Favorite Activity

         One activity I really enjoyed so far this school year was the improvised acting for Hamlet’s act I scene ii. It enabled me to explore my acting ability and realize how Shakespeare’s Hamlet is able to adapt to each era. Furthermore, improvised acting allowed us to learn on an artistic and enjoyable level as appose to a more serious structured lesson. In my opinion, every senior class should have the opportunity to use improvised acting as a form of learning William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. 

Performance Choices

             Performance choices are the stylistic techniques that the actor or actress uses to enhance the performance. In Act I, scene ii of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, I played the role of Hamlet. I chose to verbalize the aside, “A little more than kin, and less than kind!” This line shows the audience that Hamlet is aware that King Claudius’ reference to him as a “cousin” and a “son” is suspicious. When I said, “ Ay, madam, it is common,” I said it in a very derogatory tone. I wanted to show the Queen how it was not common for my noble father to suddenly die. When the Queen asked me why I was still mourning, I responded with anger and authority. I wanted to show the audience that although I verbally agreed with the Queen, my heart disagreed.

The Inadequacies of Modern Man

        In T.S. Eliot’s modernist poem, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, fragmentation is utilized to communicate Eliot’s vision of a modern man in a modern city.  This post World War I poem effectively shows the disillusionment of people due to the carnage of the War. The fragment “yellow smoke” illustrates how modern man has allowed society to become polluted due to war and technological advancements.  . After WWI, instead of love and create, modern man operates under a new rule: murder and create. The fragment “murder and create” is ironic because usually murder signals death. However, modern man’s society has been created through murder because after killing enemies in war, a new society was built. The fragment “visions and revisions” shows that modern man is indecisive. He does not have a clear understanding of his aspirations and thus, there needs to be constant modification to this hundred visions. The fragment “toast and tea” shows that modern man is too preoccupied with the insignificant matters in life such as taking a toast and tea instead of defining a clear vision. The poem even says, “I have measured out my life with coffee spoons” to show that modern man’s life amounts to nothing significant. Modern man procrastinates and puts off important matters because he believes “indeed there will be time.”  Therefore, the poem shows the inadequacies of modern man.