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 »

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.

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.

Are full of passionate intensity. ((Full text.))

So. Okonkwo’s story is reduced to a “reasonable paragraph.” It is a tough story, but perhaps a few questions remain:

• In what way did Okonkwo (by the standards of his society, by his own standards, by the standards of the colonizers) bring about his own fall?
• In what way was he driven to it by events outside his control?
• Can you imagine a way he could have prevented it and maintained his standard of living?
• (Tough question:) What do you think of his final decision?
• We discussed several similar situations in class today. What can this fictional account of historical events tell us about the interactions between societies?
• In what ways are societies like an individual? How does this concept of “identity” play out at the national scale?

More questions to come, I’m sure. Please add your own (or any answers) in class or in the comments below.

We will wrap up our discussion of this novel officially tomorrow, but will continue to come back to it throughout the year. Our next work is Oedipus, which we will follow with The Stranger.

Your midterm paper will follow the same writing process we used your junior year (compilation of patterns and ideas from your journals, organization into outlines, peer review, presentation, rough drafts, peer review and one-on one with me, final drafts. You will be required to pull from multiple works (those read in class and others you discover on your own; check the syllabus for ideas) in presenting your ideas on the development of identity. Keep this in mind as you continue to read and journal. We’ll discuss the patterns you are finding during class discussions and when I check your journals.

I’m not a big fan of playing the numbers game when it comes to your educations. This game draws attention toward the numerical value of assignments ((We’ve discussed the “how many points do I have to score on the final to get an A” game before.)) and away from the stuff you want to know. This is why you cannot do extra work to raise your grade, but are welcome to re-work anything (read: master the material and make an improvement). This is why your practice essays are not in the grade book. This is why your multiple choice tests are not in the grade book. In turning your backs on the (potentially) high-anxiety grading system in favor of one that promotes self-reflection and improvement, you have made great strides in your writing. ((I realize I’m committing my second least-favorite teacher offense by lumping you all together, but this proud moment wouldn’t be happening if you all hadn’t made some progress.)) By taking risks and viewing all of your work as steps toward mastery, even if you falter occasionally, you have become true students. ((L. studere, “to be eager, diligent”))

However, even with that polemic against the current number-centric grading system…

I couldn’t be more excited about those three title numbers. Why, you ask?

The middle column is based on your previously discussed multiple choice scores. The right column is based on your MC scores from today. Whereas before, the 5 would have been out of your average ((I realize I’m committing my second least-favorite teacher offense by lumping you all together, but this proud moment wouldn’t be happening if you all hadn’t made some progress.)) reach, based on the current evidence of your mastery, I’m confident that you will all pass this test with flying colors.

In the past few weeks we have blown through several exams worth of multiple choice questions, learning new vocabulary, reading/skimming skills, and (ugh) test-taking strategies. And it has paid off.

</hypocrisy>

More important, though, you have become engaging writers and skeptical readers. You have the skills to continue learning about arguments, to create your own, and to improve upon those of others. This is a great achievement. I hope you will move forward with these skills and learn with an unceasing eagerness.

Good work, guys.