Monday-Friday, December 1-5, 2008

Here is the schedule for the week, for those who like to plan ahead.

Note: Sophomores! Your next literature assignment is Julius Caesar by Shakespeare. I have plenty of copies for you to use, and it is in your textbook, but if you have historically encountered problems with comprehension, you may wish to avail yourself of the No Fear Shakespeare series from Barnes and Noble. This series features the Elizabethan language on one side of the page, with American vernacular on the other. You can get these books at Barnes or on amazon.com, or ask one of the juniors if they kept their copy from last year. You will need it in a week or so.

APees:

Monday: T.S. Eliot and "Prufrock"/Prufrockian Critical Essays (read by Wednesday for timed writing) and distribute Hamlet review sheets for upcoming test.
Tuesday: Comprehensive Hamlet review
Wednesday: Timed Writing on Prufrock and Hamlet
Thursday: Hamlet Unit Test
Friday: Hamlet Focus Paper #2 due by 5 p.m. and transition into existentialism and absurdism

Words of the Day: abstemious, verity, vacuous, debonair, elucidate

Sophys:

Monday: Candide review/characters and themes
Tuesday: Candide essay test (start in class then take home to finish)
Wednesday: Submit essay test/grammar activity/return MP essays for possible resubmission/wrap up satire unit with "Miniver Cheevy"
Thursday: Transition into Julius Caesar/The Tudors and Shakespeare
Friday: Transition part II

Friday, November 28, 2008

Blogging here from Vienna! I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving holiday and is preparing for their final weekend of relative freedom from the loving embrace of Orange County Public Schools. Tomorrow morning at 4:45 a.m. I will be going to the Vienna airport to begin a loooong day of travel.

I just wanted to post a few friendly reminders.

• APees: Yes, your paper is due on Friday. Really. And we have a Hamlet test next week, so if you have fallen behind, please catch up now.
• Sophys: Candide MUST be read by Monday and you have a test on Tuesday. I just reread it on the plane for the umpteenth time and want you to be prepared.

These assignments are out of LOVE, people.

• For anyone interested in any of my last three trips ever= Germany this spring break, which still has spots open and will be great now that I've checked out Austrian culture, Paris next fall for graduates only, and Ireland next spring break= we will have a trip meeting Thursday, December 4 in my classroom at 7 p.m. If you can't make this meeting see me Friday for written info.
• Project XMas needs your help!!! This should be our final week. See me, Mary Claire, Kaitlyn, or Maddy if you'd like to help us help our beloved custodians.
  

Friday, November 21, 2008

Today is Mrs. Alami's birthday. She is my best friend and teaches ESOL across the hall. If you have an opportunity to say "Happy Birthday" I know she'd appreciate it.


Sophys: Finish the analysis of "Ozymandias" and segue into a grammar assignment that will be due Tuesday, December 2.

APees: Finish a few key points from the Eliot critique of Hamlet, and segue into "Prufrock." Your HW this break is to finish reading the Eliot piece and be prepared to discuss on December 1.

NOTE: The week after Thanksgiving break will be odd; between the Honors Breakfast, Senior Breakfast, and Bright Futures sign-up we will have limited class time. Forewarned is forearmed. Seniors: You have a Hamlet focus paper due on Friday, December 5. Sophomores: You have a Candide test on Thursday, December 4. Be safe and have a happy Thanksgiving Break! I'll be in Prague and Vienna.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Sophys: You have an essay due today, by the end of the day--4:30 hard copy, and midnight on www.turnitin.com. Many thanks to those of you who have already submitted. Today, in class, we are reviewing the poem we read two days ago: "The Unknown Citizen" by WH Auden, and analyzing what he satirizes in the poem, and then transitioning to another poem that features irony in a very intentional, socially-conscious way: "Ozymandias" by Shelley. TP-CASTT and other hijinks will ensue.

APees: Begin the comprehensive review of Hamlet and look at the criticism of the play from Eliot, Poe, and others. Also, we are going to review some grammatical constructs to help us in our quest for academic perfection.

Two days until Thanksgiving Break begins!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Gifted English II: Guidance visit.

Advanced Placement Literature and Composition: Hamlet, the Final Scene, and a creative writing assignment due Friday. We will test on this play after the Thanksgiving break.

Sorry so short--grades are due tomorrow and I am scoring resubmissions.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Sophys: Review format for Monty Python essays, and go over Candide characterization. Possible post-it note quiz. Friendly reminder: Tomorrow is the Guidance visit.

APees: Act V, scene ii. And that's all he wrote.

Hamlet Focus Paper Common Errors

Dear APees,

As we discussed in class today, resubmits MUST be in by Wednesday morning if they are to be included in this progress report. To wit, here are the notes I gave in class today regarding common errors found in the Hamlet focus papers--some dismayed me, but others were inadvertently amusing.

Common Errors: Hamlet Focus Paper 2008

1. Integrated quotes/Quotes in space/Long quotes and proper usage

2. Elevate diction

“Claudius is a bad, bad man.”

“Hamlet done gone crazy.”

“mommy”

“Not bloody likely.”

3. Present tense needed

4. Divide into paragraphs

5. Comma splices: we need to relearn ; vs. , and how to use however and therefore

6. Format is all over the place—underline thesis statement, name on the back, title centered, double-spaced, in a readable font that is more than four points and less than sixteen

7. Wordiness—some people were writing poetry in their focus papers

8. Who v. that

9. Syntax—fragments and run-ons

10. Novel vs. play

11. thrown vs. throne; manor vs. manner

12. Address the prompt

13. Apostrophes—Hamlets’, Hamlet’s, Hamlets

14. Stay out of your essay—“I think” “The way I see it” “According to the way I read”

15. Exclamation points (not in quotes, but in your paper—“Hamlet was a dirty dog!”)

16. “Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s many plays” is not a thesis statement.

17. “to say the least”—please don’t

18. So, but, and at the beginning of sentences

19. Rhetorical question abuse—very occasionally, one might be appropriate, but an entire opening paragraph is just. . .nah.

20. Second person. “When you read Hamlet you wonder where all of the spies would go after Denmark collapses.” Intriguing idea, but get that you out of there.

Grammar and Syntax Are Your Friends: Buffalo buffalo!

Check out this cool sentence:

"Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo."

This is a grammatically correct sentence, often used to illustrate how homonyms and homophones can be used in syntax. The sentence describes bison living in Buffalo, New York and how they intimidate each other. This explanation is from Wikipedia but can be found widely on other linguistic sites:

[Those] (Buffalo buffalo) [whom] (Buffalo buffalo buffalo) buffalo (Buffalo buffalo).

[Those] buffalo(es) from Buffalo [that are intimidated by] buffalo(es) from Buffalo intimidate buffalo(es) from Buffalo.

Bison from Buffalo, New York, who are intimidated by other bison in their community also happen to intimidate other bison in their community.

THE buffalo FROM Buffalo WHO ARE buffaloed BY buffalo FROM Buffalo ALSO buffalo THE buffalo FROM Buffalo.

Similar sentences that are quite fun follow:

"Fish fish fish fish fish", which can be read as "Fish(n) (whom) fish(n) fish(v), fish(v) fish(n)", or, "Fish which are fished by fish, fish other fish".

"Peppers pepper peppers pepper pepper." In other words, "Peppers who pepper peppers may also pepper another pepper."

Police police police Police police. Same thing.

See if you can invent one! Good times.

Here is some more gratuitous clip art:

Monday, November 17, 2008

Can you believe that we only have one week left until Thanksgiving break? I will be unable to post or reply to e-mails during that week, as I will be in Prague and Vienna in bitter, bitter cold. Like I'm complaining--the Viennese claim to have really invented the cappuccino, so it's almost like the mother ship is calling me home: mmmmmmmmm.


Before school today, we're having a brief meeting with Mary Claire to deliver new Project X-Mas containers and get an update on our progress. Collection this week will be THURSDAY, not Friday.

Sophys: Author of the Day, followed by the completion of "My Melancholy Face" by Heinrich Boll. Oh, and see the next post for something cool and linguistic.

APees: Your homework questions are due for Act V, scene i; today in class, we are doing scene ii. If we have time, T.S. Eliot's viewpoint on Hamlet and his delays. Eliot is the one who claims that Hamlet is an artistic failure. T.S. is brilliant, and one of my very, very favorite poets in spite of that stupid cat thing (sorry--you remember how I feel about musicals) but I have to disagree with him somewhat vehemently here. Oh, and I have to break some bad news to ya'll who haven't read ahead: Hamlet is going to die. Yup. Sorry to have to break it to you; he is, after all, the title character in a Shakespearean tragedy, and as such, is doomed.

Friday, November 14, 2008

Today is the historic Edgewater-Boone game, at Edgewater High School in College Park. If you are planning to attend the game tonight, please go early so that you can find parking. There is a large lot immediately off of Edgewater Drive; also, there is a commercial parking lot adjacent to the school, but be careful as half the lot has no-parking signs or towing warnings. And be nice to the Eagles; they are going to lose, after all.

Since this is the Edgewater game, we will be on a Wednesday bell schedule and have a PEP RALLY to celebrate the big event. We haven't had one yet this year--just a senior snake, and some other revelry. This is going to be huge. Wear orange and white, and celebrate!

Sophys: Author of the Day (we're finished next week, which actually makes me sad) and review of Candide's focus points, then a satirical story by Heinrich Boll called "My Melancholy Face."

APees: Act V. Your focus papers are due today by the end of school, hard copy, and by midnight tonight on www.turnitin.com. I was gratified to see how many of you have already submitted your papers electronically. HOMEWORK THIS WEEKEND: Study questions on Act V. NEXT WEEK: Creative Writing!

Thursday, November 13, 2008

There might be a fire drill at the start of fifth period.

Sophys: MP essay assignment; pass back graded work; Author of the Day.

APees: Hamlet quizlet, Act IV; "Gertrude Talks Back" by Margaret Atwood; notes on the board for the rest of Act IV.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Sophys: Finish MPatQHG after two Author of the Day presentations.

APees: Hamlet, Act IV, scene v, and notes on the board/diction.

Hamlet, Explained: Another Episode in a Continuing Series

You can find this essay in its entirety at this website; Eliot's work is in the public domain, due to the elapsed copyright date: http://www.bartleby.com/200/sw9.html

T.S. Eliot (1888–1965). The Sacred Wood: Essays on Poetry and Criticism. 1922.

Hamlet and His Problems

FEW critics have even admitted that Hamlet the play is the primary problem, and Hamlet the character only secondary. And Hamlet the character has had an especial temptation for that most dangerous type of critic: the critic with a mind which is naturally of the creative order, but which through some weakness in creative power exercises itself in criticism instead. These minds often find in Hamlet a vicarious existence for their own artistic realization. Such a mind had Goethe, who made of Hamlet a Werther; and such had Coleridge, who made of Hamlet a Coleridge; and probably neither of these men in writing about Hamlet remembered that his first business was to study a work of art. The kind of criticism that Goethe and Coleridge produced, in writing of Hamlet, is the most misleading kind possible. For they both possessed unquestionable critical insight, and both make their critical aberrations the more plausible by the substitution—of their own Hamlet for Shakespeare's—which their creative gift effects. We should be thankful that Walter Pater did not fix his attention on this play.	1
Two recent writers, Mr. J. M. Robertson and Professor Stoll of the University of Minnesota, have issued small books which can be praised for moving in the other direction. Mr. Stoll performs a service in recalling to our attention the labours of the critics of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, 1 observing that they knew less about psychology than more recent Hamlet critics, but they were nearer in spirit to Shakespeare's art; and as they insisted on the importance of the effect of the whole rather than on the importance of the leading character, they were nearer, in their old-fashioned way, to the secret of dramatic art in general.	2
Qua work of art, the work of art cannot be interpreted; there is nothing to interpret; we can only criticize it according to standards, in comparison to other works of art; and for "interpretation" the chief task is the presentation of relevant historical facts which the reader is not assumed to know. Mr. Robertson points out, very pertinently, how critics have failed in their "interpretation" of Hamlet by ignoring what ought to be very obvious: that Hamlet is a stratification, that it represents the efforts of a series of men, each making what he could out of the work of his predecessors. The Hamlet of Shakespeare will appear to us very differently if, instead of treating the whole action of the play as due to Shakespeare's design, we perceive his Hamlet to be superposed upon much cruder material which persists even in the final form.	3
We know that there was an older play by Thomas Kyd, that extraordinary dramatic (if not poetic) genius who was in all probability the author of two plays so dissimilar as the Spanish Tragedy and Arden of Feversham; and what this play was like we can guess from three clues: from the Spanish Tragedy itself, from the tale of Belleforest upon which Kyd's Hamlet must have been based, and from a version acted in Germany in Shakespeare's lifetime which bears strong evidence of having been adapted from the earlier, not from the later, play. From these three sources it is clear that in the earlier play the motive was a revenge-motive simply; that the action or delay is caused, as in the Spanish Tragedy, solely by the difficulty of assassinating a monarch surrounded by guards; and that the "madness" of Hamlet was feigned in order to escape suspicion, and successfully. In the final play of Shakespeare, on the other hand, there is a motive which is more important than that of revenge, and which explicitly "blunts" the latter; the delay in revenge is unexplained on grounds of necessity or expediency; and the effect of the "madness" is not to lull but to arouse the king's suspicion. The alteration is not complete enough, however, to be convincing. Furthermore, there are verbal parallels so close to the Spanish Tragedy as to leave no doubt that in places Shakespeare was merely revising the text of Kyd. And finally there are unexplained scenes—the Polonius-Laertes and the Polonius-Reynaldo scenes—for which there is little excuse; these scenes are not in the verse style of Kyd, and not beyond doubt in the style of Shakespeare. These Mr. Robertson believes to be scenes in the original play of Kyd reworked by a third hand, perhaps Chapman, before Shakespeare touched the play. And he concludes, with very strong show of reason, that the original play of Kyd was, like certain other revenge plays, in two parts of five acts each. The upshot of Mr. Robertson's examination is, we believe, irrefragable: that Shakespeare's Hamlet, so far as it is Shakespeare's, is a play dealing with the effect of a mother's guilt upon her son, and that Shakespeare was unable to impose this motive successfully upon the "intractable" material of the old play.	4
Of the intractability there can be no doubt. So far from being Shakespeare's masterpiece, the play is most certainly an artistic failure. In several ways the play is puzzling, and disquieting as is none of the others. Of all the plays it is the longest and is possibly the one on which Shakespeare spent most pains; and yet he has left in it superfluous and inconsistent scenes which even hasty revision should have noticed. The versification is variable. Lines like Look, the morn, in russet mantle clad, Walks o'er the dew of yon high eastern hill, are of the Shakespeare of Romeo and Juliet. The lines in Act v. sc. ii., Sir, in my heart there was a kind of fighting That would not let me sleep... Up from my cabin, My sea-gown scarf'd about me, in the dark Grop'd I to find out them: had my desire; Finger'd their packet; are of his quite mature. Both workmanship and thought are in an unstable condition. We are surely justified in attributing the play, with that other profoundly interesting play of "intractable" material and astonishing versification, Measure for Measure, to a period of crisis, after which follow the tragic successes which culminate in Coriolanus. Coriolanus may be not as "interesting" as Hamlet, but it is, with Antony and Cleopatra, Shakespeare's most assured artistic success. And probably more people have thought Hamlet a work of art because they found it interesting, than have found it interesting because it is a work of art. It is the "Mona Lisa" of literature.	5
The grounds of Hamlet's failure are not immediately obvious. Mr. Robertson is undoubtedly correct in concluding that the essential emotion of the play is the feeling of a son towards a guilty mother: [Hamlet's] tone is that of one who has suffered tortures on the score of his mother's degradation.... The guilt of a mother is an almost intolerable motive for drama, but it had to be maintained and emphasized to supply a psychological solution, or rather a hint of one. This, however, is by no means the whole story. It is not merely the "guilt of a mother" that cannot be handled as Shakespeare handled the suspicion of Othello, the infatuation of Antony, or the pride of Coriolanus. The subject might conceivably have expanded into a tragedy like these, intelligible, self-complete, in the sunlight. Hamlet, like the sonnets, is full of some stuff that the writer could not drag to light, contemplate, or manipulate into art. And when we search for this feeling, we find it, as in the sonnets, very difficult to localize. You cannot point to it in the speeches; indeed, if you examine the two famous soliloquies you see the versification of Shakespeare, but a content which might be claimed by another, perhaps by the author of the Revenge of Bussy d' Ambois, Act v. sc. i. We find Shakespeare's Hamlet not in the action, not in any quotations that we might select, so much as in an unmistakable tone which is unmistakably not in the earlier play.	6
The only way of expressing emotion in the form of art is by finding an "objective correlative"; in other words, a set of objects, a situation, a chain of events which shall be the formula of that particular emotion; such that when the external facts, which must terminate in sensory experience, are given, the emotion is immediately evoked. If you examine any of Shakespeare's more successful tragedies, you will find this exact equivalence; you will find that the state of mind of Lady Macbeth walking in her sleep has been communicated to you by a skilful accumulation of imagined sensory impressions; the words of Macbeth on hearing of his wife's death strike us as if, given the sequence of events, these words were automatically released by the last event in the series. The artistic "inevitability" lies in this complete adequacy of the external to the emotion; and this is precisely what is deficient in Hamlet. Hamlet (the man) is dominated by an emotion which is inexpressible, because it is in excess of the facts as they appear. And the supposed identity of Hamlet with his author is genuine to this point: that Hamlet's bafflement at the absence of objective equivalent to his feelings is a prolongation of the bafflement of his creator in the face of his artistic problem. Hamlet is up against the difficulty that his disgust is occasioned by his mother, but that his mother is not an adequate equivalent for it; his disgust envelops and exceeds her. It is thus a feeling which he cannot understand; he cannot objectify it, and it therefore remains to poison life and obstruct action. None of the possible actions can satisfy it; and nothing that Shakespeare can do with the plot can express Hamlet for him. And it must be noticed that the very nature of the données of the problem precludes objective equivalence. To have heightened the criminality of Gertrude would have been to provide the formula for a totally different emotion in Hamlet; it is just because her character is so negative and insignificant that she arouses in Hamlet the feeling which she is incapable of representing.	7
The "madness" of Hamlet lay to Shakespeare's hand; in the earlier play a simple ruse, and to the end, we may presume, understood as a ruse by the audience. For Shakespeare it is less than madness and more than feigned. The levity of Hamlet, his repetition of phrase, his puns, are not part of a deliberate plan of dissimulation, but a form of emotional relief. In the character Hamlet it is the buffoonery of an emotion which can find no outlet in action; in the dramatist it is the buffoonery of an emotion which he cannot express in art. The intense feeling, ecstatic or terrible, without an object or exceeding its object, is something which every person of sensibility has known; it is doubtless a study to pathologists. It often occurs in adolescence: the ordinary person puts these feelings to sleep, or trims down his feeling to fit the business world; the artist keeps it alive by his ability to intensify the world to his emotions. The Hamlet of Laforgue is an adolescent; the Hamlet of Shakespeare is not, he has not that explanation and excuse. We must simply admit that here Shakespeare tackled a problem which proved too much for him. Why he attempted it at all is an insoluble puzzle; under compulsion of what experience he attempted to express the inexpressibly horrible, we cannot ever know. We need a great many facts in his biography; and we should like to know whether, and when, and after or at the same time as what personal experience, he read Montaigne, II. xii., Apologie de Raimond Sebond. We should have, finally, to know something which is by hypothesis unknowable, for we assume it to be an experience which, in the manner indicated, exceeded the facts. We should have to understand things which Shakespeare did not understand himself.	8

---

Note 1

I have never, by the way, seen a cogent refutation of Thomas Rymer's objections to Othello. [back]

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

There was a delay in posting created by two factors: A) my blog has now been blocked again, thus necessitating my updating only from home, again, and B) the fact that I haven’t been home much lately due to family issues. A thousand apologies.

Sophys: Viewing Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail, preparatory to an essay assignment about the satirical elements of said film. Bring a beverage or snack if desired. HW: Please keep reading Candide; we will be discussing in class over the next few days, as well. Author of the Day presentations will continue as normal.

APees: Quotations from Hamlet, Acts I-III, and discussion of the multiple choice selections from this practice session. See notes below. HW: Read Act IV, scenes i-iii.

NOTES ON THE MULTIPLE CHOICE PRACTICE SESSION, 6th Edition Text

Passage One: from “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce, American writer from the late 1800’s. This passage highlights the sensory details and horror of a man who is being hanged from a bridge during the Civil War, and in the descriptions of his subsequent escape and flight into freedom, many metaphors, vivid details, and high-diction terms are utilized. Prose passage with 12 multiple choice questions; remember, you’re shooting for at least fifty percent. If you missed the answer discussion see me and I’ll give you my key.

Passage Two: “The Fire Fetched Down,” a post-modern poem about Prometheus and the pain knowledge can bring. The people (“They” in the opening line) are at first askance about the acquisition of fire, and are suspicious. Of course, knowledge of the Promethean myth is critical to understanding the poet’s intentions in this piece, and most of the questions are dependent on relating the poem’s content to the myth. However, even if one didn’t parse out the true meaning of the poem, several questions could be answered successfully about particulars in figurative language.

Passage Three: An excerpt from The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson. This passage, from an expository section of the Gothic novel, relates Jekyll’s scientific process (while refusing to disclose too many details of the actual chemical combination he uncovers) and reveals the exhilaration of embracing one’s inner evil. Many of the questions focus on characterization for this passage, and the high diction Stevenson uses make deciphering his narrator’s intentions a bit of a challenge.

Passage Four: A wonderful poem by Robert Frost, “A Roadside Stand” features two meanings in its title. Ostensibly about a fruit and vegetable stand on the side of a rural road, the poem is really more focused on the disparity between the needs of the urban population and the values of the countryside. Romantic in predisposition, this poem seems topical for its publication timeframe—the Eisenhower era of prosperity—and criticizes the hustle and bustle of materialistic city dwellers who only stop by the stand for directions or to form a U-turn. The questions related to this passage focus on both content and form, and ask several detailed queries about figurative language. This poem overall is much more readable and easy to analyze than the Promethean poem of the second passage.

Hamlet, Explained (another in a continuing series)

Famous Lines from the Play to Know and Cherish

Act I

• Claudius: ...But now, my cousin Hamlet, and my son -
  Hamlet: (aside) A little more than kin, and less than kind.
  Claudius: How is it that the clouds still hang on you?
  Hamlet: Not so my lord; I am too much i' the sun.
  • scene i

• O, that this too too solid flesh would melt,
  Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew.
  • scene ii

• How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable
  Seem to me all the uses of this world.
  • Hamlet speaking in scene ii

• Frailty, thy name is woman!
  • Hamlet speaking of Gertrude in scene ii

• But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue.
  • Still Hamlet scene ii

• Thrift, thrift, Horatio! The funeral bak'd meats
  Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables.
  • Also still Hamlet, scene ii

• A countenance more in sorrow than in anger.
  • Horatio, scene ii

• For Hamlet, and the trifling of his favours,
  Hold it a fashion and a toy in blood;
  A violet in the youth of primy nature,
  Forward, not permanent, sweet, not lasting,
  The perfume and suppliance of a minute —
  No more.
  • Laertes, scene iii

• Do not, as some ungracious pastors do,
  Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven,
  Whiles, like a puff'd and reckless libertine,
  Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads.
  And recks not his own rede.
  • Ophelia, scene iii

• Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar.
  • Polonius, scene iii

• Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice;
  Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgment.
  • Polonius, scene iii

• Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,
  But not express'd in fancy; rich, not gaudy;
  For the apparel oft proclaims the man.
  • Polonius, scene iii

• Neither a borrower nor a lender be:
  For loan oft loses both itself and friend.
  • Polonius, scene iii

• This above all — to thine own self be true;
  And it must follow, as the night the day,
  Thou canst not then be false to any man.
  • Polonius, scene iii

• But to my mind, — though I am native here
  And to the manner born, — it is a custom
  More honour'd in the breach than the observance.
  • Hamlet, scene iv

• Why, what should be the fear?
  I do not set my life at a pin's fee,
  And for my soul, what can it do to that,
  Being a thing immortal as itself?
  • Hamlet, scene iv

• Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
  • Marcellus, scene iv

• My hour is almost come
  When I to sulphrous and tormenting flames
  Must render up myself.
  • Ghost, scene v

• The serpent that did sting thy father's life
  Now wears his crown.
  • Ghost, scene v

• O horrible, O horrible, most horrible!
  • Ghost, scene v

• O most pernicious woman!
  O, villain, villain, smiling, damned villain!
  My tables, — meet it is I set it down,
  That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain.
  • Hamlet, scene v

• There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
  Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
  • Hamlet, scene v

• How strange or odd soe'er I bear myself —
  As I perchance hereafter shall think meet
  To put an antic disposition on.
  • Hamlet, scene v

• The time is out of joint; O cursed spite,
  That ever I was born to set it right!
  • Hamlet, scene v

Act II

• Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit,
  And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes,
  I will be brief.
  • Polonius, scene ii.

• More matter with less art.
  • Gertrude, scene ii.

• That he is mad, 'tis true; 'tis true 'tis pity;
  And pity 'tis 'tis true: a foolish figure;
  But farewell it, for I will use no art.
  • Polonius, scene ii

• Doubt thou the stars are fire;
  Doubt that the sun doth move;
  Doubt truth to be a liar;
  But never doubt I love.
  • Hamlet, from a letter read by Polonius, scene ii

• Polonius: What do you read, my lord?
  Hamlet: Words, words, words.
  • scene ii

• Polonius: (Aside) Though this be madness, yet there is method in 't. - Will you walk out of the air, my lord?
  Hamlet: Into my grave.
  • scene ii

• Polonius: My honored lord, I will most humbly take my leave of you.
  Hamlet: You cannot, sir, take from me anything that I will more willingly part withal — except my life — except my life — except my life.
  • scene ii

• Hamlet: My excellent good friends! How dost thou Guildenstern? Ah, Rosencrantz! Good lads, how do you both?
  Rosencrantz: As indifferent as children of the earth.
  Guildenstern: Happy in that we are not overhappy; on Fortune's cap we are not the very button.
  Hamlet: Nor the soles of her shoe?
  Rosencrantz: Neither, my lord.
  Hamlet: Then you live about her waist, or in the middle of her favours?
  Guildenstern: Faith, her privates we.
  Hamlet: In the secret parts of Fortune? O, most true! She is a strumpet. What's the news?
  Rosencrantz: None, my lord, but that the world's grown honest.
  Hamlet: Then is doomsday near.
  • scene ii

• There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.
  • Hamlet, scene ii

• I could be bounded in a nutshell, and count myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams.
  • Hamlet, scene ii

• Beggar that I am, I am even poor in thanks.
  • Hamlet, scene ii

• What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form, in moving, how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world! the paragon of animals! And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust? man delights not me; no, nor woman neither, though, by your smiling, you seem to say so.
  • Hamlet, scene ii

• O! what a rogue and peasant slave am I!
  • Hamlet, scene ii

• What's Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba,
  That he should weep for her?
  • Hamlet, scene ii

• That I, the son of a dear father murdered,
  Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell,
  Must like a whore unpack my heart with words,
  and fall a-cursing like a very drab
  • Hamlet, scene ii

• The play's the thing,
  Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king.
  • Hamlet, scene ii

Act III

• We are oft to blame in this, —
  'Tis too much prov'd, — that with devotion's visage,
  And pious action, we do sugar o'er
  The devil himself.
  • Polonius, scene i

• To be, or not to be, — that is the question: —
  Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
  The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
  Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
  And by opposing end them?
  • Hamlet, scene i

• Get thee to a nunnery: why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners? I am myself indifferent honest; but yet I could accuse me of such things that it were better my mother had not borne me. I am very proud, revengeful, ambitious; with more offences at my beck than I have thoughts to put them in, imagination to give them shape, or time to act them in. What should such fellows as I do crawling between earth and heaven? We are arrant knaves all; believe none of us.
  • Hamlet, scene i

• Rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind.
  • Ophelia, scene i

• I say, we will have no more marriages: those that are married already, — all but one, — shall live; the rest shall keep as they are.
  • Hamlet, scene i

• O! what a noble mind is here o'erthrown!
  • Ophelia, scene i

• O, woe is me
  To have seen what I have seen, see what I see!
  • Ophelia, scene i

• Gertrude: Come hither, my dear Hamlet, sit by me.
  Hamlet: No, good mother, here's metal more attractive. (Hamlet takes a place near Ophelia.)

• Hamlet: Lady, shall I lie in your lap?
  Ophelia: No, my lord.
  Hamlet: I mean, my head upon your lap?
  Ophelia: Ay, my lord.
  Hamlet: Do you think I meant country matters?
  • scene ii

• So long? Nay, then, let the devil wear black, for I'll have a suit of sables. Oh heavens! die two months ago, and not forgotten yet? Then there's hope a great man's memory may outlive his life half a year.
  • Hamlet, scene ii

• The lady doth protest too much, methinks.
  • Gertrude, scene ii

• Why, look you now, how unworthy a thing you make of me. You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass; and there is much music, excellent voice, in this little organ, yet cannot you make it speak. 'Sblood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe? Call me what instrument you will, though you can fret me, you cannot play upon me.
  • Hamlet, scene ii

• Hamlet: Do you see yonder cloud that's almost in shape of a camel?
  Polonius: By th' Mass, and 'tis like a camel, indeed.
  Hamlet: Methinks it is like a weasel.
  Polonius: It is backed like a weasel.
  Hamlet: Or like a whale.
  Polonius: Very like a whale.
  • scene ii

• Tis now the very witching time of night,
  When churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out
  Contagion to this world: now could I drink hot blood,
  And do such bitter business, as the day
  Would quake to look on.
  • Hamlet, scene ii

• Let me be cruel, not unnatural;
  I will speak daggers to her, but use none.
  • Hamlet, scene ii

• O! my offence is rank, it smells to heaven.
  • Claudius, scene iii

• What if this cursed hand
  Were thicker than itself with brother's blood, —
  Is there not rain enough in the sweet heavens
  To wash it white as snow?
  • Claudius, scene iii

• Now might I do it pat, now he is praying;
  And now I'll do 't: and so he goes to heaven;
  And so am I reveng'd.
  • Hamlet, scene iii

• My words fly up, my thoughts remain below;
  Words without thoughts never to heaven go.
  • Claudius, scene iii

• Hamlet: How now! a rat? Dead, for a ducat, dead!
  Polonius: Oh, I am slain!
  • scene iv

• Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell!
  I took thee for thy better.
  • Hamlet, scene iv

• Nay, but to live
  In the rank sweat of an enseamed bed,
  Stew'd in corruption, honeying and making love
  Over the nasty sty.
  • Hamlet, scene iv

• I must be cruel, only to be kind:
  Thus bad begins and worse remains behind.
  • Hamlet, scene iv

• Be thou assur'd, if words be made of breath,
  And breath of life, I have no life to breathe
  What thou hast said to me.
  • Gertrude, scene iv

Monday, November 10, 2008

Project X-Mas students:  We need to deliver more jars to new classrooms and offices this morning, so please try to be in my classroom a little before nine a.m. so we can accomplish this important work.

Also--today is the second Senior Blood Drive.  I think it is vitally important to donate blood, but please try to schedule your appointment to not conflict with your AP classes.  

Gifted English II:  After Author of the Day, we are going to finish "The Lowest Animal" by Mark Twain in the textbook, after which we are going to answer some questions related to the satire inherent to the essay and address A) characterization issues in Candide, and specific things to look for, B) introduction of themes in a satirical film that we are going to be evaluating (read:  written analysis!) and C) returning a pile of graded work, including the CMC essays that a handful of you may wish to re-submit.  I am almost completely out from under the pile of paperwork that landed on me when my family needed the majority of my attention, and I need to schedule some make-up work with some of you.

APees:  We are going to go over the four passages from last week's multiple choice test, and look at specific strategies for addressing some of these questions.  Afterwards, I'll return the Hamlet Act II and Act III quizzes and begin discussing elements of Act IV.  If you were absent on Friday you need to pick up the next focus paper assignment ASAP.  

Friday, November 7, 2008

Happy Friday! Tonight, we play Dr. Phillips, and I'm sure another astonishing victory is in store for the Boone Braves. Wear orange and white today and revel in your revelry.

Before first period, we will be collecting for Project X-Mas. I am asking second period to count the coins during BBC and then we will make our first deposit with the school bookkeeper during third. One week down; three to go! Awesome!

Gifted English II: Author of the Day, followed by a review of "Top of the Food Chain" and collection of your discussion questions on "Modest Proposal." Then. . .and I hope you brought your textbooks, because I had you write down to bring your textbooks. . .we'll be reading a satirical tale by Mark Twain called "The Lowest Animal."

HW: Read Candide.

APees: Hamlet Act III quiz, followed by a lively discussion of the Sample Test IV from the Sixth Edition AP Practice Book. The passages were fascinating, but we need to look at how you address questions in this format. I am also distributing the next focus paper assignment, which is due next Friday. You have three topics to select from.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Project X-Mas helpers: We will be collecting jars before school tomorrow. I have a parent conference at 9:00 this morning and won't be back in the classroom until probably right before first period starts. I have additional Ziploc bags for collection on my desk;' take what you need.

Today is saxophone Day and Marooned Without a Compass Day. If you could find an inventive way to combine both celebrations, that would be. . .interesting.

Gifted English II: Discuss elements of "A Modest Proposal" and segue into the related essay, "Top of the Food Chain" by T.C. Boyle. Satire afoot! NOTE: You need your literature book tomorrow. Not the yellow one we keep in the classroom, either--BRING YOUR BOOK TOMORROW.

APees: 25 minutes to finish the multiple choice, then we're going over Act III, scene iv. I will score the MC tests after school and we will go over the passages tomorrow in class. HW tonight: Act IV, scenes i-ii.

What are we going to do with all of the previous words of the day? I have a master list of the words we've already learned, and I will post them here in the next day or so. We will add ten more words and then either have a quiz on all of them or find a creative way to assess your understanding of the words. I think vocabulary is important, but diction enhancement cannot be our only focus at this stage of the game.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

I am not here today, but I will be posting more information on Hamlet for the APees once I return from taking my father to see his physician. No, I'm not out due to the election--although it is a happy coincidence that I get to spend some time with my dad today, since he stayed up far too late last night watching the returns and listening to the speeches and is now very discombobulated.

Both candidates for President of our country ran exhausting and comprehensive campaigns, and now, a victor has been declared. Both candidates last night pledged support to the other and promised to work together to forge ahead against a tide of problems facing our country, and both last night expressed devotion to our country and its founding principles. I know that some of you are disappointed today; I know that some of you are ecstatic. Regardless of who takes up occupancy at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, we are all Americans and we all have a common purpose, and I am proud of both Senators McCain and Obama for handling themselves last night with dignity and decency. It's a message we can all benefit from, and that's all I will say about politics in this space.

Okay, that's not true--I'd like to pontificate on one issue, for just a moment. So often the youth of our country are accused of apathy and narcissism; this is nothing new. Your parents were probably told by their older generation to stop slacking off, and their parents before them. I remember reading a news article that I'll paraphrase thus: "The kids today are irreverent, and listen to disrespectful music, and care for nothing but their own needs, and wear sloppy and casual clothes, and don't invest in anything but their instant pleasures and distractions." That editorial was written in 1902. Now, here we are in 2008, and I still hear that chorus: The kids are not interested in the world around them.

I have to respectfully disagree, and I think it is a testament to your generation and your peers that I have never seen so many students involved in an election before. Yesterday at school, students were wearing their "I Voted" stickers, or party buttons, or T-shirts touting their candidate of choice. Several students volunteered for a campaign, or volunteered with their church community to get out the vote, or simply maintained a high level of awareness that I had not seen before. And on an analogous note, the number of volunteer hours pouring into Guidance this year is staggering. So many kids have gone beyond the 75 that are required for Bright Futures that it is positively inspirational how much you are willing to give of yourselves.

This year's senior class has high grades, high test scores, high levels of involvement, and serious goals for college admission. I see similar patterns of greatness in the younger groups, too. Oh, and our football team rocks. Not to sound like Candide, but I do have to say: Optimism Now! Your attitudes and willingness to cooperate in a budget crisis year have been inspiring, especially amid the bell schedule change, and I am proud to teach at Boone High School and work with you.

OK, soapbox over. Here's the lesson for today:

Gifted English II: Please read "A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift, and answer the brilliantly insightful questions after the essay. It is in your satire packet and Mrs. Jones has extra copies should you need them.

APees: Don't hate me, but we never finished the last multiple choice practice session, and we are taking a very, very big test in May. Sample Test IV in the beige book (edition six, by the light switch) starts with a bang--the first passage is a lu-lu. Enjoy! We are returning to Hamlet tomorrow, so have Act III read and digested before coming to class.

Have a great day, and remember that today is Gunpowder Day (remember, remember, the fifth of November) and tomorrow, oddly enough, is Marooned Without a Compass Day and Saxaphone Day. I love that Eric K. brings us these weird holidays. Off to fetch my parental unit now, so over and out, Braves!

Hamlet, Explained (Part Two of an Occasional Series)

In which we look at individual scenes and particular details you should note.
Did you know that Hamlet has been translated into Klingon? Really! I had a copy once, but it took a walk right out of my classroom. Oh, Qu'vatlh guy'cha b'aka!


Act I, scene i

We open with a ghost scene; fascinating that the first words of the play are "Who's there?" Suspicion dominates from the very beginning of the play; several guards, some of whom have oddly Italian names, have seen a ghost walking and have asked the trusted Horatio to come take a look. While they wait, Horatio engages them with the protracted tale of how the Norwegian-Danish conflict thus far had been resolved prior to the play's beginning.

Elements to look for: external and internal conflict; supernatural imagery

Act I, scene ii

Claudius, the new King of Denmark, begins this scene with a marvelously nuanced speech about his ascension to the throne; he refers to his bride as "th' imperial jointress to this warlike state." in other words--power comes through Gertrude. Good to know. No one in Denmark seems particularly perturbed by the haste with which the two have married (with mirth in funeral and dirge in marriage) except for the emo boy in the corner, who promptly gets into it with his new stepfather. "Cast thy nighted color off," entreats his mom; after all, how much mourning can a new bride tolerate? He shrugs and promises to obey her, but gives little reply to Claudius's twin edicts that Hamlet A) stop mourning, as it's bringing everyone down, and B) stay here in Denmark, instead of popping back to Wittenberg for further graduate studies in melancholia.

This scene truly takes flight, though, in Hamlet's remarkable first soliloquy--our first gaze into his soul, and our first look at the honest, un-socialized Danish prince. He is profoundly depressed by his father's death and his mother's seemingly oblivious reaction to it. How could she marry so quickly, and to his father's brother? He ends the ruminations when he greets Horatio, an old friend whom he had apparently not seen in some time. When Horatio informs Hamlet of the ghost's appearances on the castle walls, Hamlet perks up and seems eager to investigate this happening for himself. Despite his trepidation (Renaissance thinkers were notoriously skittish about such things) his curiosity outweighs his fear, and he plans to join Horatio and the other guards at the top of the castle after eleven that very night.

Elements to look for: allusions to Greek mythology and the Bible; Claudius's silky diplomacy; Gertrude's maternal requests; Hamlet's use of language alone and with others; color imagery

Act I, scene iii

The scene switches to Polonius's chambers within the castle. Laertes is earnestly talking to his younger sister, and telling her that Hamlet is not a long-term option for her, as he is "subject to his birth." Ophelia, recognizing her brother's genuine concern and affection for her, responds with gentle humor, telling him not to be hypocritical and to watch his own sexual behavior. Since he is heading off to "study" in Paris, we can only assume that he is a bit of a party boy. Polonius himself bursts into the room, chastising Laertes for packing too slowly, then "helps" him by giving him tons of advice on living. Some of it is actually pretty solid--don't get in a fight, but if you do, win; don't lend out money; be careful whom you trust. The most interesting tidbit is when he ways "to thine own self be true," which may as well be engraved on Polonius's self-serving heart. Then, Polonius browbeats his daughter into discussing Hamlet with him, too, and he urges her to "tender yourself more dearly." If his daughter were to be publicly associated with Hamlet's desires, it could be detrimental to his own ambitions.

Elements to look for: metaphors, platitudes, the relationship between father/son and father/daughter, sexual mores of the Renaissance as expressed to both genders

Act I, scene iv:

This comparatively brief scene takes place atop the castle walls. Marcellus, Bernardo, Francisco, and Horatio accompany Hamlet in much conversation before the ghost appears. When the ghost does manifest itself, the brave soldiers lose their bravado and attempt to force Hamlet to stay with them, fearing his destruction if the ghost is a demon. Hamlet threatens his friends with his sword and runs after the ghost. Time loses all meaning as Horatio and the men "search" for Hamlet, presumably while the next scene unfolds. This scene hosts the famous "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark" line, as intoned by Marcellus.

Elements to look for: visual imagery; Renaissance attitudes toward the supernatural

Act I, scene v:
Hamlet confronts the ghost of his father, who is fairly talkative for a armor-clad spectre. Hamlet the Elder reveals that even though the party line claimed he died after being bitten by a serpent, he's actually the victim of fratricide--the oldest Biblical crime. His brother Claudius had waited until he had fallen asleep in his orchard (as was my custom) and poured poison in his ear, killing him with wrenching agony and without an opportunity to make confession. Thus murdered, "with all my sins upon my head/No reckoning made," the ghost must spend each day in Purgatory, suffering, and each night walking the earth. He demands that his son avenge his murder, but leave his mother "to Heaven." Hamlet, spurred to revenge, seems eager to get to work, and once reunited with his peeps, forces them to swear on his sword to keep silent about his plan. He will pretend to be crazy so people will leave him alone--not the greatest plan in the world for someone a few credits shy of a PhD. His "antic disposition" will entertain the Danish for many weeks to come.

Elements to look for: religious symbolism, father/son separation anxiety, serpent imagery

Does this help at all, or am I wasting hours of my life writing this for ya'll? Comments have been re-enabled, if you have a Google or OpenID account. let me know. I will print hard copies for those of you who wish to keep this in your notebook. Tomorrow: Act II, Act III, and Quotes!

mupwI' yI'uchtaH! (Good night!)

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

TODAY IS ELECTION DAY. Prepare for heavier traffic than normal near polling places, and for a LOT of political coverage on the local and national news outlets. Be an informed and educated electorate and know what's going on!

Seniors: Herff Jones will be back on campus on Wednesday and Thursday so that you may order your caps and gowns if you have not already done so. You may also order these items on the website; I believe that there is a link on the BHS homepage.

Gifted English II: Two Author of the Day presentations in each class and completion of the critical thinking unit we started yesterday. Please begin reading Candide by Voltaire if you have not already done so; there is a helpful character list in the satire packet to help you if you find confusion. (Personally, I think the book is fairly clear. . .but take a look and ask me if you have any questions.)

APees: Hamlet, further defined, and the conclusion of Act III.

Monday, November 3, 2008

November is here! November is here!

Before school today is a brief meeting of the Project X-Mas crew, mainly to divide and distribute our collection jars for this worthy project. Meet in 313 at 9:00 a.m. if interested; if you don't come to this meeting we can always add you in later.

Gifted English II: A few students need to make up some work from last week, but as a class we are moving forward. Today is a critical thinking activity designed to help you look at things a little more discerningly; very important before we engage in our study of satire. I hope you will think it's informative and reasonably entertaining--it has to do with perspectives, ulterior motives, psychological manipulation of audiences, and uses of words, images, music, and emotions to convey meaning with various purposes. Besides, I think chimpanzees are always funny.

APees: I will be reviewing the first three acts of Hamlet with great scrutiny today. Six students still need to take the Act I quiz and four need to take the Act II quiz. I will be available during A lunch or immediately after seventh if you need to do this; the longer we wait, the more detailed information loss from your brains.

Hamlet, Explained (Part One of an Occasional Series)

As promised. . .although a little later in the weekend than I originally anticipated. . .here are some entry points to help you understand this play a bit better. Trash or treasure any of this information; we will be reviewing in class tomorrow, as well, with the two-page guide I gave you at the beginning of the play.

Hamlet is more complicated than Macbeth, with higher diction levels--but most of the complications arise from the interweaving of several subplots. Macbeth, you will recall, contains one driving narrative thread--the collapse of one man's morality as he ascends in power. Although other motifs and symbols figure within that tragedy, all go back directly to that main plot. Hamlet is far more complicated, with political intrigues, conjectures, and elements of ambiguity there to enhance the text.

Some things to consider:

1. Hamlet may or may not be insane, which complicates your understanding of his role and his use of language immensely. Note how he pops back and forth effortlessly from prose (paragraph form) to unrhymed iambic pentameter (blank verse) to rhyming couplets, regardless of his audience. The only solidity we get from him is contained in his soliloquies, which are confusing enough due to his high level of education and insight.

2. Claudius is not a completely "bad" bad guy--he is greedy, narcissistic, venial, selfish, and did a very, very bad thing. His sin is Biblical (fratricide) and was motivated by the greatest of all human motivations--jealousy. He has moved into his older brother's life--wife, crown, title--and seems competent in governance if not in morality. On some level, he wants Hamlet's cooperation and approval, but he goes about trying to "parent" the errant prince in increasingly uneven and careless ways.

3. Gertrude, the DSQ, is probably more ignorant than dumb. There is a difference. She and Ophelia, while more complex than other female stock characters in Elizabethan theater, are still two-dimensional compared to the men who rule them. Try to see her as a baffled woman attempting to regain a sense of sexual independence and her role might make more sense.

4. Polonius and other courtiers are interfering and obtuse, to the point of obscuring some of the main narrative thread. Every time Polonius is featured in a scene, we are tempted to see him as the commedia dell'arte stock character of the "pantaloon"--the foolish old man. (Hamlet himself refers to him as a "tedious old fool.") However, Polonius is critically important to understanding the overriding motifs of duplicity, spying, and dishonesty that govern everything that goes on in Elsinore Castle--and may well have been going on even before the death of Hamlet the Elder.

And, to further clarify what's been going on thus far, I am going to repost something that appeared in McSweeney's a while ago. I hope that I am not violating copyright; this has made the rounds on Facebook and on several blogs and I am only posting to bring clarity and understanding to my poor, confused students. Here are the first three acts of Hamlet, Facebook- style:

HAMLET
(FACEBOOK NEWS
FEED EDITION).

BY SARAH SCHMELLING

- - - -

Horatio thinks he saw a ghost.

Hamlet thinks it's annoying when your uncle marries your mother right after your dad dies.

The king thinks Hamlet's annoying.

Laertes thinks Ophelia can do better.

Hamlet's father is now a zombie.

- - - -

The king poked the queen.

The queen poked the king back.

Hamlet and the queen are no longer friends.

Marcellus is pretty sure something's rotten around here.

Hamlet became a fan of daggers.

- - - -

Polonius says Hamlet's crazy ... crazy in love!

Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and Hamlet are now friends.

Hamlet wonders if he should continue to exist. Or not.

Hamlet thinks Ophelia might be happier in a convent.

Ophelia removed "moody princes" from her interests.

Hamlet posted an event: A Play That's Totally Fictional and In No Way About My Family

The king commented on Hamlet's play: "What is wrong with you?"

Polonius thinks this curtain looks like a good thing to hide behind.

Polonius is no longer online.

(I will post the next two acts after we have read further. No plot spoilers here, unless you've seen The Lion King!)

And here is Hamlet, South Park style:

Another element that might help you understand this play:

Three Reasons Why Shakespeare is Hard to Understand

1. Grammar. Particularly in Hamlet, Elizabethan grammar is different than Standard American English. One common element we see in conversations between characters is inversion, which is easy enough to follow in simple declarative sentences (Go you here today?) but is harder to parse in complex, lengthy expressions--the ones favored by our titular hero. This is where the modern English version can help you, if read WITH the Elizabethan text. (Guys, I'm sorry, but I'm never going to lose my fascination with asking you to identify quotes.)

2. Archaic words. What is a bodkin? Who or what are fardels? What is a quietus? Shakespeare frequently uses words that are no longer in our vernacular, and I'm not merely talking about thou, thee, and whilst. I will continue to define words as I can in class, but out of class in private reading you might need to consistently avail yourself of the footnotes available in every edition. Also, I will be publishing a glossary of Hamlet words, but I have to warn you--it's looooooooong.

(Note: A bodkin is a dagger, and fardels are burdens, and a quietus is the conclusion of one's life.)

3. Words with different meanings. The best example of this is when Hamlet confronts Ophelia in her closet, which at the time simply meant a private chamber or room. A very different visual image than Hamlet, in dirty stockings and no hat, grabbing her amid a sea of coat hangers, eh? If you are hit by the "confusement" train, be sure that the word you think you are reading in its context actually means what you, a 2008 reader, thinks it means. Again, make liberal use of footnotes.

TOMORROW: Act by Act, Scene by Scene: What's Going On In This Play.
TUESDAY: Memorable Quotes to Memorable-Ize

Friday, October 31, 2008 (retroactively posted)

Look--it's the Death Star, carved out of a pumpkin!

Happy Halloween to everyone--I have a treat bag for each of you.

Gifted English II: Poe vocabulary quiz, followed by "The Raven" as performed by The Simpsons. (Second period gets it Monday since we had two Authors of the Day.)

APees: Hamlet, Act III.