Literature Journal Weeks 5 and 6

Ye Olde Trusted Shakespeareans
What an amazing night that was with Bell Shakespear and King Lear. This was an extraordinary production that brought Shakespeare and his language and his insights to life in powerful new ways. Especially arresting was the way that Peter Carrol (the Fool) and John Bell (King Lear) played a kind of “duet” of madness in which the Fool seemed to be reflecting the very contents of Lear’s brains. It was amazing how the production seemed to bring these two figures almost into one skin as the play progressed.

A topic for this week’s Literature Journal surely has to be your review of the production. What did this production make you see about King Lear that you haven’t seen before. How did this production help you to understand Shakespeare’s language more than you could have previously imagined? What IS the play King Lear about FOR YOU. Tell it in your own words. This is a great way to come to the know the play better- by speaking your mind after a performance.
For those of you who did not have the privilege of seeing the play, try to answer all the above questions with reference to the production of 12th Night that we have just seen: your review of this film version. It would be fabulous to see your thoughts on this.
The Nineteenth Centuryists.
Hi Nineteenthers….. Can we think about Charles Dickens for this week.
Could you write a letter to Charles Dickens telling him how much school rooms have changed in 200 years since his novel was written. Congratulate him on his insights that have led to a transformation of the way classrooms are now set up.
Could you write a letter to Sissy Jupe, congratulating her on the way she answered Mr McChoakumchild.
Could you write a description of your own primary school classroom – as your remember it- drawing attention to the many creative ways in which your imagination was stimulated.
Could you describe a city street, using some of the rhetorical techniquest that Dickens uses in his description of Coketown: repetitions, over long sentences, crowding of descriptive phrases. This is a really good way to get an insight into why a writer uses the style of writing that they have chosen….
I look forward to seeing some of your work.