Watching Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet

Today in class we watched Act I of Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet.  Here is Hamlet's fist soliloquy:

Our first look at Hamlet

Last week to introduce Hamlet you each received a line from the play to use in a series of acting activites.

After that we discussed ghosts and shared ghost stories.  Why?  Because this play starts with a ghost.

Over the weekend you read scenes one and two from act one.

Although I did hand out paper calendars today, it is available to you under the Hamlet tab above.

Be sure to note which days our class meets in E116.

A day of discussing college essays

Today we talked about college essays - the ones you are writing, what makes a good one, and what makes a bad one. You pretended you were an admissions committee and I gave you four essays to read and decide - who is accepted / deferred / rejected.

Here is a link to them if you want to read them again.  And here's the additional one.

Here is a link to an important article about college admissions published this week.

Antigone - Preparation for Final Discussion and Essay

Here is the link to the document we will use today

Antigone - Essay assignment

This week we will work together as a class to explore Antigone. Then it is your turn to create your own analysis of it in your first major assignment.

I went over the "Notes on Essay Options" as well as the grading system for this class, both of which you can find on the blog under the "General Handouts" tab.

As our discussions more forward this week, work to develop a sense of what you want to say about this play - keep track of that in your notes an journal entries.

Antigone - competing values

During our discussion of the opening dialogue of Antigone I asked you to identify two things:

• Reasons Antigone gives for her decision (to bury Polyneices, against the ruling of Creon)
• Reasons provided by Ismene, or Antigone herself, for why she should not

We titled this "competing values."

We will keep an eye on how this plays out, affecting both her and those around her.

Sample explications of Oedipus

Here are two effective and well-crafted explications of Oedipus, written by your classmates.  Think about both what they do well and what else they would need to be complete.

1- As Oedipus grows more paranoid and convinced of Creon's guilt, Creon decides to utilize logic in order to prove his innocence.  As third in power, a fact Oedipus agrees upon, Creon has the money, power, and respect a king could ever want or need. However, he has no responsibilities, obligations, limitations, or fears. Creon logically shows Oedipus how he is "carefree" with all he meets, with people who "wish [him] well and greet [him] kindly." Almost incredulously, Creon asks Oedipus, "So why should I give up one life for the other?" He explains there would be no sense in being treasonous if he already has "the power and the influence without the trouble." By posing these questions, Creon is forcing Oedipus to acknowledge Creon's lack of motivation for treason or murder. Creon is meticulous as he makes his argument, and does so slowly so as not to provoke the increasingly paranoid Oedipus.

2- Jocasta is talking to Oedipus, explaining that Teiresias cannot be truthful in his claims because no person has the "art" of prophecy. She feels prophecy is an art form, giving it a majestic quality, seeing it as an inhumane action that is not guaranteed.  The phrase "so much for oracles which map our future" exudes a slightly mocking tone to express her disbelief in prophesying. Her phrase "Listen, and learn from me" exudes a nurturing, motherly tone, possibly a foreshadowing of revelations to come.  With words like "fear" and "haunted," Jocasta expresses the horrifying power of prophecies, an interesting choice of words for someone who claims they don't believe in them.

Our week with Oedipus

As we read Oedipus this week we focused on the ways in which the language of the play conveyed both character development and a look at themes and questions.  In group work at the end of this week you focused on identifying key lines, moment when characters change, and point where Sophocles introduces big questions into the play.

You have also been writing explications, short and specific looks at lines you selected from the play.

On Monday we will have our final discussion about the play.  That night you will write a final explication, returning to earlier parts of the play as you bring your overall ideas about it together in a short analysis.