So the time has come, boys and girls, to do a little recap of where my blog, Get Thee to a Nunnery, has been this semester. As is the customary sane for students at the end of every semester, right now I am thinking to myself, "Wow, where has the time gone?!" In this post, I plan on recapturing the places my blog has come and gone.
First, I would like to outline my thesis statement and the purpose of this blog....
Thesis: In modern day culture, Shakespeare's influence has been very wide spread. One of the areas in which his work has been extremely influential is in pop music and film scores. While each composer of pop music and film scores has their own unique take on what Shakespeare was trying to accomplish with his works, I believe that, for the most part, modern day artists accurately display Shakespeare's ideas in their works. By doing so, they create a new interest in the author, his characters, his themes and, most importantly, his works.
Now I would like to display some posts that show my research and ideas regarding my thesis...
Posts and Descriptions:
- Sonnet 29: This is my first post that refers to the use of musical representations of Shakespeare's works. Here, I show two videos that display different musical adaptations of Sonnet 29. With this post, I was trying to show the universality of Shakespeare's works when being adapted to music.
- Shakespeare and Rap Music: Here, I show how pop music, specifically rap music, has inspired British Youth to study Shakespeare. This shows how pop music has created a new interest in the author.
- Ariel's Songs: In this post, I analyze three different songs from The Tempest. Each song is done in a different way to show the universality of Shakespeare. Lastly, I show a song whose theme is inspired by the play. The song is done by a popular rock group called The Decemberists. This shows a new interest in Shakespeare's themes and ideas.
- Thinking Aloud: This post deals with a creative idea I had. I wanted to set up a battle of the bands in which two bands would use lines from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar as the lyrics to two different songs. The purpose was to try and get others to become more interested in Shakespeare's themes and works. You can see another post regarding my battle of the bands idea here.
- Mark Anthony's Speech: This post marks the start of my analysis of the music used in movie adaptations of Shakespearean films. Here, I show the power music can have as well as the power silence can have on audiences.
- Scoring Hamlet: Here I began my analysis on the music used in film adaptations of Hamlet. This particular post refers to the Olivier film. Here are the links to the other posts I did regarding the same subject: Kozintsev and Hamlet, Two Comparisons of the Music Used in Hamlet Movie Trailers and The Use of Music and the Lack Thereof. Here I show how music has a different effect in each film.
- Modern Day Song References to Shakespeare: This is the first post I did regarding modern-day pop references to Shakespeare in pop music. These posts seek to show how Shakespeare's ideas and themes are still relevant and important today. This particular post is regarding Bob Dylan's song "Desolation Row," while my other posts refer to Rush's "Limelight," Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper" and Dire Straits' "Romeo and Juliet."
Lastly, I would like to display my conclusion...
Conclusion: Whether it be in the business world, the world of art or pop culture in general, Shakespeare's messages and themes are timeless and universal. By accurately displaying Shakespeare's works, themes and ideas through film scores and music, future generations of Shakespeare fans will be created, sparking a new interest in this important poet/playwright.
Ahhhh, the places I have been! This has been a great and exciting experience for me. I have learned how to use a new learning medium and have gained a greater understanding of Shakespeare, his works and his influence on pop culture, specifically music. I am currently working on a sources page which will display the sources I used to compile my blog information. This should be up tomorrow.
Thanks for a great semester!
