Socratic Seminar Notes

-Michelangelo = symbolize 

-Crab under the sea = feels lonely

-Have no self-esteem

-Takes every choices and decisions seriously 

-He has many fears

-He wrote this during the world war 1 

-War usually end to death of many

-He's searching for love

-Hamlet is a great example for students because it's so relatable and universal 

-Hamlet is a perfect example of a human being. Well, my definition of a human being is imperfection.

-Hamlet made us realize that we aren't the only ones struggling in life.

Poem Remix

Group: Val, Jeff, Will, Connor, and I 

Introduction to Poetry

Everything's Going To Be Alright!

How should I not be glad to contemplate

the clouds clearing beyond the dormer window

and a high tide reflected on the ceiling?

There will be dying, there will be dying,

but there is no need to go into that.

The poems flow from the hand unbidden

and the hidden source is the watchful heart;

the sun rises in spite of everything

and the far cities are beautiful and bright.

I lie here in a riot of sunlight

watching the day break and the clouds flying.

Everything is going to be all right.

What is the significance of the title?

The significance of the title is that it explains what it will be about and motivates the readers of a happy tone poem.

What is the tone of the poem?

The tone of the poem is happy, uplifting, and encouraging.

What is your mood as you read it?

My mood as I read this was cheerful and energetic.

Is there a Shift?  Where?  From what to what?

The shift in the poem was in the lines 4 and 5.

What is the theme of the poem?

The theme of the poem is keep doing whatever doing and give the best of yourself because at the end of the day, everything will be alright.

Hamlet Essay

The quote, “To be or not to be, that is the question,” is arguably the most famous quote in any play in the past history. This quote is constantly repeated in everyday life even though it has been more than 400 years since Shakesphere first wrote the play. It is often told meaninglessly by many people. This quote that leads into a soliloquy that is memorized by millions of students sets the tone of the entire play. However, this quote may have multiples of interpretations. Because we are all different and think different, this quote may be received differently.

Thinking about the situation Hamlet would be in is just disastrous. When I was reading this quote and soliloquy, I felt the depression Hamlet was going through. This quote spoken by Hamlet seems like questioning of life. All the pieces have fallen apart for Hamlet at this point of the play. The death of one’s father is probably the worst nightmare of all types. In addition, one’s mother’s betrayal of them and her husband is also terrible nightmare. Dealing with just one of these sounds ridiculous, but Hamlet had to deal with both. Readers call Hamlet insane, but I believe there is a message for this craziness. Hamlet is an example of us. 

"Immigrants in Our Own Land"

After all the chaos happening in Righetti, it has brought to many people’s attention that Righetti is not much a great school. In the prospective of the audience around the world, Righetti will be known as the high school with a bunch of immature and uncontrollable kids. I honestly think this shouldn’t have gone the way it should. I wonder if this was all necessary with multiple police cars, a helicopter, the swat team, and so on. I can’t believe it actually made it to the international news. This was a huge embarrassment to the school and the community as a whole. What I strongly dislike is the fact that people will view Righetti High School atrociously. This high school contains great teachers and students, but after the incident of few, it became known awful. Even after the news fades, I will not be ashamed to announce I attended Righetti High School.

HAMLET (THE MADMAN?)

To the many readers of Hamlet, Hamlet may be defined as a mad man who is still immature, indecisive, and insane. To me, he sounds like a typical teenager. However, picturing myself with the tragedy Hamlet face will almost give me nightmares. Everyone comes through difficulties that are very burdensome to overcome. We readers of Hamlet don’t completely know the trouble Hamlet has to deal with and what Shakesphere full intension is when he wrote this. The fact that everyone is different, everyone has different strengths and weaknesses. For example, those who don’t bite their nails won’t know extreme difficulty of losing that habit for those who have a habit of biting their nails. It’s never easy to put your feet into someone else’s shoes.

In the play, Hamlet doesn’t seem to be freaked out, but keeps his cool when his dead father presented in front of him as ghost. In reality, wouldn’t someone who saw a talking ghost along with witnesses lose their mind? Surprisingly, Hamlet kept calm and not transform into a mad man. He was also able to show his maturity in this part of the play. The ghost, the father of Hamlet, tells Hamlet that he was killed by his own brother, Claudius, who is now on the throne. Although Hamlet had a feeling of the assassination of his father was played by Claudius, he wasn’t fully sure. Even at this point of the play, Hamlet hated Claudius. He even hated his mother, Gertrude, for not only betraying him, but her husband. Gertrude did have an affair with Claudius before the death of her husband, but after his death, she married Claudius, who was her brother-in-law. How in the world would Hamlet be fine with all this? In addition, Hamlet’s father, who is a ghost, assign Hamlet a duty before leaving: killing Claudius. This most likely raise Hamlet’s stress meter higher than ever. This was a huge task for a youngster like Hamlet. Yes, there are those readers whom think Hamlet is extremely intelligent and is pretending to be a mad man to revenge for the killing of his father. However, in reality, how can you not react to this?

Although Shakesphere is known to be one of the world’s best writers ever and the author of Hamlet, Hamlet can be reflected on for the readers themselves. Rewinding the actions Hamlet had reacted to in the play, it’s just like us. Shakesphere defines what a human being is. A human being may have trillions of different type of traits and characteristics, but it truly defines imperfection. Hamlet may at one time had everything, living as a prince where he all has all the freedom anyone can ask for, but for him, he didn’t and still struggled as a human being. If you consider a man who struggles of being a human being a mad man, then call me a mad man.

"To Be or Not To Be," Notes

"To be or not to be"

-"To be or not to be: that is the question,"= to be himself or to be the insane figure

-To care or not to care

-To die= to be in denial

-To sleep= denying from all things and stop thinking

-No more= dead 

-Death of Hamlet himself or Claudius will bring consequences 

-Hamlet's life define our own life

-Hamlet's conflicts= our own conflicts

-Contumely= rude speech

-Hamlet's conflicts clarify the feelings of life and unfairness of life

-Insolence= rude

-Unworthy for Hamlet is Claudius

-Hamlet fears afterlife. The unclarity of afterlife is the obstacle of death.

-Undiscovered country- afterlife

-In the play, killing a man who killed his father is understandable

-Hamlet is a deep thinker

-Hamlet knows how to control himself

-Orisons= prayers

-The time period of Shakespeare dealt with a lot of religion

-Claudius= powerful

-Polonius= powerless

-In the last lines, he returns to reality including Ophelia