Transcript The Value of Life Please take out 6 pieces of paper and title it “The Value of Life” – you will need it.

The Value of Life
Please take out 6 pieces of paper and
title it “The Value of Life” – you will need
it to respond to the following quickwrite
and other questions in this unit
Adapted from CSU ERWC Material
Life is only valuable if you have a
family.
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Jot down whether you agree or disagree with
this statement and WHY!
10-minute Quickwrite: Now that we’ve
discussed all of this, answer the question:
What is the value of life?
* How do you measure the value of your own
life?
* What makes it worth living?
* What gives life meaning?
* Note: Respond as thoroughly as you can to this
prompt. You will continue to add notes and
responses to this page, so don’t lose it!
Create a Concept Map like this in your
notes:
Concept: Life
 Example sentence:
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Synonyms:
Contexts:
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Examples:
Non-examples:
Here are some examples to get you
started; add as many more examples
as you can come up with
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Concept: Life
Example sentence: It is difficult to place a
precise value on human life
Synonyms:
Contexts:
Vitality
Medical
Energy
Economic
Examples:
Lifestyle
Life’s Work
Non-examples:
Death
Inactivity
Hamlet Soliloquy – Surveying the Text.
Continue adding to your notes:
Soliloquy: a convention used by
playwrights to allow an audience to hear
the thoughts of a character
 What prior experiences have you had
reading plays?
 What do you notice about the text
structure?
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Hamlet Soliloquy -- Predictions
Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a tragedy that
was published in 1604. What is a
tragedy? What themes and outcomes
do you expect to find in a tragedy?
 What do you know about the language in
plays written by Shakespeare? What have
you done in the past to help yourself
read Shakespeare effectively?
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Hamlet Soliloquy -- Predictions
The soliloquy here begins with a famous
quotation: "To be, or not to be--that is the
question."
 Make a prediction: What do you think
"the question" is that Hamlet is asking?
How do you think he might answer it?
 Think about the primary meaning of the
verb “be”
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Polar Opposites
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An important rhetorical device
Shakespeare uses in Hamlet’s soliloquy is
antithesis, or a balance of opposites.
Hamlet explores a series of oppositional
relationships in his speech, beginning with
the question of “to be, or not to be.”
Polar Opposites
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Brainstorm antonyms for the terms listed below
Term
1. Oppression
2. Action
3. Endurance
4. Mystery
5. Life
Antonym
Hamlet – Key Vocabulary
Create a Vocabulary Chart (C-Note style) with the
following terms
 fortune – noun: Fate; destiny or luck
 opposition – noun:
 oppression – noun:
 mortality – noun:
 dread – verb:
 resolution – noun:
 antithesis – noun:
 pessimism – noun:
 optimism – noun:
Hamlet Background
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At this point in the play, Hamlet feels that he is in
a crisis. His father died a few months earlier
under mysterious circumstances. Hamlet
discovers that his father was secretly
murdered—by Hamlet's uncle, Claudius. Making
things even worse, Claudius then married
Hamlet's mother. Hamlet doesn't know what to
do about this knowledge. He wonders if he can
trust anyone, or if perhaps he's going crazy.
First Reading
As you first read the text, focus on what
you see as the "big picture" that Hamlet
describes.
 Based on this first reading, would you say
that Hamlet is an optimist or a
pessimist? What evidence do you have
to support your opinion?
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Second Reading – with a
highlighter
Partners: Using a highlighter, mark the
places in the text where Hamlet
describes what it means to be alive.
 Example: In lines 2-3, he describes life as
"the slings and arrows of outrageous
fortune," so you could highlight that phrase
as an example of what Hamlet thinks it
means "to be."
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Share with your Team
Take a look at the parts of the soliloquy that
you highlighted, and compare them with
your teammates’ markings.
Paraphrase
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Choose 3 of your highlighted quotations and
paraphrase them (one from the beginning, one
from the middle, and one from the end).
For the "slings and arrows of outrageous
fortune" example, a paraphrase might sound
something like this: "Hamlet compares being
alive to having destiny shoot arrows at him."
Consider the difference between having Hamlet
say that life is like "the slings and arrows of
outrageous fortune" and having him just say "life
is unpleasant."
What are the effects of Shakespeare's stylistic
choices as a writer?
Reflect
Reflect again on the question asked
earlier: From the evidence in the soliloquy,
does Hamlet seem optimistic or a
pessimistic?
 Imagine you get a chance to meet and talk
with Hamlet. What do you think about
him? What would you say to him? Be
descriptive.
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Rhetorical Appeals
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How does Hamlet's soliloquy use pathos,
or emotional appeals, to create a specific
effect on the reader? Where is pathos
used in the soliloquy?
Rhetorical Appeals
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How does Hamlet's soliloquy use logos, or logic,
to create a specific effect on the reader? Where
is logos used in the soliloquy? (Identify the line
numbers)
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When Hamlet speaks his soliloquy, he is in
crisis. How do his circumstances position Hamlet
to speak with authority (ethos) about the value
of life? Does Hamlet seem to be speaking
about his own life in particular or about the
quality of life in general?