British Literature Archive - The Winsome Scholar - page 3

O proud death…

British Literature

September 15th, 2010

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So that was epic. We wrapped up Hamlet in class today. Give yourself a pat on the back; you’ve just annotated one of the greatest works of Western literature. Now comes the fun part: telling others what you’ve learned. Read the rest of this entry »

Patton’s habit of pocket notebook keeping began after his freshman year at West Point. His first year had not gone well; he struggled with dyslexia and failed mathematics, forcing him to repeat his “plebe” year in the fall. He returned to school in 1905 with a steely dedication to this time be a success, and he started a small black leather notebook to help keep himself on track. He used his notebook to record daily happenings, explore ideas of leadership and war strategy, draw diagrams, and even pen poetry on love. But its most important use was as a place to write down the affirmations and principles that would guide his journey toward his ultimate goal- becoming a great general
via The Pocket Notebooks of 20 Famous Men | The Art of Manliness. Comments Off on The Pocket Notebooks of 20 Famous Men | The Art of Manliness

There’s rue for you; and here’s some for me

British Literature

September 11th, 2010

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When we last heard from our tragic hero, he had just boarded a pirate ship (IV.vi) because no epic story is complete without pirates. Meanwhile, his girlfriend has lost her mind, and her brother is willing to “dare damnation” (IV.v) in his quest for revenge. Good times.

To clarify where we are in the writing process (oh yes—you have already begun writing your papers):

You have journals chock full of quotations and responses to several poems, each potentially connected to the play. (If you don’t, now would be a good time to re-read them in light of what you know about Hamlet.)

In this same journal, you have record of the awesomeness (themes, motifs, questions, answers, etc.) of the play.

Most of you presented a connection between a poem (or two) and the play. Your connection ideas ranged from the desperation of the speaker in “Not Waving but Drowning” and Hamlet’s situation, to the theme of power in “Ozymandias” or “Viva la Vida” and Claudius’ ascension to the throne, to a contrast between the death of Hamlet’s father and Thomas’s in “Do not go gentle.” Solid ones, all.

Remember, this is very early pre-writing; no matter how small or “wrong” you might think your idea is, it is important to get your ideas on paper. A small or weak idea will lead you to a larger or stronger one as you collect your thoughts and support.

Start recording why you see this connection—write out an explanation of why the poem seems to represent the connection you’ve made, then the play. As you do this, look for ways of expanding or focusing your topic. For example, if your “theme is death of fathers” (I.ii), you would want to explore the death of King Hamlet and Polonius (looking toward “Do not go gentle,” maybe). From there, you could expand it to include death in general (and “Meditation #17”), or focus it on death and the afterlife (“Death be not proud,” Hamlet’s hesitation (III.iii)). Don’t worry too much about proper sentence structure and such right now. The stuff you write now will turn into an outline in the next step, anyway.

We’ll be talking about this in more detail next week, but definitely get started in the meantime; make sure your journals are complete to IV.vi, review your journal sections on the poems, and begin fleshing out your connections.

Quick Hamlet Update

British Literature

September 7th, 2010

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We read through III.i in class today. Your work for the evening:

  • If your journal isn’t up to scene one of the third act, get there. You should be setting aside at least half an hour a night to review what we read in class.
  • Look up the story of Pyrrhus and Priam (here would be a good place to start) and journal your thoughts about why Shakespeare chose to include this story at this point in the play. (Also, mobled queen? Why does Polonius approve of this descriptor?)
  • By this point you should begin making connections between the poems and the play. Looking over your notes, what scenes, themes, or images in Hamlet are reminiscent of particular poems? Your connections at this stage will be very rough, and many won’t pan out as you look for more evidence. That’s okay; keep looking for connections and evidence, recording as you go. Something will click.

Let me not burst in ignorance!

British Literature

September 1st, 2010

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Our foray into Hamlet has begun. Here is the plan for this work:

  1. We’ll watch 2-3 scenes per day, pausing when necessary for immediate clarification. As you watch, follow along with the text in your books or on the screen, recording questions, reactions, insights, and connections.
  2. Each night you should read back over the scenes, answering questions as you can, looking up information, asking more questions, recording more insights and connections.
  3. Come to class the next day ready to ask your questions about the previous night’s reading and help others answer theirs.
  4. Repeat.

You will write over Hamlet and the poems for your midterm (due tentatively by 30 September). While I will not give you a required topic to write over, it would be a good idea to start with those poems (3-5) that you feel the most comfortable with and find connections to Hamlet’s story as we move forward. I will give you guidance as I check your journals (at least once weekly from now on, but if you are uncomfortable with your grade you may come see me before or after school to ask questions or show me your progress) and we will be discussing these connections as we move through the work.

The writing process for my classes is as follows:

  1. Journaling (yep, you’ve already started your papers! How do they look so far?)
  2. Review of your notes, looking for patterns and connections. If more research is required, it is done at this stage.
  3. Outlining your ideas, ensuring sufficient support for your points and an appropriate thesis statement.
  4. Peer review, presentation of outlines. This ensures that your ideas and connections are clear to you and others.
  5. Revision of outlines, peer review as necessary.
  6. Rough drafting of the paper, watching for proper style, grammar, etc.
  7. Peer review of rough drafts followed by a one-on-one review with me.
  8. Revision of rough draft into final draft.
  9. Peer review, revise (last time!) then turn it in.

It seems like a lot of work (and it should), but if you have thoroughly journaled a work (plenty of quotations, answered questions, and connections), the outline only requires organizing your thoughts and information, the rough draft entails making the information clear and engaging, and the final draft is a run-through for grammar and punctuation.

So, what’s the punchline? Journal well, my friends, and ask plenty of questions.