Thursday, February 20, 2014

We're English 10 Nerds and Loving It: February 20, 2014

Focus: What does Act 4 of Midsummer teach us about power, love and dreams?

1. Warming up: On today's blog, post your smartest, most specific observation on the transformation of the lovers' appearance/clothing in the film version of Act 3 and what you think that transformation symbolizes. When you finish, peruse the your classmates' brilliant posts.

2. Meeting with your acting companies to read and analyze Act 4

a. Open your Acting Company document and give today's task the heading "Power, Love and Dreams in Act 4."

b. Read Act 4, scenes 1 and 2 together.

c. Pause at the bottom of each page to discuss and record your thoughts on the following topics:
          At this point, which characters have the most power? How do you know? 
          Which characters have the least power?  Why is this?
          Which couples, in your opinion, have the strongest love between them?
          Which couples, in your opinion, have the weakest love?
          What do you think Shakespeare is trying to say about romantic love in this play?

d. Read Bottom's speech (4.1.210-end of scene) aloud several times. Discuss and record in your notes some thoughts on the following questions: 
          What are some of the puns in this speech? 
          What is he saying about dreams in this speech? 
          Does he seem wise in this scene, or is he still a donkey head, or a little of both? 

3. Taking the big quiz on Acts 3 and 4 (you will be taking it as an acting company)

HW: 
1. Study for tomorrow's quiz on SAT vocabulary: List 14.

2. Bring your memoir book to class tomorrow.

3. Tomorrow is the last day to submit any homework from the first 6 weeks, to take vocabulary quizzes, to revise, etc.

4. Finish any acting company work not completed in class today.

78 comments:

  1. They were all muddy and filthy when they were the most upset.

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  2. At the beginning they were fully clothed and then at the end they were all naked

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  3. When they were at the low point they were all filthy but when they wake up all happy they are all spotless like nothing ever happened.

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  4. Lysander looks like he’s falling apart, with his robe around his waist and no shirt. That symbolizes how he’s not his true self, he isn't like he usually is.

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  5. In the movie, they went from clothed in normal clothes for their time, to completely naked (and clean for some reason). I can see some symbolism, but I have no clue what is it.

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  6. Bottom was dressing in fairy clothing and had a donkey head. Helena and Hermia were covered in mud when they were fighting. They are all randomly clean and were naked with the person they love and love the right person.

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  7. Their clothes got very muddy and some of them ripped. They wake up naked, shown as lovers for each other. Their clothes rip and tear which symbolizes the true love falling apart. They wake up with their clothes folded next to them and I believe that symbolizes the new found love and the hope of the two couples returning to Athens for a great wedding.

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  8. The characters clothes change in this scene because they all start out clean and with nice clothes. Later they got dirty, and after that they all got naked. I think this symbolizes the spells wearing off and them changing. It appears that after all of this their clothes were clean and nicely folded next to them, showing that everything ended the way it was supposed to.

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  9. The girls got less and less and less and less and less pretty. As the scene went on they got dirtier as they fought over eachother. But when they woke up they were clean, i think it symbolized that now the lovers are with who they should be with and everything will be okay and turn out good.

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  10. Before they go in the forest they are clean and they have nice clothes, then they change and in the forest they are dirty and they have older clothes.
    This change represents the conflict because before they enter the forest they are clean and there is not really a conflict but when they enter the forest, that is when the conflict starts.

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  11. At the beginning everyone is dressed nice, and as the play goes on they get dirtier and become a mess, until everyone falls in love with who they want to fall in love with. They become perfectly clean.

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  12. At the beginning of act 3 the actors cloths were nice and in place for the time the story takes place in. But once they all begin to fight each other they begin tussle and get covered with mud head to tow. I think this symbolizes the anger they are feeling towards one another and it is making them dirty. Then when they fall asleep and they have the drops places on a few of their eyes to make things right they then wake up clean and now we have two couples that work and there is no more anger being thrown about.

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  13. When Helena and Hermia take off there clothing and jump and fight into the mud I think it shows that they are vulnerable for love. Symbol for love.

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  14. They where all laying next to each other but they where divided by flowers. I think this symbolizes the fact that the right people are in love and that there fights seems to be a memory. The fact that there clothes are folded however shows that they indeed fought and some magical force made everything right.

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  15. I believe the dirty clothes symbolizes chaos and then they wake up with clean cloth because every thing goes back to normal.

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  16. Their appearance gave symbolism to the idea of change. In this case for the happily ever after ending. Situations left their appearances different than usual several times and resulted in everyone getting what they wanted.

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  17. You know how people are born naked? Maybe this symbolizes like rebirth, some kind of new beggining for the lovers

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  18. Their clothes came off and they were very clean. I think this represents true love. Also everything is clean and neat and I see that as a symbol. The symbol represents they were not right when they were dirty, but when they woke up clean they were in their right place.

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  19. Wingardium Leviosa

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  20. Their cloths was gone when they finally professed their true love for each other. I think the cloths might have represented the lies surrounding their love and when it was removed they were finally honest about who they loved.

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  21. One of the directorial choices that I noticed was when the four lovers clothes' started to wear and tear. Eventually Lysander was wearing only a torn shirt around his waist.

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  22. As it shows Lysander, Hermia, Dymetrious, and Helena sleeping naked in a field. Lysander and Hermia are together and Dymetrious and Helena are together, but they are all together. I think they are naked, and clean, because in a since love makes you vulnerable, and when you are naked you are most vulnerable. They are also cleansed, by how they are loyal to there lovers making them clean, but in chaos they were all dirty and covered in mud. Also during the Chaos, Hermia is dressed in the most revealing clothes making her desperate or in other words the tramp, while Lysander is only dressed in bed sheets making him the most vulnerable to love. Dymetrious and Helena are both dressed normally in a since symbolizing how there love is normal, but there love is not normal making there clothes unbuttoned.

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    1. Beautifully done Jack. I think the director decided to make them all dirty is to show that love is truly a dirty thing that is hardly ever in a straight line and it is probably the most complex thing we know of.

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  23. I presume that the symbol of the dirty clothing is to show destruction and once they come back to conciousness they are clean and realize that they are okay.

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  24. I think that at the beginning when they're all dressed fancy and elegant, it symbolizes how their parents want them to be. When they go in the forest, they're stripped from that to who they are, and they can't hide behind anything. When they're naked, it's like a new start, a clean slate.

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    1. Yup that works. I like it and I would like to add when they are naked they have a new start but also everybody can see all of them. So the parents find out and everything is reveled.

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  25. The cleanliness symbolized love's struggle. When the characters struggled the most with love, they were the dirtiest

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. *Interpretation

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  26. I noticed that when situations got the most difficult, the clothing was the dirtiest. But, when situations are the easiest, they are clean and fresh. The ease of love is shown throughout the messiness of the clothing.

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  27. They were all muddy when they were the most upset at each other.

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    1. I agree and then they are clean when they are in love

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  28. When their clothes get all muddy and torn symbolizes how the relationship between the lovers gets all messed up and crazy.

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  29. They more angry everyone gets and the more their love gets messed up, the dirtier and rugger they get. After their love is cleansed they are cleansed physically

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  30. Their clothes are torn and dirty and their hair looks muddy and knotted. This symbolizes being outside the rules of Athens where they have to look perfect and clean all the time. In the morning they are clean and their clothes are clean, this symbolizes all the messes getting cleaned up such as the lovers’ issues as well as their physical appearances.

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    1. I agree with how you said, in the morning they were clean and their clothes were clean, and how it symbolizes all their messes got cleaned up. I defiantly think it symbolizes how when the lovers' got clean, their lives were also clean too, and they were all content with themselves.

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  31. The characters have more and more skin show which symbolizes their primitive natures coming via love.

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  32. The appearance of the characters in this scene changed from neat, organized, and proper to muddy, messy and eventually naked. I think that the director did this to show how their feelings have come forward and their love is shown in its entirety.

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  33. I think that during the act their clothes keep getting dirty and torn show the break down of who they are and when they wake up they are clean and realize that they are, in a way, a new life.

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  34. From formal clothes to no clothes I believe that it symbolizes that they no longer have the burden of obeying the law. For example in public you generally wear clothes due to law, and they also have to marry the person that their dad picks out because of the law. After they lose their clothes the no longer are subject to the law and they can marry who they want

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    1. I agree because as the book/movie goes on, the four lovers begin to care less and less at the fact that they're not allowed to marry eachother.

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  35. They look dirty and half naked after the chaos of the flower. I think the director is showing that the lovers are caring more about the love then the order and rules of society.

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  36. When they all go to bed they are dirty, covered in mud, when they wake up they are naked and completely with their clothes folded neatly next to them. I think this symbolizes that when they went to bed no one was particularly happy so the mud represents frustration. The cleanliness represents happiness and a sense of placement on who they are meant to be with.

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  37. When things are most difficult they're are the dirtiest but when everything is simple again they're clean.

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  38. When the characters were dirty they were mad at each other and when their clothes were clean they were in more love.

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  39. The more things get messed up and crazy the dirtier they all get.

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  40. The symbol of the four lovers are them struggling through love so they can be with the one they love.

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  41. I think the director had it that way because they were leaving their proper government life and going to a life of love. When everything was a mess they were dirty and muddy but at the end they were nude because the mess was cleaned and everything was all okay.

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  42. Well at the beginning of the movie they are all in top shape look very nice but as time goes on they loose how clean they are and a layer of there clothes and i think it means that at one point they were dirty and not clean but then they are the lovers and fell so strong so they are naked and clean and things start to go back in order.

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  43. when they were dirty, it was because of the true love between them was dirtied by the effects of the flower. They were clean when they woke up because the true love had returned to everyone.

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  44. There love for each other is much stronger when they are clean but it is much less when their clothes are dirty.

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  45. I think once they enter the forest and it takes a toll on them they are exposed to how brutal and untamed love can really be. Then, after they leave the forest and they return back to their regular lives they have a sense of a new beginning; they are cleansed and their emotional wounds have healed.

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  46. In the beginning all of the characters are very put together looking. Their clothes are very proper and clean. I think this represents the beginning of love, it is very innocent and sweet. Then as they enter into the forest and start to fight they get dirtier and more ragged. This then represents the "in the thick of it" part of love. At the end the lovers are very clean and fresh looking. This represents the lovers newness and cleanness of mind/ spirit.

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  47. At first the characters were dressed well, except for Lysander. Then they were covered in mud because Hermia, at that moment, would drag Helena into the dirtiest places, and the two men would follow Helena.

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  48. As the conflict progresses, the clothing and appearance of the four lovers becomes worse and worse. Articles of clothing disappear, and they become filthier. This transformation of what the lovers are wearing is a symbol of how this entire conflict is destroying them. The director was trying to show how it figuratively damaged them emotionally, by making their physical appearances worse. After the problem of loving the wrong person is solved, the four lovers are shown as clean, as if the end of this conflict also healed their emotional strife.

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  49. At the beginning of the scene the four lovers looked professional and like they had themselves together. By the end of the scene their clothes were destroyed and missing. I think the way they looked reflected how they were feeling. They were feeling distressed and angered and their clothes reflected that. The way they looked at the end of the scene showed how the lovers were falling apart but the in the end the events had brought them closer.

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  50. I think the Four Lovers being naked may symbolize a total loss of order. The Four Lovers being naked represents freedom and confusion in the society and in the rules that were once in place.

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  51. The lovers' clothing becomes ragged and they become covered in mud, and how the chaos of love can compel you to do things that you wouldn't normally do.

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  52. When the four lovers are dirty, they act crazy and angry towards each other. When they are clean they look peaceful and not crazy.

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  54. Lysander was the only one without clothes at first and I think that could resemble the idea of making a fool of himself for Hermia.

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  55. In the start of the four lovers fighting their clothes became more formal and modern showing that as they fight the still want to represented in a good way.

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  56. In the beginning, the four lovers' were dressed fancy and clean. When the fairy's start to mess with their love, the clothes start to become torn and dirty. I think the clothes symbolize how everything is getting messed up.

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  57. I think that when all the lovers' were covered in mud, it represents conflict and chaos. No one is happy, and no one is clean. At the end once everything's resolved, they're clean again. Dirt and mud symbolize conflict, and cleanliness represents happiness.

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  58. I think that the dirty clothes symbolize a dirty memory and the havoc that happened in the woods with Puck anointing the wrong person. So when they are clean it is saying that everything is clean and back to normal and everyone loves who they should.

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  59. The four lovers went from really well dressed to clothes ripped and covered in mud. I think this was meant to show the pain, the angry, and even maybe even a bit on confusion that was happening in the scene between the four lovers.

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  60. I think that them waking up naked symbolizes their new love for their partners. When they where covered in mud was when the relationships where are screwed up and them waking up nude shows a new beginning and reborn love for their partner.

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  61. As the characters wonder through the forest they become more and more messy. I think the mud and messiness symbolizes chaos. The love connections have been all messed up and no one has a clear idea of what is going on. When the characters are found naked this could show a new beginning.

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  62. In the beginning of the scene they look very mature and very responsible but as time goes by they kind of lose that image because of how they are all reacting to this situation. I think that the beginning of act four is like a fresh start and a new beginning to starting their lives together.

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  63. in the beginning they where all clean and this was what was right. but thin their love got all messy and weird. so in the end they got it all fixed and then where cleansed of all of their problems.

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  64. When the scene begins the four lovers are all very put together and professional looking. Then by the end of the scene all of their clothes were destructed and they all look very messy and dirty. I think this change in the lover's clothing and look symbolizes the means of how much they will sacrifice in order to achieve true love.

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  65. In the beginning of the movie most of the characters are all put together looking (besides Helena) because they are trying to be proper and 'high up'. Then after they are in the woods for a while their clothes start to change and get dirty, at the same time they are all fighting and everyone loves someone that they shouldn't, so their lives are messy and their clothes match their inner and outer turmoil. Then after they go to sleep and Puck redoes their eyes and places them where they should be they become clean and naked again, which could symbolize a re birth and cleaning of the past days events. It's like they are pure and everything is as it should be again.

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  66. When the four lovers are in the forest, they begin with clean clothes and overtime the clothes get dirtier and dirtier. I think this symbolizes that when love is misguided, the path it travels is filled with filthy tricks and lies. So when they are clean at the beginning of act 4, it symbolizes that their love for one another is no longer misguided and can flourish.

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  67. I think that them waking up naked symbolizes their new love for their partners. When they where covered in mud was when the relationships where are screwed up and them waking up nude shows a new beginning and reborn love for their partner.

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  68. I think that their appearance and clothing represent the love for eachother. Not only for the lovers but also friendship. For example, when Hermia and Helena were fighting, their hair and clothes look really bad. It got so bad that they threw eachother in the mud. But also when the lovers get all tangled up, they all look the worst. But when they wake up naked and clean, it is like a fresh start and a new beginning for the lovers.

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  69. During the beginning of the scene everyone had their clothes intact and clean. But as the fairies began to interfere more and more their clothes started to become more and more dirty.

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  70. The character's clothing got more and more dirty and torn and eventually their hair and bodies were very dirty, then when they woke up the next morning, their bodies were spotless and they were basically naked. I think this symbolizes the fact that everything having to do with the character's love got more and more messed up and once everything was in complete chaos, everything got better and resolved which the spotless bodies symbolized.

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  71. What happens to the four lovers' clothes and appearance in Act 3 is they start all nice and formal and then, in the movie, the lovers get in a mud fight. They become dirty. Nothing is clean, not their clothes and not their choices. No one loves the one the want to love because the fairies messed them up. Dirt can easily blind someone. That someone can get off the pathway they want to be on and slide down the slippery slope. When we see the lovers again they are naked with the right lover they love. They are clean and pure. kinda.

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