Shakespeare Links

You will have today's class period ONLY to complete this assignment. PLEASE WORK DILIGENTLY!

I have gathered together several websites that have information about Shakespeare or his times. Use these websites to finish filling out your information guide to Shakespeare.

http://www.symbaloo.com/mix/shakespeare1

After you have completed the background information on Shakespeare, please choose one of the quotes after the jump. You will research how this quote is used in modern times by checking on The New York Times website for current articles that still use Shakespeare's words today. 

For fun, check out this hilarious parody of Forrest Gump for the life of William Shakespeare!

List of Shakespeare FAMOUS Quotes after the jump!

Shakespeare Wish I to Understand

Shakespeare's language sounds a little weird at first. But really, once you try to read those "fancy" words and funky word order, the story isn't that difficult to get. Check out this awesome example by comedian John Branyan: A Triune Tale of Diminutive Swine (recorded live show video here).


Shakespeare's language sounds funny because it is Early Modern English, not our Modern English that we speak every day. You see, our language has morphed from Germanic roots of Old English to the Latin influence of Middle English and additions of French during the Renaissance to create Early Modern English. Now this all happened through a series of mini, simple changes to the everyday language (known as vernacular) that later became a significant shift in how the language was spoken and written. Etymology and linguistics is supremely interesting, so be sure to check out some resources if it intrigues you to know why we spell some words "ie" and others "ei" (or "ph" and "f").

R&J Helpful Links

Sometimes, reading Shakespeare and figuring out what he means can be difficult. There are ZILLIONS of resources on the web, but here are a few that I recommend without the extraneous (and unreliable) high school student websites out there. I will continue to add to this post as I find more extremely helpful resources!

Easy Reading

• Audio version will full cast: Quick, fun, great voices!
• http://www.speak-the-speech.com/romeoandjuliet.htm
• OpenSource Shakespeare: Concordance, searchable texts, and easy navigation!
• http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/playmenu.php?WorkID=romeojuliet
• No Fear Shakespeare: A side-by-side Shakespeare text and modern text. Also available in book format to buy!
• http://nfs.sparknotes.com/romeojuliet/
• Bartleby: Online copy of Shakespeare’s text accompanied with line numbers
• http://www.bartleby.com/70/index38.html

Helpful Analysis

• Mr. Bruff offers detailed and sound analysis with a delightful British accent. He has many videos that can help you with other texts and assignments, too. The following are video analyses of Romeo and Juliet.
• https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqGFsWf-P-cB7YAoARj6iAFCglAfy9aN2

Continuing She's the Man

Complete the worksheet for She's the Man before we compare this Shakespearean adaptation to a traditional version of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.

As we continue with Shakespeare, prepare your paper presentation for your exam day (Thursday for 1st, Friday for 2nd). Remember I will add up to 10 points on your paper grade based on this presentation for your final exam grade.

Beginning Twelfth Night

The entire unit for Shakespeare's Twelfth Night will begin today. We will look at some famous quotes from the play to see their presence in modern times. (Even more Twelfth Night quotes can be found at the preceding link.)

I have gathered together several websites that have information about Shakespeare or his times. Use these websites to finish filling out your information guide to Shakespeare.

http://www.symbaloo.com/mix/shakespeare1

Check out this hilarious parody of Forrest Gump for the life of William Shakespeare!

Click here for a more extensive list of Shakespeare FAMOUS Quotes.

Macbeth in Film

Comparison Chart

3 Versions of Act 1, Scene 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clG8ha2D26g

Two Versions of Act 4, Scene 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3nyHy4s6ew   immediately followed by http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vr8b9SQ68sw

and your favorite, the PBS version (which also stars Mrs. Catermole from the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt.1 as Lady Macbeth), is also available on Netflix:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/episodes/macbeth/watch-the-full-program/1030/

No Heavy Books!--Macbeth Text Online

Here are some great resources for making Macbeth more accessible to read and to carry!

• In class, we will be listening to the dramatized audio version of Macbeth.
• SparkNotes has the entire text of Macbeth in both Shakespearean English and Modern English. 
• The entire text on a searchable website can be found from MIT. 
• The Google Play store has an android app to play Macbeth as an audio book.

Take any one of these to complete your Act dramatization

Fellow teachers and parents, read this well-crafted article that demonstrates how fun (and wild) reading Shakespeare in school can get!

Elizabethan Sonnets

English IVs have begun a new unit on Renaissance and Elizabethean England. Today, we looked at the rhyme scheme and meter of Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham to begin identification and analysis of poetic structure.

We also looked at the sonnet in modern times to notice the structure, theme, and format of this special type of poem before we add that crazy Early Modern English speech of Shakespeare, Spenser, and Sidney. Next time, we will continue analyzing sonnets from the Elizabethean era.

Check out one screen shot of our analysis here!

The Imminent Climax of Macbeth

After reading all of Act III and the first scene of Act IV, we are now taking our time analyzing and focusing on what has happened, why it is important, and the poetic significance of Macbeth.

As we continue Act IV, we will watch some film interpretations of Act I scene i and Act IV scene i. (Version 1, Version 2). Your favorite, the PBS version (which also stars Mrs. Catermole from the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt.1 as Lady Macbeth), is also available on Netflix. Each of you will get to tell how YOU would direct Macbeth with this Elements of Directing Sheet. 

You'll notice that Joseph Campbell's Monomyth can also be applied here. Check out this image and see if you can modify the Acts below to align Macbeth to The Hero with a Thousand Faces.

MB Act I: Setting Mood

The first Act of Macbeth introduces some interesting characters and scenes. Notice already the motifs of darkness, strange omens, and epic foreshadowing that you can connect throughout the rest of the play. We will track these connections through analysis and summary of quotes by characters throughout the play. The first Character Quotes sheet is due at the end of the unit on test day.

We have begun to track paradoxes in the first scene. Think about how these establish a theme and particular motif in the play.

We will watch these three versions of Act I.i and compare director's choices for how to present Shakespeare's words in a real-life enactment.


The following handouts will be completed by the end of Act I and are due on Wednesday.

• Act I.iii
• Act I.vi

Translating Shakespeare's Language

The Three Little Pigs: Shakespearean Style (Branyan)

Today in 3rd Period, we looked into decoding Shakespeare's language into our everyday words. Shakespeare really had over 5,400+ words in his vocabulary because he was one of the elite educated. Now that everyone is educated and uses written words in everyday life (think facebook and twitter), we are down to 3,000+ words.

However, some of Shakespeare's words have made it in tact to our modern era. These phrases are used in our daily life without many of us ever knowing! Check out this massive list for a few! Definitely fun to see how many YOU use!

We used the following chart to look at translations of Shakespeare into modern language and phrases.

Spring Break TO-DOs!!!!

Seniors: Two things:

• Macbeth Take-Home Test
• Remember you may use your text and resources to answer your test. This will be due Wednesday, April 10th after Spring Break.
• Along with your test, remember to complete your Character Quote handouts for basic Macbeth plot.
• Senior Project Hours and Portfolios
• All Senior Project info can be found at this link.
• 10 product hours and 5 mentor hours will be due the week you return to school, so GET WORKING!
• Fill in all those gaps in your portfolio using the forms and format found here on the blog and in the Senior Project Handbook.

Juniors:

• Time to edit your research papers. Even if you take just a few hours to create a cleaner draft, DO IT! 
• Remember, doing AS MUCH WORK NOW will save you immense amounts of work for your final draft. 
• All the help you need should be on this blog post (CLICK HERE).

Your Very Own Macbeth Film

After seeing the varied performances of 4th period, we will now compare our works to the PBS version of Macbeth. Check it out before our take-home tests will be due the Wednesday after Spring Break!

Filming Macbeth

After this week of planning, today we filmed our own scenes of Macbeth. You astounded me with your preparedness, bringing costumes, phones, and props to film your individual Acts. Monday, bring in your semi-edited films on a flash drive, cd/dvd, or other device you can leave with me to download and compile your videos for viewing on Tuesday.

As a reward after the bell, we recorded our very own English IV Harlem Shake video. For fun and your viewing pleasure, here is the video!

Create-Your-Own ACT! Resources

As we begin our class rendition of Macbeth, you may need some resources about Macbeth in general, the overall themes, or the specifics of other Acts. Here are some reliable and handy resources as you head your way to directing your groups Act of Macbeth!

• A BRIEF Video Overview of the plot, story, and themes of Macbeth
• General Plot Summaries and Analysis (too short to know everything, but long enough to get the gist of things)
• One-Liner Summary (for the quick and dirty)
• College-Level RECAP Videos for review, analysis, and higher-level-thinking
• Detailed Analysis Videos of each scene in each Act
• 100 Incredibly Useful Sites compiled by OnlineCollege.org for learning way more about Shakespeare
• Of course, the symbaloo from last week's assignment
• AND of course, all blog posts tagged "Macbeth" or "Shakespeare"

From East to West, The Journey toward the "Red Death"

For the past two days, we have explored "The Masque of the Red Death" by the original "scary story" author, Edgar Allan Poe. The colorful rooms, abstract dreams, and Dark Romantic literary techniques were all a muddle of scary tales until we compared the story to "The Seven Ages of Man," by William Shakespeare. From there, we can now see that "Masque" really reveals "The Seven Ages of Man," the stages of life that every human ages through.



2nd period: Please complete the "Masque of the Red Death" Project by creating a COLOR map of the castellated abbey's rooms to turn in on Monday!

(Lots of great photos for inspiration on Google Images!)

Twelfth Night: Modernized

Today in class, we've begun our American Shakespeare unit. The play Twelfth Night is one of Shakespeare's infamous comedy plays. We will analyze the modern interpretation, She's the Man, for elements of Shakespeare's traditional plot and comic devices.

We will also postulate what ideas and themes have been added into this interpretation that are anachronistic to Shakespeare.

Here is the analysis chart and explanation: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0ByVKpn2OdpFAb2VBTms3Smt2cTg/edit

"Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow" (Act V, Scene v)

Here is a collection of all of the documents we have completed in our time with Macbeth. Our schedule until Thanksgiving goes as follows:

Thursday: Watch and analyze film versions of the play.
Friday:  Take notes/explore the elements of a tragedy.
Monday: MACBETH TEST
Tuesday: Ballads and Thankfulness

If you are curious about the other Theme-based Questions for the other themes in Macbeth, check out this document.

You've also got this awesome rap for you to listen to as review! It's got main themes and plot summary!

After the jump, I have posted all of the links to the important documents and handouts for this unit. These will be useful if you are missing any or if you would like to study with blank forms!

More Campfire Sonnets!

Campfire Sonnet readings were both comical and enjoyable today. Here's an excellent picture of all of you so diligently working!

Campfire Sonnets

All seniors have begun a new unit on Renaissance and Elizabethean England. Today, we looked at the rhyme scheme and meter of Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham. Tomorrow, we will continue analyzing sonnets from the modern and Elizabethean eras and writing our own "Campfire Sonnets."

Two Modern Sonnnets https://docs.google.com/open?id=0ByVKpn2OdpFAMXBpWGZYU241RTA
Sonnet Analysis Chart https://docs.google.com/open?id=0ByVKpn2OdpFAckFTT091RjdjM2s