This is a blog designed for students to gain access to information regarding Mr. Marshall's courses at Pender Harbour Secondary School, and as a means of networking to share ideas. Visit my new classroom blog at jmarshalrce.blogspot.ca
Welcome to Hamlet - I thought you did a good job decoding the jumbled scene today. Please write a comment to this post in order to give your first impressions.
Well, as this time comes around every year in English it is the one thing I do not at all look forward to. However much I don't enjoy reading Shakespeare personally, I do like listening to and watching the movie. I find that reading Shakespeare out loud or with a group does not allow myself to get anything out of the play. My first impression is that, in the end I will enjoy the over all experience from hearing the play, however I will not at all enjoy the process of reading it.
I have to agree with Morgan. Though I may enjoy the story when all is said and done, this process is going to drive me crazy. As Mr Marshall has said before, Shakespeare isn't meant to be read, it's meant to be watched in a play and certainly not to a generation speaking an almost entirely different form of English. This being said, Hamlet will be a challenge and I'm still looking forward to reading it.
I agree with morgan on most points. Im kind of indifferenet on whether or not I enjoy doing the Shakespeare unit, but i do agree that its hard for me to absorb anything anyone is saying when we read it aloud in class. I have to read it over by myself once or twice and then if i still dont get it i refer to the side bar, that usually works for me. I hope i enjoy this unit, and we get the time to really understand the plot.
I also feel the same as Morgan. It's easy to lose focus when reading out loud and it's not easy to understand, especially when I don't enjoy Shakespeare in the first place. It's something we have to do so I'll try my best but most of my understanding will come from discussion and the movie.
I kind of disagree with the idea that the movie will make everything easier to understand because I often find the movie's to be vaguelly confusing; it's easy to miss whole lines or more just because you didn' hear them, and it can be much more difficult to do a "running translation" of the language when it's being spoken. It's easy enough to understand overall, but I can honestly say I find the written play eaier to understand. I would also like to point out that it's not necessarily an archaic form of English; nobody in Shakespeare's time would have spoken in this matter. The difficult to understand nature of it is more due to the style of writing than it is due to a time based language gap.
Well it seems to me like everyone except Rowan and I agrees with Morgan. Personally I enjoy everything we do in shakespear. I think the class reading and discussions are fun and alot better than doing normal work. On top of this, working with the class helps me to better understand the writing and the discussions give me a more in depth look. I'm looking forward to the next couple of weeks.
When it comes to reading Shakespeare's "Hamlet" I agree with Becky's point. It's hard at first for me to relate to the topic and understand what is trying to be said. Although once I begin to reflect more the content of Shakespeare, I start to enjoy it more and more. I believe that having Shakespeare as a unit in all of my English classes over the past five years has broadened my learning in English, and overall helped me as a reader. I enjoy the open learning environment that this unit brings, also the different techniques used by Mr. Marshall to help our class understand and relate to the literature.
I believe both of the points brought forth about the play and movie are valid. For me, it's a mix of both. I get a blury vision of whats going on when we read the play aloud in class, then it becomes more clear when we discuss it and when I watch the movie all of it comes together. I find the process of reading the play very tedious as others have mentions. I also agree with what Mr.Marshall said about the play not being written to be read but watched. I can however appreciate the useful tools we learn through the weeks of reading it. It's not going to be easy but in the end I know it will be worth finding out how Hamlet deals with the anger he has toward his mother and uncle.
well i agree with Taylor on this, doing class reading is a lot more entertaining then doing it alone. Plus the discussion really helps on getting everyones ideas and questions out, for a better understanding. last year when myself and company needed to read for homework, we usually played it out for each other. I'm looking forward to future class discussions.
Personally, I agree with taylor. I think that doing shakespeare in class is a much easier way to understand it. Also, I find that doing shakespeare is very exhilarating because it is a great way to exercise the mind. I find that when something is challenging that I work harder than usual on it until I get it and when I do get it I have actually used my brain instead of on normal, almost mundane tasks that are presented to me (not necessarily in english.) Maybe its just me, but usually when there is a challenge (something that isn't readily understood to oneself is an example of a challenge) is presented to people i they they shouldn't shy away from it because that isn't how life works. I know the comments, if any, on mine are probably going to be something like "Jones, comparing shakespeare to real life is ridiculous and unrealistic" however I'm not really comparing it to real life I am just saying that doing something like this is good for building up life skills and also great for exercising your brain
So far I have enjoyed the first scene of hamlet. I think ill like the story. As for reading the play, I do find it hard and quite often I don't enjoy it but I also like the process of trying to find out what it really means. Last year I really liked the story Macbeth and I think I'll like Hamlet aswell.
Thanks for your comments and thanks for the discussion in today's class. I got insight into your feelings about Shakespeare through the blog and that caused me to examine how I will approach this unit. Hurray for the blog! I think the changes we agreed to try with make the reading we do more meaningful, but you'll have to give me feedback as we continue so that we can fine tune the process.
I'm so sorry for not attending today's class. I was very excited to read a section from Hamlet, but i guess waking up late and missing the bus didn't let that happen. I s there any way I can get a part for Monday's class Mr. Marshall?
Shelby, as you can see from today's post - you can do your "Friday" speech on Monday - enjoy your weekend, but get lots of rest, and don't miss the bus because we need you here.
I found the beginning of the play confusing and hard to process as I have found in my previous years of reading Shakespeare. However the beginning sounds like its leads up to a good play and I look forward to learning it.
Well, as this time comes around every year in English it is the one thing I do not at all look forward to. However much I don't enjoy reading Shakespeare personally, I do like listening to and watching the movie. I find that reading Shakespeare out loud or with a group does not allow myself to get anything out of the play. My first impression is that, in the end I will enjoy the over all experience from hearing the play, however I will not at all enjoy the process of reading it.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Morgan. Though I may enjoy the story when all is said and done, this process is going to drive me crazy. As Mr Marshall has said before, Shakespeare isn't meant to be read, it's meant to be watched in a play and certainly not to a generation speaking an almost entirely different form of English. This being said, Hamlet will be a challenge and I'm still looking forward to reading it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with morgan on most points. Im kind of indifferenet on whether or not I enjoy doing the Shakespeare unit, but i do agree that its hard for me to absorb anything anyone is saying when we read it aloud in class. I have to read it over by myself once or twice and then if i still dont get it i refer to the side bar, that usually works for me. I hope i enjoy this unit, and we get the time to really understand the plot.
ReplyDeleteI also feel the same as Morgan. It's easy to lose focus when reading out loud and it's not easy to understand, especially when I don't enjoy Shakespeare in the first place. It's something we have to do so I'll try my best but most of my understanding will come from discussion and the movie.
ReplyDeleteI kind of disagree with the idea that the movie will make everything easier to understand because I often find the movie's to be vaguelly confusing; it's easy to miss whole lines or more just because you didn' hear them, and it can be much more difficult to do a "running translation" of the language when it's being spoken. It's easy enough to understand overall, but I can honestly say I find the written play eaier to understand. I would also like to point out that it's not necessarily an archaic form of English; nobody in Shakespeare's time would have spoken in this matter. The difficult to understand nature of it is more due to the style of writing than it is due to a time based language gap.
ReplyDeleteWell it seems to me like everyone except Rowan and I agrees with Morgan. Personally I enjoy everything we do in shakespear. I think the class reading and discussions are fun and alot better than doing normal work. On top of this, working with the class helps me to better understand the writing and the discussions give me a more in depth look. I'm looking forward to the next couple of weeks.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to reading Shakespeare's "Hamlet" I agree with Becky's point. It's hard at first for me to relate to the topic and understand what is trying to be said. Although once I begin to reflect more the content of Shakespeare, I start to enjoy it more and more. I believe that having Shakespeare as a unit in all of my English classes over the past five years has broadened my learning in English, and overall helped me as a reader. I enjoy the open learning environment that this unit brings, also the different techniques used by Mr. Marshall to help our class understand and relate to the literature.
ReplyDeleteI believe both of the points brought forth about the play and movie are valid. For me, it's a mix of both. I get a blury vision of whats going on when we read the play aloud in class, then it becomes more clear when we discuss it and when I watch the movie all of it comes together. I find the process of reading the play very tedious as others have mentions. I also agree with what Mr.Marshall said about the play not being written to be read but watched. I can however appreciate the useful tools we learn through the weeks of reading it. It's not going to be easy but in the end I know it will be worth finding out how Hamlet deals with the anger he has toward his mother and uncle.
ReplyDeletewell i agree with Taylor on this, doing class reading is a lot more entertaining then doing it alone. Plus the discussion really helps on getting everyones ideas and questions out, for a better understanding. last year when myself and company needed to read for homework, we usually played it out for each other. I'm looking forward to future class discussions.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I agree with taylor. I think that doing shakespeare in class is a much easier way to understand it. Also, I find that doing shakespeare is very exhilarating because it is a great way to exercise the mind. I find that when something is challenging that I work harder than usual on it until I get it and when I do get it I have actually used my brain instead of on normal, almost mundane tasks that are presented to me (not necessarily in english.) Maybe its just me, but usually when there is a challenge (something that isn't readily understood to oneself is an example of a challenge) is presented to people i they they shouldn't shy away from it because that isn't how life works. I know the comments, if any, on mine are probably going to be something like "Jones, comparing shakespeare to real life is ridiculous and unrealistic" however I'm not really comparing it to real life I am just saying that doing something like this is good for building up life skills and also great for exercising your brain
ReplyDeleteSo far I have enjoyed the first scene of hamlet. I think ill like the story. As for reading the play, I do find it hard and quite often I don't enjoy it but I also like the process of trying to find out what it really means. Last year I really liked the story Macbeth and I think I'll like Hamlet aswell.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments and thanks for the discussion in today's class. I got insight into your feelings about Shakespeare through the blog and that caused me to examine how I will approach this unit. Hurray for the blog! I think the changes we agreed to try with make the reading we do more meaningful, but you'll have to give me feedback as we continue so that we can fine tune the process.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your reading.
I'm so sorry for not attending today's class. I was very excited to read a section from Hamlet, but i guess waking up late and missing the bus didn't let that happen. I s there any way I can get a part for Monday's class Mr. Marshall?
ReplyDeleteThank you :)
Shelby, as you can see from today's post - you can do your "Friday" speech on Monday - enjoy your weekend, but get lots of rest, and don't miss the bus because we need you here.
ReplyDeleteI found the beginning of the play confusing and hard to process as I have found in my previous years of reading Shakespeare. However the beginning sounds like its leads up to a good play and I look forward to learning it.
ReplyDelete