Assignments

Weekly Routine

First Act Response

For this response, you will choose a short passage of two to five lines from the first act of the play. You will quote the passage (with act/scene/line citation), and you will write a paragraph of at least 100 words about a metaphor that Shakespeare uses in the passage. For example, in Act I of Hamlet, Bernardo tells Horatio, "let us once again assail your ears, / That are so fortified against our story / What we have two nights seen." You could choose that passage for your response and then write a paragraph about the metaphor of ears that are fortified. How does the passage lead us to thinking about literal and metaphorical fortification in the first act of the play? The assignment is due in your classwork document by 10:00 a.m. on the day of class.

Middle Acts Responses, Version A

If you are in Seminar A (groups 1 and 2): By 10:00 a.m. Iowa time on the day of class, post in your classwork document one issue or question that you would like to offer for discussion in your seminar meeting.

If you are in Seminar B (groups 3 and 4): By 10:00 a.m. Iowa time on the day of class, post in your classwork document two specific moments in the day's reading, one from Act II and one from Act III. (Once, for Hamlet, you will do this assignment about only one act. In that case, of course, both of your moments will come from that act.) For each moment, post a prompt for discussion that you will share with your small group. Your group will meet for an hour to discuss all of your prompts; after that meeting, add brief notes to your document about how your group discussed each of your two prompts.

Middle Acts Responses, Version B

Note: Version B is simply version A with the roles switched between the two halves of the class.

If you are in Seminar A (groups 1 and 2): By 10:00 a.m. Iowa time on the day of class, post in your classwork document two specific moments in the day's reading, one from Act II and one from Act III. For each moment, post a prompt for discussion that you will share with your small group. Your group will meet for an hour to discuss all of your prompts; after that meeting, add brief notes to your document about how your group discussed each of your two prompts.

If you are in Seminar B (groups 3 and 4): By 10:00 a.m. Iowa time on the day of class, post in your classwork document one issue or question that you would like to offer for discussion in your seminar meeting.

Final Acts Response

This response builds on something you have written for an earlier part of the play; you can return to the metaphor you analyzed in the first act or to an issue or question you raised in the middle acts. You will choose a short passage of two to five lines from the final act of the play. You will quote the passage (with act/scene/line citation), and you will use the language of the passage as a starting point to write a paragraph of at least 200 words discussing how the final acts of the play change or build on the issues you raised earlier. The assignment is due in your classwork document by 10:00 a.m. on the day of class.

Adaptation/Criticism Response

This response describes how a later interpreter of Shakespeare has changed your understanding of part of a play. You will begin by quoting a short passage from the film or article you will discuss. Then you will use that passage as a starting point to write a paragraph of at least 200 words discussing how the interpretation of the play has given you some kind of new understanding of Shakespeare's work or its potential meanings. The assignment is due in your classwork document by 10:00 a.m. on the day of class.