“Shakespeare’s Use of the [Renaissance] Theory [of Composition]” By Sister Miriam Joseph

About Sister Miriam Joseph  Lived from  Earned her doctorate from Columbia University  Had additional degrees from Saint Mary’s College in Indiana & University of Notre Dame  A member of the Sisters of the Holy Cross  A professor of English at Saint Mary's College from 1931 to 1960.

Additional publications  The Trivium: The Liberal Arts of Logic, Grammar, and Rhetoric  Discerning the Ghost in Hamlet  Shakespeare's Use of the Arts of Language  The Trivium in College Composition and Reading  Many other articles in scholarly journals including Shakespeare Quarterly

Renaissance writers  The Renaissance was a time of intense ferment in all areas of life — religion, science, politics, domestic relations, culture. That ferment was reflected in the literature of the era, which also registered a heightened focus on and analysis of the self and the personal life  These new elements of Shakespeare’s day have been implemented into our everyday writing  Shakespeare implemented his knowledge of terms, the forms, and the processes of argumentation into his plays

History of the Renaissance Theory  Began as a co-requisite of the mathematical persuasion such as geometry, astronomy, music grammar and dialect  Defined as a penetrating and comprehensive analysis of thought and its expression  Elements of logos, pathos, and ethos are encouraged as important entities of composition during this time like no other in its past

Main influences on Shakespeare  His creative art illustrates most fully the variety and compass of the Renaissance theory of composition  His writing possessed the perfect blend of logic, grammar, and rhetoric –Logic is the art of thinking; grammar, the art of inventing symbols and combining them to express thought; and rhetoric, the art of communicating thought from one mind to another, the adaptation of language to circumstance

Group Work  “Translate” the following famous soliloquy from Hamlet in modern language for the modern student. Suppose Shakespeare was writing it now. –How would his audience analysis change? Available: Shakespeare/hamlet/hamlet.3.1.html

 To be, or not to be: that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep; No more; and by a sleep to say we end The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation Passage

 Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep; To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub; For in that sleep of death what dreams may come To grunt and sweat under a weary life, But that the dread of something after death, The undiscover'd country from whose bourn No traveller returns, puzzles the will And makes us rather bear those ills we have Than fly to others that we know not of? Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;

 And thus the native hue of resolution Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought, And enterprises of great pith and moment With this regard their currents turn awry, And lose the name of action. —Soft you now! The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons Be all my sins remember'd When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause: there's the respect That makes calamity of so long life;

 For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, The pangs of despised love, the law's delay, The insolence of office and the spurns That patient merit of the unworthy takes, When he himself might his quietus make With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear, To grunt and sweat under a weary life, But that the dread of something after death, The undiscover'd country from whose bourn

 No traveller returns, puzzles the will And makes us rather bear those ills we have Than fly to others that we know not of? Thus conscience does make cowards of us all; And thus the native hue of resolution Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought, And enterprises of great pith and moment With this regard their currents turn awry, And lose the name of action. —Soft you now! The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons Be all my sins remember'd

Follow up questions  Because this passage was a well known soliloquy, did you find it easier to “translate” into modern day English?  Do you think this passage has influenced orators in their delivery of speeches? –Why or why not? If so, how?

Discussion Questions  Do you believe his writings are still relevant in the classroom today?  Will the teaching of Shakespeare ever be obsolete?

 Paul Oskar Kristeller stated, “Rhetoric is important, as it always was, as a technique of expression, for we wish and try to write and speak well and clearly. Yet our universe of discourse, and in system of education that should reflect this universe, rhetoric should not occupy the center, but be subordinated, not only with philosophy, but also to the sciences as well as to poetry and the other arts.”(228)

Group Activity  Get back into your groups and discuss one following questions:  Is your own personal writing influenced by Shakespeare’s work? How specifically?  When was your first exposure to Shakespeare? What was your initial reaction?  As we emerge ourselves into a more multimedia society, how will we be able to incorporate the more traditional media?

Reasons for choosing selected topic  I feel it is always important to know where your writing derives; it gives you a better sense of yourself  Shakespeare undoubtedly is one of the most well- renowned authors of all time  Curious to know the level of influence his writing has made on peers

Final thoughts “…the function of the trivium is the training of the mind for the study of matter and spirit, which constitute the sum of reality. The fruit of education is culture, which Mathew Arnold defined as 'the knowledge of ourselves and the world.‘” ~Sister Miriam Joseph

Either hand in or written “prompt” to: Subject: English 470 Prompt/ yourlastname