Ophelia

Engelsk Vg1, Engelskspråklig litteratur og kultur, Samfunnsfaglig engelsk

Kompetansemål: Engelsk Vg1

Kommunikasjon 

  • forstå og bruke et bredt generelt ordforråd og et faglig ordforråd knyttet til eget utdanningsprogram
  • forstå muntlige og skriftlige framstillinger om allmenne emner og om faglige emner knyttet til eget utdanningsprogram
  • uttrykke seg skriftlig og muntlig på en nyansert og presis måte, med flyt og sammenheng

Kultur, samfunn og litteratur

  • drøfte sosiale og kulturelle forhold, samfunnsforhold og verdier i flere engelskspråklige land

Kompetansemål: Engelskspråklig litteratur og kultur

Kommunikasjon

  • bruke et rikt, nyansert og presist ordforråd til å kommunisere om litteratur og kultur
  • bruke hensiktsmessig og situasjonstilpasset språk i muntlige og skriftlige sjangrer
  • oppsummere, kommentere og diskutere ulike synspunkter i skjønnlitterære tekster
  • produsere tekster i ulike sjangrer med klart innhold, hensiktsmessig stil, god struktur og presis språkbruk

Kultur, samfunn og litteratur

  • tolke et representativt utvalg av tekster fra litteraturhistoriske epoker i den engelskspråklige litteraturen, fra renessansen og fram til vår tid
  • analysere og vurdere en film og et utvalg av andre kunstneriske uttrykksformer innen engelskspråklig kultur

Kompetansemål: Samfunnsfaglig engelsk

Kommunikasjon

  • bruke et rikt og nyansert ordforråd til å kommunisere om samfunnsfaglige emner
  • bruke hensiktsmessig og situasjonstilpasset språk i ulike muntlige og skriftlige sjangrer
  • produsere tekster i ulike sjangrer med klart innhold, hensiktsmessig stil, god struktur og presis språkbruk

Kultur, samfunn og litteratur 

  • drøfte hvordan sentrale historiske hendelser og prosesser har påvirket utviklingen av det amerikanske og det britiske samfunnet
  • drøfte spørsmål knyttet til sosiale og økonomiske forhold i noen engelskspråklige land

Oppgaver

Oppgaver utarbeidet av Ciara Solheim og Gunnar Renslo ved Persbråten vgs, uke 49, 2010.
Part 1

  1. Look up the following words/expressions:
    ethereal beauty, pale, flora, riverbank, garland, unrequited love, damsel in distress, gaping, motionless, emotionless, melancholy, lucid, frail, innocence, virtue, corruption, chastity, brook, float, weeds, willow, nettles, and daisies.
  2. Describe what you see in the painting using at least 10 of the words in task 1.
    Use words that you had to look up!
  3. Look at Ophelia’s facial expression and the position of her hands in the painting.
    What state of mind is she in?
    Also study the colors used in the painting.
    What kind of mood do they create?
    How does this fit with Ophelia’s state of mind?
    Write down a few key words, then discuss in pairs.
  4. Explain what you think has happened to Ophelia, and why she is lying afloat in the river.
  5. Ophelia is a character in William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet.
    The dialog in this task is an excerpt from the play.
    Read the dialog and answer questions a-c:        Hamlet:  …I did love you once.
    Ophelia: Indeed, my, lord, you made me believe so.
    Hamlet:  You should not have believed me…I loved you not.
    Ophelia: I was the more deceived.
    Hamlet:  Get thee to a nunn’ry, why woulds’t thou be a breeder of sinners?

    1. Explain what Hamlet and Ophelia are talking about.
      What is it that Hamlet wants Ophelia to do?
      Why does he say this?
    2. Do you think that Ophelia’s reaction to Hamlet’s words and her eventual state in the painting might have something to do with what he tells her? Explain.
    3. What might the dialog reveal about her eventual fate in life? Explain.
  6. Read about Ophelia’s role in the link Ophelia. (sist sjekket juni 2011) Then, do tasks a-c.
    1. Describe the ways in which she is treated by her father, brother and love interest, Hamlet.
    2. Explain what you think about the way they treated her.
    3. Can you sympathize with her reaction? Explain why or why not.
      Discuss in pairs.
  7. Some contemporary critics disliked the way Ophelia was painted.
    According to a site dedicated to the painting (sist sjekket juni 2011), one critic wrote:“The open mouth is somewhat gaping and babyish;–the expression is in no way suggestive of her past tale. There is no pathos, no melancholy, no brightening up, and no last lucid interval. If she dies swan-like with a song, there is no sound or melody, no poetry in this strain.”Do you agree with this statement? Or do you side with the modern reviewer who claims that “Ophelia’s expression seems right to us now”?
    Discuss in pairs, then debate in full class.
  8. The model for Ophelia in the painting was Elizabeth Siddell (later to become the wife of member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Mr Dante Gabriel Rosetti, see task 11). Miss Siddell had to lie in a bathtub full of water for extended periods of time while Millais painted her, which caused her to fall ill. This prompted her father to sue Millais for £50 damages.Choose one of the following tasks:
    1. Write Mr. Siddell’s letter of complaint to the painter.
    2. Write a letter from Millais to the Siddells, trying to defend and/or apologize for his actions.
    3. Write a letter from Miss Siddell to her father or to Millais expressing her feelings on the affair.
    4. Form a group of four and write a script. Stage a meeting of the parties where they discuss the issue and try to solve it. One member should act the part of Mr. Siddell, another Miss Siddell, a third John Millais and the last group member should act the part of Miss Siddell’s husband-to-be, Dante Gabriel Rosetti.
      Perform in front of class!

Part 2. Engelskspråklig litteratur og kultur / Samfunnsfaglig engelsk

  1. Read the part of Act IV, Scene VII of Hamlet where Queen Gertrude announces Ophelia’s death to the king and to Ophelia’s brother Laertes. At the Shakespeare-navigators online edition,(sist sjekket juni 2011) the relevant section begins at line 163. You can click the line numbers for notes and explanations.
    1. Write a brief summary of what has happened to Ophelia.
      Note what she’s doing while in the water.
      Then compare it with your neighbor’s version.
    2. Compare the story with the painting.
      How has Millais represented the scene?
      How has he portrayed Ophelia?
      What is she doing?
      What plants from the text do you recognize in the painting?
    3. Do you think Queen Gertrude is telling the truth about Ophelia’s death or is she lying to protect Hamlet?
      Using information you find on the Internet (or the link in task 6), discuss whether or not Ophelia’s death was a suicide or an accident.
    4. In groups of three, act out the scene as written by Shakespeare.
      Although Queen Gertrude does most of the talking here, the actors playing the king and Laertes have to react to what she says using proper body language!
  2. During the Victorian Age flowers were used to express coded messages in order to express feelings otherwise difficult to speak about. Millais painted several types of flowers that symbolize various human experiences and emotions, for instance: violets, pansies, daisies, fritillaries, poppies, loosestrife, forget-me-nots, nettles, willows etc.Go to the link Language of Flowers (sist sjekket juni 2011) and look up their meaning.
    Describe how these flowers might symbolize Ophelia.
  3. The painter John Millais was a Pre-Raphaelite painter and a member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. These artists were in their late teens and early twenties.Go to the following link and answer the questions. Victorian Web: Pre-Raphaelites. (sist sjekket juni 2011)
    Make a PowerPoint-presentation where you show and explain:

    1. Who were the Pre-Raphaelites?
    2. What did they believe in?
    3. Give examles of their paintings.
    4. How is the painting of Ophelia an example of the Pre-Raphaelites’ view of art?
  4. During the Victorian period, Shakespeare’s Ophelia was a popular subject for the Pre-Raphaelites. Themes like the death of a beautiful young woman and women destroyed by love were considered the most poetic of themes.Read the essay The Pre-Raphaelite Women destroyed by Love in all its Forms and Fates in this link (sist sjekket juni 2011) and in your own words answer the following tasks.
    1. In what ways did society during the Victorian period view their women?
    2. How did the Pre-Raphaelites depict their women?
    3. Describe the theme(s) expressed in Ophelia using the information from your reading.
    4. Compare and contrast the answer in 8a) with how women/girls are presented in society today.
  5. Read this article (sist sjekket juni 2011) that compares the Victorian period with modern day Britain.
    1. How were they similar?
    2. What does the article have to say about women’s place in society during the Victorian period?
      What does this reveal about Ophelia?
  6. Ophelia symbolizes the unconventional woman who is not bound by society’s norms of female behavior. Ophelia is naïve, natural, spontaneous, finds love yet, is rejected by her love interest. During the Victorian period, conventional society dismissed the idea that women were capable of sexual desire and therefore, a woman who gave into a man and then was rejected by him, fell victim to society’s extremely prudish judgment. Society would, to a certain extent, even ostracize women from society.Research women’s role in Victorian literature and society.
    Make a presentation.
    Use the Victorian Web (sist sjekket 2011)  for information.

Til læreren

Forkunnskaper: Elevene bør kunne plassere Hamlet av Shakespeare og Viktoriatiden innenfor historisk kontekst.
Part 1. Oppgaver 1-8: Oppgavene besvares av begge trinn
Part 2. Oppgaver 9-14: Utarbeidet til Engelskspråklig litteratur og kultur / Samfunnsfaglig engelsk.
Flere oppgaver overlapper mellom det samfunnsfaglige og det litterære.
Læreren velger selv relevante oppgaver.

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