Bard on the Beach

Last night, Coral, Bethany and I, along with Lizy and her parents, attended Bard on the Beach's Hamlet. It was set in modern day , which meant guards with guns and flashlights, iPads, surveillance systems, and selfies (Ophelia and Hamlet snapped a quick one at the start of the play). The entire play took three hours, if you include the intermission that took place after the 1.5-hour long Act I (which covered Acts I-III).

Mr. Young, the actor portraying Hamlet, was top notch and did well to convince us of feigned (or not so feigned) madness, jumping over couches, slamming the doors in Polonius' face during the fishmonger scene, and downright screaming at Ophelia to get to a nunnery. The girls were unable to contain themselves after the play, praising its genius and delivery.

Interesting to note is that Rosencrantz was a woman, and was Guildenstern's partner. Horatio was also a woman, which added yet another layer to the depth of the story with the possible romance between Hamlet and Horatio (especially the ending where Hamlet forbids 'her' to drink of the poisoned cup). It definitely changed the dynamics.

Without ruining too much of the on-stage magic, it's easy to say that Hamlet is very worth the time. If you have the chance, head to Vanier Park as soon as possible to enjoy a magnificent performance.

And don't forget to get yourself some Bard Bars to quell those rumbly tummy growls partway through the play.

Last Minute Details

If you are looking for a list of Literary Terms , then go to that link. The terms can be found on page 83 or D-3 of the PDF.

In terms of what to study for, I will not reveal my hand. As such, please review everything we have studied but in particular review the list I gave you on the last day and remember our two plays "Earnest and Hamlet".

See you tomorrow!

Worth Remembering

Mrs. Loconte agreed to spend time with us reviewing on Monday, June 17th, for the Literature 12 final taking place on Wednesday. Come after the morning exam and refresh yourself on the year once more!

As it Ends

Today marked the last day of our Literature 12 classes. We spent it reviewing past provincial exam essay topics, and answering each one with discussion of the poems and prose and epics of the year.

To end the class, we discussed the final exam. The break down is as follows:

- 23 Multiple Choice (poems, author-title combinations, a selection of lines from poems)
- 1 Sight Passage (1 response question of 150 words)
- 2 Hamlet Response Choices, Responding to 1 Choice (200 words)
- Anatidaephobia: the fear that somewhere, somehow, a duck is watching you.
- 4 The Importance of Being Earnest Response Choices, Responding to 2 Choices (100-150 words per response)
- 3 Essay Topic Choices, Responding to 1 Choice

For Homework (and, our last homework from Lit 12):
- Study for the Final Exam, on Wednesday, June 19th, at 9am
- Hand in your essays to Mrs. Loconte tomorrow if you haven't already done so (with the number of the essay you chose to write)
- Reflect on the goodness of language, both oral and written, and the ability to pass on stories and poems from generation to generation

"Innocence is drowned" anyone else thinking of Ophelia?

Brody is unable to blog today, so I'm filling in. On Tuesday we did The Second Coming by Yeats and Dulce et Decorum Est by Owen.  Both are rather grim poems.  The Second Coming deals with cycles of history and mankind's loss of reason.  Dulce deals with a gas attack in WWI.

Homework:
- Make sure you've read Pretty (pg 961) by Stevie Smith and Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night (pg 979) by Dylan Thomas
- Read The Hollow Men (pg 952) by T.S. Eliot
- Continue to work on your Hamlet Essay
- Bonus assignment due tomorrow.

We need to decide if we are going to go to Hamlet or not.  If everyone could be ready to say if they can come on the 22nd or not, we can order tickets this weekend.  Thanks guys!

On Behalf of Joon, Who's Internet is Lacking

On Thursday, our class started by finishing the movie Hamlet. It was rather very unfortunate to see everyone dying at the end. Bethany remarked that although she didn’t like Hamlet before, she was able to somewhat sympathize after watching the movie. After the movie, we recapped on how many of us picked Laertes as nobler figure compared to Hamlet. Then, Mrs. Loconte also stated few other points to back up Hamlet as a noble figure as well. Next, we then got into our modern age section and recapped on the reading and the homework. We also read The Second Coming by Yeats and discussed the first stanza of the poem.

For homework:
Read Pretty, Dulce et Decorum Est, and do not go Gentle into that good night. Also make sure you read all the bios of these poems’ authors. Also, the Hamlet essay is due on June 11th!
Have a great weekend!