Tuesday, January 29, 2019

Congrats on completing your exam today

For those with Shakespearean leanings, the two lectures from Yale Prof. H. Bloom is now available!
Listen and leave a comment! 😁😂

Thursday, January 24, 2019

TOEFL independent writing

Some people think it's best to learn a second language in their home country. Others think it's better to learn it in a country where it's spoken. Discuss the advantages of each, and post your opinion on your blog.

Wednesday, January 23, 2019

Monday's Class Assignment

PAIR OR GROUP PROJECT ... DO IN CLASS, AND POST YOUR FINDINGS ON YOUR OWN BLOG

Grades 9-10
Agree or disagree: Colonial influence is largely negative for natives. Draw a table, and support your position with quotes and allusions from The Pearl.

Grades 11-12
What was James I's attitude towards witchcraft, regicidal intrigues (cf. Bonfire Night), and the divine right of kings? Do these elements appear in Macbeth? Compare his thinking in detail with how people think today.

Do your best! There's an above average chance of using the stuff you find in class on the final exams, which consist of two essay questions, one on Rossetti's poem and the other on The Pearl or Macbeth.

Editing Checklist Cheatsheet

Like Pikachu, you gotta catch them all!


Saturday, January 19, 2019

First first drafts on time!


Great job, guys.
Going forward, it's time to provide constructive comments on each other's blogs.
See you back on Tuesday!


Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Congratulations for G9 Blog Setups/Class Participation Successes!

You guys made the deadline! Yay!


My Grade 9 Mates




Looking forward to the others' blogs.

Don't forget to post your three outlines, and leave helpful comments for each other!

Wednesday, January 9, 2019

Macbeth and The Pearl: Essay discussion questions

Essay Questions on Macbeth:

1) Discuss the various roles of the witches in ‘Macbeth’ with special emphasis on Coleridge’s remark that “the witches have the power of tempting those that have been tempters themselves.”
2) What is, at the end of the play, your attitude to Macbeth? Admiration, sympathy, disgust, or any other attitude? Justify your view by referring to scenes or extracts. (June 1986)
3) Analyse the nature of kingship in ‘Macbeth’ by drawing your information from Shakespeare’s presentation of King Duncan, of Malcolm and –by contrast – of Macbeth.
4) Macbeth is neither a loathsome nor a heroic character, but a mixture of both. Discuss. (September 1986)
5) ‘Infirm of purpose’: in how far is this  impression you receive of Macbeth justified?

The Pearl

1. Discuss the various animal imagery that functions throughout the novel: the ants, the scorpion, the hissing snakes, the schools of fish, the oysters, the dogs, and the pearl buyers as octopuses, etc.

2. A symbol can change its meaning during the course of a novel. How does the pearl change its meaning during the course of this novel?
3. What is the author's attitude towards organized religion? How does the church control or impoverish society, directly or indirectly?