Monday, September 26, 2011

Monday 26 September 2011

Vocabulary 2 due Friday 30 September
In class: review of act II
Writing response to Hamlet's second soliloquy, which you were asked to review carefully for today.

Prior to writing we'll watch
David Tennants O what a Rogue and Pesant Slave am I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qj2hvp2u930&feature=related

Handout of questions below. These will count as a test grade. Please take your time with them.
Hamlet Act III study questions Due Wednesday.

1. Polonius gives his daughter Ophelia a book to read as a distraction whilst
waiting for Hamlet. The subject of the book is about “an exercise may colour
Your loneliness. We are oft to blame in this,--
'Tis too much proved--that with devotion's visage (visage - face)
And pious action we do sugar o'er
The devil himself.” (III.I.51-55)
Explain the meaning of these lines and their irony in being said in the presence of Claudius.

2.
Hamlet initially denies having loved Ophelia when she returns his love letters.
Where does he tell her to go, how should she behave if she does not go there and finally, where from are these words provoked?
Read over III.i.131-62.


3 Ophelia is distraught and Claudius is piqued. This kid is not in love, but trouble.
Where does he intend to send him and for what reason? see III.i.176-89.


4. Hamlet is giving the travelling players some new lines- as well as acting advice;
albeit one may say, he’s somewhat arrogant, his words are hallmarks of good acting.
List a half-dozen qualities of fine acting; then state what ultimately is the purpose of acting.
See III.ii.1-45.


5. The play within the play. What is the quiddity (essence) of this piece
and how does Claudius react/? See III.ii.253-95.


6. What is Hamlet’s reaction to Guildenstern’s pestering him
about the prince’s behavior to his uncle and mother? III.ii.378-402.

7. Hamlet is off to have a chat with his Mum. What are his intentions?
III.ii.419-32.


8 How does Claudius feel about his own crime? What does he physically do?
III.iii. 40-5.

9 Why does Hamlet decide not to kill Claudius now? When would be a better time?
III.iii.77-100.


10 What does Hamlet do, when he hears the noise behind the arras? III.iv.28-9.






11. Paraphrase the potent descriptions that Hamlet uses to compare his father to his uncle. . Why is it impossible for his mother to be in love with Claudius III.iv.63-98The ghost appears, or is it a figment of the prince’s imagination?
What does he tell Hamlet? And how does his mother react? III.iv. 118-56.




12. Explain these words of Hamlet: “I must be cruel, only to be kind.” III.iv.194-200







13. Hamlet is about to head off to England along with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
How much does Hamlet trust these schoolfellows and what is in the sealed letters? III.iv.225-8)

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Friday 23 September puns, vocabulary 2



In class: vocabulary quiz.


puns copy of handout below. If you are absent, complete the assignment.



Puns
"A Play on Words"
Using a word or words that have more than 1 meaning.
Examples:
1. I recently spent money on detergent to unclog my kitchen sink. It was money down the drain.
2. Our social studies teacher says that her globe means the world to her.
3. A jury is never satisfied with the verdict. The jury always returns it.
4. Sir Lancelot once had a very bad dream about his horse. It was a knight mare.
5. A dog not only has a fur coat but also pants.
6. Today I've got a pressing engagement. I must go to the cleaners.
7. The principal part of a horse is the mane, of course.
8. Having lots of good cookbooks only makes sense. They contain such stirring events.
9. If you want to make a pun from dunlop. Then lop off the lop and the pun is dun.
10. I used to be twins. My mother has a picture of me when I was two.
11. I work as a baker because I knead dough.
12. What is the difference between a conductor and a teacher?
The conductor minds the train and a teacher trains the mind.
AND…
1.I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me.
2. I couldn't quite remember how to throw a boomerang, but eventually it came back to me.
3. Did you hear about the guy whose whole left side was cut off? He's all right now.
4. He drove his expensive car into a tree and found out how the Mercedes bends.
5. There was a sign on the lawn at a drug re-hab center that said 'Keep off the Grass'.
6. Police were called to a daycare where a three-year-old was resisting a rest.
7. To write with a broken pencil is pointless.
8. A small boy swallowed some coins and was taken to a hospital. When his grandmother telephoned to ask how he was, a nurse said 'No change yet'.
9. What did the grape say when it got stepped on? Nothing - but it let out a little whine.
10. The butcher backed up into the meat grinder and got a little behind in his work.
There are many puns. Think of words or phrases that sound similar to others.

Using the patterns above, you are to write two puns. In case you need help getting started, here are some suggestions:
in Seine denial (ne nile)
Taiwan (tie one) antifreeze (aunty frees)
newly weds (newly webs) defeat (de feet)
Tylenol (tile and all) liability (lie ability)
patients (virtue/doctors' patients) optical illusion (optical Aleutian)
appeal (a peel)
Lettuce (let us)
seasons (salt and pepper or Holiday)
ice day/nice day
well
sew/so
comb (rooster's comb/people's comb)




Due on Monday: read all of Act 2. carefully, making sure your have familiarized yourself well with the soliloquy that closes the second act.
Questions? let me know before Monday.

Handout of vocabulary 2 DUE FRIDAY 30 SEPTEMBER


O, What A Rogue And Peasant Slave Am I (Spoken by Hamlet)



O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I!
Is it not monstrous that this player here,
But in a fiction, in a dream of passion,
Could force his soul so to his own conceit
That from her working all his visage wann'd,
Tears in his eyes, distraction in's aspect,
A broken voice, and his whole function suiting
With forms to his conceit? and all for nothing!
For Hecuba!
What's Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba,
That he should weep for her? What would he do,
Had he the motive and the cue for passion
That I have? He would drown the stage with tears
And cleave the general ear with horrid speech,
Make mad the guilty and appal the free,
Confound the ignorant, and amaze indeed
The very faculties of eyes and ears. Yet I,
A dull and muddy-mettled rascal, peak,
Like John-a-dreams, unpregnant of my cause,
And can say nothing; no, not for a king,
Upon whose property and most dear life
A damn'd defeat was made. Am I a coward?
Who calls me villain? breaks my pate across?
Plucks off my beard, and blows it in my face?
Tweaks me by the nose? gives me the lie i' the throat,
As deep as to the lungs? who does me this?
Ha!
'Swounds, I should take it: for it cannot be
But I am pigeon-liver'd and lack gall
To make oppression bitter, or ere this
I should have fatted all the region kites
With this slave's offal: bloody, bawdy villain!
Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindless villain!
O, vengeance!
Why, what an ass am I! This is most brave,
That I, the son of a dear father murder'd,
Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell,
Must, like a whore, unpack my heart with words,
And fall a-cursing, like a very drab,
A scullion!
Fie upon't! foh! About, my brain! I have heard
That guilty creatures sitting at a play
Have by the very cunning of the scene
Been struck so to the soul that presently
They have proclaim'd their malefactions;
For murder, though it have no tongue, will speak
With most miraculous organ. I'll have these players
Play something like the murder of my father
Before mine uncle: I'll observe his looks;
I'll tent him to the quick: if he but blench,
I know my course. The spirit that I have seen
May be the devil: and the devil hath power
To assume a pleasing shape; yea, and perhaps
Out of my weakness and my melancholy,
As he is very potent with such spirits,
Abuses me to damn me: I'll have grounds
More relative than this: the play 's the thing
Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king.



Below is a copy of vocabulary 2, which is due at the beginning of class Friday 30 September


Vocabulary 2 definitions
accost- verb-to approach or speak first; to confront in a challenging or aggressive way; approach, confront
animadversion – noun- a comment indicating strong criticism or disapproval; rebuke, reproof

avid – adj- desirous or something to the point of greed; eager; keen, enthusiastic

brackish – adj – having a salty taste and unpleasant to drink; briny, saline

celerity – adj – swiftness, rapidity of motion or action; promptness, alacrity, speed

devious – adj- staying from the straight or direct course; acting in a shifty or underhanded way; tricky,
roundabout, sly, artful

gambit – noun – in chess an opening move that involves risk or sacrifice of a minor piece in order to
gain a later advantage; any opening move of this type; ploy, stratagem, ruse, maneuver

halcyon –noun – calm, peaceful, happy, golden, prosperous; tranquil, serene, placid, palmy

histrionic – adj – theatrical, artificial, melodramatic; affected, stagy

incendiary –adj- deliberately setting or causing fire or strife; inflammatory, provocative

maelstrom – adj- a whirlpool of great size and violence- a situation resembling a whirlpool in
violence or destruction; vortex, chaos, turbulence, tumult

myopic –adj- nearsighted, lacking a broad, realistic view of a situation, lack of foresight or
discernment; shortsighted

overt –adj- open, not hidden; expressed or revealed; clear, obvious, manifest, patent

pejorative – adj – tending to make worse, expressing disapproval; derogatory; belittling

propriety –noun – the state of being proper or appropriate; fitness, correctness, decorum

sacrilege- noun- improper or disrespectful treatment of something considered sacred, desecration, profanation, defilement

summarily – adverb – without delay or formality; concisely; promptly, abrubtly

suppliant – adj – asking humbly and earnestly;

talisman – noun – an object that serves as a charm or is believed to have magical powers.

undulate – verb – to move in waves or a wavelike motion, ripple, fluctuate, rise and fall




Vocabulary 2, exercise 2. Choose the word that best completes each of the following sentences. Make sure to use the correct verb tense or plural as needed.


1. Although a heavy snowfall was not expected, the highway department responded with surprising __________________________.

2. Many innocent people caught in the ______________________ of the revolution lost their lives and property.

3. The nobleman was ____________________ by the beggars on his way to the castle.

4 The interrogator used ____________________ methods to try to get the suspect to inciminate himself.

5 The baseball fans began to _____________________ as they cheered, so that they appeared to move like a wave.

6 The social worker questioned the ________________________ of the police’s request to see confidential records.

7 The shipwrecked passengers on the life raft became ill after drinking _____________________ water.

8 The woman often spoke of the ____________________ days of her youth.

9 He made a ______________________ address to the parole board, asking for an early release.

10. The arsonist planted a(n) __________________________ bomb in the basement of the store.

11 The _____________________ foreign policy of the last administration led to serious problems with
our allies.

12 Upon receiving his award, the young actor made a(n) _____________________ speech.

13. The anthropologist was accused of committing a __________________________ when she
disturbed an ancient burial ground.

14. The lawyer stepped over the line when he used a _____________________ term in referring to the defendant.
15. Many people do not believe that rabbit’s feet and other _________________________bring good
luck.

16. The inexperienced filmmaker was disheartened by the _________________________ of the film critic.

17. Asking an interesting stranger about his or her job is a popular ___________________ at a party.

18 In order for congress to declare war, the president must demonstrate a(n) _______________ threat.

19 As soon as there was evidence of criminal wrong doing, the official was ______________________ ousted from his post.

20. Most writers are also ________________ readers who have loved books since childhood.

Vocabulary 2, exercise 3 Provide either the synonym or antonym for the underlined word.

Synonyms

1. a tireless petitioner ____________________________

2. a lucky amulet ______________________________

3. the vortex of public opinion _____________________________

4. ripple in the current _____________________________

5. was taken in by her stratagem _____________________________

6.outraged by the desecration ____________________________

7. apologized for his
unnecessary rebuke _____________________________

8. swam in the briny water ____________________________

9. abruptly resigned from the cabinet _____________________________

10. behaved with her usual decorum _____________________________

11. memories of our serene beginnings _________________________

12. confronted the thief at the door ________________________

13. completed the job with alacrity _______________________

14. their derogatory references to the past _________________________

15. took an indirect root _________________________

Antonyms

16. identified the peacemaker _________________________

17. make a very low-key plea for mercy ______________________

18. one of the most reluctant participants _________________________

19. known for farsighted thinking ____________________________

20. took secret action to avoid a crisis ___________________________

Vocab 2, exercise 1. Choose the word that best completes each of the following sentences. Make sure to use the correct verb tense or plural as needed
1 To our dismay we discovered that the water we had worked so hard to bring to the surface was too
_______________________ for human consumption.

2. As an employee of the local polling service last summer, it was my job to ______________________ people
on the street and ask them questions.

3. Many a rich southern planter saw all his resources swallowed up in the _________________________ of the
Civil War.
4. After the prisoner had been found guilty of treason, he was led before the firing squad and
___________________ executed.

5. Saying that “people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones” is not an effective response to their
_____________________________ on your conduct.

6. During the rainy season, the highway sank at so many points that its surface began to
_________________________ like the track of a roller coaster.

7. I stand before you an abject _____________________, hoping against hope for your forgiveness.

8. My brother is such a(n) ________________________ collector of toy soldiers that I sometimes think our
house has been invaded by a pint-sized army.

9. The suffix ling often has a _______________________ connotation, as in the word princeling derived from
prince.

10. On the return trip, we cut straight across the meadows rather than taking the
more________________________ path along the river.

11. In grandmother’s day the standards of _________________________ required that a young lady wear a hat
and gloves when she went out in public.

12. The _______________________ in which he accepted out invitation to dinner suggested that he was badly
in need of a good meal.

13. The tons of ____________________________ material ignited and turned the waste disposal plant into a
towering inferno.

14. In the eyes of most Americans, people who spit or burn the flag are guilty of an intolerable _____________.¬¬¬¬¬

15. We looked back at those ____________________________ years before the war as a kind of “golden age”
in our history.

16. Any book on chess strategy usually discusses the standard opening moves, such as the “knight’s”
_____________________________.

17. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was a(n) _______________ act of war.

18. Down in the old square, a wrinkled old peasant was selling charms and ____________________ to warn off
the evil eye.

19. Her temper tantrum was nothing more than a (n) ________________________ outburst.

21. Her pale face, hunched shoulders and _______________ stare showed that she had spent her life pouring over old books and documents.
Vocabulary 2, exercise 4 Circle the correct word for each sentence.

1. Her reckless words had an (incendiary, overt) effect on the already large crowd and large-scaled rioting
ensued.
2. He is the kind of person who is not concerned with real moral values but simply with appearances and
(celerity, propriety).
3. He regarded his Phi Beta Kappa key as a (animadversion, talisman) that would open him all doors and win
him universal acceptance.
4. After years of failure to sell a single story, the young writer described himself bitterly as a(n) ( pejoratives,
avid ) collector of rejection slips.
5. She was buffeted about in a veritable (gambit, maelstrom) of emotions caused mainly by her own
dissatisfaction with herself.
6. His methods were so complicated and his purposes so (avid, devious) that we were not sure whether he was
spying on the enemy or us.
7. Without even considering the new evidence that I was about to present, they (summarily, deviously) denied
my appeal to reopen the case.
8. In an age when the United States has truly global responsibilities, we can ill afford leaders with (myopic,
pejorative) points of view.
9. The adoring fan regarded my negative comment about his favorite singer as tantamount to (maelstrom,
sacrilege).
10. I certainly do not claim that my performance in office was beyond critics, but I deeply resent
(animadversions, maelstroms) on my honesty.
11. Although politicians must have some ability to dramatize themselves, it is very easy to overdo the
(proprieties, histrionics).
12. As the defendant left the courtroom, he was (accosted, gambited) by a group of reporters looking for his
reaction to the verdict.
13. Walt tends to react slowly, but when he feels his own interests are at stake, he can react with (myopia,
celerity).
14. Since the word appeasement is associated with disastrous concessions to Adolf Hitler, it has acquired a(n)
(pejorative, overt) connotation.
15. John Masefield’s poem “Sea Fever” has an (avid, undulating) rhythm that actually gives one the feeling of
being on a rolling ship.
16. “His acts of defiance have been so (myopic, overt) and premeditated that I have no choice but to fire him,”
she said sadly.
17. Instead of imbibing the (brackish, suppliant) waters of superstition, let us refresh ourselves with long
draughts of common sense.
18. “I realize that this type of (gambit, sacrilege) has its risks,” she said, “but I expect it to pay off handsomely
in the end.
19. Nary a ripple disturbed the (halcyon, brackish) calm of the sea on that glorious summer afternoon.

20. The infatuated school boy, in one of his more restrained expressions, described himself as a (suppliant,
sacrilege) on the altar of love.















.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Thursday 22 September Act II Hamlet

Vocabulary test tomorrow.
Please read Act II. by Monday. Take your time and check the notes below.
In class: we are watching Act Ii.ii. beginning on approximately line 187; as this is a comparison
among three productions, the lines commence at differenct points. If you are absent, this is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDwv_6PuH90

After watching the three versions, please fill in the graphic organizer. Hamlet Act II,ii
1. Note the setting.
2. Describe Hamlet’s personality as portrayed by the actor.
3. How does Hamlet interact with Polonius?
4. How does Polonius respond to Hamlet’s words and actions?

Kenn eth Brannagh as Hamlet Ethan Hawke as Hamlet David Tennant as Hamlet

If you have questions, send me a note.
Please make sure you have thoroughly familiarized yourself with the closing solioquy from Act II.
Parker's notes for Act II.i and ii.

Polonious sends Reynaldo to spy on Laertes, the councillor's son, telling the spy to say semi bad things about his son, so that he may ascertain the truth about Laertes' behavior. Shakespeare makes an observation on youth: "wanton, wild, and unusual slips / As are companions most noted and most known / To youth and liberty" ((II.i.23-5).
Now Polonius has a conversation with his daughter Ophelia, who relates to him how a half-dressed Hamlet came to visit her: "his doublets all unbraced"; "his stockings fouled", "pale as his shirt, his knees knocking"
Polonous believes Hamlet is "mad for [Ohpheiia's] love" and so right away wants to tell Gertrude and King Claudius.

Act II.ii. Gertrude and King Claudius have called two friends of Hamlet's, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to the court to cheer Hamlet up. They agree, and, afterwhich, Polonius pops on the scene to say, " I have found / The very cause of Hamlet's lunacy"(51-2). Note how the councillor talks endlessly, and we have his ironic statement "brevity is the soul of wit." Polonius is both a laughable and sympathetic character. Polonius admits that he has told Ophelia that "Hamlet is a prince, out of thy star"; hence with Ophelia's spurning him, he has lost his reason.
So they devise a plan to check out the validity of this thought: "He'll loose [his] daughtet to [Hamlet / ..and " behind an arras then / Mark the encounter" (176-8).

Polonius meets Hamlet and the prince calls the old man a "fishmonger", a slang term for a pimp. Essentially, Hamlet plays word games with Polonius, but Ophelia's father is no putz and observes 'Though this be madness, yet there is / method in 't"(II.ii.223-4).
Comic and serious note: When Polonius tells Hamlet he must take leave, the prince retorts: You cannot take from me anything that I / will more willingly part withal- except my life.

Hamlet catches up with his friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern; he extracts from them the truth that they have been summoned by the king and queen. Important line: ..."but there is /nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it / so"(I.ii.268-69),
Hamlet on life: "I could be bounded in a nutshell and / count myself a king of infinite space, were it not / that I have bad dreams"(II.ii.273-75).
Guidenstern on dreams: ambition... is merely the shadow of a dream.
Hamlet reveals his mental state to his friends in II.ii 326-334. These lines as well celebrate the majesty of being human. PLEASE NOTE CAREFULLY.
His friends reveal that there are players coming to the castle. They show up and Hamlet interacts with them, recolecting a particular play. Polonious is on the scene and he is bored. Hamlet wants him to use the players, but not necessarily to their "just desserts", for according to the Prince, "Use everyman affter his just dessertand who shall 'scape / whipping? (II.ii.556-7).
Act II.ii ends with a soliloquy. Hamlet is in the throws of angst: O what a rogue and peasant slave am I... He devises a plan, concluding "The play's the thing / Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King"(633-34).

Wednesday 21 September Hamlet finishing act I

REMINDER: QUIZ FRIDAY

In class today: review of Act I. check the notes.
What specifically does the ghost tell Hamlet?
Parker's notes:
Act I.iii
Laertes is saying goodbye to his sister Ophelia, as he heads back to school. He gives her brotherly advice: "For Hamlet, and the trifling of his favor, / Hold [you] a fashion and a toy in blood,/...not lasting,/ The perfume and the suppliance of a minute, / No more"(I.iii.6-10), essentially, he's does not look on you as marriage material, and never "lose your heart or your chaste treasure open"(I.iii.35. Keep in mind that a woman's virginity at this time is a bargaining chip (The Elizabethans would have been familiar with this concept in terms of the Henry VIII and Anne Bolyn, Queen Elizabeth's mother, who held out for the throne, but nevertheless lost her head on the chopping block.

Ophelia says she'll listen to her brother, but tells him as well to behave. Shakespeare has her make a dig at hypocritical pastors, who "the primrose path of dalliance treads," while they show their flock "the steep and thorny way to heaven."

Ophelia's father gives advice to his son. His words are good truisms for life:
1. don't be overly familiar with people
2. don't be vulgar
3. don't provoke quarrels, but if attacked fight
4. don't spend money you don't have
5. don't borrow or lend money

Then Polonius expands on Laertes' advice to Ophelia concerning Hamlet.
Note the three meaning of tenders:
"Do you believe his "tenders", as you call them?
Marry, I will teach you. Think yourself a baby
That you have ta'en these tenders for true pay.
Which are not sterling. Tender yourself more dearly,
Or (not to crack the wind of a poor phrase,
Running it thus) you'll tender me a fool.

Act I scene 4 notes
Hamlet remarks how King Claudius "keeps wassail"; that is, he is drunk. And while it is a custom to entertain guests it is "more honored in the brach that the observance"(I.iv.18). The king is vulgar, but has a "viscious mole of nature."

Horatio and Hamlet head up to the ramparts to see the ghost, who comes from "heaven or blasts from hell." Is he good or evil? The ghost bids Hamlet follow him. Horatio worries that the poltergeist might lead him over the walls to the sea below. Or "deprive [Hamlet] of sovereignty of reason / And draw [him] into madness":(I.iv.78-82). Note this as a bit of foreshadowing.
Finally, in this scene we have Marcellus' famous words: "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark"(I.iv.180). These words are applicable, of course, to the play, but they have taken on a metaphorical meaning, indicating that there is a serious problem.

Act I scene 5 notes
Hamlet has gone off to have a private conversation with the ghost, who says, "I am thy father's spirit." Dad continues to explain that he is "forbid / To tell the secrets of his prison house" (I.v.18-9). (The audience would have loved this spooky stuff.) From the description, we know his father is in Purgatory. And this poltergeist reveals that Hamlet should "revenge his foul and most unnatural murder" (I.v.31). Now this is news to Hamlet, who thought his father's demise natural.
How did his father die? Well, a serpent did not sting him, well, actually one did and he now wears the crown. If you have forgotton, that is King Claudius, "that incestuous, adulterate beast." Ok, Hamlet, Sr. wants revenge on his brother, but tells his son to "let thy soul contrive against thy mother naught." Dad's last words are "remember me."

And so Hamlet promises thus. And here's another famous line: "One may smile and smile and be a villain"
Act I ends with Hamlet playing word games with Horatio, Marcellus and Bernardo, who are quite curious to know what has passed between the ghost and Hamlet. Hamlet does not tell and has them swear to secrecy- the ghost gets his last words in as well. No one quite understands what has passed. Is the ghost evil? Anyway, he is "wondrous strange", and Hamlet remarks that "'There are more things in heaven and earth.../ Than are dreamt of in your philosophy"(I.v.187-8).
At this point Hamlet has taken on the responsibility of revenging his father. 'The time is out of joint, O cursed spite / That ever I was born to set it right"(I.v.210-1). (what is implied is not just an obligation, but a fated responsibility.



Wednesday's quiz:





Polonius next gets on his daughter's case about
Hamet and tells her:
...................................Think yourself a baby
That you have ta'en these tenders for true pay,
Which are not sterling. Tender yourself more dearly,
or (not to crack the wind of the poor phrase,
.............................you'll tender me a fool.

Rewrite Polonius' advice in contemporary English. Make sure you note the three tenders.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Tuesday 20 September





Reminder: Second Hamlet vocabulary quiz Friday.






Parker's notes on Hamlet, so farAct I.i.


For two nights Bernardo and Marcellus have watched guard on the ramparts, for it is feared that Fortinbras the Younger, whose father had been killed in battle and also lost some land to the Danes, will seek to recapture this lost acreage. Whilst on guard they have seen a ghost that seems in the visage much like the old King Hamlet, whose demise was but three months ago.These two have informed Horatio, Hamlet's buddy and a member of a higher social class; hence what he says carries more weight. That there has been a ghost "bodes some strange eruption to our state" (I.i.80), notes Horatio. As well, when the world has been out of kilter, such as when "the mightiest Julius fell / The graves stood tenantless, and the sheeted dead / Did squeak and gibber in the Roman streets; / As stars with trains of fire and dews of blood,/ Disaster of the sun"(I.i.125-30), both entertains and entices the audience. In short, Shakespeare is establishing a connection between Hamlet's father's death and other great historical events. In addition, he establishes a tie between the events of mankind and nature.The ghost comes in, but disappears when the cock crows, or when "the morn in russet mantle clad / Walks o'er the dew of youn high eastern hill" (I.i.180-1).






Act I.ii. King Claudius has announced his marriage to "our sometime sister, now our queen, / Th' imperial jointress to this warlike state"(I.ii.8-9). So much for his "valiant brother;" on to the business of state.We have met Laertes, the son of King Claudius' councillor Polonius. This ertwhile friend of Hamlet's has asked the king for permission to head back the school. It is given. King Claudius then importunes Hamlet to no more "persever / In obstinate condolement" (I.ii.96-7), for "'Tis unmanly grief / ...shows a will most incorrect to heaven"(I.ii.99-100). In other words, Hamlet needs to man up and accept his father's dying a natural process and that even God would be offended by his "impatient mind." Besides, now King Claudius is his father.Note Hamlet's solioquy I.ii.(134-164) He contemplates suicide here and notes "fraility thy name is woman." It seems he has a problem with his mum- and maybe that explains his actions towards Ophelia, Polonius's daughter, Laertes' sister. Hamlet and Horatio catch up. Hamlet isn't stupid; he knows that Horatio came for both the funeral and the wedding: "The funeral baked meats / Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables" (I.ii.187-88). Also note that Hamlet accepts his father's faults: "He was a man. Take him for all in all" (I.ii.195); still he acknowledges his father was special: "I shall not look upon his like again" (I.ii.196). So Horatio and Hamlet agree to meet upon the ramparts to talk to the ghost. Hamlet is concerned that his father's spirit is "in arms." Nothing can stop the truth from being revealed: "Foul deeds will rise,/ Though all the earth o'erwhelm them, to men's / eyes (I.ii.279-81).



The following are the questions you are responsible for from having finished ActI.ii. For anyone who checks the blog, this is Tuesday's quiz!



1. To what is the following line a reference?
"With mirth in funeral and dirge in marriage."


2. What is the pun in the following said by Hamlet
when asked by Claudius, "How is it that the clouds hang upon [him]?
"Not so my lord, I am too much in the sun."


3. What are Claudius' arguments against Hamlet's
being so morose? (I.ii.90-120)




4. What is Hamlet bemoaning from his soliloquy* in lines 133-135 from Act I, scene ii?
soliloquy * an utterance or discourse by a person who is talking to himself or herself or is disregardful of or oblivious to any hearers present (often used as a device in drama to disclose a character's innermost thoughts)


5. Describe the tone of these words of Hamlet's:
Thrift, thrift, Horatio. The funeral baked meats
Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables (I.ii.187-8).




6. What does Hamlet mean when he says to Horatio
of his father, He was a man, Take him for all in all /
I shall not look upon his like again (I.ii.195-196).




7. Hamlet will meet Horatio "'eleven and twelve" ; then notes
"All is not well...Foul deeds will rise, / Though all the earth o'erwhelm
them, to men's eyes" (I.ii.277-80). Paraphrase the above.



Monday 19 September 2011 Hamlet Act I

Reminder: Hamlet vocabulary quiz 2 on Friday.
In class: Act I. We are reading in class. Please reread what we cover for homework.
Expect a quiz tomorrow.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Friday 16 September Hamlet performances


In class: 1. review of Fortune and Men's Eyes (turn yours in at the beginning of class, if you did not do so yesterday)
2. student interpretive performances

Handout: Hamlet vocabulary 2; quiz on Friday 23 September. I suggest you get a head start on these words over the weekend. We will be working intensely on the play next week. Very nice work on the first vocabulary
Copy below.

Hamlet vocabulary 2 As with the previous, the assessment will be your simply defining the word.
1.To glean - to gather; to collect

2. sovereign (adj)- absolute; totally undisputed / n- king or monarch

3. satirical (adj) – sarcastic, biting, mocking

4. promontory- (noun)- a cliff high above water

5. rogue (noun)- a villain, fiend, scoundrel

6. firmament (noun) – the sky

7. pestilent – (adj)- deadly, likely to cause an epidemic

8. paragon –(noun)- perfect example, model, standard

9. quintessence –(noun)- ideal, essence, perfect model

10. to cleave (verb)- to split, also to adhere

11. malefactions (noun)- evil deeds

12. consummation (noun) completion; achievement

13. calamity (noun)- disaster, cause of great distress

14. contumely (noun)- insulting treatment

15. wantonness (noun)- immorality, extravagance

16. dejected –(adj)- depressed, disheartened

17. abominably –(adverb)- detestably; with hatred

18. to buffet (verb)- to hit or strike

19. clemency (noun)- leniency, mercy

20. to beguile (verb)- to deceive, to cheat

21. contagion (noun)- the cause of a disease

22. fetters (noun)- chains or shackles attached to the ankles

23. to compel- to force

24. mandate (noun)- a decree, an order, command

25. to whet- to sharpen