Hamlet Final Essay
(600-1200 words, twelve point font, double spaced or you may post it on the blog)
What is Hamlet about? What does the play suggest about the human dilemma, the human predicament?
That's a huge question! First of all, what is "the human dilemma, the human predicament". Those phrases are used to refer to huge, inescapable problems that all people must face, like the death of loved ones, being betrayed by loved ones, what to do in the face of dishonesty and corruption, etc.
Second, Hamlet, as a play, is especially concerned with questions about human flaws: corruption, dishonesty, debauchery, defilement, sycophancy, etc. Among the questions that come up in the play are "what effect does corruption, etc. have on people (perpetrators, victims, bystanders, etc.)?" and "what should a person do in response to corruption, etc.?"
So consider how the play's plot (what happens), its characters, its speeches, its patterns, its images seem to suggest something about the nature of human corruption, the effect of human corruption, and the response to human corruption.
These are big questions and big issues. But you're all smart enough and mature enough to handle them. It is because of these big questions and these big issues that people in 2007 still care about a play that was written in 1599.
Good luck! See me (or email me) for help if you need it.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Friday, March 20, 2009
Looking Ahead
This Weekend (3/20-3/22): Finish reading a dystopian novel.
Monday 3/23: Write in class about the end of the dystopian novel.
Tuesday 3/24: Bring in an article (or other writing) about the basis for your own dystopian story. (The article should be about something that you fear about the future or something that is ridiculous about our current culture that could be worse in the future.)
Tuesday night 3/24 pumpkin time: Write a final blog post by responding with intelligence and understanding 1. to something someone else has written about the dystopian novel that you read and 2. to something someone else has written about a dystopian novel that you haven't read.
Wednesday 3/25: Review vocabulary 21-30 and new board words (and work on your own dystopia story).
Thursday 3/26: Review vocabulary sentences (and work on your own dystopia story).
Friday 3/27: Vocabulary quiz (and retakes) (and work on your own dystopia story).
Monday 3/30: Bring in a draft of your own dystopia story (1000-2000 words).
Monday 3/23: Write in class about the end of the dystopian novel.
Tuesday 3/24: Bring in an article (or other writing) about the basis for your own dystopian story. (The article should be about something that you fear about the future or something that is ridiculous about our current culture that could be worse in the future.)
Tuesday night 3/24 pumpkin time: Write a final blog post by responding with intelligence and understanding 1. to something someone else has written about the dystopian novel that you read and 2. to something someone else has written about a dystopian novel that you haven't read.
Wednesday 3/25: Review vocabulary 21-30 and new board words (and work on your own dystopia story).
Thursday 3/26: Review vocabulary sentences (and work on your own dystopia story).
Friday 3/27: Vocabulary quiz (and retakes) (and work on your own dystopia story).
Monday 3/30: Bring in a draft of your own dystopia story (1000-2000 words).
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Dystopian Novels
DUE BY MIDNIGHT THURSDAY, MARCH 12
Read the next 50 to 100 pages of your book. (You should be past page 150.)
In the comment box.
Write your name and last initial.
Write the title and author of the book you are reading.
Write the page number (this is new) you have read up to.
Write the following "RAFT":
Role: You are a playwright adapting a passage between page 125 and page 175 into a scene in a play.
Audience: The audience for the play script will be the other readers of the blog.
Format: A play script: include stage directions adapted from the novel and include dialog adapted from the novel. At the end of the script write the page number of the scene you've adapted and write a few sentences about why you chose the scene. The script should look something like this but perhaps a bit longer:
John comes to the hotel in Malpais, New Mexico in which Lenina is sleeping. Her sleep is a deep soma-induced sleep. Bernard, Lenina's co-worker, has left for the day.
JOHN. Bernard! Bernard! Where are you?
John looks sad. He thinks Bernard and Lenina have left. He begins to cry. But before he loses himself in tears he has an idea. He looks in through the window of the hotel room and sees a green suitcase with Lenina Crowne's initials, L.C. He picks up a rock and throws it through the glass window. He knocks out the rest of the glass and enters the room. Once in the room he opens Lenina's suitcase and goes through her clothes.
JOHN (whispering). Lenina. Lenina.
He then enters the room in which Lenina is sleeping. Seeing her he recalls several passages from Romeo and Juliet (which he read in the collection of Shakespeare's plays which Pope gave to him).
JOHN (murmuring). On the white wonder of dear Juliet's hand, may seize
And steal the immortal blessing from her lips,
Who, even in pure and vestal modesty,
Still blush, as thinking their own kisses sin.
He gazes on Lenina and sees her beauty. He thinks about kissing her and feels shame. He leaves the room red-faced and in a panic as Bernard arrives back at the hotel.
BERNARD (off-stage). Who's in there?
John jumps back out through the window.
END OF SCENE.
page 142-144
Topic: The topic is whatever is going on in the passage you choose.
DUE BY MIDNIGHT THURSDAY, MARCH 5
Read the next 50 to 100 pages of your book.
In the comment box.
Write your name and last initial.
Write the title and author of the book you are reading.
Write the page number (this is new) you have read up to.
Write the following "RAFT":
Role: Imagine yourself (as you are now: a teen living in Gloucester in 2009) visiting the dystopia you are reading about. (You may invent the circumstances of the visit if you wish.)
Audience: Write to your classmates in E-block English.
Format: Write an informal letter (with the date, salutation, and closing) with three paragraphs: in the first paragraph you will present at least three details about the dystopia and your opinion about the dystopia, in the second paragraph you will describe an event that has occurred in the book as if you witnessed it in person, and in the third paragraph you will discuss what your classmates might learn from your experience in the dystopia. To exceed expectations use five words from your book that you didn't know or didn't know well before looking; or use five words from the class vocab board at the back of the class.
Topic: A description of your visit to the dystopia. (Read "format" for details.)
DUE BY MIDNIGHT MONDAY, FEBRUARY 23
Read the first 50 to 100 pages of your book.
In the comment box:
Write your first name and last initial.
Write the title and author of the book you are reading.
Answer the following questions.
1. Open Response: How is the setting of your novel dystopian? Explain how specific details about the society within which the novel is set could be considered dystopian. Underline at least three of the specific details.
2. Open Response: How do characters in the book respond to the dystopia? Do they seem to go along with the way society is? Does any character resist inwardly -- in her or his own mind -- or rebel outwardly? Refer to specific behavior and choices. Also, be specific about the characters. Talk about specific characters not "them".
3. Open Response: Dystopian novels (and films) are usually based on the author's (or the director's) fears or concerns about the society in which they live. The author (or director) then invents a future world in which the worrisome aspect of current society has grown (and in some sense) taken over. The dystopian novel (or film) can then be read as a warning about what could happen in the future. What fear or concern about modern society seems to be at the core of the dystopian society in the book you are reading and how might the book be a warning about the future?
Read the next 50 to 100 pages of your book. (You should be past page 150.)
In the comment box.
Write your name and last initial.
Write the title and author of the book you are reading.
Write the page number (this is new) you have read up to.
Write the following "RAFT":
Role: You are a playwright adapting a passage between page 125 and page 175 into a scene in a play.
Audience: The audience for the play script will be the other readers of the blog.
Format: A play script: include stage directions adapted from the novel and include dialog adapted from the novel. At the end of the script write the page number of the scene you've adapted and write a few sentences about why you chose the scene. The script should look something like this but perhaps a bit longer:
John comes to the hotel in Malpais, New Mexico in which Lenina is sleeping. Her sleep is a deep soma-induced sleep. Bernard, Lenina's co-worker, has left for the day.
JOHN. Bernard! Bernard! Where are you?
John looks sad. He thinks Bernard and Lenina have left. He begins to cry. But before he loses himself in tears he has an idea. He looks in through the window of the hotel room and sees a green suitcase with Lenina Crowne's initials, L.C. He picks up a rock and throws it through the glass window. He knocks out the rest of the glass and enters the room. Once in the room he opens Lenina's suitcase and goes through her clothes.
JOHN (whispering). Lenina. Lenina.
He then enters the room in which Lenina is sleeping. Seeing her he recalls several passages from Romeo and Juliet (which he read in the collection of Shakespeare's plays which Pope gave to him).
JOHN (murmuring). On the white wonder of dear Juliet's hand, may seize
And steal the immortal blessing from her lips,
Who, even in pure and vestal modesty,
Still blush, as thinking their own kisses sin.
He gazes on Lenina and sees her beauty. He thinks about kissing her and feels shame. He leaves the room red-faced and in a panic as Bernard arrives back at the hotel.
BERNARD (off-stage). Who's in there?
John jumps back out through the window.
END OF SCENE.
page 142-144
Topic: The topic is whatever is going on in the passage you choose.
DUE BY MIDNIGHT THURSDAY, MARCH 5
Read the next 50 to 100 pages of your book.
In the comment box.
Write your name and last initial.
Write the title and author of the book you are reading.
Write the page number (this is new) you have read up to.
Write the following "RAFT":
Role: Imagine yourself (as you are now: a teen living in Gloucester in 2009) visiting the dystopia you are reading about. (You may invent the circumstances of the visit if you wish.)
Audience: Write to your classmates in E-block English.
Format: Write an informal letter (with the date, salutation, and closing) with three paragraphs: in the first paragraph you will present at least three details about the dystopia and your opinion about the dystopia, in the second paragraph you will describe an event that has occurred in the book as if you witnessed it in person, and in the third paragraph you will discuss what your classmates might learn from your experience in the dystopia. To exceed expectations use five words from your book that you didn't know or didn't know well before looking; or use five words from the class vocab board at the back of the class.
Topic: A description of your visit to the dystopia. (Read "format" for details.)
DUE BY MIDNIGHT MONDAY, FEBRUARY 23
Read the first 50 to 100 pages of your book.
In the comment box:
Write your first name and last initial.
Write the title and author of the book you are reading.
Answer the following questions.
1. Open Response: How is the setting of your novel dystopian? Explain how specific details about the society within which the novel is set could be considered dystopian. Underline at least three of the specific details.
2. Open Response: How do characters in the book respond to the dystopia? Do they seem to go along with the way society is? Does any character resist inwardly -- in her or his own mind -- or rebel outwardly? Refer to specific behavior and choices. Also, be specific about the characters. Talk about specific characters not "them".
3. Open Response: Dystopian novels (and films) are usually based on the author's (or the director's) fears or concerns about the society in which they live. The author (or director) then invents a future world in which the worrisome aspect of current society has grown (and in some sense) taken over. The dystopian novel (or film) can then be read as a warning about what could happen in the future. What fear or concern about modern society seems to be at the core of the dystopian society in the book you are reading and how might the book be a warning about the future?
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Choose a Dystopian Novel
Choose one novel. In the comment box tell me which book your plan to read
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley*
1984 by George Orwell *
Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood+
Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut*
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood+
We by Yevgeny Zemyatin~
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury+
* I have many copies of these books.
+ These books are in the GHS library and Sawyer Free
~ This book is in Sawyer Free
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley*
1984 by George Orwell *
Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood+
Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut*
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood+
We by Yevgeny Zemyatin~
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury+
* I have many copies of these books.
+ These books are in the GHS library and Sawyer Free
~ This book is in Sawyer Free
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Grendel Vocabulary
Sycophant A servile self-seeker who attempts to win favor by flattering influential people.
Noun Greek
Fuliginous Colored as if by soot
Adjective Latin
Hex An evil spell; a curse. To curse
Noun/Verb German
Leer desirous, sly, or knowing look. To glance sidelong esp. sexually or maliciously
Noun/verb Old English
Moor A broad area of open land, often high but poorly drained, with patches of heath and peat bogs.
Noun Old English
Solipsist One who believes in the theory or view that the self is the only reality.
Noun latin
Ominous Menacing; threatening
Adj latin
Undulant wave-like
Adj latin
Debauch To corrupt morally.
Verb french/germanic
Omniscience the state of being all knowing
Noun latin
Hoary Gray or white with or as if with age.
Noun Old English
Dirge A funeral hymn or lament.
Noun Latin
Dogmatism Arrogant, stubborn assertion of opinion or belief.
Noun greek
Petulant Unreasonably irritable or ill-tempered; peevish.
Adj latin
Intimation A hint; an obscure or indirect suggestion or notice; a remote or ambiguous reference; as, he had given only intimations of his design.
Noun latin
Nihilism A doctrine holding that all values are baseless and that nothing can be known or communicated
Noun latin
Paradox A seemingly contradictory statement that may nonetheless be true
Noun Greek
Inchoate In an initial or early stage; incipient.
Adj latin
Ossify To change into bone; become bony. To become rigid
Verb latin
Omnipotence unlimited or universal power
Noun latin
Noun Greek
Fuliginous Colored as if by soot
Adjective Latin
Hex An evil spell; a curse. To curse
Noun/Verb German
Leer desirous, sly, or knowing look. To glance sidelong esp. sexually or maliciously
Noun/verb Old English
Moor A broad area of open land, often high but poorly drained, with patches of heath and peat bogs.
Noun Old English
Solipsist One who believes in the theory or view that the self is the only reality.
Noun latin
Ominous Menacing; threatening
Adj latin
Undulant wave-like
Adj latin
Debauch To corrupt morally.
Verb french/germanic
Omniscience the state of being all knowing
Noun latin
Hoary Gray or white with or as if with age.
Noun Old English
Dirge A funeral hymn or lament.
Noun Latin
Dogmatism Arrogant, stubborn assertion of opinion or belief.
Noun greek
Petulant Unreasonably irritable or ill-tempered; peevish.
Adj latin
Intimation A hint; an obscure or indirect suggestion or notice; a remote or ambiguous reference; as, he had given only intimations of his design.
Noun latin
Nihilism A doctrine holding that all values are baseless and that nothing can be known or communicated
Noun latin
Paradox A seemingly contradictory statement that may nonetheless be true
Noun Greek
Inchoate In an initial or early stage; incipient.
Adj latin
Ossify To change into bone; become bony. To become rigid
Verb latin
Omnipotence unlimited or universal power
Noun latin
Beowulf Vocabulary Words
Beowulf Vocabulary
af•flic•tion
n. A condition of pain, suffering, or distress; A cause of pain, suffering, or distress.
—Synonyms 2. mishap, trouble, tribulation, calamity, catastrophe, disaster. Affliction, adversity, misfortune, trial refer to an event or circumstance that is hard to bear.
—Antonyms 1. relief, comfort, solace.
[Origin: 1300–50; ME affliccioun < L afflīctiōn- (s. of afflīctiō).]
al•lit•er•a•tion
n. The repetition of the same sounds or of the same kinds of sounds at the beginning of words or in stressed syllables, as in “on scrolls of silver snowy sentences” (Hart Crane). Modern alliteration is predominantly consonantal; certain literary traditions, such as Old English verse, also alliterate using vowel sounds.
[From ad- + Latin littera, letter.]
cae•su•ra also ce•su•ra
n. Prosody. a break, esp. a sense pause, usually near the middle of a verse, and marked in scansion by a double vertical line
A pause or interruption, as in conversation
[Latin caes ra, a cutting, from caesus, past participle of caedere, to cut off. See ka -id- in Indo-European Roots.]
ep•ic
n. An extended narrative poem in elevated or dignified language, celebrating the feats of a legendary or traditional hero (or any literary work, period of history, etc. resembling an epic)
adj. Related to a literary epic; Surpassing the usual or ordinary, particularly in scope or size; Heroic and impressive
ken•ning
n. A figurative, usually compound expression used in place of a name or noun, especially in Old English and Old Norse poetry; for example, storm of swords is a kenning for battle and wave traveler is a kenning for boat.
[Old Norse, from kenna, to know, to name with a kenning. See gn - in Indo-European Roots.]
mail n. Flexible armor composed of small overlapping metal rings, loops of chain, or scales. 2. The protective covering of certain animals, as the shell of a turtle.
[Middle English, from Old French maile, from Latin macula, blemish, mesh.]
mead
n. An alcoholic beverage made from fermented honey and water.
scop
n. An Old English poet or bard.
[Old English.]
sen•ti•nel
n. One that keeps guard; a sentry (a guard, a watch, a lookout).
[Middle French, from Old Italian, from Latin]
sin•ew
n.
A tendon.
Vigorous strength; muscular power.
The source or mainstay of vitality and strength.
[Middle English, from Old English]
sol•ace
n. Comfort (or a source of comfort) in sorrow, misfortune, or distress; consolation; alleviation; relief.
[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin]
weird
adj.
Of, relating to, or suggestive of the preternatural or supernatural.
Of a strikingly odd or unusual character; strange.
Archaic Of or relating to fate or the Fates.
n.
Fate; destiny.
[Middle English from Old English wyrd, fate]
af•flic•tion
n. A condition of pain, suffering, or distress; A cause of pain, suffering, or distress.
—Synonyms 2. mishap, trouble, tribulation, calamity, catastrophe, disaster. Affliction, adversity, misfortune, trial refer to an event or circumstance that is hard to bear.
—Antonyms 1. relief, comfort, solace.
[Origin: 1300–50; ME affliccioun < L afflīctiōn- (s. of afflīctiō).]
al•lit•er•a•tion
n. The repetition of the same sounds or of the same kinds of sounds at the beginning of words or in stressed syllables, as in “on scrolls of silver snowy sentences” (Hart Crane). Modern alliteration is predominantly consonantal; certain literary traditions, such as Old English verse, also alliterate using vowel sounds.
[From ad- + Latin littera, letter.]
cae•su•ra also ce•su•ra
n. Prosody. a break, esp. a sense pause, usually near the middle of a verse, and marked in scansion by a double vertical line
A pause or interruption, as in conversation
[Latin caes ra, a cutting, from caesus, past participle of caedere, to cut off. See ka -id- in Indo-European Roots.]
ep•ic
n. An extended narrative poem in elevated or dignified language, celebrating the feats of a legendary or traditional hero (or any literary work, period of history, etc. resembling an epic)
adj. Related to a literary epic; Surpassing the usual or ordinary, particularly in scope or size; Heroic and impressive
ken•ning
n. A figurative, usually compound expression used in place of a name or noun, especially in Old English and Old Norse poetry; for example, storm of swords is a kenning for battle and wave traveler is a kenning for boat.
[Old Norse, from kenna, to know, to name with a kenning. See gn - in Indo-European Roots.]
mail n. Flexible armor composed of small overlapping metal rings, loops of chain, or scales. 2. The protective covering of certain animals, as the shell of a turtle.
[Middle English, from Old French maile, from Latin macula, blemish, mesh.]
mead
n. An alcoholic beverage made from fermented honey and water.
scop
n. An Old English poet or bard.
[Old English.]
sen•ti•nel
n. One that keeps guard; a sentry (a guard, a watch, a lookout).
[Middle French, from Old Italian, from Latin]
sin•ew
n.
A tendon.
Vigorous strength; muscular power.
The source or mainstay of vitality and strength.
[Middle English, from Old English]
sol•ace
n. Comfort (or a source of comfort) in sorrow, misfortune, or distress; consolation; alleviation; relief.
[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin]
weird
adj.
Of, relating to, or suggestive of the preternatural or supernatural.
Of a strikingly odd or unusual character; strange.
Archaic Of or relating to fate or the Fates.
n.
Fate; destiny.
[Middle English from Old English wyrd, fate]
Thursday, January 8, 2009
The Meeting in Chapter 5 of Lord of the Flies
In a paragraph explain the role of one character in the meeting depicted in chapter five. Make sure your paragraph consists of seven or more sentences. Be specific. Refer to exact words if possible. Consider the character's whole role--from the beginning of the chapter to the end. Also, make sure you consider the literal and symbolic meanings of the character's role in the meeting. Finally, if you're going to write about the littluns consider them all (Phil, Percival,...)
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