Journals 2013-14

Q4

J14 - TIBE (The Importance of Being Earnest)

1. Select two quotes from each act (there are three acts) for a total of six quotes.
2. Explain the surface meaning of the quote and identify the speaker.
3. Further explain what Wilde is satirizing (making fun of) in Victorian society and/or about its institutions (marriage, Church, education, family, government, etc.)

• Here is an example of what I'm looking for with your TIBE journal:  

1. (Quote) LADY BRACKNELL: "You can hardly imagine that I and Lord Bracknell would dream of allowing our only daughter—a girl brought up with the utmost care—to marry into a cloakroom, and form an alliance with a parcel? Good morning, Mr. Worthing!"
2. (Surface meaning) Lady Bracknell doesn't believe Mr. Worthing's breeding is good enough—nay, it is rather suspect—for her only daughter, who is an aristocrat.
3. (Underbelly, hidden meaning, satire) What is Wilde satirizing (poking fun at)? Wilde is claiming that many respectable Victorians actually have dubious beginnings, which, if known to the world, would hamper their ability to maintain the benefits of the aristocratic life. Wilde is criticizing the "high pedigree" expectations of the aristocracy as well as what they deem indiscreet behavior, for Lady Bracknell considers Mr. Worthing's origins in a cloakroom at a railway station to be evidence of a concealed social indiscretion (if not in fact, then by association). 

J13 - P&P Quotes (running journal)

Q3

 J12 - Logos, Ethos, and Pathos in the Service of the Military 

1. Identify Johnson's conclusion (his main assertion) and at least one premise that supports his conclusion.
2. Identify at least one use of logos, ethos, and pathos (three total) in Johnson's article, explaining why each example qualifies as the particular type of appeal.
3. Identify at least one use of logos, ethos, and pathos (three total) in Smith's article, explaining why each example qualifies as the particular type of appeal.  
4. Does Smith address any counterarguments to his position? If so, does he concede or refute any of them? 
5. What is the moral basis of Smith's whole argument (provide a quote that you believe sums it up)?
6. Can you think of a counterargument to challenge his assumption? 
7. How would you describe the tone--the author's attitude--of each essay? (Select two adjectives to describe each one)?
8. Of  logos, ethos, or pathos, which one do you think appeals most to our culture at large today and why?

Q2 


J11 - Hamlet, Acts 4-5 (Leithart 150-?)

1. What are several ways in which Shakespeare shows chaos following in the wake of Polonius's murder? 
2. How is Ophelia's confusing of Hamlet and Polonius in her songs doubly significant?
3.  How does Laertes mirror Hamlet? How is his mirroring significantly different, specifically as regards his philosophy of revenge?
4. How is Claudius like Hamlet's father's ghost?
5. How does Claudius plan for Laertes to take revenge on Hamlet, and what is significant about this method?
6. What is the purpose of Act 5 beginning in a graveyard . . . with Hamlet talking to a skull?
7. Why is it fitting for the play to end with a fencing match?
8. What is significant about how the major characters die in the final scene? 
9. What is Fortinbras's situation at the end of the play and why is this significant?
   

J10 - Hamlet, Act 3 (Leithart 141-149)

1. Though fundamentally opposites, how are Ophelia and Claudius similar, according to Leithart?
2. What tendencies do Hamlet and Claudius share?
3. How is Claudius a complex character (in other words, how is he more than mere monster)?
4. What factors contribute to Hamlet's hatred of marriage (and women in particular)?
5. What is the double-edged nature of the play (what is doubly significant about the death of the player king and his murderer)? In other words, how does the court interpret it? How does Claudius interpret it
6. What is Claudius struggling with when Hamlet finds him praying? Explain his biblical allusion ("primal eldest curse"), his distinction between earthly and heavenly justice, and his subsequent dilemma (what would be required of true repentance?).
7. Explain how Hamlet's deliberation in killing Claudius shows us he is increasing in madness (specifically as it pertains to vengeance).
8. Explain several of the ways in which the death of Polonius is the turning point ("lynch pin") of the play.
9. What is ironic about Hamlet's attempt to hold up a mirror to Gertrude? What does this tell us about Hamlet's moral constitution?
10. Given that the murder of Polonius is the murder of another father, what can we expect to see in the immediate future?

 



J9 - Hamlet, Act 2 (Leithart 130-139)

1. Why does Act 2 begin with Polonius's seeming impertinent dialogue with Reynaldo? 
2. What are the two results of spying?
3. What is extremely significant about the ambassadors' news upon returning from Norway (and what does it have to do with Hamlet)?
4. What is so significant about Hamlet's alleged madness? In other words, why is everyone so concerned about him?
5. What are the theories concerning Hamlet's madness and who holds each theory?
6. What is Hamlet's purpose behind his "verbal fencing"?
7. What are the implications to Hamlet's calling Polonius a "fishmonger"?
8. Explain the meaning behind Hamlet's warning to Polonius: "For if the sun breed maggots in a dead dog, being a god kissing carrion--Have you a daughter? . . . Let her not walk i' the sun. Conception is a blessing, but as your daughter may conceive--friend' look to 't."
9. Explain why Hamlet reacts so emotionally upon hearing the first players speech. 
10. How will the play The Murder of Gonzago relate to the theme of spying?

J8 - Hamlet, Act 1

Read Leithart (pgs. 120-129) and answer the following questions (Remember that Leithart is the PDF posted on Focus that you used to do J6):

1. What dramatic and thematic purposes does Fortinbras, the young prince of Norway, serve? 
2. Contrast the late King Hamlet (the ghost) with Claudius (his brother and present King of Denmark).
3. What is significant (and ironic) about fathers, particularly about most of the fathers in this drama?
4. How does Shakespeare develop the theme that appearances sometimes mask reality (cite two examples)?
5.  What is the purpose of Shakespeare's "ghosts"?
6. Discuss the important question concerning the "nature" of the ghost (where it comes from) and how we know. 
7. How was King Hamlet killed? What imagery does the ghost use to describe his death, and why is this (biblically) significant? 
   

J7 - Intro to Tragedy and Hamlet

Read Leithart (document posted on Focus) pages 111-120 and answer the following questions:

Introduction: Tragedy (111-113)

1. According to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, what makes a drama a tragedy?
2. What kind of protagonist is generally required for a successful tragedy and why? 3. List several of the ways that Shakespearean tragedy differs from Sophoclean (or Greek) tragedy.
4. Given that the shape of Hamlet is a "Fall story," what types of characters, events, and ideas ought we to be looking for as we read?

Introduction: Hamlet (115-120)

5. Why is Hamlet such a popular drama?
6. What are two of the minor textual problems in Hamlet? What is one major problem?
7. Give two examples of the way Hamlet shows signs of compositional unity.
8. Cite two reasons why Leithart considers Hamlet a drama that condemns the revenge ethic.
9. Rather than viewing Hamlet as having "contradictions" and "loose ends," Leithart suggests that Shakespeare was making what profound observation?
10. How is Hamlet healthy reading for those who live in an age "dominated by scientific idolatry"?

J6 - "The Wife of Bath's Tale."  Reading Check 

a. What were the knight’s crimes, his original sentence, and his second sentence? 

b. What bargain do the knight and the old woman strike? 

c. What payment for her help does the old woman demand, and what is the knight’s response? 

d. What final choice does the old woman offer the knight at the end of the tale? What is his response? 
 

Shaping Interpretations 

1. The knight’s quest is to find out what women want. What irony do you see in this? 

2. In lines 276–278, the knight moans about having the old woman for his wife. How does she respond to each objection he raises? 

3. How does the knight’s response to the choice given him by the old woman show that he’s learned his lesson about what women want? 

4. (answer at least TWO of the questions below) No doubt the following Bible verses provide an important aspect of the background for this tale: so . . . read these verses. Now for the questions: Considering the Wife of Bath's character/history, 

1. What do you think would be her view of the scriptures above? 
2. In what ways does her tale militate (argue) against Genesis 3:16?
3. In what ways does her tale reflect the truth of Genesis 3:16? 
4. In what ways is the Biblical injunction for wives to submit to their husbands misunderstood and/or misapplied?
5. How could her tale be read as a criticism of those who might pigheadedly misinterpret the Biblical mandate for wives to submit to their husbands?
6. What is the deep wisdom you've learned from the old lady in the tale?

 
J5 - "The Pardoner's Tale"

1. How does the Pardoner describe his own character and morals in his Prologue?
2. According to “The Pardoner’s Tale,” why are the three young rioters looking for Death?

3. Where does the old man tell the three rioters to look for Death? How do they treat him? 

4. Describe the rioters’ plan for the gold and how it proves fatal to all three men. 

5. Why do the Pardoner and the Host quarrel at the end of the tale? Who patches up their quarrel? 

6. How do the tavern knave and the publican personify Death? What does the rioters’ response to the description tell you? 

7. What do you think the poor old man may symbolize? 

8. Irony is a discrepancy between expectations and reality. How many layers of irony can you identify in this story? 

9. Why is it ironic that the Pardoner preaches a story with this particular moral? How would you account for the psychology of the Pardoner: Is he truly evil, just drunk, or so used to cheating that he does it automatically? 

10. What do you think Chaucer is satirizing in “The Pardoner’s Tale”? 

11. What moral does the Pardoner want us to draw from his tale? What moral do you think Chaucer wants you to draw from the Pardoner’s tale?

Q1

J4 - Beowulf Prompts: Take a look at the following journal prompts and select two of them in order to compile information for a possible essay. Consider this assignment the early stages of research. When reading, you must understand not only the plot but also be asking yourself questions that might lead you to an original insight about a work, a thesis statement. We will check your journal (your textual evidence and your own thoughts) next Wednesday.

1. What is the Beowulf author doing with all his biblical allusions? Keep track of them and figure out his purposes for using them. Why does he include them? What do they add to the tale?

2. What is the Beowulf author doing by including a bunch of epic tales within this epic tale? Are these merely random insertions to meet an ancient Anglo-Saxon CWP word count or to confuse modern high school students, or do they play larger structural or thematic roles relating to the work as a whole? Consider the tales' moral content, their typologies, and the atmosphere they establish.

3. What is the Beowulf author saying about the nature of good and evil? Is evil merely something in the heart of creatures lurking "out there" in the wild, or is it something more complex than beast and dragon versus man?

4. Beowulf is full of contrasts. What are some of the most important ones, and what is the author telling his readers/listeners with these contrasts?

5. What is the Beowulf author's view of the goodly king? A goodly thane (warrior)? Is there a difference between the two? What is it?

6. How is Beowulf a tale that attests to a world in religious transition (from pagan to Christian), and what might the author be saying about it?

7. Beowulf addresses the subject of peace in a culture characterized by war. Address the various attempts at establishing peace and also take a stab at the author's view of whether or not this peace is ever attainable.

8.  Where do we see the seeds of English chivalry sown and sprouting through this Anglo-Saxon take on a Geatish legend?


J3 - Intro Paragraphs (MLA formatted)

1. Write two introductory paragraphs for your two selected prompts.
2. Be creative by using descriptive language and/or writing a narrative.

J2 - The College Prompt

1. Select two prompts to bring to class tomorrow (block day). 
2. Write them both out in your binder 
3. Consider whether a descriptive or a narrative essay (or a combination of both) will best help you address each  prompt.

J1 - Chivalry

What is the etymology of our word "chivalry"?

1. What words come to mind when you think of the word chivalry? 
2. Look up the word and write down its etymology (the language and words it comes from).
3. Tell of a time when you encountered chivalric behavior.
4. Does our modern American culture wage war against chivalry? Does it encourage it at all? Explain.