To finish the first semester, we worked on a final project to synthesize the ideas found in The American Dream, The Kite Runner, and Oedipus the King. Filming our own episode of The Office featuring the major characters of the works was a very memorable and silly experience. I found that this project really encouraged me to further analyze the characters along with their main traits and flaws. By doing so, I could make parallels to The Office and figure out the characters would interact with each other. It also enforced the themes, allowing me to form other connections. The ideas of pride, family, murder, and sight were often overlapped and they tied together wonderfully.
Our second semester so far has been covering Hamlet as our snow days have pushed us back a lot. Did January and February even exist? To prepare for this, we annotated "A Lecture on Elizabethan Theatre" which allowed me to understand Hamlet from a new perspective. Unlike modern plays, Shakespeare often followed strict rules for tragedies. That's why everyone always dies, surprise! While girls read the roles for Gertrude and Ophelia, women roles were often played by teen boys instead...a wild concept. After the refresh on Shakespearean plays, we read Hamlet in class. Roan was really into his role as Hamlet and Jamie as Horatio. I thought it was very, very funny watching them try to outdo each other. While reading Hamlet, I found many similarities to Macbeth. There were both the betrayal of women and hesitation with the protagonists. I learned that it was because Shakespeare wrote his greatest tragedies after his mistress left him for his own best friend. To be fair, he shouldn't have had a mistress to begin with (tea).
Next, we watched a movie adaption of Hamlet. I thought the modern take was very fascinating. I enjoyed comparing how the characters in the movie interacted and their expression of the lines compared to how the kids in our class had envisioned it. In the movie, Hamlet seemed to have more sympathy for Gertrude while their relationship seemed more distant to me when reading it in class. They were different and this makes sense as Shakespeare did not leave very many stage directions.
For me, analyzing poetry has always been a huge struggle. I have to take in account the syntax, rhyme scheme, sound devices, and more. I was really surprised at how surface level the analyzation of some of the groups were (but it also comforted me because I suck at it too). After listening to the annotations of five different poems, I thought it was very intriguing how the length of a sentence or a certain word can add a new, underlying meaning to a poem. I found that especially true for the poem "Storm Warnings" as it appears like someone preparing for a physical storm. However, with phrases such as "polar realm," it can also inferred that it is the preparation for an emotional tragedy or shaken state of mind. I learned that no analysis is wrong unless you cannot support it thoroughly. I was able to practice this when annotating my poem, "Woman Work."
Now to talk about my goals because the AP exam is 2 months away (oh no). I would like to earn a 4 or higher but realistically passing with a 3 would be okay (maybe). I have always struggled with the multiple choice portion of AP exams. I would like to do multiple choice practice in class because it allows us to discuss any confusion in interpretation or comprehension. However, this is also something I can work on individually. While I find that my essays are a strong point, I continue to put a lot of effort in my blog posts as practice. I hope to keep improving even though I'm a second semester senior and the procrastination is real.
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