Monday Oct 29

So here is the video lesson for Monday, Oct 29. We are taking a look at Hamlet's speech in I, ii. It's the speech after everyone leaves the great room and it starts with the line "Oh that this too too solid flesh would melt and resolve itself into a dew."









All three actors - Kenneth Branagh, Mel Gibson and Laurence Olivier make really different choices about who their idea of Hamlet is during this speech.

Incidentally, it is the last version that Holden in Catcher in the Rye mentions during that novel. He said Olivier made Hamlet look like a general and not some sad screwed up type guy.

That, ultimately is what Hamlet is, isn't he? A sad young man in search of answers to questions that we ask ourselves today - things like "Why am I here? and/ or Why am I here to witness this?"

It's just after this speech that Horatio and Bernardo come in to meet Hamlet and tell him what they saw last night while standing guard.

In any case, in a formal paragraph length piece of writing or about 250 words, which might be a short video submission instead, each student is to react to each of the three clips of Act 1 scene ii. What did the students think of the choices of the actor or the director in the way this scene was shot.

Students are to upload their writing to the Dropbox set up for this, called "Hamlet 1, ii paragraph."

Categories and
Criteria	Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Level 4
Thinking/Inquiry Ideas and Theme	·    presents some simple ideas and some details to support a central theme	·    presents ideas and details to support a central theme	·    presents ideas and details of some complexity to enhance a central theme	·    presents a variety of complex ideas and details to highlight a central theme
Application Language Conventions	·    uses English language conventions with limited accuracy and effectiveness	·    uses English language conventions with some accuracy and effectiveness	·    uses English language conventions with considerable accuracy and effectiveness	·    uses English language conventions with accuracy and effectiveness