a) What do you know about Hamlet, the "Melancholy Dane"?
- I honestly know nothing about Hamlet, except the one thing Dr. Preston keeps mentioning in class, "Hamlet is not a young boy with a decision making disorder, he knows what he wants to do from the start, he knows that he must kill his stepfather.."
b) What do you know about Shakespeare?
William Shakespeare is the author of many popular and well-known theatrical plays, such as Julius Caesar, Romeo & Juliet. Shakespeare is well-known for using iambic pentameter to compose most, if not all, of his plays.
c) Why do so many students involuntarily frown when they hear the name "Shakespeare"?
Students do this because of the length of Shakespeare's work, as well as the way it is written (iambic pentameter, diction, colloquialism of his time, etc.). Shakespeare's work is difficult to understand, and if I, personally, were not guided through his work, the entire meaning and such would go right over my head.
d) What can we do to make studying this play an amazing experience we'll never forget?
Something that may be fun, if all students actually want to participate, would be to set up a form of "play" reading, taking up specific characters and acting out their lines/parts, and occasionally stopping for clarification and questions. Something that would not be fun is having to memorize any of the play, with the language it is written in it makes it too difficult.
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