1. Today, we began the class with a one-question quiz to see who, of all our group, is sharp enough to pick up the truth! The question was “Do we have evidence enough, based only on the dialogue of the play, to decide whether Claudius is guilty?” We all suspect and have discussed whether he is guilty of the murder of his brother, the (now) Ghost, but is there evidence from what he or others say that proves it?
   The responses were varied but a few smarties clarified with their answers that we have evidence that Claudius is guilty … of something… but we do not have specific proof that his guilty conscience is over a murder, but could instead possibly be his guilt over his new marriage.
2. We got right back into the play, starting right at the part where the Play King and Queen have their dialogue while the others watch. The audio we have of this does just a phenomenal job of creating the tension and outbreaks necessary for this part of the play. It all comes down to this…
3. We have discussed (and reviewed today) that an Elizabethan play has a different plot structure than other stories or plays. While those others draw out the story more before coming to a strong climax and finding things resolved in the end, this type of play creates the climax or highest point of tension in the middle of the play, making for a very long-winded end to everything. In our play, though, since it is a tragedy, we know things come to drastic ends for everyone.
4. We’ll finish Act III tomorrow, go through the questions along with that Act, and possibly watch a portion of this Act before moving on. Remember, blogs are due for marking on Friday.

Here’s a good version of the Mousetrap to watch.

1. We reviewed our last class together, the end where Hamlet reveals quite clearly that he doubts the ghost can be trusted and plans the task of finding proof of Claudius’s guilt. We reviewed the questions for Act II and then got into Act III.
2. I reviewed with the students the plot structure of this type of play, an Elizabethan play. Whereas in a story, the climax or highest point of tension may come near the end of the story and then resolves itself quickly, in this type of play the climax or great tension comes in the middle of the play and things unwind painfully slow throughout the long end. In this Act, Act III, Hamlet, our tragic character, does something (what exactly… we will see) but that something absolutely SEALS HIS FATE and the end is inevitable for him.
3. We read through to the part of Act III sc ii just where the players are about to act out Hamlet’s extra scene. It gets very good tomorrow! I’m looking forward to it.
4. Blogs are due on Friday, as well, so keep pushing through them. They’re looking really great and I’m pleased to see so many get to the point where they’re reading each other’s now. The hope in doing these journal projects this way was that, being published like this, they may be read. I hope you’re enjoying it.

1. Students were given another copy of the checklist and told they would have to hand it in on Friday (their extended due date). It is their own personal checklist so they can see how much of the assignment they have completed.
2. Anyone who has been blogging already and completed a few posts were welcome to go work in the mainlab for today’s class. Those who had yet to begin a blog post or get into it had to stay and work in the classroom on the computers so they were in one area where I could help them all with questions. Some of these blogs are so creatively developed with unique perspectives on the topics. I’m really enjoying seeing them now that the students have all had some time to get it started. They’re not so bare now!

Check out some of their blogs – linked from the right-hand side of this blog.

1. There were three “nagging questions” written on the board for students to write out. There are big questions students are asked to consider as they follow along with the play and they’ll eventually have to make up their mind on what answer they think the literature supports. Should Hamlet trust the Ghost? Is Gertrude guilty of adultery and murder? Is Hamlet pretending madness at Ophelia’s or faking already?
2. We got right back into the reading and got quite far today. We read along with the text as the audio version was played. At the portion where we had just ended before the bell, Hamlet gives a clear message to the audience that he cannot be sure the Ghost should be trusted, because sometimes “devils” will appear and tempt men to their fates through familiar characters. Shakespeare means to imply that Hamlet waits for proof of his job – of revenge. Has he at all procrastinated, at this point? You decide. The “play within the play” is in our next scene and is one of the most popular parts of all Shakespeare plays.

Here is Kenneth Branagh’s version of Hamlet – the scene we read through today in class. His version is well-liked, but the Mel Gibson one, I’m afraid, is the more popular.

[kml_flashembed movie="http://youtube.com/v/jy6c4fpZyDw" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

1. We read through the conversation between Hamlet and the Ghost. There are a few questions left for students to consider as we read the rest of the play:
   1. The ghost tells Hamlet first that he lost his wife to his brother who seduced her. Then he tells him how he was foully murdered by that same brother. Some people who study Hamlet believe that since the Ghost described the relationship between the Queen and brother before the murder, this is an indication of an actual affair between Queen Gertrude and her brother-in-law before the King died. Whether Gertrude knew about the plan to kill the King, helped with it, was completely unaware but involved with the brother, or was faithful to her husband, no one really can say for sure. Watch for indicators in the rest of the play to help make up your mind.
   2. We also still don’t know if we can trust the Ghost. Brad had some mishaps today at the beginning of class, which was a great transition into one of the biggest questions yet solved from the play – I asked whether Brad was destined by fate to have troubles and setbacks or whether it was his own decisions that lead him to accidents and such. The same goes for Hamlet – is he condemned by his fate to die a tragic figure or does he decide his own fate and is then responsible for what comes? You decide.
2. We read along in our books as we listened to the audio of Act II sc i and ii. Two brave souls, Ken and Shaun, were kind enough to come to the front of our class and act out for us the scene that Ophelia describes to her father of Hamlet’s most bizzare behavior. (See the video below for their performance!)   [kml_flashembed movie="http://youtube.com/v/4I4EYdYeNXw" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
3. From that, I left the class with a question to ponder:
   1. If you had recently had such disappointments in your life as Hamlet (Father dead, mother married suddenly… to Uncle, no crown to expect, everyone drinks to excess and you’re disgusted with life… what is the one thing you would “CLING” to and try to hold on to? There should be at least one thing you can “count on” and trust in. For Hamlet, the one thing left in his world that made sense was Ophelia and their affection for each other. What would Hamlet do, then, if Ophelia suddenly started acting distant and refused to see him. Wouldn’t he really become depressed and wonder whether anything has meaning at that point? Some people beleive that’s why Hamlet broke into Ophelia’s presence in such an abrupt manner, in this scene. Whether he was play acting, pretending to be mad and faking it even for her, or whether he was actually upset over everything and expressed true feelings of frustration and uncertainty to her, again, is up to you to decide.

1. We started off with a reminder about blogs being due next week. Students were encouraged to start reading each other’s blogs and adding their comments. They have a handout / checklist meant to help them ensure they’ve completed all that was required of the blog project and on the far right column is a space for them to fill in the name of the person’s blog for each week.
2. We briefly talked about a few of the main characters and what it is about their personality or habits that suits the outfit that character wears during our play acting. For example, Claudius is wearing a Hawaiian shirt because every day’s a party for him, now that he has his brother’s crown, his wife, and a kingdom to control. Hamlet, though, broods every day about the death of his father, the vulgar marriage of his mother to his uncle, the fact that all anyone in his kingdom does anymore is drinks which brings down the value of their people in the eyes of others… but also because he wasn’t made king.
3. We read through all the scene questions for all of Act one, except scene five, which we watched in video first, before reading it. We reviewed on the board the beliefs people had about ghosts at the time Shakespeare’s play would have been created. They beleived any sign of a ghost meant something was left undone, someone was possibly murdered, they had burried treasure they had to show to someone, they wanted to lure people to their death or just warn of impending doom. What was the purpose of this ghost and how did people interpret what he had to say?
4. We watched the two videos attached in yesterday’s blog post for B30. They, the class, definitely appreciated the Mel Gibson version moreso than the first video. We pointed out the two tasks the Ghost asks of Hamlet. From these, we have to decide whether Hamlet follows his instructions as asked. He was to:
   1. Taint not thy mind
   2. Nor let thy soul contrive/Against thy mother aught
5. Then we watched Holly, Eric and Josh’s performance of Porphyria’s Lover on video. They did a wonderful job and should feel pleased with their performance.

1. We gathered together in the classroom first to go over a few things:
   1. Blogs were checked over the weekend. Some people are keeping up and others have to get cracking. I was surprised and pleased to see that several had left themselves messages, little “note to self” messages, to remind themselves of the due date coming up. They were left by their “future selves” so it as intruiging. Computer time was reviewed with the students so they all understand the availability of computers and internet is there.
   2. Assignments were returned and it was re-explained why those with missing assignments will have to get whole new assignments to complete. Doing it this way allows the other students who completed their assignments on time to feel that it is more fair, that other students don’t get “extra time” to complete the same work. New assignments are usually more difficult and mean the student has to start from scratch so they begin all over. It seems to work well for everyone.
2. We moved onto the stage in the gym but had some complications finding room for everyone, getting settled, and figuring out the cd audio system. Once we got going, though, things went well. Students are standing in their positions, posing sometimes as the characters as the audio plays their parts, and other times the students read out their lines themselves. Tomorrow, we’ll gather in the classroom and go over a few things so far and discuss the questions for Act 1 sc 1-3.
3. Here are a few videos that are interpretations of the Ghost scene in Act 1 sc 4. Since Hamlet is Shakespeare’s most appreciated work, there are several different examples or interpretations to choose from.

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/5DfKi5L8H9c" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/hNVS59BF-vo" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

1. Students were given play books with their numbers written down. I explained they had to hand in the exact book they’ve registered as having. Handing in a book at the end of the study will not help them if it’s not the one they’re registered as having. Keep track of your books!
2. We talked about the structure of our reading – we can listen along to the cd, read it aloud, or a combination of the two, but students have to really keep their focus and attention in order for our studies to be of value. There is some entertainment meant to be in reading it on the stage with people standing there in their parts, but if too much rowdy action goes on, it won’t be beneficial and we’ll have to go back to reading it in the classroom.
3. Once on the stage, our volunteers got themselves ready in their costumes. I was surprised that the girls actually “wore” the dresses for their lady’s parts; I only anticipated they could wear them around their necks and have them hang in front of them. lol The students did a great job of portraying their roles, even asking if they could read for a bit as well. Well done!

1. We had a well-planned for performance of the “Porphyria’s Lover” dramatic reading this morning. Other groups who have not yet performed their poem will have to make other arrangements on the schedule by the door.
2. To start Hamlet, we watched the video below with Rowan Atkinson and the lead actor on the show House, Hugh Laurie. They were doing a skit where a play producer back in “Shakey’s” time period was trying to shorten the length of Hamlet and cut out words to create the now-famous “to be or not to be” monologue.
3. We looked at a dialogue between Hamlet and his mother, except Hamlet’s part of the discussion was written in Text Message lingo. The point of this was to show that, while the language used in the play may seem unusual or “old style”, language continues to change. For these students to be able to understand what Hamlet’s part of the conversation was saying, they were able to “interpret” it, which is what they’ll have to keep doing for the play.
4. We tried something new today, as well. I had several statements up on the projector wall and asked the students as a group to respond to each. If they “strongly agreed” with the statement, they had to go stand in the back corner of the room. If they “strongly disagreed”, they had to stand in the front corner. Anyone who was sort of “uncertain” had to stand in the middle. The point of this was to decide what their response was to the question but to also align themselves with others who felt that way. An example of one of the statements was “Others dictate your fate more than you yourself.” Others are “Not making a decision is, in itself, a decision” or “Over thinking leads to inaction”. These statements are all related to the plot of the play and its major themes.
5. The students were given handouts:
   1. A fold-out page that has the plot structure of the play for students to fill in once we’re done. On the back, it also has a diagram of the plot structure of an Elizabethan play. The play Hamlet follows this Elizabethan structure, one that existed before Shakespeare’s time but that he used for all of his tragedies. In it, the problem is presented in the first Act, complications arise in Act 2, the climax or highest point of tension occurs in Act 3 (which you would think would come more towards the end of the play) but that tension continues through Act 4 in which the tragic hero seals his fate by some action. In the final Act, Act 5, the tragic resolution comes leaving many of the characters dead and the story left to be told to others.
   2. Students were also given a handout that is going to be quite important. It has:
      1. An introduction to the character of Hamlet and a variety of ways people perceive him.
      2. The common characteristics of Elizabethan tragedies, such as a tragic hero who fakes madness, a young virginal maiden who goes insane and kills herself, the hero is forced to do unpleasant things despite his wishes, ghosts who tempt men to their death and more.
      3. A background description of what all transpires in the first few scenes of Act 1.
      4. Summaries for each of the individual scenes.
      5. Questions for each of the chapters. We will discuss these together as a class.
6. We talked through all these and volunteers signed up for the roles in the first few scenes of Act 1 that we will start tomorrow.
7. We had a few people play dress up as well, trying on the outfits for each of the characters. We’ll see how things go with out performances!