The dreaded Hamlet is finally finished, but throughout this unit I warmed up to Shakespeare and the play Hamlet. My goal was to be able to understand his old English without the help of Ms. Holmes, sadly I don't think I accomplished my goal, but reading Hamlet has helped me get one step closer. Annotating helped a lot and the impromptu switch in finals to the acting project helped me because it allowed me to understand Hamlet in not only one, but in two ways. After looking back I was able to make connections between Hamlet and our past readings, and the one that stuck out the most was Hamlet and Willy. Both characters essentially had the same question "to be or not to be..." They both saw death as the "easy" way out and contemplated this issue throughout their respective stories. I was also able to relate my own life to this play, although I didn't have the horrendous issue of having a father who was killed by my uncle and then became my dad...I connected with some of Hamlet's issues. Such as doing whats right, and dealing with the thin line between not doing anything and standing up for what you belive in.
We are now reading Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead and suprisingly enough it's a connection or branch off of Hamlet. I agree with Ms. Holmes that even though it looks like a light read there are many layers to peel back. Right now I'm iffy on the true meanings and connections to Hamlet, but I think the many class discussions and annotations will help me decipher this book. Now that second semester has started the AP exam is creeping closer and I'm getting nervous for the essays we have to write. Although AP practice essays are dreaded I hope we do some because I need to practice those for sure.
We are now reading Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead and suprisingly enough it's a connection or branch off of Hamlet. I agree with Ms. Holmes that even though it looks like a light read there are many layers to peel back. Right now I'm iffy on the true meanings and connections to Hamlet, but I think the many class discussions and annotations will help me decipher this book. Now that second semester has started the AP exam is creeping closer and I'm getting nervous for the essays we have to write. Although AP practice essays are dreaded I hope we do some because I need to practice those for sure.
Hello!
ReplyDeleteI am glad that the final helped you understand Hamlet a bit better, it was so cool seeing the physical manifestation of what all my class mates were thinking. I am also intrigued by your comparison of Willy and Hamlet, you bring up some valid points (things like this will really help you on the AP test!)
Good Job,
Erin Donahue
Hey Neha,
ReplyDeleteI like that you focused on how the lengthy read of Shakespeare's Hamlet has helped you and what you still find confusing. Don't worry, I see other people's post, and it seems like we all struggle with similar problems!(: It's great that you were able to connect and link other materials from the course to Hamlet. That's something I had a difficult time doing. I honestly think that by annotating Hamlet, I'm able to look and read literature with a whole new, deeper perspective. Recently, we did a poem analysis and I was really surprised by how many things I found that actually matched with the real meaning. As for R&G, it was so absurdist, it was difficult to actually understand the exact points. I didn't think it connected too much to Hamlet, it seemed very independent although one of the essays said that it solely was dependent on Shakespeare and that Shakespeare is God, I see it, but I don't agree with it too much. What kind of branching do you see between R&G and Hamlet?
I definately agree with the layer thing about Ros and Guil. Even now, I'm sure I'm still missing some of the ideas.
ReplyDeleteI also like the comparison between Willy and Hamlet!
Nice job, keep it up!