Blogs of the Week! -- April Edition

From the Freshmen: 

Favorite Scenes and Characters from Romeo and Juliet

Courteney Hereward drew three images to capture Act 3 Scene 5 -- where we get to see three different sides of Juliet. Rather than write out her rationale, she talks through it while using "speedpaint" as background video to her audio recording.  Have a look at her blog here. As an added bonus, check out the video on Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story that she found. Very insightful and intelligent observations about both Shakespeare's play and the Broadway and Hollywood adaptations.

In another look at act 3 scene 5, Lauren Etti's post is beautifully balanced between images and her own text. She integrates Shakespeare's lines naturally into her own writing. My favorite part: the photo from the class performance that captured Capulet letting Juliet know it was his way or the highway for his daughter.  If you want a lesson in beautiful, balanced layouts, have a look at her blog, at this link. Side note: Lady Capulet is played by Barbara, who previously in the scene was Juliet. Is it true that agirls become their mothers when they grow up?

Varia Voloshin's portrayal of the nurse is explained beautifully in her blog, which you can read at this link. The illustration is what caught my eye, though. See how she pulls the Nurse's strongest, most powerful lines and arranges them in the composition of this drawing.  The written description is an articulate, well-thought-out description of the Nurse and her role as Juliet's confidant, advisor, protector, and almost-mother.

Finally, Cortney Chen demonstrates how to combine today's technology and writing style with Shakespeare's words. Her character, The_Real_Romeo puts out his thoughts through Instagram in a series of clever posts. Her rationale is also very well written, using Shakespeare's text naturally to provide evidence for her own ideas. Have a look at her blog at this link! In this example, the caption reads "O, she is rich in beauty, only poor, That when she dies with beauty dies her store.” And then, a rhyming line in today's English: "I'll never have her. What's the point anymore?" Poor Romeo! #currentmood #Imdone.