Hamlet has been an awesome experience to read through with the class. The play itself was very interesting at some parts and rather slow in others. There were parts in some of the acts where I felt bored of the conversations to and from characters, like a monotonous clock swinging back and forth. Other times in the play, such as Hamlet and Laertes's sword fight, I was kept on my toes, eager to find out what happened next in the story. I especially enjoyed the wit used by characters such as Hamlet and the gravediggers, it kept me guessing and It was refreshing to try and decipher some of the language used by characters with wise remarks.
I have a different feeling of Shakespeare after the play. I loved how he used character foils to contrast the personalities and intentions of characters within the play, it helped me better relate to the characters. His use of the soliloquies also gave me a great view into the complex mind of Hamlet. Overall I enjoyed the story, some scenes were dryer than other, but the story kept moving, and scenes of suspense and action such as Ophelia's insanity and Laertes's vengeful plans against Hamlet kept me concentrated on what would happen next.
Watching the play instead of just reading it in class helped me so much in understanding the acts. Personally, I am a more visual learner so the movie we watched was just what the doctor ordered. Without the movie I am sure I would have less than half the understanding that I do now. The movie helped me picture the events in my mind and more importantly it better helped me understand the character's actions and emotions throughout the book. I thought the movie was a great interpretation of the play and greatly helped me gain a deeper understanding of Hamlet.
The projects at the end of the acts were tiresome at times, like the Playbill which i'm honestly not looking forward to doing. Other projects such as the twitter project I enjoyed greatly, it was fun and a very enjoyable way to learn through Hamlet. The blogs are also a good tool for going through the book, and although I hate posting and commenting I know deep inside that the blogs also helped me very much. Thank you Ms. Watkins for being considerate enough to let us use fun projects and tools to help us understand the story, it meant alot to me, and to our class.
P.S. Thank you for letting me find my missing pants in the 4th floor gym. Formal Wednsdays is saved.
P.S.S. Thanks for those fresh pretzels, I would have starved without them
P.S.S.S. Thanks for letting the boy-band stick around and keeping class fun
P.S.S.S.S. If there really was a PSSSS I'm happy you would have read it
