Hamlet

      William Shakespeare: Famous English  playwright, actor, and poet responsible for numerous plays, sonnets, and poems. His most  recognized plays perhaps are Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, and Macbeth. Shakespeare's works are translated in hundreds of languages and to this day are embraced and interpreted by a number of cultures.

Characters:

Hamlet: The play's protagonist and also the Prince of Denmark. Hamlet is about 30 years old and is the son of Old Hamlet(dead) and Queen Gertrude. He struggles with  depression, and has a bitter attitude toward life. His hatred for  King Claudius stems from the mystery of his father's death-later discovered to be a murder by the King's hand-and the betraying marriage of  his mother Gertrude to Claudius. Throughout the play young Hamlet displays moments of thoughtfulness, but these  moments are quickly followed by varying emotions where Hamlet wars with himself and the  powers around him that succeed to initiate his impulsive and indecisive sides.

Claudius: A power hungry politician who murders his brother Old Hamlet in order to seat himself on the throne of Denmark and to at long last feed his desire to marry Old Hamlet's beautiful wife Gertrude. As the play's antagonist, Claudius works as the puppet handler in the play to see his demands completed. Although a strong king, Claudius expertly hides his true from those close to him but in the end, his plotting and scheming get the better of him.

Gertrude: The Queen of Denmark, who blindly seeks love and affection from Claudius and is unaware of his true nature. In fact one might say that her weak nature prevents her from being overly concerned with the truth. But in a more positive light , Gertrude truly loves her son and in the end when all the ugly truth has been bared, she chooses her Hamlet.

Polonius: The Lord Chamberlain of Claudius’s court and the father of Ophelia and Laertes. He is conniving and has complete authority over his children, which does not stop him from being an opinionated old man who must know everything. 

Horatio: Hamlet's closest friend and confident. Horatio is loyal and is the one survivor her remains after the bloody battle to retell Hamlet's story.

Ophelia: Hamlet's scorned lover. She is a young beauty thought to be innocent,but her obedience to her father and brother lead her to spying on Hamlet, which then leads to his rejection of her love and the love he claims he never felt for her. Her innocence is shattered and further disintegrates after the death of her father, which then leads to her own death by drowning.

Laertes: Hamlet's foil and the son of Polonius and brother of Ophelia. Laertes spends most of his time in France but rushes home in a mad fit after hearing about the death of his father. Laertes teams up with Claudius and together they plot to rid Denmark of Hamlet.

Fortinbras: Possibly another foil for Hamlet. Fortinbras is the Prince of Norway and wishes to avenge his father's honor(killed by Old Hamlet) and to claim the lands of Denmark from young Hamlet.

The Ghost: Claims to be the spirit of Hamlet's dead father. He confesses with great sadness that the murderer is Claudius and urges Hamlet to man up and avenge his death. But is the spirit heaven or hell bound? This is a question that Hamlet struggles to answer as he does not A.Want to be deceived by the devil and B. Leave a murderer roaming free.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern: Hamlet's "friends" from Wittenberg, who are summoned by King Claudius and Queen Gertrude to spy on Hamlet and learn the reasons for his odd behaviors.

Setting: Denmark but more closely within the castle of Elsinore around the 13th century.

Key Events/Plot Summary(from the collaborative review plus motifs)

• Act 1
• Scene 1
• Horatio is told that the Ghost of the old king of Denmark, Hamlet, has been seen
• Horatio sees the Ghost and attempts to talk to it, but it does not answer Horatio.
• King Hamlet led a conquest against old Fortinbras

• Scene 2
• Claudius is introduced and makes a speech about his marriage and how young Fortinbras demands the lands taken by King Hamlet. Claudius sends ambassadors to stop an attack.
• Laertes is given leave to go to France, with permission of Polonius.
• Hamlet is introduced and is mourning his father, Claudius and Gertrude tell him to get over his father’s death.
• Hamlet is not given permission to leave and go back to Wittenberg.
• Hamlet is forced to stay in Denmark. He is upset about his mother’s marriage to his uncle. (Took place “within a month”)
• Horatio and friends tell Hamlet about the Ghost and he agrees to join them.
• Scene 3/4/5
• Laertes (leaving for France) warns Ophelia not to fall for Hamlet and not to trust him.
• Polonius says the same thing and orders her not to see Hamlet.
• Hamlet, Horatio, and Marcellus are visited by the Ghost.
• The Ghost wants to only speak to Hamlet.
• The Ghost tells Hamlet that he was murdered by Claudius. The Ghost tells Hamlet to avenge his murder.
• Hamlet makes his friends swear to secrecy.
• Act 2
• Scene 1
• Polonius does not trust Laertes in France and sends someone there.
• Ophelia was visited by Hamlet, who seemed crazy.
• Polonius thinks that Hamlet is crazy because Ophelia will not see him.
• Scene 2
• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are sent to spy on Hamlet by Gertrude and Claudius.
• Polonius tells Claudius that Hamlet is crazy with love for Ophelia. They go to spy on Hamlet.
• Hamlet knows that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are spying for Claudius.
• Hamlet decides to prove his uncle’s guilt by staging a play, The Murder of Gonzago.
• Act 3
• Scene 1-To Be or Not To Be
• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern cannot find why Hamlet is mad.
• Polonius makes Ophelia to find out about Hamlet’s madness and goes to spy with Claudius.
• Hamlet sees Ophelia and is nice, but then he changes his attitude.
• Hamlet says he never loved her.
• After Hamlet leaves Claudius does not think that love is the cause of his madness. He decides to send Hamlet to England.
• Polonius says not to and wait until Gertrude talks to him.
• Scene 2
• The play occurs. Hamlet and Horatio watch for a reaction from Claudius.
• The Player King is killed by having poison poured in his ear.
• Claudius gets upset and leaves.
• Hamlet is asked to go see Gertrude.
• Scene 3
• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are ordered to take Hamlet to England.
• Polonius plans to spy on Hamlet and Gertrude.
• Claudius starts to pray and Hamlet wants to kill him there, but cannot because then Claudius would go to Heaven.
• Scene 4
• Polonius hides behind a tapestry in Gertrude’s room.
• Hamlet enters and scares Gertrude, who calls for help. Polonius then calls for help.
• Hamlet, thinking that Polonius is Claudius, stabs the tapestry.
• Hamlet is then upset at Gertrude for marrying Claudius, when the Ghost appears and he is the only one to see. Gertrude thinks he is mad.
• The Ghost reminds Hamlet to avenge King Hamlet’s death.
• Act 4
• Gertrude tells Claudius that Polonius is dead. Claudius sends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to find Hamlet, and the body.
• Hamlet does not say where he put the body.
• Claudius orders Hamlet to leave immediately for England. Claudius tells the audience he plans to have Hamlet killed in England.
• Hamlet sees Fortinbras and his army.

• Act 5
• Scene 1
• Two clowns (gravediggers) dig up poor Yorick’s bones to make room for Ophelia.
• Scene 2
• Hamlet has his “fall of the sparrow” speech.
• He then duels with Laertes, is mortally wounded, kills Claudius, then relinquishes his control to Fortinbras

Other Important Areas

The play functions through the dialogue of the characters through prose. Point of View is told more through the emotions the play's protagonist- Hamlet, that is when Hamlet is riled up over some issue or when he is dealing with a fit of despair. Hamlet has two different sides, his sane and mad sides. Whenever he is around Horatio, Hamlet is quite honest and comfortable allowing his diction to lose some of it's pomposity and become more fluid/ easily comprehensible(colloquial) for readers. When Hamlet is graced with the company of other members of the court, his word choice flows in a maddeningly formal way and this is further helped with syntax techniques such as sentence length, parallelism, and punctuation, which all help him prove his madness as his talk often contains meaninglessness or insults. Informal diction is also added in the play with the grave diggers to add a bit of comedy to a tragic situation. The tone of the play shifts depending on the emotions of Hamlet. It is at times disparaging, hopeful, incensed, friendly, tearful, pained, and humorous(low-comedy with the grave diggers). Imagery throughout this text is abundant, more so when the passing of a character needs to be described(Old Hamlet-play and Ophelia). But, most of the lines in Hamlet are descriptive and pleasing to the imagination.

Symbols:

Yorick's skull-Hamlet's realization that in death we are the same. No status.No rich existence in death. 

Our skin decomposes and earthly positions no longer matter. With the skull Hamlet is able to lose his  

ignorance and see death in it's reality.

Flowers-Distribution of flowers to different characters by Ophelia and they symbolize her sadness.  
rosemary-remembrance, pansies-thoughts,fennel-flattery,columbine-unfaithfulness, daisy-  
innocence,violets-faithfulness.

Poison-The state of corruption in Denmark brought on by Claudius allowing for the secluded, self-  
focused, and suspicious world of Elsinore.

The Ghost-Either heaven or hell sent symbolizes revenge

Memorable Quotes:

" Something is rotten in the state of Denmark."(1.4 67)
 
Speaks of the corrupted state of Denmark as a whole. This self-serving and sick state influences the actions of Hamlet and identifies how unhealthy circumstances around us can influence our ways of thinking to the point where the corrupted pieces start to be identified.

To be or not to be- that is the question
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
And, by opposing, end them. To die, to sleep-
No more-and by a sleep to say we end. (3.1 64-69)

Addresses Hamlet's contemplation of suicide in a painful world. As humans we experience different levels of grief and react individually of each other, but as a whole we abide by moral codes and the rightness of suicide stumps us even when we too are in the same depressive boat. To be brave, living yet suffering for a period or to be free, dead, and considered weak. The truth is hard to come by.

Motifs(from the collaborative review):

• Ambiguity
• Insularity

• Incest
• Identity
• Providence
• Revenge
• Control
• Religion
• Duality (Natural vs. Unnatural, identity vs. public appearance, father & son, light vs. day, pure vs. impure)
• Death
• Surveillance
• Misogyny
• Ears & hearing
• Synecdoche
• Fortune/luck
• Lack of trust
• Mystery of death- afterlife
• Nation as a poisoned body
• Putting on persons- inner vs. outer self
• Lies
• Groups of 3
• Madness

Theme:

 Shakespeare’s Hamlet cautions that self doubt paired with moral corruption can lead to the subversion of providence.

With the help of setting, plot, characters, and symbolism:

 

The area in which the play is targeted is Denmark.Denmark, defiled Denmark. Strange occurrences of the spiritual world and plenty of suspicion in this region lead to Hamlet's self doubt and eventual determination that he is the all powerful slayer. The individuals around him, more specifically King Claudius and the Ghost , play a big hand in planting the seeds of rage and self-doubt.For instance, King Claudius with his use of poison. The poison of his mouth and of his actions against Old Hamlet that lead to a dishonest court. And the Ghost as the symbol of revenge with his accusations against Claudius that call on Hamlet to murder. Because of these issues, Hamlet must battle internally to discover the truth and the sign from God that gives him the okay to eliminate Claudius without overstepping himself. As the plot progresses, it is evident within the plot that Hamlet continues to struggle with self-doubt because although he speaks of action, he fails in his hesitation to fulfill the Ghost's request. Once the first kill is accomplished though, Hamlet's act of madness has him sent away and then all too soon Hamlet has Rosencrantz and Guildenstern killed(their betrayal points back to Claudius), which was far from the original plan to kill one man. And in conclusion, Hamlet has subverted providence for a brief period of time.

Thank You Snow Days!

         Well, a mountain of ice snow  landed in our area a few weeks ago and unfortunately  disrupted our schedule...oh my! How tragic. Yes, it really was. Despite the snow and the glorious days off though, Hamlet was still waiting back at school for further discussion. Oh boy, I'll tell ya, the first day was a trial. I'm certain that most of us wanted to be hugging a pillow instead of determining the six key plot points in Hamlet, but we did it. I feel as if we made progress in our debate concerning the internal conflict and the issue of usurpation. Our plot points tended to focus on the events in the play that led Hamlet to his state of destruction and the battle that he experiences  regarding God's power. The following week we tackled motifs and theme and I'm just glad the discussion is over. I don't know, should I refrain from such thoughts? Is this conversation going to continue in class? Huh?

      Shakespeare's Hamlet is an entertaining mass of conflict. Within and outside of the book,  but then again what would life be without an infuriating novel, play, etc. every now and then? Actually, most of Shakespeare's works force me to put on my thinking cap. But, moving on. Our reading and discussion of  Hamlet  reminds me of the sophomore biology project with cryptosporidium. Remember that monster? Yes well, recall that all the information was there in front of us and we had to write a gigantic paper. I'm not lying. It was gigantic. And just speaking for myself here, but I couldn't get  myself to start that paper for a couple of days because I saw the dedication and sweat that would need to be put forth on it. And in  a dramatic way, I didn't think I could survive to see the finished project. Only sophomore year, right? The first couple  days I was a weak whining baby, but then I put on a brave face and  slayed my fears, producing  a fairly fantastic project, if I do say so myself. And now we have Hamlet. We've been dealing with this book for a good time now and there has been a lot of thought dedicated on it. When I first saw the number of pages we had to read through, I considered being sick for a time, but I had to tell myself I wasn't going to run from a book. I love books! I knew I could do it and I'm still doing it. Even though we still have the summary/analysis due at the end of the month, I will not shy away from it. I can do it because I'm pretty sure I've been through worse.

       The collaborative review is a miracle. Reminder-I should get other people to write reviews for me all the time! Uh, just kidding. The effort all the classes have contributed to this review is evident in the number of pages...forty some odd? And I'm sure that when I begin my studying I will appreciate it's availability. Immensely. In conclusion, working together, as we all know, is a good thing. We were able to bounce ideas off of each other and delete the junk we thought was irrelevant. It will be interesting to read through this entire review because it will allow me to see how others have agreed on/interpreted   the areas we've studied so far in a way that I have yet to.

The Open Prompt Part 2 and Me

AP English Literature and Composition 2009
Question Three( Symbol)
Open Prompt-Select a novel or play in which  you analyze one  symbol  and explain how the symbol functions to establish meaning/revelations in characters or  theme.

     In Arthur Miller's grand work Death of a Salesman the deterioration of the Loman family occurs with protagonist Willy and his encounter with the tape recorder. The presence of this tape recorder symbolizes the inability for the past to be changed. What this device records is the truth and because of Willy insistence to change the past and alter his family's view of him, he comes to terms with reality allowing for the fall of his character and family as truths become known.  
  Willy encounters his past on multiple occasions whenever he is  a midst some trial. Whether he goes to draw on the strength of his successful brother Ben, or to the times when his favored son Biff holds him in high regard, Willy attempts to change the past by asking for advice and believing that life is still as good as it was back in the days long past. When Willy leaves the past, his present life depicts the harsh trails of a middle class life, the long unappreciated work hours, a house bared open, exhaustion, and a first son that holds him in contempt for a mistake committed in the past. Despite these issues, Willy attempts to live as if he can make everything better by acting like he is still going somewhere, still supporting his family handsomely. So,  while Willy is intent to leave the struggle as he tries to become bigger and better, his touch with reality has not yet occurred to offer him the truth that  it is already too late. 
   It is when Willy confronts Howard about moving him to the New York office that Willy first encounters and is changed by the voices on the tape recorder. Willy wants nothing to do with this invention and has no intention to purchase it as he is hit by a bitter reality- the past has past and there is nothing he or anyone else can do to make it better. As Willy struggles with this reality, he loses his job, his son Biff misses out on his business endeavors, bringing Willy down to a hell he always wanted to escape in his quest  to make something of himself. 
   Found within the tape holder is the mechanisms that allow for it to remember the past. In remembering the past even the best and the worst of times can make an appearance, an appearance focusing more heavily  on the worst memories  that Willy refused for a time to acknowledge. By acknowledging the mistakes he has made with his son Biff, with his career spent desperately selling himself, and the affair that made him less of a man, Willy comes to realize that he has failed himself and his family. Biff with his acceptance of his placement as a nobody, Happy with his contentment to live as he is, and Willy's wife Linda and her blind love for Willy,  the  man who betrayed her.
  The symbolism of the tape recorder in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman helps to bring Willy back to the present. It allows him to see his failures and it allows him in the end to fix the failures of his life by ending his life to give his family a small chance, even though they are broken because of him.

The Weeks Hamlet Took Over

  Hamlet. My first impression when I received my copy was, good lord. I never knew Shakespeare had a large text published and quite frankly, I was a little apprehensive to dig into its pages. Maybe. But the fact is that I did it. We  did it. And I should probably give a big thanks to Sparknotes...thank you.

   We've watched a good number of adaptations of Hamlet in these last few weeks and there have been some I've liked and some I haven't liked. After the last page was finished in the Hamlet text we began our movie watching with the Branagh Hamlet. In this version I had a problem with  certain characters and character appearances. The men  were all so very old and bleached out looking that their appearances instilled in me the state of corruption that Elsinore was in. Creepy. Perhaps this was the point, but I had trouble connecting with the characters and the story line of the play. This could also have to do with the fact that I hadn't began annotations yet. My bad. Ophelia bugged me in most of the productions, but in this one and the Tenant production the most as I wanted more than anything for the actors playing her character to try a bit harder. I guess they felt a bit weak to me. On another note, the ghost in this production was probably the most terrifying to me as the scene set up between the ghost  and Hamlet occurred  in such  an ominous  way that I felt and saw the forces of darkness warring with the Earth as Hamlet hurried to keep up with his dead father.If the theory that the ghost is not heaven-sent is true then this scene works well to showcase the dark revengeful state of old Hamlet and the possibility that Hamlet's power came from Satan instead of God.  

    The Tenant Hamlet version was the more comical production as it dealt with the state of Hamlet's obvious insanity  and the constant suspicion and spying that transpired within the mansion walls, especially with the genius use of security cameras to indicate these issues. I don't know how discussions went in other classes, but in my class we discussed the importance of the stairs in the Olivier Hamlet. The higher up the characters ascend the closer in proximity they are to heaven and God and the lower they descend the closer they are to hell and its  ruler Satan. As I did my annotations I saw more clearly Hamlet's struggle to be decisive and to figure out if his power to purge the world-Elsinore- of Claudius's evils were ordained from God himself or from some other less heavenly power. Also in this production, we saw Gertrude deliberately take a big gulp of the poisoned cup in order to pick/side/ protect her son. I would like to think Shakespeare meant for this to happen. I mean Gertrude loved her son and remained concerned for his mad/plaintive state throughout the course of the play. For her to choose Hamlet and leave her temptation-Claudius-makes for a much more interesting viewing.

   Although Jacobi is a talented actor, his production of Hamlet did not bode well with me.Terrible of me, I know. But well,  I felt less engaged watching this film and although it was more traditional, I felt  it progressed slowly and well dryly...well the incest bit was out there and far from dull, but that's another matter. I would have liked to see more discussion over this film as I thought we focused  more on the Hawke production.  This production, although displaying a more peaceful ghost, most likely heaven-sent, didn't stick in my mind that much either. I did like the actress who played Ophelia though. Her "I'm crazy" scene was quite moving.

    Recently we read an article by Philip Edwards, the "Tragic Balance in Hamlet", which helped me to realize that I was actually sympathizing for Hamlet.What?  The David Tenant documentary asked me to consider all that Hamlet  had suffered and I did, feeling sorry for the poor kid. Oh wait, thirty-year old grown man. Sure, his dad was murdered and most of us would think of revenge if the same were to happen to us, but Hamlet's right does not make his actions a moral right. Murder is murder. Both Claudius and Hamlet are guilty. Guilty. How can they not be, Edwards, as you "praise" Claudius in your essay?

    Now I have to consider all the books  and movies I've ever read or seen in my life where the protagonist has been wronged by the antagonist. You know how many times I've sat reading a book or  watching a movie waiting for that bloody scene were justice is served? WAY  too many times. This folks shows the shift in values. Our modern culture  has changed us humans so much that  we(well me) can sit without a thought watching the most gory video jumping up and down, cringing, rooting for, whatever, for the evil  doer to be brought to death. It's crazy how I don't take time to think about these things. I think "well he tried to kill that guy with a gun and ended up dying himself, too bad for him....should have been more careful. Karma gets ya."  But really, how do we have the power to say  God has given us the divine right to rid the world of evils? I don't want to be a usurper of some possible deity like Hamlet. I'm human. A tiny individual. What do we know? And there's this problem-evil cannot just be allowed to continue on without the care of those who are innocent. We like  our happy endings after all.

Prompt Time

2006 Open Prompt-Country Setting as a Source of Values

Student 3A
  As I write this first post I have yet to read the AP Reader's commentary, and so my thoughts... So far the flow of this student essay is quite simple and easily understandable as he/she considers Jane Austen's Persuasion. As I read I am far from intimidated as this student analyzes the influence of the country setting-UpperCross. In his/her thesis this student argues that Jane Austen uses this rural setting to help impact the character development of the plain yet  intelligent main character, Anne  by endowing "her countryside with a nurturing, virtuous, and peaceful quality." This essay contains well developed body paragraphs agruing the appeal Uppercross brings to Anne and the growth she experiences in the small area, as she is indeed far from the city Bath that judges her more harshly. And the score... was a lovely 8. I can agree with this score because this student provides the details in his/her paragraphs to show how Uppercross supports and welcomes Anne's "qualities of intelligence, kindness and modesty...  " Also, direct sentences and colloquial type diction help benefit the reader to the student's argument that in Uppercross's  "the reader better understands Anne's qualities, for she is constantly undergoing self-reflection and self-examination..."

Student 3B
   Immediately I became a bit concerned while reading  the introductory paragraph of this essay where this student introduces two settings. Sure, he/she has the intent to contrast the influence that both  the countryside  and city settings have upon main character Jack, but his/her observance that the city is just  as influencing as the countryside is left briefly in a sentence without being further expanded upon. To further clarify in  quote, "He[Jack] lives lives a life by the name of Earnest in the city..." That's it. Fortunately, in the following body
paragraphs the student further illustrates how both settings play a role in Jack's life providing the details to point out how Jack struggles to live between his two lives. The life in the city with his
fiancée and his life in the countryside with his family members. Although this student provides this information, he/she fails to accurately take from the text the necessary values that are needed to answer the prompt. The countryside being a needed safe haven for Jack is not enough. I was further concerned with this essay when the student tried to tie in "comedic confusion" into the prompt. Honestly, I didn't see the point and in no way did the random argument help to support his/her thesis. This essay received a 6.

Student 3C
  Alright the first sentence of this introductory paragraph urged me to read on...but  then I read the thesis. "Such happens on William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying". "Such" being that settings allow certain characters to establish values. And I'm assuming here that that is the desired message. As you can tell from the thesis, very underdeveloped, as is the rest of this essay. All this student had to do here was include a couple noteworthy values and they may have raised their score of a 4 to a possible 5. The next paragraph of this essay, in an out of the blue fashion, attempts to link stream of consciousness to setting. I am more than confused at this moment because so far this student has yet introduce a character or a setting. And so I'm thinking, not good. But then he/she finally introduces the setting to be the backward south of the United States from years past. This student  then introduces three characters, Dewey Dell, little Vardaman, and Anse, who all display some  backwardness of the south but in introducing three characters the organization of this essay becomes a hectic and trying read as readers try to understand how the setting of the story supports the entire work and these so-called  backward values.

"Death From the Skies!" Close Reading

   Link

 It's not often that a title births the need for one to do a double-take, and yet in this article's title "Death From the  Skies!" by Nicholas Duchesne, such a feat is most certainly achieved,  allowing one to eagerly continue reading . As of recently brown tree snakes have become a nuance to the animal species and human inhabitants of Guam, eliciting the cry for change . In an effort to decrease these lethal snakes, poison mice have been dropped into  Guam's jungles to reduce and eliminate the harm that's already been done.And through his  engaging style, Duchesne uses literary techniques such as: diction, details, and syntax to describe the measures that are being taken to underwhelm Guam  of it's current brown tree snake population.

   The use of diction in this article although largely colloquial, does at times play with the informal diction to add more emphasis  to the overall message, that being  the need to destroy these brown tree snakes. For example when Duchesne writes: "After the seemingly tasty snack is dropped on their arboreal doorstep, the snakes choke down their medicine," the weight of the word "arboreal" immediately catches a readers eye. In this sentence it serves to specify the habitat of these snakes. Their location is key to where these poison mice need to be dropped in order to have the desired affect. More interestingly, to describe the type of mice, in this particular sentence Duchesne writes: "Dead neonatal mice." Despite being young, these mice are most likely easily accessible and small, and therefore an  important  poison sacrifice adding to the effort to rid Guam of brown tree snakes. From there the everyday language becomes dominate where Duchesne plants recognizable words such as:  war, invasive, and culprits to lesson ones view on brown tree snakes. They are harming the jungles and these aforementioned words help to place them in the wrong.

 Without details a reader would not be  able to comprehend the severity that these brown tree snakes present to Guam's native species population and economy. To alarm readers, Duchsene's details focus on numbers in order to factually relate the dangers of these snakes. He writes: "Though relatively harmless to humans, the tree-dwelling snakes have devastated Guam’s jungle ecology,driving eight species of native birds extinct. They also are the frequent culprits behind power outages on the island, which they trigger by wriggling into power substations." From this information a reader easily understands the trouble these snakes initiate and to know that they've wiped out eight bird species, creates a concern for those readers who value bird populations. And then when Duchesne relays the information that "Within 60 hours the snakes, which grow to between 3 and 6 feet in length, are dead," from the poison pills, relief is palpable and some assurance in these poison mice ensues.

  Syntax works to create pauses in this article and to add more excitement, more so in the areas  where Duchesne asks a question. Fragments and the occasional question in these sentences, "Their cargo? Dead neonatal mice. Their mission? Get eaten," have this build up affect. Question? Pause, and the reader considers and wonders, "Whatever could the solution be?" Also, these shorter sentences benefit in keeping the reader's focus in order to keep their attention on how these brown tree snakes are being taken out throughout the entire article. Punctuation also shows up in the position of commas, especially in this sentence, "The parachutes, however, are made of cardboard and green tissue paper, and they’re designed to get snared in tree branches." These commas create effective pauses drawing the intended message in the role that the cardboard and tissue paper play to reach the infamous brown tree snakes.

   The role of diction, details, and syntax in this editorial article by Nicholas Duchesne allow for the creative message that poison-pill mice have currently been working to decrease the brown snake population in Guam. These techniques help to support this article's focus on the irritatingly harmful brown tree snakes and the even more harmful poison mice that have been dropped into Guam jungles. One is easily enraptured and interested by this article and because of these literary techniques, the reader has no issue articulating the message of this short piece.

Beyond The Course Material

     Back again and its snowing. Great...so I guess I'll  start now. Recently we've been exercising our brains with discussions over diction and syntax.  I find these discussions to be beneficial because I'm forced to focus on a single word or a method of  syntax to see how it all adds emphasis to the passage. In addition to this, I find that I enjoy creating my own imitation of the passage with my peers. This last part always ends up being quite satisfying for me because as a class we get to put our awareness of the prompt into words, in an attempt to reflect it. Another helpful learning tool is the "mood and atmosphere" exercises. Although they are benefiting to moi, they end up taking an unbearably long time to complete. I'm shocked at the amount of time it takes to pick out a mood. FOREVER. But I've come to accept it. As a writer I never pick a random word to throw into my stories. Every word matters. It's like a human life. Every expression, pause, action. Everything. It can be annoying, but the time spent finding the as-best-to-perfect-as-your-going-to-get-passage is rewarding. It's true. As a class, once we've come to a consensus, the actual build up of our paragraph takes less time. Thank you stars. As I read other works from my favorite authors, Rae Carson, Cassandra Clare, and  Moira Young, my eyes isolate important passages allowing me to think, What if he/she had taken out this word and chosen to simply choose the elementary words? There would be no affect. I wouldn't be able to throw the book across the room because a major character had died. I wouldn't feel the anticipation that the characters feel. An author works to make his/her readers feel. As the reader I like to be taken completely.Nothing else matters. Chores? Nope. If I can't demand myself to put the book down, the author has done a superb job.
   Within these exercises we spent a class hour practicing our multiple choice. Guess what? I'm getting better. Yes! Or maybe they were easier passages. Darn. Or maybe it's because of all I've learned so far. If I could write in the booklets I would, but instead I mentally underline and circle the words that I deem to be important. I've also found that doing a quick first reading is helpful and as a result brings up my scores. In the past I've destroyed my performance by doing multiple close readings to try and understand the gibberish that I'm reading. So, there's the growth.
   And then there's Shakespeare's Hamlet. To be honest I don't know how we're going to have a class discussions on this text. It twas  kind o' difficult with all thee thou's and dost's and wilt's. Maybe after we've watched different interpretations of the play? Hopefully, no, I'm sure I'll have a better understanding of this play after annotations and Sparknotes. Ha! The difficulty at this moment rests with Hamlet.  By having one of the major speaking roles, I found it difficult to connect with my character and the others in this work. I blame the language now. Sorry, I have to point  a finger. Instinct. In consideration of the play though, Shakespeare, yet again creates a tragic plot. People were dying left and right. Tis Shakespeare's way. There's always something up with the monarchy.