Filling the halls –– or at least the Formal Lounge –– with memorized verse and archaic language, the Shakespeare Society held its first sonnet competition on Friday, Feb. 14. Students across campus prepared and recited sonnets. The club originally planned to perform exclusively Shakespearean sonnets.
“We dropped that requirement just because we didn’t want to limit it,” said sophomore Tyler Groenendal, treasurer of the club.
The competition was opened for students to recite sonnets in any structural form and from any era.
“It was very casual. We didn’t want to intimidate anybody,” senior and president Rachel Cook said. “We just sat around in a circle, and everybody performed their sonnet.”
Even Professor of English Stephen Smith, the judge of the contest and their faculty advisor, had a sonnet to perform.
Groenendal was awarded Best Overall. Seniors Kodiak Dschida and Max Kleber were other forerunners. Rhythm, quality of the recitation, enunciation, and awareness of meter, according to Smith, were the criteria the contestants were judged on.
The Society has been meeting unofficially for the past few months. Cook had the idea last semester but didn’t act on it until she received encouragement from others, such as freshman Luke Martin, who is now the secretary of the club.
“Luke came up to me in the Student Union last semester and said, ‘You’re Rachel Cook, right? I heard that you like Shakespeare. Will you be the president of a Shakespeare Society?’ And I said yes –– on the spot –– which may have been foolish, but it’s been a really good experience,” Cook said.
The Society is now officially recognized by Student Federation.
“The club was approved unanimously yesterday [Feb. 20],” senior and Vice President Gwen Stoldt said. “Now the Society can advertise publicly in a more official capacity and, hopefully, have a table at the Source in the fall.”
Even though English majors head the Society, Stoldt noted that it is open to all majors.
“We really want to emphasize that it’s open to everyone,” Stoldt said.
“You don’t have to know a bunch about Shakespeare to come and hang out with us ––and read aloud, or laugh, or participate,” said Cook.
One of the goals of the Society is to promote and encourage Shakespeare after Great Books.
“We’re hoping to make it a fun, outside-of-the-classroom, interactive thing,” said Stoldt.
Shakespeare is a name said in awe, and in some cases fear, in the classroom. The Society wants to eliminate the fear factor.
“The classroom can be very intimidating and competitive,” Cook said. “We want to provide another outlet for Shakespeare that isn’t quite so determined.”
Shakespeare can be quite hilarious and the atmosphere and openness of the meetings aim to lend to that side of things.
These consist of a 30-second play synopsis and a different discussion topic each week for whatever play they happen to be studying at the time. Attendees discuss what they’ve observed in the readings and what they think about it.
“We just try to get a conversation started,” said Cook.
The meetings are usually held Friday afternoons at either 4 or 6 p.m. in the Formal Lounge and are open to everyone across campus.
