Final Point 2: Annotations

One of the things that sets various editions of apart from one another is the type of annotations each uses.  In considering the various editions of Shakespeare texts we are using in class, here are some of the thoughts we Spear Shakers had on the advantages and disadvantages of the different kinds of annotations, and how we might approach annotating our own edition.

Macbeth:

• Annotations:  
• A few footnotes along the bottom clarifying words or phrases
• Advantages:  
• Helps a general audience understand unfamiliar or archaic words
• Clarifies meaning so readers can follow the general flow of the plot   
• Disadvantages: 
• Annotations are very light, only providing very basic clarification
• Footnotes do not provide any sort of scholarly input or insight, are strictly for definitions  

The Tempest:

• Annotations: 
• Still relatively light, add clarification to words and some editorial commentary on scenes
• Advantages:
• Helps the audience understand the context of unfamiliar or archaic words
• Notes where editions differ in line assignment or cues.
•  Points out areas that are puns or have double meanings
• Disadvantages:
• A good edition for students, but possibly more information than a general user would be interested in.
• Scholarly, but not overly scholarly.  Good for an undergraduate, but not a Shakespeare scholar.  Does not add anything new to the conversation, only clarifies what is already known.
• Formatted in one large block...a little hard to read  

Richard III:

• Annotations:  
• Mostly consists of definitions for more archaic words and contexts, light annotations
• Advantages:
• Gives the audience context for unfamiliar or archaic words 
• Very cleanly presented and easy to find, follow, and read
• Disadvantages:
• Does not note puns or word plays, innuendos, or double-meanings
• Does not provide any additional commentary or context besides definitions

Measure for Measure:

• Annotations:
• Very similar in format and content as The Tempest
• Advantages:
• Helps the audience understand the context of unfamiliar or archaic words
• Notes where editions differ in line assignment or cues.
•  Points out areas that are puns or have double meanings
• Disadvantages
• Scholarly, but not overly scholarly.  Good for an undergraduate, but not a Shakespeare scholar.  Does not add anything new to the conversation, only clarifies what is already known.
• Formatted in one large block...a little hard to read  

As You Like It:

• Annotations:
• Extremely extensive--there are sometimes more annotations than text on the page
• Advantages:
• The annotations are extremely thorough, providing context, current research, differing opinions, historiography, definitions, and sources
• Everything in every annotation is cross-referenced and sourced so a reader knows exactly where every bit of information came from.
• If the reader has a question about anything in the text, chances are there will be an annotation for it.
• Disadvantages:
• Opening the edition to a random page and reading can be overwhelming for a reader new to annotations...where on earth do you begin?
• There is shorthand and abbreviations within the annotations a reader has to be aware of to be able to effectively "work the system" and effectively use the annotations
• Visually, the pages look very cluttered and text-dense

Because our audience will be high school teachers teaching high school students, we want to make it interesting for the students by providing the teachers with very interactive ideas to help their students engage with the text.  Here are some of the ideas we came up with for accompanying material from Macbeth, Act 1 Scene 5.

• Give the Assignments/thinking questions to help students get more involved with the text. For example:
• Make a meme referring something happening in this scene.
• What sort of person does Lady Macbeth strike you as? Draw her and include characterization details and explain why those details were added (specific lines, your imagination, etc.)
• Write a 2-page essay on the importance of first impressions and how they affect the way you portray someone. Include how you see Lady Macbeth's character unfolding and predict things that will happen in regards to her and the role she plays in the plot of the play.
• Buddy up with someone else in the class and without discussing beforehand, write some of your first impressions you had of them. Then share those impressions with each other and talk about how they go with or against how you know that person now (or have the students pick someone they know who at first didn't seem all that great but who then surprised them later on in their interactions/friendship/relationship).
• Based on what we have read so far, can you think of any modern version of Lady Macbeth? Characters from other books or movies? Perhaps T.V shows you have seen?

• Include a poetry terms glossary somewhere in the book which will explain terms such as 'prose' and 'iambic pentameter.'
• Have an activity for them to write their own poem in iambic pentameter or their own prose using a related topic such as: what Lady Macbeth is like, what their friends are like, what they would do for power, how they would respond in Lady Macbeth's position of receiving word that her husband inherited more land, etc.
• Using the text provided, write a modern version of the text. Follow the structure and outline given by Shakespeare while adding modern twists on language and word play.

• Add vocabulary footnotes to define difficult words.
• Not too many though, because that can be distracting to students. 
• Include an activity of them writing their own poem or short story using a certain number of the vocabulary--easily incorporated into defining prose and iambic pentameter.

• Add poetry footnotes to point out poetic shifts, e.g. prose (our link includes one such footnote) and departure from the iambic norm.
• Have discussion questions in response to the differences in iambic pentameter, giving students the opportunity to interpret those differences and the meanings behind it.

• If we have an online or "app" version of the text as we've toyed with, add the ability for students to comment on the scene. Here's some inspiration for that idea.
• There could be a possible link for the teacher to send out by making their own blog/commentary area for that specific class so they can all contribute to the conversation (memes would be posted here attached to certain lines they responded to, videos they make with peers, etc.)
• Include a few peer reviewed essays the invite the students to think of the bigger picture. 
• Be careful to select essays that do not engage in a conversation that is too deep for the students but encourage them to think of different things Shakespeare may have been trying to say. (i.e gender)