Discussion Questions (week 14)

Welcome to the end! This week there are several short questions to think through in preparation for the final exam.

1. Read through the preliminary exam instructions (which might soon be replaced by the official exam instructions) and the final exam study guide carefully. What questions do you have?
2. Look over your lecture notes from the last half of the semester. What questions do you have about
   1. Terms?
   2. Themes?
   3. Main ideas?
   4. Historical contexts?
   5. Other arguments and ideas Prof. Dubrow has shared in lecture?
3. There are four sample questions posted in the study guide. Although these questions will not appear on the final exam, they will get you started thinking about the broader topics that will appear. Pick one of the sample questions and answer it with reference to The Tempest.
4. To conclude our literary analytical work for the semester, develop a close reading of the last lines of The Tempest. How does Prospero's epilogue differ from Puck's epilogue in MSND? How does it differ from the Chorus's epilogue in H5?
   
5. Think ahead to the evaluations I will ask you to fill out at the end of discussion. What do you feel were some of the strengths of discussion? More importantly, what do you feel were its weaknesses? I tried to address some of the feedback you gave me after the midterm evaluations, but how well did I actually do? Next semester I will probably be teaching a section of English 100, which is an introductory composition class. If you have any thoughts about how writing can be taught most effectively I would love to hear them.

Discussion questions (week 13)

We have two goals for this week, best articulated through lame puns:

• Finalizing the rules and expectations of close reading
• Essaying to simplify the rules for finding and articulating a thesis statement

To which end, here are two discussion questions:

1. In lecture this week we have looked at multiple ways of reading Prospero and Caliban, first by looking at images from productions to see how they are presented as characters (Druid or Bishop; monster or victim) and then by looking at the sorts of speech acts they use.

   Do the same thing with Miranda, in the following order:

   1. Google for images of Miranda from productions of The Tempest -- you might want to print out one or two to bring to class so you can make your point
   2. Identify the different ways we can read Miranda's character: we know that Prospero can be read as manipulative or as gentle, and that Caliban can be read as monstrous and as victimized. What are two options for our reading of Miranda?
   3. Read Miranda's first speech -- I.ii.1ff (1662a)
   4. Identify the sorts of speech acts she uses (commands? curses? storytelling?)
   5. Close read her speech in at least two ways you identified as being possible approaches to her character

2. When Prof. Dubrow was talking about her own recent analytical work, she explained, first, that the topic she was interested in was the relationship between space and storytelling. Then she defined that relationship a bit more specifically: How does storytelling create or control space? This process is fairly straightforward: Prof. Dubrow chose two topics* that we have tackled this semester -- space and storytelling -- and asked a question that tried to articulate the relationship between them.

   Now you try! Pick two topics that pertain to The Tempest and formulate a question that asks about the relationship between these topics. Does one topic control or shape the other? Are they interdependent?

   * Note that a "topic" is not necessarily the same thing as a theme. A theme can certainly be a topic, but we've never really thought about space as a theme, or closure. Also, you should not feel tied down to the themes Prof. Dubrow has put on the board in lecture.

Upcoming movies

Here are the movies that TAs will be showing over the next five weeks:

• Tue. Nov. 27: Scotland, PA (2001)
  
• Wed. Nov. 28: Macbeth (1948)
  
• Wed. Dec. 5: Henry V (1944)
  
• Wed. Dec. 12: Macbeth (1979)
  
• Thur. Dec. 13: Prospero's Books (1991)

All movies begin at 6:30 in Humanities 1101. Be sure to sign in before you leave!

Essay 2 assignment

Here, in case you wanted it, is a PDF of the assignment for the second mini-essay and the second essay.

Essay 2: a preview

Your second essay isn't due for two months. That sounds like a good thing, but since it will be due at the very end of the semester you might want to begin thinking about it now so that you don't find yourself crushed by all the work you have to do in the last week of classes.

You will be able to write on any one or two performances (cinematic or theatrical) of any of the plays we read from now until the end of the semester: The Merchant of Venice, Henry V, Macbeth, or The Tempest.

Although I reserve the right to change the wording in the next month, the essay topic will look more or less like this: 

How does this performance respond to the themes of the play? What themes does it emphasize? What themes does it ignore? What themes does it add? As a scholar of Shakespeare, why do / don't you feel that this interpretation was successful?

In your analysis, take into consideration at least two of the following:

• Directorial decisions, including the setting
• Actors' interpretations of their roles
• Blocking, intonation, and other features of actors' performances
• Costume design, scenery and stage design, music, lighting, and (if applicable) camera work

Your essay should focus on a single performance, but you are welcome to refer occasionally to a second performance if you feel you can make your point more successfully through comparison.