In the past _ amount of days it has been since I posted a response
to course material (it just flies by.) We have not done much in class besides
read Hamlet, seeing how it’s a rather long play, Shakespeare's longest by the
way (thanks Google), this is to be expected. Before this year, I had never read
Hamlet, and I kinda (more like always) struggled with Shakespeare. I think it’s
the double meaning and references that trip me up, probably because I'm not
from fifteenth century England.
Aside from Hamlet, we did do a syntax drill;
may I suggest that we get new and exciting pictures, possibly from Black sheep
or parahnacanda? I too struggle with not viewing the full videos (you aren't
alone Ms. Holmes) Any way, getting back to the point of the whole drill, I
think it really shows how much conflict we can have in class, because each and
every word is nit-picked until we all want to strangle each other. I don't
think that that is the point, but it’s a true problem that I have to live with.
The whole debate on whether the boat was going into the cave rather than
leaving it has aged me greatly. I am now a feeble old woman on the inside.
Other than that drill, we haven’t done
much rather than reading and finishing Hamlet. To be honest, I think that the
play is hilarious. The ending is just so ridiculous, I can’t help but laugh.
The whole part where Fortinbras just walks in and everyone is dead, I can only
imagine what he must've been thinking (other than the obvious
"whaaat?"). And the whole part where Hamlet calls Ophelia a
prostitute is funny too, but only after you find out that she's pregnant with
his child, because he’s basically admits to trying to marry a prostitute.
Rachel,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with what you said about Hamlet and Shakespeare's writing in general. It was a struggle for me to follow what was going on as well because of the language used. There were times when we would stop and Ms. Holmes would tell us what a line meant in more clear language and I was shocked. It was very interesting to see the class going back and forth about which word to choose and about what was even going on in the pictures in the first place. What did you think that this drill's purpose was aside from the fact that it created conflict? Hamlet did seem quite ridiculous, especially towards the end. I failed to see the point of everything in the play dying, although I know that was to be expected with a Shakespearean Tragedy. You talked about some important things that we did in class, but you did not mention the Century Quilt AP essay practice or the Death of a Salesman goldfish bowl discussions. Make sure next time you discuss everything that we did in class, but other than that, your post was very enjoyable to read!
Rachel,
ReplyDeleteI also found the exercises with atmosphere to be incredibly frustrating. Of course, the lesson is able to show how to write with mood and describe a setting, but it also adds to life. We will have to work with people at least in college, and I imagine, in our future jobs. In the two activities with atmosphere we have done, the class has ended with at least one unhappy person. There is always someone who thinks we can make the piece better, which is why the piece gets better as we work together.
Though I probably should not be laughing at Hamlet, I also laughed at the ending. It’s so dramatic and mistake ridden, that laughter is natural. This is especially true because we are not seeing it, but noticing the mistakes of the characters.
Good job synthesizing the things we have done, but makes sure to make connections to things outside of the class.
Rachel,
ReplyDeleteI always love reading your blog and hearing you voice shine through. You’re not alone in your inability to understand Shakespeare’s bizarre language. Before this year, I had to sparknote lines in Macbeth to figure out what was happening. After that unfortunate experience, however, I’ve been trying really hard to understand Shakespeare’s style and it has finally clicked—a little. I looked at every line in Hamlet slowly and carefully after interpreting everything literally, I actually had an idea of what was happening. Ms. Holmes also pushed us in the right direction which helped a lot too.
I agree with you in that the warm ups show me how crazy it is to write a sentence as a class, but did it teach you anything about syntax? Until we did that exercise, I didn’t realize how much sentence structure and choice of tenses, verbs, and articles impact the overall meaning. I like your thoughts on Hamlet, but I wish you explained more. Why did the play seem funny to you? I find parts of this play funny because it becomes so melodramatic. After hearing Hamlet whine about life numerous times it becomes a bit much.
Overall, great job!