Class Notes: December 13-January 7

The majority of this time was used to cover "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead" and "Death of a Salesman."  We also covered the "Lecture on Stoppard."

"R & G are Dead"
Theatre of the Absurd: confusing, no real sense of reality, loss of time, characters often forget themselves.

This is a humorous take off of "Hamlet," showing that drama can morph into a comedy.

"DOS"
Much about the American Dream and whether or not it should be pursued.  Father/Son relationships, discovering who you really are - beyond your name - and finding a life for your own are all topics covered.  Some of the main themes I found were:
Children/Childish behavior, dreams, time, death/suicide, ownership/selling, female vs male, forgiveness, confusion, true identity.
Many of these themes such as confusion and time are found in "R & G are Dead," and some of them such as female vs. males and forgiveness were seen throughout "Hamlet."

"Lecture on Stoppard"
This lecture went on for 12 pages to end up saying that there is no true meaning to this play, and that interpretation should be left up to the reader.  There was some valuable information, though, such as Theatre of the Absurd, connections between this and "Hamlet," and "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," as well as horizons of significance.  Due to the length of this lecture, it is very difficult to sum the entire thing up.  For more information, see this link:
http://www.apelit-okemos.spruz.com/downloads.htm?a=&act=get&guid=C78281C1-062B-4F17-8E55-405437731073

For info on the semester exam, see:
http://www.apelit-okemos.spruz.com/downloads.htm?a=&act=get&guid=F8F2E269-D85F-4C34-B9D4-412AD503F185

While annotating "DOS," I found many things that I would not have seen otherwise.  Lesson learned: annotating might be absurdly aggrivating, but it actually turns out being helpful.