Escape from Paperland

As everyone knows, in order to be a Senior in high school, you must first complete Junior year. While this might seem like a simple task at first, don’t kid yourself. Let me start off by saying I KNOW WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT. Not only did I survive Mrs. Duke’s class this year, I also survived it sophomore year. Yes, I was one of the ten or so students that had Mrs. Duke two years in a row, and I’m thankful for it. You’ll learn more this year than you have in any other English classes combined. But that learning comes with a price. Let me give you the breakdown:

Blogs. This is a very easy concept to grasp: DO THEM! They’re easy, really. Each week, Mrs. Duke will post about 3 topics on her blog (a lot of the time one of them is a free post). All you have to do is make a schedule and do one, say, every Monday Tuesday and Thursday. Then you can do your comments over the weekend. If you save them all until Sunday night, blogs can be very stressful. Whatever you do, complete them. Late blogs are a pain in the butt. If you get behind, you’ll never catch up. Plus, blogs normally relate to the work you’re doing in class. So, seriously y’all, blog. Please. It’s not that difficult. 

Homework. Once again, just do it. Sometimes it sucks. I’ll admit, there have been times when I really don’t want to do work. But as a junior, you need to get used to it. You’ll have lots of work in most, if not all, of your classes. You need to get into the habit of sitting down and getting it done. And in Mrs. Duke’s class, if you don’t do work one night you don’t get to forget about it. Mrs. Duke will always make you redo it. So, by not doing work one night, you screw yourself over for the next night because you’ll have two assignments to do instead of just one. And one thing I’ve learned from being in this class two years in a row is that if Mrs. Duke tells you to start working on something early, LISTEN TO HER! There will be lots of projects in this class, and no two will be alike. When Mrs. Duke tells you that something is going to take a lot of time, chances are she’s right. So don’t procrastinate. 

Class procedures. 1. No pencil. Only pen. Really, it’s not that hard to remember. And if you want to complain about this and say that you only like using pencil, suck it up. 2. If you want to eat in class, just ask Mrs. Duke. She will normally say it’s okay. She only gets mad if you do things without permission. 3. Don’t be shy. If you start to care what other people think about you in this class, you might as well not be in class. Lots of assignments and activities will push you out of you box. Go with it. Once, I had to be a tour guide on a fake Beowulf tour. Probably one of the funniest activities this year. It wouldn’t have been fun if everyone had been too worried about being stupid. 4. DON’T TALK TO THE OTHER CLASS(ES). It’s like Vegas: what happens in Mrs. Duke’s class, stays in Mrs. Duke’s class. The only time Mrs. Duke ever got really upset with our class was when she knew we had broken this one golden rule. 5. Be respectful. This year, my class had a great experience. I think we would all agree that we’ve gotten really close and will miss having this time together. However, that was only possible because we formed a good relationship with Mrs. Duke. We respected her, and in return she respected us. This allowed us to have more trust, and, as a result, more fun in class.

So I think that basically wraps it up for me. Have fun this year. Try not to be too stressed. Use Friday afternoons and Saturdays to unwind, but be prepared to work on Sundays. Don’t get behind on your work. Work ahead if possible. Most importantly, remember what reward comes at the end of the year: YOU’RE A SENIOR! But for now, you’re just a little junior. So forget summer, it’s done. It’s work time now! And stop complaining, it sucks for everyone, not just you. :]

Dear Mr. Simon,

Thank you. You helped me understand Hamlet. Now I think I could have understood it by just reading it, but listening to your interpretation and those of your costars helped me grasp the emotions and subtleties that one would miss by just reading the text. You, in particular, did a great job of conveying emotion without being overly dramatic. I have seen/heard other versions of Hamlet before, and you were actually believable. I feel the lines are already so dramatic that when someone tries to inject them with even more emotion, they become trite and less effective. I guess that’s what makes Shakespeare so hard to perform. Each actor has to find that fine line between acting with emotion and over-acting with drama. You did just that, so KUDOS!

As for your co-stars, you all seemed to work well together. Though with the audio we could not actually see the interactions, y’all still sounded compatible as characters. All the extra stuff that comes with a visual adaptation was there with the audio despite having an actual scene to watch on screen. I thought this was pretty impressive. I knew what was going on even though I couldn’t see it. It was pretty funny when we could even hear all the sword clinks during the last scene. That might have been a little over-the-top, but it did get the point across. Thanks for everything. 

-Hallie 

Dear Mr. Branagh,

I’m writing to you about your production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, which we read in my English class this year. In order to start out the unit, we watch the video clip of Act One from your movie. First, I wanted to talk to you about your performance. Now, I’m sure you’re a very nice guy, but your Hamlet seemed very snobby. Now I’m not sure if this is jsut an impression that resulted from your interpretation, or maybe a reflection of your own personal character, but you seemed to be very proud to be Hamlet. It’s as if you were saying, “LOOK AT ME! I CAN PERFORM SHAKESPEARE!” Though I personally did not like this attitude, I think you did a very good job of conveying Hamlet’s emotion of this first scene. While during the rest of the play his vengeful attitude grows, in the first act he is more upset than angry. When you delivered the soliloquy that started with, “Oh that this too, too sullied flesh…” I really got the impression that you wanted to melt into the ground rather than deal with the problems in your life. Good job with that. Sometimes, it did get a little over the top, but then again, Hamlet is very emotional and can be that way. To be honest, you looked kind of creepy. The first time we saw you standing in the corner reminded me of some creepy wizard in Harry Potter or the cynical food critic in Ratatouille. This initial viewing sent shivers down my spine.

I also wanted to talk to you about your job and interpretation as director. Let me start off by saying that you must have had to do a lot of work to be both an actor and the director, so bravo. I thought it was interesting that you chose to have costumes that might not have necessarily been popular during Elizabethan times. It gave it a more contemporary take (though I know the clothing wasn’t quite what we would consider “contemporary”). I don’t think I would have made the ghost as such an ominous figure. In my version, the ghost would be more realistic. That way, the production would be more believable, and the audience would realize that there really was a ghost. When Hamlet Sr. appears as an overly impressive form, the audience might think that the characters are just being gullible. I thought it was a good idea to show flashbacks when the ghost is talking. That way, if someone isn’t following along with the language, the realize that he was indeed murdered, which is a major aspect of the plot. if I had watched more of the movie, I might be able to give you more feedback. However, I only watched the first act, so I guess I should go back and finish the movie.

With respect,

Hallie :]

As the :/ in my title shows, the end of this play is bitter-sweet for me. While it’s always exciting to finish a reading, I’m kind of upset to leave Ros and Guil behind. They have been so entertaining these past few weeks. This week did not disappoint. Ros and Guil continued with their bantering up until the very end. This act starts out with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern on the ship with Hamlet. They are both really confused for a while because they can’t figure out what is going on. They try to remember what has happened so far and desperately aim to somehow change their plot. After hearing random music, R & G search for a while to find the source. Eventually they realize it is just the players who have been hiding in the barrels. I was pretty surprised to see these guys come back–kinda random, but then again I guess that’s Post Modern. Ros and Guil read the letter from the king and realize that they are sent to order Hamlet’s death. There is a debacle with pirates, where Hamlet ends up switching ships and leaving R&G. They are both really worried about what they must do now, and in playing out the scenario they realize that Hamlet has now switched the letters to order the deaths of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. At the end of the play, R&G simply disappear. It’s fitting that the last speech of the play, spoken by Horatio, is taken directly from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. It’s all kind of ambiguous and confusing at the end, but that seems appropriate since the whole play was confusing up to this point.

POST MODERNISM AND COMMON CHARACTERISTICS:

Death

Ros: “But what good’s a brick to a drowning man?” (p 108); Guil: “…death comes to us all, etcetera.” (p 110); Guil: “Dying is not romantic, and death is not a game which will soon be over…Death is not anything…death is not…It’s the absence of presence, nothing more…” (p 124)

Metafiction

Ros: “We are not finished, then?” (p 97); Guil: “We act on scraps of information…sifting half-remembered directions that we can hardly separate from instinct.” (p102); Ros: “I can’t think of anything original. I’m only good in support.” (p 104); Guil: “Unless they’re counting it.” (p 108) ; 

Playing with Language

Guil: “You can still think, can’t you?” Ros: “I think so.” (p 97); Ros: “Well, shall we stretch our legs?” Guil: “I don’t  feel like stretching my legs.” Ros: “I’ll stretch them for you, if you like.” (p 100); Guil: “…in which case…in which case…in which case…” (p 107); Player: “Aha! All in the same boat, then!” (p 114); “…home and high–dry and home–drome…” (p 120)

Fate v. Chance

Guil: “Our truancy is defined by one fixed star, and our drift represents merely a slight change of angle to it…” (p 101); Guil: “…we move idly towards eternity, without possibility of reprieve of hope or explanation.” (p 121)

Irony

Ros: “…what then?” Guil: “Then that’s it–we’re finished.” (p 105); Player: “Did you know that any number doubled is even?” (p 115); Guil: “That’s a dead end.” (p 121)

1. Exigence — What needs doing at this point? In other words, what is compelling Hamlet to speak at this moment in the play?

Hamlet is questioning whether or not to act in revenge. He’s is wondering whether or not he should venture out to the point of no return. We know he is indecisive, so he is carefully planning his next move. I can see this from the first line of the soliloquy where he says, “…that is the question.” It is obvious that he is now questioning his motives and actions.

 2. Audience – The audience is comprised of people who can in some way act on this exigence. Who is Hamlet’s primary audience and how does that influence his choices? Who is Hamlet’s secondary audience and how does that influence his choices? [Hint: they are not on the stage]

His primary audience is himself. This influences him by compelling him to create his own logic. He is trying to persuade himself that his choices are justified. He is attempting to avoid guilt or fear in his future actions. I think his secondary audience is anyone that has ever questioned their actions. He says, “…With this regard their currents turn awry / And lose the name of action.” He seems to be criticizing any choice to not act, saying fear and thought have gotten in the way. Maybe his secondary audience is the actual audience of the entire play. For this reason, Hamlet expressively describes his thoughts aloud, allowing the audience to be on the same page with him.

3. Purpose What is the purpose of Hamlet’s speech? 

 I think that Hamlet is trying to convince himself that he should continue with his plan. He is questioning whether or not he should act, and (since he is an indecisive character) he must logically show himself that he has nothing to fear. This is his own personal pep-talk.

4. Appeals:  Which appeal(s) does Hamlet use to convince and/or motivate his audience? Reference specific lines.

Ethos: Appeal to the character of the speaker

He tells himself that inaction is not the choice. He almost seems to know that his indecisiveness is his downfall.

Pathos: Appeal to the emotions or interest of the audience

Like his appeal to logic, he explains all the horrors of life that he will not have to live with if he ends up dying.

Logos: Appeal to logic

He logically concludes that in death, nothing will bother us. I think this is his way of telling himself that he has nothing to fear in his actions, because the worst thing that can happen is his death, and if he dies then this all will be behind him.

5. Figures of speech, imagery, diction, syntax: What literary devices does Hamlet employ? Where do you see him making comparisons?  Which tropes–similes, metaphors, personification, hyperbole, etc. does he use? How do these comparisons relate to his rhetorical purpose? What particularly vivid images stand out? What effect do these images have on Hamlet’s rhetorical purpose?

 Hamlet uses many comparisons and imagery to portray his own thoughts. He refers to living a hard life as “ …To grunt and sweat under a weary life.” This descriptiveness exaggerates his views of life, allowing the audience to really understand the struggle. Hamlet also employs listing examples. We see this when he lists all the terrible things in life that he won’t have to struggle through in death (same quote as under the Pathos appeal). Mostly, however, I see the use of imagery in the form of metaphors in order to convey his thoughts. He says, “Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer / The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune / Or to take arms against a sea of troubles…”He compares the guilt and struggle of life to arrows being shot, and he then compares this trouble to a sea. When I picture this, I picture a turbulent and stormy sea that easily matches his thoughts at the moment. 

6. How do you respond to Hamlet’s soliloquy? In other words, what do you think of him right now?

For me, the idea of him contemplating his indecisiveness makes him even crazier. It’s as if he knows what he’s doing wrong, but at the same time he’s continuing to do it. It’s very conscious of him to do this. He’s thinking about his own thought, logically trying to come up with an answer. However, it’s ironic because no logic argument can be made about the logic of his situation. At this point, I’m curious to see whether this little pep-talk will actually make a difference for him, or whether he’s just going to continue to be indecisive in the future.

Throughout the second act, we finally see a complete tie with Shakespeare’s Hamlet. We started this reading section out with Ros and Guil both looking at Hamlet offstage. They both know they’re supposed to talk to him eventually, but they don’t know quite how to approach them. The scene continues when Ophelia and Hamlet have they’re dialogue. This was the part where Hamlet tells her to “get thee to a nunnery.” Ros and Guil then start talking to the players, who then show them the play they are performing for Hamlet and the others. While at first oblivious to the obvious connection between the play and Hamlet’s story, Ros eventually realizes that one of the actors looks exactly like him. He says something about it, but he never quite puts two and two together. I thought this was pretty funny myself (also very ironic…). Continuing on, Ros and Guil both suddenly wake up. They talk again about east and west and direction and all that (perhaps fate and chance? hmm…). Following this, the King calls in the two crazies and tells them that they must bring Hamlet to England. Though neither of them really know what to do, they go anyway. On the way, they meet Fortinbras and his soldiers (just like in Shakespeare’s version). This concludes Act II.

After our last class discussion, it’s much easier for me to pick up on the Post Modern characteristics. On page 74, there was some definite metafiction going on when Guil says, “I can’t for the life of me see how we’re going to get into conversation.” On page 90, he then says “…if we can’t learn by experience, what else have we got?” There’s also some definite irony brewing (my favorite! yay!). On page 79, a player says “Do you call that an ending?–with practically everyone on his feet? My goodness no–over your dead body.” Finally, I noticed Stoppard playing with the English language (very PoMo of him), writing about Ros’ “direct informal approach” (p 75). He also writes “Well, that’s a step in the right direction” (86). However, he uses this line in two different connotations. First, when Ros says it, he means a metaphorical step, as in they are making progress in the journey by continuing the plot. Five lines late, when Guil says the same thing, he means a physical step in the right direction, as in they are now physically closer to Hamlet. So far, I’ve really enjoyed this clever piece. I’m gonna be sad when Ros and Guil die in the end, though.

Once again, the foolishness continues. Scene two starts with Hamlet addressing both players. He has a few quick lines before exiting. Ros and Guil then evaluate the situation. At first, they talk about the game they were playing earlier, but then they move on to talk about whether they have accomplished their mission–finding out what’s wrong with Hamlet. It’s as if they know this one purpose, but are completely clueless when it comes to everything else. After this, the two fools talk to the players again. At one point Guil says, “But we don’t know what’s going on, or what to do with ourselves. We don’t know how to act” (p 66). This shows us that these are still minor characters–they are lost when it comes to scenes where they aren’t needed. After the players leave, Ros and Guil converse some more. I was a little confused about what was happening. I picked up on a lot of fate stuff as they talked about time and compasses and directions. This section ends right after Claudius, Gertrude, and Ophelia enter the scene. They are talking about the play that Hamlet has commissioned. The lines from pages 72 and 73 are taken directly from Hamlet. I thought it was interesting that as soon as the real lines began, Ros and Guil knew exactly what was going on and there was no confusion. 

Back on the Post Modern train, I’m seeing a lot of the same stuff again. Of course, there’s the hysterics and satire that cause this piece to have dark humor. In order to achieve this, Stoppard includes lots of irony. He plays within his boundaries, using dramatic irony to his full advantage. Since we have the back-story of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, we know what will ultimately end up happening–they’re all gonna die. On page 56, Ros says, “He murdered us.” He was talking about the little game they were playing, but it’s kinda funny that they will end up being murdered. Overall, I expect to see more of this satire and irony. I also expect to see Stoppard’s version becoming more intertwined with that of Shakespeare, so that we will really see the connection.

Since we finished Act Two in class yesterday, we made a unanimous decision to go over the R&G reading in class. Now I know the sheet said we were supposed to continue on with Hamlet, but since we had finished an entire act in one day (with taking breaks to stop and discuss things) we felt pretty confident that we could still get enough of Hamlet done to suffice. We assigned roles and then read aloud the rest of the R&G reading (since drama is meant to be performed of course). We also took time to stop and discuss what was going on. It started with Ros and Guil being ordered by Polonius to go find the king and Hamlet and figure out what was up. When waiting in the forest, Ros and Guil then play the question game. I thought this part was really really funny. Chloe and I (who were sharing a book) were giggling to ourselves the whole time. I must say, Jonathan did an excellent job acting out this part. I’m glad we did do this part out loud because otherwise it would have been very confusing and we wouldn’t have gotten the humor out of it. Then Ros and Guil try to act out Hamlet. It’s funny because these silly characters instantly grasp on to the irony of the situation–how Hamlet’s mom marries her recently dead husband’s brother who then becomes king though Hamlet is heir to the throne. So far, these are the only other characters that really understand how strange the situation is. In the very end of the act, Hamlet appears and acts kind of weird for a brief period of time.

It’s nice to see this adaptation starting to coincide with Shakespeare’s Hamlet. In Act Two of Shakespeare, we finally meet Ros and Guil and realize what an important part they play. They recommend the players to Hamlet who plans on having them act out a dramatic scene in order to prove the wickedness of Claudius. I can’t remember if I said this in my last blog, but I think that the point of view is one thing that makes R&G a Po Mo text. It adds an element of irony. We now know that the players they met in the beginning of Act One will serve a major role in Shakespeare’s play. It’s interesting to watch the two different stories unfold and intertwine. Another thing that sets R&G apart as Po Mo is the satire. Ros and Guil always have these humorous and witty quips back and forth, making a story that is a tragedy into a comedy. I think this is a major aspect of Post Modernism. You take all the aspects of Modernism, like shaking things up and doing it different ways and breaking boundaries and being super realistic about things, then you add the element of humor and a “who gives a ****” attitude–then somehow this all ends up being really philosophical and deep, combined into a nice little package we call PO MO. 

Here we go again. So I spent the entire day reading little snippets of R&G, so I think I made it way more confusing than it had to be. It didn’t really seem to flow at first, so I went back and skimmed over it again. My favorite part was at the very beginning when they were talking about chance. Guildenstern (Guil) is tossing a coin that keeps landing on heads. Rosencrantz (Ros) doesn’t seem to think much of it, but Guil babbles on about it for a while. The two are then met by a group of traveling players. I must admit, I was a little confused at the transition of these two events. In between, Ros and Guil are trying to remember what happened that morning. I’m not sure if they were just drunk and didn’t realize what was happening, or maybe they’re just that dumb. Either way, hopefully someone can explain this to me. When meeting the players, they quarrel for a while then talk about chance and fate. Eventually, Hamlet and Ophelia come into the scene. After talking about this in class, we realize this is a disheveled Hamlet and a concerned Ophelia. 

The first relation to Hamlet I saw was the talk about fate and chance. Though I haven’t noticed much of it in the actually play yet, I’m pretty sure it’s gonna become an issue based on my previous knowledge of Hamlet. I also think it’s ironic that the players happened to be tragedians, since Hamlet is a tragedy. Then, obviously, Hamlet and Ophelia come into the scene. I assume that as we get farther into both texts, we’ll see more of a relationship between the two. I know that “fate/chance” will come into play more, as well as Stoppard’s interpretation as compared to that of Shakespeare. Along the postmodern trail, I think it shows through Stoppard creating his own version. Hamlet is such a popular play, but this postmodern version throws a wrench into the system. He strucures it differently and includes the amusing bantering, which I find to be very postmodern. I look forward to finding more comparisons between the two texts. 

While everyone else is frantically preparing for the ACT, I’m just looking forward to a break this weekend. I’m taking the ACT in June instead, so that’s why y’all won’t see me at Baton Rouge High this Saturday. Instead, I’ll be at the Tortoise&Hair Race. I’ve gone every year so far because my mom is very involved with the cause. I plan on running the mile and then just walking the 5K run which is an hour after. After that, my friend’s birthday is coming up soon so we’ll be celebrating with dinner.

Going back a little, Friday night will be fun as well. I’m planning on going to the Rodin exhibit downtown (hopefully Chloe decides to go with me). If I write an essay about the exhibit in French, I get extra-credit in AP French IV yay! I’ll probably end up treating myself to Tsunami’s for dinner because it’s DELICIOUS. After that, I might go to the movies to see Shopaholic haha. It seems so cute so I want to see it before it gets out of theaters! Then I’m gonna go home (once again, hopefully Chloe decides to go with me) and eat something. We may even make an apple pie haha. Plus, Marley and Me is out on DVD and I really want to watch that, too!

Now fast-forwarding a bit, Sunday will be a lazy day. I’ll go to church in the morning, then probably do homework for the rest of the afternoon. I’ll need to read a lot for government and work on my English essay. However, I’ve already done a lot of work on the paper so I won’t have too much to do. 

Overall, it’s gonna be a lazy, relaxing weekend.