Thursday, October 8, 2009
Week 1 Book Review
This term I have continued to read 'LA Candy' written by Lauren Conrad. I didn't read any over the holidays but now I have got back into it I can't put it down. Jane and Scarlett have just been offered a TV job in a new reality TV series which is similar to a reality version of sex and the city. Jane has found interest in a guy which she is not sure if he has a girlfriend or not and she has just started her internship at her event planning job. She is finding it hell as her boss hates her and she can't seem to do anything right. Scarlett on the other hand has just stared at U.S.C which is the University of Southern California.
Much Ado About Nothing
1. Find out when the play, “Much Ado About Nothing”, was written and describe the storyline.
The play was written in 1598-1599. Much Ado About Nothing is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare set in Messina, Sicily. The story concerns a pair of lovers named Claudio and Hero who are due to be married in a week. To pass the time before their wedding day, they conspire with Don Pedro, the prince of Aragon, to trick their friends, Beatrice and Benedick, into confessing their love for one another. The prince's illegitimate brother, Don John, however, jealous of both Don Pedro's power and his affection for Claudio, plans to sabotage the coming wedding.
2. Identify some of the main characters, dividing them into two groups: ‘good’ and ‘evil’.
Good:
3. What seem to be the play’s messages? List below. Do you think the play is relevant today?
In Much Ado About Nothing, there are many examples of deliberate deception and self-deception. The word "ado" also means busy activity, fuss or trouble. So the play is about a lot of fuss over nothing. I do believe this play is still relevant because listening to what people say to you and accusing people without any evidence still occurs alot in todays society.
4. What is the difference between classical tragedy and comedy? Into which category (if either)does this play seem to fit?
Comedy: a play, movie, etc., of light and humorous character with a happy or cheerful ending; a dramatic work in which the central motif is the triumph over adverse circumstance, resulting in a successful or happy conclusion.
Classical Tragedy: The tragic hero who, though not perfect, is certainly in some way morally superior to most of the audience (and who is nearly always upper class), but also exhibits
“Hamartia,” the tragic flaw (literally, it translates as “error of judgement”) which is often
hubris, loosely translated as arrogance, that causes the hero to believe he can outwit fate or violate a moral law, which leads in turn to some kind of catastrophe, which results in peripeteia or a complete reversal of fortune from happiness to disaster.
This play 'Much Ado About Nothing' I believe fits into the comedy category more than the classical tragedy.
The play was written in 1598-1599. Much Ado About Nothing is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare set in Messina, Sicily. The story concerns a pair of lovers named Claudio and Hero who are due to be married in a week. To pass the time before their wedding day, they conspire with Don Pedro, the prince of Aragon, to trick their friends, Beatrice and Benedick, into confessing their love for one another. The prince's illegitimate brother, Don John, however, jealous of both Don Pedro's power and his affection for Claudio, plans to sabotage the coming wedding.
2. Identify some of the main characters, dividing them into two groups: ‘good’ and ‘evil’.
Good:
- Don Pedro
- Benedick
- Claudio
- Leonato
- Hero
- Beatrice
- Don John
3. What seem to be the play’s messages? List below. Do you think the play is relevant today?
In Much Ado About Nothing, there are many examples of deliberate deception and self-deception. The word "ado" also means busy activity, fuss or trouble. So the play is about a lot of fuss over nothing. I do believe this play is still relevant because listening to what people say to you and accusing people without any evidence still occurs alot in todays society.
4. What is the difference between classical tragedy and comedy? Into which category (if either)does this play seem to fit?
Comedy: a play, movie, etc., of light and humorous character with a happy or cheerful ending; a dramatic work in which the central motif is the triumph over adverse circumstance, resulting in a successful or happy conclusion.
Classical Tragedy: The tragic hero who, though not perfect, is certainly in some way morally superior to most of the audience (and who is nearly always upper class), but also exhibits
“Hamartia,” the tragic flaw (literally, it translates as “error of judgement”) which is often
hubris, loosely translated as arrogance, that causes the hero to believe he can outwit fate or violate a moral law, which leads in turn to some kind of catastrophe, which results in peripeteia or a complete reversal of fortune from happiness to disaster.
This play 'Much Ado About Nothing' I believe fits into the comedy category more than the classical tragedy.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Week 1 Spelling Definitions and Sentences
1.abandon:
To leave completely and finally; forsake utterly; desert:
To Abandon a child is very naughty.
2.absorb:
To suck up or drink in (a liquid); soak up:
To absorb water.
3.abuse:
To use wrongly or improperly; misuse:
To abuse the privillage of having an ipod
4.accent:
Prominence of a syllable in terms of differential loudness, or of pitch, or length, or of a combination of these.
Maisie has an accent
5.accident:
An undesirable or unfortunate happening that occurs unintentionally and usually results in harm, injury, damage, or loss
It was an accident that the tv fell over.
6.accompanied:
To go along or in company with; join in action
I accompanied my mum to the doctor.
7.accomplishment:
An act or instance of carrying into effect
It felt so good and i felt accomplished when i finished my homework.
8.accurate:
Free from error or defect; consistent with a standard, rule, or model; precise; exact
The speeling list had to be accurate.
9.acquaint:
To make more or less familiar, aware, or conversant
To acquaint the teacher with our plan
10.acquire:
To come into possession or ownership of; get as one's own
I acquire a phone case.
11.acres:
A common variable unit of land measure, now equal in the U.S. and Great Britain to 43,560 square feet or 1/640 square mile
The farm was on so many acres.
12.activities:
The state or quality of being active
We can do so many activties now we have made bunk beds.
13.acute:
Sharp or severe in effect; intense
The pain was very acute.
14.adapt:
To make suitable to requirements or conditions; adjust or modify fittingly
To adapt to the new changes will be hard.
15.adaptation:
The act of adapting
The adaptation wasnt acctually that hard.
16.adequate:
As much or as good as necessary for some requirement or purpose; fully sufficient, suitable, or fit
The dress was adequate for the party.
17.adjustment:
The act of adjusting; adaptation to a particular condition, position, or purpose
The adjustments on the dress made it so much better.
18.administer:
To manage (affairs, a government, etc.)
The administer was very friendly.
19.admiration:
A feeling of wonder, pleasure, or approval
The feeling of admiration by my friends was great.
20.admit:
To allow to enter; grant or afford entrance to
To be admited you had to be 16.
To leave completely and finally; forsake utterly; desert:
To Abandon a child is very naughty.
2.absorb:
To suck up or drink in (a liquid); soak up:
To absorb water.
3.abuse:
To use wrongly or improperly; misuse:
To abuse the privillage of having an ipod
4.accent:
Prominence of a syllable in terms of differential loudness, or of pitch, or length, or of a combination of these.
Maisie has an accent
5.accident:
An undesirable or unfortunate happening that occurs unintentionally and usually results in harm, injury, damage, or loss
It was an accident that the tv fell over.
6.accompanied:
To go along or in company with; join in action
I accompanied my mum to the doctor.
7.accomplishment:
An act or instance of carrying into effect
It felt so good and i felt accomplished when i finished my homework.
8.accurate:
Free from error or defect; consistent with a standard, rule, or model; precise; exact
The speeling list had to be accurate.
9.acquaint:
To make more or less familiar, aware, or conversant
To acquaint the teacher with our plan
10.acquire:
To come into possession or ownership of; get as one's own
I acquire a phone case.
11.acres:
A common variable unit of land measure, now equal in the U.S. and Great Britain to 43,560 square feet or 1/640 square mile
The farm was on so many acres.
12.activities:
The state or quality of being active
We can do so many activties now we have made bunk beds.
13.acute:
Sharp or severe in effect; intense
The pain was very acute.
14.adapt:
To make suitable to requirements or conditions; adjust or modify fittingly
To adapt to the new changes will be hard.
15.adaptation:
The act of adapting
The adaptation wasnt acctually that hard.
16.adequate:
As much or as good as necessary for some requirement or purpose; fully sufficient, suitable, or fit
The dress was adequate for the party.
17.adjustment:
The act of adjusting; adaptation to a particular condition, position, or purpose
The adjustments on the dress made it so much better.
18.administer:
To manage (affairs, a government, etc.)
The administer was very friendly.
19.admiration:
A feeling of wonder, pleasure, or approval
The feeling of admiration by my friends was great.
20.admit:
To allow to enter; grant or afford entrance to
To be admited you had to be 16.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Researching Elizabethan England
Brief Facts about William Shakespeare:
• William Shakespeare was born in April of 1564.
• Shakespeare's baptismal date was April 26, 1564.
• Shakespeare was born in the village of Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire.
• Shakespeare's father, John Shakespeare, came from a family of yeomen.
• Shakespeare's mother, Mary Arden, came from an ancient family of landed gentry.
• He was educated in the local school, where he studied Latin and Greek, among other subjects, during a school day that often lasted from dawn to dusk.
• Shakespeare was married to Anne Hathaway in 1582, when he was 18; she was 26.
• The exact wedding date is uncertain, but the marriage certificate was issued on November 27,1582.
• William and Anne had their first child, Susanna, in May of 1583.
• This was followed by the birth of twins, Hamnet and Judith, in January of 1585.
The role of women in Elizabethan England:
• Even though there was an unmarried woman on the throne in Elizabethan England, the roles of women in society were very limited.
• In general men were expected to be the breadwinners and women to be housewives and mothers.
• On average, a woman gave birth to a child every two years, but as a lot of babies and children died from sickness, families were not always large.
• Childbearing was considered a great honor to women, as children were seen as blessings from God.
• Women were regarded as "the weaker sex", not just in terms of physical strength, but emotionally too.
• It was believed that women always needed someone to look after them.
• If they were married, their husband was expected to look after them.
• If they were single, then their father, brother or another male relative was expected to take care of them.
• Many women in this period were highly educated, like the Queen herself.
• Women were not allowed to enter the professions i.e law, medicine, politics, but they could work in domestic service as cooks, maids etc, and a female painter.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Week 10 Book Review
Although I haven't finished My Sisters Keeper I am having a break from it as I read in a magazine about Lauren Conrad's new book LA Candy. I am only up to chapter 7 but am enjoying it a lot. It is about two best friends Janie and Scarlett who move to LA to live the great life style. Jane is going on a event planner internship and Scarlett is going to U.S.C (university of Southern California). They are meeting new friends and just starting to settle into their new life styles.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Homework Wednesday 3 August- Reflection Task
This year I have participated in a number of co-curricular activities although my favourite was QGSSSA Touch Football. I signed up to this co-curricular activity because it is my favourite sport and I have played touch football since year 5. My expectations when signing up to this co-curricular activity was that we would play games on Friday nights against other schools, some away at schools in Brisbane, towomba etc and some at home (Owen park). QGSSSA Touch Football for 2009 did live up to my expectations, it was fun, a good way to keep fit and touch is a great game to get involved in. I would deffently recommend everyone to join QGSSSA Touch Football for 2010.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Week 8 Book Review
I am still enjoying my sisters keep a lot. I usually get bored of books by this stage although this book has kept my attention very well. This week i have read a few more chapters and I have just reached the part in the book which Ana's mother, Sara has found out that her own daughter is suing her for the right for her body parts. I can see where Ana is coming from as she is doing this but i don't understand how she could just let her sister die. It seems that Ana is a very selfish person as she isn’t thinking about her sisters life.