nova-ap english

Angels Reset

2007-12-03T23:18:00.000+01:00

Consider the HBO spectacle we part-took on Tuesday.

Identify for us the following:

1. 5 overriding questions - what you must/need to/ feel you should ask when dealing with the agenda of this representation: play with the following interrogative words, WHAT, HOW, WHEN, WHO, WHY;

2. 5 decisive statements - what you need/want/ feel you ought to share with the rest of our community of learners when it comes to the way this representation 'reads' Kushner's dramatic text: play with the following words of cognition and sensation, BECOME, BE, SEE, TOUCH, GROW, FATHOM.

Kushner references

2007-12-03T23:01:00.000+01:00

These few links might prove insightful:

http://www.salon.com/weekly/interview960610.html

http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/litlinks/drama/kushner.htm

http://www.motherjones.com/arts/qa/1995/07/bernstein.html

http://www.fb10.uni-bremen.de/anglistik/kerkhoff/ContempDrama/KushnerTony.htm

Do look at them!

M Butterfly: a story of victimization

2007-11-18T22:38:00.000+01:00

Questions:

Do you see Rene Gallimard as:

1. a victim
2. an acomplise
3. an escape artist?

Do you read the story of Gallimard's downfall, as presented by Hwang's text, as one of:

1. victimization
2. cultural coding
3. futile reflexivity?

OR?

The Dumb Waiter: commentaries

2007-11-18T22:36:00.000+01:00

Post your thoughts on the following suppositions -

1. Why call the play 'The Dumb Waiter'? Any significance besides the bare obvious, that there is a dumb waiter involved? any symbolism in an 'absurd' play?

2. Who could Ben/Gus resemble from the contemporary world? (think stories, films, graphic novels)

3. To what extent is the langugage of the play a communication tool?

4. What do you make of the ending of the play?

5. Who could be the people up-stairs? What could their conversation be about?

Research Paper: Initial Step

2007-10-10T12:02:00.000+02:00

This weekend, I need to hear/write down/briefly discuss with all of you (those that submitted their summer readings and those that didn't) the QUESTION you are going to wrestle with for your longer research paper. These cyber meetings can be as brief as possible (you might use this forum to let me know if you prefer it that way), as long as you have something to tell me.

My task is to help you read/build up the paper's bibliography.

So. Let's work. It can be both useful/utalitarian and seemly.

The Bluest Eye

2007-10-10T12:00:00.000+02:00

'Passing' (for white) is a cultural phenomenon that has captivated writers throughout American letters (the list includes names as diverse as Charles Chesnutt, Sinclair Lewis, Nella Larsen, Mark Twain, William Faulkner). Today this American trope seeems as far removed from the American literary conscience as the Ice Age.

In each of her seven novels and in her sole short story, Toni Morrison invokes the passing myth, sometimes in only one or two paragraphs, often done indirectly.

The Bluest Eye features a dark-skinned child who cannot possibly pass for white, yet Pecola Breedlove ignores biology and becomes (if only to herself) a blue-eyed Shirley Temple. Although some might consider Pecola's delusion a weak (or perhaps specious) representation of passing for white, The Bluest Eye artfully reinforces its interest in racial passing by alluding to Peola, the passing figure in Imitation of Life. This intertextual play effectively evokes the myth without actually representing the phenomenon of passing, and in this way Morrison decenters and deforms the traditional passing figure. In your opinion, why is this an important strating point for the novelist?

The Toni Morrison society

2007-10-10T11:57:00.000+02:00

Check it out at: http://www.tonimorrisonsociety.org/ and give me your thoughts on what is there...

bell hooks

2007-09-30T23:51:00.000+02:00

Cultural theorist bell hooks (aka, Gloria Watkins), writes in her essay 'Ain't She Still a Woman':

Increasingly, patriarchy is offered as the solution to the crisis black people face. Black women face a culture where practically everyone wants us to stay in our place.
Progressive non-black folks, many of them white, often do not challenge black male support of patriarchy even though they would oppose sexism in other groups of men. In diverse black communities, and particularly in poor communities, feminism is regarded with suspicion and contempt. Most folks continue to articulate a vision of racial uplift that prioritizes the needs of males and valorizes conventional notions of gender roles. As a consequence black males and females who critique sexism and seek to eradicate patriarchy in black life receive little support.

How can we relate this to the pulsating core (i.e., the effects of 'whiteness') of The Bluest Eye?

Punctuate the following sentence...

2007-09-30T23:17:00.000+02:00

woman without her man is savage

SAR: a reversed journey

2007-09-19T22:11:00.000+02:00

Expatriatism.

Do you share Bill’s take on the issue, or do you feel that Jake and the rest are on to something: going back to their ‘ancestral roots’ as the only viable thing to do when searching for meaning, lost values?

Motif-tracing

2007-09-19T22:09:00.000+02:00

During this week(end), try to:

1. Identify a motif (developing in so far);

2. Read its significance against ONE of the (literary) critical approaches we've workws with in the past, or have mentioned recently;

*hint - for instance, the male/female domination motif read through psychological criticism; or alienation/ambivalence read through new (formalist) criticism; or 'flight'/movement/restlessness read through mythological criticism, etc.

3. Then, post your findings on the blog!

Ernest links

2007-09-06T16:00:00.000+02:00

For anyone who might be interested in the complex nature of EH's life and work:

http://www.ernest.hemingway.com/celebrity.htm

http://www.nytimes.com/books/99/07/11/specials/hemingway-main.html

http://www.pbs.org/hemingwayadventure/index.html (which includes the full context of Gertrude Stein's infamous quote)

http://www.hemingwaysociety.org/

http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/books/1999/hemingway/index.html

NOVA's AP Class, 2007/2008 - WELCOME

2007-09-01T20:35:00.000+02:00

If you are reading this - we have moved in our forth year together, looking at, and arguing about literary texts.

Please feel free to roam around, and look at the work of the previous three AP English Literature and Composition classes at NOVA. During the course of the year, we are going to add to these posts and comments, by playing around with the present work and amending it by adding on a few more.

See you in class. Do not forget the Friday, September 6th deadline for the Summer Reading.

Online Resources

2006-11-16T16:29:00.000+01:00

http://eserver.org/

http://vos.ucsb.edu/

http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Lit/

http://www.ipl.org/ref/litcrit/

http://www.humbul.ac.uk/

http://www.LitEncyc.com/

Annotated Bibliography, Class of 2006/2007

2006-11-12T12:56:00.000+01:00

Just a reminder:

By the end of this working week, aka Friday, November 17th 2006, I am expecting the emailed annotated bibliographies of your research paper (email: belagligorova@yahoo.co.uk). Follow the example/sample that I provided you with. Do not forget to include both the primary source (the novel/play you are 'reading'), then the secondary sources, alphabetically.

Summer Reading Assignments, 2006/2007

2006-09-04T15:26:00.000+02:00

SUMMER READING LIST[1]

A Passage to India (E. M. Forster)
Their Eyes Were Watching God (Zora Neale Hurston)
Macbeth (William Shakespeare)
The Merchant of Venice (ibid)
Light in August (William Faulkner)
The Canterbury Tales (Geoffrey Chaucer)
Beowulf

The Reading/Writing Assignment

Select THREE works that have been assigned on the summer reading list.
For TWO of them, you are asked to keep a reading journal. This does not mean that you monitor the speed of reading, or inform the instructor of how many pages you’ve read in a day/week. Namely, a reading journal (typed or hand-written, it is up to the individual reader) constitutes the following kind of observed written-response. Make note when – setting influences/inspires character change, a character appears briefly but leaves an undeniable impression on the surroundings, significant (in your opinion) decision are to be undertaken by a character, points of view alters, a motif (of some value) recurs so that its presence is of essence to the further development of plot, nature rebels and the meta-physical or fantastic intervenes, etc.
For the remaining ONE, you are asked to produce an essay, typed, double-spaced, three to four pages in length on ONE of the suggested topics below –

Identity vs. isolation(ism)
Honor vs. ambition
Parenthood vs. sacrifice/respect
Family ties vs. national bonds

To be submitted: the first week of class (September 2006)
HAVE A GREAT SUMMER J
[1] All titles on the list are made available through the school library. However, this is contingent on the understanding and practice that students have returned ALL materials they had used the previous academic year.

NOVA's AP Class, 2006/2007 - WELCOME

2006-08-28T19:57:00.000+02:00

If you are reading this, it can only mean two things - that you bravely take on the AP English Literature and Composition journey and that you registered for the blog.

You are more than welcomed to roam around, and look at the work of the previous two classes who took on the course. During our time together we'll take on, as well, some of the previous assignments but at the same time, leave a new imprint, begin a new discussion. Reading is never a solitary quest.

See you in class, and looking forward to your essays and journals.

Research Paper: First/Second Draft

2006-01-10T18:03:00.000+01:00

A reminder:

Today, January 10th 2005 is the standing deadline for the second draft.
Those that submitted late their first drafts have until the end of this week for the second version. Those who until today have not submitted any write-up on the research paper are most definately heading towards a failing grade for their semester final.

Pinter online

2005-11-07T14:24:00.000+01:00

The most comprehensive on-line source for Pinter-doms is his non-profit web site:

www.haroldpinter.org

we'll be working with some of the materials tomorrow in class....

On the power of representations

2005-10-20T16:05:00.000+02:00

I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on David Cronenberg's representation of Hwang's play.
While structuring your response, concentrate on the following issues -

1. visual representation of narrative

2. time - both in a narrative and cinematic context

3. role allocation (degree of truthfulness to the text)

4. the incorporation of Orientalism (as a social theory)

5. the story of 'gender-bending'

Carver assignment

2005-09-19T20:00:00.000+02:00

Thank you all (those of you) who submitted your assignments on Carver's 'love piece'; those that didn't - will be expecting them soon, and a valid explanation.

Summer writing

2005-09-04T19:44:00.000+02:00

On Friday, as far as the situation stands for now, we are in school. Hence, I will be collecting journals+essay, or at this point all and something that is a product of the summer reading... if chance comes upon us, and the mighty forces decide to give us a second day of rest, then I'll be collecting both journals+essay in word format, on the following email address (also found on top of the course outline) - belagligorova@yahoo.co.uk

HW assignment for Monday, September 5th 2005

2005-09-02T14:31:00.000+02:00

Find the post on the blog with the follwoing headline: 'Punctuate the following sentence...' and..., well, punctuate.

Come Monday, let the class know what your punctuated sentence means/can mean!

UPDATE

2005-07-01T10:41:00.000+02:00

I have made some extra copies of the 'Summer Reading List' if any of you have not gotten your hands on it. Just ask the security guards for a copy. And hurry, I do not believe that the library will be open all summer long!

WELCOME

2005-06-09T00:01:00.000+02:00

I suppose if you are reading this note then you have visited Ankica's office and gotten the 'SUMMER READING ASSIGNMENTS'.

Do make the reading choices - and stick to them. Keep a journal, follow the parameters outlined. Write me a good essay.

Ask, comment, enquire, share. Do use the blog space accordingly.

Journals/essay (as the list says) are due the first week of class, in September 2005.

Final Touches: The Open Essay

2005-05-04T15:46:00.000+02:00

Tommorow, May 5th please rememeber:

1. An essay has more than one paragrah;

2. Linking words are your friends;

3. When introducing a novel/play, mention the author's full name as well;

4. When in doubt, restate the prompt and summarize (that will get you to a 5 at least)!

5. Always re-read your work before turning it in (always!!!);

6. Do not use quotation marks if you are quoting from memory but are uncertain of the exact wording!

7. Relax, and punctuate your thoughts!

8. Aviod: we can see, you can see, and, and, and, also, and;

9. Mind the handwriting!

10. Do your best, at the end of the day the only person youa re competing against is yourself!

Marrvel: To His Coy Mistress

2005-04-19T20:49:00.000+02:00

Had we but world enough, and time,
This coyness Lady were no crime.
We would sit down and think which way
To walk, and pass our long love's day.
Thou by the Indian Ganges' side
Shouldst rubies find;
I by the tide Of Humber would complain.
I would Love you ten years before the flood,
And you should, if you please, refuse
Till the conversion of the Jews.
My vegetable love should grow
Vaster than empires and more slow;
An hundred years should go to praise
Thine eyes, and on thy forehead gaze;
Two hundred to adore each breast,
But thirty thousand to the rest;
An age at least to every part,
And the last age should show your heart.
For, lady, you deserve this state,
Nor would I love at lower rate.
But at my back I always hear
Times winged chariot hurrying near;
And yonder all before us lie
Deserts of vast eternity.
Thy beauty shall no more be found;
Nor, in thy marble vault shall sound
My echoing song; then worms shall try
That long preserved virginity,
And your quaint honor turn to dust,
And into ashes all my lust:
The grave's a fine and private place,
But none, I think, do there embrace.
Now therefore while the youthful hue
Sits on thy skin like morning dew,
And while thy willing soul transpires
At every pore with instant fires,
Now let us sport us while we may,
And now, like amorous birds of prey,
Rather at once our time devour
Than languish in his slow-chapped power.
Let us roll all our strength and all
Our sweetness up into one ball,
And tear our pleasures with rough strife
Thorough the iron gates of life:
Thus, though we cannot make our sun
Stand still, yet we will make him run.

Where does the conceit lie?

Half-Ten Things to Remember When Venturing into the Lands of the Metaphysical Poets

2005-04-19T20:32:00.000+02:00

1. Not a literary movement or school of poetry per se; more of a group of minds (Donne, Marrvel, Herbert, Vaughan) thinking alike - dolling out witty, inventive and stylistically clever verse.

2. Conceit - extended metaphor - fanatics. Just think of Donne's man and woman and their love being like the legs of a compass, or their marriage bed like the body of a flea.

3. Interested in the not-so-rational aspects of human life (for instance, the condition of the human soul), but applying a rational (more down to earth) perspective.

4. The once great Ben Jonhson called them a motley crew, their use of imagery: 'a kind of discordia concors; a combination of dissimilar images, or discovery of occult resemblances in things apparently unlike'.

5. Were men out of tune with the pulse of their times - meaning stood against the commonality of the 16th century verse. It took more than two centuries for the recognition to come, from no other but T. S. Eliot himself, who wrote in his essay 'The Metaphysical Poets' that these men and their witty lyrics went where no one before them had gone before - into the land of passion and reason, the so-called 'the dissociation of sensibility'. Eliot saw in their verse his own poetic antecedent.

RAM: a parody

2005-03-24T02:54:00.000+01:00

In 1989 British comics book genius Hunt Emerson published his own take on Coleridge's famed gothic ballad.

Go to: http://www.largecow.demon.co.uk/books/index.html
to check out some of his amazing drawings!

On Keats (ODES)

2005-03-21T15:39:00.000+01:00

Definition:

'an ode is an exalted, complex, rapturous lyric (yet with a narrative structure) poem written about a dignifies, lofty subject.'

The original ancient odes were written in Greece, delivered by a chorus singing and performing an elaborate dance. The Greek poet Pindar developed the first odes consisting of complex stanzaic forms in units of 3 (the strophe, the antistrophe, and the epode). Each section had a movement of the chorus in dance rhythm: together they were meant to correspond to the ebbs and flows of emotion!

In English there are 3 approximate types of odes:

1. Pindaric (regular) ode - similar to the Ancient Greek historic antecendent;

2. Horation (homostrophic) ode: after Roman poet's Horace's verses - it consists of one repeated stanza type (Keats' 'Ode to Autumn');

3. Irregular ode: after Abraham Cowely's odes (17th century poet), imitates the spirit of the Pindaric or regular ode, but disregards the strophe and the stanza rules/ Very flexible and offers the poet to change stanza line structure, length, meter and rhyme.

Choose ONE of Keats' or Shelly's odes and note down to which type of ode it belongs and why.

On Keats

2005-03-17T11:19:00.000+01:00

The epitaph on Keats' tombstone - 'Here lies one whose name was writ in water'.

Time with us - 1795-1821. Did not begin writing poetry until he was 18 years of age, and critics generally agree that his early verse was not so promising. In 1816, he wrote the first of his greatest poems, a sonnet (!) entitled 'On First Looking into Chapman's Homer'.

His first volume of poems, entitled Poems, came out in 1817, and was largely ignored. It was followed next year by Endymion, a single poem of more than 4, 000 lines about a quest for ideal beauty/happiness.

To be continued...

A sonnet by Sir Thomas Wyatt

2005-03-11T13:39:00.000+01:00

Farewell love and all thy laws forever...
Farewell, love, and all thy laws forever,
Thy baited hooks shall tangle me no more.
Seneca and Plato call me from thy lore
To perfect wealth, my wit for to endeavor.
In blind error when I did persever,
Thy sharp repulse that pricketh aye so sore
Taught me in trifles that I set no store,
But scape forth, since liberty is lever.
Therefore, farewell, go trouble younger hearts,
And in me claim no more authority;
With idle youth go use thy property,
And thereon spend thy many brittle darts.
For hitherto though I have lost my time,
Me list no longer rotten boughs to climb.

Any thoughts?

On the history of the sonnet form

2005-03-11T13:29:00.000+01:00

1. Originating in Italy in the 12th and 13th centuries, the sonet has since become the most popular and enduring form of English verse. English poets (Wordsworth, Byron, Shelly, Yeats, Browning) of almost every era have followed and adapted the sonnet to produce some of their best and worst work.

2. Italian sonneteers - Dante and Petrarch. Of the two, Petrarch proved most influential on the sonnet's subsequent history, bequeathing his predominant theme of secular love as well as the form itself to subsequent poets.

3. The first English sonneteer, Sir Thomas Wyatt (1503-1542) learned of the form during travels in Spain and Italy. He is more widely known for his other lyrics but wrote 32 sonnets in the form of a Petrarchan sonnet.

4. There has been debate as to whether Wyatt's iambic pentameter was ingeniously varied or simply clumsy. It is helpful to keep in mind when reading Wyatt that he was exploring new literary territory and that the accenting of syllables in English has changed since his time.

5. A friend of Wyatt's, Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey (1517-1547) shares credit for introducing the sonnet to English. Surrey's work deviates somewhat more both thematically and structurally from Petrarch's conventions and represents a more complete "taming" of the sonnet into the English language. He introduced what came to be known as the English or Elizabethan sonnet, later known also as the Shakespearan form.

Poetry: A day with John Donne

2005-03-04T14:10:00.000+01:00

What do you make of the following lines - both in terms of form and content?

THE FLEA.

MARK but this flea, and mark in this,
How little that which thou deniest me is ;
It suck'd me first, and now sucks thee,
And in this flea our two bloods mingled be.
Thou know'st that this cannot be said
A sin, nor shame, nor loss of maidenhead ;
Yet this enjoys before it woo,
And pamper'd swells with one blood made of two ;
And this, alas ! is more than we would do.

O stay, three lives in one flea spare,
Where we almost, yea, more than married are.
This flea is you and I, and this
Our marriage bed, and marriage temple is.
Though parents grudge, and you, we're met,
And cloister'd in these living walls of jet.
Though use make you apt to kill me,
Let not to that self-murder added be,
And sacrilege, three sins in killing three.

Cruel and sudden, hast thou since
Purpled thy nail in blood of innocence?
Wherein could this flea guilty be,
Except in that drop which it suck'd from thee?
Yet thou triumph'st, and say'st that thou
Find'st not thyself nor me the weaker now.
'Tis true ; then learn how false fears be ;
Just so much honour, when thou yield'st to me,
Will waste, as this flea's death took life from thee.

The Other Two: a stylistic t(h)reat?

2005-02-13T23:32:00.000+01:00

Usually, Wharton's story has been antologized for its subject matter rather than the way it is executed. But to flip this long story short, what do you think of her style? Do it come to 'aid' her chosen topic? How subdued is she to the powers at hand - prim and proper social conduct, and prim and proper representation of social conduct?

Ursula K. Le Guin's 'The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas'

2005-02-09T14:09:00.000+01:00

In her work on the art of fictional representation, titled 'On Conflict in Fiction', Le Guin remarks:

From looking at manuals used in college writing courses, and from listening to participants in writing workshops, I gather that it is a generally received idea that a story is the relation of a conflict, that without conflict there is no plot, that narrative and conflict are inseparable.

Now, that something or other has to happen in a story, I agreee (in very general, broad terms; there are, after all, excellent stories in which everything has happened, or is about to happen). But that what happens in a story can be defined as, limited to, conflict, I doubt. And that to assert the dependence of narrative on conflict is to uphold Social Darwinism on all its glory, I sadly suspect.

Existence as struggle, life as a battle, everything in terms of defeat and victory: Man versus Nature, Man versus Woman, Black versus White, Goodd versus Evil, God versus Devil - a sort of apartheid view of existence, and of literature.

Bearing the above mentioned quote in mind, how do you 'read' Le Guin's story?

The Things They Carried: thoughts on our very own

2005-02-07T15:12:00.000+01:00

Consider the following:

A Rose for Emily - How would a feminist read this story?

2005-02-03T22:04:00.000+01:00

Suppose you are one such critic and have been asked to review the story for the local 'Feminist Daily'. What would your review focus on - victimization or the handling of circumstances? Would you consider Faulkner a bigot?

(Re)presentation: To Hamlet or not to Hamlet?

2005-02-01T23:33:00.000+01:00

After delving into the great (un)known of Hamlet cinematic representations, the question beckons: How can a classical work of literary merit be 'ruined' by an enthusiastic film representation of the same?

The Two Hamlets: How different were they from 'your' Hamlet? What was a strong point in the actors' performances, besides looks and looks? Could a woman make a 'good' Hamlet?

Fate - the end doer of it all!

2005-01-27T15:15:00.000+01:00

What part does fate play in Oedipus's life? Would you say that everything that happens to him is caused by the cruelty of fate? Is Oedipus a helpless victim? How is he different from Job (Old Testament)?

Oedipus Uncovered

2005-01-27T15:05:00.000+01:00

In what ways could the play function as a detective story? Would Oedipus be convicted today in a coourt of law for murdering Laius? Is the discrepancy regarding whether one person or many killed Laius ever resolved? As his attorney, how would you defend Oedipus?

Is Hamlet fat?

2005-01-24T11:41:00.000+01:00

During the play's dramatic climax (Hamlet's sword-fight with Laetes), Gertrude says that her son is "fat, and scant of breath". Most readers do not pause to consider the weight of her comment, particularly since it comes in the middle of a tense scene (Laertes is using a poisoned sword to fight Hamlet).

But Gertrude's comment may well be puzzling, if we stop to consider it (think of the classic film starring an athletic Olivier as the Danish prince, or the Mel Gibson version). Over the years, Hamlet has been played by all sorts of actors, including women, but it is not a role that traditionally has been played by someone who over-weight. And yet there is Gertrude's remark: "He is fat".

What do you make of it all?

Hamlet as a prime example of a tragedy?

2005-01-24T11:29:00.000+01:00

I. A. Richards writes "suppression and sublimation alike are devices by which we endeavor to avoid issues which might bewilder us. The essence of Tragedy is that it forces us to live for a moment without them."

Consider Shakespeare's Hamlet: it has a ghost who prowls through the castle's environment, a dastardly villain who has poisoned his brother in a terrible manner (poison into the ear!), a young fair maiden who is spurned, goes mad, and tragically does herself in. Not to mention the spies, the intrigue, subplots and counter-plots. Then there is young prince Hamlet, an intelligent soulful youngster, bent on revenge, who talks to a human skull. It all ends in bloody subterfuge, with a dramatic sword-fight, more poisons and multiple body count on stage.

Then again, is it a Tragedy, in the sense Richards sees a work to be?

The Ghost

2005-01-24T11:26:00.000+01:00

Hamlet is discussed in Asimov's Guide to Shakespeare, where the good
doctor offers a few words on the Ghost: It is important, even crucial, to
think of the Ghost not as we think of ghosts generally, but as the men of
Shakespeare's time thought of them.
Hence, the Ghost is a spirit that can take on
any shape for any purpose. The most that can be said is that it looks
like Hamlet's father, that it has taken on the shape of Hamlet's father.

What it really is, no one can say. He (Asimov) goes on to repeatedly point out
the differences between the perceptions of the original audience and the
modern ones in a number of particulars:

1. The Elizabethan audience would therefore well understand that a king's
brother might succeed to the throne to the exclusion of the king's son.

2. They would also understand quite well, without being told, that the
son would be in mortal danger.

3. The Elizabethan audience, much more accustomed to the intrigues of
royal succession than we are, might be expected to catch on to this sort
of thing [maneuvers by Polonius] as a matter of course.

4. Hamlet is the natural opponent of the succession and if he continues
to wear mourning it is clear enough that he feels there is no joy in the
King. It amounts almost to a claim for the throne on his own behalf. All
of this would be plain to Claudius and to the Elizabethan audience (wise
in the ways of disputed succession) as well.

5. This [Hamlet's lack of freedom in marriage] is a careful explanation
of something Ophelia ought surely to understand, and of something, for
that matter, that the Elizabethan audience could well take for granted.

This is quite a list, and I don't believe many would object to it.

However, once we start throwing in conjectures about what the original
audience might have expected in other ways, ways relating to their
religious beliefs (if any), all of a sudden there is a lot of yakking and
squawking. Perhaps that is natural, since we now live in a place and time
where Enlightenment Philosophy is dominant, especially (although not
exclusively) among the educated, and Enlightenment Philosophy and that
which it has largely replaced (a Christian theory of reality) are
completely incompatible. One might almost go so far as to claim they are
serious enemies (if they were to be personified).

In his interesting book The Medieval Theatre, the author, Glynne Wickham,
made a number of observations about that theater which might be applied to
later Elizabethan drama also, particularly Hamlet. He writes,

I would not wish to deny that each and all of these extensions of
dramatic possibilities brought the drama into ever closer touch with
secular life but I must equally insist that this traffic also flowed the
other way, bringing ever more aspects of secular life as imitated in
dramatic games firmly into the patterns prescribed by the controlling hand
of the universal Church throughout the length and width of Christendom.
Thus, even in the case of the most satirical of farces and Interludes of
the fifteenth century and the early sixteenth, the ethic informing their
structure and moral conclusion was firmly Christian. (p. 181)

Any thoughts on any of the above suppositions?

Introduction

2005-01-16T11:49:00.000+01:00

Dear students

I created this blog so that we can have a space outside class to finish on our discussions, a practice environment, if you will, about the ins and outs of commenting on other people's work. At the same time, our blog can work as a list serv where different announcments regarding our class may be posted.

Good speed ahead!
bela