Wednesday 22 September 2010

Hello Y12

Today we looked at the first two scenes in King Lear. We considered how the double plot overlaps in its plots, themes and characters.
I'm posting this really quickly due to time constraints so if you look at this on Wednesday please look again on Thursday so that it allows me to go into more detail...
You homework is to read to the end of Act 1; remember to read AND understand. If you are really struggling the click here for some useful guidance. I MUST state that this is only to assist your understanding and is in no way a substitute for reading the text. You have been warned!
Don't forget to check again on Thursday for further posts.
Good work today,
Ms Caldwell

4 comments:

  1. Thank you! Will there be any more homework on Tuesday/Thursday?
    I was wondering if there are any of Shakespeare's made up words in King Lear? A lot of the words are unfamiliar to us now, but are there words which are familiar to us but would have been new to a contemporary audience? Just a random thought I had!
    See you next Wednesday!
    Eleanor :)
    (1st comment -wow!)

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  2. Rather annoyingly, this is the third time I’ve tried to post this comment. I do loathe Error 503.
    Sorry about the mistake, I meant to type Thursday. More haste and less speed I think...
    To answer your questions, yes some of the words would have been Shakespeare’s creations or would have had double meanings. These would have varying levels of understanding and meaning to a contemporary audience and audiences through time. It’s also worth noting here the ending of the play has also changed though time to meet the desires of the audience; an interesting performance point.
    There won’t be any more homework set, but I do plan to put some links in to assist understanding of the play. I also plan to post what we intend to do in the lesson as I think this will help people’s preparation. Here’s a heads up: we’ll look at some key terms and definitions, do some close analysis and then watch some of the play (the Russian version as I think it helps to see the words as they are performed; not being able to understand the spoken language ensures we read the text).
    I know, first comment; straight to the top of the class! I hope it’s helped too.
    Ms :)

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  3. I had to have two attempts to post my comment too!
    It's very interesting about the ending changing - I often wish books had ended differently (I'm a very 'and they all lived happily ever after' type of reader!) but I didn't realise directors would actually change the endings of plays if they didn't like them...
    I suppose, if plays are used to teach the population things/entertain them suitably, then they would be careful to control what they saw!
    Perhaps an interesting point of discussion would be what books/films we'd like to change the ending of...
    I'll go first and say, even though it ruins all the circular forshadowing themes, George should not have killed Lennie in Of Mice and Men! Anyone else agree?
    Bye!
    Eleanor :)

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  4. I'm quite happy with a sad ending! I think th end of Of Mice and Men, although tragic, is actually quite beautiful.
    What i don't like is when books don't actually end the story just seems to stop; I want to know what happened to everyone, (shhh... Not very literary) I think that this is why one of my favourite books is One Hundred Years of Solitude - a magnificently complete book.
    As for directors, they can do what they like!
    Ms :)

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