RaG /Hamlet assessment.... any help? (1 Viewer)

[khandigirl]

Hey guys...

I have an assessment... an in class essay that will be one of 3 essay Q's we've been given... killer here is that I was away for most of the lead up to the assessment info ( RaG studies) and now have drawn a blank... I know the text but I cant think of any points to work up an essay of. Im not asking anyone to write the essay for me or anything, but advice on things to look at or even study guides that could be good to look at would be excellent. thank you for any help....

here are 2 of the q's we've been given: (3rd one I have enough info on)

IN comparing your TWO texts (RaG & hamlet), you will have become aware of how the contexts of the texts have shaped their form and meaning. Of more interest, perhaps, is a comparison of the values associated with each text.
... with this Q i just need some guidance as to what the more powerful themes that have chaped the text would have been... as my teacher is .... *ahem* evil ( for lack of anything nicer to say) and wont help, as he says it was my fault i was absent. I know some of the themes, but can not find anything really supplementing the ones i have... even just a name of a theme or anything would be of use so I can at least try to pin point that in my text....


2) How has the composer of the contemporary text used the earlier text to say something new?

This one is what confuses me, as I was absent during all these discussions, and am not aware of the main gist of this Q. Anyone who can just set me on some sort of track would be a hero.

As i said, I am not looking for someone to write my essay, nor am I looking for an easy way out, I am just hoping to god someone can help me out here

thanks guys

 

[nwatts]

"How has the composer of the contemporary text used the earlier text to say something new?"

That's basically the basis of the 'transformations' unit. You look at how Tom Stoppard has taken a traditionalist Elizabethan text (with its own values and ideas), and then injected his own values into his appropriation. R&G are Dead takes the concepts of Hamlet and looks at them through his viewpoint (which we call existentialist). The result of this 'transformation' is the actual text, R&G are Dead.

More simplistically, Stoppard uses Hamlet to voice his own views on certain issues. One huge issue is the concept of death. He takes Shakespeare's views on death (found in Hamlet), puts his spin on them, and then injects them into his text. A very quick example would be that Hamlet values life, and subsequently values death (you'll need to find quotes and such to support this). Both R and G have hold little value in life, with Stoppard holding no value. When R and G die, they disappear from view - demonstrating how little value Stoppard has in death (which mirrors his views on life).

This whole process is pretty integral to the module. I'd suggest you grab the 2004 Advanced Exam Questions book from your library (if they have it) and read through last year's exam responses to get a feel of what you need to do - it will also benefit your understanding to know how other people express the process of transformations. I haven't browsed through the BOS resources for this unit, but it might be worthwhile.

It sounds like your teacher is being an asshole. Are there any other Advanced teachers at your school? These concepts are difficult to grasp at first, but then easy to put into an essay. If you can find a past student or another teacher to spend a few hours with you on the module you'll find it extremely beneficial.

Just a side note too, when you're referring to 'themes' it's a lot better to refer to them as concepts or ideas. Talking in themes limits your understanding, especially in this unit. Both texts share concepts, and different concepts are intertwined, meaning that a discussion on themes will be the difference between a C and an A. Teachers want synthesis between concepts, so they know you're thinking. Also refer to a particular composer's 'values' - just think 'what does Stoppard/Shakespeare think about X', and inject that understanding into your essay. An essay based around 'values and ideas' will get 20/20. An essay based around themes will get you no more than 15-16.

I hope I can be of some help.

 

[Lennie]

Live it up. Ros and guil/ hamlet is the best elective out there. sure beats wordsworth/malouf, which i am doing, and am still attempting to understand.

I had done this module last year and did manage to type up some sort of notes before the HSC exam. I havent looked over them for a while so i apologise in advance. but hopefully it may help you a little bit. But ultimately, they may not, as i had written them to understand myself.

HSC Study notes​

Shakespeare’s context;
1600's. There was a strong unchallengeable sense of social structure and a belief in nobility. Religion was paramount and there was a strong desire in theatre to please the king of the time.
Stoppards context;
The 1960's, a revolutionary time in which there was a skepticism about religion, a mounting fear of war, and a time in which society made a great leap towards becoming more radical. The conventions of theatre were being challenged to accommodate a growing interest in absurdism and existentialism.

Both texts succeed in offering a form of indirect social commentary.

In ros and guil, two minor insignificant characters from hamlet are thrown into the central focus, obtaining dimensions and life, shifting emphasis and attitudes. This allows Stoppard to explore the common values from a profoundly different perspective. Shifts the focus from the tragedy of nobility, to the tragedy of everyman.
Language had been transformed. the language in hamlet is essentially composed of traditional verse and rhyming prose.’ Hamlet' uses "words, words, words" to create worlds, emotions and characters. Language was what shaped the Elizabethans.
Through intertextuality, slapstick and black humor, Stoppard has realigned our focus from the formal, structured and highly figurative language of the Elizabethans, to a notion that "we are tied to a language that makes up in obscurity what it lacks in style". The word games between ros and guil underline the idea that there are so many questions and so little answers. In ros and guil, language actually clouds meaning.

Set in a place with 'no visible character', this foregrounds the absurdist perspective and pre-occupation with the loss of control.

The player makes the link between the two works and the two worlds. He constantly reminds us that this is a play about a play, to suggest that art is what we want in life and not reality. We are unwilling to face our absurd existence; "blood love and rhetoric is what we want'-player.

Common values and how they reflect context;
Fate and destiny;·

·Hamlet appears to have all the control, "to be or not to be". The context ensures there was a strong belief in natural order. Hamlet was at the top of the chain being of high birth. This ensured him of control and power.
· However, hamlet believed in gods reasoning, "There is a divinity that shapes our ends".
· "There is special providence in the fall of a sparrow".
· Shakespeare held the belief that acceptance of the fate empowers the individual.
· RAGAD:· Eliminates the idea of self-determination.
· (To the player) "Who are we?"- "You are Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and that’s enough". Their fate was pre-determined even before Stoppard wrote the play (follow on from hamlet); dramatic irony 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead'. Their existence is monotonous
· "There must have been a moment at the beginning where we could have said no"- Guil
· "Who decides?"- Ros -> "it is written"-Player.
· "The only beginning is birth and the only end it death".
· Stoppard uses puns double meaning and questions to convey the human message- "what is the game?"
· Mans capacity for destruction had been witnessed (ww1 + 2), hence the natural order offered no sense of security.

Death· Hamlet
· Death on stage was portrayed in a very theatrical style involving blood violence, poisoning and duels.
· Hamlet contemplates death and suicide in a very deep matter but Elizabethan values prevailed when he decides against it because of the universal "fear of something after death". Hamlet held a strong belief in the afterlife; especially assuming his father was trapped in purgatory.
· Death was very significant in Elizabethan times due to their strong ties with religion and the enigma and fear of the unknown death entails.
· Death is portrayed as noble "oh proud death" and as a release "to die, to sleep"
·
· Ragad
· "Just a man failing to reappear"- guil
· "Life in a box"- ros/ comic due to the relevance to their life
· Talking about death was more socially accepted in this time. Society had been through two world wars and was somewhat desensitized to it. Black humor is evident in the play.
· "For all the compasses in the world, there is only one direction and time is its only measure"
· Player mocks the over dramatized performance of death in Elizabethan times by his mention of "blood, love and rhetoric", you cant have a play without blood.

Appearance Vs reality· Hamlet
· Falsity of reality was written for intrigue and interest
· Was hamlets madness appearance or reality?
· Many relationships are just appearances e.g. hamlet, Claudius
·
· Ragad
· Reality is problematic and complex. E.g. opening of play, ros and guil are tossing coins. Cue unpredictable, unreliable nature of probability
· Player describes a time where a man was hung on stage... illustrates the relationship between what we see on stage and how it makes reality seem confusing


Overall, the context of both texts significantly alters each text. The appropriation of hamlet; Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead, has been altered to an extent that hamlet is not anymore easily recognizable within the text.

 

[khandigirl]

omg thank you guys so much... you guys are legends

thanks so much!!!!!!!