notes from 3/6

During this class we primarily discussed the plays Cymbeline and All's Well That Ends Well. Cymbeline was play that was important for Shakespeare because it was a change from tradgedy centered drama to theopany centered drama, drama based around a scene of epiphany. The swith in forms of drama is seen as a switch from male, tradgedy gloom and doom type of drama to female recognition. This is a recognition of the divine being present in the everyday. It transcends the tragic sense of life. Thophany centered drama is the drama of romance. As an aside, it is hard to pick a single moment of recognition in Cymbeline because there are 24 seperate reversals and recognitions.
All's Well That Ends Well is a Shakespearean play that remains unpopular even to this day. It violate many of the principles of its genre. The female pursues the male instead of vice versa and there aren't many jokes. For a summary of this play I found the following site helpful. http://www.britannica.com/ebi/article-9316102.
We also began to discuss King Lear in this class period. This play is considered the center of the cannon of Shakespeare. Dr. Sexson then asked us what we think is the center of the play of King Lear, aka the moment of recognition. Hint: It's not at the end.
Marilyn