Letter of the Day: H
H is for Hamlet – my favorite play by William Shakespeare.
Way back in my student teaching days, this movie was released, starring Mel Gibson and Glenn Close. We taught the play, memorized some of the most famous quotes, and brought 300, or so, high school sophomores to the movie theater. The production company sent out videos to schools to promote the film and help teach the play. I can remember watching Gibson work with students. He held up the script, brushed it with his hands and said something like, the page is cold. We bring it to life when we act it out. I think that phrase was the seed that gave me my blog name, Play off the Page. I want my music, my students, my drama kids, and my words to come alive off the page.
Here are a few quotes from Hamlet.
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
Brevity is the soul of wit.
Neither a borrower nor a lender be.
To thine own self be true.
The lady dost protest too much.
To be, or not to be, that is the question.
Alas, poor Yorick, I knew him.
Get thee to a nunnery! (this to poor Ophelia, Polonius’ fragile daughter who had the misfortune to fall in love with the doomed Hamlet)
Good night, sweet Prince, and hosts of angels sing thee to thy rest.
Journaling Prompt: Do you have a favorite Shakespeare play or quote? What are your memories of high school English and English teachers? (keep it clean, the ghost of Hamlet is watching)
Good choice. I like the writing prompt. I love A Midsummer Nights Dream.
I liked learning about what inspired your blog title! My favorite Shakespeare play is probably A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Oh, I love Shakespeare! Hamlet was one of my favorites. I remember liking Othello and Macbeth a lot too. I need to read some of his other works, like Merchant of Venice and the Tempest.
What a delightful post! I just imagine you, excited about having all those young students avidly watching the movie… and learning for the moment, and for lifetime. Shakespeare’s plays are to be remembered forever.
Doris
Super post! I had wondered how your blog’s title came to be. The title is a beautiful fit to a beautiful story. It’s a joy when students get involved with what they’re learning.
I had the opportunity last year to see the Met’s production (at a movie theatre) of the French opera, “Hamlet” and loved it beyond words. “Hamlet” is one of my favorite plays. I think “Othello” has the most ingenious plot.
I haven’t seen a Shakespeare play in ages. I should take my kids to see one. In fact, its now officially on my To Do List. I’ll chcek out some of the local community colleges as they are always putting on plays.
I loved my English teachers, might be why I’ve eventually become an English teacher 🙂
I love Shakespeare, but have to admit am much more a Brennagh fan than Gibson. I also love Much Ado about Nothing. Rome and Juliet is a good play but I prefer to not see it as a love story and instead see it as a ‘this is why you do what your mother tells you’ story.
Wagging Tales – Blog for Writers
I loved A Midsummer Night’s dream as well as Baz Luhrman’s (spelling?) film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. REALLY enjoyed that. We did it for a film study in English and I loved picking out all the hidden/not so hidden symbolic bits.
A most pleasureable post to read,
A good H word.
Thanks for your comment.
Yvonne.