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“What we value in art is the experience of the work, not the things they told you to look for in high school.”
"Shakespeare is our most underrated poet. " Stephen Booth
Intellectually, today's lesson is the most important one that we will do all year. There may be classes that grab \students in more profound and affecting ways - but without a doubt, the ideas of Stephen Booth will ask students to think deeply and to reject so much of what they've been taught in the English Classroom - from kindergarten onward. I like to think that all of my unit on Literary Criticism leads up this moment. In fact, I'd like to think that all of my class up to this point in the school year (as well as what is to follow) is predicated on the words of Professor Booth. Put in its most simple terms - it is the words that make Great Literature, great. Not the stories, not the themes, not its "message". It is the words - the words that are chosen and how those words are arranged. Of course - we need that gripping story too - we need tales that address the lives of our students (though that may mean those stories are universal and empathetic - not necessarily composed of people who look like them and live during the same time period they do).
Today's class is mostly lecture - much of it taken directly from the writings and lectures of Stephen Booth. It begins with a recounting of his lecture on Hamlet and then I tell a personal story about my own encounter with the critic - and his generous understanding of my own trepidation about his ideas. Then, I try to point out how he won me over - and I spend the rest of the class period trying to do the same with my own students. The ideas and their implications will not reach every student - just as they didn't reach or convince every teacher that heard them when I was at The Folger Shakespeare Teaching Institute (first as a student myself - and later as a master teacher). But it will reach many of my students and those who remain unconvinced will, at the very least, be exposed to idea and theory that differs from so much of what they've been taught.
The class is taught with the help of a rather elaborate Power Point Presentation - and I will do here what I've done a few times in the past - I will write my notes directly on that Power Point so you can see how the lesson develops. I will also include a version of the Power Point (hopefully) with narration. And there will be an audio recording of the class which can be listened to as you watch the Power Point (or pdf).
Lesson Overview - Literary Criticism Day 9 - Stephen Booth - The Text is the Thing
Lesson Overview - Literary Criticism Day 9 - Stephen Booth - The Text is the Thing
The Reading for AFTER today's lesson (unlike all of the other readings in this unit - they will read what Stephen Booth has to say after today's lecture.)
The Reading for AFTER today's lesson (unlike all of the other readings in this unit - they will read what Stephen Booth has to say after today's lecture.)
The students are given an article that Stephen Booth wrote, "Shakespeare's Language and the Language of Shakespeare's Time". They are required to read the first 5 pages (which I include below - I urge you to find and read the entire article) - the next 12 pages are extra credit (there will be questions about them on the exam which they can answer if they've read).
What's Done in Class
What's Done in Class
No quiz today. They were to have brought in their favorite passage from either Macbeth or Twelfth Night and their own paraphrasing of that passage - the idea being that it will give them an idea of what is lost in the process - hence, preparing them for today's lecture.
The Lecture and Power Point Presentation.
The Lecture and Power Point Presentation.
An Introduction
An Introduction
I told the students that they were having a very special visitor today - and, of course, that turns out to be me. (Please see the notes on the Power Point (or PDF), and/or the video of the class for more on the Lecture. I call it a lecture - but there actually is a fair amount of interaction with the students - but this is about as much of speaking directly to the class as I do all year.
An Lecture in Three Parts
An Lecture in Three Parts
There are, essentially, three parts to this presentation. In the first, I talk about how I first encountered the ideas of Stephen Booth (at the Folger Shakespeare Library), Next we go through the "If music be the food of love" speech - looking for the kinds of "word textures" that define Stephen Booth's Literary Theory. Finally, we go through a very different (from Shakespeare) example that was often used by Professor Booth to elucidate his ideas. Because I believe these ideas to be so important, revolutionary, and fundamental to this website - below you can find a video of the lecture that I give to the students, along with the Power Point (annotated and unadorned as well).
The Next Day's Reading
The Next Day's Reading
See above - the students are given the Stephen Booth reading AFTER this lecture.
ADayintheBooth.mp4A Day in the Booth - Stephen Booth & Text-Centered Criticism Video
A Day in the Booth - Stephen Booth & Text-Centered Criticism Video
I made a video by combining my Power Point presentation with a class audio recording. You can also find the Power Point and PDF with and without notes below. So far, this is the only lesson that I've gone to these lengths for - but it's because I feel that the ideas presented are so important - and so crucial to empowering students in their readings of texts. The talk is with one of my classes so you can hear their thoughts and reactions as we go through the ideas.
A Day in the Booth - Power Point & PDF Presentation (with Notes)
A Day in the Booth - Power Point & PDF Presentation (with Notes)
This presentation is slightly different than the one you will see in the video (above) - mainly that is missing a few slides and contains a slide on applying Stephen Booth's ideas to one of the texts from this unit ("Shooting an Elephant"). Both versions (PDF & Power Point) have very detailed notes attached so that you can see exactly how these ideas are presented - and show how they are presented in the above video. As with most of my Lessons (I hope), I try to build (scaffold) the ideas and anticipate possible objections.
A Day in the Booth - Student Handouts - 1) Booth's Hamlet 2) Twelfth Night
A Day in the Booth - Student Handouts - 1) Booth's Hamlet 2) Twelfth Night
I apologize for the poor quality of Handout #1 - it has undergone many generations of being copied. It should also be noted that this handout belongs entirely to Stephen Booth - it includes the same ideas that he presented. The second handout is static - and is to be used for taking notes on the many textual layers and word play present (in Shakespeare) and not present (in Shakespeare Made Easy).
ADayintheBooth_2017.mp4Class Recordings
Class Recordings
Audio - a recording of my talk on the ideas of Stephen Booth
Audio - a recording of my talk on the ideas of Stephen Booth
This is a different recording than the one that was used in making the video above - it is always insteresting to see different classes and different students reactions to these ideas - that, in truth, go against pretty much everything they've been taught about Literature (including by me).
Reading for AFTER today's lecture - Literary Criticism Day 9 - "Shakespeare's Language and the Language of Shakespeare's Time" by Stephen Booth
Reading for AFTER today's lecture - Literary Criticism Day 9 - "Shakespeare's Language and the Language of Shakespeare's Time" by Stephen Booth
"Shakespeare's Language and the Language of Shakespeare's Time" by Stephen Booth (the first five pages) PDF
"Shakespeare's Language and the Language of Shakespeare's Time" by Stephen Booth (the first five pages) PDF
This is the first five pages of Stephen Booth's article (what the students are REQUIRED to read - after we are done with today's lecture. I ask the students to read the box on the last page BEFORE beginning their reading - that box contains this advice: 1) Have an Open Mind 2) DO NOT read it in one sitting - spread it over at least 3 days 3) Tale lots of notes evenly throughout 4) Remember: It's not being repetitious - it is giving specific proof for an idea that goes against everything commonly taught about Literature 5) Keep in mind Mr. Scotese's (Stephen Booth's) lecture 6) Have an Open Mind.
The complete article can be found in the above link.
To me, this book is the most important and clarifying text ever written about Shakespeare's Sonnets. It looks at each sonnet with a fine-tooth comb. Focusing on the words rather than any larger or unknowable meaning - it is, in itself, a work of genius.
My Introduction to Stephen Booth at The Folger Shakespeare Library
My Introduction to Stephen Booth at The Folger Shakespeare Library
I was so privledged to introduce my literary hero, Stephen Booth, at The Folger as he received an award for the huge impact that he had on so many teachers, students, and scholars. I end that introduction with this: "Thank you for looking, Stephen, and thank you for showing us what you saw - those bright and shiny things that make and define the text. You once wrote that Shakespeare is the most underrated of our poets – I firmly believe that Stephen Booth is the most important and deserving of our critics. "
Students are instructed to put this rubric on the first page of their Literary Criticism Binders. There are two check-ins - two grades for this unit - both of them unannounced - so students should be up to date at all times. In addition to being a rubric - it breaks down in great detail - exactly what is expected of them - including how many questions (or readings) there are for each part of each day's entries: Readings for that Day (notes are graded), Questions for Today, Group Work Questions, and Solo Work.
Because you don't want to deprive students of their Journals during this unit - I usually do the first check-in (Grading) while they are watching the first part of Exit Through the Gift Shop - I will only collect as many as I can get graded during that time - and will grade the rest the next day - during the class period - asking them to take out the work and readings that they need for that class. The second check-in is not so rushed and I usually collect the binders after the Final Exam to grade them.
NOTE: I always gave students a chance to revise their binders (journals) if they did it BEFORE the final. I told them that I would change the grade they got for Check-In #1 (the only checkin that I offered this) to an average of their original grade with what they would have gotten with the revised journal. In other words, if they got a 50 on the first check-in - and then they revised it, gave it to me (before the final on Literary Criticism) - and the new assessment of their Journal lands them what would have been a 90 - I will change the recorded grade for that check-in to a 70.
Having the students watch half of this movie - at this point in the Unit serves two main purposes. One, it gives them a chance to read the Stephen Booth article on Shakespeare's Language - yes, there are movie questions but those are due after the final exam - they need these questions (and their answers to help them study).
The second reason for showing this film (Part 2) now, is to give them -as with Part 1 - some very real and practical uses for their new found literary analysis skills. Though they won't be answering the questions - they will be reading them and seeing how some of the ideas they've talked about - humanism, feminism, new historicism, Marxism, Text-Centered Criticisim - come into play.
WHAT CAME BEFORE:
WHAT CAME BEFORE:
Thoughts on the Lesson
Thoughts on the Lesson
Stephen Booth changed everything that I taught - and how I taught it. Though that doesn't mean we didn't talk about meaning - we always did - but we did on the belief that it was the words that made that mean special and that made it stand out. About a decade ago, I was given one of the greatest honors of my entire life. Doctor Booth was receiving a special award at the Folger Shakespeare Library - and they asked me to give his introduction. You can read (or listen) to what I said in this lesson - suffice it to say, I consider myself lucky to have known him and to have heard his ideas on the importance of the words and the power they give to Great Literature.
Remote Teaching
Remote Teaching
I did not do Literary Criticism the year we were remote - but really there is no reason not to - with the greatest challenge is having students work in online groups - but by this time of year, they should be accustomed to it.
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