SAT Registration

Because I want to make sure that all of my brilliant Juniors are registered for one of the upcoming SAT exams, I'm asking each of you to post a response indicating which test you are taking (date) and at which location.  (Only post after you have registered for the exam!)  You are to post your SAT plans by or before Monday, December 19th.  This will count as a homework grade... in golf this is considered "a gimme..."

Upcoming U.S. Test Dates

Date	Deadline*	Status
Dec 3	Passed	Standby Testing
Jan 28	Dec 30	Register Now

• More Test Dates
• Test Fees

Click here for the link to the College Board Website:  http://sat.collegeboard.org/home

Upcoming Due Dates

Monday, 11/ 28 Test Analysis, Act II questions and annotations due
Thursday, 12/1 Hamlet Act II Quiz
Friday, 12/2  AP Workbook assignment # 2 (blog) due
Monday, 12/ 5: Act III Hamlet (reading,) questions & Annotations
Thursday, 12/8: Act II Hamlet Quiz - Test analysis
Friday, 12/9: AP Workbook assignment # 3 (blog) due
Tuesday, 12/13: Act III Hamlet Quiz
Thursday, 12/15: Act IV Hamlet Questions and Annotations Due
Friday, 12/16: Literary Term Test # 3 (Point of view - the end of the packet)
Monday, 12/19: Act III Hamlet Test Analysis
Monday, 12/19: Act V Hamlet Questions and Annotations Due
Monday, 12/19 Registration deadline for January 28th SAT
Thursday, 12/22 Literary Term Exam - the complete packet
Thursday, 12/22 Test Analysis - Act III quizzes
Friday, 12/23: FESTIVUS CELEBRATIONS...
January 2: Anthem completed - in class test
January 6:  Hamlet Projects Due

A.P. Workbook assignment # 2

Read, annotate and respond to the essay question for lesson # 23 in your A.P. workbook:  "Five O'Clock Shadow," by Sir John Betjeman. 

Assignment specifics:  Respond, on this blog, to the essay question on page 114 of your workbook.  Responses should be a MINIMUM of 250 words and should analyze the poem, as instructed by the essay task.  (This is not a re-telling of the poem.)  Evidence from the poem should be quoted.  It is not necessary for you to quote your classmates responses for this assignment.  Blogs must be posted before class on Friday, December 2nd in order to receive credit. 

Due date: Friday, December 2nd.

Thanksgiving Break Assignment

As we discussed in class, you are to read Act II of Hamlet, annotate the text and answer the questions in the packet.  The assignment is due on Monday, 11/28, at the start of class. 

In addition, test analysis for the Hamlet Act I quiz is due on Monday, 11/28.  It will not be accepted after the due date.  Please submit a hard copy; emailed work will not be accepted any longer.  If you require access to the school's printer, make sure that the assignment is handed in by the end of the day.

Enjoy your long weekend.

Background reading... William Shakespeare

On Friday, you received a packet with background information about William Shakespeare.  Your assignment is to read the packet and decide one aspect/topic to discuss.  Because I would like for everyone to share his/her blog on Tuesday, I'm asking for no more than two students to write about any given topic.  Please keep in mind, you can select a topic addressed in the packet as a starting point and add your previous knowledge or expand to the topic by researching additional information.  In addition, you can disagree or criticize with the position/topic addressed. 

Assignment specifics:  Respond to (reflect, agree/disagree with, speculate about...) a topic addressed in your Shakespeare packet.  Responses should be 200-250 words and must include specific quotes from the article.  In addition, unless you are the first student to respond, you should address a comment made by one of your classmates.  (What you choose to address from your classmate does not necessarily need to be directly related to your topic of discussion.)  As always, follow the conventions of standard written English.  This is an academic assignment, not a Facebook posting...

Due date:  Tuesday, November 22, 2011.

Hamlet :Characters

Hamlet, Prince of Denmark The crown prince of Denmark who returns from the university in Wittenberg, Germany, to find his father dead, his mother married to the king's brother (his uncle-now new step-father) Claudius, and Claudius newly self-crowned King.

Claudius, King of Denmark Dead King Hamlet's brother who has usurped the throne and married his sister-in-law. Young Hamlet's former uncle, now step-father.

Gertrude, Queen of Denmark Prince Hamlet's mother, King Hamlet's widow, King Claudius' new wife.

The Ghost Spirit of the late King Hamlet, condemned to walk the earth until his soul is cleansed of its sins.

Polonius The elderly Lord Chamberlain, chief counselor to Claudius.  The father of Laertes and Ophelia

Laertes A student in Paris, Laertes is Polonius' son and Ophelia's brother; he returns from school because of King Hamlet's death, leaves to go back to Paris, and then returns again after his own father's murder.

Ophelia Daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes, Ophelia is the beloved of Hamlet.

Horatio A commoner, Horatio went to school with Hamlet and remains his loyal best friend. He is smart and well-respected

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Classmates- not true friends of Hamlet's in Wittenberg. Claudius summons them to Elsinore to spy on Prince Hamlet. 

King Fortinbras  King of Norway. He loses his land and life to King Hamlet.

Prince Fortinbras prince of Norway, bound to avenge his father's death by the Danes' hands.  Think Foil.

Osric Affected courtier who plays a minor role as the King's messenger and as umpire of the fencing match between Hamlet and Laertes.

Voltimand and Cornelius Danish courtiers who are sent as ambassadors to the Court of Norway.

Marcellus and Barnardo Danish officers on guard at the castle of Elsinore.

Francisco Danish soldier on guard at the castle of Elsinore.

Reynaldo Young man whom Polonius instructs and sends to Paris to observe and report on Laertes' conduct.

Two Clowns (the Gravediggers) Two rustics (identified as clowns) who dig Ophelia's grave.

Think comic relief for what is an otherwise dark time in the play. 

Important Information & first A.P. workbook assignment

1. Turnitin.com is officially up and running.  We will discuss how to set up your student account today.  You must submit your Catcher essay to Turnitin.com in the next 24 hours or it will not be validated for 1st quarter grades.

2.  A.P. workbooks are here!  As we work on Hamlet in class, I will be assigning work in English Literature: Close Reading and Analytic Writing.  The majority of assignments from this book will be posted on our blog. 

3.  Your assignment:  Complete lesson 1 in  English Literature: Close Reading and Analytic Writing.  Take note of the marginal notes/questions to help guide your reading.  Respond to the "essay question" on our blog:

Lesson 1: from The Things They Carried - Tim O'Brien

Assignment:  Write an explication of the story's last paragraph, taking into account both objective information about Lemon and the narrator's interpretations.  Assignment length:  200 word minimum.  Due:  Tuesday, November 15.  There is no need to comment on classmates' posts for this assignment.  Follow the conventions of standard written English.

Remember:  Report to the Lecture Hall for class on Monday, November 14th.

"What's in a word?"

Homework assignment: 

Due: Tuesday, November 7th.  Remember: Bring your textbooks and post-it notes to class every day, unless otherwise instructed. 

Read and annotate Act I, Scene 1 of Hamlet. Take note of words that are repeated.  Post a blog about the word that you consider to be the most significant to the "tone" and "theme" (as much as you can infer) in the opening scene.  (Hint: most significant words, in this scene, are repeated at least 4 times.) Post a blog about the ONE word that you have selected.  Explain your rationale and make a prediction about the significance of the selected word.  Blogs should be approximately 100 words in length (minimum) and should contain at least one quote from the opening scene.  Unless you are the first to post, include a comment, observation or question about one of your classmate's posts. Follow the conventions of standard written English.                             

"What's in a word?"

Homework assignment: 
Due: Tuesday, November 7th.  Remember: Bring your textbooks and post-it notes to class every day, unless otherwise instructed. 

Read and annotate Act I, Scene 1 of Hamlet. Take note of words that are repeated.  Post a blog about the word that you consider to be the most significant to the "tone" and "theme" (as much as you can infer) in the opening scene.  (Hint: most significant words, in this scene, are repeated at least 4 times.) Post a blog about the ONE word that you have selected.  Explain your rationale and make a prediction about the significance of the selected word.  Blogs should be approximately 100 words in length (minimum) and should contain at least one quote from the opening scene.  Unless you are the first to post, include a comment, observation or question about one of your classmate's posts. Follow the conventions of standard written English.                                                                                      

"Conversation about the weather is the last refuge of the unimaginative.” Oscar Wilde

If you are reading this, congratulations; you have power. When we make it back to school next week, we will be moving forward at an "increased clip."

1.  Please note the test date:

Thursday, November 10th - Literary Term Test # 2  (Terms "Foil" to "plot" in your Literary Term Packet.)

2.  Please read the background information on Hamlet, so that you are ready for class discussion:

________________________________________________________

                      The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark

Author's Full Name: William Shakespeare

Date of Birth: 1564

Place of Birth: Stratford-upon-Avon, England

Date of Death: 1616

Brief background: Shakespeare’s father was a glove-maker, and Shakespeare received no more than a grammar school education. He married Anne Hathaway in 1582, but left his family behind around 1590 and moved to London, where he became an actor and playwright. He was an immediate success: Shakespeare soon became the most popular playwright of the day as well as a part-owner of the Globe Theater. His theater troupe was adopted by King James as the King’s Men in 1603. Shakespeare retired as a rich and prominent man to Stratford-upon-Avon in 1613, and died three years later.

Key Facts:

Genre: Tragic drama; Revenge tragedy

Setting: Denmark during the late middle ages (circa 1200), though characters in the play occasionally reference things or events from the Elizabethan Age (circa 1500).

Climax: The climax of Hamlet is a subject of debate. Some say it occurs when Hamlet kills Claudius, others when Hamlet hesitates to kill Claudius while Claudius is praying, others when Hamlet kills Polonius, and still others when Hamlet vows to focus on revenge at the end of Act 4.

Protagonist: Hamlet

Antagonists: Claudius

Historical and Literary Context

When Written: Between 1599-1601

Where Written: England

When Published: 1603 (First Quarto), 1604 (Second Quarto).

Literary Period: The Renaissance (1500-1660)

Related Literary Works: Hamlet falls into the tradition of revenge tragedy, in which the central character’s quest for revenge usually results in general tragedy. This tradition existed from Roman times (the Roman playwright Seneca was well known for writing revenge tragedies). The most famous revenge tragedy of Shakespeare’s day before Hamlet was Thomas Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy and some believe that Kyd wrote an earlier play of Hamlet, now lost, which scholars call the Ur-Hamlet. The story of Hamlet is based on a Danish revenge story first recorded by Saxo Grammaticus in the 1100s. In these stories, a Danish prince fakes madness in order to take revenge on his uncle, who had killed the prince’s father and married his mother. But Shakespeare modified this rather straightforward story and filled it with dread and uncertainty—Hamlet doesn’t just feign madness; he seems at times to actually be crazy.

Related Historical Events: Hamlet is in many ways a product of the Reformation, in which Protestants broke away from the until-then dominant Catholic Church, as well as the skeptical humanism of late Renaissance Northern Europe, which held that there were limits on human knowledge. Hamlet’s constant anxiety about the difference between appearance and reality, as well as his concerns about and difficulties with religion (the sinfulness of suicide, the unfairness that killing a murderer while the murderer is praying would result in sending the murder to heaven) can be seen as directly emerging from the breaks in religion and thought brought on by the Reformation and Renaissance humanist thought.