Dear Ophelia

Considering that both your father and your brother have warned you against the love of this prince, do you not suppose their is reason in their beliefs, that perhaps your feelings for him and his towards you were but a mere aberration? That this is perhaps a harbinger of things to come and that he is disingenuous in his feelings towards you? That maybe he is a master of beguiling young girls such as yourself? I do not wish to stigmatize your affections for him, and perhaps his for you, but you seem rather dogmatic in your assertions that he has made his feelings known to you. Men especially are chronically known for being mercurial in their affections towards women. I understand that you have fervid feelings for him, but cautious optimism is key. My advice would be to quietly inquire about this prince's feelings towards you, and demand nothing but the utmost truth. If his feelings for you are honest, use it to palliate your brother and father. However, if they are not, and you used cautious optimism, you have avoided a potential quagmire and won't be so devastated as to do something like drown yourself.

Midterm strategy

For the vocab midterm, my strategy is to have a list of every vocab word we've used this year, and then try to create a story using only the vocab words. No definitions, no help, nada. Just a list of every vocab word and my brain. However, knowing me, it will probably be irrelevant due to me having chronic bad luck when it comes to definitions in vocab tests.

Hamlet Learning Communities

http://cco.cambridge.org/extract?id=ccol0521064228_CCOL0521064228A001

This is a collection of many criticisms and/or various interpretations/multimedia efforts for Hamlet. Be forewarned, it requires a subscription to access any of its data.

http://thehamletweblog.blogspot.com/

It's a collection of modern adaptions and/or anything Hamlet-related. It has quite an extensive library, to say the least. Plus, it's hosted by Blogger, meaning the transition should be easy for most of us.

http://bloggingshakespeare.com/year-of-shakespeare-hamlet

This is another blog that follows anything Shakespeare related. It also seems very insightful into many things Shakespeare related, including Hamlet. 

Pre-Shakespeare

A) For Hamlet, I know very little. I know that Mel Gibson played the titular role in the movie "Hamlet", and that at the end of the play, everyone else essentially dies. I know for a fact that Hamlet dies due to a poisoned stab wound, but other than that, I got nothing.
B) I know that Shakespeare was a poet who wrote in iambic pentameter. I know that he wrote "A Midsummer's Night Dream", "Hamlet", "Macbeth", "Julius Caesar",  and "Romeo and Juliet". I also know that he married Anne Hathaway and had three children. But that's essentially it.
C) With students, the name Shakespeare brings back memories of a childhood event they try to forget, but can't because it's always brought up. "They remember what they want to forget, but forget what they want to remember." - Cormac McCarthy. Shakespeare is that old man who speaks in a tongue that no longer exists. He constantly reminds you of how great he is, but his work is so archaic it's hard to get behind it. You know he' a legend, but you can't understand why.
D) Perhaps usage of alternate media, and maybe even acting it out might make a big difference between rolling your eyes and actually looking forward to reading "Hamlet".