Critical Analysis Poetry To analyze is to separate into parts and to examine them in order to determine the nature of the whole. What are the most important parts of X? What principle unites these parts into a whole? Read selected sonnets as an introduction to Shakespeare and his poetry. Students choose a sonnet to annotate and analyze. They may produce a critical analysis focusing on theme, mood, or tone, of the selected sonnet or present the analysis as an oral report to the class. Write an original sonnet on any topic, following the Shakespearean, Spenserian, or Italian sonnet form. Decorate or illustrate the final product to be displayed in the classroom. TEKS 1A-F, 2A-H, 3A-E, 5A-D,. 6A-C SELECTIONS William Shakespeare Author Study, LOL pp. 314-320. Selection of Shakespeare s sonnets LOL, pp. 302-307 DiYanni Sonnets -pp. 611, 572, 503,687 Selection of Francesco Petrarch s sonnets, LOL, pp. 308-312 TEKS 7A-F, 8A-I, 9C-D, 10A-C, 11B,D READING/LITERARY STUDY Sonnet form Shakespearean Petrarchan Annotation Determining Audience
Determining Author s purpose Main idea Inference Tone Apostrophe Metaphor Paradox Personification Pun Simile Alliteration Meter Rhyme Rhythm TEKS 12A-G, 13E-F INQUIRY/RESEARCH Ethics of Research: Web search of various college sites which emphasize the ethics of research and penalties for plagiarism Evaluation of Sources Students research Shakespeare s life in relationship to his sonnets. TEKS 14A-G VIEWING/REPRESENTING/PRODUCTION View the PBS video on Shakespeare s life, particularly noting aspects of his life relating to the sonnets. Students read their original sonnets aloud to the class and display them in the classroom.
Listen to an oral interpretation of Shakespeare s sonnets as they are read on the McDougal CD, or students prepare and read aloud. After annotating and analyzing a selected sonnet, working either individually or in groups, students present their interpretations to the class. The presentation may be on a transparency, a poster, or a medium using the students own creative ideas. TEKS 21A RESOURCES McDougal Littel The Language of Literature McDougal Littel Unit Two Resource Book Sonnets Robert DiYanni Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, and Drama William Shakespeare The Folgers Library Edition of. Hamlet
Critical Analysis Drama As students read the Hamlet, they will trace themes and motifs that recur throughout the play and record them on a hand-out. Possible choices include: supernatural influences, revenge, madness, decisiveness, procrastination, garden imagery, decay/disease, specific relationships (i.e. mother/son, father/daughter, friends, etc.), attitudes toward women, outer space (star or heaven references), appearance vs. reality, light/dark, biblical/ mythological allusions As an ongoing aspect of reading the play, students will annotate as they read. Students will keep a list of QUOTABLES from the play, quotations both suggested by the teacher as well as quotations selected by the students that relate to themes and motifs. After completion of the play, students will choose a favorite theme or motif as the topic of their critical analysis. Plan a definitive thesis, which may be approved by the instructor. In a paper on theme, present the theme and apply it to a character or characters, WHAT the essay is about. In a motif paper, relate the motif to another element (theme, irony, characterization, etc.) WHAT the essay is about. The analysis with textual evidence comprises HOW the paper will be developed. Insights about theme or effects of motif provide the WHY of the essay. Develop either an informal or formal topic outline. This essay may be written either in class or outside of class. An essay of length which requires literary research would be completed outside of class with a day allotted for peer reading of drafts. For a shorter in-class essay, which includes minimal literary criticism or strictly the students own analysis, students bring in an outline, including the thesis/focus statement as well as topic sentences if desired; the theme/motif chart; and selected quotations with MLA documentation. The Works Cited page may also be printed out ahead of time. Final essays will be typed using MLA guidelines with careful attention to perfection of form and mechanics.
Assign AP timed writing prompts from Hamlet AP Applied Practice booklet. When essays are returned, share notable introductions, insights, and conclusions from students timed writings. TEKS 1A-F, 2A-H, 3A-E, 4A-H, 5A-D,. 6A-C SELECTIONS William Shakespeare Folgers Library Edition of Hamlet Shakespearean Tragedy, LOL, pp. 321-322 Aristotle Tragedy and the Emotions of Pity and Fear WOI pp. 681-696 Jamaica Kincaid Girl DiYanni, p. 430 Compare to Ophelia in terms of parental attitudes and the girls responses. Writing About Drama, and Annotation, DiYanni, pp. 863-4 Formal Ways of Writing about Drama, DiYanni, pp. 867-876 (includes models) Essays from The World of Ideas: Niccolo Machiavelli The Qualities of a Prince WOI pp. 35-50 Lao-Tzu Thoughts from the Tao-te Ching WOI pp.19-31 Hannah Arendt Ideology and Terror: a Novel form of Government WOI pp. 85-102 Virginia Woolf Shakespeare s Sister WOI pp. 797-812 Simone de Beauvoir Woman: Myth and Reality WOI pp. 817-830 Karen Horney The Distrust Between the Sexes WOI pp. 357-370
Carl Jung Anima and Animus, pp. 297-315 B.F. Skinner, What Is Man? pp. 351-377 Henrik Ibsen A Doll s House George Bernard Shaw Pygmalion Robert Fagles, The Starry Night, Diyanni p. 585. TEKS 7A-F, 8A-I, 9C-D, 10A-C, 11B-D, 12A-G, 13A-F READING/LITERARY STUDY Drama Catharsis Hamartia Hubris Antagonist/ Protagonist Epiphany Foil Motivation Stock Diction Idiom Vocabulary Style Theme Tone Apostrophe Metaphor Metonymy Paradox Pun Simile Synecdoche Alliteration
Meter Rhyme Rhythm Allusion Cause/effect Characterization Irony Dramatic Situational Verbal Motif Symbolism Practice multiple choice literary responses in Hamlet AP Applied Practice booklet. TEKS 12A-G, 13E-F INQUIRY/RESEARCH Schedule library time for researching online and print sources of literary criticism. Use of print sources Use of the internet MLA documentation of quotations, parenthetical citations, works cited. Research Vincent Van Gogh s life, particularly in relationship to his mental state. Research Robert Fagles life and works. TEKS 13A-F, 14A-G VIEWING/REPRESENTING/PRODUCTION
Students view three/four different interpretations of scene 1 of Hamlet. Suggested: Hamlet Dir. Laurence Olivier, 1948; Hamlet Dir. Franco Zeffirelli, Perf. Mel Gibson 1990; Hamlet Dir. Kenneth Branagh, 1997; Hamlet Dir. Michael Almereyda, Perf. Ethan Hawke, 2000. Analyze setting, music, costume, lighting, camera angles, building of suspense, and acting, particularly the portrayal of Hamlet in the three different versions. Write individual responses and discuss. View the entire video of the drama, using a selected version. Compare the dramatic interpretation of the film to students own interpretations from the reading. Focus particularly on characterization, tone, building of suspense, and mood. Contemporary Adaptation of the drama: Choose a scene or scenes from the drama, working as a pair or in a small group. Adapt the scene(s) to a twenty- first century setting. Inspiration can be provided by a comic strip, movie, or television program; or the adaptation may be entirely original. The adaptation may be humorous or satirical provided that it clearly relates to the lines from the scene(s) in the play. Costumes and props are optional. However, creativity, enthusiasm, and good acting are required. In a journal entry, examine Vincent Van Gogh s painting, The Starry Night, DiYanni, p. 584, for tone, mood, and meaning. Individually, in pairs or in groups, compose a mood poem relating to The Starry Night and illustrate in color. Reader s Theatre Groups of students are assigned one act of the play to prepare and read aloud with enthusiasm and expression. Each student brings in a symbol of the main character for whom he/she is responsible on the day that his group reads the act. Groups are responsible for interpretation of their acts as the need arises in class.
Annotate selected lines in the drama as an outside assignment. Share the best examples of devices with the class. A group effort at annotating may be shared by marking selected lines on a transparency. Memorize the To Be or Not to Be soliloquy and quote it to the class or just to the instructor, as time allows. Working in groups, present a parody of the To Be or Not to Be soliloquy, taking care to include specific literary devices as included in the original. Participate in a Socratic dialogue at the end of the unit with each student bringing in two insightful questions. All students must ask questions and participate in the dialogue. Analyze and relate the WOI essays to the play(s) using the questions in The World of Ideas section of this guide. Analyze the painting and Robert Fagles s poem, The Starry Night, DiYanni p. 585 in groups. Relate to Hamlet s opening scene in terms of mood and tone. How might Fagles s ideas about madness relate to Hamlet? TEKS 19A-C, 20A,D,F RESOURCES Folgers Library Edition of Hamlet Hamlet AP Applied Practice booklet Lee A. Jacobus A World of Ideas Robert DiYanni Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and the Essay