When the student blog was assigned in October, it was met with a mixture of excitement and dread. The assembled group was informed that the blog should catalogue our progress through the MA and follow our own research interests.
The inspiration for my first post
At this point, I was struggling to compose a class assignment, never mind a research topic for my thesis. My “About” section and first post was marked with uncertainty as I declared “blogging is not my forte”.In spite of my initial vague ideas on how to approach my blog, I did know that gender in Early Modern drama was, and continues to be, a point of interest. After taking a seminar in third year titled “Shakespeare on Page and Screen”, I decided to follow this interest and write a post on the latest cinematic adaptation of Macbeth, directed by Stephen Kurzel. Hoping to avoid a summary or review of the film, I focused on the portrayal of the Weird Sisters.
“I wish to focus on the representation of the Weird Sisters and compare them to other cinematic counterparts. The audience first encounter the three witches as they watch the funeral of the Macbeths’ child from afar. Visually, the Weird Sisters appear to be more human than supernatural. Rather than the terrifying, faceless witches in Orson Welles’ Macbeth, these women are unremarkable in appearance and speak in normal tones. If anything, they are more akin to Roman Polankski’s witches who live on the outskirts of society. Varying in ages, Kurzel’s witches are predominantly dressed in black and appear to exist on the borders of the violent, masculine world that Macbeth inhabits. Whenever they appear there is a physical separation between them and society. During the Battle of Ellan, Macbeth sees the witches standing in fog, away from the action. In other scenes they appear in or at the edge of the forest. The spaces they occupy seems gendered as only women and children are permitted to remain there. After delivering their first prediction, they leave through the fog before disappearing. Despite his initial attempt to uncover more information, Macbeth cannot follow them past a certain point.”
In review, I possibly should have provided description or perhaps some images of previous incarnations of the witches. The balance between summary and analysis is a pitfall that many students struggle with. However, I believe I produced a balanced and informed post that engaged with the material. By choosing to focus on one aspect of the entire film, it became more than a simple review. I made reference to other films and sought quotes from Stephen Kurzel regarding his directorial decisions:
“Perhaps the most important feature of Kurzel’s witches is their lack of supernatural power. While Welles’ witches controlled Macbeth through a voodoo doll, these witches seem to have little or no interest in causing malicious or devious harm. They simply deliver their predictions and allow the characters to make their own choices. Their iconic and perhaps clichéd, speech of “Double, double toil and trouble” is notably absent in Kurzel’s film, another decrease in their supernatural abilities. During an interview, Kurzel remarked that “we were interested in having them appear on the battlefield, perhaps as observers and watchers of his [Macbeth]tragedy. […] A simple use of them, as opposed to them being these supernatural manifestations” (Lambie, Macbeth, Breaking Bad, Snowtown).
From a visual perspective, the witches are certainly more benign than supernatural. There are no warts or other unattractive physical ailments. Instead, their foreheads are marked with papal crosses. It is interesting that it is a religious icon that marks the witches. Within the film, there are an abundance of scenes shot within churches; Lady Macbeth questioning Macbeth’s masculinity, Macbeth’s coronation and Lady Macbeth’s “Out damned spot” soliloquy. Yet religion offers little comfort in this stark, violent world.”
At the end of the second semester, our blogs were critiqued. I was advised to broaden my content and demonstrate application of the analytical skills and deployment of some of the theory I encountered during the MA programme. With this in mind, I made a conscious effort to tie in topics I was discussing in class with ideas or theories I pursued in my own research:
“As I conduct my own research for an essay on the mutation of the literary figure Cressida I have been exploring a lot of feminist theory. Based on my previous blog entries and my previous academic work, it is hardly surprising that I have taken such an interest in this area. An idea that has come up is the theory of “the male gaze” which can be mainly found in film and other visual mediums although can be applied to some aspects of literature. The theorist Laura Mulvey developed the idea of “The Male Gaze” in her 1975 essay “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema”, which I found in Visual and Other Pleasure. The theory is primarily concerned with how women are viewed in film or other forms of media. The camera angle often plays to a the appeals of male character or a heterosexual male audience. Once you become aware of this theory, it is next to impossible to ignore it. During heterosexual sex scenes, the camera will often linger over the female form for a longer period of time and can slowly move up or down. After doing a quick search, I believe every Bond Girl is introduced through a scene that is rife with sexual desire and objectification.”
I developed my own thoughts of The Male Gaze and extended it to my own analysis of Cressida. This was perhaps a risky move, given Mulvey’s essay was specifically written for visual mediums. But, I believe I defended my interpretation and wrote an engaging post.
“The idea of male gaze can and does appear in literature. While lacking visual imagery, texts that present female characters solely through the the view of a male character to play to the expectations of a predominantly male audience. This is quite a frequent occurrence in early to late medieval texts. Narrator’s such as the one found in Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde, often report on the appearance of female characters as the male protagonist cast their gaze upon them. By constructing any female character through the male gaze, they are denied sexuality aside from the one bestowed upon them. They reassure men of their sexual power and dominance over the female form.”
The blog also tracked elements and assessments of the EN6009 module: Contemporary Literary Research: Skills, Methods and Strategies. Tasked with editing a Wikipedia page that was relevant to our thesis topic, the MA’s live-tweeted the in-class assessment. This post marked a distinct moment in my research journal. I managed to write a post that vividly captured the event through screenshots while adopting a critical tone.
“The hardest part of the exam was the criticism and critical analysis. There was no such section on the original page but I could have easily spent another two hours writing a complete one. Given the time constraints of the exam, I included what I feel were the crucial elements to the play. It may have been shorter than I could have liked but it was a necessary element to the page. Without it, or more importantly, references, the page would have remained an unreliable source. The entire exercise may have been a challenge but it was one I was delighted to take on. The MA’s were grouped together and we interacted with one another in person and on Twitter. The company and support reassured us all and we were even able to help one another at times. For example, a classmate asked me about Middle French as I studied the language in my undergraduate degree.
Teamwork
[…] Aside from developing my editing skills, the editathon highlighted how useful Twitter can be. Due to my incessant tweeting, the Shakespeare in Ireland blog picked up one of tweets. This resulted in Andy Kessan, an academic who specialises in John Lyly, tweeting me, delighted the page was receiving some attention.”
As time went on, my posts became more critical and leaned towards the Early Modern period and revolved around themes of sexuality, gender and the representation of women. In my prescribed reading, I made connections between texts and examined overriding themes such as a wife’s submission to her husband.
“The prescribed reading for my MA modules has yielded some interesting correlations between marriage and women’s autonomy. The first text was The Tragedy of Mariam, written in 1603 by Elizabeth Cary. The second is Their Eyes were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurst. Centuries apart, both texts feature women who are expected to remain silent and act as “the crown of husbands virtue”. Mariam is King Herod’s second wife and it is her inability to hold her tongue that ultimately leads to her downfall and execution. Yet Janie outlives her controlling second husband Jody who dies immediately after she finally vents her frustrations.
According to medieval and early modern homilies, it was a wifely duty to remain silent and do everything in her power to assist her husband. More importantly she is expected to bolster her husband’s reputation. Salomé, Mariam’s sister-in-law, is rebuked by her husband Constabarous for her infidelity. Interestingly, he is more concerned with appearance, his wife must seem virtuous, stating “A virtuous woman crowns her husband’s head”. There should not be any question regarding a wife’s devotion to her husband; her reputation should only enhance his.”
With each post, my use of multimedia improved. I used hyperlinks to connect articles, texts and other blog posts. My blog became a narrative that tracked my academic development.
“In a previous post, I examined Laura Mulvey’s theory of the male gaze which objectifies women. In both texts, there is evidence that physical beauty is a key component of a wife’s role. Mariam is described as “the fair Queen of Jewry”…The preoccupation with beauty is mimicked in Their Eyes Were Watching God with Jody stating ” A pretty doll-baby lak you is made to sit on de front porch and rock and fan yo’self and eat p’taters dat other folks plant just special for you.” (Herst, p.26). A women’s intellect is not required, only her appearance…Like Herod, Jody is happy to have a beautiful, “fair” wife but is not interested in what she has to say. Jody frequently speaks on Janie’s behalf, cutting across her. This predominantly happens when they are in public. It seems that a wife embarrassing her husband in public is the worst crime she can commit.”
Blogging my own research and analysis proved to be beneficial and influential to my overall degree. For our mini-conference, Textualities, I wrote a paper on female silence which was clearly inspired by my “Silence Isn’t So Golden” post.
“I titled my presentation “Shakespeare’s Silenced Women; Problems with Performance in a Patriarchal Context” and chose to examine how female silence translates to film. My main focus within the presentation looked at the literary figure Cressida (Troilus and Cressida), Katherine (Henry V), Hero and Beatrice (both from Much Ado About Nothing). I also mentioned Lavinia (Titus Andronicus), Hermione (A Winter’s Tale) and Desdemona (Othello) when examining and comparing the physical silencing of women.”
The Textualites reflection post was a compulsory element of the mini-conference yet it proved to be one of my more successful posts. Confined to a 300 word count, I strove to provide a personal, in depth reflection while carefully maintaining an academic tone.
“Textualities consisted of six panels of four speakers with time allocated for questions at the end. When we weren’t interrogating our classmates or drinking vast amounts of caffeine, the class interacted with one another on Twitter. My main task within the organisation of Textualites was running the official Twitter account. What initially seemed like a straightforward task soon revealed some challenges. Firstly, each panel needed to be live tweeted. I also needed to strive for a balance between engaging and informative tweets, all in a one hundred and forty character limit… Splitting the task with my peer Emilio, we successfully kept the Twitterverse up to date with all the presentations.”
Throughout the year, MA’s were required to attend research seminars hosted by the School of English. I attended five of these seminars although it was unfortunate that there was only two that focused on the Medieval to Renaissance period. I wrote posts on these two seminars as I found them to be highly relevant to my own research. These seminars were given by Dr Tom Birkett and Dr Andrew J. Power.
“His seminar, titled “Viking Ships to Reading Lists- Collecting Cultures with the World Tree Project” offered us an insight into his research project and how Viking heritages link various nations and cultures.”
I once again found myself at risk of summarising the talk. In an effort to avoid so, I wrote about how many nationalities share a Viking heritage and how this links into contemporary concerns regarding cultural appropriation.
“The aim of the project is to create a digital archive that is available to the public. A component of the talk that caught my attention was how various countries and cultures appropriate their Viking or Norse heritage. The phrase “cultural appropriation” is thrown about these days, sometimes with value and other times merely used as a buzzword to attract more hits on an online article. Generally speaking, it has negative connotations and refers to individuals appropriating one aspect of another culture without any demonstration of knowledge or respect…Within the context of the presentation, the phrase simply referred to how countries and regions use and interpret different aspects of Viking heritage or even the word “Viking” itself. None of these appropriations are inherently wrong or disrespectful as they represent valid experiences and opinions. Given the wide influence it had on Europe, it is not surprising to see the effects of Viking culture outside of Scandinavia. […] Many nationalities and cultures share a mutual heritage. Rather than become outraged at the differences, perhaps we should enjoy them and revel in cultural appreciation. I believe this is part of The World Tree Project’s ethos; to embrace what we share and equally what we do not.”
Given that the Medieval to Renaissance programme is larger than the Modernities and Irish Writing and Film MA groups, it was disappointing that there weren’t more seminars tailored to our areas of research. Even though there were a limited number of Medieval to Renaissance research seminars, I attended screenings and workshops throughout the year. One of these was Dr Dereck Dunne’s “Shakespeare and Performance Workshop”. Looking at The Globe theatre as a performance space, I was challenged by the prospect of reinterpreting how certain plays function within the famed playhouse.
“Prior to the workshop, I was aware that certain plays were written for an audience at court, and the implications this may have for academics studying the overall text. Yet I have never given much thought to how The Globe functions as a performance space. To a modern audience, the famed theatre can seem bare in comparison to a contemporary stage. This preconception is quickly proven false after we discussed certain aspects of The Globe.
Circular in its structure, The Globe has a pit surrounding the stage where the poorer theatre-goers paid £1 to see a performance. The price increases for the tiered seated area. Dereck presented the idea that there is a conversation of sorts between the actors and the audience: the actors onstage provide the words while the audience provides the punctuation. I found this proposition intriguing, especially when you examine the mob scenes in Julius Caesar, or the battlefield of Agincourt in Henry V. There will never be a stage suitable to hold a mob or an army, yet when The Globe is at capacity, an actor suddenly has 3,000 people to address. He then has the opportunity to use the audience as his own “band of brothers””
The other research seminar that I blogged about was Dr Andrew Power’s examination of “The Early Stages of Shakespeare’s Boy Players”. His meticulous research impressed those in attendance and provided a basis for our own analysis and critical thinking.
“Power’s suggestion that the playhouse was a training ground for young actors is one that I found fascinating. For all my interest in female performance within Early Modern drama, I have spent little time examining the implications of young boys playing these roles. Transvestism is certainly present in many Shakespearean texts, with women dressing up as boys. I even covered some of these instances in an earlier blog post. Power elaborated on this theory by suggesting that boys were apprenticed to the manager of the playhouse where they received formal training. When examining certain plays, such as Two Gentlemen of Verona or A Comedy of Errors, there appears to be female roles that require little interaction with other characters or with the audience. Luce (later called Nell) in A Comedy of Errors speaks her lines from behind a closed door, avoiding the gaze of the crowd. Ursula is a maid in Two Gentlemen of Verona who steps onstage to provide a mirror but does not speak. These roles could be seen as training roles for young boy actors so that they might one day progress to major ones.”
Following on from Textualities and Andrew Power’s seminar, I began to research the idea of Shakespearean women on screen in earnest. To aid my research, I wrote a blog post that looked at specific examples where I believed film enhanced performance:
“Lack of dialogue can reveal the societal constraints placed on women, but film offers a chance for female characters to bring another layer of performance to the character…Film also enhances the performance of minor or marginalised characters, particularly those with limited lines. In Kenneth Brannagh’s adaption of Much Ado About Nothing, Margaret, a servant played by Imelda Staunton, is better developed and portrayed in a more sympathetic manner than in many stage productions. In earlier scenes, she is seen flirting and sexually engaging with Borachio and the omission of significant lines might cause the audience to only view her as promiscuous woman whose lewd behaviour causes havoc. Even though her promiscuous behaviour leads to Hero’s public humiliation and violent treatment, the film does eventually reconcile this view during the first wedding. As Claudio accuses Hero of wanton behaviour the camera briefly zooms in on Margaret’s face. During this brief close-up, the audience see that she wears an expression of guilt but also one of remorse…
This is a much more sympathetic portrayal and her performance offers an alternative to the archetypal character found in the text. Although she may have acted in a promiscuous manner, Margaret remains a loyal and kind-hearted woman. Instead of being defined by her sexuality, the performance allows her to depict a sympathetic character with good intentions.”
The topic of female servants in Shakespearean drama and their transition to film is a topic I am hoping to fully explore in my literature review and thesis. To date, I have not found much critical work on the subject. Perhaps my own thesis can help rectify the matter as I consider this to be a worthwhile topic that is demands examination.
What began as rough outline of my academic interests became an integral part of my own research. The research journal connected my work within the overall UCC MA experience and the wider academic community. It tracked newfound skills: my first post lacked imagery but as time progressed, I learnt how to embed videos, gifs, hyperlinks and screenshots. The blog sparked interaction and discussion between classmates through the comment section on our blogs. The chronological progression of the blog also marked my growing academic voice. I shall certainly endeavour to use my blog to aid my thesis research during the summer months.
Works Cited
Murphy, Michelle. “…and some have greatness thrust upon them”. Web log post. Michelle E. Murphy: Musings of a Medieval Masters Student. WordPress, 13 Oct. 2015. Web. 2 Apr. 2016.
Murphy, Michelle. “The Scottish Film”. Web log post. Michelle E. Murphy: Musings of a Medieval Masters Student. WordPress, 16 Oct. 2015. Web. 2 Apr. 2016.
Murphy, Michelle. “Through the Eye of the Beholder”. Web log post. Michelle E. Murphy: Musings of a Medieval Masters Student. WordPress, 10 Dec. 2015. Web. 2 Apr. 2016.
Murphy Michelle. “The World Tree Project (UCC Seminar Series)”. Web log post. Michelle E. Murphy: Musings of a Medieval Masters Student. WordPress, 10 Jan. 2016. Web. 2 Apr. 2016.
Murphy, Michelle. “All the World’s a Stage: Shakespeare and Performance Workshop”. Web log post. Michelle E. Murphy: Musings of a Medieval Masters Student. WordPress, 21 Feb. 2016. Web. 2 Apr. 16.
Murphy, Michelle. “Wikipedia: Not So Unreliable After All”. Web log post. Michelle E. Murphy: Musings of a Medieval Masters Student. WordPress, 10 Feb. 2016. Web. 2 Apr. 16.
Murphy, Michelle. “Silence Isn’t So Golden”. Web log post. Michelle E. Murphy: Musings of a Medieval Masters Student. WordPress, 3 Mar. 2016. Web. 2 Apr. 16.
Murphy, Michelle. “Textualities 2016: A Reflection”. Web log post. Michelle E. Murphy: Musings of a Medieval Masters Student. WordPress, 13 Mar. 2016. Web 2 Apr. 16.
Murphy, Michelle. “More Than Just A Pretty Face: Shakespeare’s Boy Players”. Web log post. Michelle E. Murphy: Musings of a Medieval Masters Student. WordPress, 15 Mar. 2016. Web. 2 Apr. 16.
Murphy, Michelle. “Shakespeare’s Women on Screen”. Web log post. Michelle E. Murphy: Musings of a Medieval Masters Student. WordPress, 20 Mar. 2016. Web. 2 Apr. 16.
Macbeth. Dir. Justin Kurzel. Perf. Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard. StudioCanal and Film4, 2015. Film.
Macbeth. Dir. Orson Welles. Dist. Films, Inc., 1948. DVD.
Macbeth. Dir. Roman Polanski. Perf. Jon Finch, Francesca Annis, and Martin Shaw. Columbia-Warner, 1971. DVD.
Mulvey, Laura. Visual and Other Pleasures. Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham, Wiltshire, 1993. Print
Chaucer, Geoffrey, Stephen A. Barney, and Giovanni Boccaccio. Troilus and Criseyde, with Facing-page Il Filostrato / Authoritative Texts / The The Testament of Cresseid / by Robert Henryson / Criticism ; Edited by Stephen A. Barney. New York: W.W. Norton, 2006. Print.
Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God: A Novel. New York: Perennial Library, 1990. Print.
Cary, Elizabeth. The Tragedy of Mariam, the Fair Queen of Jewry. Manchester: New Mermaids, 2010. Print.
Much Ado about Nothing. Dir. Kenneth Branagh. By Kenneth Branagh. Prod. Kenneth Branagh. Perf. Kenneth Branagh, Richard Briers, Emma Thompson, and Denzel Washington. Samuel Goldwyn Co., 1993. DVD.
Chillington Rutter, Carol. “Looking at Shakespeare’s Women on Film”. The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare on Film. Ed. Russell Jackson. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.
Birkett, Dr Tom. “Viking Ships to Reading Lists- Collecting Cultures with the World Tree Project”. Research Seminar. University College Cork, Cork. 18 Nov. 2015. Lecture.
Dunne, Dr Derrek. “Shakespeare and Performance Workshop”. Workshop. University College Cork, Cork. 1 Feb. 2016. Lecture.
Power, Dr. Andrew J. “The Early Stages of Shakespeare’s Boy Players.” Research Seminar. University College Cork, Cork. 9 Mar. 2016. Lecture.
At this point in time, I intend to pursue the topic of Shakespearean women on screen as part of my MA thesis. As such, it seems fitting to dedicate a blog post to the subject. I first became interested in the idea of female performance after reading a brilliant article by Carol Chillington Rutter titled “Looking at Shakespeare’s women on film“. Rutter argues that film offers women a chance to develop and expand Shakespeare’s character through their on screen performance. Her statement that “Film deprivelages Shakespeare’s words” but that it “…redistributes the balance of power between men’s and women’s roles: not only are there more women in Shakespeare films than playtexts but they have much more to perform” (Rutter) is an excellent observation and provided a firm basis for my own presentation.
For my Textualites presentation, I looked at how silences in Shakespearean drama are treated on screen. While I cannot go into the same level as detail as I did in my Textualities presentation, I would like to focus on one example from the presentation. Lack of dialogue can reveal the societal constraints placed on women, but film offers a chance for female characters to bring another layer of performance to the character. Emma Thompson is exemplary as Katherine in Kenneth Brannagh’s Henry V, demonstrating how a character can be bring a full performance while still following the text and remaining silent.
In the final scene, Henry requests that Katherine stay with him. After a remorseful look she silently complies.To combat Henry’s dominance, she speaks coldly and ignores eye contact, performing as a cynical woman who is not willing to engage with Henry’s flirtatious attempts. As the conversation progresses the audience witnesses a transformation; she laughs at Henry’s appalling French, appearing youthful again. The shot shows the pair in profile, allowing Katherine to react to Henry and giving validity to her feelings.
Film also enhances the performance of minor or marginalised characters, particularly those with limited lines. In Kenneth Brannagh’s adaption of Much Ado About Nothing, Margaret, a servant played by Imelda Staunton, is better developed and portrayed in a more sympathetic manner than in many stage productions. In earlier scenes, she is seen flirting and sexually engaging with Borachio and the omission of significant lines might cause the audience to only view her as promiscuous woman whose lewd behaviour causes havoc. Even though her promiscuous behaviour leads to Hero’s public humiliation and violent treatment, the film does eventually reconcile this view during the first wedding. As Claudio accuses Hero of wanton behaviour the camera briefly zooms in on Margaret’s face.
During this brief close-up, the audience see that she wears an expression of guilt but also one of remorse. A later shot shows Margaret rushing through the gathered guests with a look of determination, leading one to presume she is going to try and remedy the situation. This is a much more sympathetic portrayal and her performance offers an alternative to the archetypal character found in the text. Although she may have acted in a promiscuous manner, Margaret remains a loyal and kind-hearted woman. Instead of being defined by her sexuality, the performance allows her to depict a sympathetic character with good intentions.
The topic of female servants in Shakespearean drama and their transition to film is a topic I am hoping to fully explore in my literature review and thesis. To date, I have not found much critical work on the subject. Perhaps my own thesis can help rectify the matter as I consider this to be a worthwhile topic that is demands examination.
Works Cited
Henry V. Dir. Kenneth Branagh. Perf. Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jacobi, Brian Blessed, Ian Holm, Robbie Coltrane, Judi Dench, and Emma Thompson. Curzon Film Distributors, Ltd., 1989. DVD.
Much Ado about Nothing. Dir. Kenneth Branagh. By Kenneth Branagh. Prod. Kenneth Branagh. Perf. Kenneth Branagh, Richard Briers, Emma Thompson, and Denzel Washington. Samuel Goldwyn Co., 1993. DVD.
Chillington Rutter, Carol. “Looking at Shakespeare’s Women on Film”. The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare on Film. Ed. Russell Jackson. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.
From a visual perspective, the witches are certainly more benign than supernatural. There are no warts or other unattractive physical ailments. Instead, their foreheads are marked with papal crosses. It is interesting that it is a religious icon that marks the witches. Within the film, there are an abundance of scenes shot within churches; Lady Macbeth questioning Macbeth’s masculinity, Macbeth’s coronation and Lady Macbeth’s “Out damned spot” soliloquy. Yet religion offers little comfort in this stark, violent world.”
Circular in its structure, The Globe has a pit surrounding the stage where the poorer theatre-goers paid £1 to see a performance. The price increases for the tiered seated area. Dereck presented the idea that there is a conversation of sorts between the actors and the audience: the actors onstage provide the words while the audience provides the punctuation. I found this proposition intriguing, especially when you examine the mob scenes in Julius Caesar, or the battlefield of Agincourt in Henry V. There will never be a stage suitable to hold a mob or an army, yet when The Globe is at capacity, an actor suddenly has 3,000 people to address. He then has the opportunity to use the audience as his own “band of brothers””
This is a much more sympathetic portrayal and her performance offers an alternative to the archetypal character found in the text. Although she may have acted in a promiscuous manner, Margaret remains a loyal and kind-hearted woman. Instead of being defined by her sexuality, the performance allows her to depict a sympathetic character with good intentions.”
Michelle E. Murphy 