1. What is odd about Hamlet’s appearance in the opening of scene two?
2. Explain (give at least two reasons) why Claudius needs to justify his marriage in the opening of scene two.
3. Laertes asks the King for leave to do what, specifically?
4. Explain Hamlet’s insult when he says, “A little more than kin and less than kind.”
5. Explain Hamlet’s use of pun in the line, “Not so my lord, I am too much in the sun.”
6. In Hamlet’s first soliloquy it is obvious that what troubles him most is?
7. What does Hamlet mean by the following lines
“Seems, madam? Nay, it is. I know not ‘seems’.
‘Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother,
Nor customary suits of solemn black,
Nor windy suspiration of forc’d breath,
No, nore the fruitful river in the eye,
Nor the dejected havior of the visage,
Together will all forms, moods, shapes of grief,
That can denote me truly. These indeed seem,
For they are actions that a man might play;
But I have that within which passes show,
These but the trappings and the suits of woe.
8. What does Hamlet say about the baked meats and the funeral and the wedding.
9. What news does Horatio, Marcellus and Barnardo bring to Hamlet.
Tuesday, 31 January 2012
Monday, 30 January 2012
Study Questions for HAMLET
Questions for ACT 1 SCENE 1
1) How is interest created in the opening scene?
2) What information are we given to help us understand the situation?
3) What happens at the end of the scene to create suspense and keep up the reader’s interest?
4) What is the mood of the scene?
5) Why are the sentries apprehensive (there are two reasons)?
6) What reasons are suggested by Horatio for the appearance of the late King’s ghost?
1) How is interest created in the opening scene?
2) What information are we given to help us understand the situation?
3) What happens at the end of the scene to create suspense and keep up the reader’s interest?
4) What is the mood of the scene?
5) Why are the sentries apprehensive (there are two reasons)?
6) What reasons are suggested by Horatio for the appearance of the late King’s ghost?
Friday, 27 January 2012
HAMLET
Shakespeare: Tragedy, Comedy and Metaphor
“The poem, the song, the picture is only water drawn from the well of people
and it should be given back to them in a cup of beauty so that they may drink—
and in drinking, understand themselves.”
--Lorca
This unit will give students a chance to look at Shakespeare from a personal and cultural perspective. The class will break of the structure of the play HAMLET and discuss how metaphor and symbol, plot and theme work in conjunction with the development of characters and ideas. A study of Hamlet must involve an examination of his melancholy, his indecision, his fatalism, his cynicism, his general disillusionment with humanity, the question of his sanity or insanity, and the revenging of his father’s death. The play is full of questions: How should one behave? What should one believe? Who is there (what force outside of humanity abides in the realms of the universe)? What is beautiful and what is ugly in humanity? The play also deals with problems: parent’s treatment of their children, the question of suicide and mortality, corruption and evil, loyalty and fate. Ultimately, Hamlet is a play about the question, “How can one live in an inherently evil world?” A timely question even today as we look at possible war with Iraq, a Middle East divided in fractions, a Korea on the verge of nuclear weapons, American and World companies that value money over people and people who value money and power over love.
OBJECTIVES: At the end of this unit students will be able to
Knowledge:
1) List the five elements of tragedy
2) List the five elements of a tragic hero
3) Define theme, plot, setting, foreshadow, oxymoron, soliloquy, personification, dramatic foil, metaphor, symbol, simile, pun
4) Give the four elements of a sonnet and a brief description of traditional sonnet themes
5) Define various vocabulary words from the play
Comprehension:
6) Identify a metaphor, simile, pun or symbol within the play
7) Identify the rhyme scheme of a English sonnet and break a sonnet into quatrains and couplets
8) Give a brief description of all the characters and their roles in the play
9) Given a line of dialogue identify the speaker
10) Outline the plot and break in up into exposition, inciting event, rising action, climax, falling action and catastrophe (or resolution)
11) Summarize each scene into a headline
Application
12) Demonstrate an understanding of a scene in a drawing
13) Demonstrate a relation of characters to contemporary times through a simulation
14) Demonstrate an understanding of characters and acting techniques by writing out a script (including the lines, subtext, emotion or tone, and blocking) and acting out the scene from memory
15) Demonstrate an understanding of the play by writing journal entries and in-class writing assignments including a Dear Abbey Letter, interviews with citizens of Denmark, personal responses, and in-class presentations on characters.
16) Demonstrate an understanding of parts of the play by translation Shakespeare’s lines into contemporary English
17) Write a rap about Hamlet
Analysis
17) In an essay compare and contrast a Shakespeare Comedy to a Shakespeare Tragedy.
18) Write a persuasion paper on some element or question of Hamlet and present the paper to class as an oration
Synthesis
19) Write a sonnet
PROJECT:
A variety of activities could be included as a project, but some include staging a scene of the play (with costumes), making a puppet show, making an activity book, reading other Shakespeare plays and presenting them to class (with some acting), making a movie or video, recording your song/rap (with some polishing), writing a sonnet sequence, writing a paper.
STUDENTS WILL BE ASSESSED IN THE FOLLOWING WAYS:
1) Class participation (this includes worksheets, homework)
2) Oral presentations and drawings
3) Individual writing (both critical and creative)
4) Character acting
5) Quizzes and Unit Final
6) Unit Project (if time permits)
ACTIVITIES TO BE INCLUDED (but not limited to)
1) short lectures
2) note guides for movies, reading and lectures
3) in-class reading/ some homework reading
4) in-class writing
5) role-plays/ simulations
6) dramatic acting of scenes and/or poems
7) drawings
8) listening to CDs related to Shakespeare
9) scavenger hunt
10) project
QUESTIONS TO DEVELOP THESIS STATEMENTS ABOUT AND ANSWER
1) Polonius is sometimes played as a senile old fool, sometimes as a shrewd and worldly old man. Which interpretation do you agree with and why?
2) Pick one character who could, at some point, have changed the whole chain of events. Discuss.
3) Analyze the three appearances of the ghost seen in the play. Where did he appear; to whom did he appear? How does the third appearance differ from the first two? What is the significance of this?
4) Discuss the reasons for Hamlet’s apparent delay in seeking revenge for his father. What is your opinion regarding his procrastination?
5) Compare and contrast Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras as avengers.
6) What is Hamlet’s attitude towards life and people? How does it affect his actions?
7) Apply the following quote to Hamlet: “A man who wishes to make a profession of goodness in everything must necessarily come to grief among so many who are not good. Therefore, it is necessary for a prince, who wishes to maintain himself, to learn how to not to be good, and to use this knowledge and not use it, according to the necessity of the case.” -- THE PRINCE, Machiavelli
8) Examine the reoccurring pun on sun and son. How does this symbol work in the overall meaning of the play.
9) Others will be added as we read.
“The poem, the song, the picture is only water drawn from the well of people
and it should be given back to them in a cup of beauty so that they may drink—
and in drinking, understand themselves.”
--Lorca
This unit will give students a chance to look at Shakespeare from a personal and cultural perspective. The class will break of the structure of the play HAMLET and discuss how metaphor and symbol, plot and theme work in conjunction with the development of characters and ideas. A study of Hamlet must involve an examination of his melancholy, his indecision, his fatalism, his cynicism, his general disillusionment with humanity, the question of his sanity or insanity, and the revenging of his father’s death. The play is full of questions: How should one behave? What should one believe? Who is there (what force outside of humanity abides in the realms of the universe)? What is beautiful and what is ugly in humanity? The play also deals with problems: parent’s treatment of their children, the question of suicide and mortality, corruption and evil, loyalty and fate. Ultimately, Hamlet is a play about the question, “How can one live in an inherently evil world?” A timely question even today as we look at possible war with Iraq, a Middle East divided in fractions, a Korea on the verge of nuclear weapons, American and World companies that value money over people and people who value money and power over love.
OBJECTIVES: At the end of this unit students will be able to
Knowledge:
1) List the five elements of tragedy
2) List the five elements of a tragic hero
3) Define theme, plot, setting, foreshadow, oxymoron, soliloquy, personification, dramatic foil, metaphor, symbol, simile, pun
4) Give the four elements of a sonnet and a brief description of traditional sonnet themes
5) Define various vocabulary words from the play
Comprehension:
6) Identify a metaphor, simile, pun or symbol within the play
7) Identify the rhyme scheme of a English sonnet and break a sonnet into quatrains and couplets
8) Give a brief description of all the characters and their roles in the play
9) Given a line of dialogue identify the speaker
10) Outline the plot and break in up into exposition, inciting event, rising action, climax, falling action and catastrophe (or resolution)
11) Summarize each scene into a headline
Application
12) Demonstrate an understanding of a scene in a drawing
13) Demonstrate a relation of characters to contemporary times through a simulation
14) Demonstrate an understanding of characters and acting techniques by writing out a script (including the lines, subtext, emotion or tone, and blocking) and acting out the scene from memory
15) Demonstrate an understanding of the play by writing journal entries and in-class writing assignments including a Dear Abbey Letter, interviews with citizens of Denmark, personal responses, and in-class presentations on characters.
16) Demonstrate an understanding of parts of the play by translation Shakespeare’s lines into contemporary English
17) Write a rap about Hamlet
Analysis
17) In an essay compare and contrast a Shakespeare Comedy to a Shakespeare Tragedy.
18) Write a persuasion paper on some element or question of Hamlet and present the paper to class as an oration
Synthesis
19) Write a sonnet
PROJECT:
A variety of activities could be included as a project, but some include staging a scene of the play (with costumes), making a puppet show, making an activity book, reading other Shakespeare plays and presenting them to class (with some acting), making a movie or video, recording your song/rap (with some polishing), writing a sonnet sequence, writing a paper.
STUDENTS WILL BE ASSESSED IN THE FOLLOWING WAYS:
1) Class participation (this includes worksheets, homework)
2) Oral presentations and drawings
3) Individual writing (both critical and creative)
4) Character acting
5) Quizzes and Unit Final
6) Unit Project (if time permits)
ACTIVITIES TO BE INCLUDED (but not limited to)
1) short lectures
2) note guides for movies, reading and lectures
3) in-class reading/ some homework reading
4) in-class writing
5) role-plays/ simulations
6) dramatic acting of scenes and/or poems
7) drawings
8) listening to CDs related to Shakespeare
9) scavenger hunt
10) project
QUESTIONS TO DEVELOP THESIS STATEMENTS ABOUT AND ANSWER
1) Polonius is sometimes played as a senile old fool, sometimes as a shrewd and worldly old man. Which interpretation do you agree with and why?
2) Pick one character who could, at some point, have changed the whole chain of events. Discuss.
3) Analyze the three appearances of the ghost seen in the play. Where did he appear; to whom did he appear? How does the third appearance differ from the first two? What is the significance of this?
4) Discuss the reasons for Hamlet’s apparent delay in seeking revenge for his father. What is your opinion regarding his procrastination?
5) Compare and contrast Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras as avengers.
6) What is Hamlet’s attitude towards life and people? How does it affect his actions?
7) Apply the following quote to Hamlet: “A man who wishes to make a profession of goodness in everything must necessarily come to grief among so many who are not good. Therefore, it is necessary for a prince, who wishes to maintain himself, to learn how to not to be good, and to use this knowledge and not use it, according to the necessity of the case.” -- THE PRINCE, Machiavelli
8) Examine the reoccurring pun on sun and son. How does this symbol work in the overall meaning of the play.
9) Others will be added as we read.
Thursday, 26 January 2012
Hamlet Vocabulary
1) Paradox
2) Sovereign
3) Commission
4) Resolution
5) Malefaction
6) Firmament
7) Tedious
8) Pestilent
9) Pious
10) Promontory
2) Sovereign
3) Commission
4) Resolution
5) Malefaction
6) Firmament
7) Tedious
8) Pestilent
9) Pious
10) Promontory
Monday, 16 January 2012
School for Trip
1) Finish BELOVED
2) Write 2-3 page Deconstruction Essay.
3) Read and discuss with Mr. F packet on Readers' Response Theory
4) Write 2-3 page Readers' Response Essay.
5) Meet with Mr. F - 40 minutes daily about BELOVED and essays.
2) Write 2-3 page Deconstruction Essay.
3) Read and discuss with Mr. F packet on Readers' Response Theory
4) Write 2-3 page Readers' Response Essay.
5) Meet with Mr. F - 40 minutes daily about BELOVED and essays.
Saturday, 14 January 2012
Toni Morrison podcast on BELOVED
Go HERE to listen to Toni Morrison talk BELOVED. It might help on your Historical essays.
Monday, 9 January 2012
January 8th, 2012
Today we will finish discussion about New Criticism and discuss pages 50-80 of BELOVED.
Homework: A) Read 80-100.
B) By Friday write a 2-3 page essays using New Criticism to discuss some aspect of BELOVED. Note we will be moving on to another Critical Theory by Thursday so make sure you have this theory down before then. If you need to see me after school be do so.
Homework: A) Read 80-100.
B) By Friday write a 2-3 page essays using New Criticism to discuss some aspect of BELOVED. Note we will be moving on to another Critical Theory by Thursday so make sure you have this theory down before then. If you need to see me after school be do so.
Friday, 6 January 2012
January 6th: Chokeberry Tree
Today we are going to look at Literary Theory and New Criticism. Go HERE
Also read to page 80 in BELOVED.
Below are the lyrics to MY OLD KENTUCKY HOME - Morrison is playing off these lyrics with SWEET HOME:
The sun shines bright in the old Kentucky home,
'Tis summer, the darkies are gay;
The corn-top's ripe and the meadow's in the bloom,
While the birds make music all the day.
The young folks roll on the little cabin floor,
All merry, all happy and bright;
By 'n' by Hard Times comes a-knocking at the door,
Then my old Kentucky home, goodnight.
Chorus:
Weep no more my lady
Oh! weep no more today!
We will sing one song for the old Kentucky home,
For the Old Kentucky Home far away.
Wednesday, 4 January 2012
BELOVED
That's Be Loved!
Okay, so you obviously have noticed that I'm not in class. I'm stuck in Juneau - perhaps forever (this is were you cheer, stand up and bump each other as if you've knocked down a 3-pt shot.
Overview of the next few weeks (for the AP students0): We're going to look at a few difference theories on literary criticism and write a 2-3 page essays with each. Some of the theories include New Criticism (inspired by Eliot and the one most needed for AP); Historical Criticism (author's life and times - this will be tricky for Toni Morrison because she publishes Beloved in the 80s but the events in the novel take place in the 1880s, so what is it in her life or the time around the 80s that inspires her to write about a time long ago? What in her life appears in the novel?); Feminist Criticism; Deconstructivism ( a postmodern theory developed in the 80s); and Readers' Response (this should be the easiest theory to write an essay using). Just be prepared to write. Looking at last semesters essays we need more analyzation and less "summary" to more into the higher brackets of the AP rubric. Last, we will also be working on the prose selection questions: this is were the AP test gives you a prose passage and asks you to analyze it.
BELOVED is a good novel for prose passages.
Things to NOTE: BELOVED has many references to the BIBLE (you might just find a copy somewhere and begin reading it on your own - unfortunately, I'm serious), slavery and the middle passage (you'll need to research the middle passage, the importance of the Ohio River as a boundary between Kentucky and Ohio (slavery - freedom), and the slave laws and stories about slave hunters (note: think of the slave hunters in Huck Finn), and slave plantations. Question: What does it mean to be free? How does a person go from slavery to being a free person? Is there a transformation? What does it mean to love or be loved? How does the past control our actions (or are we slaves to the past - how do we break free?). Note: some of the book is written in prose poetry. Also Morrison uses many allusions - note the whips on Sethe's back resembling a TREE.
Assignment for today: Find BELOVED textbooks (if you don't already have them) and read the first 20 pages. I want each of you to come up with a theme - what is the book about - and a list of characters.
For AP students I want you also to look at the this site HERE and choose an essay to read and present an overview of in class tomorrow (what is it about, how does it break down the novel, etc.) Please don't pick the same essay.
ASSIGNMENTS: 1) read first 20 pages, come up with a theme and a list of characters; 2) pick out an essay, read it and be able to relate it to the class tomorrow.
BLAKE and DANNY - you just need to do step 1.
GOOD LUCK!!! I look forward to class discussion tomorrow!
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