4/16: Women on a pedestal
More writing conferences: poetry Discuss Pygmalion and Pandosto. What is similar? What is disturbing? What happens to the women? What is the “take away” of each story? Begin …
09 Apr
4/9: Writing Workshop
4/9: Writing Workshop
Share Twelfth Night essays. Evaluate them according to the AP literary analysis rubric. Look at AP poetry analysis rubric. Work on revising poem essays. Walk around Poem …
02 Apr
March 2: Writing prompts!
March 2: Writing prompts!
Twelfth Night writing prompts Today you will write TWO essays! We will read and analyze the directions together, discuss them for a few moments, and then …
26 Mar
3/26: Twins!
3/26: Twins!
Share bullet lists Finish watching the movie Five ideas that would be interesting to explore further H/W: Next week we will be writing all during class — bring …
19 Mar
3/19: Journeys end in lovers meeting
3/19: Journeys end in lovers meeting
Share your essays Discuss Sonnet 29: When, in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes What are the most powerful words? Where is the turn? In one sentence, what …
12 Mar
3/12: To Malvolio — sealed with a ?
3/12: To Malvolio — sealed with a ?
Share poems for Poem Town Discuss Malvolio (Bad will) — How did you stage the letter scene? Globe: Stephen Fry: 1:12:50 Movie: 58:50 ACT III! H/W: Read “Excerpt from 1. …
05 Mar
3/5: It’s Complicated
3/5: It’s Complicated
Share poems Read, annotate “The Two Trees” – do Rule of Threes (3-5 most powerful images, lines, words — write a thesis statement using your circled …
27 Feb
2/27: Hearts and Harts
2/27: Hearts and Harts
Share sonnets Read/annotate/discuss “All in green went my love riding” Rule of three: most powerful images, words, phrases Read story of Diana and Actaeon Begin 12th Night! Watch storm …
20 Feb
2/20: Sonnets!
2/20: Sonnets!
Write 14 word sentence about love or winter or . . . . Turn it into a sentence sonnet Now write the sentence upside down. Share rhyming couplets …
13 Feb
2/13: “Let us go then, you and I . . . “
2/13: “Let us go then, you and I . . . “
Fix Hamlet Bloopers Go over test. Discuss “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.” (How does it compare/contrast to To His Coy Mistress?) What is going on? …
02 Feb
2/6: A TEST!! OH NO!!!! And homework!!
2/6: A TEST!! OH NO!!!! And homework!!
Hamlet Test 2024 100 words (+-2), explain where Shakespeare got his inspiration for this play and how he transformed and changed this text from a hero …
30 Jan
1/30: Goodnight, sweet prince!
1/30: Goodnight, sweet prince!
Share written pieces Watch a couple of endings: Branagh Watch Reduced Shakespeare H/W: Hamlet in class test next week! To prepare, look through any notes you have. Read through …
23 Jan
1/23: Alas, Poor Yorick!
1/23: Alas, Poor Yorick!
Look at your essays — what are your major mistakes? Hold on to these essays — you are not finished with them yet! Read the last …
16 Jan
1/16: Act IV ~ Exit Hamlet! Enter Laertes! Poor Ophelia!
1/16: Act IV ~ Exit Hamlet! Enter Laertes! Poor Ophelia!
Share homework essays. Read Act IV: Questions to think about: Why does Hamlet seem to willingly get on the boat to England (instead of finishing the job …
09 Jan
1/9: The Mousetrap!
1/9: The Mousetrap!
Hamlet thinks that Claudius’s reaction to this play will prove Claudius’s guilt. It is up to you to decide who learns anything from (first) the …
02 Jan
Happy New Year, Shakespeare!
Happy New Year, Shakespeare!
So much to get caught up on! First: Hamlet vs. Polonius — How many references to sex are there in this repartee? Second: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern — …
12 Dec
12/12: Spies, spies, and more spies . . . .
12/12: Spies, spies, and more spies . . . .
Go over multiple choice Discuss ghosts – Does the portrayal of the ghost change our understanding of Hamlet? Begin Act 2. How much time has elapsed? Is Hamlet …
05 Dec
Homework due 12/12: King Hamlet’s Ghost!!
Homework due 12/12: King Hamlet’s Ghost!!
image found at: http://classic.0catch.com/hamlet/ghost.jpg Hamlet‘s entire plot revolves around the need to avenge King Hamlet’s murder. In Amleth, this is a given: Amleth sees the murder, …
05 Dec
12/5: Amleth/Hamlet: Act 1
12/5: Amleth/Hamlet: Act 1
Hand in revised essays Discuss Amleth — how does he fulfill the role of a mythic hero? Begin Hamlet — write notes as we go! Hamlet Act 1: …
28 Nov
11/28: Amleth!
11/28: Amleth!
Talk about your essays. Discuss traditional fairy tale structures and hero characteristics. Who was the hero in Macbeth? Was there a hero? Begin reading Amleth together. Create a …
20 Nov
11/21: Throne of Blood
11/21: Throne of Blood
Make the final revisions of your Macbeth essays! Watch Throne of Blood.
14 Nov
11/14: Writing Conferences!
11/14: Writing Conferences!
Critique my essay. Share your rough drafts. Implement the revision strategies (find a quiet place away from everyone and read your essay out loud, etc.). Go over writing …
07 Nov
11/7: Share rabbit holes
11/7: Share rabbit holes
Share your rabbit holes: See mine: Garments Create your own: Write your quotes on one document. What is their meaning/purpose over the course of the play? Write it down. What …
31 Oct
10/30: Let’s get this show started!
10/30: Let’s get this show started!
Error analysis! Create plan (complete storyboard, determine settings, costumes, props, etc.) Brainstorm rabbit holes in play: – “garments” – light/dark – pathetic fallacy (nature mirroring human world; human world mirroring …
24 Oct
10/24: Macbeth: historical contexts
10/24: Macbeth: historical contexts
Share critiques Tyranny and Power: “Exploring tyranny and power in Macbeth” Historical context (clever Shakespeare!) Storyboard movie: five minute plan for each act H/W: Fill in storyboard, collaborate, figure …
16 Oct
10/17: Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow . . .
10/17: Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow . . .
Share “General Macbeth” summaries. Read/Discuss Act 5 Tomorrow, and tomorrow — Ian McKellen analyzes Macbeth speech (1979) Ian McKellan: A Stunning `Macbeth’ From The RSC Tomorrow and tomorrow: Michael …
10 Oct
10/10: Out, out, damned spot!
10/10: Out, out, damned spot!
Read a section of your story. Discuss the end of Act 4: Why the lying? Read Act 5.1.: Any sympathy for Lady Macbeth now? Lady Macbeth Not Alone …
03 Oct
10/2: Something Wicked this Way Comes
10/2: Something Wicked this Way Comes
Share your “ambition” essays. Read 4.1: The witches! Do these seem like the same “weird sisters” that we saw in Act 1? Are they “real” or a …
26 Sep
9/26: “All you have done / hath been but for a wayward son, / spiteful and wrathful; who, as others do / loves for his own ends, not for you.”
9/26: “All you have done / hath been but for a wayward son, / spiteful and wrathful; who, as others do / loves for his own ends, not for you.”
Share stories! Go over essay edits. Read Act 3: How does Macbeth justify the killing of Banquo? How does he bend the murderers to his will (why not just …
19 Sep
9/19: Act Two! Murder most Foul!
9/19: Act Two! Murder most Foul!
Read Folger Theater reviews of Act One Read : It was Not Fate Read and discuss Act Two “Is this the dagger which I see before me?” How …
12 Sep
9/12: Staging the weyward and wyrd sisters
9/12: Staging the weyward and wyrd sisters
Act out 1.3 with available siblings. Watch various stagings of the “wyrd sisters.” Globe: https://vermont.pbslearningmedia.org/asset/shak13_vid_witchmac/ Multiple choice passage. Share essays. Discuss/read rest of Act One. H.W: Read “Scottish King, Bewitched and …
05 Sep
9/5: Act 1~The weyward, wyrd sisters . . .
9/5: Act 1~The weyward, wyrd sisters . . .
Read Lines: What are the thirteen most evocative, powerful words? Use them to write one sentence that encapsulates what you know of Macbeth. Hand out character …