Who Was Shakespeare?

Shakespeare was a quiet man. If he had not written any great works, then he would have flown through life unnoticed and untouched. But he did write some great pieces like Hamlet and Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet. He was married at the age of 18 and had 3 children. We are left to wonder about what Shakespeare was doing in life from 1585-1592 which are referred to as his "lost years."
When students hear "Shakespeare" they think about great peices of writing, but they also think about the difficult to understand English and all the projects that come along with reading his plays in class.
Now that I have read a few of Shakespeare's plays and we have throughly discussed them in class, I can now read a scene and acctually understand what is going on without having someone tell me.
What still causes me to struggle is his humor. I dont get when he is trying to be funny and when he is being serious.

To Facebook or not to Facbook

Intially, I thought Facebook was the coolest thing ever invented. I loved the fact that I could keep up with things that are going on in my old friends lives who I dont talk to anymore. But then I found myself on Facebook all the time and I realized that it really is pointless and a huge distration that I didnt need in my life. So I deactivated my account. After a few months, I reactivated it and now I have learned to manage the amount of time I spend on Facebook.
A benefit of Facebook is the social aspect of it, but that is also a huge risk. You always run the risk of posting something that you don't want a certain person to see and if they see it, then you could have some major problems. Another risk is the fact that alot of personal information is just sitting there on your page just waiting to be looked at by someone who you dont want looking.
By reading this article, I realized that there are alot more security precautions I could take on Facebook to help to keep my personal information safe.

Remix! Vocab #9

 

I apologize for what seems to be my lack in enthusiasm.. I am camera shy. But I decided to come out of my shell for this weeks vocab remix. I hope that it is helpful to anyone who had prononciation issues or wasn't sure of a definition. If there are any questions, feel free to comment :)

Remix!

Hamlet- Act III Scene i

Vocab Mid-term Autopsy

On my vocabulary midterm I received a 70. I am satisfied with this score. But I know I could have done better and possibly gotten a 100%. I studied for the midterm but not as hard as I could have. If I were to have looked over the words a week in advance rather than just two days then I would have had the words totally memorized and then I would probably still have them in my memory for the final. For the final I will look at the words a week or two in advance and I will probably try a different study strategy then just simple flash cards.

Vocabulary #8

Abeyance-(N.) A state of temporary disuse or suspension.

Ambivalent- (Adj.) Having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone.

Beleaguer- (V.) Beset with difficulties

Carte blanche- (N.) Complete freedom to act as one wishes or thinks best.

Cataclysm- (N.) A sudden violent upheaval, esp. in a political or social context

Debauch- (V.) Destroy or debase the moral purity of; corrupt.
(N.) A bout of excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures, esp. eating and drinking

éclat- (N.) brilliant or conspicuous success

Fastidious- (Adj.) Very attentive to and concerned about accuracy and detail

Gambol- (V.) Run or jump about playfully

Imbue- (V.) Inspire or permeate with a feeling or quality: "imbued with deep piety".

Inchoate- (Adj.) Just begun and so not fully formed or developed

Lampoon- (V.) Publicly criticize (someone or something) by using ridicule or sarcasm.
(N.) A speech or text criticizing someone or something in this way

Malleable- (Adj.) Easily influenced; pliable

Nemesis- (N.) The inescapable or implacable agent of someone's or something's downfall

Opt- (V.) Make a choice from a range of
possibilities

Philistine- (N.) A person who is hostile or indifferent to culture and the arts, or who has no understanding of them

Picaresque- (Adj.) Of or relating to an episodic style of fiction dealing with the adventures of a rough and dishonest but appealing hero

Queasy- (Adj.) Nauseated; feeling sick

Refractory- (Adj.) Stubborn or unmanageable

Savoir-faire- (N.) The ability to act or speak appropriately in social situations.

Midterm Studying Stratagies

I plan on making flashcards for each of the words and then reviewing the flashcards over and over, removing the ones I have memorized as I go, until I have them all memorized. This strategy has always worked for me in the past. It's easy and fast. It will probably take me an hour to memorize all the words. The only problem with this strategy is that it doesn't help me in the long run. Once I take the test, all that hard work goes down the drain and I can only remember about half the words I had previously memorized.