Rosencrantz and Guildernstern Are Dead by Stoppard was quite the step away from
Hamlet, and was what took most of the time between this post and the last "Response to Course Materials" post. The witty, fast dialogue was quite refreshing and the ambiguity of the events that unfolded was a step away from what was expected. However, if watching the movie form of this play was to enlighten us about the work, it seemed to fail. The movie version, directed by Stoppard himself, differed from the text to a degree that I don't think it would be fair to use as a tool to interpret the text. Sure, it can be used to enlighten us about what Stoppard wanted us to understand, but that would be completely irrelevant. As Ms Holmes said again and again in class, what the author may want us to derive from a piece of work could be completely different from what the work really means. The text itself. So when we discuss the meaning of
Rosencrantz and Guildernstern Are Dead and using textual evidence to back our claims, what use is the movie if we are using
textual evidence, like, what was really written. Again, although I appreciate the different stance the movie brings in to the play, when we analyze the text, it would it not be illogical to use assumptions from a medium that is so different? Should we use one of the many
Frankenstein movies to help interpret
Frankenstein? No.
I am sure that you remember that short series of assignment given to us by Ms Holmes regarding prompts. Although I felt a lot of negative reactions and frustration regarding the assignment, I found it rather useful. I performed better than I had expected, and learned the flaws in my previous style of writing. For example, I am usually a perfectionist when it comes to writing. Even this blog had me gridlocked, constantly creating and then tossing sentences. However, during the AP test we won't have the luxury of time, and thus what we write needs to be efficient and get the job done. Answer all the questions. Concise and devoid of what we would normally want to see in a great essay.
Our discussions about Rosencrantz and Guildernstern Are Dead are interesting, nothing to complain about. The direction is fine, the probing is interesting. We are peeling away at the layers of this play. So, nothing to complain about other than the continual lack of input from 50% of the class. I don't know every single reason why people don't say anything, but I know that some people don't contribute because they have nothing worth talking about. Well, how could you know the value of something if you never get it appraised? Everyone is different, so everyone can contribute something.
Andrew,
ReplyDeleteExcellent post! You covered most of the important points from class, but I do have a few suggestions.
Firstly, I think you may do well to make a few more connections between the course and outside material. This can be done in a variety of ways, such as relating an idea we discussed in class to an aspect of your past English classes for further comprehension Also, I believe you mentioned everything we did in class save for the Stoppard lecture that we annotated. Other than those minor things, though, your post was quite comprehensive!
As for our class discussions, perhaps it’s the fact that our discussions tend to be dominated by the more talkative people in the class in general, so those who are more timid are reluctant to say much. Regardless, I think this problem has improved considerably since the beginning of the year. I'm sure by May everyone will be comfortable with contributing more frequently.
Andrew,
ReplyDeleteGreat job on this post! You had some great points and reflection about this last section of the year. I loved reading your ideas about watching the movie and comparing it to the play. I agree that it did not necessarily follow the text so at some points it could not be used for evidence. However, it is different to watch this and use it because Stoppard was the director than watching Frankenstein. If we watched a interpretation put on by someone else I would agree it would not be good to take meaning from it. For me, watching the movie was mostly helpful in putting the dialogue into perspective and allowed me to appreciate the quick pace of the piece. Our class also had some negative feelings toward the prompt assignment but I completely agree with you and how it was important that we did it. In our class we also struggle with getting everyone to talk however I know some people take longer to process their thoughts and are not able to form their ideas about the work as fast as others. Nice job!
Bella,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments and everything. However, I was wondering, did I really need to mention the Stoppard lecture? I believed that this assignment was more to reflect on our opinions and thoughts of the material rather than recite them. Am I wrong?