Lesson 8

Lesson Goals

Texts

Core

• • Excerpt from “Depressive Illness Delayed Hamlet’s Revenge,” Aaron Shaw and Neil Pickering, BMJ Publishing Group, Ltd., 2002
  • Excerpt from “Representing Ophelia: Women, Madness, and the Responsibilities of Feminist Criticism,” Elaine Showalter, Methuen Publishing, 1985

Materials

Tools

• Vocabulary Journal

• Hamlet: Vocabulary List

Question Sets

• Hamlet: Section 3 Question Set

Editable Google Docs

• Hamlet: Section 3 Question Set

• Vocabulary Journal

Activity 1: Discuss

We will return to our original group’s chart paper, examine our peers’ written responses, and have an oral discussion about the quotations, interesting ideas, and lingering questions.

Return to your original group’s chart paper and read your peers’ written responses. Engage in an oral discussion about the quotation, interesting ideas that emerged, and lingering questions you have about the quotation. Make predictions about the central ideas of the essay.

Activity 2: Read

We will make connections between vocabulary in this text and vocabulary we have learned in previous texts.

You explored the meaning of the word depressive in the text "Depressive Illness Delayed Hamlet’s Death."

This term is conceptually related to the following words from "Representing Ophelia: Women, Madness, and the Responsibilities of Feminist Criticism":

• oppression (Paragraph 1)

• repressed (Paragraph 5)

Review the notes in your Vocabulary Journal and in the original text if needed. Craft an analogy that illustrates the relationship among the three terms. See the example below.

Ironic – Inevitable

If something is ironic, it is unexpected; if something is inevitable, it is certain.

Activity 3: Read

To prepare for reading and analyzing the essay “Representing Ophelia: Women, Madness, And The Responsibilities Of Feminist Criticism,” we will preview key words from the essay.

There are several words in this essay that are crucial to understanding the author’s central ideas and primary claims. Listen to your teacher as they provide definitions for the following words. Write down the definitions in your Vocabulary Journal.

• representation (Paragraph 1)

• marginalization (Paragraph 2)

• patriarchal (Paragraph 3)

• anima (Paragraph 7)

• liberate (Paragraph 7)

• re-appropriate (Paragraph 7)

Activity 4: Read

We will engage in a first read of the essay “Representing Ophelia: Women, Madness, And The Responsibilities Of Feminist Criticism” by Elaine Showalter.

Read "Representing Ophelia: Women, Madness, and the Responsibilities of Feminist Criticism." Use the following questions to guide your annotations:

1. What is the gist of the author’s claim?

2. What ideas are surprising or interesting?

3. What ideas are confusing or unclear?

Activity 5: Read – Discuss

We will reread paragraph 1 and examine how the author introduces her argument.

Effective introductions usually provide relevant background knowledge, pique the reader’s interest, and clearly state the text’s central claim.

Reread Paragraph 1. Use the following questions to guide your annotations:

1. What background knowledge does the author provide? How does it contribute to the reader’s understanding?

2. What rhetorical techniques does Showalter use to pique the reader’s interest? Are they effective?

3. What can the reader expect her central claim to be?

After reading and annotating the paragraph, participate in a whole-group discussion to share ideas.

Activity 6: Read

For homework, we will reread “Representing Ophelia: Women, Madness, And The Responsibilities Of Feminist Criticism” and examine the main idea for each paragraph.

As with its unique introduction, this essay possesses a unique and atypical organizational structure. Reread the essay. Determine and track the main ideas of each paragraph. Write them in the margins of the essay or in your Learning Log. Identify which paragraphs state the author’s primary claim. Be prepared to share your analysis in the next lesson.