Danticat Background Info

Discuss the following items. Post your research on your blog in your own words.

biographical info about the author
timeline for Haiti's history from Independence to present
Haiti's fight for and gain of Independence
Toussaint L'Ouverture
Boukman
1937, Dominican Massacre
Rafael Trujillo
Voodoo religion
Duvalier (Papa Doc)
Tonton Macoute
Jean Claude Duvalier (Baby Doc)

Grading Rubric -- this may help you in revising your drafts

Written Coursework Essay Final Draft Rubric (for CA grade)

Original, Creative Title (2.5 pts)

Introduction Sets up Essay/Provides Context or Background Info (5 pts)

Strong Analytical Thesis Statement in the Intro (10 points)

Analysis of Literary Features (15 pts)

Good Discussion of Quoted Material (5 pts)

Analysis of Performance that Correlates to Literary Interpretation (15 pts)

Specific Details Included about Performance Tactics (10 pts)

Reflection on Performance and Improvements (5 pts)

Thoughtful, Interesting Conclusion (5 Pts)

Essay is Well-Organized (5 pts)

Essay is Clear, Readable (10 pts)

Good Use of Topic and Ending Sentences (5 pts)

Correct MLA Citation used for Quotation (5 pts)

Correct Works Cited (2.5 pts)

Total Points: 

(Note that points may be deducted if you do not reach 1500 words or for lateness)

Examiner's Grades and Comments for the Sample Essays

Sample Essay #1

Suggested source for the text:

Shakespeare, W. 2009. Richard III. Ed. Siemon, JR. London, UK. The Arden Shakespeare (an imprint of Methuen Drama).

Examiner’s comments

Criterion	A	B	C	Total
Marks available	5	10	5	20
Marks awarded	4	5	4	13

This written assignments is well written but is uncertain in structure and again tends towards generalization, especially in the second half of the piece where the student brings her performance into play and tries to establish its link to the text.

The register and voice are not secure in the work; it begins quite abruptly with only a short introduction (no harm in that, but brevity requires a concise and focused style, here we have an emotive style). The first paragraphs are midway between a commentary that summarizes content and an analysis that scrutinizes style. The student has made an error in not incorporating an explicit connection between analysis and the subsequent acting issues the piece engenders. The sequential run through the piece, with quotations being used as very clear signifiers to character and plot but not necessarily to style, is indicative of a manner of using quotation that limits the analysis—the embedded quotation is part of the register of the student’s voice and becomes a part of it. “Stand out” quotation, especially if, as here, it is of some length, severely inhibits the development of that individual voice and clashes another voice (Shakespeare’s) against it. The student, because she quotes passages rather than images or single lines, feels the obligation to explain the quotation before she interprets or analyses it, with the consequent dilution of her voice and the preponderance of the playwright’s. This is a pity because the student, despite some infelicities of expression, does have much to say and is insightful with the text.

The by now familiar switch of register into the collective pronoun midway through the written assignment introduces what is essentially a transition paragraph and sets the context for the final (and almost by now redundant) section on the staging of the piece. Again there is some irrelevance here, but there is a well-written and observant paragraph that does give the examiner the background to the staging, the relationship to the audience (always important) and the dramatic intentions of the performance.

Here the student is exposed a little by her difficulty with the piece as drama. She is eager and genuine in her determination to realize the latent drama of the passage and uses some good staging ideas to illustrate how this drama might be demonstrated to an audience, but this piece of the work does repeat some of the content of the opening paragraph and never quite gets beyond a broad emotional brush stroke of the scenic picture. The movement of feeling, the shifts and uncertainties are caught at times but in a strictly linear “up and down, loud and quiet” way. The pattern of emotions that are captured through a subtle encounter with the language of the text translated into the action of the performer is rarely evident here.

Take this extract, for example.

Using the people in freeze to yell at or look up and down and using my disgust on them I showed the audience my anger and despair. I think I managed to pass all the emotions as my tone changed from high to low, I cried, I yelled and had a good eye contact with the audience. Moving around but not while talking, not to confuse the audience, I made everyone in the audience part of the play.

Because this is not accompanied by textual analysis (after all, it is the text that creates this response) it is strangely de-contextualized and less effective than it deserves to be. It can be visualized but not to any precision. Compare it to the following (from example 10 in this document).

Following this I decided to include a climax and anticlimax by varying the tone and speed of my voice after the enjambment “a little shaking of my arm … and thrice”, when the pauses in punctuation are less frequent and the enjambments quicken the pace of the passage “so piteous and profound … as it did seem”. My movements become more frantic and marked, with a particular high tension in the upper part of the body, until I reach the apex of my despair with “as it did seem to shatter all his bulk … and end his being”.

Here there is specificity and an attention to style with action accompanying text and demonstrably created by the emotional conditions the style of the text is able to capture. The first writer is adopting the correct position, she is thinking about registering emotions, she is thinking about movement and action, she is aware of the audience, but the lack of specific focus means that she is not able to move into the higher levels under criterion B.

The irregularity in the structure and the varying register do compromise the grade in criterion C but this is offset by the passionate and clearly engaged tone of the voice. The unfocused and generalized realization in the final paragraphs again register energy and conviction but the piece only comes alive as a visceral statement, not as a complex piece of theatre.

Sample Essay #2

Suggested source for the text:

Shakespeare, W. 1998. Hamlet. Second revised edition. Ed. Barnet, S. New York, USA. Signet Classic.

Examiner’s comments

Criterion	A	B	C	Total
Marks available	5	10	5	20
Marks awarded	5	10	5	20

This written coursework takes a risk from the start, opting to look at three different passages from Shakespeare’s Hamlet in order to demonstrate changes in the character of Ophelia through the play. In order to make a success out of this approach the student will need to be careful about structure (it will need to be tight) and presentation (the language will have to be concise).

In common with many intelligent students this student is not afraid to work through the criteria as a unity, not as distinct entities, and thus the analysis of the pieces is organically connected to the performance of them. The focus is on what needs to be understood of the literature so that the literature can reveal its drama through acting out the scenes.

The focus on how words sound, how lines work, how they are structured and what stylistic choices have been made by the playwright to what overall purpose is brilliantly maintained through the three scenes. The structure of the written assignment is straightforward in that it simply follows the sequence of the scenes with the analysis of the language, often the context, and invariably the other actor (Polonius or Hamlet) being followed by staging decisions and actor choices. The student usually writes in the first person but makes subtle design comments using “we” (for example, the note on lighting); she is also very insightful in her perceptive linking of scenes with incisive commentary. Not all the metaphorical language is examined—it does not have to be—but there is enough interpretation here to satisfy the examiner as to the student’s understanding of figurative language. Uses of terminology like “enjambment” or anaphora, from the French and Greek, are not attempts to impress the examiner. On the contrary, they are part of an analysis of rhetorical devices that an actor needs to appreciate and see in order to follow the cues the writer is offering her for accurate performance of the verse.

The written assignment is conventionally framed by a brief, not altogether successful, introduction (not quite sure of the need for the quotation from Brecht) and a conclusion that, again, could have been more thought provoking, but what lies between is work of the highest standard.

Warriors Don't Cry

from the Bushnell's website:

"Warriors Don’t Cry is a one-woman play adapted verbatim from the memoir of the same name by Dr. Melba Pattillo Beals, one of the "Little Rock Nine” who integrated Central High School in Arkansas in 1957."

Read more here: https://bushnell.org/events/warriors-dont-cry

Interesting article about modern Shakespeare adaptations

"Shakespeare believed in fate, order, and forgiveness; we believe in history, justice, and compassion—three pairings so similar as to sometimes seem the same, though they are not. The novelistic, psychological work of explaining why evil people are evil gets very little energy from him. His villains are the products not of trauma and history but of nature and destiny." -- from "Why Rewrite Shakespeare?" by Adam Gopnik published in The New Yorker

Read more here:

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/10/17/why-rewrite-shakespeare

Quiz Prep Acts 4 and 5

You will have some version of some of these questions on your last R and J quiz:

A) Act 4 is all Juliet. She considers options, defies her parents, gets advice, goes against the advice of one trusted counselor and agrees to trust a more unknown one, makes a decision, faces real fears, chooses to make sacrifices, chances death, takes an unknown potion, embarks on an adventure that risks exile or worse. Discuss her character and personality. What does this act reveal about her that we didn't know before? How has her character changed since we first met her in act one? Be specific. Also, while Juliet is going through all of this, what is Romeo doing? How are their characters contrasted by this juxtaposition? What is Shakespeare perhaps suggesting about gender in this act and how does that also contrast from how the gendered "normal" world was presented earlier in the play?

B) When the nurse finds Juliet in Act 4, she appears to be dead. We assume that she isn't but what if she were? Who would you blame as responsible for Juliet's death and why? Back up your argument with specific details.

C) Consider the ending of the play. Is it a tragedy even though the city's natural order is restored by the ending of the feud? Were the deaths worth it?

D) Is the ending believable? Do you think R and J would really kill themselves over their thwarted love? Why or why not? Go deep into this analysis and don't just explore the surface.

E) In the film version of the play, what strategies does the director use to make the ending believable?

F) Choose either Romeo or Juliet and analyze their portrayal in the film. What characteristics are highlighted and how? Be specific? Is this faithful to the original play? Why or why not?
  

Quiz Prep for Act 3

Fact Questions:

1. Who is killed in ACt 3 and who does the killing?

2. Why is Tybalt looking for Romeo in ACt 3?

3. Why does Mercutio fight on Romeo's behalf?What is Romeo's punishment for killing Tybalt?

4. How does Juliet react to the news of Tybalt's death and Romeo's banishment?

5. Why does Romeo kill Tybalt?

6. Who curses the Montagues and Capulets and why?

7. How do Juliet's parents hope to mend the family reputation after Tybalt's death?

8. What will happen to Juliet if she refuses to marry Paris?

9. How does Romeo react to his banishment?

10. What is Friar Laurence's plan for Romeo?

11. What does the Nurse counsel Juliet to do after Tybalt's death?  

12. What is the setting of the second Balcony scene? (where, when, what has just happened?)

13. Who does Romeo go to after killing Tybalt?

14. Why are Juliet's parents angry with her?

15. What is the difference between a nightingale and a lark (in the balcony scene)?

Thinking Question: (this part will be open book, and I will give you one of the four characters to write about)

For one of the following characters, explain how they have changed in Act 3. Be specific in terms of character, actions, motivations, and emotions. Use specific lines from the play to back up your ideas and analyze those lines to show how they are solid evidence of the change you describe.

Romeo, Juliet, Nurse, Juliet's father

Romeo and Juliet Quiz 2 Prep

SOME but NOT ALL of these questions will be on Monday's quiz -- and no other questions will be added besides these!

Romeo and Juliet: Reading Quiz for Act 2

1. Agree with the following statement and use specific details to support your argument:

 Friar Lawrence is a peacemaker.

2. Disagree with the following statement and use specific details to support your argument:

Friar Lawrence is a peacemaker.

3. Why do you think the Nurse agrees to help Romeo and Juliet? Use specific examples to illustrate her motivation and back up your ideas.

4. In Act 2, Scene 6, when Juliet enters Friar Lawrence’s cell to be married, she greets Friar Lawrence by saying “Good even to my ghostly confessor” (line 21). Explain what this line means, and explain what literary device Shakespeare is using in this line. Why is this line significant?

5. How might a director of a play version of Romeo and Juliet (not a film version) show that Friar Lawrence is both a man of the church/God as well as a somewhat subversive figure who also believes in the power of Nature, Science, and human beings taking control of their own destinies.

6. Compare two film versions of the balcony scene. Briefly explain what is similar and what is different. Which do you find more believable and why? Use specific examples.

7. Imagine that after the balcony scene, Romeo and Juliet go somewhere and write in their diaries. Explain how you would stage this scene and write a 100 word diary entry for each of these two characters. Be sure that the entries are both creative and believable.

8. Discuss a contrast that the play sets up (it can be in terms of a theme, two characters, etc.). Why is this contrast being explored? What is its importance or significance as part of the play?

9. Discuss a way that Shakespeare uses comic relief in the play? Give one specific example. Why do you think this example is important to the play besides simply providing relief from the tragedy?

10. How do you think Juliet’s father will react if he finds out his daughter has gone behind his back to marry Romeo? What about Juliet’s mother? Explain your answers.

11. In the famous balcony scene, Juliet says: "O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? /Deny thy father and refuse thy name,/Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,/And I'll no longer be a Capulet." Explain how you would read this line, and underline what words you would emphasize. Also, explain your reasoning behind this choice. What type of emotion, character, and/or meaning are you trying to convey with this line delivery?

Study Guide for Romeo and Juliet Quiz 1

Some, but not all, of the following questions will be on your quiz:

Comprehension Questions

1. Who speaks the Prologue?
2. What is the purpose of the Prologue and what do we learn in it?
3. Where does the play take place?
4. What are the names of the two families involved in the feud?
5. Who is shown to be more of a peacemaker than a fighter in the opening of the play?
6. At the end of the street fight in 1.1, what does Escalus threaten to do if the Montagues and Capulets get into another fight?
7. How do Romeo and Benvolio learn that Rosaline will be invited to the party at the Capulet house?
8. Who is Romeo's best friend?
9. Who is Romeo's crush in the opening of the play?
10. When Tybalt spies Romeo at the ball, what does he want to do? What does he actually do and why?
11. Who is Juliet's best friend and confidante?
12. What is Tybalt's relationship to Juliet?

13. After the Nurse tells Romeo that Juliet is a Capulet, he responds:

                Is she a Capulet?/ Oh dear account! My life is my foe’s debt.

    What do these lines suggest about how Romeo feels about having fallen in love with Juliet?

14. When Paris asks Juliet's father for permission to marry, Lord Capulet responds:

           My will to her consent is just a part./And she agree, within her scope of choice/Lies my consent and fair according voice

What does this mean? What role does Juliet have in the decision, according to her father?
15. Do Romeo and Juliet kiss at the ball?

Thinking Questions

         1. How do you think that Juliet’s Nurse and Romeo’s friend Mercutio are alike? Use specific details to back up your ideas.

        2. Describe the personality of Tybalt and explain his role in the feud. Use specific lines from the text to back up your ideas.

     3. Juliet tells her mother that she will “look to love” at the ball. What does that mean? In your opinion, does that influence how she reacts to Romeo when they meet? Explain your answer.

     

     4. How does Romeo change after he meets Juliet? Show a specific example of this change.

 5. Do Romeo and Juliet really fall in love at first sight? Explain your answer and use evidence from the text to back it up.

Staging Questions

 1. In the film version of Romeo and Juliet we saw in class, what strategies does the director use to make the “love at first sight” plot believable? Was it successful? Explain your answer.

2. If you were acting the role of Juliet in the play, how would you show her youth and innocence but also make her love believable? Be specific and include information about elements such as costuming, makeup, lighting, sound, acting, voice, line delivery, body language, and relationships to other characters on the stage.

           3. If you were to stage the play, how might you depict the Montagues and Capulets to show that they are of similar class status and wealth but also make them recognizably different from each other and show the audience that they are enemies? You can talk about placement on the stage, costuming, props, body language, style of speaking or any other dramatic elements. 

      4. In the version we saw in class, what was Benvolio's objective in the opening scene? What lines and action indicated this? Did he achieve his objective? Why or why not? Be specific in your answer.

Important Terminology from the First Two Weeks of Class

1. world of the play
2. given circumstances
3. setting
4. motivation
5. objective
6. backstory
7. immediate past
8. historical past
9. potential future
10. relationships
11. character strengths
12. character vulnerabilities
13. character development
14. plot
15. obstacles
16. conflict
17. rising action
18. climax
19. falling action
20. resolution
21. denoument
22. 5-act play structure
23. stage directions
24. soliloquy
25. monologue
26. dialogue
27. tragedy
28. comedy
29. stage directions
30. iambic pentameter

Motivation

Motivation is very important in theater -- as an actor, you need to know your objective (what you want) and your motivation (why you want it). This informs everything you do and say when on stage.

I found a great blog post about motivation on a blog called Your Stage Coach, written by Rebecca Osman. Visit the blog here and read the post below:

What’s Your Motivation?

Why are you here?  Why are you reading this post, visiting this website?  What’s your motivation?

I learned one of the cardinal rules of acting while rehearsing a high school play.  I already knew that as an actor you must do what the director tells you.  You must move where the director tells you to move on stage–and you must do it when (on such and such a line OR by this line) the director tells you to.  When the director told me to cross (theater speak for move) upstage on a particular line, I did it.  The next time we ran the scene, I moved exactly where the director told me to move on the exact line the director told me to move on.  When the scene was over the director said, “Rebecca why did you cross on that line?” What??!!  I had done exactly what he told me to do!  “Because you told me to….?”  I was a straight A student, a teacher’s pet, a goody two shoes.  I was VERY good at doing exactly what I was asked and delivering what was expected of me.

“That’s not a reason.”

Uncomfortable, confused silence.

“You, Rebecca the actor, moved on that line because I, the director, told you to.  Why did Maria, your character, move then?  Find a reason.”

In Acting, your Motivation is the reason you–as the character–say the words the playwright wrote and move where the director tells you to move, the reason you DO what you do on stage.  For when you do anything on stage that is not “in character” it is not believable; the audience sees YOU, the actor, rather than the character in the play they are watching.  Once the audience is conscious of YOU the actor, rather than the character, they can no longer suspend their disbelief–and accept that you ARE the character–as they watch the play.

Lesson learned:  An actor must move when and where the director says to, but never BECAUSE the director says to.  An actor must find an inner motivation for her character to do everything the director says that she–the actor–must do.

Have you ever done something because you were told to do it?  There are times in your life when you must do something because someone–a parent, boss, or doctor–tells you to do it.  But if you do it BECAUSE you were told to do it, you get very little out of the experience.  Instead find a reason that motivates you.  For example, you attend a mandatory team building workshop for work.  If the ONLY reason or motivation for being there is because your boss told you to attend, how open will you be to trying activities that may place you out of your comfort zone?  How engaged and responsive will you be to the training, discussion or activities?  Will you be a positive contributor to the group experience or will your energy have a negative impact?  Instead, find a reason to be there that works for you, that motivates YOU.  Perhaps it is to learn something new, to get to know your co-workers better, or to experiment with being outside of your comfort zone.  Perhaps it is to enjoy being out of the office and away from your desk.  While this might not seem as compelling a reason to participate in the workshop as any of those previously mentioned, it is MUCH more compelling than “because my boss told me to go.”  You’ll find yourself far more open to participating–and thus get more out of the experience–if you are committed to enjoying yourself, rather than simply being in the room.  Let “I was told to attend” be the impetus, but not the reason for being there.

What are you doing because someone–perhaps a parent, boss, or doctor–has told you to do it?  Find a better reason!  Find a motivation that works for you.

IB Learners in Literature and Performance

What do you think of this list? How does this apply to this class?