TODAY IN CLASS
We looked at thematic statements for the Holy Sonnet IX.  If you did not locate and read the detailed description of sonnet structure--DO SO.  In 2nd and 3rd we couldn't really assess Donne's application of the structure because too many people seemed vague about it.  You get a mulligan here.

Students also took the first sample section of a MC test, which happened to be on a passage from another Shakespearean play.  If you were absent today, do your best to come in Wednesday morning to make that up.  Fifteen minutes is all you need.

We barely got going on the beginning of Claudius's speech in 2nd and 3rd, and not much beyond the first two sentences even in 1st.  Warning:  Do not expect that we will "rehash" everything--reading is mostly on your own, and class time has to be reserved for the most significant and/or difficult passages.  However, I'll be glad to answer questions or look more closely at places you have questions about, but you are responsible for digging out what it is that gives you the most grief. 

FOR TOMORROW
Poetry Terms Quiz, Part I (1-36)

BY THURSDAY
You should have read all of Act I.  We will focus most on Hamlet's soliloquy and on the section in which Polonius gives advice to both son and daughter, but you should expect to know/understand the general action and plot development on your own.  Also, by the end of Act I, you should have a pretty good idea of the patterns of imagery that Shakespeare seems to be developing in the play.  So be alert for those.