12/21: Blizzard Bag Day #2!

Well, we’re having an ice storm on the first day of Winter ... and it’s a Blizzard Bag Day.  Here are the assignments:

D-Block Public Speaking:
One good story deserves another.  You’ve now heard great examples of character development, the use of multiple settings, conflict-fueled storytelling, show-don’t-tell details, time-slows-down tension-building techniques, and — sometimes — a larger lesson learned about what really matters in life.  Let’s do it all again: your assignment is to brainstorm another good idea for a story, write the script with all six storytelling elements, and prepare to share with your class when we return.

A1&A2 English 12AP:
1) Complete your official Poetry Out Loud poem memorization.  You’ll be expected to have it ready when we return in January.  Remember: for our class you MUST have a new poem for this year.  I’m not interested in giving you credit for the poem you learned last year.
2) Complete Act III in Hamlet and respond to the following “Prove It!” statements.  For each statement, provide textual support, comments, and analysis to demonstrate its validity.
          1. III.i. — The Queen approves of Ophelia.
          2. III.i  — Ophelia expresses pity and empathy for Hamlet.
          3. III.ii. — Hamlet is sending mixed-messages to Ophelia.
          4. III.ii  — Hamlet knows Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are working against him.
          5. III.iii — Claudius has mixed feelings about his crimes.
          6. III.iv — Gertrude doesn’t know about the murder.
          7. III.iv. — Gertrude believes Hamlet.

Sesame Street Hamlet

Back in the old days of Sesame Street, they had a parody sketch called "Monsterpiece Theater" (the real show was called Masterpiece Theater -- a televised series showcasing dramatizations of the classics).   Always more clever than they needed to be, Jim Henson's muppets drop in multiple references that went right over our heads when we were little.  I have heard that these little nuggets were intended to be "for the parents," but I suspect that these bits were just as important to the artistic sensibilities of Henson and his clever cast.  These allusive elements add a brilliant complexity to "children's television" that respects the genre and the little minds that were paying attention: rather than playing down to children, Henson, et al. were playing up to them.

Monsterpiece Theater was a recurring segment that was set up like a TV show, complete with a muppet-themed parody of the original opening sequence and a dapper host in an arm-chair: Cookie Monster as "Alistair Cookie" (instead of the real-life British host Alistair Cooke).

In the Hamlet sketch, an eager Elmo observes Prince Hamlet's emotional responses to the book he is reading.  Hamlet is, by turns, made "happy," "sad," and "angry" by the book he is reading.  It's cute, and Hamlet's advice to Elmo to "Get thee to a library" near the end of the segment is a nice example of the show's unexpectedly sophisticated humor and references.

Enjoy the SESAME STREET "MONSTERPIECE THEATER: HAMLET, PRINCE of DENMARK" SKETCH.

Disclaimer: the actor in the scene is Mel Gibson -- and although I pointedly disagree with Mr. Gibson's personal views and life choices, I do love the Muppets.  I hope that makes the inclusion of this sketch on our class site seem "worth it."  Your comments on this subject are welcome.  --Mr. G. :)

More Words, Words, Words of the Year

2018 Word(s) of the Year Update: The Merriam-Webster Dictionary has selected justice.  Dictionary.com went with misinformation. 

Both of these seem rather Hamlet-ish to me as well! 

Word, Word, Word of the Year

The Oxford Dictionary's official "2018 English Word of the Year" is toxic -- as it is currently used in the contemporary social phrases toxic relationship, toxic work environment, and toxic masculinity.

These are terms considered to be trending on internet searches and increasingly deployed in the public discourse of our times.  However, I would like to suggest that perhaps there really is nothing new under the sun: think with me for a moment on how this usage applies to Shakespeare's Hamlet: Prince of Denmark.

From the casual chauvinism and mansplaining -- there's another 2018 hot trending term -- of Laertes and his father Polonius in their Act I advice to Ophelia, to the audacious brutality of the crimes of Claudius, Hamlet is replete with toxic relationships.

Consider: Ophelia faces condescension from both her brother and her father, who take turns offering to tell her what to "think" (I.iii.13) and to "teach" (I.iii.110) her why she's wrong.  She makes attempts to interject her own ideas into each conversation, but is rebuffed and belittled both times.  Given Ophelia's limited ability to speak for herself in these scenes, and the sexist motives behind their advice, it seems fair to describe her family relationship as toxic in its contemporary meaning of unhealthy, or stifling: Ophelia is in a family situation where it is difficult for her to self-actualize.

She fares no better in her interactions with Hamlet, who might be justly accused of gaslighting -- one of the 2018 English Word of the Year shortlist candidates -- in his crazed appearance surprising Ophelia "sewing in [her] chamber" (II.i.86) and his outrageous "Get thee to a nunnery!" rant (II.127).  Although I have often wanted to second-guess Hamlet's motives with Ophelia -- imagining that he truly loves her and is trying to get her out of harm's way before all heck breaks loose -- it is hard to overlook the apparent ease with which he slips into the role of the abuser in this scene.  If it's all an act, methinks it is one he's a little too good at.

Toxic masculinity, indeed.

Claudius is perhaps an even better example of this.  His nocturnal carousing -- much to Hamlet's chagrin -- is an embarrassment of national importance.  His fratricidal power-grab would be "murder most foul" (I.v.31) all on its own, but Claudius goes the extra uber-masculine step of sweeping up the Queen as a trophy in his ruthless ambition.  His behind-the-scenes plotting with his male retainers is a recurring theme in the play.  Even his relationship with Hamlet is, from the start, fueled by his view of Hamlet's behavior as "unmanly" (I.ii.96).

Also, in another nod to the 2018 Word of the Year short list: in his one possible moment of redemption, Claudius finds himself unable to cake -- if cakeism (having it both ways) can be used this way -- in the sense of being unable to pray for forgiveness while retaining the power, the crown, and the queen.

Broken hearts, betrayal, and foul play.  Alas -- something is toxic in the state of Denmark.

HW 12/7: Sonnet Explication

Write a two-paragraph explication of your Shakespearean sonnet, demonstrating the differences between the ideas and techniques found in the octave and sestet.  Please give particular consideration to the final rhyming couplet in the sestet -- it is very likely adding something important to help bring the meaning of the poem into focus.

Here is an model for how to do this using an alternate poem:

          "Sonnet 129" by William Shakespeare

Th' expense of spirit in a waste of shame 

Is lust in action; and till action, lust 

Is perjured, murd'rous, bloody, full of blame, 

Savage, extreme, rude, cruel, not to trust, 

5     Enjoyed no sooner but despisèd straight, 

Past reason hunted; and, no sooner had 

Past reason hated as a swallowed bait 

On purpose laid to make the taker mad; 

Mad in pursuit and in possession so, 

10    Had, having, and in quest to have, extreme; 

A bliss in proof and proved, a very woe; 

Before, a joy proposed; behind, a dream. 

                  All this the world well knows; yet none knows well 

                  To shun the heaven that leads men to this hell.

Example explication:

In "Sonnet 129", William Shakespeare explores our complex relationship with lust.  Through a series of antithetical comparisons, his speaker considers the differences between lust in its theoretical sense – prior to taking any lustful “action” (line 2) – and lust once it has been acted upon.  Neither case is particularly positive: lust as an idea is equated to all manner of wrongs, including “perjur[y],” “murd[er],” and “savage[ry]” (lines 3-4).  Similarly, lust after it is set into motion is immediately “despised” and causes nothing but “woe” (lines 5-7).  Lust before and after is summarily written off as a mistake – if not an outright evil.

These contrasts in the octave continue in the sestet and give way – significantly – to an apparent contradiction in the final couplet: the paradox of a “heaven that leads [us] … to hell” (line 14).  In the sestet, the speaker notes that the lustful act itself seems like it will be “a joy” (line 10), but points out that any pleasure from the act is brief and doesn’t come to anything more than a “dream” (line 10) afterward.  It begins as a “bliss,” but quickly becomes a “woe” (line 11).  Ultimately, the speaker laments that even though we know better, “all the world” (line 13) seems unable to “shun” (line 14) the human compulsion for lust.  The good and the bad of lust are expressed in the final paradox: lust is a pleasure that drags down the human spirit. 

HW 12/6: Shakespearean Sonnet

In class I distributed a handout with six sonnets.  Here are the links: 15, 18, 29, 55, 116, and 130.  For tonight, I'd like you to read through them and focus on the one that you think makes the most sense to you.  For the one you choose -- or the one that chooses you -- please prepare a brief statement on the meaning of the octave (first eight lines) and the sestet (final six lines).  Remember that the octave tends to introduce an idea and the sestet tends to complicate the idea in some way.  In a Shakespearean sonnet, the couplet (two lines) at the very end are -- usually -- particularly important in bringing the theme into focus.

Note: it might help to look up the dictionary definition of a few key words.  For example, knowing that "belied" is a synonym for "disguised" will help with the final line of Sonnet 130.  The speaker is saying that "false compar[isons]" in poetry don't make the love they describe any more real.