1. The Value of Life
Please take out 6 pieces of paper and title it “The Value of Life” – you will need it to respond to the following quickwrite and other questions in this unit
Adapted from CSU ERWC Material

2. Life is only valuable if you have a family.
Jot down whether you agree or disagree with this statement and WHY! 
Philosophical Chairs: Move to sides/duke it out.

3. 10-minute Quickwrite: Now that we’ve discussed all of this, answer the question: What is the value of life? * How do you measure the value of your own life? * What makes it worth living? * What gives life meaning? * Note: Respond as thoroughly as you can to this prompt. You will continue to add notes and responses to this page, so don’t lose it!

4. Create a Concept Map like this in your notes:
Concept: Life
Example sentence:
Synonyms: Contexts:
Examples: Non-examples:

5. Here are some examples to get you started; add as many more examples as you can come up with
Concept: Life
Example sentence: It is difficult to place a precise value on human life
Synonyms: Contexts:
Vitality Medical
Energy Economic
Examples: Non-examples:
Lifestyle Death
Life’s Work Inactivity

6. Hamlet Soliloquy – Surveying the Text. Continue adding to your notes:
Soliloquy: a convention used by playwrights to allow an audience to hear the thoughts of a character
What prior experiences have you had reading plays?
What do you notice about the text structure?

7. Hamlet Soliloquy -- Predictions
Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a tragedy that was published in What is a tragedy? What themes and outcomes do you expect to find in a tragedy?
What do you know about the language in plays written by Shakespeare? What have you done in the past to help yourself read Shakespeare effectively?

8. Hamlet Soliloquy -- Predictions
The soliloquy here begins with a famous quotation: "To be, or not to be--that is the question."
Make a prediction: What do you think "the question" is that Hamlet is asking? How do you think he might answer it?
Think about the primary meaning of the verb “be”

9. Polar Opposites
An important rhetorical device Shakespeare uses in Hamlet’s soliloquy is antithesis, or a balance of opposites. Hamlet explores a series of oppositional relationships in his speech, beginning with the question of “to be, or not to be.”

10. Polar Opposites Brainstorm antonyms for the terms listed below
Term Antonym
1. Oppression
2. Action
3. Endurance
4. Mystery
5. Life

11. Hamlet – Key Vocabulary Create a Vocabulary Chart (C-Note style) with the following terms
fortune – noun: Fate; destiny or luck
opposition – noun:
oppression – noun:
mortality – noun:
dread – verb:
resolution – noun:
antithesis – noun:
pessimism – noun:
optimism – noun:

12. Hamlet Background
At this point in the play, Hamlet feels that he is in a crisis. His father died a few months earlier under mysterious circumstances. Hamlet discovers that his father was secretly murdered—by Hamlet's uncle, Claudius. Making things even worse, Claudius then married Hamlet's mother. Hamlet doesn't know what to do about this knowledge. He wonders if he can trust anyone, or if perhaps he's going crazy.

13. First Reading
As you first read the text, focus on what you see as the "big picture" that Hamlet describes.
Based on this first reading, would you say that Hamlet is an optimist or a pessimist? What evidence do you have to support your opinion?

14. Second Reading – with a highlighter
Partners: Using a highlighter, mark the places in the text where Hamlet describes what it means to be alive.
Example: In lines 2-3, he describes life as "the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune," so you could highlight that phrase as an example of what Hamlet thinks it means "to be."

15. Share with your Team
Take a look at the parts of the soliloquy that you highlighted, and compare them with your teammates’ markings.

16. Paraphrase
Choose 3 of your highlighted quotations and paraphrase them (one from the beginning, one from the middle, and one from the end).
For the "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" example, a paraphrase might sound something like this: "Hamlet compares being alive to having destiny shoot arrows at him."
Consider the difference between having Hamlet say that life is like "the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" and having him just say "life is unpleasant."
What are the effects of Shakespeare's stylistic choices as a writer?

17. Reflect
Reflect again on the question asked earlier: From the evidence in the soliloquy, does Hamlet seem optimistic or a pessimistic?
Imagine you get a chance to meet and talk with Hamlet. What do you think about him? What would you say to him? Be descriptive.

18. Rhetorical Appeals
How does Hamlet's soliloquy use pathos, or emotional appeals, to create a specific effect on the reader? Where is pathos used in the soliloquy?

19. Rhetorical Appeals
How does Hamlet's soliloquy use logos, or logic, to create a specific effect on the reader? Where is logos used in the soliloquy? (Identify the line numbers)
When Hamlet speaks his soliloquy, he is in crisis. How do his circumstances position Hamlet to speak with authority (ethos) about the value of life? Does Hamlet seem to be speaking about his own life in particular or about the quality of life in general?