H is for Hamlet

Letter of the Day:  H

H is for Hamlet - my favorite play by William Shakespeare.

Way back in my student teaching days, this movie was released, starring Mel Gibson and Glenn Close.  We taught the play, memorized some of the most famous quotes, and brought 300, or so, high school sophomores to the movie theater.  The production company sent out videos to schools to promote the film and help teach the play.  I can remember watching Gibson work with students.  He held up the script, brushed it with his hands and said something like, the page is cold.  We bring it to life when we act it out.  I think that phrase was the seed that gave me my blog name, Play off the Page.  I want my music, my students, my drama kids, and my words to come alive off the page.

Here are a few quotes from Hamlet.

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

Brevity is the soul of wit.

Neither a borrower nor a lender be.

To thine own self be true.

The lady dost protest too much.

To be, or not to be, that is the question.

Alas, poor Yorick, I knew him.

Get thee to a nunnery! (this to poor Ophelia, Polonius' fragile daughter who had the misfortune to fall in love with the doomed Hamlet)

Good night, sweet Prince, and hosts of angels sing thee to thy rest.

Journaling Prompt:  Do you have a favorite Shakespeare play or quote?  What are your memories of high school English and English teachers? (keep it clean, the ghost of Hamlet is watching)