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Susan Field 1 February 2011 Lens 1: Reader-as-Writer for __King of Shadows__  __King of Shadows __ by Susan Cooper gave me insights into the craft of writing Young Adult Fiction, and writing in general, because of Cooper’s ability to seamlessly blend factual information with plot and dialogue. Cooper also succeeds at making meaningful connections between universal life issues, such as dealing with loss, and letting go of the past, with similar themes and ideas in the works of William Shakespeare. By linking these explorations of the human condition in the present day life of Nat Field, with what he experiences through time travel in the world of Elizabethan England, Cooper shows readers that the problems we face today were still relevant centuries earlier. She shows how we can use the past to learn from the present, and likewise, use our present experiences to come to a greater understanding of our past ones. Cooper also shows her readers the power of reading and writing. By bridging Shakespeare’s words with Nat’s experiences, she demonstrates that through study of the written word, we can draw comfort and strength, and in practicing it ourselves, we can discover more truths than we ever imagined.

One of the strengths of __King of Shadows__ as a tool to teach writing is the amount of context details about Elizabethan England that Cooper was able to weave throughout the chapters. For example, when Nat first arrives in London,Cooper’s description of the city is effective, not only because it engages a number of senses to transport the reader into the scene, it also provides a good historical representation of how it would have been to actually live in London in the 16th century.  “Even before six in the morning, the street was filled with people bustling about, carrying huge bundles, selling fruit or pastries….Carts clattered over the cobbles, creaking, rocking, splashing up muck....There were flies buzzing everywhere. The whole street smelled bad….” (38).  This description shows me what it was like on the streets, who was there and doing what, what it sounded and smelled like. Her use of factual detail, combined with use of adjectives, verbs, and interesting word choices, allowed the story to “show,” not “tell” what England was like. Using these observations as a model, as a writer, I have learned the importance of researching a subject before writing about it. In Cooper’s writing, her knowledge about 16th century England, William Shakespeare as a person, and his body of work, has not strengthened and substantiated the story considerably—it also teaches the reader something. Cooper’s writing also shows us how using a variety of adjectives, verbs, and interesting word choices, can breathe life into a story.

Another strength of __King of Shadows__ as a writing tool was its ability to explore complex issues of humanity through the mediums of performance and literature. In the story, the character of Nat Field, a troubled young boy, who has had to endure the death of both parents, is able to make strides toward dealing with his losses after time-traveling to Elizabethan England, where he finds himself a player in King Chamberlain’s Men with William Shakespeare himself. While in 16th century London, Nat forges a strong bond with Shakespeare and his written works that transcends time. For instance, to comfort him about his parent’s deaths, Shakespeare gives Nat a sonnet he has written, which we later learn is sonnet 116. The sonnet contains these lines:

O no! It is an ever-fixed mark That looks on tempests and is never shaken;  These lines helped Nat to realize that even though his parents were gone, their love for him would always be there. These lines later gained more meaning for Nat, as they also represented that Shakespeare’s fondness for him would always be there, despite centuries separating their lifetimes. At the end, Arby also points out to Nat that Shakespeare used Nat as the inspiration in writing the character, Ariel, in his play, // The Tempest //. By showing how literature, even if it has been written centuries earlier, explores relevant issues in the lives of people, today, and can still have an impact, Cooper has successfully bridged the past with the present for her readers. Nat Field’s experiences in the present contributed to how he behaved in and perceived the past, and his experience in the past therefore gave him new insights into his present. This concept of the importance of our experiences, how everything is interconnected—and in a broader sense—how history in general affects our present, if we learn from it—is a profound lesson that is exhibited in __King of Shadows__. What this can teach us about our own writing is to consider how to make meaningful links between individual ideas and the big picture, just as Susan Cooper was able to do with connecting the individual scenes in the book to a greater meaning by the end. It is important for our writing to progress from one paragraph to the next, building off of each idea, and making connections that enrich our stories. It is important to always consider the question: “So what? Who cares?”. A deeper meaning must be made clear to the reader so that they can make a connection to their own lives or to the world on the whole. As writers, we must ask ourselves: what can be learned from the ideas we are presenting? How can we connect the minutae to our overall point? How can we paint a picture that will convey a new insight to our readers?

 Lastly, another reason why __King of Shadows__ is an effective tool to teach writing is that it shows the resounding affect that reading and writing can have on an individual. In showing how Shakespeare was able to deal with his emotions through writing, and how Nat benefited from investing himself in the performing and reading of a written work, they were both able to draw comfort, strength, and new insights into themselves, which affected the way that they lived their lives. In the same way, we, as writers, can use these examples conveyed by Cooper as motivation in our own writing to understand how important it is to convey our thoughts and emotions, and to explore complex issues through a medium that allows others to read our words and learn from our experiences. So often, young writers don’t see the point of investing themselves in the craft of writing, but __King of Shadows__ shows how writing can not only transform the writer, but the person reading it. Writing is a way to connect with, learn, and share from others in a personal way. A line from the book sums up this idea: “Poets find truth by writing about what they love” (180). By discovering these truths, students can learn about the magic that is in writing—a magic that can transcend time, just as in __King of Shadows__.