Shakespeare and Acting
EH 71
Spragins
Fall 2007


The Chandos Portrait (1606?)
 

 Black Box Theatre
Office Hours (Hound Pound 093): 2:15-3:30 p.m. (daily)
jspragins@gilman.edu 
(410) 828-5212 
4th Period Class: Day 6
Course Description

http://faculty.gilman.edu/US/JamieSpragins/Shakespeare_and_Acting/EH71_SPR_F_07-08b.htm
 
   

Course Outline:

 

 
frontispiece of 1609 quarto

  
     

 

 

 


Aegeon in Act one, scene one of The Comedy of Errors 
RSC Noble (1983)

 

 



Dustin Hoffman as Shylock in Peter Hall's production (1989)
 
     

 

 


 Paul Robeson as Othello (1943)

 

 
     

 

 


Jasper Britton as Caliban in The Tempest at Shakespeare's Globe, Bankside, London
 

 

 
     

 
William Kempe Dances to the Sea (1599)

 

Shakespeare Festival

 
     
Month Day   Cycle Day  Day Assignment

09/           

05 Day 0 Wed
 

 


Dewitt sketch of
The Swan Theatre (1596)

 
Course Description

Course Philosophy: We will approach the plays actively and practically. We will not simply sit and read.

What do we learn about the language, the characters, and the action of the plays from the practical necessities of staging scenes?

Hint: At the Globe in London the actors know what any good teacher knows: you have to be open to improvisation. Who knows what the audience might do in the midst of the action?
 09/         06 Day 1 Thurs


Mountebank Stage (1600)


Bear Baiting


Shakespeare's Globe, London (2004)

Introduction to Course Exercises (Fiona Banks):

  • Line Games/ Circle Names
  • Draw a picture of what will happen in this class.
  • Comment in words on the same sheet.
  • Two teams choose and then perform their favorite pictures.
  • Renaissance Dissing (Folger)
  • Scenes in a second. (Folger)

Homework:

A. "Words, words, words..." To love Shakespeare, you must love words. In Elizabethan London, feats of language comprised the ultimate media entertainment. (that is, beyond bear baiting and public executions.). (John Barton)

  • Choose a word from the 'diss list' and look it up in the OED online.
  • First, say the word out loud. Experiment with various ways of pronouncing the individual word. Feed off its sound. Then, consider the various meanings the word has had in its history. Pronounce it differently for each different definition.

B. Read Wood, In Search of Shakespeare, Prologue (pp.9-14) and "Roots" (pp. 15-33). (Study Guide)
09/            07 Day 2 Fri.

09/

10 Day 3       Mon.
 


frontispiece of 1609 quarto


Petrarch's Laura, Laurentian Library, Florence

Petrarch Sonnets

  

Shakespeare's Language:

“Shakespeare’s language has a whole energy that has nothing to do with what the words mean and everything to do with how the words sound.” (Cecily Berry) 

Homework: 

Sonnet Project: You will receive two grades for this project: the first for a short essay analyzing your poem and the second for your performance. Write up your analysis of the poetic effects of your sonnet and discuss your choice of its dramatic situation. The best essays will be built around one idea. The best performances will be done free of the text, so memorize your lines).

For further reading: On the composition of the Sonnets. Wood, In Search of Shakespeare, Chapter Nine, "A Hell of Time" (pp. 179-200) and Chapter Ten, "Shakespeare in Love?" (pp. 201-222)

 
09/ 11 Day 4       Tues. Parents Night
     
09/ 12 Day 5     Wed.


Purported Portrait of Christopher Marlowe, Corpus Christi College, Cambridge

  

Shakespeare's Verse:
 

Homework: 

 

13       Thurs.  Rosh Hashanah
         
09/ 14 6 Fri  
   

Final Rehearsal Sonnets

Homework:

Sonnet Essay
 
09/ 17 Day 7     Mon.


Dove, Foghorns (1929)


Areas of Resonance in the Human Body


Nunn/Napier, Royal Shakespeare Company, September 1976


Supple/Innes Hopkins, Royal Shakespeare Company,(1997)
The Eastern Mediterranean in the 3rd c. BC

  

Sonnet Essay Due by 3:30 pm

Voice and the Actor:

 “If words arise from the heart,
They will enter the heart
If words arise from the tongue alone,
They will not pass beyond the ears.”
said an Eastern Mystic.

Exercises:

  • Biology of the Voice (Linklater)

  • Physical and Vocal Warm-up (Yolanda Vazquez)

  • Constructive Criticism
  • Sonnet Performances

Homework:
 

Read The Comedy of Errors  Acts 1-3 (1593)

For further reading:

09/

 18 Day 8    Tues.

      
         
09/ 19 Day 9       Wed.

 

 


Aegeon The Comedy of Errors RSC Noble (1983)


Yolanda Vazquez and Phillipa Stanton from the Hunter Globe production (1999)


Cast for The Bomb-itty of Errors (2002)

  
Discuss The Comedy of Errors Acts 1-3 (1592-4)

Shakespeare Set Free Workshop (Folger)
 

Homework: 

Wood, In Search of Shakespeare, Chapter  Two "A Child of State" (pp. 33-48) and Chapter Three "Educations: School And Beyond" (pp. 49-68) (Study Guide)

Check out a Virtual tour of Gray's Inn Hall (the Hall at the Law School where the play was first performed in 1593?)

Lesson Plans (Web English Teacher)

Study Questions (Dartmouth)
09/ 20 Day 10           Thurs.

 
09/ 21 Day 1          Fri.


Judge/Thompson, Royal Shakespeare Company, April 1990


Parker/Sheerin, Royal Shakespeare Company, April 2000


Hollar's Etching Depicting Southwark (the neighborhood of the Globesoutgh of the Thames) (see complete panorama of London 1647)

 

  

Discuss Shakespeare's Education: "Little Latin and Less Greek" (pp. 33-68) (Johnson)

Exercises:

Promptbook Project: Choose Scenes, Divide Promptbook Responsibilities.

Homework: 

Read The Comedy of Errors  Acts 4-5 (1593)

And check out the video of the prologue of The Bomb-itty of Errors (2002),  the hit rap adaptation of the play
09/ 24 Day 2          Mon.  
     
9/ 25 Day 3 Tues.

Parents Night



 

The Four Elements:


Air


Fire


Earth


Water

 

  

Shakespeare's Globe (powerpoint)

Discuss The Comedy of Errors  Acts 4-5 (1593)

Warm Up: The Four Elements:

 

"The most important thing is that the actors listen to each other, not just with their minds but with their bodies. If the actors can't move, the audience won't be moved." (Glyn MacDonald)

                       I have heard
The cock, that is the trumpet to the morn,
Doth with his lofty and shrill-sounding throat
Awake the god of day, and at his warning,
Whether in sea or fire, in earth or air,
Th' extravagant and erring spirit hies
To his confine.
-HORATIO, from Hamlet

Homework: 

Shakespeare Chronology

9/

 26 Day 4           Wed.

9/ 27 Day 5          Thurs.


Shakespeare's Globe (powerpoint)


Shakespeare's Globe Stage (2004)


Globe Groundplan


The Rose Theatre on the Southbank (after its renovation in 1592)

  

Discuss Wood, In Search of Shakespeare, "The Lost Years" (pp. 105-119) and "London Fame" (pp 120-151). (Study Guide)

Warm Up: The Four Archetypes:

Rehearse Scenes

Homework: 

Essay on The Comedy of Errors due Wed. at 3:30 p.m.

Promptbook due Monday at 3:30 p.m.
 
9/ 28 Day 6           Fri.

 

   Retreat Day
10/ 1 Day 7 Mon.


Black Box Elevation


Black Box Groundplan

  

Warm Up: The Four Elements and the Four Archetypes:

Dress Rehearsal

Homework: 

Essay on The Comedy of Errors due Friday. at 3:30 p.m.

Promptbook due Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.
 
 
         
10/ 2 Day 8 Tues.  
         
10/ 3 Day 9           Wed.  


Visscher Panorama of London (1616)


Norden Map of London (1593)

The Utrecht Panorama of London as seen from the North (1597)

  
Comedy of Errors Promptbook due.

Perform Scene

Homework: 

Essay on The Comedy of Errors due Friday at 3:30 p.m.
 
10/ 04 Day 10             Thurs.
     
10/ 05 Day 1             Fri.


Shakespeare's Globe (2001)

  

Essay on The Comedy of Errors due at 3:30 p.m.

Homework: 

Read The Merchant of Venice, Acts 1-3

Shakespeare's Sources:

  • Christopher Marlowe, The Jew of Malta (1589)
  • Fiorentino, Ser Giovanni Il Pecorone (The Simpleton) (1558) (N/A)
  • Gesta Romanorum, (in Latin) (1340), translation by Richard Robinson, 1595 ed)
  • a Lost English play The Jew
  • Smith, Henry, (1550?-1591). The examination of usury. A sermon preached in the city of London. Furness Library Facsimile
  • Munday, Anthony, Zelauto (1580)
  • (More)

Ellen Terry as Portia, 'The quality of mercy is not strain’d', Listen  The Merchant of Venice. Act 4, Scene 1. British Library Sound Archive, 1911
 
         
10/ 8 Day 0 Mon. Fall Break
         
10/ 9 Day 2         Tues.
10/ 10 Day 3 Wed.  


"Argosies With Portly Sail"


Piazza San Marco, Venice 1580


View from Rialto Bridge, Venice

  
Discuss The Merchant of Venice, Acts 1-3
 

Homework: 

Read Wood, In Search of Shakespeare, Chapter 11, "Shakespeare's Dream of England" (pp. 223-237) and Chapter 12, "Ambition: The Globe" (pp 239-265). (Study Guide)

The Globe 1599 (Presentation)
 
10/ 11 Day 4           Thurs.

 
10/ 12 Day 5 Fri.  
   


The Prince of Arragon's Casket Caird/Ultz, Royal Shakespeare Company, April 1984


Barton/Morley, Royal Shakespeare Company, July 1981

  
 
Discuss The Merchant of Venice, Acts 1-3

Discuss Wood, In Search of Shakespeare, Chapter 11, "Shakespeare's Dream of England" (pp. 223-237) and Chapter 12, "Ambition: The Globe" (pp 239-265). (Study Guide)
     

Homework: 

Read The Merchant of Venice, Acts 4-5

Read the Introduction to the Production History of The Merchant of Venice (ed. Edelman)
         
10/ 15 Day 6          Mon.


Titian, Doge Andrea Gritti (1547)


Bellini, Doge Loredani (1501)

  
 
Discuss The Merchant of Venice, Acts 4-5

Post WWII Production History Choices:

  • 1955: Tyrone Guthrie: Antonio as gay and anti-Semitic
  • 1955 Michael Langham; Peter O'Toole: dignified and charismatic Shylock
  • 1962 Joseph Papp; George C. Scott: Old Testament Shylock
  • 1963 Baldridge: College Production: Fellini-esque Venice
  • 1966: Georg Tabori: set in Theiresenstadt Concentration Camp
  • 1963 Irwin Piscator: epic theatre; projections
  • 1970 Jonathan Miller; Laurence Olivier: Victorian London Coffehouses
  • 1978 John Barton Other Place: Black Box; Patrick Stewart and David Suchet; Sinead Cusack as a feminist Portia
  • 1987 Bill Alexander Anthony Sher 'sympathetic stranger' in Jew Baiting Venice
  • 1988 Peter Zadeck Aryan Gert Voss as Shylock
  • 1990 Peter Hall Dustin Hoffman, Willy Loman as Shylock
  • 1991 Tim Luscombe John Woodvine fascist 1930's Italy; black shirts, violent anti-Semitism
  • 1993 David Thacker Venice as London's financial district David Calder assimilated Jew
  • 1994 Jude Kelly; Nichola MacAuliffe Portia as Hedda Gabler
  • 1994 Peter Sellars: Venice Beach, CA as Venice Black Shylock, Asian Venetians
  • 1995 Barry Edelstein; Ron Liebman "Roy Cohn" as Shylock
  • 1996 Marti Maradan early 1930's Fellini-esque fascist Italy
  • 1998 Andrei Serban; Will LeBow Shylock as Lenny Bruce
  • 1999 Trevor Nunn; Henry Goodman Venice as Berlin cabaret 1930's

Homework: 

Choose Scenes
 
         
10/ 16 Day 7             Tues.


Dustin Hoffman as Shylock in Peter Hall's production (1989)


 Portland Shakespeare Festival
 
Jesssica and Salerio Alexander/Surrey, Royal

 		  
 

Promptbook Project: Choose Scenes, Divide Promptbook Responsibilities.

Acting Scenes from The Merchant of Venice:

  • Ii Antonio and Bassanio (5-6)
  • Iii Portia and Nerissa (6-9)
  • Iiii Shylock, Bassanio and Antonio (11-15)
  • IIi and IIviii Portia and Morocco (16-17; 31-33)
  • IIii Launcelot and Old Gobbo (17-21)
  • IIiii and IIv Launcelot, Jessica and Shylock (24-25; 27-29)
  • IIvii and IIIi Salarino, Salanio and Shylock (33-35; 38-40)
  • IIIi Shylock and Tubal (40-42)
  • IIIii Porti, Bassanio, Salerio (47-50)
  • IIIv and Vi Launcelot, Jessica and Lorenzo (54-56; 74-77)
  • IVi and IVii Portia, Bassanio and Nerissa (71-73)

Homework: 

Promptbook Work
 
         
10/ 17 Day 8              Wed.
10/ 18 Day 9              Thurs.


Joseph Fiennes and Jeremy Irons as Antonio and Bassanio in Radford film (2004)


Lancelot Gobbo and Father Alexander/Surrey, Royal Shakespeare Company, April 1987

  

Homework: 

Learn your lines.

Promptbook work.
 
10/ 19 Day 10       Fri.
10/ 22 Day 1        Mon.


Doran/Jones, Royal Shakespeare Company, December 1997


Ellen Terry as Portia (1875)

  

Warm Up Exercises

Rehearsal Day Two

Listening Exercise

Method Verb Exercise

Homework: 

 
 

10/

 23 Day  2 Tues.
10/ 24 Day 3            Wed.


Bassanio Chooses a Casket Alexander/Surrey, Royal Shakespeare Company, April 1988


Portia and Bassanio Nunn/Bechtler, National Theatre, June 1999


Portia and Bassanio New York Public Theater 1995

  

Warm Up Exercises

Dress Rehearsal

Voice Exercise: Over the Top

Homework: 

Promptbook due next Thursday
 
10/ 25 Day 4           Thurs.
10/ 26 Day 5            Fri.


Anthony Sher as Shylock Alexander/Surrey, Royal Shakespeare Company, April 1988


David Stewart as Shylock Barton/Morley, Royal Shakespeare Company, May 1979

  

Warm Up Exercises

Dress Rehearsal

Voice Exercise: Over the Top

 

 

Homework: 

Essay Due: Thursday at 3:30 pm
 
        1st Quarter Ends
         
10/ 29 Day 6 Mon.  
   


Shakespeare's Globe (powerpoint)


Shakespeare's Globe Stage (2004)


Globe Groundplan


The Rose Theatre on the Southbank (after its renovation in 1592) 

  

Warm Up Exercises

Dress Rehearsal

Voice Exercise: Over the Top
 
The Globe (Powerpoint)
Merchant of Venice Presentations

Homework: 

Essay Due: Thursday at 3:30 pm
 

 
10/ 30 Day 7 Tues  
   


Dustin Hoffman as Shylock Hall/Dyer, Peter Hall Company, June 1989

  

Essay Due: Thursday at 3:30 pm

Merchant of Venice Presentations

Homework: 

 
         

10/

 31 Day 8          Wed.
11/ 1 Day 9             Thurs.


Ottoman Empire 16th-17th century

Botticelli, Sandro
DETAIL OF the face of Venus c. 1485  Florence

The Moorish Ambassador to England in 1600

Vecellio's sketches of 1598 fashion: a Well to do Moor
 

  

Homework: 

Read Act One of Othello 
Othello Resources Page

for further reading:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
  2 Day 0 Fri. Professional Day
         
11/ 5 Day 0 Mon AIMS Day
         
  6 Day 10             Tues.

11/

 7 Day 1           Wed.

From "Sebastian Cabot's Map of the World." 1544


Laurence Olivier and Maggie Smith (1963)

Titian Woman in a Fur Coat c. 1536-38

 

Homework: 

Wood, In Search of Shakespeare, Chapter 11, "Shakespeare's Dream of England" (pp. 223-237) and Chapter 12, "Ambition: The Globe" (pp 239-265). (Study Guide)
 
 
11/ 8 Day 2            Thurs.  
11/ 9 Day 3            Fri.  


Zoe Tapper and Eamon Walker Globe 2007


Irene Jacob as Desdemona 1995

  

Homework: 

Act One, scene three of Othello
 Act Two of Othello

Othello Resources Page

for further reading:
11/ 12 Day 4         Mon.

11/

 13 Day 5          Tues.


Camp at Cyprus (RSC 2000)


Camp at Cyprus Mendes National (1997)


Mendes, National Theatre 1997

Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton by an unknown artist, c.1600

  

Act One, scene three of Othello
 Act Two of Othello
 
Elizabethan Sonnets: Batholemew Griffin vs. Shakespeare Cassio's "Divine Desdemona" (IIi) 
Othello's Arrival in Cyprus (IIi): Reunion with Desdemona  
Act Two scenes two and three: The Drunken Brawl! (quiz)
Cassio and Iago: Reputation!

Homework: 

Act Three and Act Four, scene 1 of Othello

Othello on  Stage (Powerpoint) (Garry Walton of Meredith College)
 

 

 
11/ 14 Day 6          Wed.


McKellan and White Nunn RSC 1989


Laurence Fishbourne and Kenneth Branagh 1995


Niamh Cusack and Ben Kingsley (1985) 

  

Act Three and Act Four, scene 1 of Othello

The Handkerchief Scene:

The Temptation:

III iii Iago: "Ha! I like not that!" 
III iii Desdemona: "Why, this is not a boon." 
III iii Othello: "Chaos is come again." 
III iii Iago: "O, beware, my lord, of jealousy." 
III iii Othello: "Haply, for I am black..."

III iii Emelia: "I am glad I found this napkin."
 
11/ 15 Day 7           Thurs.


Paul Robeson (1930)


Laurence Olivier and Billie Whitelaw


Ben Kingsley and David Suchet (1988)


James Earl Jones and Christopher Plummer (1964)

  

The Handkerchief Scene (continued)

The Fall:

III iii Iago: "Not poppy, not mandragora" 
III iii Othello: "Farewell the tranquil mind! farewell content!" 
III iii Othello: "Give me the ocular proof!" 
III iii Iago: "I lay with Cassio lately..." 
III iii Iago: "a handkerchief spotted with strawberries" 
III iii Othello: "Like to the Pontic Sea" 
III iii Othello: "Now art thou my lieutenant."

The Confrontation:

III iv Othello: "This hand is moist." 
III iv Othello: "There's magic in the web of it." 
III iv Emelia: "They are but stomachs..." 
III iv Desdemona: "We must not think men are gods..."

III iv Cassio: "Take thou this work out."

The Collapse:

IV i Othello: "Lie with her! Lie on her!" 
IV i Othello: "I see your nose, but not the dog..." 
IV i Othello: "I will chop her into messes..." 
IV i Othello: "Goats and Monkeys!"

Homework: 

Read Act Four scenes two, three  and Act Five

For Further Reading:
 
 
11/ 16 Day 8     Fri.

11/

 19 Day 9          Mon.


Orson Welles and Suzanne Cloutier (1951)


Eamon Walker Shakespeare's Globe (2007)


 Mendes David Harewood and Claire Skinner National Theatre(1997)


John Kani (1995) 

  

Homework: 

 
11/ 20 Day 10            Tues.
     
11/ 21 Day 1              Wed.

Early Dismissal
   
Choose Scenes for Assembly Presentation

Choose Acting Scenes from Othello
11/ 22 Day 0 Thurs. Thanksgiving Break
         
11/ 23 Day 0 Fri. Thanksgiving Break
         
11/ 26 Day 2         Mon.

11/ 27 Day 3            Tues.  

   
Rehearse Scenes for Assembly Presentation

Rehearse Acting Scenes from Othello
 

11/

 28 Day 4              Wed.
11/ 29 Day 5           Thurs.
       

Rehearse Scenes for Assembly Presentation

Script Analysis: Character Questions

Rehearse Acting Scenes from Othello

11/ 30 Day 6             Fri.
 

Rehearse Scenes for Assembly Presentation

Rehearse Acting Scenes from Othello

12/

 3 Day 7            Mon. Shakespeare Presentation in Assembly

 

Acting Scenes from Othello
12/ 4 Day 8         Tues.
12/ 5 Day 9             Wed.
 
12/ 6 Day 10            Thurs.

 

12/ 7 Day 1        Fri.

 

Acting Scenes from Othello

12/

 10 Day 2         Mon.
   
12/ 11 Day 3     Tues.  

 
12/ 12 Day 4        Wed.  

 

  
12/ 13 Day 5 Thurs.  
       
Essay and Promptbooks on Othello due at 3:30 p.m.
 
Performances
   
12/ 14 Day 6 Fri..
   


A Tempest Approaches


"Miranda" (1875) by John William Waterhouse

  

Shakespeare Set Free (Opening lesson)

Read out loud in class The Tempest (Act I, scene i)

Homework:

Read: The Tempest (Act I, scene ii) "Prospero’s Cell", 
pp. 4-21: Prospero, Miranda, Ariel, Sycorax, Caliban, Ferdinand

For further reading:

 

 
         
12/ 17 Day 7 Mon.  
   


Nixon, James Henry. The Tempest

  

Discuss: The Tempest (Act I, scene ii) "Prospero’s Cell", 
pp. 4-21: Prospero, Miranda, Ariel, Sycorax, Caliban, Ferdinand

Paragraph: Describe Prospero's state of mind at the outset of the action. From what past experiences in Prospero's life has the tempest sprung?

Paragraph: How does the imagery of Ariel's Song relate to Prospero's revenge?
         
12/ 18 Day 8 Tues.  
         
12/

19

Day 9

 Wed.  
   


Caliban at the Globe


Caliban (1770) John Mortimer


Ferdinand 

  

Discuss: The Tempest (Act I, scene ii) "Prospero’s Cell", 
pp. 4-21: Prospero, Miranda, Ariel, Sycorax, Caliban, Ferdinand

Paragraph: Describe Prospero's state of mind at the outset of the action. From what past experiences in Prospero's life has the tempest sprung?

Paragraph: How does the imagery of Ariel's Song relate to Prospero's revenge?

Homework:

The Tempest, 
Act II, scene i "What's Past is Prologue" (pp.21-29)
Act II, scene ii: "O brave monster!" (pp. 29-34)

For further reading:

Machiavelli, from The Prince Intro, chapters 14-19, 26 (Notes on Machiavelli)
vertu- instead of defining virtue according to Christian values, Machiavelli defined vertu as the ingenuity which combines with fortune to lead to success.

 

 
         
12/ 20 Day 10 Thurs.  
         
12/ 21 Day 1 Fri. . Early Dismissal
   
Portrait of Machiavelli (1500)


Poole, Paul Falconer.

 

  

The Tempest, 
Act II, scene i "What's Past is Prologue" (pp.21-29) Study Guide

Paragraph: What makes a New World utopia impossible?

Homework:

Read: The Tempest, 
 ACT III Scene i: "Admired Miranda!"(pp. 34-37)
Act III, scene ii: "When Prospero is destroyed" (pp. 37-41)

 
12/ 22   Sat. Winter Break
         
1/ 7 Day 2            Mon.
     

1/

 8 Day 3   Tues.
   


Stephano and the Beast


Spirits

 

  

The Tempest 

Act II, scene ii: "O brave monster!" (pp. 29-34)
ACT III Scene i: "Admired Miranda!"(pp. 34-37)
Act III, scene ii: "When Prospero is destroyed" (pp. 37-41)

  • Anything worry you about the perfection of Miranda and Ferdinand's budding relationship?

  • Is there any difference between Antonio's plot and Caliban's? What is the way of the world according to Machiavelli?

  • Consider Caliban's great speech describing the wonders of Prospero's island. Would he have been better off never learning how to speak?

Homework:

Read: Act III, scene iii: "The Deep and Dreadful Name of Prosper"(pp.41-44) 
Act IV, scene i: The Masque: "A Most Majestic Vision" (pp. 44-52) Study Guide

 
         
1/ 9 Day 4    Wed.
1/ 10 Day 5        Thurs.


Ariel as Harpy Bowling Green State Theatre


Costume for Inigo Jones'  New World Masque

 

  

Act III, scene iii: "The Deep and Dreadful Name of Prosper"(pp.41-44) 

  • Have you ever had a dream which flipped suddenly from wish fulfillment to nightmare? When does this scene change? Why does Shakespeare construct this climactic scene in this way?

  • What does Ariel actually do to Alonso, Antonio and Sebastian? Can you imagine a worse punishment? What kind of vengeance has Prospero chosen to take? (Could such a punishment be meted out to a prisoner today?)

  • Should he relent?

Act IV, scene i: The Masque: "A Most Majestic Vision" (pp. 44-52)   

  • How has Ferdinand passed Prospero's test?

  • Use your imagination and conjure up a suitable spectacle to celebrate such a moment. What spirits would you summon to the scene? (Masque Powerpoint)

  • What causes the celebration to suddenly evaporate? 

  • Even though Prospero and Ariel can easily deal with the plot, what un-resolvable philosophical problem does the rebellion present?

  • How do you interepret Prospero's Great Speech: "Our revels now are ended..."

  • Do you agree with Prospero's final condemnation of Caliban?

  • How does he punish him?

Homework:

Read: The Tempest, Act V, scene i: "O brave new world!" Epilogue (pp.52-62) 
 
 
1/ 11 Day 6       Fri.


Slavery in Jamestown (1607)


Miranda and Prospero on the Beach 

  

The Tempest, Act V, scene i: "O brave new world!"  Epilogue (pp.52-62) 

Propose solutions to Prospero's various dilemmas:

  1. Antonio (Machiavelli's bleak vision of human nature) Can you devise a government which will contain the ruthless ambition of immoral people? (Must Prospero turn himself into Machiavelli's Prince?)

  2. Caliban (Colonialism) What principles should govern the interaction between modern and undeveloped cultures? (Should Caliban have been taught how to speak?)

  3. Miranda (Patriarchy) How can a parent protect a child from the dangers of the real world? (Should Prospero intervene in the budding relationship between Miranda and Ferdinand? If so, how?)

  4. Ariel (Power) (Is there really any magic which exists to help Prospero with these dilemmas?)

Homework:

Essay on The Tempest.
1/ 14 Day 7 Mon.
   

Homework: 

 
 

1/

 15 Day 8 Tues.
     
 
1/ 16 Day 9 Wed.
   

Presentations:

Scene Choices:

 

Homework:

Promptbooks Due on By Exam Time
 

 

  

1/

 17 Day 10  Thurs.  

1/ 18 Day 1 Fri..  

Presentations:

Scene Choices:

 

Homework:

Promptbooks Due on By Exam Time

1/ 21 Day 0 Mon. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
1/ 22 Day 2 Tues. Exams
1/ 23 Day 3 Wed. Exams
         
1/ 24 Day 4 Thurs Exams
         
1/ 25 Day 5 Fri. Exams
         
1/ 28 Day 6 Mon. Exams
         
1/ 29 Day 7 Tues. Second Semester Begins