Mr_Shank

Hey guys we did not get to talk about how much we are reading, but read through acts 2 and 3.  That way we will have two for the last post too.

Act II Scene I

A lot occurs during this scene.  It opens with the Katherine and Biance fighting about the suitors and which Bianca likes the most.  After this occurs we are brought to a tavern where all of the people disguised as others are introduced to Baptista.  They present their gifts to him in exchange to see Biance or Katharine.   After Baptista tells Petruchio that Kate comes with a hefty dowry he assures him that he will be able to woo and wed Katherine.  When the two finally meet they wind up in a pretty deep fight that goes back and forth between them with pretty quick and snippy remarks.  At this point their wedding is set to take place on Sunday.  After this the suitors of Bianca talk to Baptista to figure out who will have her hand in marriage.  He pretty much states that whoever has the most money is the one who will marry her, and for that reason she is going to marry Lucentio. Because of the sudden wedding plans forced upon Kate she is not sure how to respond so for some odd reason she just stops talking.  Yet, at the end of the scene she seems to comply with Petruchio.  In this act we truly see that up to this point Kate truly hates men.

Act III Scene I

This Scene is all about Bianca and her suitors trying to court her.  After a little bit she makes it quite clear that she prefers Lucentio to Hortensio.  She does this by deciding to have her latin lesson first, and by dismissing Hortensio on multiple occasions so she can talk longer.  At the very end of the scene Biance goes off to help prepare things for Kates wedding.  We also learn that Hortensio realizes that most likely he has lost his chance with Bianca, but he finds himself able to accept that fact.

Act III Scene II

The wedding day has finally arrived and Petruchio is late.  This causes Kate to become incredibly upset resulting in her running away in tears.  Biondello arrives to announce that Petruchio is in fact on his way.  When he finally does arrive he is dressed in a ridiculus outfit that embarrasses Baptista.  Baptista begs him to change but Petruchio does not listen.

Act III Scene III

The main idea of this scene is that Gremio returns to Tranio and Lucentio by telling them the terrible news of the wedding.  The whole thing was a complete disaster and no Petruchio claims that they have to leave at that moment.  This does not go through well with Kate because she wants to be congratulated by her friends and family, but still Petruchio insists.  Most of the guests just laugh at the pair and continue with the festivities.

Words to know

bondmaid- slave

fair- beautiful

flouts- mocks

Bacare- get back (derived from Latin)

fain- rather

lusty- lively

pate- head

craven- coward

mother wit- natural intelligence

froward- strong willed

meacock- meak

speeding- success

lave- wash

list- listen

ducats- gold coins

cavil- a meaningless object

gamester- a person who gambles

Sire- father

leave- to have permission

Conster- interpret

gamut- the musical scale used during the 11th century

rudesby- rude

jerkin- short jacket worn by males during the time period

begnawn- eaten away

crupper- strap under a horse that keeps the saddle on

halt- limp

unreverent-  not respectable

quaint- cunning or crafty

quaffed- drank

chattels- property

Questions

1.  What do you believe is Petruchio’s reasoning for dressing and acting so strange during the wedding?  Try to support your answer.

2.  Do you think that Baptista/Bianca will go through with the idea of her marrying Lucentio? Why?

3.  Do you believe it is right to marry because of money when it was the most common thing to do during the time or should it be different?  After defending one side, explain why the other view is true too.

4.  What do you think will become of Kate and Petruchio? Be specific.

~Erin Campbell =]

Also I think I did a good job with this post.  It took a long time to do.

Ok, so in Act 3, a lot has happened that we should consider. First of all, Hero is trying with all her might to try to get Beatrice and Benedick together. She is successful in doing so by having a conversation with Ursula and Margaret that is meant for Beatrice to overhear. Beatrice has the same initial reaction as Benedick, she is a bit caught off guard but not at all opposed in giving a romantic relationship a try. They both figure that it wouldn’t hurt to take pity on the other one, an excuse bound to lead somewhere. Don John is busy in this act trying to break up the marriage plans of Hero and Claudio. He is also successful in tricking Claudio into thinking that Hero is truly a whore and that she is not worthy of his love. This is all an awful set up and the wedding in the next scene will not be pretty!

1. How do you guys think Beatrice and Benedick will express their love for each other to each other?

2. How is Claudio going to humiliate Hero at the wedding? And lets be really creative here!

3. Even though it is unknown, any other ideas about why Don John wants to break this relationship up so badly?

4. What is it that makes both Beatrice and Benedick so ‘witty’ and stubborn? How they were raised? And could their interaction with each other have ‘boosted’ their wittiness and in turn their stubbornness?

5. In the world today, how well would the plans and schemes thought up in this play so far work? Would they be successful? Is there anything today in the world that is an equivalent to either of the schemes played out in this act?

~Megan Douglas

Well in this scene we have some sparked relationship between Bianca and Lucentio, and a horrible wedding scene. This section reminds me of… I am a really bad connector, I don’t know what to connect this to. I GOT IT! Kiss me Kate! I knew that it reminded me of something, and i got it, this reminds me of Kiss me Kate. I think that it is based off of this too, isn’t it? Any way, Kate was being a bratt, and the main guy falls in love with her, even though she is supposed to get married to the army guy, but she falls in love with the main guy (matt beres)! But the difference is that in Taming of the Shrew the guy doesn’t have gangsters that come and control Kate. Maybe that is what Petruchio is going to do!

Do you think that this is a pretty good connection? What is it that Petruchio had to do that was so important that they didn’t even get to have their wedding feast?! Jeez Louise. Finally, do you think that Petruchio is going to get gansters to help him tame Kate?

-Abbey (:

First of all, I am so happy Shakespeare decided to show his funny side and write comedies because MAAN is a great play.  I hope everyone is fully understanding and enjoying it as much as I am.

Okay this week I would like to start off by making a connection to the title.   This connection is pretty obvious but ‘Much Ado About Nothing” is directly connected to the story in the fact that these two groups(males & females) are making a big fuss about love and trying to get people together by saying things behind their backs they purposely hear-example-Act 3 Scene 1. 

Another connection I thought about was the comparison of Dogberry and Verges to the 3 Stooges.  Although there are only two in this comic duo, Dogberry and Verges are the ones we laugh a little bit more at in this play.  The two plays off each other and their chemistry is great, Dogberry tears Verges down when he is on the job with him. Moe was always picking on Larry and Curly during an episode of the three stooges and doing funny comical acts that I could expect to see Dogberry and Verges doing in MAAN.

Did you think Dogberry and Verges were funny?

I think they are very funny, like I said before I imagine them like the Three Stooges and can see them doing funny acts.

How do you feel about the whole “behind their backs, but they are suppose to hear” situation?

I actually believe this to be a good idea.  Beatrice and Benedick won’t tell each other their feeling so they might as well find out for themselves, with a little help from their friends.

Rebecca Krick

Ok, so I think we can all agree that this play has become even more dramatic. Lucentio and Hortensio have begun their courtship battle over Bianca and it seems Bianca has taken a liking to Lucentio. Petruchio and Kate have gotten married…but in the most bizarre way.

Bianca and Lucentio seem to have a relationship blooming, but there is one small matter that stands in their way: the lie Tranio pulled to win Bianca from her father. How in the world are they going to pull off someone acting as Lucentio’s father and promising money he doesn’t have to an expecting Baptista?

Now on to the big topic, Kate and Petruchio. Why in the world did Petruchio dress and behave the way he did for his wedding? If this is part of his idea of ‘taming’ Kate, do you think he’s going a little overboard?  Also, when he was late to the ceremony, Kate is crying when she exits. Why is that? She never wanted to marry Petruchio. Shouldn’t she be happy?

Kate and Petruchio or Bianca and Lucentio? After what’s happened in this scene, which couple do you think is going to be happier together?

This is the first post. I am making it up from last week.

Act 1:

As the story begins we have a young man named Orlando who is the youngest son of Sir Rowland De Bois who has passed away and the younger brother of Oliver. In his father’s will he was supposed to be taken care of by Oliver and supposed to have a good education. This is not the case. His brother is neglecting him and treating him like a servant. Orlando finally gets the guts to stand up to Oliver and give him a piece of his mind. When Orlando stands up to his brother he basically tells Oliver to show him the respect that he deserves and that he is as much of his father as Oliver is. Once he gets his point across he leaves the room and Charles enters. Charles is the Duke’s wrestler. Charles came to warn Oliver that Orlando is planning on fighting him and he doesn’t want to hurt Oliver in any way, but if Orlando challenges him he guarantees that he will not be walking by the end of the match. Oliver wants his brother to be hurt in the match.   

Oliver states that Orlando is just jealous of other people, but do you think that Oliver may be jealous of Orlando? If you believe he is jealous of Orlando use proof the story to state your opinion on why you think that. If you do not think he is jealous explain why.

The next scene is of Rosalind and Celia, two cousins who’s fathers hate each other. Rosalind’s father has been banished by Celia’s father. Rosalind is in great grief of her father’s banishment. Rosalind has not been banished because Celia and her are inseparable. Rosalind and Celia are just gossiping when Touchstone a jester comes to give Celia a message. Le Beau enters and starts talking to the ladies about wresting, and how Charles just beat 3 brothers. Next, Duke Fredrick come so talk to the ladies. He tells them about Orlando challenging Charles, and that he would like Rosalind and Celia to try and persuade him not to wrestle Charles. The two ladies can not stop him from fighting. No one thinks that Orlando can beat Charles. The begin the fight and Orlando wins. Rosalind and Celia begin to talk to him after the fight, they complement him and Rosalind gave him a chain. He is all tongue tied and doesn’t say a word.

Who did you think was going to win the fight?

In the third scene Rosalind is confessing her love of Orlando to Celia. While they are talking about Orlando Duke Fredrick (Celia’s father) walks in furious. He Banishes Rosalind. Celia fights with her father over why he is banishing her so suddenly. Celia comes up with a plan to go with Rosalind because they are “one.” They will go to The Forest of Arden where Rosalind’s father is staying. Rosalind will dress up as a man named Ganymede and Celia will be a peasant woman named Aliena. They are going to dress up to aviod thieves and thugs. Celia is going to talk to Touchstone about coming with them.

If you where Celia would you go with Rosalind?

Words to know:

• Banishment- To be expelled by authoritative decree: There is a lot of banishing happening
• Grieve- To mourn: Rosalind who is a main woman figure in the story has spent the whole story so far grieving
• Villain- The bad guy: Everyone is the bad guy from someone’s point of view
• Gentleman- A civilized well educated man: This is what Orlando would like to be treated as
• Wrestling- A sport in which two opponents fight: A popular sport in this book