Hamlet: The Man, The Myth.

Hamlet, Act 1 through a Mythological lens:

Immediately, we see that Shakespeare's Denmark is a land populated by superstitious people - A ghost appears before Bernardo, Fransisco and Marcellus and Horatio, and they comment that the night time is the time for things like witches and goblins, to explain away the ghosts disappearance at the cock's crow. Hamlet is right off the bat participating in a literary tradition of tales in which the dead communicate with the living. The Ghost is an acknowledgement of the mythological climate of Shakespeare’s era.

As for young Hamlet himself, he is a reflection of a Campbellian hero, in that he is tasked with a quest (revenge) by a father figure (ghost of his father) in a way indicating magical gravity (he’s a flipping ghost) that he must complete to bring order to the world. Or so he thinks.

A few other archetypes are also filled, though it should be recognized that many of our current day archetypes were crafted by Shakespeare himself. Polonius is another father figure, but of a different variety - he’s the one just FILLED with wisdom, who can’t keep himself from bestowing his wise wisdom to his children. They don’t seem too keen on it.

In fact, I imagine that they get this from Polonius a lot - Laertes seemed mighty keen on getting out of there.

All in all, act 1 is in many ways a set up, ramp up kind of act. It introduces the characters and major plot information: This is Hamlet, Claudius, Ophelia, Gertrude, etc. Here’s how they’re all related, and how they feel about that. Now watch Hamlet talk to a ghost.

So far, Hamlet’s relation to mythology seems to be one of open acknowledgement.

In other words, ‘There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy!’

What Is Literature?

I chose to define literature as the following:

Literature - Any form of written storytelling

So let me walk through my thinking here. In much the same way that art can only be defined as whatever the artist says it is (I.E. Picasso and the esteemed R. Mutt), literature must be defined in the broadest terms possible.

Art - In the broadest terms possible.

However, unlike art, literature has a couple bounding factors.

In its simplest form, this definition has two elements: written and storytelling.

I will start with storytelling because it is a meaningful word to me. Storytelling is an incredibly important part of human life and society. Children are taught lessons through stories and as a society we crave good stories in one form or another. For some that craving is satiated through film and television, for others through theater, and for many it is through comic books and novels.

In my mind, literature is by default fictional, or at least told with a fictional flair. The sometimes dry tone of most nonfiction work, even when dealing with historical subjects, excludes it from the distinction of literature because having a story at the heart of a work does not mean that story is being told.

That is by no means a bad thing. Its simply a different style of writing. Literature is, to me, synonymous with storytelling.

However, as mentioned earlier, storytelling comes in many forms, and not all of these mediums inherently belong to the class of literature.

Literature is by nature written. A prime example: Shakespeare. The many plays of Shakespeare take a form that are meant to be performed on stage. Yet, we study their text as literature. In much the same way, any number of novels may be considered literature where their stage or screen adaptations would not.

While the oral, and later visual, traditions have a place in the larger art of storytelling, literature is the product of taking a story and immortalizing it in print. It is a medium that brings nearly as much from the reader as it does from a writer to create a story, so that no two readings of the same text are exactly the same story. It asks the reader to bring their own flavor of imagination to the prompts of the text.

I choose to adopt a broad definition of this word because I have great respect for those authors of speculative fiction (I.E. Fantasy, Science Fiction, etc.) whose work may not count as literature in the eyes of professors and critics. Likewise, I consider many comic books and graphic novels to be of more depth than some "classically literary" works. I also believe that the canon is dangerous, as it judges what is truly a literary masterpiece by factors inapplicable to most of humanity, rather than the one factor that applies to everyone: how well the story is told.

And, of course, because how well something is told is completely subjective, it stands to reason that if somebody somewhere can be swept away by a story, then its a story.

So, I submit, perhaps to the chagrin of some, that if someone were to write the words "Johnny walked the dog. The dog ran away. Johnny cried." in ketchup on a napkin, it would count as literature.

Academic Literacy

Do Entering Students Reflect Such Habits of Mind?

bullet summary:

- Students are more diligent now, and less curious.
- students lack vital skills (seeking help, communication, etc.)
- Critical thinking is a crucial skill

Reflection: I believe these are symptoms of the newly competitive nature of the American education system. As colleges become more and more difficult to gain admission to, and a higher bar is set for grades (especially with AP testing and the possibility it grants for the vaunted "4.2 GPA"), a greater emphasis is put on discipline and the objective success it supposedly brings. By making education a game to be won, we have focused the attentions of most students towards becoming better players rather than better learners.

What is meant by "Critical Thinking"?

summary:

- Critical thinking is a set of cognitive habits, which are crucial for all academic disciplines
- Critical thinking ability has declined in recent years
- a 'sound byte' mentality has taken hold. This attitude is not applicable to academic thought.

Reflections: If anything, this proves that education is not restricted to schools alone. It is an ongoing process that takes all outside factors into account in the influence and development of the thought process of any given student. The 'Sound-byte' mentality of our society effects the academic sphere because the academic sphere is much wider than we allow ourselves to believe. In these formative years, the net count of our experiences are our education, not our schooling alone. Schooling is merely a structured method to expose students to one standard set of experiences in addition to the things they experience in the 'real world'. In actuality, the 'real world' experiences will have just as much, if not more, influence on our education as the prescribed 'academic experience' does.

Therefore, if critical thought is divorced from our real-world experiences by society, it may be too much to expect a penchant for said cognitive habits to develop in the classroom alone. If critical thought is not encouraged outside of schools, it stands to reason that it will not thrive within them. The academic sphere and the social sphere are one and the same - one is not separate from the other.