Pre- William Shakespeare Questions

a) What do you know about Hamlet, the "Melancholy Dane"?
Off the top of my head, I only know that Hamlet is a play by Shakespeare. But, after some help from Google, I also found out that the play is set in Denmark and Prince Hamlet tries to get revenge on his uncle Claudius for killing King Hamlet, who is the Prince's dad. Claudius also succeeds the thrown and takes Gertrude as his own, who is Prince Hamlets mother. Hamlet is Shakespeare's longest piece of work and most popular.

b) What do you know about Shakespeare? 

Shakespeare was an English poet and play writer, He has about 38 plays and they are performed more than any other play writes work.

c) Why do so many students involuntarily frown when they hear the name "Shakespeare"? 

Shakespeare can be a scary word for a lot of kids, mainly because they remember their first experience reading his work. It is extremely long and comes across boring because we don't understand it. But with the right teacher who will go through everything and explain, it makes the process not so grueling. 

d) What can we do to make studying this play an amazing experience we'll never forget?

First off, when we begin reading, the teacher should explain anything that seems like we don't understand. A recap every couple pages to keep us on track would be so helpful. Also the class needs to bw willing to ask questions when something is not understood.

Fall Vocab List #7

aberration - (noun) an optical phenomenon resulting from the failure of a lens or mirror to produce a good image; a disorder in one's mental state; a state or condition markedly different from the norm

Ad hoc- (adverb) for the special purpose or end presently under consideration

bane - (noun) something causes misery or death

bathos - (noun) triteness or triviality of style; a change from a serious subject to a disappointing one; insincere pathos

cantankerous - (adj.) having a difficult and contrary disposition; stubbornly obstructive and unwilling to cooperate

casuistry - (noun) moral philosophy based on the application of general ethical principles to resolve moral dilemmas; argumentation that is specious or excessively subtle and intended to be misleading

de facto - (noun) in fact; in reality

depredation - (noun) an act of plundering and pillaging and marauding; (usually plural) a destructive action

empathy - (noun) understanding and entering into another's feelings

harbinger - (noun) an indication of the approach of something or someone; verb foreshadow or presage

hedonism - (noun) an ethical system that evaluates the pursuit of pleasure as the highest good; the pursuit of pleasure as a matter of ethical principle

lackluster - (adj.) lacking luster or shine; lacking brilliance or vitality

malcontent - (adj.) discontented as toward authority; noun a person who is discontented or disgusted

mellifluous - (adj.) pleasing to the ear

nepotism - noun favoritism shown to relatives or close friends by those in power (as by giving them jobs)

pander - (noun) someone who procures customers for whores (in England they call a pimp a ponce); verb arrange for sexual partners for others; yield (to); give satisfaction to

peccadillo - (noun) a petty misdeed

piece de resistance - (noun) the most noteworthy or prized feature, aspect, event, article, etc., of a series or group; special item or attraction.

remand - (noun) the act of sending an accused person back into custody to await trial (or the continuation of the trial); verb refer (a matter or legal case) to another committee or authority or court for decision; lock up or confine, in or as in a jail

syndrome - (noun) a complex of concurrent things; a pattern of symptoms indicative of some disease

Literary Analysis #1 Bless Me, Ultima

1. Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read.
     Antonio Marez is almost seven years old when he has the cuarandera, Ultima, come to live with him and his family. She is a healer and the family has taken her in because of her known magical powers and healing ability. Antonio's mother really wants him to be a priest when he grows up because she is so into her Catholic religion, but his father wants Antonio to follow in his footsteps and also become a farmer. Throughout the weeks Antonio and Ultima spend a lot of time together and when they are out on the land picking plants, Antonio witnesses the death of Lupito, a soldier. That moment is when he essentially loses his innocence and from there on out has many questions about life.
     Antonio has three older brothers who are fighting in the war, when they come home, the father is excited so they can all work hard and eventually move out to California. Unfortunately, the brothers are traumatized from war and each want to do their own thing. This saddens papa. Antonio asks his mom why there are so many conflicts and she says that he will understand when he takes his First Communion.
     One day Antonio meets Samuel, they become friends and Samuel takes Antonio down to the river to tell him about the golden carp. The golden carp is a huge carp who is a river god who looks out for mankind. The things that Samuel tells him conflict with his Catholic religion and he wonders a lot about his beliefs. Another thing that challenges him is when his Uncle Lucas is cursed by the Trementina sisters who worship Satan. Ultima is the only one who could cure the uncle and Antonio realizes that there is no way to explain Ultima's powers through the Catholic Church.
     Antonios other friend tells him that only people who believe in the golden carp get to see it and that if people do not stop sinning that that the carp will flood the world to get rid of all the evil. An example of the sinning would be that one day Antonio sees Tenorio, the father of the three satanic sisters, and he is going to kill Ultima but Narciso intervenes and tries to stop him. Tenorio shoots Narciso right in front of Antonios eyes. He keeps having bad dreams and thinking about what he saw. The day is getting closer for Antonio to have his communion as different voices flood his head. Everyone seems to push him away from the Catholic way and he is confused. When Antonio finally eats the communion bread, he feels no different and still wonders how there could be so much sin.
     Ultima continues to teach Antonio of good and they realize that Tenorio made his girls do the haunting to get revenge. Ultima clears all of the spells from the house but once Tenorio's second daughter also got ill he started threatening Ultima even more. That summer, Antonio goes to live with his cousins and learns to tend to the land and on his walk back home, Tenorio is chasing him. Ultima intervenes and saves Antonio but Tenorio shoots Ultima's owl. The owl is her guardian and her spirit, when the owl dies, she dies. Immediately, Ultima got very ill and past away. Antonio buried the owl as she requested.

2. Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. Avoid cliches.
     The main theme of this novel is the loss of innocence. Antonio views things that make him lose his innocence several times. The first incident would be when Antonio witnesses the death of Lupito with Ultima. That was his first interaction with death and it stuck with him for a long time. Also when Antonio started to realize that people were not purely good was a big eye opener for him. The Trementina sisters haunting his uncle's house was also a confusing topic for Antonio. He wanted to believe that everybody was good but in such a short time he was exposed to many evils. Antonio also wanted to believe that the church would answer all of his questions but he found out that it did not.

3. Describe the author's tone.  Include three excerpts that illustrate your point(s).
     The author of Bless Me, Ultima, Rudolfo Anaya, writes the novel with a serious and lyrical poetic tone. He refers a lot to nature since they are farmers and Ultima is a cuarandera.  Since Antonio is the narrator and he is telling a story of the past when Ultima was alive, he is sad when telling the story. The tone matches how Antonio feels throughout the story.

1) "I had been afraid of the awful presence of the river, which was the soul of the river, but through her (Ultima) I learned that my spirit shared in the spirit of all things" page 15

2) "The sun was good. The men of the llano were men of the sun. The men of the farms along the river were men of the moon. But we were all children of the white sun." page 27

3) "There are so many dreams to be fulfilled, but Ultima says a mans destiny must unfold itself like a flower, with only the sun and the earth and water making it blossom, and no one else meddling in it." page 223

4. Describe five literary elements/techniques you observed that strengthen your understanding of the theme and/or your sense of the tone.  Include three excerpts (for each element) that will help your reader understand each one.

Translational Dialogue (Many of the quotes have Spanish words or phrases. It is a bilingual book.)

Use of didactic (refers to literature of other types of art that are instructional or informative, in this case the bible when talking about God and religion)

Symbolism (Golden carp, Ultimas owl, Virgen de Guadalupe)

Use of Nostalgia (written by narrator about events of his early youth)

Use of Figurative Language

Fall Vocab List #6

Beatitude- Supreme blessedness
-Christ's first beatitude is to the poor in spirit.

Bete noire- a detested person (disliked or avoided)

-It's gas-guzzling reputation had made it the bête noire of environmental activists.

Bode- Be an omen of a particular outcome
-Their argument did not bode well for the future.

Dank- Disagreeably damp, musty, and typically cold
-In the cellars we were sheltered from the tornado, but they were very dank and gloomy.

Ecumenical- Promoting or relating to unity among the world's Christian churches
-Ecumenical pilgrimage now must also be between churches which are in mission together

Fervid- Intensely enthusiastic or passionate
-His fervid speech opposed to child labor, touched the hearts of the listeners

Fetid- Smelling extremely unpleasant
-His fetid odor made the entire class move to the other side of the classroom.

Gargantuan- of great mass

-The giant almost flattened the travelers with his gargantuan foot as he walked through the forest

Heyday- The period of a person's or thing's greatest success or popularity
-In later life, Elvis was overweight and drug addicted, but in his heyday he was healthy, talented and hugely popular

Incubus- A cause of distress or anxiety like a nightmare
-The guilt attacked her during her sleepless night like a relentlessincubus.

Infrastructure- The basic physical and organizational structures and facilities needed for the operation
-The infrastructure of a school consists of teachers, administration, and a school board.

Inveigle- Persuade (someone) to do something by means of deception or flattery
-The pretty woman was able to inveiglethe drunken man into buying her some chocolates and a free drink

Kudos- Praise and honor received for an achievement-My mom gave kudos to my sister for her job well done.

Lagniappe- Something given as a bonus or extra gift
-When going out to dinner, surprising her with a ring islagniappe. 

Prolix- Using or containing too many words; tediously lengthy
-All the cases give lengthy extracts from the judgments which, at first sight, may appear to be somewhat prolix.

Protege- a person who receives support and protection from an influential patron who furthers the protege's career
-The young scientist had done very well. He had been a protege of no less a person than Albert Einstein.

Prototype- A first or preliminary model of something, esp. a machine, from which other forms are developed or copied
-The inventor displayed his prototype to the potential buyers.

Sycophant-  A person who acts obsequiously toward someone in order to gain advantage; a servile flatterer 
-Hoping to get the best grade in class, the sycophant flattered his teacher with gifts and nice comments at every opportunity

Tautology- The saying of the same thing twice in different words
-Avoid tautology which is the needless repetition of the same idea.

Truckle- Submit or behave obsequiously
-When you're having doubts, don'ttruckle to walk away.

Fall Vocab List #5

acumen (noun)- keen insight.

Because I work at a hair salon, I acquire acumen on the business of hair.

adjudicate (verb)- to settle or determine.
I will adjudicate for cake, even though I wanted ice cream.

anachronism (noun)- something or someone that is not in its correct historical time.
Night at the Museum is a good example of an anachronism.

apocryphal (adj)- of doubtful authorship or authenticity. 
The apocryphal police officer couldn't tell the gangsters to stop vandalizing the city.

disparity (noun)- inequality
There was disparity among the inmates.

dissimulate (verb)- to disguise or conceal under a false appearance.
The criminal dissimulated how he committed murder.

empirical (adj)- derived from or guided by experience or experiment
Our chem experiment was highly empirical.

flamboyant (adj)- strikingly bold or brilliant; showy
The Vegas showgirl had flamboyant ways.

fulsome (adj)- offensive to good taste, especially as being excessive;overdone or gross
The lowly servant was being fulsome to the five-star hotel's dinner buffet.

immolate (verb)- to sacrifice
We chose to immolate John because he was the weakest link.

imperceptible (adj)- very slight, gradual, or subtle.
The grade on the highway said 5% but it was imperceptible.

lackey (noun)- a servile follower
I have no reason the get mad at the lackey because they gave me no reason to be upset.

liaison (noun)- a person who initiates and maintains such a contact or connection. 
I am a liaison between the professional society and the technologists.

monolithic (adj)- consisting of one piece; solid or unbroken
The screen on my iPhone is expected to be monolithic.

mot juste (noun)- the exact, appropriate word 
When somebody comes up with a mot juste it is a perfect moment in language.

nihilism (noun)- total rejection of established laws and institutions.
Some foreigners are nihilistic.

patrician (noun)- a person of noble or high rank; aristocrat. 
Queen Elizabeth was a patrician.

propitiate (verb)- to make favorably inclined; appease; conciliate.

sic (verb)-to incite to attack 
My brother sicced me.

sublimate(adj)-to make nobler or purer

Sublimating a solution will make it purer.

Translation of Beowulf (Beowulf and Godzilla)

Beowulf and Godsylla


Meanehwæl, baccat meaddehæle, monstær lurccen;

Fulle few too many drincce, hie luccen for fyht.

Ðen Hreorfneorhtðhwr, son of Hrwærowþheororthwl,

Æsccen æwful jeork to steop outsyd. Þhud! Bashe! Crasch! Beoom! Ðe bigge gye

Eallum his bon brak, byt his nose offe;

Wicced Godsylla wæld on his asse.

Monstær moppe fleor wyþ eallum men in hælle.

Beowulf in bacceroome fonecall bamaccen wæs;

Hearen sond of ruccus sæd, "Hwæt ðe helle?"

Graben sheold strang ond swich-blæd scharp

Stond feorth to fyht ðe grimlic foe. "Me," Godsylla sæd, "mac ðe minsemete."

Heoro cwyc geten heold wiþ fæmed half-nelson

Ond flyng him lic frisbe bac to fen

Beowulf belly up to meaddehæle bar,

Sæd, "Ne foe beaten mie færsom cung-fu."

Eorderen cocca-cohla yce-coeld, ðe reol þyng.
_________________________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile, back at the mead-hall, the monster lurked

Full of few too many drinks, he looked for a fight

Then______, son of ______, asked the awful jerk to step outside

Thud, bash, crash, boom! The big guy

All of his bones broke, but his nose off:

Wicked Godzilla wailed on his ass.

Monster mopped floor while all men in hell.

Beowulf in the backroom called back the men,

Hearing sounds of ruckus said, "What the hell?"

Grabbed strong shield and his sharp switchblade

Stood forth to fight the grimlic foe, "Me" Godzilla said, "Make the minced-meat"

Hero got held with famed half-nelson

And flying him like a frisbee back to fen

Beowulf belly up to mead-hall's bar

said, "NO foe beats my fearsome kung fu"

Ordered coca-cola, ice-cold, the real thing.

Fall Vocab List #4

apostate: a person who forsakes his religion, cause, party, etc.

effusive: unduly demonstrative; lacking reserve.
impasse: a position or situation from which there is no escape.
euphoria: a state of intense happiness and self-confidence.
lugubrious: mournful, dismal, or gloomy, especially in an affected, exaggerated, or unrelieved manner.
bravado: a pretentious, swaggering display of courage.
consensus: majority of opinion
dichotomy: division into two parts
constrict: to slow or stop the natural course or to contract or shrink
gothic: noting or pertaining to a style of architecture, originating in France in the middle of the 12th
century and existing in the western half of Europe through the middle of the 16th century,
characterized by the use of the pointed arch and the ribbed vault, by the use of fine woodwork and stonework, by a progressive lightening of structure, and by the use of such features as flying buttresses, ornamental gables, crockets, and foils.
punctilio: a fine point, particular, or detail, as of conduct, ceremony, or procedure.
metamorphosis: a complete change of form, structure, or substance, as transformation
raconteur to tell
sine qua non: an indispensable condition, element, or factor; something essential
quixotic: extravagantly chivalrous or romantic; visionary, impractical, or impracticable
vendetta: any prolonged and bitter feud, rivalry, contention
non sequitur: an inference or a conclusion that does not follow from the premises.
mystique: a framework of doctrines, ideas, beliefs, or the like, constructed around a person or object, endowing the person or object with enhanced value or profound meaning
quagmire: anything soft or flabby
parlous: perilous; dangerous