Hamlet - Act 2

As we're working our way through Hamlet we'll be keeping track of the story, the different themes and ideas raised in the story, and the language used to tell it.

Today in class we worked in small groups to complete the handout below, specifically the chart on the back.  If you missed class today it would be helpful to complete it either by yourself or with the notes from a classmate.

Hamlet act 2 handout

Antigone - Putting It All Together

Greetings!

My apologies for not being there with you today but I'm under the weather, which seems like it will be rather warm.

Over the weekend you read the final section of Antigone.  Up to this point we've considered what happens when conflicting values / perspectives are present, as well as character motivation and reasoning.  Today you'll read a short excerpt from a literary critic.  She raises several powerful questions about the play and I'm hopeful you'll find it spurs your thinking.  You can read her essay by clicking on this link: Patricia Lines - "Antigone's Flaw"

When you are done you might find a journal response would be a good way for you to process her essay.

If not, you can browse through this series of questions about the play in preparation for our final discussion about it, as well as your upcoming essay.

Please come in to class tomorrow with a potential focus for your essay.  Remember you can write either a single-text analytic essay, a personal / hybrid essay, or a creative project.  I'll give you full details about the different options when I (hopefully) see you on Tuesday.

Antigone - Motivation, Reasoning, and Judgment

Today we worked in small groups to look at these sections of the play:
- lines 102-216
- lines 217-326
- lines 327-514
- lines 515-570 (and look back at the opening dialogue)
- lines 612-763
- lines 782-938

Our topic for today is to look at the Motivations and Reasoning related to each character's thoughts and actions.

• what is stated explicitly?
• what can we infer - what are the implicit reasons / motivations?

Also we will consider the role of Judgment

• how do characters in the play, including the chorus, judge each other?
• how are we judging them?  why?

We'll work in small groups to explore these questions, then take time to craft individual journal responses (that will count as one of the required entries for this play).

Let's get to know each other a little bit better

Please take some time to answer the questions in this brief survey.  Note - you need to be signed in to Google in order for the survey to accept your responses.  Thanks so much!