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.