OU blog

Personal Blogs

Christopher Douce

A334 Journal - September 2024

Visible to anyone in the world

1 September 2024

I’ve been looking through some of the databases we have access to. I had a look at the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), Early English Books Online (EEBO), Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO), The Reading Experience Database (UK RED) and ProQuest One Literature (PQ1L).

I did a few random searches in EEBO and I was amazed at the number of curious books I could find. When messing with ECCO I was very impressed that it could relate textual searches to sections of manuscripts. The Defoe search was a great exercise. I found the UK RED database interesting, but a bit more curious. I’m guessing it can be useful to understand more about how texts are talked about, received (by the reader and readers) and shared. It was interesting to discover a suggestion that Austen had read Gulliver’s Travels, evidenced by a letter where she mentions horses.

What struck me about the PQ11 database is the extent to which it is possible to gain more directly access articles written by critics. For the A233 I was relying on the OU library to find critical perspectives and voices. Whilst I did okay, there this might have been a more useful (and faster) too.

This activity has also helped me to think about my day job. When I was a computing research student I remember discovering an article that related literary criticism and choosing bits of software to solve a problem. At the time, I didn’t really fully appreciate what it was going on about and why it was important. I’m now beginning to see its point. Practicing software engineers need to be critics. At this point, I’m on the cusp of digressing completely, so I need to stop. I’m noting all this down since I wanted to remember this reflection.

A final task in the morning: a listen to the audio about how the module approaches equality and diversity, and how it speaks to people from different backgrounds. A great listen.

5 September 2024

My module blocks have arrived! They are now decorating my desk, and will probably do so for a couple of weeks. This said, I’ve done couple of random bits of early ‘study’. 

I’ve leafed through the introduction to the Turkish Embassy Letters. Having once written a travelogue of my own, I have a feeling that this might me ‘my kind of book’.

I enjoyed ‘The Playhouse’ video. There’s a lot in that one; the history of The Globe and The Rose theatres. One of the things I’m going to do is to have a cycle down to the South Bank to find ‘New Globe Walk’ and ‘Rose Alley’. I need to watch this one again.

I’ve also had a watch of the Book 1 Chapter 1 video, Performing As you like it. In the introduction, Danson Brown shared the view that “the old fashioned view was that the text was king”. The director who is featured in the video asks the question about whether performance should be king.

It was also suggested that the job of a director is to make the text clear, and to help the audience believe the characters. Often, directors make some cuts of the text to make plays more accessible. In the video there are comments about the interpretation of words and the playing scenes.

An interesting comment is that As You Like It is a play about education, that “it is a practical tutorial in love”. Being new to the play, and having only been through the text once, I’ve yet to form my own view, but it’s an interesting perspective.

The key point of the video is that there’s a difference between how academics read and analyse the texts, and how directors interpret texts so they can be performed. Everything depends on your perspective.

The final thing I do is to have a quick look at the independent study section, just to get a feel for what we have in store. All the independent study sections are in a single document, which makes everything easy to navigate; there is one section for each of the block chapters. The option for the first chapter are: explore another Shakespeare comedy (which is an activity I quite like the look of), read the introduction to the set text (which is quite lengthy), read two essays (which look quite interesting), and review timelines of As You Like It (which will take quite a bit of time).

I’m clearly going to be busy.

8 September 2024

One of my lockdown discoveries was cycling. From where I live in London, I discovered that I can relatively easily cycle to most of central London. Itching for a bit of exercise, I decided to go on a mini field trip, to find the site of The Rose playhouse.

It wasn’t too difficult to find: I picked up a cycle path from Greenwich, followed the path to London Bridge, and then headed towards Southwark Bridge. When heading north, I took a left, and then took a right, and then found Rose Walk, which was featured in one of the materials on the module materials. It took me about 35 minutes to get there, which was pretty good going.

It turns out that the venue has 6 plays in a single day! On one Saturday, the programme begins with Dr Faustus by Marlowe, and then finishes with Hamlet. These are all clearly abridged; each play is said to last one hour.

I’m going to have to come back.

11 September 2024

Towards the end of last week, I noticed a copy of Bill Bryson’s biography of Shakespeare languishing on my shelves. I can’t remember where it came from; I think it must have been either a Christmas or birthday present. I’m roughly halfway through it, and there’s a lot that I recognise that is also covered in the Greenblatt text.

One thing that really interested me was a reference to other writers. Kyd gets a mention. There was also a reference to someone called Thomas Heywood (Wikipedia) who is said to have written over 200 plays (of which only a small number are said to survive). Who is this Heywood?

13 September 2024

Continuing with independent study, I found a couple of interesting resources on BBC Sounds: an episode of In Our Time that was all about Marlowe, and short three part crime drama, which was all about Marlowe’s death. I have no idea about how they will stretch it out to three hours… If I can find the time to listen, I’ll find out.

I listened to In Our Time early one morning, but fell asleep, waking up at the moment where the presenters were discussing what evidence there is about Marlowe being a spy. I really need to give it another listen when I’m a bit more awake.

As an aside, Marlowe is buried not too far from a new bakery I regularly visit. I’m getting to know Deptford quite well, but I don’t tend to visit too many ale houses.

14 September 2024

Over the last couple of days, I watched an RSC production of Love's Labour's Lost on Drama Online.

To help with my study I downloaded a copy of the text from Project Guttenberg.

When learning plays, I tend to read a synopsis on Wikipedia to help me to figure out what is going on.

An independent study task is to compare the play with As You Like it. Some things that I’m going to look at are: characters, plot, setting, and use of language. Specifically, how verse and prose used? Also, is it a similar length to As You Like It?

I’m not going to write a lot here, since I’m going to let the play sit with me for a while. 

I really liked was the RSC’s staging, especially the context that the production used, which worked really well with the ending, amplifying the themes of the play. I also liked that it had a play within a play, which reminded me of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Two three simplistic points: there was the role of the clown (which has some similarities to As You Like It), and the role that verse plays, and there is a diversity (but a symmetry) of characters.

Another thought that crossed my mind: perhaps I could watch Dr Faustus, which is also available on Drama Online. I’ve heard it mentioned so many times. I know it only by reputation.

I’m keen to get ahead, since I know that I have a challenging couple of months in front of me, where I won’t have an environment that is very conducive to study, whilst doing my best to do my day job.

15 September 2024

As hoped, I watched a production of Dr Faustus through the Drama Online library. What follows are a rough set of notes, since I’m letting it all sit with me for a while. The production was impressive, taking place on two levels in the Greenwich Theatre, which I’ve been to a couple of time before. (I think It was by the same production company with made a version of The Dutchess of Malfi, which we covered on an earlier module).

The play had clear and direct references to scholarship and study. Faustus mentioned the disciplines of medicine, law and divinity, whilst expressing an interest in divinity. This may well link to Marlowe’s experience of being a scholar at Cambridge, and having been from Canterbury (I picked all this up through an episode of In Our Time). Faustus ignored all these subjects in favour of necromancy, where he conjured up a spirit called Mephistophilis who was a constant presence through the play.

I’ve noted down the occasional interesting line, such as “I think hell is a fable”, which I expect had a dramatic effect. There were also regular references to ‘books’, books which provide details about how to do necromancy. This reminded me quite a bit of The Tempest, where there is Prospero. Notably, towards the end of the play, I noted down the words “I’ll burn my books” when Faustus became overwhelmed by the impact of his own actions.

Remembering a discussion from In Our Time, an interesting question to ask is: could Marlowe have written comedies? There were certainly some funny moments in the Drama Online production.

Whilst I was watching Dr Faustus, I was reminded of Harry Potter, and the young wizards use of Latin sounding incantations to execute spells. The thought that is rattling through my head is: how come ghosts, spirits and magic have such a hold on art and literature? Why do they feature so regularly in depictions of the human condition? Not being spiritual at all, and not being a follower of any religion, this is something that I struggle with. This said, this might speak to why I find studying the humanities interesting.

I liked Dr Faustus. Without using too many words, I found it a pretty scary play. The Drama Online struck me as the Elizabethan version of a horror movie.

16 September 2024

I’ve found a series on BBC Sounds called The Shakespeare Sessions. I recently listened to an episode called Exit Burbage which I thought was really interesting. I do recommend it. There’s a reference to an archive in Washington, a recreation of the Blackfriars Theatre in Virginia, a reference to a painting of Burbage in the Dulwich Picture Gallery, which I’ve never visited.

Looking on a map, the road next to Dulwich Picture Gallery is called Burbage Road.

I need to make a visit.

18 September 2024

I’ve finally finished the Bryson book. I enjoyed it. I particularly liked the section where he talks about Shakespeare’s changing reputation over time. There was also a reference to the Folger library, which was mentioned in the podcast I listened to.

Next steps: continue to have a listen to the BBC Sounds series that I found, and finally get onto reading the first chapter of the module block. After this, I’ll return back to the module website to see what else is coming up.

I’m very mindful that I need to continue to get ahead, but I’m also mindful that the module starts soon.

20 September 2024

I went to see a production of Hamlet last night. It took place at a local theatre. I was really looking forward to it. I had been to the ‘studio’ bit of my local theatre, but not the main one, which has a capacity of eight or nine hundred. I was intrigued about what it was going to be like. I was also in for an unexpected surprise; the box office had upgraded my ticket (to make sure the audience gets a bit closer to the stage).

The production was by a company called The Lord Chamberlain’s Men; a name of a company that is mentioned in the module materials (but it obviously wasn’t the same one, having been founded in 2005).

The performance lasted just over two hours, which meant that there were clearly some sections that were cut. Plus, all the actors had to speak pretty quickly to get through all the action. Being a ‘traditional’ company, all the women were played by men. Whilst they did a pretty good job of it, I did question this particular nod towards authenticity.

The pace had a curious effect on how Hamlet came across. The actor who played the miserable prince was positively cheery. This said, he was very good at fencing.

The performance made me reflect on how I related to the play. It’s themes of grief and loss resonated, and its conclusion emphasises potential consequences of it were to become all encompassing. Grief is about life, but grief can cast a shadow over light.

I think I’m beginning to ‘get’ the cathartic role of tragedies.

24 September 2024

A fellow student from our WhatApp group said “it’s starting to get real” after announcing that it was possible to book on tutorials.

I’ve booked onto pretty much everything I could. My diary is now jam packed with interesting sounding events.

It is starting to get real.

25 September 2024

An email from my tutor, which had a link to a very reassuring and thorough introductory video. 

Interestingly, I don’t make a video recording for my undergrad students (yet), but I do for my postgrad students, where make an Adobe Connect empty room recording. 

As a part of his video, he asked two questions: what I was looking forward to (Shakespeare), and what I wasn’t looking forward to (Austen).

No study today; I’ve been too busy marking exams.

30 September 2024

A couple of days ago I heard from my tutor; we exchanged a couple of friendly emails.

I’m aware that this pre-start month is slipping through my fingers and the module is just about to begin. I’ve not done anything of note over the last week, other than vaguely identifying which lever arch file I’m going to use for all my notes.

Next week I’m going to try to start a regular study habit. Before I login to my work inbox, I’m going to spend a bit of quality time with my module materials. There. I’ve written it. I’m hoping to make myself accountable. To myself.

Good luck to all fellow A334 students!

Permalink Add your comment
Share post
Christopher Douce

A233 Journal - May 2024

Visible to anyone in the world

6 May 2024

I’ve been in a bit of a marking hole for a while.

The last thing I did before taking a bit of work-imposed break from study was watch a production of The Tempest that was staged at The Globe. I turns out that I have lost my copy of the text; it is either hidden amongst a pile of books, or it is at my parents place; I don’t know which. To get around this, I’ve been following a version of the text with a Project Guttenberg version that I have downloaded onto my Kindle.

I recently found out that the version of the text I had wasn’t the one that was recommended by the module team, which has now been delivered. It is the introduction to the set text that I have ordered, and it is that text that I’ve been reading today.

I’ve also emailed a bunch of additional reading to my Kindle, which I hope to go through over the next couple of days. I feel I’m building up towards the writing of the EMA. Another step towards it will be a Shakespeare lecture that takes place tomorrow. In between my day job and study, I’ll also be marking some project assignments. I have a lot to be getting on with.

10 May 2024

I’m finally doing a bit of proper study. Two days ago I went to an online tutorial that was about TMA 5 preparation, which I found quite helpful. Yesterday I listened to the remainder of a module team tutorial that was about how to go about reading Shakespeare. This morning, and also for a part of yesterday, I’ve been skim reading a bunch of additional readings I’ve found from both the module website and the OU library. I feel I’m getting there.

The Tempest is growing on me. Whilst I’ve always liked science fiction, I’ve never really liked fantasy. I found the idea of a magician creating a storm and causing mischief thoroughly boring. I can, however, see that there’s a whole lot more going on than I ever realised.

Our tutor has directed us to a site Shakespeareswords.com which looks to be pretty useful.

Next steps: finish up all my reading, and then go onto making my word processed notes from my Kindle notes and highlights, and then writing, which will hopefully take a couple of days.

15 May 2024

A couple of days ago I went to a tutorial that was run by my tutor. I think there were five of us; a lot was covered, and it was recorded. I picked up a whole load of tips on how to approach my essay.

I spent a lot of time yesterday sat in a car. I made use of over 4 or 5 hours of driving by listening to an audio book of The Dispossessed. The more I listen to it, the more there is to unpick.

To help with the unpicking, a fellow student shared the following YouTube videos, which are certainly worth a listen:

I was struck by a couple of things. I was struck by how many detailed videos the presenter of the second video had mad. I was struck by how much time and energy had been expended preparing all of these. I liked the third video; it talks about materialism vs idealism. It has helped me to reflect on the views that I previously held about science fiction. The points about roles, origins and purpose of stories are interesting too. 

19 May 2024

A busy couple of days. I managed to finish transferring all my digital e-book notes into my Word document. I had to do quite a bit of driving yesterday, so I spent 4 more hours of it listening to The Dispossessed. I think I have a few more hours of listening to go, but I know what happens, and (broadly) how the final chapters are structured.

Today has been a day of two halves. In the morning I did the bulk of my writing, building on and drawing on my notes. It turned out I was 500 words over the word count. I then went through a cycle of editing. Although I think there is still some time to go, I got to a point when I was happy with what I had written, and what I had learnt. This time I applied quite a rigorous writing process. I felt that looking for additional resources, and skim reading them was pretty helpful. I also carefully referenced every article that I downloaded. If I found I didn’t use it, I cut it from the reference list.

There is a niggling feeling that I have that I haven’t really answered the TMA question, but I really don’t think that is the case. I could have picked on more bits of realism, and more specific bits of fantasy, but underneath it all there is the need to express your understanding of the text and to express understanding of different literary terms. I’ll try not to worry. I think I’ve done this.

28 May 2024

Only two more days to go until the final TMA deadline on A233.

I’ve started to get ahead on the reading (and studying) of my next module, A334. This means working through some of the free versions of the texts that I’ve downloaded from Project Guttenberg. To conclude this A233 blog, I wanted to share two points of learning from my studies of English, and points of learning from studying this module.

The first is that I’m starting to read texts in a slightly different way. Although this sounds a bit weird, but I feel as if I’m more aware of what is written. I’m also questioning: why words were written. I found myself realising this when I was reading a popular science (or engineering) book about cloud computing; a text which relates to my day job. (Admittedly, it was a very good book).

The other bit relates to The Tempest. When I watched a production of The Tempest for the first time, I wasn’t very taken by it. I thought it was really silly; all that stuff about magic, fairies and monsters. I didn’t speak to me.

The more I read about it, not just of the module materials, but articles I found from the OU library, the more I began to appreciate it. I reflected on the characters, and the context in which it was written. Turning to an entirely different subject, I also reflected on some research presentations I had attended that were about decolonising computing, and what that meant. 

Could The Tempest be used as a lens to understand this completely different subject? Maybe software engineers could be a bit like Prospero, using all their technical books to enact digital magic. What about the other characters in the play? I will continue to mull over these idle questions.

I’m now looking forward to As you like it, Julius Caesar, and Hamlet.

Permalink
Share post

This blog might contain posts that are only visible to logged-in users, or where only logged-in users can comment. If you have an account on the system, please log in for full access.

Total visits to this blog: 2260752