Discussion: Hamlet's Madness

To what extent is Hamlet mad? Is it true madness or is it for pretend?

Lion King correlation

Lion King

Does the ghost of Mufasa have the same effect on Simba as Hamlet's father's ghost had on him?

Hamlet: Beautiful Quotes

 Act 3. sc. 1
Lines 72-73

 " To die, to sleep-to sleep perchance to dream"

 I find this to be a beautiful quote because of the structure of the sentence. It just seems to flow, even with the pause the dash creates.

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

The free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wings
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.

But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings
with fearful trill
of the things unknown
but longed for still
and is tune is heard
on the distant hillfor the caged bird
sings of freedom

The free bird thinks of another breeze
an the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn
and he names the sky his own.

But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing

The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.      

Maya Angelou

Empty Vessels

Discussion Question 4:
"The speaker, and the schoolmaster, and the third grown person present, all backed a little, and swept with their eyes the inclined place of little vessels, then and there arranged in order, ready to have imperial gallons of facts poured into them until they were full to the brim" (9).

Alternative Fire Utilization

Discussion Question 3:

Sleeping Beauty:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmM-XX8atlQ (Start at 1:30)
The fire in sleeping beauty represents the destruction that Maleficent embodies. She turns into a dragon and destroys the entire forest.

Stravinsky's Firebird:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XGRmaiCpPU
The fire in Fantasia shows the life that fire can bring and the necessary evil that surrounds the idea of fire. The fire at first shows destruction, but at the end of the clip, the forest is rebuilt in a better and stronger way.

-Alex Wleklinski

Text Appreciation

Unit: 5
HT: Appreciation

"The next morning was too bright a morning for sleep, and James Harthouse rose early, and sat in the pleasant bay window of his dressing-room, smoking the rare tobacco that had had so wholesome an influence on his young friend. Reposing in the sunlight, with the fragrance of his eastern pipe about him, and the dreamy smoke vanishing into the air, so rich and soft with summer odours, he reckoned up his advantages as an idle winner might count his gains. He was not at all bored for the time, and could give his mind to it." (174).

This passage sticks out because of its particular imagery of the smoke of Harthouse's pipe. Dickens calm word choice, such as "dreamy," "soft," and "rich" creates a light and pleasurable image and tone in the setting.