leia (Isabel), Luke (Claudio), Han (Duke), C3pO (Lucio), Padme (Marianna),
Anikan (Angelo), Obiwan (Escalus), Chewbaca (Jailer), R2D2 (actual friar).
Kenneth Branagh—casting himself as main characters and
re-distributing the best lines to his
character. A lot like Lockhart. #mostaccuratecastingchoiceever
Someone should do a performative run of “out-of-context” Shakespeare
scenes, because Henry and Kate could be played as HUGELY manipulative.
When Shakespeare’s making a point, he’ll make the point (you
don’t have to read much into it other than just reading it).
There is ALWAYS more on Learning Suite.
Macbeth: Everybody is so dang ambitious.
Careful what you speculate about the lives of Shakespeare’s
characters off-stage.
Problems come when parents don’t actually say they love their children. #dontassume
#fantheory The Fool runs away. He’s
Merlin.(Lear) 😉
King Lear as Humpty-Dumpty
“Daddy, tell me a sad story”—how we deal with real-life
tragedies. After seeing a tragedy, with feelings so raw… you abound in love for everyone.
There is language in the very gesture.
Historical accuracy wasn’t really a concern.
Hermione is #notdead
‘Time’ in The Winter’s Tale would be GREAT if played by The
Doctor (preferably David Tennant).
Grammar
The only people who still use overhead projectors are
University ELANG professors.
Words are like people.
We give ourselves away by the way we speak when we say a
lie.
An expletive is just a word or group of words that are
considered unnecessary to the sentence (i.e: “There are”). Therefore, expletives
are expletive.
Grammar class: Teaching what you already know subconsciously.
Not impressed with a gorilla who signs. We do so much more with
language.
He often discusses his impending insanity and expresses his
fears that his personification of words will make him hallucinate poltergeists
in his old age.
Editing
She looks like Mrs. Molar
“Any correction of the speech or writing of others will
contain at least one grammatical, spelling, or typographical error.” (McKan’s
Law)
“Those who read inhale the music of language.” And their
papers are generally better because of it.
Educated people that are wise are usually not condescending.
Bad romance novels are “brain candy.”
Even editors need editors.
Real writing comes in re-writing.
Pay attention to your own language use.
I love when people wield words well.
We try to be perfect when we’re editors, but we don’t have
to be perfect with our lives.
We love language, we’re nerds: This is a safe place.
God is no respecter of persons. D&C Sec. 42. (verses 80 and on). It actually
says “He or She” #nonsexistlanguage
People who were overzealous and ill-equipped put language
rules in place, and now we’re stuck with them. Be careful who you trust and who
you follow.
Dead men speak through writing #literarypresenttense
Politician: does what the people want to be re-elected;
Statesman: has a moral/guiding star.
The purpose of editing: Clear, correct, and their voice.
Editing is not for the faint of heart.
STET: Editing mark meaning ‘ignore previous suggestion.’ Can
I use that in my life advice, too?
Usage changes with time. If you stubbornly persist in saying
it wrong, in a few decades, you could be right.
Clarity trumps everything.
You can learn a lot by reading awful writing.
Art isn’t a movie—you have to choose to depict a moment in a painting or sculpture.
No enduring standards, just passionate preferences.
A language only has as much prestige as those who speak it.
“Everyone is self-conscious of their language because they know it’s revealing, and they don’t want
to be found wanting.”
“There is some tension in the language these days.”
‘A language is a dialect with an army and navy”
Writing Tutoring
We are seduced by sentences, but we don’t always see when
substance is missing.
Advice:
Always under-promise and over-deliver.
Don’t over-apologize for language mistakes.
“Always make it at least as painful for them as it might be
for you” #parentingtips #familyrulefollowthrough
Musings:
I’m probably Edgar—naive enough not to suspect, trusting enough to believe, heroic, and…single. (King Lear)
The sudden turn from jealousy to repentance isn’t too
unbelievable. Every falsehood has a breaking point. (Winter’s Tale)
Sustaining a prophet includes praying for him
Is the legend of King Arthur in the Holinshed chronicles?
Take-away:
Look up Ian Mcellen reading “Tomorrow” soliloquy.
“A Rhetorical English Grammar” by Kohln
Watch Hitchcock, “Rope”
What is a “best man?” Historically, it was a swordsman to
fight off your wife’s exes. #themoreyouknow #futureshowergames
Silva Rhetoric: ALL the figures of speech!
Communication is key (what makes a tragedy a tragedy).
Each BYU building reflects the people who study there.
References aren’t inherently funny—we make them funny.
Women were made of a better substance. Men were made of
dirt, so… (the Eve conundrum).
Grad school?
European Studies Minor?
Quotes:
“The first ones are all ‘get married’ sonnets, or,
as I call them, the BYU sonnets.” -Prof. Young
“Often what we call ‘reason’ is coming up with reasons to
justify your self-serving actions” -Prof. Young
“I’ve said it so often I could probably say it in my sleep.
I probably have…” (talking about satire). -Prof. Young
“I’m going to risk hospitalization here, because this is
very important” -Prof. Young *preparing to read a favorite passage even though his
voice is lost.
“That’s what it means to be a director—destroying Shakespeare”
-Prof. Young
“You’re in the University to become a scholar. If you’re
just interested in money, you might as well drop out.”-Zach
“You should all do more with writing than get grades for it.
The reason we do this is because we love the words.”-Zach
“Go ahead, go to bed
angry; all you’re going to do is lose sleep if you stay awake.”-Zach
“Maybe the stars don’t
like being defied” -Eliza
“I actually prefer a little voice in your papers, so I don’t
feel like I’m alone when I’m grading.” -Professor Harrison
“Beware of Modals!
They used to be real verbs…” why
modals “haunt” us. -Prof. Oaks
I can deal with
modals, I will deal with modals, and
so you understand me perfectly, I have dealt
with modals.” -D. Oaks.
“If you have a gospel question, just put it on a shelf—the answer
will come in time.” -D.Oaks
“You are living in a time of language change” -D.Oaks
“I allow my kids a certain degree of grammar violation.” -Prof.
Oaks
“I don’t try very hard to be cool, because I know it would
never work.”-D. Oaks.
““That’s part of learning: you blow some brain circuits. But
later, you go back and patch them up. My goal is to make your brain more
wrinkly” -D. Oaks
“That’s where I got wrinkles on my forehead instead of on my
brain.” -D. Oaks
I will not be intimidated by English grammar!” -D. Oaks
“If we’re looking at colons, that means we’re doing a colonoscopy”
-D. Oaks *students: collective groan*
“Men must endure
their going hence, even as their coming hither.” (Lear, 5.2.9-11, also on C.S. Lewis’ tomb)
“You write about yourself because it is conclusive evidence
that you have lived.”-Azur Nafisi
“Posterity shall never believe the romance of our lives” –Abigail
Adams (different meanings of ‘romance.’ Not just ‘love life,’ but adventure,
numinousness, and wonder.)
“If a group could stoop so low as to accept me into it, is
it really that great?” -Neitch
Words:
Mitigate
Numinous.
Zombe: African word for ‘God’ is the root for our
word ‘zombie.’
