We recently finished Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (R&G); I have to admit that it was pretty funny. Analyzing poems and MC practice is also what we've been doing since AP exam is getting closer by the day. Hm... we started the Native American novel, Ceremony, which I find really interesting and a bit difficult with all the symbol and time differences going on.
I would love to share a summary about R&G but there really isn't a story line to it. Sometimes it branches off of Hamlet, sometimes it branches off of absurdism, and sometimes it's the two talking about death and fate. Honestly, the play became more interesting after we finished the read because we were given two essays on the analysis of Stoppard's play. I think the one I read was the "spectre" one and it was about how Shakespeare is god in R&G. It stated things like how Rosencrantz and Guildenstern try to escape from Shakespeare, but fail to do so because their set in they're boundary. In addition, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were compared to the players. I noticed that the players seemed much more serious and logical while I just couldn't even follow along R&G's dialogue. It was pretty awesome to find out the reason why. Apparently, this happens because the players are dependent on Shakespeare and they know their dependency while R&G are totally clueless. This is what I was able to grasp from R&G. However, as Ms.Holmes always says, plays and classical novels always have a new layer of meaning when you read it again. Maybe one day I'll read that play and see a whole new side to it.
In my previous Response to Course Material, I talked about how difficult MC questions are. We practiced them some more but unlucky Gloria Chang was absent those two days. I say unlucky because I really don't make an effort on a weekday nor a weekend to study AP MC questions... Well, that's what I didn't do, but a couple days ago, I talked to some classmates and came up with some new strategies. Although the MC questions were a downer, I'm actually too proud about my poem/essay analysis. For one of Shakespeare's play excerpt, I think I did a great job. I was able to see the several shifts in tone: bitter, humble, anger, and arrogance. I was able to see the biblical allusion of Lucifer's Fall and the diction of
glory". For a 40? 50? minute essay, I would pat myself on the back.
glory". For a 40? 50? minute essay, I would pat myself on the back.
That is all.
I also really enjoyed R&G, especially the way it talked about pretty serious matters in a funny way. Definitely got aspects of absurdism there. Personally, I found some of the articles' points to be a bit... out there, but each to their own. After all, the reason literary criticism is popular is because there's more than one way to read the text!
ReplyDeleteYeah, the multiple choice seem difficult. Luckily, Ms. Holmes gave us the option of meeting after school to work on it. That reminds me... I should probably sign up for one.
In general, I think you did a good job with this. I would probably try to draw more connections between pieces and with other things. It'll help you remember everything more clearly and understand some of the material better. Anyway, great job!
I like how you were able to split things up, it made this easy to follow and understand your train of thought. I agree with Martina, though; try to draw a few more connections using examples. That way, if you ever need to go back, it'll be a nice little recap and might help you understand everything more
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