"Between the Pages" -- Period 4

Hon Eng II Students Gone (Oscar) Wilde!

We will be starting a new work of literature in the coming week. 

With that in mind, please bring Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest to class on Tuesday. 

Here are the reading assignments:

• For Wednesday's class (5/7), read page 27 (the beginning of Act I) to page 84 (stop when Jack enters the room). 
• For Thursday's class (5/8), read pages 84 to 112 (stop at the beginning of Act IV)
• For Friday's class (5/9), read pages 113 to 131 (the end!)
• For Monday (5/12), come in ready to put it all together (if any loose ends are still left over)

As a helpful reminder to those who were in class on Friday (5/2) (and to tell those who were absent or involved in SPC) so that everyone can be as successful as possible as we very quickly read Wilde's play:

• There will be NO reading quizzes on this play.
• There will be NO end-of-book test on this play.
• There may be 1 in-class essay over a pretty 'big picture' topic re: this play; the focus will be on writing technique (not testing you on knowledge of the play).
• We will show part/all of the film along the way; for those who have read, this will be illuminating; for those who have not read, this will merely be a mindless popcorn-eating, stare-at-pretty-lights, stay-awake-if-you-can experience.
• It is quite possible to 'tread water' all week without reading a single page; I will never check to see if you have read.  In fact, I have NO interest in seeing if you have read.  The only recommendation I can offer you is that you do NOT speak about the play during class if you have not read.  Silence may be your best ally at this point. 
• The semester exam, however, WILL require that you have read EVERY page of the play.  Relying on SparkNotes (et al), merely listening in class, watching the movie 25 times, and copying someone else's notes will NOT help you.  In fact, you will NOT be able to answer a single question re: this play on the Semester exam if you haven't read the play.
• Bon chance; only read -- along side the rest of us -- if you want to (he smiles).

Pssst. Hey, You. Pass It Along.

Dear Mr. "Between the Pages" Blog,

Sometimes I just have to admit that I'm impressed with my students and how hard to juggle their academic and personal lives most days.  And how enjoyable I find their ideas/responses to all of these writing challenges (even if they havent' figured out how to capitalize the word "i" yet!).

With that spirit in mind, I'm going to officially proclaim the "Between the Pages" project to be on vacation until the 25th of March (when my students return from Spring Break). 

At that point we'll kick off Week 8 of the project as the 4th Quarter starts.

Happy Spring Break, Mr. Blog!  We'll re-connect in 2 weeks.  Cheers, Mr. Long

P.S.

Hopefully my students won't forget to read Acts 1, 2, & 3 of Othello before Spring Break is over (he smiles).  I'm pretty English Teacher Geek excited to see what their brains do with this 'happy little number' Shakespeare wrote that really does make Macbeth seem like its still on training wheels.

Hopefully along the way they'll be keeping an eye on:

• That fiendishly manipulative Iago.  Oh, boy, does this fella make Lady Macbeth seem like an amateur in the strategically mean category: "For when my outward action doth demonstrate / The native act and figure of my heart / In compliment extern, 'tis not long after / But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve / For daws to peck at: I am not what I am." - Iago (Act 1, Scene 1, can't recall the lines at this moment)
• Why would such a noble guy like Othello would be still 'at risk' in this society of his?
• The is-it-really-love question with regards to the newly married couple, as well as the "double entrendres" and intimate innuendos that are constantly being used to describe this new relationship.  Oh, and hopefully they're keeping an eye on any other marriages in the play, too (hint, hint!).
• Why the "green-ey'd monster" is such a powerful force in human nature and why Iago seems to understand it better than everyone else, especially when it comes to Othello's downfall: "O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; / It is the green-ey'd monster which doth mock / The meat it feeds on." -- Iago (Act 3, Scene 3, roughly lines 189+)
• And a few other brilliant things we've been preparing for now that we've just knocked off one of Shakespeare's other tragedies (hint, hint).

Update on the TED Video That Wasn't Working

If you still want to do that TED video entry on the idea of a "cool" dictionary, the link is working now. Just scroll down the page and try the big link at the top of the entry. Sorry for the earlier confusion.

Even if you don't do the writing part, you might find the video interesting.

Per 4: Thursday In-Class Essay Prompts

*** NOTE:  This is NOT an entry to reply to ***

Here are the 5 potential topics for tomorrow's In-Class Essay:

1.  Was Macbeth's reaction to the approaching battle with Malcolm's army logical at that point in the play?

2.  Who deserved death more:  Lady Macbeth or Macbeth?

3.  Considering Lady Macbeth's "Out, damned spot! Out, I say!" scene in Act V, Scene 1, line 31, prove that this a natural/logical reaction for her unconscious (asleep) mind.

4.  Considering Macbeth's lines -- "Bring it after me.  / I will not be afraid of death and bane..." (Act V, Scene 3, lines 58-59) -- does this suggest that Macbeth has actually turned into a true leader (or hero) in spite of his evil ways?

5. Discuss the issue of trust and loyalty as found in the Malcolm and Macduff conversation in Act IV, Scene 3 (multiple lines over multiple pages).  Is this something that is relevant to the rest of the play or just unique to them?

Reminders:

• 3 of these questions will be given to you tomorrow.
• You may bring up to 10 quotations with you -- written or typed -- to class to help you answer the prompt you select.  You will turn in the quotations -- with your essay -- at the end of class.
• No books will be allowed to be used during the in-class essay.
• Length: Minimum of 3 paragraphs.  Probably assume you'll have to write 4+ to answer the question fully.