The fourth act of a five act play is often referred as the denouement, French for "unraveling" (sometimes this term is used for the end, the resolution, but we are looking at it not as what is unraveled, but the actual unraveling or unwinding of the action). This is where the action of the play rushes headlong toward the resolution, where the events precipitated by the climax of the third act head unstoppably toward the resolution. As you think about the fourth act, describe why the action of that act cannot unfold in any other way. In short, why is the fourth act an effect of a particular cause, the third act in this instance. Having posted your thoughts on this, complete with specific examples from the act(s) to illustrate your views, respond to at least two other journals and to at least one response to your journal.

Generally speaking, the third act of a five act play, particularly for an Elizabethan audience or playwright, is the play's climax. I tend to focus on the climax as the point at which the outcome or resolution of the play becomes inevitable. If this is your first encounter with Hamlet, having read Act III (and, of course, acts I and II), based on the first three acts, predict what you think might be coming, just what the outcome or resolution of the play might be. If you have already read or seen a performance of the play and know the outcome, describe why you think certain elements of the third act lead up to that outcome, how they make it inevitable (while trying to keep those who are encountering the play for the first time in the dark if you can). As usual, once you have posted your journal, respond to at least two others and respond to one response to your journal.

Your journal can be about anything you think of importance with regard to Act II. Once you've posted it, and substantiated your comments with particulars drawn from the play, be sure to respond to at least two journals and to at least one response to your journal.

As you read through Act I, look for themes that may be emerging as the situation of the play is developed. Having identified what you take to be a theme, explain just what that theme is (as in what is X?), what that theme does to/for a viewer/reader of the play (what does X do?) and what it might be taken to mean as the action progresses (what does X mean?). Having done this, respond to at least two journals and to at least one response to your journal.

Sunday 10:45 a.m. update: Along with The Tempest, The Comedy of Errors is one of the two Shakespearean dramas that exhibit what are referred to as the classical/three unities, rules for drama derived from a passage in Aristotle's Poetics. In their neoclassical form they are as follows:

1. The unity of action: a play should have one main action that it follows, with no or few subplots.
2. The unity of place: a play should cover a single physical space and should not attempt to compress geography, nor should the stage represent more than one place.
3. The unity of time: the action in a play should take place over no more than 24 hours.

For your journal, examine and describe how each of the unities controls/limits/guides the action of the play, how each influences both the action and viewing of the drama. Having done this, response to at least two journals and to at least one response to your journal.

As of Friday afternoon, I don't know what I'm going to ask you to think about for Monday. finish reading The Comedy of Errors. I'll have a journal assignment posted fairly early Sunday. Since it's not much reading, g Get going on Hamlet as well. We won't be spending but a couple of days on that play due to poor time allotment on my part, but we should still give it a go.

Also, the first drama club presentation is going to be Thursday, the second Friday, and the third Monday. The Thursday group has already volunteered. We'll decide on Friday and Monday. Watch this space for more info.

For this assignment, describe how you would stage Act III, Scene i, the "lockout" scene in particular. Where will the players be situated? Who will be seen by whom (which includes the audience), how much of and how often will each be seen, if they are? Decide on what you think the best way to stage this scene, considering whether it would be best to do it with an emphasis on the representational or presentational. Once you've posted your journal, respond to at least two other journals and to at least one response to your journal.

Dramatic presentations can be broken into two groups: Presentational Theater and Representational Theater. The Presentational style acknowledges the reality of the theater, that the play is a play, actors are acting parts, and that spectators are present. The Representational style, in contrast, ignores (or pretends to ignore) the reality of the theater, seeking to replicate an extra-theatrical world, denying that the play is a play, performed as if an audience were not present. Anything that would break this illusion should be repressed. In your journal, having read the first two acts, argue for either a Presentational or Representational production of the play, providing examples from the script and describing how they would be performed (or how a character might be acted) to achieve either a Presentational or Representational production of the play. Having posted your journal, be sure to respond to at least two other journal submissions and to a response to your journal.

If you missed class on Wednesday, you missed a great conversation that provided a lot of insight into both The Merchant of Venice and the sonnets, some in particular, others in general.

There is no class on Thursday. You are to use the time to drop by my office with questions, work on your essay, annotations or whatever is needed, or to get started reading the next play, The Comedy of Errors. Friday is a drama club day and I'll be out of town, chaperoning my son's field trip, which just happens to mean I'll be skiing. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it. If you have questions on your paper, which is due Monday, stop by my office Thursday, or email me, or blog a question. Either way, I'll get back to you as soon as possible.

You MUST bring the draft of your literature review to class or you will not be allowed to participate and you will not receive credit for the seminar.

Class Tuesday will be devoted to discussing the things you learned in researching and composing your literature reviews. In short, how do you know better (at least I hope it's better) understand Shakespeare and his sonnets or some part (or the whole thing) of The Merchant of Venice? What light did your work shed on Shakespeare and a particular work or works? What do you see that you didn't see before and why is this a good thing? How does this additional knowledge at to (or detract from) your understanding or enjoyment? Be ready to cite passages from both your literature review and response and Shakespeare's works to demonstrate the validity of your views.

I've attached the score sheet I use so you can see the behaviors I'm looking for.

If you missed class today, post your essay as a blog and ask that some member(s) of your drama club read and respond to it. You should also offer to read and respond to two essay drafts. The response rubric is attached to this message.

Somewhere, I can't say where, I ran across the idea that literature, in every form, is an expression of political philosophy, a reflection of the ideal standard for society and government. Now this "ideal standard" need not be expressed in what is in the literature, but maybe in what the literature holds up as an anti-thesis to the ideal. Taking this into account, and having read the whole of Richard II, what would you take to be the ideal standard for society and government that is expressed by this play? In other words, what should we learn from this play about how to get along with/through government and society? What standards should we adhere to? What so-called "standards" should we reject? Examine this idea/notion in your journal, illustrating your points with particular passages from the play, Act V in particular. Once you've developed your ideas, respond to at least two other journals and to one response to your journal.