Monday, November 18, 2013
Original Student Entries for Othello
What observations, theories, or questions are you playing with as you read Othello and consider one of our listed ** Essential Questions?
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Original Student Entries for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
What observations, theories, or questions are you playing with as you read Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and consider one of our listed ** Essential Questions?
Heads or Tails? A selection of prompts for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
If you're looking for . . . direction? purpose? a sunset? . . . and would like a few questions to get you going, feel free to respond to any of my sampling below. Have fun!
1. Why open with a stupid game of chance? With a gambling game? A child's game? A game of simple statistics . . . that doesn't go very statistically?
2. Why is so much of this story surreal? So unbelievable? Beyond assigning it merely to the genre of Absurdism, which in itself, of course, is just a name, a genre, a device, . . . WHY does Stoppard do this? And all this obfuscation and abstraction from characters who are two very normal fellows from a normal, linear, straight-forward classic like Hamlet?
3. Yes, yes, I know . . . Alfred is a bit over the top, as far as social commentary goes. But what other social critiques emerge from this short, distracted, frenetic play?
4. Was it only me, or were you too also REALLY FEELING for Guildenstern as he reacted to and despaired over the very real and impending death waiting for him just a few leagues away? I was very tense and sympathetic. And then I realized, "Oh wait . . . !" And then I thought, "But then again . . . ."
And then I was like, "Oh that crafty Player, he was so right!"
5. Rosencrantz, even when he's most insane, is really quite sage. Consider: would you rather be buried alive in a coffin or be buried dead in a coffin? And how does this idea resonate within the larger context of the play, and of the "other" play, Hamlet?
6. So it's easy to fault Rosencrantz and Guildenstern for how they so easily muck up their interview with Hamlet and bumble their attempts to sleuth his real motive and "madness." But, honestly, how would you have done it? What would you have said to Hamlet, or done, to help the whole Royal family?
7. Do you think, by referencing us and yelling "Fire!" that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern REALLY know we are sitting there? If we can agree that's a Yes, then what does it mean that we're sitting there, just another "character" hanging around?
8. Ok, ok, so Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are crazy. But look at the whole thing from THEIR perspective. What do all the others, and this situation, look like to them?
9. Do Rosencrantz and Guildenstern believe in God? Does Hamlet? Does Claudius? What is their world view, their philosophy on life?
10. I don't get his bad jokes. Do you? And what's with the sudden outbursts of color?
11. Why is it so easy to amass so many questions? What's the point of this play?
12. We know Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are similar. How are they so very different?
13. Time for me to get my AP on: what archetypal situations and issues are present here that would make for good lead-ins to open-ended AP essay questions?
14. Another one: as you know, literature is nothing without irony. What ironies are present here that slap one across the face, Guildenstern-style? Or that make you laugh?
1. Why open with a stupid game of chance? With a gambling game? A child's game? A game of simple statistics . . . that doesn't go very statistically?
2. Why is so much of this story surreal? So unbelievable? Beyond assigning it merely to the genre of Absurdism, which in itself, of course, is just a name, a genre, a device, . . . WHY does Stoppard do this? And all this obfuscation and abstraction from characters who are two very normal fellows from a normal, linear, straight-forward classic like Hamlet?
3. Yes, yes, I know . . . Alfred is a bit over the top, as far as social commentary goes. But what other social critiques emerge from this short, distracted, frenetic play?
4. Was it only me, or were you too also REALLY FEELING for Guildenstern as he reacted to and despaired over the very real and impending death waiting for him just a few leagues away? I was very tense and sympathetic. And then I realized, "Oh wait . . . !" And then I thought, "But then again . . . ."
And then I was like, "Oh that crafty Player, he was so right!"
5. Rosencrantz, even when he's most insane, is really quite sage. Consider: would you rather be buried alive in a coffin or be buried dead in a coffin? And how does this idea resonate within the larger context of the play, and of the "other" play, Hamlet?
6. So it's easy to fault Rosencrantz and Guildenstern for how they so easily muck up their interview with Hamlet and bumble their attempts to sleuth his real motive and "madness." But, honestly, how would you have done it? What would you have said to Hamlet, or done, to help the whole Royal family?
7. Do you think, by referencing us and yelling "Fire!" that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern REALLY know we are sitting there? If we can agree that's a Yes, then what does it mean that we're sitting there, just another "character" hanging around?
8. Ok, ok, so Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are crazy. But look at the whole thing from THEIR perspective. What do all the others, and this situation, look like to them?
9. Do Rosencrantz and Guildenstern believe in God? Does Hamlet? Does Claudius? What is their world view, their philosophy on life?
10. I don't get his bad jokes. Do you? And what's with the sudden outbursts of color?
11. Why is it so easy to amass so many questions? What's the point of this play?
12. We know Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are similar. How are they so very different?
13. Time for me to get my AP on: what archetypal situations and issues are present here that would make for good lead-ins to open-ended AP essay questions?
14. Another one: as you know, literature is nothing without irony. What ironies are present here that slap one across the face, Guildenstern-style? Or that make you laugh?
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Original Student Entries for Grendel
What observations, theories, or questions are you playing with as you read Paradise Lost (and/or the Bible) and consider one of our listed ** Essential Questions?
A Rose is never just a Rose . . .
In keeping with the last blog, archetypal symbols and metaphors are a powerful tool for writers. They help us see through the specifics and get a firmer hold of the larger, more universal idea at work.
What important symbols do you see at work in Grendel? Do these abstract connections lead us to a greater understanding of character or theme?
What important symbols do you see at work in Grendel? Do these abstract connections lead us to a greater understanding of character or theme?
Wait a minute . . . isn't that a Hamlet reference?
Good works of
literature often "borrow" images, references, symbols, and characters
from other great literature and cultural myths in order to advance a certain
idea and get us -- the reader -- thinking in new ways. These allusions
and reference-points remind us of larger ideas and themes and thus get us to
experience the text in a different light.
What connections to other literature, myths, stories, cinema, and art do you see in Grendel? Why doesGardner
What connections to other literature, myths, stories, cinema, and art do you see in Grendel? Why does
Monday, September 9, 2013
Heavenly incongruencies . . . .
In examining closely the character and consequences of both Satan and Adam, consider the following questions and feel free to respond to one or more than one:
1) Is Man just another Satan, another Fallen angel? How are the two alike, different?
2) Why is Man offered an opportunity for redemption, but Satan is not? Looking at this closely, what seems to be the preeminent sin in God's book, according to Milton?
3) How does this epic serve as both a prophecy of things to come for Mankind and a social critique from Milton of his day and age?
4) How involved is God in the actions of the story? What becomes part of the message, given his level of involvement?
5) Why does Milton include so many references to older mythologies? Does Milton seem critical of Christian orthodoxy or conservatively faithful?
1) Is Man just another Satan, another Fallen angel? How are the two alike, different?
2) Why is Man offered an opportunity for redemption, but Satan is not? Looking at this closely, what seems to be the preeminent sin in God's book, according to Milton?
3) How does this epic serve as both a prophecy of things to come for Mankind and a social critique from Milton of his day and age?
4) How involved is God in the actions of the story? What becomes part of the message, given his level of involvement?
5) Why does Milton include so many references to older mythologies? Does Milton seem critical of Christian orthodoxy or conservatively faithful?
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