FINAL

just so you know, in case of review:

THE FINAL

Section I.

History of the Era (1600's mostly) - 11 questions

The lives of the poets---------------15 questions

The poets themselves (names/quote analysis with reference to words/ groups of words)-8 questions

Paradise Lost - 5 questions

Sonet Analysis-1 question

Section II.

Hamlet- 18 questions

Acts 2-5

Section III.

Essay on Everything.

Good luck.

-Mike Singh

Ophelia

Ophelia did fall off a tree and drown in the river. then there was ideas that it was suicide instead of an accident.

-mike singh

I was reviewing Hamlet and just have a little blurred memory of Ophelia's death. I know she drowned in a river but why did she go in the river in the first place? Was this were she fell off a tree?
Thoughts?

Sean Bronczyk

Linking Paradise Lost and Hamlet

While studying today I realized a good way to link a piece of Paradise Lost and Hamlet. You can relate the appearance versus reality theme that is very heavy in Hamlet and connect it to how when reading Paradise Lost your perspective of Satan is as a hero. We almost wanted Satan to "win." This is created by a false sense of accomplishment when Satan rises from the fiery lake. He appears to be a hero, but in reality he is the king of evil.

John Leskow

A Good Way to Study for the Poetry section of the final

I thought of a great way to study the poetry unit in preparation for the final on Monday. I made a notecard for each author and wrote on the back of it a brief biography that highlighted the key points that we will have to know for the test. Then I made a card for each poem that that poet wrote and wrote a brief summary and the vocab definitions on the flip side. A good way to get material to use in the summary is to look at the quiz questions, because Laz said that most of the questions would come off of the quizes. It may seem hard and time consuming but you will learn some of the material while you are writing it on the cards, and once you have them made up it will make studying much more organized and time efficient.

John Leskow

Today's Class Notes

Did anyone write down what questions/concepts we went over in class today?

I was going over Hamlet and was thinking about if Hamlet got what he wanted in the end? he got his revenge on Claudius but never actually became king because he died so i was just curious what you guys thought?

Sean Bronczyk

last post by Sean Bronczyk

So I was going over all the poems and Bio's and couldn't discover a common theme with all of them. I think he will definitely ask a question about that so if anyone has any advice please let me know?

So I was thinking about Hamlet And really couldn't find one dominate theme to it?
Does anyone have any clues to what one might be?
I got appearance versus reality and epic but is there one main one that I am missing?
I thought of this because I think that the essay question will be relating to this.

Sean Bronczyk

Bermudas

This is a translation I got from my step-mom hopefully this helps I think it makes it more understandable and comprehensible.

Lines 1-4
They were rowing along in a small boat in the Bermudas
Minding their own business
Singing this song

Lines 5-10
"What else can we do but sing about God
That led us through this ocean
to this undiscovered island that seems so much nicer than our own home land.
The island looks like it's in the middle of nowhere and being held up on the backs of monsters of the sea.

Lines 10-20
God leads and sets our boat on this grassy island safe and sound from the storms
And gives us this eternally beautiful place and freshest water.
He sends birds over head every day.
Oranges and pomegranates are everywhere to eat, and are so bright with color like jewels.

Lines 21-30
There are figs to eat
Pineapples that grow in plants on the ground, but only one pineapple per plant
The smell of cedar trees from Lebanon everywhere
God also makes the oceans a little rough that they sometimes beach whales onto shore.
We also claim that God made the white rocks that line the shore

Lines 31-40
And with these rocks we built Him a church to sing his praises for his gifts
That they even talk about all the way to the Mexique Bay."

The Englishman in the rowboat kept singing this song
In a holy and cheerful manner
Rowing their oars in time with the beat the whole time.

Khrystyne Hastings

this is the best i could find, it has a little on both poems,  but not much... the end is near

http://faculty.goucher.edu/eng211/andrew_marvell.htm

-Mike Singh

Bermudas

Anyone find anything? I got nothin' on this one. If not, any thoughts??

609 315 1848 is my cell phone number

Connor 

Extra Credit: Lord of the Rings

On Sunday May 31, the 10-hour extra credit bonanza will be going down at Connor Tuck's house.

Address: 403 Providence Dr. ( Call me if you need directions, it's pretty easy)

When: 10 am - 10 pm (when we finish).. feel free to come anytime after 930 am. Thanks. 

* Remember to bring a copy of The Return of the King because I'm pretty sure no one will be bringing extras.

Paradise Lost: Book I

Here's a website a not long, decent analysis on Paradise Lost: Book I. Hope this helps wth the quiz tomorrow and the other days we have quizzes on this.

http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/LitNote/Paradise-Lost-Summary-Analysis-and-Original-Text-by-Book-Book-I.id-140,pageNum-22.html

Khrystyne Hastings

parable of the talents

The parable tells of a master who was leaving his home to travel, and before going gave his three servants different amounts of money. On returning from his travels, the master asked his servants for an account of the money given to them. The first servant reported that he was given five talents, and he had made five talents more. The master praised the servant as being good and faithful, gave him more responsibility because of his faithfulness, and invited the servant to be joyful together with him.
The second servant said that he had received two talents, and he had made two talents more. The master praised this servant in the same way as being good and faithful, giving him more responsibility and inviting the servant to be joyful together with him.
The last servant who had received one talent reported that knowing his master was a hard man, he buried his talent in the ground for safekeeping, and therefore returned the original amount to his master. The master called him a wicked and lazy servant, saying that he should have placed the money in the bank to generate interest. The master commanded that the one talent be taken away from that servant, and given to the servant with ten talents, because everyone that has much will be given more, and whoever that has a little, even the little that he has will be taken away. And the master ordered the servant to be thrown outside into the darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Jesus equates the master in the parable with the Kingdom of Heaven.

Sonnet XIX: When I Consider How My Light Is Spent

Here's a link to a website with Matthew 25:14-30 (the parable of the talents).

http://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=3079

This sonnet is talking about how Milton's one true talent, something he should use to serve God and be invested for him (as opposed to burying it in the ground) is almost worthless since Milton is now blind. Milton then asks if God wants him to work even if he can't see and Patience tells him that God does not need mans work, but whoever bears his own yoke serves God. I think the next part ("His state is kingly; thousands at his bidding speed and post o'er land and ocean without rest: They also serve wgo only stand and wait") talks about how God's servants (angels or humans) will help Milton even when he can't see.

-Paul D

I wasn't in class today and am curious as to where we left off/ what's on agenda for tomorrow. Let me know please!

Ctuck

TO THE VIRGINS, TO MAKE MUCH OF TIME

To start off, this is a "carpe diem" poem, meaning seize the day.

The first stanza compares the time a person has to find a spouse to that of a rosebud. The flower that smiles today will be dying tomorrow. This represents the lack of time to find a mate.

The second stanza compares time to the sun, the higher in the sky it gets, the closer it is to setting.

The third stanza tells the reader that people are better when they are younger, they are more attractive, more vibrant.

The final stanza sums up the poem by saying that if you do not find someone to marry now, then you could be left single FOREVER!

John Leskow

Clerimont's Song

What does the second meaning of the word 'Art' refer to? I know the first is talking about appearance.

thoughts ..Song Come my Celia, Let us prove
what is he talking about? i got that they want to prove their love with St. Celia.
is that right ?
Whats "sports of love"
And then does it talk about the light inside each person and that i might go out like the sun sets or is it something else?


sean bronczyk

Personal Analysis of Henry Vaughn's "The Retreat"

Hey guys about a couple hours ago I got help from my step-mom in analyzing what the poem means in simpler words than what I previously posted we analyzed 2 to 8 lines at a time so pay attention because I am only going to say line numbers.

Lines 1-2: refering to what some christians believe in as babies being angels before coming to earth.
Line 4: "race" in this context means life-some christians believe the soul had a heavenly existence before life on earth
Lines 7- 14: looks back at past in heaven (where babies are before coming to earth), remembering eternity/ heaven.
Line 8: "first love" refers to God
Lines 15- 19: the narrative voice is saying that before acting on sins, he learned his conscience could say bad things or think bad things.
Line 19: several means separate
Lines 20- 21: as in human form he sees glimpses of heaven, glimpses of what it was like before he came to earth.
Line 20: "fleshy dress" means body
Lines 22- 25: Saying he wants to go back to where he first came from (heaven).
Line 25: "train" means way of existance
Line 27: "The shady city of palm- trees" is heaven
Lines 28- 29: saying that life is in the way of going back to heaven
Lines 30- 31: saying that some men move forward and some move back.
Lines 32-33: means when the body is dead on earth the spirit can go to being an angel and head on to heaven.

Well guys that is the extent of my interpretation of the poem (with help from my step- mom) if you have any questions just ask. Also let me know if this helped any.

Khrystyne Hastings

Henry Vaughan's "The Retreat"

Hey look I found an explanation of Henry Vaughan's "The Retreat". The one website has and explanation of the poem in its entirety and expanaation of it in pieces. The other website has footnotes of some of the words and the meaning of a couple of the words. I think they are pretty decent websites considering they are the only ones I found.

http://freehelpstoenglishliterature.blogspot.com/2007/10/retreate.html
(explanation of poem in entirety and in pieces)

http://www.portablepoetry.com/poems/henry_vaughan/the_retreat.html
(footnotesof some words and lines)

Let me what you think!

Khrystyne Hastings

"The Collar" by George Herbert

I found a decent website that gave an accurate summary of the poem...

This poem appears to reflect Herbert's consideration of how one should lead their life in order to become closer to God. Herbert reflects upon the bargain struck to move forward and thus (possibly)away from sin. The first part of the stanza notes the need to recognise the need to agree/bargain or haggle the price one should pay to stop grieving at mis-fortunes found in life and states the intention to move away/ onward from his previous way of life. Herbert questions the point of bemoaning ones lot – and acknowledges that one’s way in life includes a freedom of choice - therefore life is what one makes it. He ponders whether he can measure up to the challenge of this new way forward. Throughout the poem he appears to ponder what life offers and what he has to show for his existence Have I nothing else to give /produce?(other than to bleed at life’s hardship and not repent - let loose bad blood (evil) Should one only take part in a semi-harvest then one will only see what is lost not gained – The juices of life are not only sweet but produced from the pulp of fruit (possibly could refer to the fruits of one’s labour?)Aluding to the thought that there are many facets of life which contribute to the making of it – Wine is made from the whole fruit (yet represents the body of Christ) what is left is discarded -such as pulp, seeds skin but it would not have been possible to make the wine without therefore the whole/entire person(mind and body) is required to make the best of what one is given. It could be that Herbert is drawing a comparison to the idea that in death the husk of the person (the body) will be discarded and that the produce/juices of the body is simply the soul. Wasting the produce / harvest represents not making the most of what one has been given. Has one nothing to show for labour/toil –existence? Can there be nothing to show for the year? Can’t one crown / top what has been provided – celebrate the beauty and goodness – look for the good rather than the bad? (This could also be considering that others in the world also suffer) Recognising that there is reward if one looks at what can be harvested – should God’s endowment not be celebrated? Take back all the sighs/ moaning and regrets- recoup your losses to judge what is worthy of one’s self and refrain from that which restricts the boundaries of goodness – give up pointless / useless bonds which encourage negative thoughts. Rather one should seek strong bonds – look for the good for inspiration – Making this the way that one governs his/her way in life. While ones eyes are closed to this train of thought the way will not be lit / shown. Herbert suggests that he has moved away from the discourse of regret and immediate gratification of worldly goods. Reign in your fears and receive your just deserts the way you clothe/conduct your life will reap its reward. (Suggests that reflected in the bible- give up your worldly goods to find reward in heaven.) A reflection that the reader / listener should take notice of these thoughts/warning; suggesting that the whilst raging against injustices of life Herbert came to hear the voice of God and responded by turning to religion. I would be very interested (welcome)other peoples considerations and point of views!!

http://www.poetryconnection.net/poets/George_Herbert/7233/comments
This website has been helpful for a few of the poems that we have already read, of course, reading this is not a substitute for reading the actual poem and breaking it down stanza by stanza, but it can help further your understanding.

John Leskow

A Valediction Forbidding Mourning

A few thoughts on the peom...

In John Donne's poem, "A Valediction Forbidding Mourning," a man says goodbye to his lover who he is about to leave. He uses metaphysical conceits to soften the blow by comparing their love to a noble man's death, the planets, and a drawing compass. In my opinion, this poem shows an excuse for the narrator to abandon his supposed love. Not only does he leave her, but also, he wants her to remain faithful and be excited when he returns. If the narrator actually loved this woman, then he would have never left her in the first place.

John Leskow

A Valediction Forbidding Mourning

The Things They Carried

For the inventory that we started in class of all the stuff we had on us, I know we are supposed to type it up, but should it just be a list or in paragraph form like the story?

-Paul Derickson

Hamlet Test Tomorrow!!!

As I hope you all know the Hamlet test is tomorrow. To go along with what Paul said, and because of what Mr. Lazarow said today in class, the essay will be a quotation from a source outside from Hamlet, and we have to compare the theme of the quote to a theme in Hamlet. The main themes in Hamlet are Honor, Pride, Appearance vs. Reality(sane/insane), and Life and Death. Make sure you have examples of how each of these themes is used and seen throughout the play to assure yourself that you will be prepared for the test.

John Leskow

Essay questions for the Hamlet test

What does everyone think is going to be the essay for the test?

Since honor and pride are two of the major themes, I think they are going to be the main topic. The question might be about whether it was right for Hamlet to say to defend honor at all costs when he saw Fortinbras going to fight in Poland.

-Paul Derickson

Notes Act 4, Scene 5... 4/2/09

Claudius diffused the angry mob situation by asking Laertes progressively harder questions. This forced Laertes to use logic and calm down. After three questions he was thinking and not as driven by emotion, this makes him easier to reason with and greatly benefits Claudius in the end. Claud then goes on to complimenting him on what a good son he was and the like. After getting Laertes full attention, he went on to claiming his innocence of the accused crime. Later, he offered his aid in finding the real murderer and bringing him to justice.

Laertes also sees Ophelia in her crazy state of mind, and is devastated of what happened to his sister.

Ophilia's Flowers

These are the flowers that Ophelia hands out in order, along with the meaning and who she was most likely to hand them to.

Flower Meaning Possible Person Given

Rosemary......Remembrance......................... #1 choice:Laertes or #2 possible:Gertude

Pansies..........Thoughts...................................#1 choice:Laertes or #2 possible:Gertude

Fennel............Flattery and Deceit.................Claudius

Columbines..Disloyalty/ingratitude...........#1: Claudius or #2: Gertude

Rue...................Sorrow/Repent......................Ophelia, Gertude/ Claudius

Daises..............Infidelity/unrequited love...Gertude

Violets.............Faithfulness............................NO ONE

-Michael Singh

I was wondering that maybe Ophelia was playing crazy like Hamlet to possible give herself leverage to get revenge on Hamlet?? Thoughts on this theory ?



Sean Bronczyk

Class Notes 4/1/09 John Leskow

Act 4: Scene 5

• Hamlet is gone until Act 5: Scene 1
• Ophelia has gone mad because the death of her father and the loss of Hamlet's love. Ophelia starts singing songs about love and death, she is insane.
• Claudius and Gertrude are deeply disturbed by Ophelia's actions. Ophelia demands to talk to Gertrude immediately, and then she sings "mad" songs to her mother.
• "Owl is a bakers daughter." This is refering to an old story, and makes Gertrude believe that she may be responsible for Ophelia's madness.
• Why do they say Laertes shall be king? Claudius is still nervous about people finding out who killed Polonius, and of Hamlet's departure. Claudius is trying to get on Laertes good side, because there needs to be a new heir to the thrown.
• Claudius stands his ground against Laertes's accusations and displays remarkable courage. Claudius and Laertes talk alone.
• Claudous stops the Mob. Gertrude jumps in to "save" Claudius! Because she wants Hamlet to kill Claudius for BLOOD VENGEANCE
• CLaudius tells Gertrude to GET OUT OF THE WAY! Because it is embarrassing.

John Leskow

For the test on Friday. DO we have to know who the speaker of the quote is speaking to or is it understood that a lot of the times it is spoken to the audience?
Thoughts?

Sean Bronczyk

Mel Gibson's Act 2: Scene 2 Soliloquy

I found Mel Gibson's "O Vengeance" soliloquy on YouTube if anyone needed to watch it. It is very helpful to be in control, meaning you can pause it and take notes as you please.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78azwSoGXt4&NR=1

John Leskow

Hamlet Act II Scene II

This is Kenneth Branagh (the first one we saw with all the stuff in the background)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUfG2ozXbAM

I looked for all the other ones on youtube and google videos but couldn't find any. There might be some out there but I don't know what other websites would have them.

Paul Derickson

A Rarity: Watchmen creator Alan Moore interviewed!

Check out this link:

http://www.wired.com/entertainment/hollywood/magazine/17-03/ff_moore_qa?currentPage=all

Alan Moore's interview with WIRED magazine on superheroes, Watchmen, comic book-film adaptations, etc. Some very interesting moments...

LAZ

Notes Thrusday 2/19

Today in class we talked more about Hamlet. We discussed the part of Act 2 Scene 2 when Hamlet and the players are talking.

Hamlet asks the players to tell him a story. He requests the story about Aeneas and Dido. He requests the players start at a certain moment in the story where Pyrrus is about to kill Priam. Priam is the Old King of Troy and Pyrrus is a Greek Warrior. Hecuba, who comes in later, is the Queen of Troy.

Pyrrus is described as having soot and blood all over him as he was just fighting in a burning city. He looks demonic. Pyrrus decides that he is going to kill Priam so he raises his sword above his head. A falling building causes him to pause at the top of his swing. Laz says that the whole universe freezes at this moment because a king is about to be killed at that is a very big deal. Kings Matter!

Hecuba comes in as Priam is being killed and starts to cry. Her cries are so loud that the gods hear her and start to cry along with her.

This story relates back to Hamlet and his situation. In his situation, Priam is Old Hamlet and Pyrrus is Claudius.

Hamlet feels very angry at his mother. He wants to save her but he knows he can't until she realizes what she has done.

Sorry about being so late.

-Kristian Mayer

Class Notes: February 18, 2009

Act 2: Scene 2

• R and G twist Hamlet's words, "Man delights not me." R and G laugh at Hamlet suggesting that he is gay. In reality Hamlet meant that no one in humanity pleases him. (This is a small joke used to please the groundlings, becuase they love crude, sexual humor.) After Hamlet asks them why they laughed they change their rational: R and G say that the reason they were laughing is because the players are coming and Hamlet is going to give them a very cold welcome. But...Hamlet is very excited that the players are coming! (This confuses R and G, and also is a play inside of a play, which is kind of what Hamlet's character represents, aka Appearance vs. Reality. Shakespeare is writing about being something that he is not)
• Hamlet is playing a role to R and G, like forgetting their names, proving that Hamlet is not too close to them (as friends). But Hamlet needs them for his plan, and will use them to the best of his ability.
• The ghost is not mentioned, we can assume that the ghost is around, but not appearing in the play, to create confusion. (Reminder of a 5 act play structure, complications)
• Before the players came back Polonius comes back. R and G think one thing about Hamlet, and Polonius thinks another, because Hamlet told each of them different stories. (Complication: He is in the room with both of them!) Hamlet quickly thinks of a common ground to assure that no questions will be asked. Common Ground: He mocks Polonius, but how he gets away with it is more important...Hamlet tells R and G that he is going to act crazy right now! (which is normal to Polonius). Life comes full circle, tells 2 children to mess around with the old guy. R and G just think that Hamlet is just messing around, (which also looks like madness to Polonius), and tells a story about a daughter, (which makes Polonius think about the Hamlet and Ophelia controversey.
• Hamlet's genius plan gives him no problems, and a quick solution.
• Hamlet says his actions are as changeable as the wind. He can change at a moment...NNW=crazy. Hawk and a Handsaw=proverb that means "I can distinguish between things that do not resemble each other." Hamlet confesses to R and G that he is not crazy, Hamlet is playing games with R and G. Ultimate tragic flaw is pride, Hamlet has so much pride and is flaunting it by messing with R and G.
• He inserts children into the play because it was happening while he was writing Hamlet, in London. Children are actors in great tragedy's.

John Leskow

Act 3 Scene i (Overview)

The scene begins with Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Polonius, Ophelia, Gertrude, and Claudius.

Gertrude asks Rosencrantz and Guildenstern what Hamlet has told them is wrong with him. They reply saying that Hamlet seems depressed, but he dances around the questions they ask him. They then say that when they invited a troupe to perform for Hamlet, he became quite happy, and the troupe is going to put on a show for Hamlet that evening, and he would like Gertrude and Claudius to both be there. Claudius then sends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern out to try and heighten Hamlet's eagerness to watch the troupe. They exit.

Claudius then asks Gertrude to leave so he and Polonius can spy on the conversation Hamlet is going to have with Ophelia. Gertrude exits.

Polonius gives Ophelia a prayer book to pretend to be reading so Hamlet believes she is all alone. He makes a comment that people do this all the time: act devoted to God to mask their wrong deeds. This comment makes Claudius feel extremely guilty for his horrible deeds. Polonius and Claudis exit. Enter Hamlet.

Hamlet enters with his famous part "To be, or not to be. That is the question..." This passage expresses Hamlet's question of whether it is better to live through life's struggles or end one's life and not bear the troubles. He says that sleeping and dying are the same thing, but no one knows what dreams you have when your dead and life's misfortunes are behind a person. Because of this, man drags on with his life because of his uncertainty of death.

Ophelia then comes up to Hamlet and tells him to take back all the things he has given her. Hamlet then leads Ophelia on by saying that he never loved her. Ophelia admits she was misled. Hamlet tells Ophelia to go to a nunnery and stay a virgin so she does not bring any more sinners into the world, because no matter what, everyone is evil. He then says all women are whores and that if Ophelia doesnt get to a convent, she will surely be one as well and cheat on her husband. He finishes with saying everyone, except for ONE person he knows (hinting at the king or queen?), will stay married. He then leaves.

Ophelia cries out that she is so sad to see Hamlet in such a lowly state when he was such an outstanding person before he became insane. Claudius and Polonius then come out from hiding. Claudius says he will send Hamlet to England to retrieve the money that England owes Denmarrk and hopefully, during his travels, he will come out of his funk. Polonius still believes that his insanity was caused by unrequited love. All exit.

Act II Scene 2 Overview (Part 3)

Conversation Between: Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Hamlet

Jokes:
G: (line 247) He says they aren't very lucky, and he personifies Fortune
H: Says but your not down and out, you're just being abused by Fortune
R/G: In the middle - "Fortune's naughty parts"
- Fortune's 'lover'
- "Privates" aka Foot Soldiers, lowest rank
- Fortune bosses us around- at Fortune's whim

H: Has "bad dreams"
G: Dreams are just ambitions
but ambition is nothing: can't be positive or negative it's a shadow's shadow
can't be held back by ambition
H: thinks revenge is most important now, not worried about R & G and doesn't view them as equals or friends.
H: gets R&G to admit that the King and Queen sent them to spy on Hamlet

Hamlet's current (poor) condition:
lost happiness- no longer impressed by things
especially by man (and woman)
acts very depressed- "Melancholy Dane"
things that used to make him happy no don't
man once was GREAT now not so much

-Brianna Lee

Act 2, Scene 2 Overview (Part 2)

After Gertrude and Claudius leave, Polonius and Hamlet converse for a short time. Hamlet keeps up his act of pretending to be crazy, leading Polonius onto believe exactly what Polonius thought was the reason Hamlet had gone crazy: because of his love for Ophelia. On his way out, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern enter.



Hamlet begins talking to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and gets them to tell him that they were sent by the King and Queen to see what is wrong with him. Hamlet then goes on to say he is bored with men and women alike and enjoys nothing in the world. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are upset at this because they've asked an acting troupe to come by and cheer up Hamlet. The troupe they got is the same one Hamlet enjoyed when he was younger. When asking how the troupe was able to stop by, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern explain to Hamlet that they are now a traveling troupe because a new troupe with all small boys as actors are now more popular than the other troupe.



Polonius returns, telling Hamlet and the others that the troupe has arrived. In a brief conversation, Hamlet mocks Polonius and continues to lead him on thinking he is crazy in love with his daughter. The players (actors) then enter and Hamlet greets them. He recites the line from a play he saw them perform once and asks them to start their acting from there. The first player then goes on with the speech Hamlet asked for and stops after Polonius cuts him off because he is about to cry because of the sad story. Soon after this, Hamlet tells Polonius to see to it that the players are comfortable and are given more than they deserve. He then dismisses Rosencrantz and Guildenstern until the following day, leaving Hamlet alone on stage.


Hamlet speaks to the audience, asking how an actor can get so worked up by reciting a speech of a man he had never even met, and he, Hamlet, shows no external emotion for the betrayal of his uncle on his father. He wonders why he still has not done anything but go around pretending to be crazy. He then recalls a time when he saw a scene of a play that was so well done that the people of the crowd would confess their sins outloud. He then says he will put his uncle, the king, to the test, by having the troupe staying with him put on an act to see if King Claudius gives up any signs of guilt. He exits.

Act 2, Scene 2 Overview (Part 1)

This is a tough one so bare with me....

The scene opens with Claudius, Gertrude, and two new characters: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, both close friends of Hamlet since they were young. Claudius and Gertrude ask for their assistance in finding out what is wrong with Hamlet.

As they are off to find Hamlet, Polonius comes in telling Claudius that he thinks he knows why Hamlet is acting strange and says he will tell him what he thinks after the ambassadors, who just returned from Norway, speak with Claudius.

Voltemand and Cornelius report to Claudius that the King of Norway thought that young Fortinbras was assembling soldiers against Poland, not Denmark, and ordered his arrest immidiately when he found out his true intentions. Fortinbras then swore he would never threaten Denmark again. Norway's King was pleased at this, and told Fortinbras he can move troops into Poland, and asks if it was ok by Claudius if the Norway troops could pass through Denmark. Voltemand gives Claudius the document and he replys saying he will look it over later after dinner. Voltenmand and Cornelius exit.

Polonius begins by telling Claudius and Gertrude that he will not waste their time and get right to the point, but by saying this he does indeed waste their time and Gertrude tells him to get to the point (this is another time where Polonius does opposite of his word. the first was when he told Laertes to be honest and then sent Reynaldo to spy on him). Polonious then goes on to read a part of the letter that Hamlet gave to Ophelia who, by her father's demands, gave it to Polonius. Polonius then goes on to ask what Claudius thought of him (reoccurence of Polonius' strive for image). Claudies says he sees him as honorable, and Polonius puts his reputation on the line saying that the reason Hamlet has gone mad is because Ophelia is rejecting Hamlet on his orders.

Polonius then devises a plan to see if he is right. He will have Ophelia meet with Hamlet and Polonius and Claudius will spy on them to see if Hamlet truly loves her (another time proving Polonius' dishonesty).

Hamlet then comes in and Polonius asks Gertrude and Claudius to leave so he can talk to Hamlet alone.

I'll finish up the scene in my next post. Sorry if you want more, this part of the text is very tough.

Act 2, Scene 1 Overview

In the beginning of the scene, we find Polonious telling Reynaldo that he wants to go find out what Laertes is doing off at school, aka spying on him. He tells Reynaldo to do this by telling lies in order to get the truth, a direct contradiction to Polonious' "Honesty" speech he gave to Laertes just before he left for school. After Reynaldo leaves, Ophelia comes in and tells her father that Hamlet is acting very strangely and is scaring her. He came into her room while she was sewing with his clothes all askew and looked "as if he had been loosed out of hell". He then grabbed her wrists very hard, and then backed up and just stared at her with an ackward stare for a fairly long time. After shaking his head three times as if satisfied, he walked out of the room with his eyes fixed on Ophelia the entire time. Polonious thinks Hamlet is doing this because he is madly in love with Ophelia and he's gone mad because she does not return his letters as her father requested. Polonious and Ophelia then leave to go tell the King has happened with Hamlet.

Class Notes for Feb. 9

Today we talked about Polonius and how he told his son Laertes to be true to himself and to not be false with anyone when he is at school, even though Polonius gets information about people through spying on them. Polonius has his servant Reynaldo casually talk to people in France about Laertes by making up lies about him, (saying do you know Laertes, he likes to party) and the people Reynaldo talks to will either agree with them or disagree, which will give Polonius a good idea of what Laertes is doing at school. Polonius says, "by indirections find directions out," which means through lies, the truth is found, which is the way Polonius believes is the right way to watch people under him.

Paul Derickson

Class Notes February 5

Today we had last call for Act 1 Scene 5.

Then we went over our latest project which entails:
- Getting a notebook with string to hang around your neck
- Write down all critical observations that you see during the day
- Record the speaker, date, time and conditions

The reason for this project is for us to understand and relate to a renaissance man like Hamlet. Those men kept tables in which they wrote down all their observations.

The notebook must be worn at all times, if you are seen without it you will receive an automatic grade deduction. As Mr. Lazarow stated he has trained his kids to spot out those of us who don't have it. We also got a sheet detailing this project.

Dan Beam

Oedipus???

Is what was going on with what Claudius had for his brother something like the Oedipus Complex? It seems that he wanted to replace him completely and take over as the "new" old Hamlet...

-Mike Singh

What was Claudius's motive in killing King Hamlets father ?
I know the obvious reason of Claudius wanting to become king but are there any other reasons?

Sean Bronczyk

Act 1, Scene 2
Claudius becomes the king and marries the current queen who was married to his brother.
Hamlet thought it was acceptable to help keep order in the country.
Even thogh he thought it was acceptable he was still very upset over the entire situation.
Marriages were done for power not love.
Hamlet calls it insest even though it clearly is not.
Hamlet is acting very childish over the entire situation and he should know why Cluadius did what he did to help keep order in the country.
Major theme expressed
Its not about the way you see things act but really are.
Appearance vs. Reality

Sean Bronczyk

Class Notes for January 21

Today in class we had a substitute and we were given time to work on our study guides for Hamlet. Thats all.


Dan Beam

Class Notes Jan 14th

This is all the notes we have gotten so far regarding Hamlet and Shakespear

Shakespears Life and Times

-Born 1564 in Stratsford of Avon(church records of this)
-1565 Baptized
-Father= John, Mother = Mary Arden
-3rd oldest in family of 8, oldest son( meaning he would get inheritance)

Early Life
-family= upper middle class
-Father is respected memeber of society (job= butcher)
-Father was elected to town consel and then as Mayor of Stratsford

Not Fact but assumed: William Shakespear attended Stratsford grammar school like every other child in town; no records of him enlisted at any other college or higher level school ( people usually went to college for further education in the clergy, law, or politics)

- likely that William became an apprectice to father but,
- Next documentation of Shakespear is in the theater which is a big jump, indication that not only did he become an apprentice to his father but he has to be exposed to theater at some point.
- When traveling theater troops were sent into the country to preform for the towns they stayed at the household of the most powerful person in that specific town, thus since Shakespears father was the mayor it is likely that this is how he became exposed to the theater first.

Nov. 1582
-William applies for a marriage license
-He's 18, women is 26 named Anne Hathaway
-ask for announcement of wedding to only be presented at mass once and to be married as soon as possible, even though during Decemeber when marriages are usually not done do to the holiday season.
-Strikes as odd considering their first child Suzanna is born only 6 months later

1585
-twin Judith and Hamnet are born
- the early death of Hamnet at the age of 13 rumored to have influenced Shakespears' play Hamlet

1589
-construction of the theater in London

1592
-pamplet published by "Green", a play right, against the theater and accuses a "young upstart" of plagiarism
-w/ in a month this playright dies and the publisher of the pamplet sends out an apology pamplet and names the young upstart mentioned, gentle Bill, referring to William Shakespear
-black palgue appears in London again, all public places are shut down including the theater
-don't re- open for 2 yrs(even after black plague is gone due to Puritan Rule)
-Puritans believed acting was a form of lying which was a sin, because you were pretending to be something your not

1594
-theater re-opens
-Shakespear is part of a theatrical company funded by the Lord of Chamberlin
-company includes people who could do everything, act, write, and direct
-which could indicate that William Shakespear was only the name written on the plays and that they were actually a collaborative effort
-Or it was just a pen name for someone whose social status would not allow them to be a part of the theater
- Shakespear usually produced 2 plays a year
-generated wealth by selling, acting, and directing plays
-with this he eventually purchased the 2nd largest estate in Stratford

Progression of Writing
- 1596-1600 Shakespear wrote historical plays and then comedies
-1596 death of son Hamnet
- tragedies were written next (1600-1605)
-1601 Hamlet is written and published, father dies in this year as well too

1603- Queen Elizabeth dies, new king has lord chamberlin give his acting troop to him and has them travel the country to gain popularity
-Now called the Kings Men

1609- Shakespears' collection of Sonnets is published

1610-1611
- writes "A Winters Tale" and "The Tempest"
-The Tempest is said to be Shakespears farwell to the theater until one of his replacements Beaumont quits and the other writer Fletcher calls upon him for assistance in writing a play involving Queen Elizabeths father Henry the 8th
-on the premier night of this play a cannon is used and unfortunately it lights the entire theater on fire and it burns to the ground

-According to church records William Shakespear dies on April 23rd, 1616
-will seems to be thrown together possibly indicating a sudden illness

Elizabethan Theater
-1st theater in Europe specifically for plays in London
-just called "the theater"
-puritans take over and shut down the theater within city limits, so the theater is moved across the river out of city limits and re- opens as the globe theater
-brought over board by board, people got they by boat
-no roof due to weather, over complicated construction and lighting issues
-tiring house= costume change room behind the stage
-stage = 5 and a half ft to keep people form climbing on stage and to leave room for trap doors

Sonnet

Is it possible to end a thought in the middle of a line in the sonnet (like if it spills over from the line before it)? I know Laz said that in middle english poetry the schops stuck to one thought per line but I don't remember if he said anything different about sonnets.

-Paul Derickson

The Merchant's tale
(Kind of long but I wanted to give you it all so you can shorten it.)
The merchant's tale starts of with a noble knight January, he decides he wishes to marry a young wife. He chooses May, their wedding is a spectacular event, at the wedding a squire named Damien falls in love with May, she loves him back. Soon after January loses his vision and May takes advantage of this in order to start an affair with Damien, so May takes January to the garden but also tells Damien to meet there too. So while there May and Damien are up in a tree together and Pluto and his wife see what is going on. Pluto then decides to give January his vision back to see what is going on, and his wife gives all women the ability to trick men out of what they see with their own eyes. So January sees May and Damien together but she lies and believes him. This story is a marriage tale and portrays the view that women are deceitful and tricksters.

Dan Beam

The Summoner's Tale (Sentence)

The Summoner was mad about the offensive tale the Friar told about him earlier. So to get back at the Friar, he told a very humiliating tale about him. To sum up the Summoner's tale in one sentence...

A poor Friar went to Yorkshire to preach and beg for money, but instead of charity the Friar was given a fart from a man named Thomas and then ran to the town lord to explain what happened before the lord and his squire laughed at him.

Mike Wall

The Monk's Tale

The monk tells 17 tales, all dealing with people who fall from high positions into misfortune. Some highlights are Lucifer, an angel who descended into hell for his sins, Adam, who ate the forbidden fruit and was banished from paradise, and Hercules, a great hero who was killed when his wife sent him a shirt laced with poison.

-Kevin Storms

Answers and more Sentences

To Answer Brianna:
Reeve: Skinny man who wore a long blue outer coat. Had a rusty sword with him. Very choleric. Has hair so short that it reminds Chaucer of a priest.

2nd Nun: There's no physical description of her ):

Nun's priest: All I know is that he owns a foul and lean horse and he is named Sir John, I think. Other than that, there's no other description of him.

Summoner
A friar going from house to house asking for donations comes to Thomas' house and is allowed in, which then lets the friar boast about his sermons to Thomas; eventually, Thomas says that his son died recently, but the friar says that his son went to Heaven and then asks for money only to say that Thomas doesn't give enough to the church, which angers Thomas, which causes the friar to tell a sermon about anger. The friar is made a fool when Thomas says that a gift for the friar is under his seat and tells him to reach under his butt, but when the friar does, Thomas farts on his hand and kicks the friar out.

Sailor
A frugal merchant with a sociable wife and a helpful monk, named Dan John, are close friends and the merchant was glad to have the monk around, but the monk and the wife have an affair behind the merchant's back and the wife asks the monk for 100 francs in exchange for being allowed to sleep in bed with her. The monk then asks the merchant to borrow 100 francs before he went off to Flanders for business and he gives the money to the wife; when the merchant returns, he asks the monk for the money, but the monk told him he repaid his wife a few days after he had left. The merchant gets angry when he finds out that his wife spent the money on clothes, but she says she will repay the money in bed and the merchant agrees.

Sorry if these are long, but these are pretty much the whole story summarized. Feel free to shorten them if you guys want :)

~Susan Kim

Sentences for the knight, squire and miller

Knight- Theseus imprisons Arcite and Palamon because they destroyed a town, but while in prison they both fell in love with Emily, the king's sister in-law, and after Arcite is exiled he comes back to work in Emily's garden and Palamon sees this happening and breaks out of jail and King Thesues makes Arcite and Palamon have an epic battle in which Arcite prays to Mars he will win, Palamon prays to Venus that he will have love, and Emily prays to Diana that she will be with the man that loves her the most and Arcite wins the battle but dies and Palamon and Emily are together.

Squire- King Cambuscan receives three gifts, a ring that gives the power to talk to birds, a horse statue that can teleport you, and a sword which has one side which heals wounds and another side which can cut anything, and the king gives the ring to his daughter which uses it to talk to a suicidal female falcon that was left by her male falcon for a kite which is a bird of lesser status and at that point the Franklin stops the story.

Miller- John the carpenter is married to Alysoun who is cheating on him with Nicholas, who is a student living with the two of them, and Nicholas pretends to have vision saying that a flood is coming that makes John sleep on the roof in a bathtub waiting for water while Nicholas and Alysoun can be alone, but Absolon is a young clerk in the village who also loves Alysoun and come to her window to ask for a kiss and Alysoun makes him kiss her butt, Absolon goes to a blacksmith's shop and gets a poker to stab Alysoun by asking for another kiss and stabbing her with the poker as revenge for making him kiss her butt, but Nicholas sticks his butt out and farts on Absolon, who pokes Nicholas, who in turn screams water which wakes up John and takes the bathtubs off the roof because he thought there was a flood, and all the townspeople came out and Nicholas, Absolon and John are humiliated.

I don't remember the other tales Mr. Laz presented but leave a comment if you need any more sentences because I have most of them done.
-Paul Derickson

Does anyone have a good sentence for the Summoner or the Sailor???

I have been asking all over and looking in my notes. Someone please post a sentence.

John Leskow

Help!

Does anyone have a good character description (like looks and clothing) for the Reeve, Nun's Priest, and Second Nun?

- Brianna Lee

Class Notes 1/6

Today in class we finished up our review of The Canterbury Tales, going over one last time what will be on the test. Study! We then went on to talk about Shakespeare's sonnet #29:

First 4 lines - Narrator curses his fate, expressing sadness. Hints that it is God's fault for his bad fate, expressing the voice of despair.

Next 4- The narrator wishes to be like anyone but himself, wishing he had the talents and insights of others.

The turn!- The narrator comes back from the brink of despair, he expresses that he is like a bird, flying to Heaven's gates. He realizes that with love one is worth more than anything!

Billy Saldutti

The Clerk's Tale

An Italian prince, named Walter, is requested by his people to marry so that he may have a sucessor. Walter agrees to and marries the poorest girl in the village, Griselda. He decides to test her loyalty by divercing her and then making her compliment his new bride, after which he takes her back and they live happily ever after.

Billy Saldutti

Pardoner's Tale

Three drunken revelers find out that a friend and several other villagers have died because of Death and decide get revenge, but on their way they meet an old man and ruff him up to get advice on which way Death went. They follow the road to a tree where there's a pile of gold and the three draw straws to see who goes back and gets food; the youngest goes to get food and wine with poison in the bottles while the other two plot to ambush him, and upon the youngest man’s return, the two kill him, drink the wine, and die.

~Susan Kim

Wife of Bath's Tale

The Knight rapes a woman which he is than punshied with a quest to find out what wives want, getting many answers and about to give up he comes upon a woman in a field that will give him the answer(which is soverinty, a husband's love and master over their husband)if he does anything she wishes, upon revealing the answer he must marry her, he can choose to take her young, beautiful and unfaithful or old, ugly, and faithful, he lets her choose and she chooses to be young beautiful and faithful.

-Richard Basiaga

Notes 1/5/09

Today we reviewed the Canterbury Tales some more. The test will include:

-The test will have questions on Chaucer's life, including his thoughts on the church.
-It is a very good idea to know what pilgrims are actually going on the pilgrimage.
-It is important to know the relationships between the pilgrims, such as the miller and the reeve.
-Know about the rise and significance of the middle class.
-The first part of the test is the memorization of the 18 lines.
-Next part is the quotes from the GP.
-The questions are the last part.

Laz says to study and use the blog. He advised us to post our sentences on the blog to help each other out.

Kristian Mayer

The Reeve's Tale

The Reeve’s tale is about a Miller that steals and cheats the people around him for their money and grain, but offers two college students to stay at his house and in exchange he is tricked during the night when they rape his wife and daughter and run off with their flour along with satisfaction that they have made the Miller look like a fool.

-Matt Frank

Sonnet(s)

I couldn't find the notes for sonnets anywhere, so here they are. I hope you don't mind me stealing the thunder/ blog points from whoever was supposed to do this. I did the best I could to make it understandable, so be aware.

*************************************************************************************

-The Sonnet was commonly used in the 1300's-1500's in the English Renaissance (like Shakespeare).

-They were originally from the poet Petrarch, so the Italian version was called Petrarchan. There are also the Spenserian and the Shakespearean/Elizabethan (English Renn.).

-They are 14 lines long
-10 syllables of of Iambic Pentameter (unstressed/stressed/ect...)
-Rhyme Scheme
-Italian [each line] (abba/abba)*Turn* after 1st 8 lines [refer to bottom]then the last 6 lines are a variable of any combination of 3 rhyme schemes (ie:decedc)
-Shakespearean (abab/cdcd)*Turn*(efef/[possible turn]gg)

-Combination of four lines (ie:abab) =Quatrain (the development of the sonnet)
-Combination of two lines (ie:gg) =Couplet (conclusion of the sonnet)

Breaking Down a Sonnet:
#1: Find Rhyme Rhythm
#2: Look at the Line Structure
#3: Scansion
#4: Is there a *Turn*? (9 or 13 lines in?)

***Turn***= The change in direction in the argument. Indicated by:"So, But, Yet..."

*************************************************************************************

Feel free to add/clarify anything, or u can ask me questions in the comments section and i will try to answer them to the best of my ability (free blog points ;)_)

-Mike Singh

Franklin's Tale; Short

In ancient Briton, Dorigen's husband, who is a knight, goes off to battle for two years, she is sad, and to amuse herself she promises to a man who loves her, that he could have her if he removed all the rocks off the coast of Briton (impossible), and he finds a sorcerer and does it, she does not want to marry him, the husband comes back and tells her to honor the deal, but the other man sees his nobleness and tells her she can stay with her current spouse.

The End


-Mike Singh

THe Prioress' Tale

A boy learns a song that praises the Virgin Mary that he songs on the way to school. The Jews in the neighborhood hire a killer who kills the boy and throws him in a well. The boy's mother, in search of her son, hears her son in the well, singing the same song. The boy is taken from the well, and the pebble in his mouth is removed, allowing his soul to go to heaven.

-Joe Forline

The Second Nuns Tale
She heavily believed in martyrdom. She asks for Virgin Marys guidance and also tells the life of St. Cecilia and how she became a Saint.

Sean Bronczyk

The Parson's Tale Sentence

The Parson's tale is a sermon that talks about penitence, sins, and the reign of Christianity, Chaucer has much respect for the Parson and Plowman and he holds them as true Christians.

John Leskow

The Friar's Sentence

The Friar's tale is about an evil summoner/theif, who befriends a yeoman who's a fiend from hell, both extort money, meet farmer who is shouting to the devil to take his problematic horse/cart, shouts to devil to take all of the goods from him, the yeoman can't b/c it is out of anger, then a widow who is being hassled by the summoner for money yells to the devil to take the summoner to hell and he does so b/c the summoner won't apologize and it's from her heart.


- Brianna Lee

The man of law's sentence

This is a tale about salvation through faith. Constance is a beautiful girl who is forced into marriage with a non-Christian and is freed from the marriage and protected during a masacre by her faith. She is also protected from a man who tried to rape her and is eventually reunited with her father and husband in her home country of Rome.
-Paul Derickson

Class Notes: January 2, 2009

First in class we tried to convince Laz to give us a second shot at the quote game. He quickly refused and told us that if we have any questions about the Canterbury Tales test to ask them.

Some of what you will need to know is...
Relationships between pilgrims
General ideas of the time period (ex. corrupt church)
Rise of the middle class
Frame narratives
Fablio

***A helpful tip I thought of in class is to make a flash card for every tale, and write a sentence about the tale, so it will be easy to study for the test on Wednesday. ***

***Also go through the study questions and star the ones you do not know, and only study those questions...it will save you time.***

After a short study session we talked about Shakespeare's sonnets (No. 18, 29)

Shakespeare's 18th Sonnet:

The turn is in line 9. Turn word=But
The sonnet is about a comparison between the seasons and love. More specifically a summers day and a woman. Quatrain 1 and 2 make a comparison of the beauty of a person to summers day. Summer must end, he says that she is better because she will never end. (BUT SHE MUST DIE!!!)
If beautiful things don't last forever...she will NOT last forever (if she is beautiful). He contradicts himself.
*But the real meaning is that the woman that Shakespeare is describing will not ever die, becuase her beauty is written about on paper, and everytime someone reads it, it will restore her beauty.*

Shakespeare's 29th Sonnet:

We did not finish analyzing this sonnet.
We talked about how the man was not accepted in society, he doesn't think anyone, including God is listening.
He has a lack of faith.

Period ended.

John Leskow

Class Notes

Sorry this is really late, didn't know it was my day last.....

In class we were told over break to read Shakespeares Sonnets # 18, 29, 55, 73, 116
1. identify rhyme scheme
2. line structure
3. scansion
4. Turn? (lines 9 or 13)

Then we played the quote game.

-Brianna Lee