Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Lorca journal 2 and 3

So sorry this is late.

Read  Act 2
1.  Identify five lines of the play that intrigue you.  They do not need to connect to each other, but each should start you thinking or illicit an emotional response- think cool factor.  Write all five quotations down and then choose three quotations to look closely at and discuss (annotate, connect to other moments, connect to themes, question, etc.).


Read Act 3
1.  Examine Lorca's treatment of honor, guilt and/or silence.  How does Lorca address these issues?  What happens to the characters who embrace or reject the concepts?

2. In Act 3 Lorca creates dream like elements.  To do this he uses mythical elements.  Consider how the staging, characterization and lines create mythical elements and examine their effect Lorca.


3.  What elements of tragedy does the play embrace and reject?

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Lorca Journal 1

Read act 1
Reading: Act 1 Tab patterns that you notice

Journal:1
Consider how the author uses the natural world in the play.  Are there any oppositions to the natural world?  Are there different landscapes?  How and why?

The introduction states, “For Lorca, tragedy entails certain formal elements (the chorus, for example), but above all it involves creating an illusion of fate or destiny, of ‘necessariness’: the suggestion that men and women are at the mercy of elemental forces which shape their lives in ways they barely comprehend”.  Find the patterns concerning fate: who is fated, how is the character fated, what causes the character to feel fated, are any characters facing similar circumstances?  Using your findings of fate, what comment does Lorca make about life in Andalusia, Spain?

Saturday, May 3, 2014

IBSEN


Antigone
Weekend HW: Interactive Oral – Reflection RD 300-400 words.  This is your final journal, which I will collect on Monday.

Class Monday we will be completing the in-class writing.  Take some time this weekend and prepare – review your journals and notes and come prepared to write.

Ibsen:
Journals for Ibsen will be a little different.  We’ll focus on six areas for each journal.   Our goal is to track the topics through the play as opposed to jump around to different topics for the reading.  I’m expecting you to tab and think about all six topics, but you need only write on one topic each night.  You may choose a different topic each night or you may choose to discuss the same topic and examine how Ibsen’s develops an argument.

 Topics:
1.  Social structures:  What rules or structures of society does Ibsen introduce?  Consider who feels compelled to conform and who is unaffected by them?  How does Ibsen create the structures?  What are the benefits of the structures? What are the consequences to them?

2.  Environment: Darwin’s theories influenced many writers of the late 1800’s.  Part of Darwin’s theory suggested that one’s environment influenced his/her actions.   Consider the environments of the characters, both present environment and what is hinted about the past.  Does Ibsen seem to embrace or reject Darwin’s theories? 
Besides examining the environment to understand a character’s actions, please also consider the Norwegian culture’s link with nature.  Norwegian’s culture suggests that removing yourself from buzz of civilization is essential for the spiritual well-being of a person.  How does Ibsen use the natural and manmade landscape of the play?
 
3.  Family:  What type of relationships do we see? 

4.  Motif/Techniques: Does Ibsen use doubling or oppositions?  Where, how and to what effect?

5.  Theme:  Which characters are honest and which are dishonest?  How do characters create illusions?  Who assists in the illusions: how and why?  Who tries to break the illusions: how and why?  Consider how Ibsen discusses shame and guilt. Where do you see it and how do the characters cope with it?  Do you notice any patterns that Ibsen creates?

6.  "Realism and Naturalism are terms used to describe fiction that aims at minute fidelity to actual existence.  Realism connotes an attempt to give the illusion of the ordinary life, in which unexceptional people undergo everyday experiences"(Norton Anthology of English Literature Volume 2)  Identify ways in which Ibsen portrays the common man and the common experience.
 
Reading Due: Act 1 Monday, Act 2 Tuesday, Act 3 Wednesday, Act 4 Thursday, Act 5 Friday.