Hamlet...the Musical!

“If Music be the food of love, play on

Give me excess of it…”

                                                                       Orsino from Twelfth Night (I,i,1-2)

Company Name:  The Admirals Men were a theatre troupe in Shakespeare’s day.  Give yourselves a name.  Something that says, “Hey, we know our Shakespeare.  Hire us, okay?”

Timeline:  Two Classes: Writing Script   One Class:  Rehearsal   One Class:  Performances on Monday, April 23rd for Milwaukee in the Portal.

Breakdown: Five groups. Each group will perform one act in order as a unified class performance. Mr. Pellerin will present each act to build unity.

Script:  5 minute Shakespeare: We should see a script with 50% Shakespearean text and 50% popular music lyrics.  You must choose a theme and express it in either a series of moments in the play or you can do a quick cross section of the major moments.  You must, however, have a unified beginning and end for the piece.

Soundtrack:  How will you incorporate music into the piece?  Will you develop a pop music soundtrack to line-up with the performance?  Remember, that we also need to hear the actors.  Will you use a classic music backdrop?  Whatever you do, MAKE SURE THAT THE MUSIC FITS WITH YOUR THEME AND OVERALL VISION.  In other words, if you choose a hip hop soundtrack, that will certainly influence the performance and theme.  It may also influence how you cut the script.  Maybe lines from the play can be sung or performed in spoken word (It certainly was meant to be sung, in a sense).  Will you go Glee or Moulin Rouge and sing a pop song at major intervals.  KEY:  TAKE PRE-EXISTING SONGS AND TURN THEM INTO DUETS.  CHANGE AND TWEAK LYRICS TO FIT PURPOSE

Rehearsing and Choreography:  THIS IS WHAT I WILL ALSO BE THINKING ABOUT WHEN I GRADE YOUR FINAL PERFORMANCE.  MOVE AROUND PEOPLE!  I will help you during rehearsals.  For the songs (at least) have the lines and cues memorized.  All prose and Shakespearean verse should be memorized to help the performance flow.  Also, make sure all costumes and sets are ready to go and easy to execute.  Also, make sure you have the music cued up and ready to go.  Rehearsals are key.

Performances.  If you are sick or cannot make it, you need to make the necessary arrangements with your group and Mr. Pellerin.  Treat this assignment with the same respect as an exam. If you leave your group high and dry on performance day with no phone call or explanation, expect an F on the assignment.

So, what do I hand in?

1. A final cut script with song lyrics.

2. A timeline explaining what was accomplished, as well as a list of who did what and when.

3. An actual performance. No more than 10 minutes long.

NOTE:  Use of class/homework time will be a huge factor in your grade!!!

This will count as 1-2 major assessment grades

Full Text of Hamlet

http://shakespeare.mit.edu/hamlet/full.html

A complete example from Romeo and Juliet:

SCENE 1 – O Romeo…Don’t be like that!

LADY MONTAGUE

O, where is Romeo? Saw you him to-day?

Right glad I am he was not at this fray.

BENVOLIO

Madam, an hour before the worshipp'd sun

Peer'd forth the golden window of the east,

A troubled mind drave me to walk abroad;

Where, underneath the grove of sycamore

That westward rooteth from the city's side,

So early walking did I see your son:

Towards him I made, but he was ware of me

And stole into the covert of the wood:

I, measuring his affections by my own,

That most are busied when they're most alone,

Pursued my humour not pursuing his,

And gladly shunn'd who gladly fled from me.

MONTAGUE

He, his own affections' counsellor,

Is to himself--I will not say how true--

But to himself so secret and so close,

So far from sounding and discovery,

As is the bud bit with an envious worm,

Ere he can spread his sweet leaves to the air,

Or dedicate his beauty to the sun.

Could we but learn from whence his sorrows grow?

We would as willingly give cure as know.

Enter ROMEO

BENVOLIO

See, where he comes: so please you, step aside;

I'll know his grievance, or be much denied.

Exeunt MONTAGUE and LADY MONTAGUE

BENVOLIO

Good-morrow, cousin.

ROMEO

Is the day so young?

BENVOLIO

But new struck nine.

ROMEO

Ay me! Sad hours seem long.

Was that my father that went hence so fast?

BENVOLIO

It was. What sadness lengthens Romeo's hours?

ROMEO

Not having that, which, having, makes them short.

BENVOLIO

In love?

ROMEO

Out—

BENVOLIO

Of love?

ROMEO

Out of her favour, where I am in love.

BENVOLIO

With whom?

ROMEO

Rosaline and she'll not be hit

With Cupid's arrow; she hath Dian's wit.

BENVOLIO

Then she hath sworn that she will still live chaste?

ROSALINE (music starts from off stage)

Oh oh, oh oh….I'm in love with Jesus, Jesus (music stops abruptly)

ROMEO

She hath, and in that sparing makes huge waste -

ROSALINE (Enters dressed in a nun’s habit in the style of Lady Gaga)

Oh oh, oh oh….I'm in love with Jesus, Jesus

JESUS enters right behind her

Jesus, Je-sa sa Jesus, Je-sa sa Jesus, Je-sa sa Jesus, Ros –sa-sa

JESUS and ROSALINE engage in a choreographed dance in the style of the Lady Gaga Judas video

Jesus, Je-sa sa Jesus, Je-sa sa Jesus, Je-sa sa Jesus, Ros –sa-sa

ROMEO (to Benvolio referring to Jesus and Rosaline who are still dancing)

For beauty starved with her sev-er-ity

Cuts beauty off from all poster-i-ty.

She is too fair, too wise, wisely too fair,

Even after three times, she betrays me

Ahhhhh   Ahhhhh

Live dead to tell it now.  Live dead to tell it now.

A king with no crown.  King with no crown.

ROSALINE (Gesturing Romeo over her shoulder)

I'm just a holy fool.

ROMEO(to Rosaline)

Oh, baby you’re so cruel.

ROSALINE

But I'm still in love with Jesus, baby

I'm just a holy fool.

ROMEO

Oh, baby you’re so cruel.

JESUS

But she’s still in love with Jesus, baby.

ROSALINE

Oh oh, oh oh I'm in love with Jesus, Jesus.

ROSALINE, ROMEO, BENVOLIO, JESUS (all singing and dancing together)

Oh oh, oh oh I'm in love with Jesus,

Jesus, Je-sa sa Jesus, Je-sa sa Jesus, Je-sa sa Jesus, Ros –sa-sa (abruptly stops – Jesus and Rosaline exit)

BENVOLIO

Alas, that love, so gentle in his view,

Should be so tyrannous and rough in proof!

ROMEO

Alas, that love, whose view is muffled still,

Should, without eyes, see pathways to his will!

Where shall we dine?

O me! What fray was here?

Yet tell me not, for I have heard it all.

Here's much to do with hate, but more with love.

Why, then, O brawling love! O loving hate!

O any thing, of nothing first create!

O heavy lightness! serious vanity!

Mis-shapen chaos of well-seeming forms!

Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire,

sick health!

Still-waking sleep, that is not what it is!

This love feel I, that feel no love in this.

Dost thou not laugh?

BENVOLIO

No, coz, I rather weep.

ROMEO

Good heart, at what?

(Servant enters and hands Benvolio and invitation and exits)

BENVOLIO

At thy good heart's oppression.

Coz, I just obtained an invitation to a party

At this same ancient feast of Capulet's

Sups the fair Rosaline whom thou so lovest,

With all the admired beauties of Verona:

Go thither; and, with unattainted eye,

Compare her face with some that I shall show,

And I will make thee think thy swan a crow.

ROMEO

When the devout religion of mine eye

Maintains such falsehood, then turn tears to fires;

And these, who often drown'd could never die,

Transparent heretics, be burnt for liars!

One fairer than my love! the all-seeing sun

Ne'er saw her match since first the world begun.

BENVOLIO

Tut, you saw her fair, none else being by,

Herself poised with herself in either eye:

But in that crystal scales let there be weigh'd

Your lady's love against some other maid….

BENVOLIO begins singing “I Just Haven’t Met You Yet” by Michael Buble

BENVOLIO

I'm not surprised

Not everything lasts

You've broken your heart so many times

I stopped keeping track.

ROMEO

Talk myself in,

I talk myself out.

I get all worked up

Then I let myself down.

I tried so very hard not to lose it

BENVOLIO

You came up with a million excuses

ROMEO

I thought I thought of every possibility

BENVOLIO

And I know someday that it'll all turn out

She'll make you work so you can work to work it out

And I promise you kid that you'll give so much more than you get

You just haven't met Juliet

Mmmmm ....

BENVOLIO

You might have to wait

ROMEO

I'll never give up

BENVOLIO

I guess it's half timing

ROMEO

And the other half's luck

BENVOLIO

Wherever you are

ROMEO

Whenever it's right

BENVOLIO

She'll come out of nowhere and into your life

JULIET enters

ROMEO (to JULIET)

And I know that we can be so amazing

JULIET (to ROMEO)

And baby your love is gonna change me

ROMEO

And now I can see every possibility

Hmmmmm ......

ROMEO and JULIET holding hands and singing in unison

ROMEO and JULIET

And somehow I know that it'll all turn out

And you'll make me work so we can work to work it out

ROMEO

And I promise you kid I'll give so much more than I get

JULIET

You just haven't met me yet

ROMEO

They say all's fair

JULIET

In love and war

ROMEO

But I won't need to fight it

JULIET

We'll get it by it

ROMEO and JULIET

We'll be united

ROMEO and JULIET dance during the interlude

ROMEO

And I know that we can be so amazing

JULIET

And being in your life is gonna kill me

ROMEO

And now I can see every single possibility

Hmmm .....

JULIET exits

ROMEO

And someday I know it'll all turn out

BENVOLIO enters

 And I'll work to work it out

BENVOLIO

Promise you kid

ROMEO

I'll give more than I get

Than I get, than I get, than I get!

MERCUTIO enters

BENVOLIO, ROMEO and MERCUTIO (Dancing like the Rockettes)

Oh you know it'll all turn out

And you'll make me work so we can work to work it out

And I promise you kid to give so much more than I get

Yeah I just haven't met Juliet

ROMEO at center stage

ROMEO

I just haven't met Juliet

Oh promise you kid

To give so much more than I get

MERCUTIO and BENVOLIO

I said love love love love love love love .....

ROMEO

I just haven't met you yet

MERCUTIO and BENVOLIO

I said love love love love love love love .....

ROMEO

I just haven't met you yet

BENVOLIO

So come with me, Romeo

That I will show you shining at this feast,

And she shall scant show well that now shows best.

ROMEO

I'll go along, no such sight to be shown,

But to rejoice in splendor of mine own.

Exeunt

Scene 2:  We Coulda Had it All

JULIET

Come, night; come, Romeo; come, thou day in night;

For thou wilt lie upon the wings of night

Whiter than new snow on a raven's back.

Come, gentle night, come, loving, black-brow'd night,

Give me my Romeo; and, when he shall die,

Take him and cut him out in little stars,

And he will make the face of heaven so fine

That all the world will be in love with night

And pay no worship to the garish sun.

Nurse enters weeping

O, here comes my nurse,

And she brings news; and every tongue that speaks

But Romeo's name speaks heavenly eloquence.

Nurse

Tybalt is gone, and Romeo banished;

Romeo that kill'd him, he is banished.

JULIET

O God! did Romeo's hand shed Tybalt's blood?

NURSE

It did, it did; alas the day, it did!

JULIET

O serpent heart, hid with a flowering face!

Juliet sings Adele’s "Rolling in the Deep"

There's a fire starting in my heart,

Reaching a fever pitch and it's bringing me out the dark.

(Romeo enters with a sword to attack Tybalt)

Finally I can see you crystal clear

Go ahead and sell me out and I'll lay your ship bare.

ROMEO (TO TYBALT)

See how I'll leave, with every piece of you

TYBALT (TO ROMEO)

Don't underestimate the things that I will do.

ALL

There's a fire starting in my heart,

Reaching a fever pitch

JULIET

it's bringing me out the dark.

(Tybalt and Romeo fight while Juliet looks on)

JULIET

The scars of your love, remind me of us.

They keep me thinking that we almost had it all

(Tybalt wounds Romeo)

The scars of your love, they leave me breathless

I can't help feeling

(Romeo touches the wound and in a fury stabs Tybalt)

We could have had it all

(Romeo pulls sword out of Tybalt’s chest)

Rolling in the deep

(Romeo looks at the blood on his hands)

You had my heart inside your hand

And you played it

To the beat – (music stops abruptly)

ROMEO

O I am fortune’s fool!

BENVOLIO

Romeo stand not amazed be gone

(Romeo goes to Friar Laurence who enters from the left)

ROMEO

Spakest thou of Juliet? how is it with her?

Doth she not think me an old murderer,

Now I have stain'd the childhood of our joy

With blood removed but little from her own?

Where is she? and how doth she? and what says

My conceal'd lady to our cancell'd love?

Nurse

O, she says nothing, sir, but weeps and weeps;

And now falls on her bed; and then starts up,

And Tybalt calls; and then on Romeo cries,

And then down falls again.

ROMEO

As if that name,

Shot from the deadly level of a gun,

Did murder her;

Rolling in the Deep continues

ROMEO

Baby I have no story to be told

NURSE

But I've heard one of you

JULIET (from beyond enters)

and I'm gonna make your head burn,

ROMEO (grabs a knife to kill himself)

Think of me in the depths of your despair

Make a home down there as mine sure won't be shared

FRIAR (grabs knife strikes Romeo)

The scars of your love, remind you of….

Juliet enters and sings to Romeo center stage

us.  They keep me thinking

ROMEO

that we almost had it all

JULIET

The scars of your love,

ROMEO

they leave me breathless

JULIET

I can't help feeling

TOGETHER

We could have had it all

(A past version of Romeo and Juliet enter recreating the balcony scene as the present Romeo and Juliet look on)

Rolling in the deep

You had my heart inside your hand

(Romeo kissing her at the balcony)

And you played it

To the beat (Juliet exits from the balcony and Romeo runs into the forest)

JULIET (TO ROMEO)

We could have had it all

ROMEO (with remorse)

Rolling in the deep

JULIET

You had my heart inside your hand

(they touch hands like the palmer’s kiss from Act I, Scene 5)

ROMEO

But I played it

With a beating

FRIAR (to Romeo)

Throw your soul through every open door

Count your blessings to find what you look for

(Romeo kisses the Friar’s hand and exits)

JULIET (TO FRIAR)

Turn my sorrow into treasured gold

Friar (hands vile to Juliet and pats her head)

You pay me back in kind

(Juliet lies down)

(Romeo takes a vile from the apothecary)

APOTHOCARY

and reap just what you sow (music stops)

ROMEO (enters tomb and sits by Juliet with dram of poison)

I set up my everlasting rest,

And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars

From this world-wearied flesh. Eyes, look your last!

Arms, take your last embrace! and, lips, O you

The doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss

A dateless bargain to engrossing death!

Come, bitter conduct, come, unsavoury guide!

Thou desperate pilot, now at once run on

The dashing rocks thy sea-sick weary bark!

Here's to my love!

JULIET (awakens)

Where is my Romeo?

What's here? a cup, closed in my true love's hand?

Poison, I see, hath been his timeless end:

O churl! drunk all, and left no friendly drop

To help me after? I will kiss thy lips;

Haply some poison yet doth hang on them,

To make die with a restorative.

(Kisses him)

Thy lips are warm.

I'll be brief. O happy dagger!

(Snatching ROMEO's dagger)

This is thy sheath;

(Everyone enters slowly from various entry points and look on solemnly)

PRINCE

 Where be these enemies? Capulet! Montague!

See, what a scourge is laid upon your hate,

That heaven finds means to kill your joys with love.

And I for winking at your discords too

Have lost a brace of kinsmen:

all are punish'd.

MONTAGUE (extends a hand to Capulet)

We could have had it all

CAPULET (Accepts Montagues hand)

We could have had it all

(The dead ROMEO and JULIET rise and approach their parents)

We could have had it all

Rolling in the deep

You had my heart inside your hand

And you played it to the beat

We could have had it all

Rolling in the deep

You had my heart inside your hand

But you played it,

You played it,

You played it

You played it to the beat

EPILOGUE

For never was there a tale of more woe,

than that of Juliet and her Romeo.

RUBRIC

D or F performances

· Anything less than the C performances below


C performances


· A complete script for Mr. Pellerin & each group member (no trips to copy machine)

· Script contains:

           o Clear theme

           o Interesting story development

           o Pop music and Shakespearean text integrated

· Performance of scripts, in hand, is moderately smooth. Just periodic stops for technical difficulties

· Costumes

· Performance with all members occurs on the assigned date



B performances


· Has all the above and…

· Script contains:

        o Meaningfully theme – Nuanced and philosophical

        o Complex plot development

        o Songs are meaningful and well placed (though perhaps a bit long, and/or one “note” meanings)

        o Well chosen moments from the text – a strong cross section of the play

· Performance is smooth. Though not memorized, the performers know the material inside and out. Choices about technology, blocking, costumes, and the like are thought out beforehand.



A performances

· Has all the above and…

· Script contains:

        o Themes and concepts are thought provoking. Shows us multiple sides to the issues presented

        o Clear theme – Nuanced and philosophical – Goes beyond stereotypes to get at the heart of the matter

         o Complex plot development and seamlessly thread together as if this were an original play and not a Frankenstein monster of moments

        o Songs are meaningful, well placed and preformed with feeling

        o Well chosen – a Strong cross section of the play – Tight!

· Script is nuanced. Every line is thoughtfully spliced and there is a definite beginning, middle and end to the performance.

· Performance is smooth and choreography is fun and meaningful. All props and cues are hit. One or two members attempted to memorize parts. Members tried to use note cards.

· Costumes and staging are thoughtfully planned ahead of time and a world is created

· We are all speechless

Due Monday, April 2nd - "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare - ACT V

Directions: Choose a line or lines from Hamlet which have especially moved or impressed you and briefly explain why.

Due Thursday, March 29th - Hamlet - ACT IV

Directions:  Please read Hamlet, Act IV and comment in this blog space using at least 2-3 direct quotations from the text.  Please view and utilize the three performances of Ophelia's lament.  You may, also, use the questions below as a guide.

Questions for Exploration:

1. In scene one of Act IV, what is the King's major concern? In what line does he express it? Is the metaphor of the "foul disease" an expression of hypocrisy or truth?

2. In scene two, Hamlet compares Rosencrantz to a sponge. How does he justify this metaphor?

3. In considering what to do about Hamlet's murdering Polonius, the King sees himself as restricted. How?

4. How do Hamlet's comments on the whereabouts of Polonius' body reveal an attitude that he has expressed earlier in the play?

5. Explain Hamlet's comment to the King in response to the question, "Where is Polonius?"

6. When Hamlet is on the way to the ship that is going to bear him to England, he meets a captain in Fortinbras' army. Where is the army going? How important is the battle?

7. In Hamlet's soliloquy which begins, "How all occasions do inform against me..." how does Hamlet evaluate his own actions and those of Fortinbras?

8. Describe Ophelia's state of mind in scene five. Apart from having been driven to distraction or madness by the murder of her father, is there any significance to the content of her ramblings?

9. In Act IV, both Laertes and Fortinbras can be seen as foils to Hamlet. How?

10. How is it that Hamlet is the only man captured by the pirates when they attack the ship that is carrying him to England?

11. Why does the King decide that he must persuade Laertes to murder Hamlet?


12. What is ironic about the King's advice to Laertes.

Ophelia Performances:

Due Tuesday, March 27th - Henry V

Directions:  Please read the following background material, persuasive speech material from your English Composition, and the speech from Henry V.  View and comment on the performances below.  Take note of the time period in which each was made.  What was going on in world at the time?  How did time impact the performances?


Background:   Although Shakespeare penned this work nearly two hundred years after the Battle of Agincourt (1415), it remains the finest dramatic interpretation of what leadership meant to the men in the Middle Ages. Prior to the Battle, Henry V had led his English footmen across Northwestern France, seizing Calais and other cities in an attempt to win back holds in France that had once been in English possession and to claim the French crown through the obscure but powerful Salig Law.   The French, aware of Henry's troops weaking condition because of their distance from England and the attacks of Dysentery that had plagued the dwindling band, moved between King Henry and Calais, the port he needed to reach in order to return to England. The troops followed Henry's band along the rivers, preventing their crossing and daring them to a battle they thought they could not win.   The English knights fought on foot after the manner devised by Edward III. Archers were to be used in support, the English and Welsh longbows having established their credentials both at Crecy (1347) and at Poiters (1356). But here the French seemed to have sufficient numbers to deal with even this threat, and they refused to allow Henry pass, angered by the English seizure of the cities.   Morale in the English line as they looked upon the overwhelming force of heavily armoured, highly skilled French knights must have been extremely low. King Henry, rising to the occasion, spoke words of encouragement that rallied the English troops and carried them to a victory. As a result of the victory the French Princess Catherine was betrothed to Henry V, and France and England were at peace for the remainder of Henry's short life. He perished of dysentery in 1422, but was survived by his son (Henry VI) and was buried at Westminster Abbey, close to the shrine of Edward the Confessor.
Although the speech below is a work of fiction, it is evocative of the spirit with which Henry--and all strong medieval kings--ruled through the strength of their convictions and by force of their personality.

The Speech:

WESTMORELAND. O that we now had here
    But one ten thousand of those men in England
    That do no work to-day!
 
KING. What's he that wishes so?
    My cousin Westmoreland? No, my fair cousin;
    If we are mark'd to die, we are enow
    To do our country loss; and if to live,
    The fewer men, the greater share of honour.
    God's will! I pray thee, wish not one man more.
    By Jove, I am not covetous for gold,
    Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost;
    It yearns me not if men my garments wear;
    Such outward things dwell not in my desires.
    But if it be a sin to covet honour,
    I am the most offending soul alive.
    No, faith, my coz, wish not a man from England.
    God's peace! I would not lose so great an honour
    As one man more methinks would share from me
    For the best hope I have. O, do not wish one more!
    Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host,
    That he which hath no stomach to this fight,
    Let him depart; his passport shall be made,
    And crowns for convoy put into his purse;
    We would not die in that man's company
    That fears his fellowship to die with us.
    This day is call'd the feast of Crispian.
    He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
    Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam'd,
    And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
    He that shall live this day, and see old age,
    Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
    And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian.'
    Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
    And say 'These wounds I had on Crispian's day.'
    Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
    But he'll remember, with advantages,
    What feats he did that day. Then shall our names,
    Familiar in his mouth as household words-
    Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter,
    Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester-
    Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb'red.
    This story shall the good man teach his son;
    And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
    From this day to the ending of the world,
    But we in it shall be remembered-
    We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
    For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
    Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
    This day shall gentle his condition;
    And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
    Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
    And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
    That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.




Learn from the Greeks:


 PATHOS: Appeal to the emotions, values or prejudices of the audience.
 LOGOS: Appeal to logic or reason.
 ETHOS: Ask for the audience to believe or agree with the speaker based on their credibility/trustworthiness.


Elements of an appeal:

 Acknowledge an opponent and/or their opposing viewpoint or argument
 Cite evidence from credible authorities, make historical references or quote well-known texts
 Mention an individual’s experience or tell a story from personal history
 Compare/contrast events, things, ideas
 Use figurative language, such as metaphors, similes, alliteration



Henry V - 1944 - Laurence Olivier

Henry V - 1988 - Kenneth Brannagh

Independence Day - 1996 - Bill Pullman

Due Monday, March 26th - Hamlet by William Shakespeare - ACT III

Finish reading Act III, and comment on the play so far.  Use 2-3 direct quotations from the text in your response.

Due Monday, March 26th - To be or not to be...

Please peruse the "Shakespeare of the Day" selection:  The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.  Which performance do you like best?  Why? Compose a comprehensive response with your reasons why.  Include lines from the passage, and think about Hamlet's state of mind in the context of the events that come before and after this speech.  


Hamlet (III. i. 64-96)

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. To die, to sleep –

No more – and by a sleep to say we end

The heartache and the thousand natural shocks

That flesh is heir to – `tis a consummation

Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep –

To sleep, perchance to dream.  Ay, there's the rub,

For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,

When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,

Must give us pause. There's the respect

That makes calamity of so long life.

For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,

Th' oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,

The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,

The insolence of office, and the spurns

That patient merit of th' unworthy takes,

When he himself might his quietus make

With a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear,

To grunt and sweat under a weary life,

But that the dread of something after death,

The undiscovered country from whose bourn

No traveler returns, puzzles the will

And makes us rather bear those ills we have,

Than fly to others that we know not of?

Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,

And thus the native hue of resolution

Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,

And enterprises of great pitch and moment

With this regard their currents turn awry

And lose the name of action.

Below are four different interpretations of Hamlet's famous soliloquy from Act 3, scene 1.Please view all four clips in the following order:

1) 1948 - The timeless performance by Laurence Olivier.

2) 2000 - Ethan Hawke's Hamlet drifts into a Blockbuster video. Notice which section he walks through.

3) 1996 - Kenneth Brannah's Hamlet speaking a mirror image of himself (Note: Hamlet's Uncle Claudius and Polonius are hiding behind the glass).

4) 2009 - David Tennant's Hamlet - A more modern and nuanced performance.

5) 1990 - Mel Gibson's Hamlet - Notice the choice of location and the intensity of the performance.

Due Tuesday, March 20th - Hamlet - Act III, Scenes i & ii

Please read Hamlet, Act III, scenes i & ii and compose a blog response using at least 2-3 major quotations from the text in your response.  Think about the themes, characterization, use of dramatic irony, etc.  Be bold.  Be brilliant.

Due Monday, March 19th - Hamlet - ACT II

Please finish reading Act II, and compose a blog response.  Think about the mindset of Hamlet at this time.  Please choose 1-2 quotations that give us insights into the mind of Hamlet.  Read your classmates' responses and come up with something fresh.  There is a lot of ground to cover, here. 

I look forward to your responses.

Due Friday, March 9th - The Importance of Composing an Essay

Directions:  Compose an essay using the following prompt and the play The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde.  First, compose the essay as if you are in a 40 minute testing situation and see how you do.  Then, use the text and compose a refined essay to the best of your ability.  Post both in the same document to Turnitin.com.  Make sure each is labeled.

Prompt

Q3 for 2016.  Many works of literature contain a character who intentionally deceives others. The character’s dishonesty may be intended either to help or to hurt. Such a character, for example, may choose to mislead others for personal safety, to spare someone’s feelings, or to carry out a crime. Choose a novel or play in which a character deceives others. Then, in a well-written essay, analyze the motives for that character’s deception and discuss how the deception contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde 

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/844/844-h/844-h.htm

Introduction to Shakespeare

First Performed	Plays	First Printed
1590-91	Henry VI, Part I (H)	1594?
1590-91	Henry VI, Part II (H)	1594?
1591-92	Henry VI, Part III (H)	1623
1592-93	Richard III (T)	1597
1592-93	Comedy of Errors (C)	1623
1593-94	Titus Andronicus (T)	1594
1593-94	Taming of the Shrew (C)	1623
1594-95	Two Gentlemen of Verona (C)	1623
1594-95	Love's Labour's Lost (C)	1598?
1594-95	Romeo and Juliet (T)	1597
1595-96	Richard II (T)	1597
1595-96	A Midsummer Night's Dream (C)	1600
1596-97	King John (H)	1623
1596-97	The Merchant of Venice (C)	1600
1597-98	Henry IV, Part I (H)	1598
1597-98	Henry IV, Part II (H)	1600
1598-99	Much Ado About Nothing (C)	1600
1598-99	Henry V (H)	1600
1599-1600	Julius Caesar (T)	1623
1599-1600	As You Like It (C)	1623
1599-1600	Twelfth Night (C)	1623
1600-01	Hamlet (T)	1603
1600-01	The Merry Wives of Windsor (C)	1602
1601-02	Troilus and Cressida (P)	1609
1602-03	All's Well That Ends Well (P)	1623
1604-05	Measure for Measure (P)	1623
1604-05	Othello (T)	1622
1605-06	King Lear (T)	1608
1605-06	Macbeth (T)	1623
1606-07	Antony and Cleopatra (T)	1623
1607-08	Coriolanus (T)	1623
1607-08	Timon of Athens (T)	1623
1608-09	Pericles (R)	1609
1609-10	Cymbeline (T)	1623
1610-11	The Winter's Tale (R)	1623
1611-12	The Tempest (R)	1623
1612-13	Henry VIII (H)	1623
1612-13	The Two Noble Kinsmen* (C)	1634

This chart shows samples of the changes in English. 

#1 is Old English or Anglo-Saxon (circa 450-1066 CE). 

#2 is Middle English (circa 1066-1450 AD). 

#3 is Modern English from about the time of Shakespeare. 

#4 is another sample of Modern English, but it is more recent than #3.

Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare

Saturninus, son to the late Emperor of Rome, [afterwards declared Emperor]

Bassianus, brother to Saturninus, in love with Lavinia

Titus Andronicus, a Roman, general against the Goths

Marcus Andronicus, tribune of the people, and brother to Titus

Lucius, Quintus, Martius, Mutius, sons to Titus Andronicus

Lavinia, daughter to Titus Andronicus

Young Lucius, a boy, son to Lucius

Tamora, queen of the Goths

Alarbus, Demetrius, Chiron, sons to Tamora

Aaron, a Moor, beloved by Tamora