Block Day, April 6 ~ There's the rub...

Taming of the Shrew Comparison Papers due

Today we should discuss the play, get tea, and maybe read a little outside.




Break HW: Journals for the rest of Hamlet (These will help us to discuss the play in more detail upon return.)

J10 - Act 4
4.1 What is Claudius's main fear in the immediate aftermath of Polonius' death?  What does this say about him?
4.2 no questions
4.3 What image does Hamlet use (ll. 19-29) to warn Claudius he's only king temporarily?  What statement is Shakespeare making about royalty and people in general? 
4.4 Hamlet's soliloquy (ll. 32-66) is self-critical; summarize his main fault.  What conclusion does he come to?  Do you think it will change his behavior?
4.5 Ophelia's songs during her first appearance in 4.5 deal with love, death and sex. Why? What do they tell us about her at this moment? Also, what do we learn about Laertes in this scene? 
4.6 Horatio receives a letter from Hamlet explaining how he escaped from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. His actions show what evidence about his changed personality?  
4.7 Considering what’s happened up to this point, Ophelia’s behavior, and Gertrude’s report of events, do you think Ophelia is responsible for what happens to her?  Explain. 
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J11 - Act 5
5.1 The two clowns/gravediggers are comic relief, but how do parts of their conversation make sense?
5.2
a. You decide – why does Gertrude drink the wine?  [If it’s on purpose, why?  If it’s an accident, does the result have any meaning?]
b. What's the significance of Laertes final speech (5.2. 359-363)?
c. How is Claudius’s death twice poetically just? 

After Act 5 All three sons avenge the deaths of their fathers, but who does it best?  What is wrong with the approach used by the other two?  What do you think is Shakespeare’s message here?