A 22 year-old girl blogs about "devouring texts" (the name of her blog). She goes through and talks about different texts--books, movie, plays, etc-- that she is currently reading about. It is kind of like what we do, but is an expansion because it is so much more than Shakespeare.
Anyways I think it is awesome and you should definitely check it out. Cool idea if you want to continue your blog after this class is over.
On another note:
There is a very strong sense of loyalty in The Merchant of Venice. Antonio and Bassanio's relationship is the shining example of what true loyalty, love, and friendship should look like. However, Bassanio does not exempt this same loyalty to Portia, his new wife, when he gives away her ring and says he would sacrifice her life for Antonio (don't you want a husband willing to give your life for a friend? stand-up guy, really). This is mirrored by the relationship of Gratiano and Nerissa.
The worst example of loyalty we have in the play is Jessica to Shylock, her father. This is a starch contrast to Portia's unquestionable loyalty to her dead father. Portia would have lost the man she loves if he did not pass her father's test correctly and therefore not received her (dead) father's approval. Counter to Jessica sneaking off in the middle of the night to meet Lorenzo and marry him--betraying both her father and her Jewish heritage. In the end, everything works out fine for both of them and Portia's man passes her father's test and gains the right to marry her, while Jessica and Lorenzo are secured a spot in Shylock's will as the only heirs by the hand of Antonio. So obey or disobey your father, no matter, everything will work out just fine. (Ha! If only it actually worked out like that).
Modern:
In our modern world we have several representations that call into question loyalty. (As much as I hate to use it) An example of this is the Twilight saga.
Bella is torn between two guys--one vampire, one werewolf (appealing choices, right?). She has all of these adventures and near-death experiences with/ because of these guys, but where is Dad? He's at home. Completely oblivious to anything going on. She continually lies to him and sneaks off with these boys. Not only does she continually lie to him, but she sacrifices a relationship with her parents- father and mother- to be with a vampire. She commits the ultimate betrayal and fakes her own death, completely eliminating her father from her life (just as Jessica did when she ran away).
With all this talk about father bashing daughters, I would like to give a shout out to my dad. I think he is the best and he has always welcomed me back home no matter how far off the path and his advice I have gone. I LOVE MY DAD!!
(didn't have a picture of just me and my dad handy, but here is the whole family- brother-in-laws included)
What a great connection! :) It's always a good idea to connect Shakespeare to something modern (even if other people don't see the signficance of it). This really helps readers, I think, to understand things better and connect Shakespeare to their lives in a variety of ways.
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