A1/A2 Makeup Work for Absent or Testing Students 1/31

Please read Hamlet Act IV, scenes i-iv https://www.folgerdigitaltexts.org/html/Ham.html#line-4.1.0
and answer the following questions:

1. What is Claudius's response to learning of Polonius's death (IV.i.12)? Hint: remember that Claudius uses the so-called royal we in referring to himself.

2. Why does Hamlet mean by calling Rosencrantz a "sponge" in IV.ii?

3. Hamlet is being anything but clear in IV.ii.27-28: "The body is with the king, but the king is not with the body."  Think about that one.  Offer up a plausible solution to his riddle.

4. If you could choose one detail from Hamlet's IV.iii. dialogue to support the idea that he is trying to seem "mad," what would it be?

5. Claudius reveals his diabolical plan to get rid of Hamlet in IV.iii.67-77.  It's a mini-soliloquy.  What is the plan?!

6. Act IV, scene iv.  Enter: Fortinbras!  Yes!!  He's finally here!  Wait -- where's he going -- what?  He's gone!?  What was that all about?  Seriously, what was the function of having Fortinbras (and his army) appear in this scene?  Hint: it's all about Hamlet, so take a look at Hamlet's soliloquy to see what effect it has on him.

Tom Brady Does Hamlet on Colbert

A1/A2 Makeup Work for Absent Students 1/27

Please read Hamlet, Act III, scene iv: https://www.folgerdigitaltexts.org/html/Ham.html#line-3.4.0
and answer the following questions:

1. How does Hamlet react to the death of Polonius (III.iv.26-46)?
2. Explain the significance of Hamlet's use of classical allusions in III.iv.63-68.
3. The Ghost says to Hamlet that his reason for appearing is to "whet thy almost blunted purpose" (III.iv.127).  What does this line mean?  Hint: "whet" is a word that means to sharpen. 
4. Famous line alert: Hamlet apologizes for being so mean to his mother by saying, "I must be cruel ... to be kind" (III.iv.199).  This isn't a question; I just like pointing out these lines :)
5. Really important thematic idea: Hamlet tells the Queen not to let Claudius find out that Hamlet is "essentially ... not in madness / But mad in craft" (III.iv.209-210).  What earlier conversation(s) or line(s) does this idea connect with???

A1/A2 Makeup Work for Absent Students 1/24

Please read Hamlet, Act III, scene iii https://www.folgerdigitaltexts.org/html/Ham.html#line-3.3.0
and answer the following:

1. According to Claudius: where should Hamlet be sent, and who will accompany Hamlet on the voyage? (III.iii.1-7)
2. What does Polonius say he will do next in III.iii.29-38?  (Hint: arras is another word for tapestry)
3. What does Claudius mean when he says "Pray can I not" (III.iii.41)?
4. Why does Hamlet decide to wait before killing Claudius? (III.iii.77-101)
5. Irony alert!  What does Claudius reveal when he says "My words fly up, my thoughts remain below; / Words without thoughts never to heaven go" (III.iii.102-103)?

A1 Makeup Work for Absent Students 1/23

Read Hamlet, Act III, scene ii, from line 145 (the play begins) to the end of the scene (line 432).
https://www.folgerdigitaltexts.org/html/Ham.html#line-3.2.0

1. In what way(s) is the "show" (145-156) similar to the Ghost's description of the murder?
2. What exactly does Claudius do during the play that reveals his guilt?
3. Angry at Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Hamlet accuses them of trying to "play" him.  But, in typical Hamlet fashion, he doesn't just say that.  What does Hamlet compare himself to in III.ii.380-402?
4. What does Hamlet mean when he says he will "speak daggers to [his mother], but use none" (III.ii.429)?

Blizzard Bag #3 -- Literary Genograms!

Assignment: Create a "genogram" for the characters in your most recent book -- Hamlet (A1 & A2) or The Boys in the Boat (B Block).  This can be done using a drawing or painting app, or on a sheet of paper with a few colored pencils or markers.  Include colored "relationship" lines between the characters.  Note: you'll find the key for the various types of relationships below.

"What is a Genogram?" from genopro.com: 

A genogram (pronounced: jen-uh-gram) is a graphic representation of family dynamics.  It tries to convey a sense of the relationship between two individuals, and -- when turned into a family tree -- can explore the complexities of a whole family.  

Originating in the field of clinical psychology, Genograms allow therapists and their patients to quickly identify and understand various patterns in the patient's family history which may have had an influence on the patient's current state of mind.  

Genograms were first developed and popularized in clinical settings by Monica McGoldrick and Randy Gerson through the publication of a book in 1985. Genograms are now used by various groups of people in a variety of fields such as medicine, psychology, social work, genealogy, genetic research, and education. 

The basic genogram symbols for a male and a female who are married look like this:

Set up like a family tree, it looks like this:

To show the relationships between two characters, the connecting line is embellished like this: 

The complete relationship key looks like this:  

The tricky part, of course, is to determine which connecting symbol is the most appropriate.  You CAN combine symbols or colors to create your own complex and precise relationship symbols (for example, two green dashed lines for "temporary conflict between friends"), but you might need to label or explain your choices.  

Note: Some characters will not fit on the main "family tree".  Secondary family units can be placed next to the main family unit.  Add those characters wherever they can fit around the main character like a web diagram.  

Here's a Harry Potter Example of a completed genogram:

Good luck, have fun, stay warm :)  --Mr G.

HW 1/14: Three More Close Reading Q's for Hamlet I.iii, II.i, and II.ii

Here is a good online version of the text to use:

https://www.folgerdigitaltexts.org/html/Ham.html

1.      What kind of a character does Polonius describe in the following advice to Laertes?

POLONIUS          I.iii.65-88

Give thy thoughts no tongue,
Nor any unproportioned thought his act.
Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar.
Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,
Grapple them unto thy soul with hoops of steel,
But do not dull thy palm with entertainment
Of each new-hatched, unfledged courage. Beware
Of entrance to a quarrel, but, being in,
Bear ’t that th’ opposèd may beware of thee.
Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice.
Take each man’s censure, but reserve thy judgment.
Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,
But not expressed in fancy (rich, not gaudy),
For the apparel oft proclaims the man,
And they in France of the best rank and station
Are of a most select and generous chief in that.
Neither a borrower nor a lender be,
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.
This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
Farewell. My blessing season this in thee.

2.      How does the Polonius/Reynaldo scene (II.i.) enhance our understandings of the family dynamics in the Lord Chamberlain’s family?

3.      What developments in the Fortinbras/Norway plotline are announced by Voltimand in II.ii.64-84?

Most fair return of greetings and desires.
Upon our first, he sent out to suppress
His nephew’s levies, which to him appeared
To be a preparation ’gainst the Polack,
But, better looked into, he truly found
It was against your Highness. Whereat, grieved
That so his sickness, age, and impotence
Was falsely borne in hand, sends out arrest
On Fortinbras, which he, in brief, obeys,
Receives rebuke from Norway, and, in fine,
Makes vow before his uncle never more
To give th’ assay of arms against your Majesty.
Whereon old Norway, overcome with joy,
Gives him three-score thousand crowns in annual fee
And his commission to employ those soldiers,
So levied as before, against the Polack
With an entreaty, herein further shown,
[He gives a paper.]
That it might please you to give quiet pass
Through your dominions for this enterprise,
On such regards of safety and allowance
As therein are set down.

HW 1/13: Hamlet Act I Review Q's

Here is a good online version of the text to use:
https://www.folgerdigitaltexts.org/html/Ham.html

Directions for Q#1-4: Answer thoughtfully, using details from the text.

1.      How does Shakespeare create a sense of mystery in Act I?

2.      Based on what we know in Act I, explain the family dynamics in the Lord Chamberlain’s family.

3.      Explain Hamlet’s use of one or more allusions to Greek mythology.

4.      Shakespeare Fun Fact #37: Shakespeare himself never published his plays! 

Why this matters: There are several versions of the plays, published by other people, who most likely were working from actors’ scripts, notes, and first-hand memory.  Mostly, they are the same.  But occasionally there is an interesting difference between the texts.  Here’s one.  Here is some of the text from the Folger Shakespeare library website:

HAMLET (Act I, scene ii, lines 133-136)
O, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt,
Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew,
Or that the Everlasting had not fixed
His canon ’gainst self-slaughter!

And here is difference in the first line according to the text in our red textbooks:

HAMLET (Act I, scene ii, lines 133-136)
O, that this too, too solid flesh would melt,
Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew,
Or that the Everlasting had not fixed
His canon ’gainst self-slaughter!

4. Explain the subtle, but significant difference between the meaning of these two versions of the text.