Finally, we have come to the end of this semester. I am glad that I have been given a chance to create my own blog for the course of "Teaching the Language of Drama". This is a very new experience to me. Although at first I just treated it as part of my task to fulfill my lecturer's marking scheme, but now I have found that this blog actually has a lot more benefits to me.
By posting my reflections about the course in this blog, I have in fact learned a lot more knowledge which I might not gain in the lecture. When I read other coursemates' blog I gained more insight about the play we have learned in the lecture. I think that it is a very beneficial activity that our lecturer has designed for this course to enhance our understanding about drama.
Throughout the whole semester, we have learned five plays, Anitgone by Sophocles, Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw, Anike by Wong Phui Nam, King Lear by William Shakespeare, and A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams. We have learned the background and history of theater and various techniques that a playwright used in conveying their messages in a play. We have watched the movie of Pygmalion, Shakespeare's Wallah and Macbeth. We also have a chance to go to a real theater in KLPAC to watch a modern theater, 4.48 Psychosis. Not only that, we also have simulated teaching session that has given us a chance to learn all the teaching skills and techniques in teaching the language of drama. All these are very good learning experiences for all of us. I have gained new insights about human life from reading the play. I have learned how to examine a play from various aspects of its language. This course has also sparked my interest and enthusiasm for drama and theater.
Here I would like to thank my lecturer, Dr. Edwin, for all the effort that he has done for this course and for all the patience he has in teaching us.
I enjoy this course very much and I hope in the future I would still have the opportunity to know more about drama.

New experiences in simulated teaching

I have learned a lot of new things in the simulated teaching sessions in this course. Although my group hasn't presented for the while reading activity but I have learned a lot from the comments given by Dr. Edwin to my fellow course mates' presentations.
I can see most of my coursemates have actually put a lot of effort in preparing their simulated teaching, so do I. While we thought that we have actually done the best in our preparation of the worksheet and teaching materials, somehow there are always mistakes and imperfections in the eyes of our lecturer. When Dr. Edwin pointed out truck loads of mistakes that we made in our worksheet and also in our ways of conducting the lesson, and then I realized there are still a lot more space for us to improve ourselves in order for us to conduct a good lesson.
From the simulated teaching session, I am glad that we can learn from each other and get more and more idea from each other. I think all the worksheets I got from my coursemates will be a set of very good collections for my own reference in future. All the worksheets designed by different course mates would have different ideas and each has their strengths and weaknesses. Some have very creative exercises but may be too simple for advanced students. Some have too "ambitious" task that students may not be able to attempt it individually in a single lesson. So in this case, the teacher has to think of other way for the students to complete the task. Group work or pair work might be other good alternatives that the teacher can consider. From this experience, I have learned to be creative and flexible in teaching.
The using of technology is also very crucial in conducting a lesson. If we could make good use of the technology, this will make our lesson become more interesting and livelier. This also helps to catch students' attention and lighten the teacher's burden in explanation.
The way we speak and the language we used are also very important in making a good lesson. I appreciate that our lecturer actually corrected us when we were using the wrong words or making grammatical mistakes. Sometimes we were just so used to talk in a carefree way with our friends and no one actually bothers to correct our mistakes. But as a future English teacher, who will become a role model for younger generations, I think we really need to speak properly and accurately.
All in all, I think it is a very good experience for us to "foretaste" the experience of being a teacher. I think most of us have learned a very good lesson in this simulated teaching session and all these experiences will be very useful in our future teaching career.

Like a moth to a flame

While I am reading a modern play, A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, again I have found out a lot of animal imageries in the play. Perhaps human's behaviours sometimes do share some similar features like animals, thus many writers like to use animal imageries to portray certain behaviours of a characters. In A Streetcar Named Desire, I was impressed by the description of Blanche's entrance on the stage, in which Tennessee likened her uncertain manner and her clothing to a "moth". I think this must be foreshadowing something that is going to happen to Blanche later in the play. As this animal imagery has aroused my curiosity, I have found out more information about this insect from the Wikipedia. Unlike butterflies, most species of moth are active at night. They frequently appear to circle artificial lights. They are especially attracted to bright lights thus sometimes they are attracted to the flame of fire and harm themselves.
"Like a moth to a flame."
This phrase is a simple illustration of the phenomenon of the attraction that moths have to bright light. It means "irresistibly and dangerously attracted to something or someone." In the 17th century, Shakespeare also used this phenomenon to refer to someone who was apt to be tempted by something that would lead to their downfall in his famous play, The Merchant of Venice.
I think it is very suitable to use the phenomenon of moths being attracted to light to portray Blanche's character. She is attracted to male that could satisfy her sexual desire yet she does not know that this is actually a "flame" that will destroy her life. Her arrival at New Orleans symbolizes that she is drawn nearer to the "flame" that is going to lead to her downfall, that is, Stanley, who destroys Blanche's life to the fullest by raping her and then having her committed to an insane asylum.
Although moths are attracted to light at night but they could not stand the sunlight that is too strong and bright. This also accords well with Blanche's behaviour. Throughout the play, she avoids appearing in direct, bright light so that others would not notice her faded beauty. This shows that Blanche is not willing to face the reality of her age.

Comment on Rose Dayang's "The Role of the Fool in King Lear"

I think Rose has done a good job in her explanation about the role of the Fool in King Lear. She even notices when is the Fool disappears in the play and the significance of his disappearance!
I agree with Rose that the Fool plays the role of a moral instructor to Lear. Although his name is "Fool" but he is wiser than the king in the sense that he could see the "wolf in sheep clothing" while Lear is morally blinded by his own pride. The Fool warns Lear to beware of the two ungrateful daughters in a humorous way which also brings laughter to the audience. The role of the Fool also portrays clearly the theme of blindness and sight in the play.

"I stumbled when I saw."

"I stumbled when I saw."
Sound ironic?
Yes, indeed it is a very ironical phrase yet it is also a very insightful sentence in the play King Lear by William Shakespeare.
This phrase is uttered by Gloucester after his eyes were plucked out by Cornwall. Only after he has lost his eyes he realizes the tremendous mistake that he has made. Now, in his blindness he can "see" clearly how evil his illegitimate son Edmund is and has easily fooled him into believing that his loyal son Edgar is set on killing him. He has trusted blindly what he perceives as the truth without considering deeply beneath the surface.
The theme of sight and blindness can also be seen apparently through the other character, Lear. Although he is not blind, Lear fails to see the truth about his three daughters. His "disability to have insight" has led him to make terrible decision that has brought destructions to his own life.
Besides that, one main thing that I believe has hindered Lear and Gloucester to have a clear vision is their pride. Because of their pride, they never thought that they would make mistake thus they do not seek for or listen to others' advice.
"I stumbled when I saw."
This phrase should be a very good reminder for all of us. Isn't it a precise description about human life? The story of Gloucester and Lear does not simply occur on the stage for us to watch but it should be an impact for us in reality. The experience of Gloucester and Lear should be a very good lesson for us to learn. We should not perceive anything only on its face value. Instead of using our eyes to see, we should also make use of our mind, heart, knowledge and experience. Besides, we should not be overconfident on our own judgement. We should always consider other's advice to us.

Comment on Ly Wen's "Cuckoo as ungrateful children"

After reading Ly Wen's post about Cuckoo, I have a better understanding about the use of animal imagery in the play "King Lear". I never have any knowledge about birds' living and this makes me feel difficult when I encounter the bird imageries used in the play. I appreciate Ly Wen's effort in surfing on the net to find out more information about cuckoo and this should be a good example for me to put more effort on my study. After reading her post, I understand why the Fool calls Lear's daughters Goneril and Regan as "cuckoo" in I. iv. l 214-215. Goneril and Regan's ungratefulness to their father is exactly like how cuckoo dominates the nest of its foster parent and displaces the other nest mates. I found that it is very meaningful and interesting that human's behaviours can be described through animal imageries. Perhaps because human is also categorised as animals in terms of biology, human do have some similar features like other animals. I think that Shakespeare has successfully using animal imageries in his play to portray a clear picture on human behaviours.

Comment on Chelsea's "Anike-Finished!!!"

Although Dr Edwin has finished discussed the play "Anike" with us, but I don't have much impression about the play because most of the story is basically no much difference with "Antigone". I wondered how the playwright Wong Phui Nam could get the copyright of the play. Only after reading Chelsea's post I know what the differences between these two plays and how Wong Phui Nam made it in its own right. I was paying too much attention to the plot of the story until I missed some of the crucial details that made it a unique play that stands on its own right. I agree with Chelsea that reading "Anike" and "Antigone" were totally of different mood. Reading "Antigone" emerged the feeling of sorrow that we could feel the intensity of the play. Whereas reading "Anike" is more "relax". Like Chelsea, I also appreciate the creativity of Wong Phui Nam in integrating the Malay Legend of Hang Tuah and Hang Jebat into the play by which he successfully portrays the play full of local feeling and colour.