Romeo & Juliet - Act 2

Hello my Literature Lovers!

I hope by now you are as enthralled and bedazzled as I am with Romeo & Juliet's play every time I read it. 

Not necessarily because one is corny or too romantic, but because one LOVES Literature and thus its highest level: Shakespeare's writing!

Please watch the first video, which is a walk-through entering a Broadway Theater and since attending a play like this there is not an easy dream to accomplish for most of us, at least let's watch it here and feel the experience a little.

Please answer the following questions:

1. How authentic is R&J's first-sight-love-like encounter in the play? Do you believe it could happen with that intensity in real life? Explain.
2. What reasons could a thirteen-year-old girl, around the year 1595 have, to marry an 18-year-old boy just a few days after meeting him? Explain at least 5 of them
3. Being adults, are both the Nurse and Friar Laurence's intentions with their help to R&J's plans good or bad? Write at least five full lines judging them from your perspective, you can NOT say that they are both good and bad. You Must Take a Side!
4. Which character do you identify the most with? Explain 5 reasons why.

Remember that opinions can not be exactly the same, and if you do not answer every question to the detail, you will not get all the points for your comments.

Deadline: Sunday, July 23rd, at 11:59pm.

Romeo & Juliet - Act 1

Hello my Literature Lovers!

As it was natural, after reading Act 1, Scene 1, 2, 3, and 4, so I am posting here the live performances for each scene, starring Orlando Bloom as Romeo and Condola Rashad as Juliet. 

This is an adaptation in which the main characters wear jeans, ride motorcycles, and show some naughty behavior sometimes, but it literally keeps Shakespeare's original script as we have been reading it in the class.

Please watch both videos and choose FOUR out of the following five questions to answer:

1. Describe Mercutio's character. What type of friend is he to Romeo? Would you like to have a friend like him? Why? Why not?
2. Describe Lady Capulet's personality. How does she speak and behave? How is her relationship with Juliet?
3. What's your perception of Juliet's relationship with her nurse? How is it different from her relationship with her mother?
4. Why do you think Shakespeare decided to choose Verona as the setting for his masterpiece?
5. How is the emphasis on the feud between the families an essential key in this first act for the other four acts ahead? Explain.

Remember that opinions can not be exactly the same, and if you do not answer every question to the detail, you will not get all the points for your comments.

Deadline: Sunday, July 16th, at 11:59pm.

What is Literature for?

Hello Class!

Please watch the video about Literature and answer the following questions:

1. Are you a big fan of Literature? Why? Why not?
2. Mention three things you have learned in the class so far.
3. After watching the video, summarize its main idea in no less than 80 words.
4. Why must we teach Literature at all levels?

Remember that opinions can not be exactly the same, and if you do not answer every question to the detail, you will not get all the points for your comments.

Deadline: Sunday, July 09th, at 11:59pm.

The Power of Words

Hello Class!

Please forget about everything else that is going on around you right now, put your cellphone down, and focus exclusively on watching Maya Angelou's marvelous declamation on the first video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qviM_GnJbOM

Then, answer the following:

1. What did you feel while she was declaiming? Why is that? Explain.
2. What's your favorite part of the poem? Why?

After that, let me tell you that the very moment when the famous ─and one of the weathiest women in The U.S.─ Oprah Winfrey read Maya's book "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" and found out that Maya had also been raped at a very young age by someone very close to her family, a strong and unbreakable connection was built, and this is what I call THE POWER OF WORDS.

Please watch the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHvTWvKIPHo

Now tell me,

1. What is your opinion of Maya Angelou? Explain in at least 3 lines. (computer lines, not cellphone lines.)
2. Which one of the three pieces of advice she mentioned is more personal and helpful for you right now? Explain.

Remember that opinions can not be exactly the same, and if you do not answer every question to the detail, you will not get all the points for your comments.

Deadline: Tuesday, June 20th, at 11:59 pm.

Maya Angelou's Poetry

Hello Class:

Please read Maya Angelou's poems and choose an example of:

1. The best metaphor.
2. The best personification
3. Your favorite rhyme.
4. The poem with the best theme and message for your own life.

Please use all of Maya's poems as a reference for this exercise, not only the one your group has been assigned with. Do not focus on one poem only, make sure that every element is taken out of different poems for me to really see that you read them all.
Remember that opinions can not be exactly the same, and if you do not answer every question to the detail, you will not get all the points for your comments.

Deadline: Sunday, June 11th, at 11:59pm.