Bell Work
2015-2016
IB English IV
Bell work for
Friday, August 7
Write
down anything that you
already know about any or all of
these authors:
Sylvia Plath
Ted Hughes
Annie Dillard
Henry David Thoreau
William Shakespeare
Bell work for
Monday, August 18
Check out Ariel and Birthday Letters.
Poetry Toolbox
List as many literary devices as you can.
Define each one and give an example of
its use.
For Friday – prepare “Fulbright Scholars”
(TH) and “The Applicant” (SP)
The Tempest, Act I
• Video about The Tempest
-- Introduction
-- Characters
-- Themes
• Poster activity in 4 groups:
-----
Act
Act
Act
Act
I, scene i (shipwreck)
II, scene ii, lines 1- 186 (Miranda)
II, scene ii, lines 187- 321 (Ariel)
II, scene ii, lines 322-end (Caliban)
1. The Tempest (1611) was written at a time of
exploration, discovery and intense interest in the native
peoples of the “New World.”
Identify and explain elements in The Tempest that make it
an allegory on European Colonialism.
2. “Greed is the most powerful motive in the play.”
Do you agree or disagree with this view of The
Tempest ?
Explain your reasons why or why not. Use quotations
from the play to support your argument.
3. In the epilogue, what power does Prospero grant the audience?
Explain his comments in terms of the relationship between art and
life.
4. Analyze the character of Prospero in The Tempest:
(a) Why is Prospero willing to part with his magic? What has it allowed him to
accomplish?
(b) How might Prospero's famous line "we are such stuff as dreams are made
on" apply to his own magical powers?
(c) Why do you suppose some critics have said that Prospero's words are
Shakespeare's own "farewell" to his audience?
Class work
Wednesday, August 21


“Lady Lazarus” by Sylvia Plath
(in Ariel on page 14)
Audio by SP
Class work
Wednesday, August 21
Discuss and analyze “Lady Lazarus”
working in groups of 4.
 In making your poetry analysis, think
about:

------
the title & first line(s)
literal description / context
symbolism / abstract ideas
figures of speech and their effect
an overall interpretation / POV
Bellwork
Friday, August 22
Oral commentaries begin today!
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Video summary of The Tempest
(link)
Journal check
“The Applicant” (Audio by SP)
“Fulbright Scholars”
The Tempest, Act II, scene ii (link)
Bell work for
Tuesday, August 25

Write a response to this question:
“Everyone in The Tempest is a slave or a
captive.”
Explain how this statement applies not only
to Ariel and Caliban but also to the
shipwrecked noblemen, as well as to
Prospero and Miranda.
Bell work for
Tuesday, September 1
Write brief responses to these
questions:
1. What is your definition of “poetry?”
2. What is the role of the poet in
society?
Bell work
Tuesday, September 8
 What
distinguishes non-fiction from other kinds
of literature (poetry, novels, plays, etc.)?
Make a list of similarities and differences.
Bell work
Thursday, September 17




Check out a copy of Pilgrim at Tinker Creek.
Then write a response to this quotation:
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately,
to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could
not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to
die, discover that I had not lived.”
-- Henry David Thoreau, Walden
What do you think the phrase “to live deliberately”
means?
What are the “essential facts of life?”
Bell work for
Friday, September 18
What
does Annie Dillard mean
when she says “Our life is a faint
tracing on the surface of
mystery”?
What
does the title of the chapter
mean?
Chapter
5 in Pilgrim at Tinker Creek is
entitled “Untying the Knot.”
What
“knot” does Annie Dillard
literally refer to in this chapter?
How
does she use this image as a
metaphor for her experiences in the
book?
Bell work
Wednesday, October 1


Please put your journals on the front table as you
enter.
“The air cools; the puppy’s skin is hot. I am more alive
than all the world.”
What is Dillard describing?

How is she “more alive than all the world”?
Pantoum: a poem made of
quatrains in which the second
and fourth lines of the first
stanza repeat as the first and
third lines of the following
stanza, repeat ad infinium.
Write a pantoum response to
Dillard.
Hamlet’s Odd Behavior
•
When Ophelia describes Hamlet on page 46, what are his
symptoms? How is he acting? How does Polonius interpret these
actions?
•
Given the fact that we know more of what’s going on than Polonius,
we may draw different conclusions. How much of Hamlet’s actions
are driven by Ophelia’s rejection, and how much by other life
problems?
•
Draw connections to the previous scenes with Hamlet to create your
own diagnosis. Look back at Act I, scene v. Is he acting this way on
purpose? How does he intend for Ophelia to respond? For others to
respond?
•
How much do you moderate your appearance and actions with
others in mind? What is the purpose of adjusting your behavior or
appearance for the benefit of others?
Polonius as a father
Examine Polonius as a father here by examining
his actions and their implications in a T-Chart.
How does he act toward both his son and his
daughter? What does this say about him as a
parent?
Example:
ACTION:
He sends his son money and notes
PARENTING IMPLICATION:
He must care for his son
Now get in your groups
• Take your conclusions you’ve drawn about
Polonius here and get into your previously
assigned groups.
• Compare your analyses: Did you see all the
same actions? Did you draw the same
conclusions?
• Go back to pages 26-28. How are our first
impressions of Polonius and his relationships
with his children fulfilled or adjusted here?
How is he different with his two children?
Group Work continued
Now compare Polonius as a parent to some of the
other parents in the book. How are his
relationships similar to and different from the
following:
• The Ghost and Hamlet
• Claudius and Hamlet
• Gertrude and Hamlet
• Old Fortinbras and Fortinbras
TABLOIDS!
Create a tabloid article to highlight the parenting
skills of the court in Elsinore. Try to make it
sound authentic. Give examples to support your
claims.
In the article, explore the political, emotional,
and thematic problem produced by bad
parenting.
Reflection
How are your skills in textual analysis
progressing? How far have you come in the
last year? What are you still struggling with?
What are some methods you think would help
you to further improve?
Soliloquy!
Analyze one of Hamlet’s Soliloquys here:
• 71-73
• 76-78
• 99
Conversation skillz
Examine one of the conversations with your
group:
• Hamlet and Ophelia (78-80)
• Hamlet and Ophelia (87-94 behind the play)
• Hamlet and R&G (95-98)
What does it reveal about the character’s
relationships? About Hamlet’s character?
CLIMAX
• Some people consider Act III, scene iii to be
the climax of the play. Why? What do you
think makes it important?
• How does Dramatic Irony play a role in our
understanding of the scene?
• How do Claudius’s and Hamlet’s speeches
develop their characters in III, iii?
Mommy dearest!
• What is the relationship between Hamlet and
Gertrude like? What can you learn from this
scene? (Consider how we discussed other
parent/child relationships.)
• What arguments does Hamlet make to
Gertrude? How does she respond? What does
he want her to do?
• What does the arrival of the Ghost mean? How
does it influence Hamlet and his actions?
Another Soliloquy
Time to analyze a soliloquy!
Break down the language, ideas, and form of the
soliloquy on pages 124-125 on your paper.
Express your knowledge of the context and
your personal interpretation. Recognize the
artistry of the passage. Organize your ideas
and use appropriate language to the task. (In
other words, follow the rubric!)
Also, compare his ideas to his previous
soliloquies—pages 15-16, 71, 76-77!
Loyalties
1. Act IV, i: Who is Gertrude loyal to? Does she
respond as you expected after her
conversation in III, iv?
2. How does Hamlet’s encounter with Fortinbras
influence him and his plans?
3. Because this is Shakespeare’s longest play and
somewhat impractical to perform in its
entirety, the scene in which Hamlet meets
Fortinbras is usually cut. What is lost when
this scene is removed?
Love? His passions do not that way tend…
• Does Hamlet love Ophelia? What does the
argument with Laertes show about him?
• How have Hamlet’s ideas of death changed
over time? Compare his ideas here with his
ideas over Polonius’s death and his initial ideas
about death.