WONG PHUI NAM
He can be categorized as a popular writer in Malaysia. The opportunity to meet him is the best part of my life. He was soft as his poems and a kind person. He teaches us how to read poems with feelings. In my opinion this is a very good knowledge because all this days, I just read poems with no feelings. I cannot put myself in the poet world as I read his or her poems. He makes me realize that poem is something that full of secret. It represents all feelings of the poet. I feel like writing a poem after I met him. For me, poems can release my feelings and tension using those words and sentences. I think everybody can write poems. The different is only between they are good or not. The way we write it is depends on us as a writer. How we want to convey our feelings, dissatisfaction or etc.
He also a writer of plays. His play represents our culture and roots. Just like in Anike, he represent a little bit of western and eastern culture. He combined it with feelings, thought and attitudes through the characters in the play. He make the changes slowly and unrealized by the audiences. In my view, this is a good technique as those days, theatre were not as popular as this days. Malaysians people see theatre as an English culture and Mr. Wong has changed it slowly with the combination of those two cultures. As the whole, he is one of the best writers in Malaysia and can be considered as good as other writer in the world.

A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE.
This is one play that makes us realize the real life situation of a low class society in western country. How they have been treated by the high class and how they have been ignored by the whole society. As a result everybody in it tries to be somebody else and live in pretentious. Here, the writer represent the main character as having conflicts in herself because she is the victim of transformation from rich to poor. This is normal because not all people can accept changes especially from top to down. However, if it is from down to top, the person can accept it with open heart and appreciate it. All this happens in real life and it depends on individual how he or she manages the life. This play teaches the audiences how to see life positively no matter what happen to us. We a human should not make the hardness in life as the winner, but we are the one should ruled it. As the whole, this play make me realizes that not everybody can always be on top. Sometimes when something happen, we will lost everything and we should not be depressed but tries to think what can we do to make it better.

TIRESIAS

Tiresias is one of the famous characters in Greek theatre as he represents infallible truth. He is a character that shows other character the truth but nobody listen to him. All of them will regret with their own decision and not believe in Tiresias words. In my opinion, he represents the culture in Greek society as he always comes up in most in the Greek theatre. The society believes in God and what God says is always right. They think that someone who tries not to obey the God will get a bad luck. Here, we know that Tiresias shows how powerful God is in society. What he said is truth and should be believed by others as he is one of the Gods. As the whole, each society has a way on representing theatre according on believe and thought. That the unique of theatre where it represent to the audiences what type of society we are.

If one rich man gives you an opportunity to learn something, would you grab it or ignore it? Of course, most of us will take this advantage because every one in this world wants to improve themselves in order for them to socialize with high class society. That has happened to Eliza in Pygmalion, a very interesting play by Bernard Shaw. Eliza has been given an opportunity to learn language that has been used by high class society. Even though it just a bet between the two gentlemen, Higgins and Pickering, still she can be considered as lucky because learn something without paying the fee.
In this play we can see two different class of society meet and convey their own lifestyle. As for Eliza and her father, Mr. Doolittle, they present the middle class society who will change in the end of the play. While the other characters like Higgins, Pickering and so on, they present the high class society that will look down on other class because they are superior. As the dialogues goes on, we can see Eliza moves from one character to another character. In this play, it shows that language is an important tool to differentiate a class in a society.
As we all know language is important because it convey ourselves and the way we behave. However, even though we are in high class society we should respect other no matter what class they are from. For instance, Pickering who still respects Eliza and call her Miss even though he knows that she comes from a middle class society. This play teaches the audiences to respect each other because we cannot see people based on their spoken language or class, but look at their attitude and the way they behave toward others. For example, when Eliza has successfully changed into a high class society, she still sad because Higgins see her as a flower girl who comes from middle class. He cannot see Eliza as what she is but see Eliza as a subject for his experiment.
From the play Pygmalion, we can conclude that language and attitude are two important criteria should have in one life because both of them will help other see who we are and what kind of person we are.

MACBETH is one character that represent greedy. Macbeth is one play that teaches audiences real life situation. In this play Macbeth is a brave warrior who does anything for the country and king. Because of that, he has been appreciating by giving him the opportunity to become a landlord. However, he is a person who always follows his desire. Even though it is a bad desire, he still does it as long as he gets what he wants. Actually he wants to be a king because he has become a landlord. However the king has chosen his son to replace him when he retires. This has made Macbeth angry and disagrees because he thinks he is the one who should replace the king because of his braveness. His wife has seduce him to fulfill his desire and willing to kill the king even though have of her brain do not want to do that because the king is a very wise man.
Macbeth has conveyed to the audiences that in our life there still an enemy around us. Even the most trustful person can be our enemy because of jealousy and so on. This shows that as a human being we should always limit our trustiness in other so that we will not be betrayed. In addition, we also should think before we done something because it will affect our entire life. Like Macbeth, he becomes afraid of losing what he has and kills other who he thinks will threaten him. His wife also becomes crazy because of the sin that she has done. As a human being we should thankful with what we have because there must be a reason why something happen to us. The concept of humble should occur in every one life so that we will not forget our root. Lastly, Macbeth is one of the best plays that can be used by teacher to teach their students about life and morality. This will help students to understand what kind of life they are and make them realize not all people are good. In addition, they will learn not to become greedy and jealous toward other because each of them is special in their selves.

KING LEAR!!! One of the famous play that has been written by popular writer which is William Shakespears. King Lear convey to the audiences about love and sacrifice. Once again Shakespears talk about love and sacrifice in his play. It just like he cannot resist the two themes in all her plays. However this play has lots of moral that teach audiences about real life situation.
King Lear present love in materialistic ways where Lear wanted his entire daughter to compare their love to him with thing that is valuable. However one of them refuses to connect real love to thing because love is something that comes from heart. Because of that reason, Lear has disowned his daughter that he thinks has betrayed himself.
A concept of love is very general and depends on individual. As for Cordelia, she thinks love as something that cannot be comparing to other things in the world. However for Lear, love is something that he can see and based on things that are valuable such as land, gold and so on. In addition, both his daughter, Regan and Goneril, present love because of something that can give them benefits. They present their love towards their father, Lear, because they want his richness. In the end they all reject what Lear said and ignore him. In addition, they said that Lear is an old man and should not do anything more.
Of course, Cordelia will be the most attractive character because she shows good traits by loving her father as honest as she can be. This play has made me realize that as a human being we should love each other and the love we present should come from deep in our heart. If we do that, I guarantee that we can feel the real feeling of love that cannot be resist by man in this world. Furthermore, love is something that can make us appreciate others (human beings, animals, plants or things) and that will make our life more reasonable.
As a conclusion, King Lear has conveyed a true concept of love that should have in every man on the earth.

Shakespeara Wallah! What a title. When it comes to Shakespears it scared me. This is another version of theatre that use Shakespears name as a title. Maybe it is one way of attraction. Of course, I am dying to watch it! (Irony).
In my opinion this is a very bad play I ever watch. Even though I did not like Shakespears, but sometimes I love to watch them. But this play has made my mind stuck in no where and crazy. I did not blame the play. This is due to the time setting of the play. The play was set in the time where my grandmother was a young girl. So, it is not suitable for me who live in this globalization world. As a teacher, I will never show this play to my students because they will ‘die in pain’.
However the plot is quiet interesting because it is about two different people from a different culture and world. They are in love, of course. Shakespears plays never gone far from love. Both characters have made me think of this life. Even they are from the world of art, but their field is different. One is from film and one is from theatre. Still, they have problem in understanding each other. This makes me realize that different people have different interest and idea about something. As a human, I need to respect other so that I can be respect.
This makes me learn something. As a becoming teacher, I need to deal with my students professionally. Even they come from the same class and same stream; they are different in thought and attitudes. They have their own view and opinion that I as a teacher should respect. Wow! This theatre has opened my mind.
As a conclusion, theatre is one of the best channels to teach people about real life situation, problem and culture.

It is fun to watch Shakespears, right? Just joking. Not people or students insist to watch Shakespears because they think it is boring. The moment a characters open his or her mouth they fall asleep. Of, course this do not happen to all people. For those who like it will ENJOY it…
However, have you ever think Shakespears theatre in nowadays version? If you do not have the experience, I suggest you should try it. And I am sure it will not create tension in your face. I dare to come up with that statement because I have already had that experience.
My lecturer, as usual, will ask us to watch a theatre and of course what comes in my mind is another one boring Shakespears theater that will make me die to understand the language. The title itself has made my affective filter become high. The title is ‘The Reduced Shakespears Company’. However, suddenly the feeling change as I watch it. It was a new version of all Shakespears plays. When I said all, it means all because the characters perform the summary of the plays. I was shocked. It was fun and makes me laugh until my tears come out. It was very interesting because the language has been changed so that the audiences can understand them. Another thing that makes it interesting is the plotline of the plays. The play is actually a summary of all Shakespears play. This make me feel very comfortable because I do not have to watch all scenes in one play. The characters have done a good job in expressing what one play is all about. This also will attract audiences’ attention because have many stories in that play.
The play also makes the audiences as an active participant. They talk to the audiences, invite them acting on the stage and ask their opinion. It was very alive theatre I ever seen.
As a conclusion, I would very please to watch this new version of theatre some more and hope our Malaysians culture will change their mind toward theatre because we are the one who make it interesting not vice versa.

On 8th of February, my friends and I went to watch theatre at Istana Budaya. The theatre that we have watched was Puteri Gunung Ledang the Musical. It was an interesting play because it was a new version theatre of an old epic. It also used music to attract the audiences. I was amazed when I saw it.
The characters were very excellent because audiences can see theatre aliveness in them. They acted bravely and hardly done any mistake. I said like that because not all actors can act in theatre. They need to act spontaneously in front all the audiences and cannot make a mistake. If they have done a mistake they need to cover it without being notice by the audiences. In PGL, the characters have done a good job in entertaining the audiences and expressing the message of the play.
Another element that has attracted me to the play is their setting. There were three main settings in the PGL which were Tanah Jawa, Melaka and Gunung Ledang. The play has come up with an idea to use 4 blocks. The blocks can be move so that different setting can be display. The blocks have represented all the main settings that I have said earlier. It was amazing because the play has come up with such idea. They do not need many types of equipment to present the settings. It will save the cost.
As for all, the PGL has caught my interest in theatre. It makes me change my mind that theatre is bored. In addition, it makes me realize that theatre is one of the best ways to express real life condition.

Along the way in learning Antigone, I know something about Greek theatre. It always plays with the fate as the main issue. However fate here is not a positive thing. It just about dead which one would fear in hearing it. As in Antigone the word fate has been rewrite a few times and it shows that ancient society really concern about it.
As for Antigone, her fate is nothing to her as she has done a right thing even though she has broken Creon’s law. For dead is nothing because she has set her mind that god will give her better life after the dead. She also willing to accept her fate because she knows god laws is everything in this world. This opinion has been supported by Tiresias who warned Creon for his ridiculous action and decision. Tiresias has warned Creon that he is wrong and what Antigone has done is right in the eyes of god. He also stated to Creon that a fate will come upon him if he still sticks to the punishment to Antigone. All this shows that the word fate plays an important role in theatre and has its own meaning.
As for me, this kind of specific word has made the play called Antigone interesting in analyzing it. Further more it make learner thinks twice in giving a meaning for certain word. As for me, it makes me more careful in analyzing the language in plays and teaches me to be more creative in thinking. In addition, it also helps me to improve my ability in thinking skill and give more experiences in judging a play. This concept of judging and giving meani9ng give me exact view about life. This means I learn not to judge thing or person in real life as my first expression. Rethinks it and consider your thought back. For me, play has given an impact in my real life.
As a conclusion, the concept of judgment and giving meaning is depending on individual. It up to you to see the play as real life or not. Enjoy!

This week I have learnt the first play which was Antigone. It was an old play. At first, it hard for me to understand it because the arrangement of the sentences is different from nowadays. However, I cannot stop from reading it because it made me wanted to know what happened to the poor girl named Antigone. Actually this play was from the story Oedipus. So I need to know about Oedipus first before I continued with Antigone.
For the first lecture, I just tried to understand the language helped by Dr. Edwin. It was a bored class for me because all the students do not give responded. We do not know what to say because we do not understand. I just love to read it but to analyze it, I purposely said bored. For this week we just finish analyzed quarter of it. I hope we can finish faster.
Antigone was about a girl named Antigone who has been killed because of her own action. She was one of Oedipus child who married his own mother. She has two brothers who died in the war. One protected the country but one was the traitor for the country. The king, who was Antigone uncle decided not to bury the traitor. Antigone decided to bury her brother because she thought it was a duty for the sake of the blood. Because of her action, the king has give commanded to kill her as a punishment.
For me Antigone has done what she should do because as a family we should respect the death. The past is the past. Even though her brother is a traitor, he still family. Furthermore, we as life person should give respect to the death. We are not the one who judges a person fault, it is god’s job. We just do what we need to do and leave the rest to the god.

We have many classes for this semester. As I said earlier in the first journal, one of the classes would be literature class, which has been taught by Dr. Edwin. For this class we have to examine plays which for me it is quiet difficult especially old plays. The languages are different from nowadays language. So, it needs more understanding so I can get the meaning of it. In addition, I also have to translate certain word into nowadays word. For instance, thou in those days are you in nowadays. It just like poetry but a little bit more difficult because a play is a long story.
As for beginner, Dr. Edwin has given us info on theatre in those days such as restoration drama, brechtian and so on. All this information has made me realise that theatre has changed from time to time. They are different in each century. Not only the language, the concept and the way it been present also changed. However, the rules in play are still the same. For instance, soliloquy is still been used until now. By knowing this kind of information has made the students easier to understand a play when they examine them. The difficulty they will face just on the language. It also helps students to dramatise it.
Dr. Edwin also stated for me the role of a good play. He gave information about this to help the students analyse a play. It also helps me a lot. By knowing the characteristics of a good play, I confidently can say that one play is good. By the time when I want to see a play, I can choose whether it is worth or not. It also helps in criticise a play because I can criticise it according to this traits. It makes my reason sensible.
As for conclusion, this first week lecture has helped me a lot in knowing what play is. I hope the next lecture I can gain more knowledge about it. Even though my heart says it hard, still I need to try my best.

I am one of the TESL students in UPM. I am in semester four and have been in UPM for I year. For this semester, I have been asked to create my own blog which I have never done before. This is my first time in doing this kind of educated stuff. It makes me learn something new. This all because of Dr. Edwin who teach me literature. He has made her learning process more interesting and makes the students more creative. As for last semester, we have been asked to involve in a e-forum which have made us more creative in criticise literature work. At first, I am not interested in literature, but Dr. Edwin has made it interesting and creates my interest in it. I am really glad that I am one of his students and he knows how to tackle his students in learning literature.