Select 1 striking image and discuss its significance to the whole novel. Prepare 1-3 discussion questions for class.

• Watch the film Some Like it Hot. Write a brief response on the blog continuing to think about how the category of gender is under critique through filmic elements of the comedic; how is the transvestite as a subject/function/signifier being used to interrogate the possibilities (or limits) of identity, and ultimately the performative nature of identity. Draw any relevant connections between the film and 12th Night, but attempt to avoid obvious comparisons. Due by Noon 3/19.

Bring a hardcopy to class, but you may also post here.

Read Twelfth Night.

1. Do a close-reading of the Duke’s opening monologue, discussing how it specifically sets up the tone and themes of the play.
2. Discuss the alternate title of the play, What You Will, as it is relevant to the play as a whole, then point to 1 scene in detail that supports your ideas.
3. Notice how Shakespeare uses different types of language (rhymed verse, blank verse, prose, etc.) to differentiate between characters (ie. serous/comical; nobility/social climbers) or to create other effects (increased solemnity or silliness; poetic effects; song). How does the type of language in 1 scene add to the meaning(s) Shakespeare is attempting to convey?
4. How does the comic relief of drag in Twelfth Night — the comical effect of mistaken identity which produces the error plot — dispel ideas of gender (or other identity categories)? Considering that (gender) identity is a social performance, discuss who has identity in the play? Discuss 1 scene closely.
5. Write down 1 critical question you have about the play, and be prepared to share it in class.

NOTE: All responses must be brief but detailed.

• Write a 1-page single-spaced explication of 1 poem from Week 4, focusing on a specific way in which either a) the body is represented through imagery (if selected from Tuesday), or b) the voice/tone of the poem creates an idea of the body (if selected from Thursday). Post to blog by Noon 3/5. (See Tips for Explications under the 103 tab.)

Write 1 form poem (villanelle, sestina, ghazal, pantoum) inspired by week 3 readings of closed forms, on any theme of choice, and post here. If you’re in need of some thematic direction, focus on the body.

Please post a brief response to 1 poem from this week’s readings. If possible, focus on one aspect of bodily expression as it is represented in the theme and/or form of the poem.

…if you want to share

Please post exercises on 1 sonnet here.

Please post assignment here.

Welcome to Reading Literature…