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Christopher Douce

A334 Journal - November 2024

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2 November 2024

It’s time to do a bit of catching up. I save all the email notifications about forum posts, and I put them in a separate folder. Before moving towards looking into the detail of the TMA question, I’m going through them all, just to get a sense of what they’re all about. Before making this post, I’ve made four short posts: a comment about The Spanish Tragedy (mostly saying that I don’t yet understand it), one about Julius Caesar, one saying something about Love’s Labour’s Lost, and another one about As You Like it. I really had to struggle to remember what happened in Love’s Labour’s Lost, but I remember adding some notes in the bit of the module website.

Our tutor has posted some FAQ notes, which are helpful. Some points that I’ve noted down are: look at the English Literature Toolkit for guidance about close reading, look the Renaissance Rhetoric document, the module glossary, the Oxford English Dictionary and some OpenLearn resources. The three resources that are relevant are: Approaching playsApproaching poetry and Approaching prose fiction.

5 November 2024

I’ve started to prepare for my TMA 1, albeit quite late. 

I’ve clicked through to the independent study, and I’ve looked at the suggested options: exploring a 2012 film adaptation (which I’ve watched whilst working through the module materials), read two critical essays (some suggestions are offered), something about Plutarch’s Lives (which are at the back of our set text), and the role of women in Julius Caesar. Although I’ve kind of done the first activity (but not really thought about the setting and direction much), I’m interested in the final activity. This said, what I’m probably going to do, is to quickly read through the introduction of the set text (I’m sure that alternative option is okay!)

Before I get there, I’m just going to remind myself by doing a quick re-read of Chapter 4: Julius Caesar and the shape of Shakespearian tragedy, and have a good look through the additional notes about Renaissance Rhetoric.

7 November 2024

Well, I think I’ve written a reasonable draft of my TMA. I compiled a whole lot of notes together when I was in London yesterday morning. I then continued my reading, writing, and editing this morning, from deepest Lincolnshire. 

Whilst on one hand, I have felt that this one has been a bit of a struggle, I quite enjoyed how it has all come together after putting in the groundwork. I’ve emailed a PDF to myself, so I can do some proofreading on my Kindle in the morning, before making some final edits.

There isn’t much of a break. The next TMA is due to be submitted by mid-December.

8 November 2024

Well, it has gone in. My first TMA for my first level 3 literature module.

I’ve looked ahead: the next chapter is all about Hamlet. I’ve eyeballed the independent study options, and whilst I might have a look at some other sources, I’m quite drawn to the activity of looking at the different versions of the text. At this point, more importantly, I need to make sure I get my head around the chapter of the module materials.

11 November 2024

Slightly worried the next deadline, I got stuck into Hamlet. I began with a video that I found on the module website, followed by a document that highlighted differences in one of Hamlet’s speeches. I then discovered an In Our Time Podcast which I thought was brilliant. The guests spoke about differences between the texts, and the different characters. I’m going to give it another listen. Now that we’ve done an exercise in close reading, I’m going to do my own exercise in close listening.

I’m up to act 4 of the set text, which is Q2, rather than the FF (if you know about this stuff; I didn’t know about this stuff until very recently). I’m surprised at how well I’m following it all. Looking back, I remember seeing two film versions of Hamlet (one with Laurence Olivier, another with Mel Gibson), a recording of an RSC performance, and a live performance in Catford. Each one was, of course, pretty different. A question I’m toying with is: why is there no clown? There are bits of the play which suggests that, perhaps, Hamlet is the clown? I should be done reading it in a couple of days. I’m actually reading it out loud to myself.

The side effect of all this is that I feel as if I’m now talking in iambic pentameter.

A final note for today: my tutor has sent a note encouraging me to start thinking about the EMA question, encouraging me to make notes whilst I do the various independent study option (I’ll share a top level summary of what I’m doing in this blog). It’s a useful reminder. I need to find a few moments to look at the EMA options.

16 November 2024

Catch up day. I’ve chosen independent study option 1 for chapter 5. To make it easy for myself, I’ve put the text in a Word document, adjusted the font to make it bigger, and I’ve emailed it to my Kindle, so I can read it a bit more easily; my eyes are getting old. Plus, I can scribble on it with a digital pen, which will help with understanding the text.

I’ve realised that I’ve already done independent study option for chapter 6: watch a production of Hamlet. You could say I’ve watched quite a few of them.

My plan for today: read The Story of Amleth by Saxo Grammaticus, read chapter 6 of the book, and look at both the TMA and the EMA question.

Okay, I’ve chosen which TMA option I’m going to go with, and I’ve had a first go at finding some sources. I’ve found about five so far. I’m going to email these to my Kindle and hope to read these over the week.

My final bit of work for the day: I know which EMA option I’m going to do. I just need to make a choice about which set texts to choose. There’s quite a bit of time between now and the end of May so I have a bit of time to choose, but I do know that there’s quite a bit of pace to it all.

I’m starting to feel a difference between level 2 and level 3 study. I have a feeling I’m going to puzzle over TMA 2 (and the EMA).

22 November 2024

I’ve fallen off the study train since I’ve had to focus on my day job, where I’ve been going through other module materials. This said, I have been to one interesting and related event; an annual digital humanities workshop, which was facilitated by some colleagues who have been involved with the writing of the modules I’ve been studying.

Yesterday I received my TMA 1 result. I’m pleased with it, but I would have liked a higher score. I’ll be really happy if I can keep this up, but I know it’s going to be a hard slog. There has been loads of chatter on the module WhatsApp group from other students about the return of their TMA results.

The biggest learning point I’m taking away from my TMA is: be more secure in your own opinions, and try to get different sources to play off against each other. Good advice, which I need to remember.

Before delving into my day job in a lot of depth, I’m going to listen to a tutorial that I missed. There was chatter on the WhatsApp forum about that too.

25 November 2024

I feel I’m making a bit of progress, in terms of starting to organise my thoughts for the next TMA. I’ve downloaded about four or five different papers that relate to the TMA theme, and I’ve scribbled on all of them using my Kindle Scribe (or whatever it is called). One of the papers offers a set of useful definitions which I can work with. Another paper articulates the exact same idea that I had about Hamlet. I guess that is encouraging, since that might suggest that I’m starting to think like a critic?

On Wednesday I may have a bit of time to transcribe my annotations and thoughts, so I can begin to order them. In doing this, I hope to crystalise my opinions.

I’m slightly behind on the module planner, but not too behind.

There are some rumours on the WhatApp group about what is in TMA 3. I haven’t looked yet. I feel I can do TMA 2, but the rest are complete mysteries to me.

28 November 2024

I didn’t manage to do any note taking yesterday despite the best of intentions. I hauled all my books to a medical appointment, but there was no way I could find a quiet corner.

I’ve listened to two tutorials this morning. The first was recorded by my own tutor, and the second was by another tutor, which was all about Spencer. Both tutorials were really helpful, even though I’m not doing the Spencer TMA option. It was especially helpful since I’m a bit behind the reading; it shared a framework that will help me understand more clearly the reading.

Next steps? Over the next couple of days there are some really long ‘composite’ tutorials, which should be interesting. When I’ve been to one of those, I’ll be ready to start my TMA. I still need to keep up with the reading, though.

In my day job, I’ve got some tasks where I need to find some headspace some writing that also requires a bit of problem solving.

29 November 2024

Another day, another set of tutorials.

Today we had one about Hamlet, one about Donne, one about Spencer, and one about independent study. The study session focussed more on rhetoric, which I’m quite comfortable with. I recognised all the techniques that were mentioned, but I don’t know the names for everything.

I think I would like to do the earlier independent study option which was to read some essays by Michel de Montaigne.

Now that I’ve attended two tutorials on Hamlet, have written a bunch of notes, I feel I need to write my notes up, pick a few passages and then start to pull everything together.

The module calendar says that I’m now officially behind.

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Christopher Douce

A334 and A335 literature: searching for critical sources

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Edited by Christopher Douce, Friday, 22 Nov 2024, 10:08

This morning is a morning of catching up on tutorials. Immediately after listening to a recoded tutorial about Hamlet, which had been delivered by Molly Zeigler. I went on to listen to a tutorial about finding literature sources through the library. I thought I did okay for the previous TMA, having found a couple of useful papers, but I thought it might be useful to attend, just in case I might be able to pick up some useful tips.

What follows are some notes that I have made from the session.

Stages in literature searching

Identifying the topic, developing a search strategy, identifying sources, searching and evaluating. Within all this, you might well be choosing (and moving on from) different literature databases. An important point: a beginning point is sources that have already been recommended (in the references section at the end of a chapter).

Useful tips: on the resources page on each module website, click on the library resources page, which can be found on the right hand side of the page (which can be overlooked if you’re not careful). Also, do have a look to see if there are any specific guidance in the assessment guide.

Visiting the library

On the right hand side of the library website , there’s a summary of types of resources. The Drama Online site was mentioned, which I’m a fan on. The subject specific collections were mentioned, which I’ve had a look at before; there is one for English Literature as well as one for other subject, such as computing. For example, the dictionary of literary biography might be useful.

We were shown how to find articles that were mentioned in a reading list, just by entering in the title of the article. In JSTOR (a journal database), there’s a ‘cited by’ feature, which can be useful to look at how articles have been used since something was published.

Searching search terms

When searching for topics, you can use the ‘*’ character to widen a search to find different word endings (or spellings) and use quotation to make sure that you find specific titles. You can also use Boolean operator, such as AND, OR or NOT, and can use brackets to specify search precedence. When you get a search result, you can then specify filters to show only articles, or results where we can access the full text.

Proquest One Literature is a catalogue that I’ve looked at before. A feature that was highlighted was the author pages, where we see primary texts, other works. Proquest can be used to find articles that relate to criticism. It’s also possible to carry out searches of specific fields. 

Looking at JSTOR, the advanced search screen can be helpful. 

Useful resources

Towards the end of the presentation, there was a recap of the PROMPT framework and the CiteThemRight guidance website.

Reflections

I didn’t spend too long on this session, using the fast forward button to skip through the activities, but it was helpful. After the session, I did a quick topic search for articles that relate to an idea I had following the earlier Hamlet tutorial. I didn’t find anything, so I went back to some earlier search terms that I had used. This links back to the point the presenter in the library session had made about iteration.

One tool that has been really useful, but wasn’t covered in this session was the Library Browser extensionThis was mentioned by my tutor. It has changed my life (only in a very small way, but it has changed it for the better). Using it means that I don’t have to continually login to various journal databases to access articles I’m looking for. Do install the extension; it’ll save you time.

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Christopher Douce

A334 Journal - October 2024

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7 October 2024

Three days in, and I feel that I’m getting behind!

This said, I’ve just made a couple of forum posts. One related to the notion of ‘the author’, the other was a summary of musicals I’ve recently seen. I have, however, tried to link my post to theme of the module. I even shared a link to a famous song from Kiss Me Kate

13 October 2024

Last night was our first tutorial. I made notes of a number of points and tips:

  • Review Section 3.3 What your mark means, and Section 4.7 Using the Critics, both from the assessment guide. Another tip was to have a read of the English Literature Toolkit, which offers some comments about what an English essay is all about.
  • From TMA 2 onwards, it is useful to connect your independent study to your essay and text choices. A point here is that you don’t (of course) have to do all the independent study options. Study strategically. Do what is useful for you.
  • When writing your essay, beware of summarising articles or points that are shared by critics. It is more important to apply what they say within an argument. Use what you need to use to answer the question that is being asked.
  • When looking for materials, consider the diversity of materials. If you’re discussing a play, you might want to consider productions of plays at different periods of time. This enables you to gain a wider perspective, which can be useful for discussing critical points of contrast.
  • Use peer reviewed sources and articles, rather than using informal articles that you might find in blogs.
  • If you find articles which present opposing views, choose your own position, and don’t be afraid to state what this is. How you relate to a text is important.
  • Don’t make excessive notes. Make notes with a purpose, which is to help with answering of the assignment questions.
  • Avoid generative AI. It makes things up, and it isn’t transparent about the sources it uses.
  • Use the module glossary, which is a really useful resource, and read the optional Introducing Renaissance Rhetoric resource.
  • When doing close reading, consider the effect of what is done; don’t just identify the technical effects that are applied.

A really useful tutorial!

With these summarised, it’s back to the tutor group forum, and then a brief look at the module materials to remind myself of where I got to, and the TMA 1 submission date. After then, it’ll be back to looking at the materials for the module that I’m chairing.

A quick update: I’ve emailed the Introducing Renaissance Rhetoric resource to my Kindle. As I’ve done this, I’ve written this short blog: Studying with the Kindle continued…  The convert option is really useful.

Another quick update, a few hours after the above edit: our tutor has sent a link to a useful site, the Writing Centre, which is a part of the Undergraduate arts and humanities study website (There is one of these for the Computing and IT programme, but I’ve not looked at it for a while).

The key resources have the following headings: writing for assessments, skills toolkits, Write now! (which appears to be a bunch of tips), Referencing and Developing academic English. 

Clicking into the Study Skills Workshops takes me to a page which presents a whole range of events I’ve never seen before; events that relate to academic practice, planning and researching, quoting and paraphrasing, and writing skills. It looks like there are loads of recordings available.

14 October 2024

I’ve been properly reading chapter 1, and I’ve looked ahead to the independent study materials for chapters 2 and 3. I’m starting to think about the independent study options, and there’s a lot that I want to do. I want to watch a Drama Online production of Titus Andronicus (and read the play at the same time), find out more about Thomas Kyd (I remember reading that he shared a room with Marlowe, and was a scribe as well as a playwright), and listen to the additional audio materials that are on the module website. Decisions decisions.

I need to properly read chapter 2.  I’ll try to do that tomorrow.

I also need to get back to my day job.

15 October 2024

I’ve had a proper go through of chapter 2, but I’ve not spent as much time on the activities as I should have done, but I can always go back to them if it looks like they might help with the TMAs. 

There’s some useful pointers to read the introduction of that Hattaway edition of As You Like It, particularly with respect to its interpretations.

I was curious about references to Johnson’s play Every Man in his Humour (Wikipedia). It looks like there isn’t a production of this available through Drama Online (there is only a production of Volpone, which I know nothing about).

I’m just about to go off-piste with respect to my independent study. Although I did mention that I might watch Titus Andronicus through Drama Online, I have booked to see Coriolanus tomorrow at The National. After hearing a rumour that it wasn’t very good, I’ve skim read some reviews and by the looks of it, it doesn’t sound too terrible.

Next up, the online materials for the following week, chapter 3, and the independent study activities.

16 October 2024

I’ve had a quick read of chapter 3, but it really is a quick read. I remember bits of it from the even quicker read through that I did over the summer. I know what I need to do next, which is read The Spanish Tragedy again. There’s a lot of action that I don’t really follow.

I went into one of the independent study activities; looking up Kyd’s biography in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, making a few notes. There was also a suggestion to read a bit of a biography of Marlowe, but there’s another bit of a study activity that I want to do. 

Kyd and Marlowe shared lodgings. Kyd was arrested (I think along with Marlowe) and was possibly tortured. He died in 1594, not long after getting out of prison. He was buried at St Mary Cole Church.

I looked this place up. It doesn’t exist anymore, having been destroyed in the great fire of London in 1666. There is, however, a plaque which is reminder of its location, which can be found on the corner of Poultry and Old Jewry, not too far from Bank underground station.

His biography suggested a few firsts: the first Machiavellian villain in a play, the first play within a play, and use of ‘robust blank verse’.

Another memory of my morning reading is that Shakespeare may have contributed a bit of text to a version of Kyd’s play. I haven’t got the connections and the detail secure in my head just yet.

In all this distant history, there’s some suggestion about Kyd may have written an earlier version of Hamlet, but I’ve heard that all this is speculation. I think we’ve got this to come in the module materials.

17 October 2024

Okay, I enjoyed the production of Coriolanus that I saw last night.

Pretending to be a grumpy critic, I did feel that the production didn’t really know what it wanted to be. It was broadly supposed to be set in a museum, but made use of video effects too, and there were these later scenes which I didn’t really understand where there were these weird costumes, and lots of fire going on in the background. The play was hugely political, in the sense that it was all about keeping people onside. I guess there’s a strong link to the dangers of the use of rhetoric. I’m glad I saw it. I’ve read a couple of reviews, and they’ve been mostly positive.

Anyway, back to the module materials. This morning, I went through the module team’s selected recordings of The Spanish Tragedy, making a bunch of notes. I’ve not (yet) read it properly, but I might have another listen of the Radio 3 production, and have a good read of the introductory notes. I really like Kyd’s use of language. I’m struck by the poetry he uses in the seduction scene in act 2. I do feel that I’m quite a long way away to really understanding it properly, but I’m making steps towards figuring it out.

I kind of want to watch Titus Andronicus, but it might leave me mildly traumatised, like the time I watched Dr Faustus

A final reflection: I’m really enjoying this first bit of the module, which made me have the opposing thought of ‘I’m really not looking forward to the part when we get to Austen’.

20 October 2024

On Friday 18 October, I took a trip to the 2024 arts and humanities study day, writing everything up yesterday evening. At around the same time of doing this, I also tried to get my lever arch file together. Over the last few days or so I’ve been trying to listen to The Spanish Tragedy. I’m still a long way from figuring out what is happening to whom.

22 October 2024

I’ve started to listen to the tutorial that I missed on the 17th. Its focus is on close reading and the use of the OED. I made a note of the first two points, before I had to stop; I’m too tired. It’s been a difficult day. Balancing work and study is challenging.

28 October 2024

My study continues to be fractured due to personal circumstances (I’ve been helping my mum). It has taken me three goes to listen to the second introductory tutorial, which was very helpful. It covered two things: close reading skills, and the use of the Oxford English Dictionary. On the subject of the dictionary and accessing resources from the OU library, our tutor directed us to a useful browser extension, which saves us from having to access article databases without having to go via the library website. After an earlier listen of the tutorial, I installed it. I’ll see how I go.

On the subject of close reading, I noted down the following points: first impressions, identification of words that led to the first impression, what words most significantly contribute towards the theme of a passage, consider the style of language, and to critically make use of checklists. Some other tips included try reading it out, try copying the text, and make use of the set text edition.

I picked up on the suggestion of the set text, and in my independent study time I’ve been reading through the introduction of As You Like It. It’s very dense and hard going, so I’m just skim reading it at the moment, just to get a feel for it. I don’t think I like it; it’s work.

A final note for today. I like the look of the forum activities that were started over the weekend. I think it was these that made me realise that I’ve got a whole lot of learning to do.

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Christopher Douce

A334 Journal - September 2024

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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!

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Christopher Douce

A334 Journal - August 2024

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Edited by Christopher Douce, Thursday, 29 Aug 2024, 08:12

This month has been challenging for a whole host of personal reasons (which I’m not going to be going into). Amidst my personal challenges, I did manage to get away for a two week break, which much needed. During those two weeks I went cycling, tried to do some swimming (I’m not good at swimming) and do some reading for A334.

One of the first things I managed to do was to finish an audio book of Pride and Prejudice. I feel as if I did rush listening to it, since there are bits of the story that I don’t quite grasp, but I do appreciate that there were all kinds of shenanigans happening in Brighton.

I was given a lovely gift for my birthday: a text called Will in the World, by critic Stephen Greenblatt. You could say I devoured it in a couple of sittings. I don’t read many biographies, but when I do, I really enjoy them. This text is what you might call a biography that extensively draws upon Shakespeare’s plays. I really liked it.

I managed to find a BBC Radio 3 production of The Spanish Tragedy, which I listened to whilst reading the recommended course text. The radio production was abridged, which meant that I regularly got lost. I have no idea (yet) what to make of it, but I quite liked what I read, and what I listened to. I have yet to make any notes, or to buy any extensive amounts of stationary to facilitate the making of my notes.

Next up was reading though a version of The Country Wife by William Wycherley. I got completely lost and had no idea what was going on. The most I understood was that there was some cross dressing going on. I’m hoping the module materials (when I got stuck into them) will help me to figure it all out.

Before my holiday, I managed to download a copy of Gulliver’s Travels by Swift. Although I think there is a bit of guidance from the module team about which books to focus on, I found myself reading the whole text. Whilst reading, I remembered a recent television documentary which caused quite a sensation (BBC culture website). Whilst reading Gulliver’s Travels, I remembered of the tone of the documentary, and how its enthusiasm and energy reminded me of Swift’s writing.

What I really loved about Gulliver’s Travels was his summary of academia; there was a lot that I could recognise. A real surprise was that the text has something to say about generative AI, which can be found in his description of something called The Engine (Wikipedia). All this took me on a short journey to Swift’s Wikipedia biography, which was fascinating.

Two texts that I did want to delve into (but didn’t have the time) was The Turkish Embassy Letters (but I had forgotten that there wasn’t a Project Guttenberg version I could download to my Kindle), and the Arabian Nights’ stories.

Since I had watched a production of As You Like It and Julius Caesar before travelling away, I next gave these plays a read. It was interesting reading these plays almost back to back; a contrast between light and dark. Shakespeare really ratchets up the tension in Julius Caesar a bit at a time. I don’t think I would have been able to get as much out of reading the plays if I hadn’t seen two really good productions.

I did have a plan to read Hamlet on a very long train ride, but I found that I had run out of mental energy.

One of the other things that I did was download an audio book version of Persuasion. I think I got up until chapter 5 before losing track of what was going on. I have some very long drives ahead of me in forthcoming months, so I’m sure I’ll be able to find the time, but I might restrict myself to just the bits I need to read for the module materials.

Another thing that I managed to do is to briefly look through the blocks. I have mixed feelings about the poetry in the second block, and was mildly shocked at some of the more racy verses that we have in store a bit later on.

A few days after getting back from my holiday, I finally found my way to the module website, where I started to look at the module guide. I was surprised by the bit that said there was 40% of our weekly study time is going to be spent on independent study. There was also a mention of (potentially) using a blog too. This is going to be interesting.

Perhaps my time spent reading Greenblatt was time very well spent.

I’m worried about one thing: the need to find both the quiet and the time to study everything. I’m in a situation where I can’t get “quiet time” easily, since there’s such a lot going on. Reflecting on this, my approach might well be to get up early in the morning.

My next steps: continue to read the module guide, watch some of the module videos, and start to find my way around the module website.

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Christopher Douce

A334 Journal - June 2024

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Edited by Christopher Douce, Thursday, 29 Aug 2024, 08:02

With months to go before the start of my next module, I thought I would summarise where I’ve got to with my pre-reading (or pre-studying).

I began by downloading as many of the course texts to my digital reading device as I could, and then by watching different productions of the plays that feature within the first block.

To be honest, I’m a bit intimidated by this module. There are books in the reading list that I’ve started and have never finished, as well as plays that I’ve seen, but I’ve never thoroughly understood. The key question is: can I make it to the other side, getting a good grade?

6 June 2024

My set books have arrived!

I bought a set of second hand text from a former A233 student. It’s quite a package. I am now officially scared.

I’ve watched one production of As You Like It from Drama Online. It took me a bit of time to figure out what it was about (it’s all about love). There’s one soliloquy by Jacques that I recognised immediately. 

30 June 2024

I had a long drive to visit my parents. Before setting off, I downloaded Pride and Prejudice from Audible. As well as listening to it, I’ve been starting to watch a dramatized version which can be found on BBC iPlayer, starring Colin Firth as Darcy. I’m gradually making a bit of progress, but it’s taking a bit of time. I’m quite liking Mr Bennett.

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Preparing for the summer: A334 reading list

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Edited by Christopher Douce, Sunday, 31 Mar 2024, 09:46

In some ways, this short blog follows on from a blog I wrote last year, which has a similar title: Preparing for the summer: A233 reading list.

I’m writing this blog after having my registration for A334 English literature from Shakespeare to Austen confirmed. I'm probably getting ahead of myself since I still have a quite a lot to do on A233; one more TMA and an EMA, which I'm not really started to think about. 

Just like last year, to get ahead, I’m going to try to do a bit of reading over the summer. What follows is a reading list that I’ve liberated from the module information page. Where possible, I’ve provided a link to a version from Project Guttenberg which can be downloaded to an e reader (which is something that I’ll just before I go on holiday). Do note that the version that is linked to is, of course, different to the text that is referenced.

If you do make use of the Guttenberg version, do note that there may well be significant differences between the text that is officially recommended by the module team, and the downloaded version. The editorial that the officially recommended is often useful.

I’m clearly not going to get through all these in one summer since some of these texts are unfeasibly long. One thing that I have learnt from the study of the OU literature modules is that the reading is often quite directed. In this list there are some novels that I have always wanted to find the time to read; I’ve started reading the Austen novels a couple of times, so that is probably where I’m going to start.

I’ve adjusted the format of the reference to make them a bit more like the official CiteThemRight Harvard format which the university adopts.

Montagu, M. W. (2012) The Turkish Embassy Letters. Edited by T. Heffernan and D. O'Quinn. Broadview Press. ISBN 9781554810420

Kyd, T., (2009) The Spanish Tragedy. Edited by A. Gurr and J.R. Mulryne. (New Mermaids) Methuen. ISBN 9781408114216

Swift, J., (2002) Gulliver's Travels. Edited by A.J. Rivero. Norton. ISBN 9780393957242

Wycherley, W. (2014) The Country Wife. Edited by T. Stern, (New Mermaids) Methuen. ISBN 9781408179895

Molière (2008). The Misanthrope, Tartuffe and Other Plays. Edited by M. Slater. Oxford World's Classics. ISBN 9780199540181

Austen, J. (2019) Pride and Prejudice. Oxford World's Classics. ISBN 9780198826736

Austen, J. (2008) Persuasion. Oxford World's Classics. ISBN 9780199535552

Mack, R.L. (ed) (2009) Arabian Nights' Entertainments. Oxford World's Classics. ISBN 9780199555871

Daniell, D. (ed) (1998) The Arden Shakespeare: Julius Caesar. Methuen. ISBN 9781903436219

Shakespeare, W. (2009). As You Like It. Edited by M. Hattaway. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521732505

Rousseau, J.J. (2008) Confessions. Edited by P. Coleman. Oxford World's Classics. ISBN 9780199540037

Thompson, A. and Taylor, N. (eds) The Arden Shakespeare: Hamlet. Bloomsbury. ISBN 9781472518385

Additional note: judging by the reading list it does look like both Hamlet and Julius Caesar may well be studied. I have no idea what the two Arden Shakespeare study books contain. To prepare, I’ve provided links to ebooks for both of these plays:

Shakespeare, W. (2019) Hamlet. Project Guttenberg.

Shakespeare, W. (2023) Julius Caesar. Project Guttenberg.

A final note is that I'm sure whether the link to Arabian Nights' Entertainments is correct, but I'm sure I'll figure it out when I get to the study materials.

Acknowledgements

This reading list has been directly liberated from the A334 module website. I have no connection with the module team, and it is entirely possible that this reading list may change. Always rely on the recommendations from the module team, rather than any materials that are mentioned in this blog.

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