blogs by grace

I’ve had Mrs. Duke for two years now, so I’m kind of an expert.  I’m definitely not the ideal student, so do as I say, not as I do.

~ the way it’s organized is so that this many words in a blog doesn’t overwhelm you.  Personally, I get scared of a big mass of words on one page, so if you’re like me, this is hopefully broken down to where you read, learn, understand, and enjoy it!

 

FIRST OF ALL: LOSE THE RUMORS!

Don’t deny it, we’ve all heard them. “Mrs. Duke gives an unbearable amount of work.” “Mrs. Duke only appeals to creative students.” “You can only get an A if she likes you” (my personal favorite). First of all, Mrs. Duke likes everyone, and in the rare even that she doesn’t, you must have done something pretty terrible for her to feel this way.  Also, she is EXTREMELY FAIR! I cannot express how many times she has saved my life (my grade) when I have had so much going on I thought I was going to die or go completely crazy.  The point of this isn’t for me to sit here and say how much I love Mrs. Duke just so y’all will calm down.  First of all, I DO LOVE MRS. DUKE AND SHE KNOWS IT, but more importantly just trust me when I say calm down, don’t cry, and you CAN do it.

Homework: managing it-

 I used to be the spreader of rumors about it being farther than my ability and completely ridiculous.  The trick is, DO IT and stop complaining.  Sometimes, our eyes bigger than our stomach, in this case, our stomachs are bigger than our eyes.  I’ve read an assignment of hers and IMMEDIATELY said I can’t do it or it’s too much, which would then be ingrained in my head, which would cause me to procrastinate, which WOULD make it seem overly cumbersome, but I did that to myself.

START YOUR HOMEWORK WHEN IT IS ASSIGNED EVEN IF IT’S DUE A WEEK LATER.

START YOUR HOMEWORK WHEN IT IS ASSIGNED EVEN IF IT’S DUE A WEEK LATER.

START YOUR HOMEWORK WHEN IT IS ASSIGNED EVEN IF IT’S DUE A WEEK LATER.

START YOUR HOMEWORK WHEN IT IS ASSIGNED EVEN IF IT’S DUE A WEEK LATER.

START YOUR HOMEWORK WHEN IT IS ASSIGNED EVEN IF IT’S DUE A WEEK LATER.

Got it? Good.

Inspiration: Everyone is creative whether you think so or not.  We create every day because everything we do as we live our lives is the act of creating.  Yes, there are different levels of creating, but all Mrs. Dukes class asks of us as students is to think and to be original. We all know that no two people are alike, so being ourselves is being original.  Fancy that! Apply your personality and thoughts individual to YOU, and you are creative. 

Example: I can recall an assignment/ small project-type thing where were reinvented the physical features a book we read over the summer.  When I first heard what this assignment entailed, I thought I was going to fail because I wasn’t “creative.”  Having Mrs. Duke sophomore year as well helped me better succeed in her class as a junior, so I started this project almost right away.  There are so many reasons getting started early is beneficial, but specific to Mrs. Dukes class, starting an assignment early allows for more thinking time; more time to brainstorm.

We think we wont have good ideas, so we don’t let ourselves. We sit around waiting for the perfect idea to come to us, instead of putting a little effort to go to the perfect idea. Unique to me, I like to lay all possibilities in front of me and narrow them down.  Planning ahead for an assignment means more that jumping strait into it for the mere feeling of accomplishment; it means THINK!

RECAP: Is anyone noticing a pattern? The brain, which is something we happen to carry around everywhere we go, is the tool to success in this class.  That sounds vague, but what I mean is, instead of freaking out about everything and throwing a fit about how difficult or stressful something is going to be, THINK about what you will need to complete the assignment, THINK about what you already know that relates to this assignment, and do that portion first. 

Example: You may be given 10 discussion questions on your least favorite book studied in class, or the book you read the least of, but read each question first and you will CERTAINLY find that not every question is about a specific fact in the book, in fact, it is likely that at LEAST half of them will relate more to the movement the text was written in than plot or characters.  There are very few instances where we learn from a powerpoint, but the 3 (maybe) times we did usually dealt with historical and cultural background on the text we were reading.  So pay close attention to important criteria like that in her class, and you’ve learned a great deal of what essay questions on a test, homework assignments, or large projects will require. 

Homework: Reading

If reading comprehension isn’t your thing, definitely work on it because sections of reading are generally big chunks of homework, but also work around it.  I don’t mean that in a slackerish way, I’m just saying that although we are in a literature class, there is so much more to it that reading books and takings tests on them.  We study culture, history, authors and their more than likely crazy lives, drama, and poetry.  There has to be something in that list you like, right!? Relating themes, movements, and what encouraged these background aspects of literature to the work being read is a major plus, and you’ll be amazed how easy these connections come if you discuss in class after a reading and if you pay attention and refer back to those powerpoints.  Take it slow, and YES this can be done if like EVERYTHING in this class, you start early and pace yourself.

RECAP: I’m sure the basic learning pattern in a number of English/ Literature classes is read a text, discuss its movement, plot, and characters, then take a test.  While this is the INCREDIBLY BASIC gist of Mrs. Duke’s class as well, make sure you don’t get overwhelmed by the extra, yet very important, information based on each text because she’s all about going beyond and digging much, much deeper below words on a page.  Don’t stress about the reading, because you wont have to know EVERYTHING next class.

…you better know by now, but THINK WHILE YOU READ! Do a little of the digging on your own because I promise the strong and mighty Duke will shovel to the core, and it’s a nice feeling to figure literary elements like themes, symbols, metaphors, or foreshadowing out when you’re reading without Mrs. Duke in class as a safety net. THINK, THINK, and THINK SOME MORE!

Example: At the beginning of the year, we read a few different articles that opened my eyes as a reader to specific, yet obvious detail within pieces of literature. Why does it make sense for this character to be by a lake, under a tree that is 100 years old, reading the newspaper, looking and an ant, and scratching his/her arm right now? If the author writes it, there’s a reason, and you’ll find it.  One article taught me that the landscape and surroundings in a setting matter a great deal and that the authors we study don’t just write for the heck of it, every detail is significant.  Many times we hope and pray that our favorite character wont die, or wont go crazy, or do anything bad or abnormal, but in “Why the Novel Matters” by D.H Lawrence, we learn that all characters must be alive, and only things that change and alter are alive.  I’m not always sure about some of the things we do or read in this class, but after THINKING about “Why the Novel Matters” as the end of the year has approached and I am getting old papers together to study, I realized that in English II and III at Episcopal, we read novels that Lawrence is talking about in his article.  – I’m sure y’all will read this article too, its INSANE!- I wont go into all his confusing detail, but basically, he writes that true novels make man alive.  Man alive is a whole, and not pieces.  He says poems and books on philosophy and science can make part of the body tremble, but only the novel is a “book-tremulation” on the WHOLE body, and even the air. I couldn’t tell you what, if any, awards each of the works we read have won, but specific to the novels we have read, they all meet Lawrence’s suggestion that a worthy novel appeals to all of the body, all of man alive.

READ/COMPLETE ITEMS THAT ARE ASSIGNED EVEN IF THEY SEEM IRRELEVANT, BECAUSE THEY ACTUALLY ARE RELEVANT BECAUSE MRS. DUKE KNOWS A LOT ABOUT A LOT AND IT’S SUPER COOL TO HAVE AN EPIPHANY LIKE I DID WHEN THE YEAR’S OVER!

Homework: Research Papers/ Essays-

If you take ONE thing from this extremely detailed and well thought out guide, please let it be the importance of beginning her work as soon as you can. It’s ALWAYS important to do, but ESPECIALLY when it comes to writing a paper.  Need we discuss confidence again? You ARE a fine writer! Think back on some essays you have written… What grade did you receive?… How much time did you spend writing it?…HOW MUCH TIME DID YOU SPEND PREPARING IT???!!! 

Example: When we’re being assigned a paper, we receive a piece of paper explaining the entire thing.  How can I write a paper that comes with an entire page of directions!? That was certainly my first reaction, but that piece of paper should become a part of your body at that moment, because I SWEAR if you use it as a checklist and apply every element asked, the only result is a good grade!  Annotate the page: this means read the page and make comments in the margins and all over it… the point of this is to put Mrs. Dukes directions and expectations for the paper in your own words so you know EXACTLY how to write what she wants. REMEMBER, it’s not about who has the best vocabulary and topic, it’s about putting YOUR personality into what you write, everything else is just decoration. Be yourself because Mrs. Duke will see your real self enough in class to know if your papers reflect that honest personality or not.  It feels weird at first, but take this blog for example, I’m getting a crazy big grade on it, and I’m talking to y’all like I would if you were in my face.

 

Final RECAP: Seriously, I don’t have any “shows” that I watch during the week because I don’t have time.  Granted I’m a very busy person, so my “free time” during the week has to be spent on homework.  Develop the habit early because it’s easier to start off the year working hard than to slack at the beginning of the year while things are easy and have to break that lazy habit. Turn off the tube, get off facebook, go on ehsbr.org and check your homework soon after you get home, do it, and THEN if there’s time do other fun stuff.  If you get homework done early, you will literally feel like a new person, I can’t even describe how rare it was that I was in bed before 11pm this year because I waited until after dinner to do homework. 

For those of you who think you’re all busy and important, I UNDERSTAND! I do something extra- curricular after school every day of the week, so suck it up RIGHT NOW and learn to give up a few crazy nights with your friends and TV shows that have no nutritional value in the first place.  The year goes by so fast, not fast enough, but fast.  So do your work and come out strong

~aside from English, PLEASE use these words of wisdom: Junior year is the primary deciding factor of where you go to college.  Set some goals, make the grades, don’t cheat, and feel better about yourself.

START YOUR HOMEWORK WHEN IT IS ASSIGNED EVEN IF IT’S DUE A WEEK LATER.

DUDES! when you think you have no homework one night, here’s what you’re going to do:

1. slap yourself across the face
2. repeat three times: MUST BLOG, MUST BLOG, MUST BLOG
3. look at Mrs. Dukes webpage and check “long-term assignments”
4. make yourself do SOMETHING English III related
5. IF you do all of the following and still have nothing to do, your next course of action is…get on your knees and thank the good Lord for allowing you this peaceful time to SLEEP

 

That’s the last thing I wanted to say… value your sleep this summer because it’s soon going to be taken by the evil spirits called junior year.

Dear Simon Russell Beale,

Studying Hamlet this semester has been a struggle, yet an enjoyable struggle, if that makes sense.  I prefer Shakespeare, and plays in general, above other forms of literature we’ve studied.  Being an auditory learner, listening to the play regardless of whose voice is reading, benefits me, but the reality in your voice helped me better remember what I read because I could think back and recall how Hamlet was feeling at certain moments because of your accurate portrayal of his emotions.  I can assume it was difficult to depict this complex character’s thoughts and feelings without the ability to stand up and act it out to the fullest, but because you comprehended Hamlet so well, I was able to form my own picture of Hamlet’s actions that were probably accurate. 

There were times when I could have seen Hamlet acting angrier than you made him seem, and times where I grew a little bored because of the lack of levels in your voice, especially in soliloquy’s, but there were more times that I was impressed than confused or disappointed. Specifically, when Ophelia dies and Hamlet is unaware of who’s funeral ceremony he is attending I would have spoken very softly and naturally as Hamlet so that when he realizes Ophelia has died, it gives the effect of a CRAZY outburst of all kinds of emotions.  A hysterical screaming cry as if being stabbed in the side would have seemed necessary at this part.

Thank you for putting the cherry on top of my comprehension of Hamlet!

Dear Kenneth Branagh,

Throughout high school English, there have been very few assigned books that I have thoroughly enjoyed.  Shakespeare, however, has always been of higher interest to me than other works of literature like novels and poems.  Figuring the movie version of Hamlet was going to consist of the usual bad acting, poor interpretation of dialogue, and typical English lesson movie, as was Romeo and Juliet, I didn’t exactly plan on paying extremely close attention, but when we turned it on, I was surprised! You are actually quite the perfect physical image of Hamlet as I saw him in my mind, which made the film seem more realistic to me, thus allowing me to take it seriously.  We analyzed Hamlet’s first soliloquy in the play carefully, grasping every detail and thinking hard about what we would do if we were playing the role of Hamlet, and again, you paralleled my initial ideas about Hamlet’s actions at this part.  The main difference was that I pictured Hamlet a little more angry while talking about his uncle coming in so soon after his father’s death, but after seeing your slightly more quiet interpretation, I saw how this portrayed how Hamlet is more bottled up and actually fits his character, because at this point in the play, we aren’t aware that Hamlet is somewhat insane.  We didn’t see much of the movie version, because in school it is important to imagine literature for ourselves, but my first impressions of the movie left me wanting to see more!

I guess the primary reason I found this Shakespeare film production is because all I have to compare it to is Romeo and Juliet, but at the same time, I saw how the set, and supporting characters all came together to make this an enjoyable film.  One goes into a watching a Shakespeare movie with high expectations, because the thought of something ruining Shakespeare and his ingenious plays is close to heartbreaking to many who are passionate about his work.  

This last section begins with Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and Hamlet on a boat.  When Ros and Guil wake up, Hamlet is still sleeping, and of course, Ros is confused and somewhat lost. There’s even a line on page 104 when they are talking about taking Hamlet to England, and Ros asks what they’re going to England for.  Guil’s response is, “What for? Where have you been?” Guil, being the good friend that he is, tries to cheer him up, so they play a game and Guil makes sure Ros wins every time, but Ros catches on and grows angry at Guil for lying.  To no surprise, the two remember that the king gave them a very important letter, but have forgotten where it is and who the king actually gave it to. Guildenstern pulls the letter out, and they’re both happy from this relief.  ROSENCRANTZ IS SO ODD, he has to have a mental issue.  He constantly questions his setting and I feel like he’s just going to completely skitz out one day and go crazy!

While still on the boat, the players come into the scene, music beings to play, and pirates attack and the three hide in some barrels on the ship.  When they come back out, they realize hamlet is missing. In the midst of everything happening, Ros and Guil become confused and frustrated and Guil SNAPS at Ros from his frustration and the two begin to talk about life and death again, as they ALWAYS do.  This is ironic because after this conversation and their rehearsal of meeting the King, they pull out the letter again, and realize it has been exchanged for another letter that addresses the death of Ros and Guil!  The player only tries to calm them down by basically saying that death is natural whether it be on stage or off stage.  This only infuriates Guil, so he stabs the poor player.  It’s a trick! If the reader thinks closely about the characters and the fact that they’re performers, they should put together that the knife and the death are fake!  Some craziness and confusion happens, and when the lights come back up, we are looking at the dead bodies of Hamlet, Claudius, Getrude, and Laertes.  When the English ambassador comes in, he explains to Horatio that the wishes of Claudius have been fulfilled to execute Ros and Guil.

 This is clearly when Hamlet is on a boat, and sends a letter to Horatio explaining where he is and that he’s okay. Hamlet is rarely present or noted in this scene, showing us he must be fighting with Laertes at this time.

 The plot shock when we think Guil has gone crazy and killed the Player, but it turns out to be a fake knife is postmodern because Guild really did want to kill him, but he didn’t get his way.

 

1. Hamlet has just been tricked into going to the place that this scene is set in so that he will run into Ophelia, so when he enters and sees no one, he thinks that he is alone in the room.  Claudius and Polonius have just run away to hide from him.  We know Hamlet has had a lot on his mind lately and he has been acting pretty crazy, which explains why his soliloquy has to do with possible suicide and all the hardships in life.  I see Hamlet using this thinking alone time as a way to let out feelings that have been bottled inside him from his father’s death, to his mother’s remarriage, to his love for Ophelia.
2. One idea I had for Hamlet’s audience is pretty far out there, but I thought maybe it could be his father.  He is question death and life after death, so maybe Hamlet thinks he will see his father again and resolve some unanswered questions and wonders.  I think Hamlet is also considering himself as an audience.  Speaking aloud could be the way he persuades his own logic and is just trying to force himself to think he can kill himself and that would be okay.

 

1. The purpose of Hamlet’s soliloquy is to question whether or not it is worth it to live life miserably, or just go ahead and put an end to all its bothersome and hurtful aspects.  It seems to frustrate him that many people are scared of something they no nothing about, life after death.  Hamlet isn’t scared of death because he thinks he has nothing to loose while he’s unhappy in life.

 

1. The most frequent appeal in Hamlet’s speech is Pathos, because the rhetorical questions and metaphorical references connect and appeal to emotions of the reader. Line 66 starts where Hamlet simply connects the acts of death and sleep trying to convince the audience that there should be nothing to be scared of about death. In line 85 he somewhat insults the audience by saying we are all cowards for fearing things we don’t know.

 

1. Hamlet uses comparisons, metaphors, and imagery to depict his own thoughts to the audience. He compares death to sleep to convince the audience to not fear death because it is simply a long sleep full of dreams.. A metaphor is used to convey his thoughts in the lines where he says, “Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer / The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune / Or to take arms against a sea of troubles…”He compares the guilt and struggle of life to arrows being shot, and he then compares this problems and insanity to a sea. (obviously it would be a stormy sea)
2. While parts of the soliloquy are pretty emo, I feel that these are some wise thoughts Hamlet is sharing, he’s thinking very deep.  Throughout the play we’ve been trying to figure out exactly what is making Hamlet act in these strange manners, but after this speech, I feel like it’s okay for us to just accept that all the possible problems put together mare making him crazy, because he is taking his thoughts as far as SUICIDE, which makes me think if it were simply on conflict in his life making him have these thoughts, the thoughts wouldn’t be this serious.