The three drama performances during the trip have placed me in a new dimension of drama appreciation. As I have mentioned in the pre-departure study aims, I would like this UK tour serves as a tool to assist in my studies in the English Creative Profession. In the previous semester, I have taken a course on the fundamentals of English drama. I have acquired the basic tools for character analysis and plot development. Given that, the show Hamlet has provided an invaluable opportunity for me to refresh what I have learned not so long ago. Despite the fact we were left standing for 3 hours while enjoying the show, my enthusiasm was more fervent than ever. The world-class performance of the actors has definitely sparked off my desire in pursuing drama studies in the remaining two years. Another thing worth mentioning is that the theatre is built in such a way that the stage is very close to the audience. As a result, it gives the audience the feeling of participating in the play themselves. Once again, I have succumbed to the ingenuity of Shakespeare in making candid observation of human nature, which is encapsulated in his famous quote “frailty, thy name is woman!” I found that I am able to understand English literature more thoroughly by knowing more about drama traditions.
Since the first day of the trip, I have been looking forward to the play - the Phantom of the Opera with much anticipation. Although I have long heard my relatives and friends heaping praises on the performance, as a student I could barely afford to watch it in Hong Kong. After enjoying the show, I have totally realised why the Phantom play is one of the most sought-after shows worldwide. For one thing, many of the songs in the play have captivating melodies as well as soul-searching lyrics. For example, the line “think of me, think of me fondly, when we’ve said goodbye. Remember me once a while - please promise me you’ll try” in the song “think of me” subtly expresses the deep anxiety from separation with one’s lover and the yearning for reunion. This clearly illustrates how even the simplest English could convey deep conflicting feelings. It reinforces my belief that plain English is not doomed to boredom or shallowness. In fact, if mastered well, it can be as beautiful as any complex expressions.
Another important part of drama education is the lecture on Henry V delivered by the representation of the University of Nottingham. I learned so much more in-depth knowledge on appreciating a play. There are many lessons to be drawn by that lecture, one of them being the effective use of inclusive pronouns in speech writing. For example, in boosting the morale of his soldiers Henry V employed a wide range of inclusive pronouns such as “we brothers” and “our victory” etc. In doing so, he had successfully made his followers think that they were fighting not only him, but also for themselves. With proper practice, I believe that such lessons would greatly benefit my writing skills in the future. In the past, I regarded speech as nothing more than argumentative essay. Now I realised that a successful speech is delivered to inspire rather than to convince. An outstanding speech giver should always be able to feel the pulse of his audience. I will try to use this kind of writing techniques in my later persuasive essays.
Throughout the trip, we have enjoyed the Wicked and the Phantom of the Opera in air-conditioned theatres, which have modern lighting and sound equipment. Given that, the visit to the Rose Theatre is a timely reminder of how ordinary British had experienced these artistic pleasures. As told by the tour guide, Rose Theatre is one of the oldest open-air theatre built in Shakespearean times. In the past, theatre was regarded as low-class, vulgar places where prostitutes and labour workers gathered around. As the Globe Theatre was built, Rose was abandoned. Today it was preserved under water to prevent it from decaying. It was marvellous to enter a place where Shakespeare had most likely performed! I felt like returning to the 16th Century and being an audience at that time. This was an unforgettable experience.
Equally interesting is that we have visited places where famous authors drew inspiration from or composed their work. These include the garden which Alice in the Wonderland was based upon, as well as the stone desk where Tolkien had penned the Lord of the Ring etc. On one hand, I felt like as if we were walking with those authors and experiencing their thought processes; on the other hand, I was amazed at their abilities to transform observation of surroundings into a series of English classics. I was totally impressed by the close similarities between what were described in Alice in the Wonderland and the real environment. As the story was written almost 150 years ago, I have expected most of the things depicted in the book to be lost. Given that, it is not hard to imagine my excitement when I saw those ducks, gooses, oxen and squirrels -- some of the main characters in the book! Whenever I read the novel again in the future, I would definitely recall the beautiful scenery of the park.
From this trip, I have drawn much new insight in English learning. In the past, I thought that the only way to understand a piece of literature was to read it over and over again. Now I have realised that it is not the best way to approach English texts. Despite the power of language, there is often a limit to what we can absorb merely from words. In particular, it is difficult to appreciate the dynamics of a play without watching its drama performance. To me, literature studies have become a multi-dimension subject where reading alone would not suffice. In addition, the Nottingham workshop, together with the field trip to the Oxford campus, has enriched my knowledge of British traditions, thereby laying a strong foundation for my literature studies in the coming years. My interaction with the students at the two universities has also enhanced my confidence in communicating with native speakers. Our discussion became more meaningful as I had done an extensive background research on the two institutes beforehand.
Since the first day of the trip, I have been looking forward to the play - the Phantom of the Opera with much anticipation. Although I have long heard my relatives and friends heaping praises on the performance, as a student I could barely afford to watch it in Hong Kong. After enjoying the show, I have totally realised why the Phantom play is one of the most sought-after shows worldwide. For one thing, many of the songs in the play have captivating melodies as well as soul-searching lyrics. For example, the line “think of me, think of me fondly, when we’ve said goodbye. Remember me once a while - please promise me you’ll try” in the song “think of me” subtly expresses the deep anxiety from separation with one’s lover and the yearning for reunion. This clearly illustrates how even the simplest English could convey deep conflicting feelings. It reinforces my belief that plain English is not doomed to boredom or shallowness. In fact, if mastered well, it can be as beautiful as any complex expressions.
Another important part of drama education is the lecture on Henry V delivered by the representation of the University of Nottingham. I learned so much more in-depth knowledge on appreciating a play. There are many lessons to be drawn by that lecture, one of them being the effective use of inclusive pronouns in speech writing. For example, in boosting the morale of his soldiers Henry V employed a wide range of inclusive pronouns such as “we brothers” and “our victory” etc. In doing so, he had successfully made his followers think that they were fighting not only him, but also for themselves. With proper practice, I believe that such lessons would greatly benefit my writing skills in the future. In the past, I regarded speech as nothing more than argumentative essay. Now I realised that a successful speech is delivered to inspire rather than to convince. An outstanding speech giver should always be able to feel the pulse of his audience. I will try to use this kind of writing techniques in my later persuasive essays.
Throughout the trip, we have enjoyed the Wicked and the Phantom of the Opera in air-conditioned theatres, which have modern lighting and sound equipment. Given that, the visit to the Rose Theatre is a timely reminder of how ordinary British had experienced these artistic pleasures. As told by the tour guide, Rose Theatre is one of the oldest open-air theatre built in Shakespearean times. In the past, theatre was regarded as low-class, vulgar places where prostitutes and labour workers gathered around. As the Globe Theatre was built, Rose was abandoned. Today it was preserved under water to prevent it from decaying. It was marvellous to enter a place where Shakespeare had most likely performed! I felt like returning to the 16th Century and being an audience at that time. This was an unforgettable experience.
Equally interesting is that we have visited places where famous authors drew inspiration from or composed their work. These include the garden which Alice in the Wonderland was based upon, as well as the stone desk where Tolkien had penned the Lord of the Ring etc. On one hand, I felt like as if we were walking with those authors and experiencing their thought processes; on the other hand, I was amazed at their abilities to transform observation of surroundings into a series of English classics. I was totally impressed by the close similarities between what were described in Alice in the Wonderland and the real environment. As the story was written almost 150 years ago, I have expected most of the things depicted in the book to be lost. Given that, it is not hard to imagine my excitement when I saw those ducks, gooses, oxen and squirrels -- some of the main characters in the book! Whenever I read the novel again in the future, I would definitely recall the beautiful scenery of the park.
From this trip, I have drawn much new insight in English learning. In the past, I thought that the only way to understand a piece of literature was to read it over and over again. Now I have realised that it is not the best way to approach English texts. Despite the power of language, there is often a limit to what we can absorb merely from words. In particular, it is difficult to appreciate the dynamics of a play without watching its drama performance. To me, literature studies have become a multi-dimension subject where reading alone would not suffice. In addition, the Nottingham workshop, together with the field trip to the Oxford campus, has enriched my knowledge of British traditions, thereby laying a strong foundation for my literature studies in the coming years. My interaction with the students at the two universities has also enhanced my confidence in communicating with native speakers. Our discussion became more meaningful as I had done an extensive background research on the two institutes beforehand.
