Hamlet Act I scenes i-ii

The first two scenes of Hamlet do not give much background information of the main characters and the relationship between characters, but rather leaves the reader to figure out the backgrounds and relationships of the characters. The reader learns in scene two that Hamlet is the prince, and that King Claudius is both his uncle and now father. In that encounter, Shakespeare exposes a sliver of the type of relationship the two have. Hamlet's relationship with his father, which we cannot judge through dialogue, seems to be apparent through his heavy mourning over his father's death. Hamlet's encounter with his mother, Queen Gertrude in scenes i and ii is breif, therefore much speculation is required.
In the middle of the second scene (line 64), Hamlet is introduced as King Claudius' son and cousin, but is actually really the king's nephew. By Hamlet's response in line 65, it can be concluded that Hamlet is not very fond of his uncle. Nevertheless, King Claudius tries to comfort the mourning Hamlet and tells him that everyone loses their father at one point in time, but also gives him some sharp words that questions his character; specifically line 94 as King Claudius calls Hamlet's mourning "unmanly grief."
In the same scene, Hamlet speaks with his mother as she asks him to stay with her and King Claudius and not to go back to Wittenberg to continue studying. He does not place any words of affection or endearment towards her, and responds with "I shall in all my best obey you, madam" (line 120). This may be a cultural custom, but I see this as potentially a somewhat weak relationship between Hamlet and Queen Gertrude. In the following sequence, Hamlet's soliloquy, he appears to be upset with his mother for, in his eyes, betraying his father's love for her by remarrying King Claudius (lines 145-156).
At this point of the point in the play, it is premature to form any definitive opinion on Hamelt's relationships with King Claudius and Queen Gertrude, but the foundation has been set. It appears that there is hostility between Hamlet and King Claudius, and maybe even contempt. As for Hamlet and Queen Gertrude, Hamlet appears bit disappointed in his mother and perhaps upset in her perceived quick recovery from her former husband's death.

Coleridge and Shelley

"Kubla Khan" cautions against the indulgence of imagination by setting up the reader with vivid imagery, but then turning out what would seem to be paradise into the opposite. The first stanza describes a place with a sacred river, measureless caverns, and ten miles of fertile land (lines 3-6) and blossoming gardens, winding streams, and sunny areas (lines 6-11). However, the rest of the poem speaks negatively of this place; the speaker calls it "savage" and "enchanted" (line 14), and that a woman waits for her demon lover (lines 15-16). Witholding everything but the first stanza, the reader would most likely imagine a beautiful, peaceful place, but as the reader reads on, he/she would probably reconsider. The concept here is not to get carried away by overindulging in our imaginations. This may have been written for the American romantic poets who wrote much about nature and relied heavily on appealing to the reader's imagination.


In Shelley's poem Ozymandias, I can identify three speakers; the main speaker in the beginning, the traveller, and Ozymandias. The main speaker almost plays the role of a prophet in the sense that he/she is relating a story that has some type of social or political significance based in history. The traveller shares an observation of what seems to have been the remains of a statue or some type of monument. The traveller is the one who brings forth the information. The monument that the traveller speaks of is one of Ozymandias. Ozymandias speaks be saying, "My name is Ozymandias, king of kings, Look on my works, ye Mighty and despair!". This could mean that Ozymandias was some type of political or social authoritarian who was defeated, signified by the rubble of the statue. In other words, this may be speaking against proud leaders who become too domineering, leading to their own downfall.

Blake Post

I agree with the editors of the textbook that Blake's poetry has the power to enact social change, but not by appealing to the imagination of the reader, but rather the emotions of the reader. In his poem from Songs of Innocence, "The Chimney Sweeper", Blake paints a picture of a very young boy who has lost his mother and seems somewhat neglected by his father as indicated in line 2. Within the first two lines of the poem, the reader already develops a sympathy for the young boy. Once the reader reads about Tom's dream, the reader gains a sense of hope. Whether they can directly relate to the plight of the young boys, or abstractly, that sense of hope can motivate them to perservere or rely on religion in the case of the poem to get through the challenge they are facing. However, the version of the poem in Songs of Experience does not convey that message. The tone and emotion of that rendition is pity.

The editors of the textbook might have included this document to help give a background to the main character of the poem. Its inclusion only reinforces the pity and sympathy that I feel for the young boy; learning about the working conditions and effects of child labor.

Small Teacher Group post

4 Questions:
How does the treatment Gulliver receive from the Lilliputians change as the story progresses?

On various accounts, Gulliver says that he is from Europe; a place in our world. Without any indication of how Gulliver travels to Lilliput, where do you think Lilliput is and why?

Why do you think Gulliver gets his liberty early?

Do you think Gulliver was treated more like a prisoner of war or as a diplomat from another nation?

Selected Excerpts:
"I confess I was often tempted, while they were passing backward and forward on my body, to seize forty or fifty of the first that came in my reach, and dash them against the ground. But the remembrance of what I had felt, which probably might not be the worst they could do, and the promise of honor I made them, for so I interpreted my submissive behavior, soon drove out those imaginations. Besides, I now considered myself as bound by the laws of hospitality to a people who had treated me with so much expense and magnificence."
I chose to point out this excerpt because it is a good example of an internal struggle that Gulliver deals with early on in the story. It is also a good example of the satire that Swift aims for; Gulliver claims that he is "bound by the laws of hospitality." It is quite odd that Gulliver finds that being physically bound by these people and shot in the hand with little arrows hospitable behavior worthy enough to curb his inclination to easily destroy them. This can show that the larger, stronger force can be manipulated by a much lesser force because of a lack of intelligence or a vital flaw.

Reflection:
The small teacher group I worked with included Jon, Mike, and Matteo. Getting ideas to start flowing was simple because we shared opinions about Gulliver's Travels and came up with similar questions. We discussed a few different viewpoints on the motivations of both Gulliver and the Lilliputians, and the possible interpretations students may come up with. Unfortunately, not everyone was prepared, and we were a bit confused on how to present our ideas on the flip chart paper. However, with outside consultation, we agreed on a way to present our ideas in a way that we feel will be effective.

Expectations:
Our small teacher group plans on followling through with lesson plans that we prepared. He have a vision of teaching this text in a straightfoward manner, but also allowing students to come up with their own interpretations backed by textual references. Manipulation is the theme that our group noticed and would like to emphasize while teaching this excerpt.