Write a clear, well-argued paragraph to answer this question: Do you believe in love at first sight? Is that possible?
Answer these questions as well: What are three characteristics of the nurse? What is her job? How old is she? Does Lady Capulet like her? Does Juliet? (base your answer on scene 3).
Another challenge in reading Shakespeare is that some of the words are ARCHAIC (meaning old-fashioned). Here are some examples: choler meaning anger, tyrannous meaning a cruel and oppressive ruler, fray means fight, humour referring to the four humours Hippocrates described in the human body -- blood, phlegm, black bile and yellow bile -- which influence how a person behaves -- blood makes the person optimistic, phlegm makes the person calm, black bile makes them sad and yellow bile makes them angry.
Most playwrights in Elizabethan times wrote in verse and Shakespeare makes use of this style, of course. The lower class people usually speak in prose (not verse) but higher classes of people use verse when they speak (this includes Romeo, Juliet, their parents and everyone except the servants). Shakespeare adheres to iambic pentameter, a rhythm in which each line has five sets of iambs -- an iamb is a unit of rhythm which sounds like this -- duh-DUH (example -- that QUENCH the FIRE of YOUR perNICious RAGE).
Shakespeare also uses a lot of metaphor and very powerful imagery. He's trying to do a lot with a few words. In lines 187 - 191, Romeo describes love :
Love is a smoke raised with the fume of sighs;
Being purged, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes;
Being vex'd, a sea nourish'd with lovers' tears.
What is it else? A madness most discreet,
A choking gall, and a preserving sweet.
(The sad sighing of people for the fulfillment of their love produces feeling of love. If the love is returned and things go well, the lovers' eyes sparkle with happiness, but if the love is not mutual, it makes the person in love cry. What else is love? It is insanity that keeps quiet, it is frustrating and painful, and it is delicious.)
Make sure you understand how to approach the play in this volume. (The actual script is on the right side and modern explanations are on the right.)
Use of second person familiar pronouns: Thou - you as the subject of a sentence (if the person is a friend or a contemporary); thy/thine - yours (the possessive); thee - you as the object of a sentence.
Thou art a scurvy knave. (Second person familiar as the subject of a sentence)
I detest thee! (Second person familiar as the object of a sentence)
This wine is thy crutch. The goblet is thine. (Second person familiar possessive)
Dramatis Personae (Who are the characters in the play?) Make an illustration of the two feuding families (the Montagues are Romeo's family and the Capulets are Juliet's family -- we do not meet any Capulets except Tybalt in Act 1, scene 1) and their hangers on.
Write a brief scene (with your partners, in your own words) based on something that happens in Act 1, scene 1. Choose lines 60 - line 70, or line 79 - 95, or line 160 - 235.
Drama 8:
On a scale of 1 - 10, with 10 being perfect and 1 being terrible, how would you rate yourself at working with a group? What are your skills in group work? How can you improve? Are you a leader in groups? Explain. Write about a time you worked in a group and what you learned from that experience.
Senior Drama:
What is your film about? What is your role (like what are you doing to help with it?)
What is the setting or settings (s)? Do you have any idea what you can use as a location?
What is the message?
Answer the following questions and give examples to support what you say:
Do you take your parents' advice? (What advice might you listen to? Why wouldn't you listen?)
What do you think of arranged marriages?
Your short stories were due on Friday!! I still haven't received a few of the stories. Don't let things slide, people!
Write about your experience seeing the play, "Tragedy, Slander and Wine". Give details about what you thought. Mention outstanding performances, the script, how it was staged, use of video footage, and whatever else sticks in your memory.
What should Ms. Kosar know about you? Include your pronouns (don't say you don't have any -- a pronoun is a word you use to replace a proper noun, like your own name -- my pronouns are "she/her".) Also include whether you've had experience in Drama before, like a class you've taken, or you've done public speaking, or musical theatre, or some activities in elementary school. My first performance was playing Mrs. Santa Claus in Grade 1 -- the story was how Mrs. Santa Claus solves the mystery when Santa goes missing. I wanted to be an actor from that time on. Do you have stage fright? (You probably think you're the only one who feels nervous, but you aren't.) Do you do any activities which require you to perform? (music, dance, sports, etc.) You can include anything else that you think will help me teach you.
Remember to hand in your signed permission slip from your B Block teacher and your parents on Tuesday! Also, remember to bring bus fare for the return trip, as the school bus can only take us there, not home!
Your paragraphs on "The Witch" (questions 5 or 7) are overdue now.
Your short story is due on November 16. Make sure you make at least one allusion in your story.
Your marks and comments will be posted on Thursday, November 9 at 4 p.m. These are preliminary marks and are subject to change and correction, so if there is a mistake or you have additional work to submit, you may do so. The final reports will be published on November 16.
Write a three part paragraph (intro, body, conclusion), transitions and evidence, based on either question #5 or #7 from "The Witch" by Shirley Jackson.
Drama 8: What have you done to prepare for Aesop's Fables? What do you still need to do? (you can make a list or a chart, if you prefer).
Senior Drama: Make sure you write your journal about "Blood Wedding"!
Journal topic: What did you do to contribute to "Blood Wedding"? Give details. Comment on how the show went. What was good? What could have been improved?
PLEASE make sure you get your form signed -- I have to confirm our numbers with the theatre by Thursday!!
