“To be or not to be” and “Oh Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art
thou Romeo?” are about the only two Shakespeare lines I actually know. Given
this pathetic fact, Hamlet has been
rough for me. The language, the colloquialism, and the abundance of confusing
diction that to me makes zero sense causes a complete lack of brain power while
sitting in class. I am trying hard to understand the new type of reading. I
have been trying to annotate and write down important things Ms.Holmes points
out throughout the course of the book but for some reason I just do not
understand it. I really hope my ability to understand Shakespeare’s literature
increases since I know it will become a very frustrating obstacle if I don’t.
On an optimistic note, I actually understand Death of A Salesman! After watching the movie, annotation, and participating in group discussions, I have grown to actually enjoy the play. I have found myself enjoying digging through layers and layers of books. As tedious as reading through all the commentaries was, I felt as if it actually was helpful and left me really pondering. Never before have I gotten to actually hear from the author of such a classic book. It was satisfying to hear that all these details and layers aren’t just made up by students, lit teachers, or lit critics but that the author actually intended to present them while writing the book.
As the class progresses, all of the basic things we learned
at the beginning of the year that seemed like SO MUCH information are slowing
becoming comfortable. For example, I see myself finding didls more easily while
reading and being able to specify what lit terms are what.
I have never written about the tone word challenge on a blog
post before but after seeing it on a peer’s blog I realized it is a crucial
part of AP Lit. I really feel as if they help. You can never have too many
vocabulary words filed away in your brain. The examples I hear and the way
Ms.Holmes describes the words, gives them a new dimension that actually sticks
in my mind. I noticed we have not been doing syntax challenges lately. I am not
complaining. I did enjoy them but I felt like only a few were actually
worthwhile.
Hi Sam,
ReplyDeleteI found it really nice that you wrote about the way you changed and grew from your experiences of AP Lit. I definitely agree with you about the tone word challenges. It's great that you wrote about your opinion of the different materials covered during class. Nice Work!
I thought this post was really good because you shared your personal experience thoroughly to the things we've been learning. You weren't afraid to admit you struggle with Hamlet, I know I do as well. I'm just starting to understand things the 3rd time through! Like Joyce said it was interesting to hear about your growth in the class. I wouldn't change anything!
ReplyDeleteI haven't been much of a Shakespeare enthusiast either. The language, like you said, is old and hard to understand. For this reason, you see me pull out a laptop instead of a book every class. I look up every word I haven't seen before and figure out what it means, and that has helped significantly. Hopefully, though, after Mrs. Holmes did some explaining, you understand the play like you do The Death of a Salesman, now!
ReplyDeleteI must admit I've been forgetting to write about everything we do at the beginning of classes. I definitely agree with you that those "warm up" assignments are just as important as everything else we learn.
Noah Symanzik