Block, 2/27 - Act 3 cont'd

8 Week Old Baby Reno Alive and Beating in the Womb

• P&P

• Continue with Act 3 (Try to finish)

HW: Finish J7 over the weekend. See yesterday's post.

Tuesday and Wednesday, 2/24-25 - Yah. Sorry 'bout yesterday ; )

• P&P

• Quick J6 spot check (Tues)

• Announcement: I'll be gone Wednesday, so here is the assignment: Begin working on as much of J7 as you can answer. We will continue Act 3 when I return. Please pray for our time at the doctor. Blessings, my little poppies!

J7 - Hamlet: Act 3 (consult Leithart and Hamlet itself)

1. Though fundamentally opposites, how are Ophelia and Claudius similar, according to Leithart? 
2. What tendencies do Hamlet and Claudius share?
3. How is Claudius a complex character (in other words, how is he more than mere monster)?
4. What factors contribute to Hamlet's hatred of marriage (and women in particular)?
5. What is the double-edged nature of the play (what is doubly significant about the death of the player king and his murderer)? In other words, how does the court interpret it? How does Claudius interpret it?
6.  What is Claudius struggling with when Hamlet finds him praying? Explain his biblical allusion ("primal eldest curse"), his distinction between earthly and heavenly justice, and his subsequent dilemma (what would be required of true repentance?).
7. Explain how Hamlet's deliberation in killing Claudius shows us he is increasing in madness (specifically as it pertains to vengeance).
8. Explain several of the ways in which the death of Polonius is the turning point ("lynch pin") of the play.
9. What is ironic about Hamlet's attempt to hold up a mirror to Gertrude? What does this tell us about Hamlet's moral constitution? 
10. Given that the murder of Polonius is the murder of another father, what can we expect to see in the immediate future?

Monday, 2/24 - Do J6 during class today

do J6.

Block, 2/13 - J6

• P&P

• Finish Act 2 together. 

HW: I'll have mercy on y'all. J6 will be due the Tuesday of your return . . . not Monday ; )

J6 - Hamlet: Act 2 (Leithart 130-139)

1. Why does Act 2 begin with Polonius's seeming impertinent dialogue with Reynaldo? 
2. What are the two results of spying?
3. What is extremely significant about the ambassadors' news upon returning from Norway (and what does it have to do with Hamlet)?
4. What is so significant about Hamlet's alleged madness? In other words, why is everyone so concerned about him?
5. What are the theories concerning Hamlet's madness and who holds each theory? (There are at least three.)
6. What is Hamlet's purpose behind his "verbal fencing"?
7. What are the implications to Hamlet's calling Polonius a "fishmonger"?
8.  Explain the meaning behind Hamlet's warning to Polonius: "For if the sun breed maggots in a dead dog, being a god kissing carrion--Have you a daughter? . . . Let her not walk i' the sun. Conception is a blessing, but as your daughter may conceive--friend' look to 't."
9. Explain why Hamlet reacts so emotionally upon hearing the first players speech. 
10. How will the play The Murder of Gonzago relate to the theme of spying?

 

Wednesday, 2/12 - "The serpent that did sting thy father's life

Now wears his crown" (1.5.46-47)

• P&P

• How many of you will be absent next week?

Tuesday, 2/11 - "Be wary, then; best safety lies in fear.

Youth to itself rebels, though none else near" (1.347-48).

• P&P

• A note on Shakespeare's lost manuscript

• Starting place: page 43 (1.3.57)

Monday, 2/10 - Hamlet's ghost

Blue Steel? Le Tigre? No . . . Magnum.

• P&P

• Check J5 (discuss later)

• Let's keep rolling through the drachma ; )

Block, 2/6 - Bloodlet

• P&P

• Discuss J4

• Yes, Hamlet is about a bloodletting of the Kingdom of Denmark. Let's see how it gets there ; ) 

• Pick up where we left off . . .

HW: Do J5 below

J5 - Hamlet: Act 1

1. What dramatic and thematic purposes does Fortinbras, the young prince of Norway, serve? 
2. Contrast the late King Hamlet (the ghost) with Claudius (his brother and present King of Denmark).
3. What is significant (and ironic) about fathers, particularly about most of the fathers in this drama?
4. How does Shakespeare develop the theme that appearances sometimes mask reality (cite two examples)?
5. What is the purpose of Shakespeare's "ghosts"?
6. Discuss the important question concerning the "nature" of the ghost (where it comes from) and how we know. 
7. How was King Hamlet killed? What imagery does the ghost use to describe his death, and why is this (biblically) significant?

 

Christian Worship: What Is It?

What is worship?

Before we even try to scratch the surface, you should know that this is merely the surface. 

Psalm 100 - All people that on earth do dwell

Wednesday, 2/5 - Hamlet

• P&P

• So it begins . . . Hamlet, that is. Before we begin it, let us hear what a few of the critics have to say about this mysterious drama (see below the HW)

• Let's discuss J4

HW:

1. Finish J4 (reading posted on Focus)

 

Tuesday, 2/4 - Examination in the Senate

Hamlet is so . . . exciting, riveting, even . . . to this chair.

• P&P

• I am here to examination you. Be examinationed, then ; )

HW: Read Leithart's "Introduction: Tragedy" and also his introductory remarks on Hamlet (Here is a link - pages 111-120 or so). Basically, you may stop reading when you hit the "Lesson One: Act 1" section. Then do the questions below and upload your assignment to Google Drive.

J4 - Intro to Tragedy and Hamlet

1. According to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, what makes a drama a tragedy?
2. What kind of protagonist is generally required for a successful tragedy and why?  
3. List several of the ways that Shakespearean tragedy differs from Sophoclean (or Greek) tragedy.
4. Given that the shape of Hamlet is a "Fall story," what types of characters, events, and ideas ought we to be looking for as we read?
5. Why is Hamlet such a popular drama?
6. What are two of the minor textual problems in Hamlet? What is one major problem?
7. Give two examples of the way Hamlet shows signs of compositional unity.
8. Cite two reasons why Leithart considers Hamlet a drama that condemns the revenge ethic.
9. Rather than viewing Hamlet as having "contradictions" and "loose ends," Leithart suggests that Shakespeare was making what profound observation?
10. How is Hamlet healthy reading for those who live in an age "dominated by scientific idolatry"?

 

Psalm 22:11-20 - Be not far off for grief is near