Teaching as acting and directing.

Abstract

It is important that English professors teach literature in novel ways which will help students acquire skills they need to interpret texts. I believe that the professor can play the role of the buffoon and the director when teaching literature to engage students in class and help them discuss and write about literature in a more pleasant and enjoyable way.

"All the worm's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts"--William Shakespeare, As You Like It (Act II, Scene VII).

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The world of literary scholarship is based on paradigms which break down to give place to new ones. As many of the social sciences, such as history, literature has been shaken and redrawn over the last few decades due to our growing acknowledgment of multiple perspectives that concede different narratives and analyses. David H. Richter believes that "Radical changes are afoot in the structure and method of professing literature, along with new ways of organizing traditional disciplines." Thus, Richter asserts, senior scholars, "whose ideas have come under debate have had to examine and respond to these challenges, to find new ways of defending old ideas" (2000, p. 12). As scholars engaged in teaching others, Helen Vendler suggests in her article What We Have Loved, Others Will Love, that we should urge our students to prefer the dispassionate presentation of fact, to value concision and clarity, and to appreciate the new critical vocabulary when it brings new dynamism to our world (2000, p. 34). Exposure to critical debates may make literature seem attractive, as Gerald Graff suggests in Disliking Book at an Early Age, and critical readings complemented with discussions may make students catch the literary bug (2000, pp. 4244). Graft mentions Richard Rorty's trouble with Bloom's "just read the books" theory in order to restate Rorty's point that in teaching one text, one teaches an interpretation of it, what literature teachers teach is thus not literature but criticism (Ibid, pp. 46-47). Terry Eagleton proposes in The Rise of English that literature is "an ideology" having "the most intimate relations to questions of social power" and that it could provide a "potent antidote" to ideological extremism since it deals in universal human values and it works chiefly by emotion and experience (2000, pp. 49-51).

Teaching literature can be very rewarding when one considers it acting and directing. We, professors of writing, seem to have forgotten the idea of people as actors on the stage of life proposed by "Old Will." We complain at conferences and meetings about the difficulties we have in our literature class to make our students read and interpret literature, and we try to find innovative ways to enlarge their attention span hoping that they will somehow develop a taste in reading and writing about literature. O, tempora! One might think that what I am about to propose is scandalous or even ridiculous if the reader does not have the patience to follow me to the end and then to pass judgment.

Without further ado, I would like to encourage you to play the role of the buffoon and the director when teaching literature. I must open a parenthesis here and mention that according to OED, the term "buffoon" means a ridiculous but amusing person, and it comes from the French bouffon, which derives from the Latin buffo, meaning "clown." The term used almost interchangeably with words such as scurra (Latin word from which the English language has the word scurrilous), histrio, or joculator. In time, the word came to have the same meaning as mimus and histrio, scurra, and joculator (Ogilvy, 1963, p. 614). After the Norman Conquest, the buffoon became a professional entertainer who, at first, flattered his master and then began to point out the flaws in his master's thinking or acting or even to advise his master with regard to decisions, be they personal or social. Thus, one may say that the buffoon, or the fool, became a wise person. I will let my students decide which applies to me.

Here is what I do. On the first day of class, I set up my stage--I tell my students I will be their director and buffoon, and they will be my cast. Afterward, I become the buffoon and I entertain them telling them a story about Plato and Aristotle. Plato, the founder of the Academy, identified art as imitation and wrote on the door to his school as a warning for his potential disciples, that no one ignorant of geometry should enter there. I can foresee the cheers of the more scientifically inclined minds already. His hierarchy is, as follows: the perfect world of ideas, nature as a copy of the world of ideas, and art as a copy of nature, that is, as an imitation of an imitation (a secondhand imitation). In his Republic, Plato proposes that poets should either be banned from Socrates' perfect state because they can corrupt people and make them go mad, or they can be accepted as servants of the state if they teach piety and virtue. Moreover, Plato states, because art is mimesis and thus affects an ontological alienation from true reality, addressing itself to emotions only, it cannot be justified as an activity worthy in its own right (1998, pp. 21-29).

This is a good point at which I stop in order to let my students express their opinions and, hopefully, to hear a few oftbem defending art. As their director, I ask them how much use they have for literature, and I encourage them to share their opinions with the class. To play to role of the buffoon again, I will have to make faces while they talk pretending that I am hurt when they talk about how little they value literature or that I am happy when they mention how much they value it. "How many Platos do we have in the class?" I venture. "How many of you have been schooled at the Academy?"

No matter how many claim their Platonic view, I will go on by mentioning Plato's dialogue Ion, where the philosopher seems to contradict himself by utilizing the image of the magnet as a metaphor of divine inspiration. There, he argues that the muse inspires the artist, who inspires the interpreter, who inspires the audience (Ibid, pp. 29-37). I will notify my students that my voice needs to rest and that they need to take over, that is, to talk about the two conflicting views and to find a resolution. When the discussion comes to a close, I inform them that researchers do not know for sure which of the two works was written first. However, if Ion was written first, Plato definitely must have changed his mind about art. If the Republic was written first, then Plato may have been ironic. I become the director, and I ask them to play Plato's role in order to explain to me what Plato really thought about literature.

Next, I bow again, I wink, and I grin to signal I am the buffoon again, and I continue with my story, a short account about Plato's disciple, Aristotle. Having been educated at Plato's Academy, Aristotle forms his own school, the Lyceum, and he departs from his mentor's ideas, arguing that writing poetry (or literature in general) is both imitation and craftsmanship. In his Poetics, Aristotle mentions that elegiac and epic poets are called not only "'poet" but also "maker" (1997, p. 2). I change my facial expression to suggest urgency and I invite my students to tell me how many of them appreciate literature and consider it craftsmanship: "How many of you have been schooled at Lyceum?" I smile. "We have X Plato's" I frown. "And Y Aristotles." I smile again. I then take another bow.

The time for me to play the part of the director comes quickly, and I give my students their first roles. I announce them the play and the author we will study, that is, I name the title of the novel and the author, and I give them their reading assignment (approximately one hundred pages the first week) and their scripts (handouts). What follows is a coup de theatre: the scripts ask them to do research about the writer's milieu and declaim to the class (i.e., offer an oral presentation). Individually or in small groups (depending on the number of students), they are to research, write, and speak for 10-15 minutes on one of the following: education during the author's time; literary movements; the role of the family; men and women's roles in society; children in society; publications of the time; author's education; author's family life; the exigency of writing; other works written by the author and contemporary reactions to those works; and the author's work as source of inspiration. I ask them to be creative and to consider that they teach a small portion of the class for me. They may bring visual aids (such as books, pictures, posters, or handouts, or whatever they find appropriate for and pertinent to their topic). Before I dismiss class, I give them more scripts--a handout to fill in as they read. Here is the handout:

Student--

Title--

Author--

Topic: comment pp. 1-100; 101--200; 200-end

Exposition: comment on its importance: pp. 1-100; 101-200; 20l--end

Setting: comment on its importance in helping the reader understand the mood: pp. 1-100; 101-200; 200-end

Conflict: name it; comment on it and on new ones (if any): pp. 1-100; 101-200; 201-end Climax/Anticlimax: identify it; relate it to the conflict: pp. 1-100; 101-200; 201-end

Denouement: identify it (if any); comment on it: pp. 1-100; 101-200; 201-end Point(s) of view: identify it/them; comment on the change (if any) and the implications: pp. 1100; 101-200; 201-end

Tone: identify it; comment on it, comment on its change (if any), and on its implications: pp. 1-100; 101-200; 201-end

Imagery: identify the predominant imagery; comment on it: pp. 1-100; 101-200; 201-end Theme/message/lesson vs. images (auditory, olfactory, visual, tactile): identify them; identify sub-themes; comment on them: pp. 1-100; 101-200; 201-end Symbols: local or universal: identify them, and comment on them: pp. 1-100; 101-200; 201-end

Protagonist/Hero/Heroine/Antihero: characterize the main character(s); add to the characterization as you read: pp. 1-100; 101-200; 201-end

After I assign the actors their roles, I prepare a list of thought-provoking questions so that they process the information they collected. I ask my students not to recite or to read from their sources without being able to discuss the importance of their findings. "Improvise," I wink at them. Consequently, the students play their role and I interrupt in order to have the speakers utilize their critical thinking, not just their memory, and apply the text to our society. As director, I ask my actors to improvise creatively so as to not change the overall message of the script, to raise questions, and to comment ("positively and constructively," I frown) on the information presented. I notice that the speakers' way of constructing themselves and their audience goes against cultural stereotypes. The students should understand the importance of the writer's milieu before they read the text so that they can analyze the text both as a contemporary of the author and as a present-day person. This is not to argue that the key to a text lies in the historicization of the author, but to aver that the author's milieu is important. The students' grades depend on whether they prepare for the speech seriously and whether they participate in the discussion (either timidly or boldly).

In the following week(s), I am the director and the buffoon alternately as I engage my students in discussions about the text. Unlike Blain, whose "modest proposal" is to have students write a novel in the English class, I consider that the schizophrenic act of the professor, as director and buffoon, can help students develop a taste for literature and for interpretation (1989, p. 51). I admit that Blain's "game" may be extremely successful and gratifying (although not without a great deal of frustration) in a creative writing class, especially at the Master's level. As for my literature class, it may not work well because my students have different majors. Thus, I emphasize that everyone needs to participate in the discussion as each student obtains grades or scores for actively and constructively engaging in the dialogue prompted by the reading and the script-handout.

Instead of quizzing my students on the content of the novel and the meaning of the literary jargon, in the class debates I have them employ the terms in the class debates. Taking on the role of the buffoon now and then, I pretend I do not understand what they are saying and I suggest they speak my language, using the words I write on the board. In consonance with Larry R. Johannessen, I agree that we, English professors, need to implement new teaching strategies which will enable our students to gain skills helpful in interpreting literature (1994, p. 66). The trouble which Johannessen identifies is that literature professors quiz their students because quizzes are easy to grade, force them do their reading, not because they help students interpret literature. This dulls the students' minds and makes studying a lifeless experience (Ibid, p. 66). Accordingly, engaging the students in discussions and presentations based on research and reading the text, and having them apply the value and ideas of the text to our world, English professors may have better chances to annihilate the dulling effect of quiz-teaching. As the director, I ask my students to have the other or the alien in mind when they discuss the point(s) of view, the tone, the message, the theme, the symbols and the character(s), and to comment on Terry Eagleton's assertion: "For conservatives, aliens are other people; for liberals, they are the fruit of false consciousness; for radicals, they are ourselves" (2003, pp. 3-4).

During the three weeks of reading the assigned novel and of performing as good actors in a good team (either as narrators, in the third person or as characters, in the first person), students will do their best to contribute with their ideas, especially if they know they are evaluated for their role in the play. I emphasize that we have no lead-actors assigned and that each of them, at one time or another in the performance, can take that specific role, depending on how much they want to learn (or what grade they strive to obtain). When we take time to listen to what students say, to challenge them to improve their critical thinking and, simultaneously, to encourage them to use their creativity and cultural background, we may perceive literature classes as enjoyable.

My class will converse about the eleven topics on their handout, which they filled in. My role will be both that of the director, as I will monitor their discussion to make sure they perform according to the script, and that of the buffoon, as I will help them enliven their arguments. On a side note, I have to add that if students digress but the discussion is still based on the text, I will allow them to continue their debate as long as they articulate the significance of the text or its application to their lives. I will insist that they analyze the text carefully, and that the literary jargon becomes part of their vocabulary in the discussion. True to my role of a buffoon, I draw smiley faces on the board next to each term they use. Also, if the debate stagnates I ask open-ended questions and remind them that they need to use the text to support their ideas.

In addition, I may ask the students to do a few other exercises. First, I will use Diana Mitchell's interesting exercise--students should deliver monologues impersonating one of the characters (1995, p. 106). I may have them impersonate a certain character at a certain time in the plot and write a short monologue they are to read in front of the class. Their colleagues will comment on the performance (they will play the role of the director), and I will become the buffoon again, to make sure they capture the main characteristics and thoughts of the assigned character and they deliver concise, relevant ideas. I pretend I do not understand them and I ask for more information. A different exercise offered by Mitchell asks to have my students work in groups and each write down three words to describe a character, then explain why they chose those words, and decide, as a group, which of all the words best fit the character. Next, they should share their words with the class (Ibid, p. 107).

By this point, the students are familiar with the novel and have included the literary terminology in their vocabulary. Hence, it is time for them to discuss criteria for evaluating novels. I (now their director) assign the criteria as homework and I recommend that they use the text, the research, and their knowledge. In the next class we discuss all their criteria, writing a list on the board, and they compare it with what they have written. First will be what Robert P. Ashley calls the "test of time," the enthusiastic acclamation after the lapse of a generation, and what I would call the acceptance of the novel in the canon (1971, p. 596). Then would be the feeling of authenticity (verisimilitude) the novel offers. I ask my students to consider several questions. Can we, the readers, accept the people, places, and events as real or true? Is the plot believable? Are the characters believable? Afterwards, we address the logical/chronological/cause-and-effect/problem-solution sequence of the events. Next, we discuss the setting, which must create a stage for the action and mood, and must be interconnected with the characters and their evolution in the narration. Subsequently, we will examination the theme utilizing the characters, the plot, and any other helpful literary device. Also, before mentioning the impact of the book on the reader, the students may discuss the moral values of the novel. Lastly, they may indicate the style of the author and the pleasure (or lack thereof) the novel gave them. Subsequently, I assign the last workload to the actors: a paper they need to write about the novel, one in which they need to make an assertion about the novel and support that assertion with the text.

At this point, I can take a rest and become a silent auditor/professor who witnesses the discourses of the students. Lastly, I write down the final observations in the notebook taking into account the participation of the students in the final performance, and I then wait for their papers. The students must have already decided whether I have been a wise person and not really a buffoon.

References

Aristotle (1997). Poetics. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, Inc.

Ashley, Robert P. May (1971). What Makes a Good Novel? The English Journal. 60(5), 96-589.

Blain, Edward W. (1989, February)"Learning by Doing: Writing a Novel in English Class." The English Journal. 78(2), 51-53.

Eagleton, Terry (2002). In David H. Richter (Ed.), Falling into Theory: Conflicting Views on Reading Literature (pp.49-59).Boston and New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.

Eagleton, Terry (2003). Figures of Dissent. London and New York: Verso.

Graff, Gerald. (2000). Disliking Books at an Early Age. In David H. Richter (Ed.), Falling into Theory: Conflicting Views on Reading Literature (pp.41-49).Boston and New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.

Johannessen, Larry R. (*1994, November) Enhancing Response to Literature: A Matter of Changing Old Habits. The English Journal. 83(7), 66-70.

Mitchell, Diana (1995, September) Ways into Literature. The English Journal. 84(5), 106-110.

Ogilvy J. D. A. (1963, October) Mimi, Scurrae, Histriones: Entertainers of the Early Middle Ages. Speculum. 38(4), 603-619.

Plato (1998). Ion. In David H. Richter (Ed.), The Critical Tradition: Classic Texts and Contemporary Trends (pp. 29-37). Boston and New York: Bedford St. Martin's.

Plato (1998). Republic, Book X. In David H. Richter (Ed.), The Critical Tradition: Classic Texts and Contemporary Trends (pp. 21-29). Boston and New York: Bedford St. Martin's.

Richter, David H. (Ed.). (2000). Falling into Theory: Conflicting Views on Reading Literature. Boston and New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.

Vendler, Helen (2000). What We Have Loved, Others Will Love. In David H. Richter (Ed.), Falling into Theory: Conflicting Views on Reading Literature (pp.31-40).Boston and New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.

Maria Granic-White, Southeastern University, Lakeland, FL

Granic-White, M.A., is Assistant Professor of English at Southeastern University, Lakeland, FL