1. Journal Entry #1 (A mote it is to trouble the mind’s eye…, Act I scene i - Horatio, 14 lines)
Paraphrase the passage in question.
Connotation - identify literary devices present.
Analyze the significance of the passage. What purpose do the diction, figurative language, rhetorical techniques, and syntax all serve? I.e. why is this important to the plot or what themes does it illuminate?

2. Journal Entries - Group 1
Paraphrase the passage in question. (1-16 of Claudius’s speech, Though yet...)
Connotation - identify literary devices present.
Use of the royal “we”: In Shakespeare’s time, when kings or queens represented their countries and talked about public issues, they used the royal “we”; when dealing with private matters, they used “I.” When a monarch switches from first-person plural to first-person singular, this is a textual clue that signals a shift in situation or tone. Why does Claudius continue to use the royal “we” when addressing Hamlet, whom he calls his “son”?
Consider adding journal entries while the students view the film

3. Journal Entries - Group 2
Paraphrase the passage in question. (1-16 of Claudius’s Speech)
Connotation - identify literary devices present.
Antithesis: Look for antithesis, the balancing of two contrasting ideas, words, phrases, or sentences in parallel grammatical form. Look for juxtaposition. What feelings do these stark contrasts evoke?

4. Journal Entries - Group 3
Paraphrase the passage in question. (1-16 of Claudius’s speech)
Connotation - identify literary devices present.
Choice of words: Why does Claudius remember old Hamlet with “wisest sorrow” rather than “deep sorrow”? Do his expressions in the film match the content of the speech? Look for any clues that might undermine the sincerity of Claudius’s grief and list them with your interpretation.

5. Journal Entries - Group 4
Paraphrase the passage in question. (1-16 of Claudius’s speech)
Connotation - identify literary devices present.
Syntax: Look for any evidence in punctuation or verse length that might show hesitation or conflict within Claudius. How does the content of what Claudius is saying (that he has married Gertrude) affect his delivery of this information?

6. Journal Entries - Group 5
Paraphrase the passage in question. (1-16 of Claudius’s speech)
Connotation - identify literary devices and explain how they function.
Order of ideas he presents: Look at the chronology of issues in Claudius’s speech. In what order does he address the following concerns: Hamlet’s mourning, his marriage to Gertrude, Laertes’s petition, and Norway’s impending invasion? What message does this order send to Hamlet? What are Claudius’s priorities?

7. Journal Entry #2 Paraphrase the passage in question.
Hamlet, Act II, scene ii, “I will tell you why…”
Paraphrase the passage in question.
Connotation - identify literary devices present.
Analyze the significance of the passage. What purpose do the diction, figurative language, rhetorical techniques, and syntax all serve? I.e. why is this important to the plot or what themes does it illuminate? What would the play lose without it?

8. Friday, January 27th, 2017
Bell Work: Spot which word reveals Hamlet’s attitude towards life.
I will tell you why. So shall my anticipation prevent your discovery, and your secrecy to the king and queen moult no feather. I have of late—but wherefore I know not—lost all my mirth, forgone all custom of exercises, and indeed it goes so heavily with my disposition that this goodly frame, the earth, seems to me a sterile promontory; this most excellent canopy, the air—look you, this brave o'erhanging firmament, this majestical roof fretted with golden fire—why, it appears no other thing to me than a foul and pestilent congregation of vapors. What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason, how infinite in faculty! In form and moving how express and admirable! In action how like an angel, in apprehension how like a god! The beauty of the world. The paragon of animals. And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust? Man delights not me. No, nor woman neither, though by your smiling you seem to say so. Homework: Read Act III, Scene i. Write two questions about terms or concepts you did not understand. Prepare Socratic Seminar Responses (Group 1).

9. Journal Entry Paraphrase the following passages in your journals:
a) p (Now I am alone…)
b) 1750 (To be or not to be) c) 1763 (O, my offense is rank…)
d) (Now might I do it pat…)
e) (How all occasions do inform…)