We are exactly halfway through Caesar. You all seem to be getting it pretty well. We will finish it up at the end of the week.
Monday, 9/29
Define Unit 6, finish Act III
Tuesday, 9/30
Character activity
Wednesday, 10/1
Act IV
Thursday, 10/2
Act V
Friday, 10/3
Vocab quiz, Character analysis
Hey guys, I hope you all are enjoying Caesar as much as I am. Below is a posting for you to comment on...
Literary critic T.S. Dorsch said that Caesar makes "such extravagant expressions of arrogance that all sympathy for him is alienated, and the action of the assassins is for the moment almost accepted as justifiable."
What do you think?
What is your definition of a tragedy? A tragic hero? Cite a work of literature that you have not studied in school that you think would qualify as a tragedy. Please elaborate on how it is a tragedy and which character you feel is the tragic hero of that work. (This can certainly be modern or contemporary literature...)
OK guys, the moment you have been waiting for IS HERE!!! (Maybe it is not the moment YOU have been waiting for, but it IS the moment I have been waiting for.) We are starting Shakespeare and Julius Caesar this week. I hope so much that you enjoy the play as much as I do. This play has it all... conflict, inner turmoil, rhetoric, patriotism, betrayal, revenge, war.. kind of sounds like our current presidential election, huh? :) Seriously, I think you will love the play. Even if you don't, these next two weeks rank among my favorite in the semester.
Monday, 9/22
Finish "Troy", watch the Shakespeare A and E, questions over it
Tuesday, 9/23
Shakespeare interview, extra credit, notes
Wednesday, 9/24
BRING POST-IT NOTES
Act I of Julius Caesar
Thursday, 9/25
Act II
Friday, 9/26
Catch up
DUE: Journals
Monday, 9/15
Iliad Game
Here is an Iliad Game on the Internet. It's pretty fun. Give it a try and post any comments you have about it.
You all got a reprieve :) this week in that you watched the "9/11" documentary instead of the first day of The Iliad. My other classes were required to write a 9/11 Memorial after viewing the video. I did not have you all do that (since it seemed that reading Books 1-10 of The Iliad and studying for vocab and doing a journal were enough to do!). However, if you want to post some sort of memorial or comment on here in honor of September 11, that would be fitting.
What are your thoughts at its completion? How did you feel about the book? Like it? Hate it? How did you like it compared to All Quiet (understanding, of course, that they are COMPLETELY different!)?
I thought the seminar today went well. I actually felt like it was a more productive seminar than the All Quiet one.
We will finish The Inferno this week, then start The Iliad. You all seem to have enjoyed The Inferno more than I have seen in the past. The presentations are going pretty well. Most of them have been pretty good. Tuesday's seminar should be extremely interesting. There is just something about this book that sparks some great discussion topics!!! :)
Monday, September 8
Define Unit 4, finish presentations
END OF 4.5 WEEKS
Tuesday, September 9
Inferno test, seminar
Wednesday, September 10
Intro to The Iliad, notes
Thursday, September 11
Books 1-5, notes
Friday, September 12
Vocab quiz, Books 6-10, notes
DUE: Journals
Even though we only watched three five minute excerpts, I am curious about your opinions about the movie compared to the book. Was seeing the visual image more horrific than reading it, or is your imagination more graphic than the movie-creators? Do some of you think you will plan to watch the entire movie?
We talked about this a little bit in class, but you have now read some pieces of The Inferno. What do you think about the power Dante had as a writer to create this fictional hell and place people in it from his contemporary culture? Do you think it was ethically correct for him to do this? Would you enjoy a chance to have this sort of power in writing? What are your thoughts on this text?
http://danteworlds.laits.utexas.edu/utopia/index2.html
For further reference on your cantos, check out this link from the university of Texas. This is not intended as a replacement for your reading, however.
We will both start and nearly finish The Inferno this week! I hope you enjoy this look into Dante's version of hell.
Tuesday, 9/2
Define Unit 3, Work in pairs on cantos
Wednesday, 9/3
Work in pairs on cantos
Thursday, 9/4
Present cantos
Friday, 9/5
Vocab quiz, present cantos
DUE: HELL extra credit project
Inferno video group: Cameras 9/12-9/22, edit the week of 9/22
