Post 8: Much Ado About Music

This week, you will be creating a new post.

Select at least one or two songs that you think relate to themes, characters, or conflicts in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. Provide links to the songs you pick. Explain the meaning of each song and how it relates to ideas in the play. Consider the themes of Love, Deception, and Betrayal, the situations of the two main couples (Benedick and Beatrice; Claudio and Hero), and the villainy of Don John. Be specific in your explanations.

Posts are to be at least 300-400 words and are due by 3 p.m. Friday, 2/1/13.

Post 7: The Feats of a Lion

In Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, a messenger declares that the young soldier, Claudio, has done "in the figure of a lamb, the feats of a lion" (Act 1 Scene 1). Write a blog about a young person who has accomplished much in his or her life who you personally admire (musicians, actors, actresses, fellow students, etc.). Address the six central questions to a news story (Who? What? Where? When? How? Why?). Be descriptive by providing specific information. Provide links to any sources you use.

Responses are to be at least 300 words, and are due by Friday, 1/11/13.

Post 6: Sonnet Parody

Recalling the notes from our introduction to Comedy, a parody is a style of comedy that mocks a subject through imitation. A good example would be Weird Al Yankovic's song 'Smells Like Nirvana,' which is a parody of Nirvana's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit.' In this case, the song by Weird Al imitates the instruments and lyrics of Nirvana's original to a comedic effect.

For this week's blog, you will be posting a parody of Shakespeare's 'Sonnet 18'

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate;

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,

And summer's lease hath all too short a date;

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,

And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;

And every fair from fair sometime declines,

By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;

But thy eternal summer shall not fade,

Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;

Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,

When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st:

So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,

So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Your sonnet must be in iambic pentameter (10 syllables per line) and 14 lines long (3 quatrains and a couplet) with the following rhyme scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. 

Here is an example:

A Sonnet for Sherbert

Shall I compare thee to a chocolate cake?
Thou art more fruity and more exotic.
Good cake is often difficult to make
Especially for me, I'm moronic...
Sometime I will find a good recipe
And make the best cake in the whole wide world,
But until then we'll have to wait and see
And to sherbert land I will be hurled.
But my dreams of chocolate will never fade
With sherbert ready in my freezer,
It is easier to get delayed
If only making cake were easier!
So long as I continue on the path
I'll eat sherbert, and await chocolate's wrath.


Sonnets are due by 3pm, Friday 12/14.

Post 5: Fun with the News

Journalism is a style of writing used to report news and current events.  The basics of good journalism come down to grabbing the readers’ attention,  being descriptive, and answering the “big” questions that everyone wants to know, the WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY, AND HOW of an event. 

For this week’s blog you are going to write a news story parody by describing a comedic event you witnessed or heard about over Thanksgiving break. Using a journalistic style, report the story as if it is a news item (i.e. The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update, etc.). That means, you must answer the big questions above to tell your readers what happened.  You also have to write it in a way that will capture our attention; perhaps using a big headline or an interesting first line/lead.

Posts are to be 250-400 words and are due Friday, 11/30 by 3pm. 

Post 4: Food!

For our fourth blog post, we will be discussing one of my favorite subjects of all time: FOOD! With Thanksgiving approaching, now is a good time to reflect on the food that makes us feel good. What type of food do you like the most and why? Do you like homemade food, food from a certain restaurant, or fast food? How do you make your favorite dish? Share a recipe if you can.

Blog Posts are to be 200-300 words. Due Friday, 11/16 by 3pm.

Post 3: Critical Lens on Hate

"We hate some persons because we do not know them; and will not know them because we hate them."  ~Charles Caleb Colton

1. In your own words, explain what the quote means.

2. Explain whether or not you agree or disagree with the quote.

3. Support your opinion by describing certain characters, conflicts, themes, or other elements from  William Golding's Lord of the Flies and Arthur C. Clarke's 'Hate'.

4. Include an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

Your responses should be three-to-five paragraphs, at least 300 words, and are due at 3pm, Friday, 10/26/12.

Blog 2: Boys vs. Girls

 Hey Gang!

For your blog this week, I'd like you to consider how life on the island would have been different if the children who were refugees there had been girls rather than boys.  Please think about their personal interactions, their systems of leadership, food gathering, obtaining shelter, etc. Be appropriate!

Please write at least 200-300 words.  Remember that MS Word has a word count feature as well as spell check and grammar check.  Please skip a line between each paragraph and be sure to sign each post.

Posts are due by 3pm Friday, 10/5/12. Good Luck!

Mr. T