January 30th

Today in class we went over Act two, Scene ii. We mainly talked about Claudius and Gertrude's idea of "hiring" Hamlets old friends and paying them to find Hamlet and talk to him. Claudius and Gertrude want to know what their son is up to. They are going to spy on him and pay his old friends to do it. Hamlet is being spied, this idea came from his own mother, concluding she made a very low and bad decision. Gertrude are only doing this for his own protection. It would have been better to have a "family meeting" but that idea didn't go too far. Another occurance is going on between Ophelia and Hamlet. Hamlet was found in Ophelia's room by her own self and gave her a long note. Ophelia and her father, Polonious, agrees to tell the king and queen about Hamlet and his insanity. They believe Hamlet is crazy and need him to stay away from Ophelia. Then Polonius makes a vow to the King (page 93) saying he is so convinced he is right. While all of this is occuring, in Norway, Fortinbras' uncle finds out young Fortinbras planned to attck Denmark without him knowing. The king (Fortinbras' unlce) punishs fortinbras and tells him he can only fight Poland but the shortest way to Poland is through Denmark. Fortinbras has to sign an agreement with his uncle to not attack Denmark.....
this is what is going on in act two scene ii


kelley o

January 29th

After opening class by sharing our "choice nuggets of wisdom" from our notebooks, we went on to realize that Mr. Laz forgot to give us our reading assignment. So instead of discussing the beginning of Act II, we got to read it together. Although we didn't get very far, we learned a lot about a few key characters- Polonius, in particular. By requesting that Reynaldo (a servant) spies on his son Laertes at school, Polonius reveals that reputation means EVERYTHING to him. It also led us to the question of just how far he will go to do what he thinks has to be done. Lastly, we learn a very important lesson from Polonius. When he says "Your bait of falsehood take this carp of truth," Polonius teaches us the lesson that if you put out lies, the truth will come back and reveal itself. For tomorrow, we need to finish Act II Scene i and begin Act II Scene ii.

THE Dan Mullin

January 28th

We started the class with our 100 line poems. Then went on to this new blog activity. Next we looked at grades, the class aveage raised from a c- to a solid c. So good job class! Finally, we got a new assigment. We will record important quotes or experiences we encounter over the next two weeks. It should be fun.

Pride in Canterbury Tales?

in class today paul talked about pride being a uniting factor in all 3 stories but i still dont see how it was a theme in the canterbury tales. can someone clear this up because just saying, "some of the characters fell due to pride" did not do it for me.

~Joe A.

ACT I, scene 5

12. What does Hamlet say he will do in his mind?

Mike Frost

poetry slam

how was the poetry slam?
i wanted to go but i took a nap after i got back from my vball tournament and slept through my alarm. i could have read my sonnet for some easy extra credit

~Joe A.

Poetry is Slammin

Does anyone know where the poetry slam is tonight??


Mike Frost

midterm

has anyone figured out what theme connects Hamlet, Beowulf, and Canterbury tales?

Sam Schaeffer

Act I, v

I had a little trouble with answering some questions about "antic disposition", what is it? And why does Hamlet say, "O my prophetic soul!"?

-Kelley O

Hamlet -Laertes Ophelia and Polonius Act 1 Sc. 2

Why are Laertes and Polonius against Hamlet's thing with Ophilia? Does their conversation with Ophelia Forshadow later events dealing with Hamlet knowing or finding out about the ghost.

Lydia P.

Hamlet- Characters

Who is Polonius?



Lydia P.

Hamlet- Denmark vs. Norway

Why does young Fortinbras have control over what Norway does militarily, even though he is not the king?


Lydia P.

Hamlet (the king)

Was King Hamlet killed in a battle verses Norway, or has the reason for his death not been revealed?

Lydia P.

Hamlet

To help with the first scene I read and summerized it, for you all.

· (Scene 1) Late in the night is ominous.
· The scene opens with Francisco and Bernardo two guard of the Castle. The guard shift of Francisco ends at the stroke of midnight and he exits.
· Then enter Marcellus and Horatio. (Marcellus a another guard) (Horatio a scholar and friend of Prince Hamlet). Marcellus and Bernardo request Horatio to join the on their watch to see a ghost that has appeared to them a few times before. Horatio believes that this is all a hoax, but the two guards tell him t’is so wait until the stars are aligned and the ghost will appear.
· When the bell beat one the ghost appeared clad in full armor as though ready for war. Horatio is now shocked see his late Lord, the ghost of the dead King Hamlet. And also notices that the king is in his armor though that was not the way he was buried. But as the Late Kings is questioned he appears to be offended and leaves.
· Francisco and Marcellus think that the king either has a sort of treasure that he wants unveiled or know of an oncoming threat and is now trying to warn his people.
· The two guards say to Horatio you are higher-up than us so you must tell what you know for we have noticed that the country is building up defenses. So Horatio tells them of the prior bet of the late King Hamlet and the late King Fortinbras of Norway. A battle between the two kings for land King Fortinbras lost the bet and his life. So now Prince Fortinbras the new king is assembling an army to take back the land his father lost the land that late King Hamlet acquired legally.
· After the Horatio tells Marcellus and Bernardo about the upcoming aggression from Norway. The ghost of late King Hamlet reappeared. Horatio tries to speak to him but the King has no words for him. Dawn breaks as the Cock crows and the leaves once again. For no creature if the night can appear in the in the day, for holy and gracious is that time.
· Horatio come to the conclusion that if the ghost of late King Hamlet will not talk with them then it is his son who he will speak with
· End of Scene 1 Act 1

I will try to have scene 2 posted by tomorrow night.

Paul C.

Sonnet

A little before break i had stayed after class to clarify something about my sonnet. The question was can the line in one quatrain have the same ending rhyme as another line from a different quatrain? And the answer was, No.

Paul C.

Hamlet

Can anyone explain Horatio's speech in Act 1 scene 1? Is he Talking about King Hamlet and his battle against Norway?



Lydia P.