Hi there. I'm Sydney, and this is my Shakespeare blog for Dr. Burton's 232 class. Looks awesome so far, hey? Right....A little about me, I am a senior studying Psychology at BYU, hoping to go into counseling or social work after graduation. I grew up in the sunny, beautiful metropolis of Kennewick, Washington. For those of you unfamiliar with the place, it is located in the dry, desert-y southeast corner of the state, close to the Oregon border, and is one of the "Tri-Cities". I enjoy Shakespeare and am very excited to learn more, considering that of his plays I have read only a few. I am familiar with Romeo and Juliet (as I'm sure everyone is), The Taming of the Shrew, and The Merry Wives of Windsor. If there are more, I have forgotten. Also, I don't remember The Merry Wives of Windsor very well (except that it was funny) because I saw the play at a Shakespeare festival in Ashland, Oregon with my family probably about six years ago. Being young and impressionable at the time, I remember the hippie village we stayed in a lot better than the actual play. My hope for this class is that in studying, understanding and interacting with the works of Shakespeare, I can gain greater insight into the human condition, and become personally enriched. This class happens to be the last GE I need, but I did choose it out of many different options in the hope that it would be more fun and interesting than the others. The title of this blog (O Monstrous Beast) is from a line in "The Taming of the Shrew" (I think), and although that's not really how I feel about Shakespeare, I was just trying to be clever.
My personal interests include para-sailing, skydiving, snowboarding, and wake-boarding, although I have yet to try any of those activities. Honestly what I do love is playing volleyball and tennis, oil painting, singing (in the shower, mostly), laughing with good friends, watching movies, and reading. I'm excited for this class, and I hope that Shakespeare doesn't turn out to be a monstrous beast for any of us, and instead proves to be a furry, adorable, awesome pet to love and cherish and snuggle.
Cordially Yours,
Sydney
