"Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead" Analysis 3/11

Summary: The play begins with the characters Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (R and G) flipping a coin in the woods. The coin repetitively comes up heads, never tails, and they begin to discuss the probability of this actually occurring. Have they entered an alternate world, or has time simply stopped? Eventually, they meet the Players in the woods that invite them to join their work, and as the play shifts into the players work, the coin comes up tails. Next, we find that the play as shifted to the setting of Elsinore in Shakespeare's "Hamlet". While they are here, their identities are confused and they find themselves confused on their quest to figure out the cause of Hamlet's madness. They then find themselves aboard a ship, where they hear of their fate to die, and the play closes with the closing of "Hamlet".

Author: Stoppard was born to  a Jewish family, but was adapted into British culture during World Ward II. He was a theater critic and then began his writing when he won awards for "R and G".

Setting: Begins in the woods with the coin and Players and shifts to Elsinore and "Hamlet"

Characters:
      Rosencrantz: easy-going, happy, carefree, confused, simple but efficient, positive
     Guildenstern: anxious, concerned deeply, desperately seeks answers, searches for reason, despairing

Narrative Voice and Style: There is repetitive language and short concise syntax where it is easy to be misunderstood and defines R and G's relationship. Confusion and Loss of time symbolizes the world and life within. Time is lost for all of us.

Quotes: "Words, words. They're all we have to go on." This shows that language is complex and challenging. Within drama, there is word play for comic effect and humor, and without words, it would be difficult to express oneself.

"Audiences know what to expect, and that is all they are prepared to believe in." This is a view of theater in reality, if something on stage is predictable then it is believable and enjoyable. Life can be portrayed as a larger version of the theater.

Theme: "R and G" show the difficulty in understanding the world around us. There is much improbability and coincidence in life, that capturing the meaning of the world and life is difficult. Does everything happen for a reason, or are we actually real? These are the questions that are hard to grasp, and "R and G" portrays this difficulty of grasping these concepts.

Course Material 3/10

This class seems to be getting more and more intense as the AP test aproaches. Maybe it's just senioritis, but I am feeling a little bit overwhelmed; however, the activities we do in class are really going to help for that test. The annotations, though tedious, are going to give me a boost when I have to analyze any sort of literature in the future. I decided that I would try annotating "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern" on my Mom's Kindle, and it was not as easy as you might think. I can be a little bit technologically challenged a lot of the time, but I kind of liked using the kindle. However, in the future, I found that its much easier to refer back to your annotations when they are in a book right in front of you, instead of on one page on a screen. Anyway, as usual DIDLS really helps get me through annotating. They are like the fundamentals of analyzing literature, and they definitely keep me on track. Also, the in class essays are definitely difficult, and I have trouble interpretting the prompts, but it is great practice for the AP test, of course! Everything seems to be connecting to that test! Even though I am feeling overwhelmed, I know that every assignment, essay, or post we do in class is relevent and has a purpose.

Prompt revising #2

1971. The significance of a title such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is so easy to discover. However, in other works (for example, Measure for Measure) the full significance of the title becomes apparent to the reader only gradually. Choose two works and show how the significance of their respective titles is developed through the authors' use of devices such as contrast, repetition, allusion, and point of view.

It is true that some titles portray the inner context in a quite obvious manner. What is "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" about? Oh, some boy named Huckleberry Finn goes on some adventures; it is clear. However, titles such as "One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest"  does not explain the anything about the plot when one looks at the cover of the book. The novel portrays the idea of those who are disadvantaged and how they are treated in society. The novel looks into the lack of respect those with disorders experience and how it is not right because they are like any other human.

"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" proves the idea of those with mental disorders and their treatment. The protagonist, Randle McMurphy, is entered into the ward because he was diagnosed as a psychopath after he was sentenced to serve time in prison. McMurphy is the "one" who flies over the cuckoo's nest. This is not apparent in the title, and the "cuckoo's nest" is the ward, itself. A reader needs to piece these elements together in order to understand the title of the book. Throughout the novel, things change throughout the ward the moment McMurphy enters. He helps and hurts those around him, but he is a major impact over all. Basically, the novel develops themes of independence and confidence. There are many, many symbols that create the image of the title, and McMurphy's impact is a major one.

This title takes some thinking and studying to truly see the themes that it is portraying, but the hidden message inside of the title is quite prominent. "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" is a classic pieces of literature with a hidden message within its title.

Course material 2/10

Most of the recent material we have studied has been "Hamlet"; it was a struggle for me, personally. I had a lot of trouble with the language and interpreting Shakespeare's words; however, DIDLS was very prominent throughout my annotations. From the beginning of the year, we learned about DIDLS  and it really helps when figuring out literature. There are many connections that have come about based on themes in "Hamlet". For instance, there is the idea of certainty thoughout the play, and now we are seeing a similar theme in "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead". We have just began this play, and alread there are many similarities to "Hamlet", and not just the characters and the excerpts. There are similar themes and motifs as well such as: death and coincidence. I have just began annotating and already DIDLS is coming into play; it all comes back around.

Prompt Revising #1

1984. Select a line or so of poetry, or a moment or scene in a novel, epic poem, or play that you find especially memorable. Write an essay in which you identify the line or the passage, explain its relationship to the work in which it is found, and analyze the reasons for its effectiveness.

**I realize now that "Twilight" does not meet the standards of quality "literary merit"; however, I will edit this as if it is.

In this day and age, there are many novels that reflect the ideas of pop culture. One of these novels is simply, "Twilight" by Stephanie Meyer. The novel is a classic love story between and guy and a girl in high school; however, Edward is a vampire, and Bella falls in love anyway. The idea of unexpected romance is prominent within the text, and one particular scene proves this the best. During the scene where Bella and Edward are in the meadow there is not much dialogue, but there is plenty of imagery that describes the scene and makes it so memorable. 

During the couple's time spent in the meadow, Bella discovers what Edward's skin looks like in the sun. She describes it as "white despite the faint flush from yesterday's hunting trip, literally sparkled, like thousands of tiny diamonds were embedded in the surface" (260). This was a climactic moment for there relationship because it shows how they are growing closer and are becoming more deeply involved. The novel as a whole is based around the development of their relationship, and this scene is the perfect example of this. Bella seems to study edward and even compares him to a statue by saying, "A perfect statue, carved in some unknown stone, smooth like marble, glittering like crystal (260)." The way in which Edward is described in this scene brings forth vivid images and ideas that are important to the story.

Stephanie Meyer must have had a good reason to place this scene where it is and the way that it is. For instance, it seems as though she was making the connection between the two characters more prominent, but it, also, seems to make a direct connection with the audience. Personally, the passage made me more engaged in the novel and made me think about the ideas and controversies that could be thought of while reading. For example, Bella's descriptions are almost fantasy-like, and the fact that Edward is a vampire makes that a reasonable point. It is almost a scene in which the love is too good to be true, but because of this controversy, it makes the story more engaging because readers, like myself, put themselves into the scene and fantasize about the situation as if it were them. 

The ideas in this one scene are effective in making the audience think about and fantasize about this even after they put the book down. I find that "Twilight" creates a new romance and a new idea for readers to enjoy, and the meadow scene brings this to life. 

Hamlet 1/21

Characters
Hamlet: 

• play is based around his character
• avenging his father's death
• reoccurring idea of his youth
• insane? is it an act?  
• life is going wrong (Ophelia, Mom, Uncle, kingdom, insanity, personally)

 Ophelia: 

• affair with Hamlet
• portrayed as innocent and pure
• grieves her father's death
• turns crazy
• feels betrayed by her brother for leaving her

Gertrude:

• King dies, marries his Brother
• Incest?
• betrayal to husband and son
• Queen with a reputation to uphold
• cares for her son, wants to help him

Claudius:

• Kills his brother
• assumes the crown by marrying the Queen
• wanting to kill Hamlet
• betrays the family
• strong, sturdy personality 

Themes
Certainty: There are aspects in the play that are always uncertain. Is this character supposed to by acting this way? Is it an act, or is it really? Is there incest? Pregnancy? Suicide? Hamlet is seen to be "crazy" throughout the entirety of the play; it is uncertain if it was an act or if he was actually mentally insane. Ophelia turns crazy after her father passes, but there are some secrets. Some say she was pregnant with Hamlet's child. Some think she just went crazy because she was grieving for her father. 

Insanity: Was Hamlet simply mad? He acts crazy and is supposed to be insane, but maybe he was really. When he sees the ghost and the ghost speaks to him is also a sign of his insanity. Ophelia turns crazy and skips around, sings, and is almost ditzy. However, her insanity is always followed by deeper clues. 

Death: ALMOST everyone dies. It starts with the King, and then Hamlet to avenge his father. He kills Polonius. Ophelia commits suicide. The king tries to poison hamlet, the Queen gets it instead. Laertes gets killed by the sword. Hamlet makes the king drink the poison, and finally Hamlet falls. Death is seen everywhere all throughout the play. 

Motifs
Incest: The Queen displays incest for marrying her husband's brother shortly after death.
Women: Hamlet loses faith in women after his mother betrays their family. Ophelia is told to stop seeing him, and he had loved her. He makes a huge mistrust amongst women in the society.

Quotes
"To be or not to be..." is a very well known quote throughout today's society. It has a misinterpretation of pertaining to a person's well being, goals or achievements. It is in actuality a quote of Hamlet considering suicide. After all the betrayal and insanity going on around him he does not feel the need to live. However, he goes on in order to avenge his father's death.  
 

Course Material 1/13

The majority of what we have been recently working on has been "Hamlet", and it has been one crazy part of this class. First, I was just trying to understand the context of the story because it really was a struggle to just get any comprehension out of it. For those of you who understood Shakespeare with ease, you're lucky! I had to really work with it. However, with the help of DIDLS and my knowledge of literature and resources I was able to work my way through it. I never realized how much DIDLS would actually come up throughout this class. Diction, imagery, details, language, and syntax was quite apparent throughout EVERY work, article, or essay we have studied throughout this class, and it has mostly come in handy throughout our annotations. There are always those times when you are blanking on things to write in your thousands of notes, but then you remember DIDLS and can figure out something to write down. It actually makes the tedious annotations a little bit easier! I like being able to culminate all of the ideas learned throughout the course and putting it towards the recent studies like "Hamlet".