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During our Hamlet unit, I found that my best approach to showing my true emotions, thoughts, and expression was speaking on stage during class, specifically when I recorded my Hamlet Monologue. My performance of the Hamlet monologue demonstrated a clear strength in emotional delivery and a deep understanding of the character's inner turmoil. For example, during the line "One's shaking of mine arm...” my deliberate pacing, controlled pauses, and heavy breathing effectively conveyed Ophelias' fright and upsettingness, drawing the audience (you) into the character’s conflict. Additionally, my use of varied vocal inflection brought depth to key lines, such as emphasizing the despair in “ He'd raise a sigh so piteous and profound....” which highlighted the weight of Ophelia's confusion. An area for continued growth would be in physical expression and movement. While my vocal delivery was compelling, incorporating more intentional gestures or subtle shifts in posture could further enhance the emotional depth of my performance. For instance, adding a reflective gesture, like looking upward or lowering your head, could have visually complemented Opelia's moments of despair. A helpful strategy I used was practicing in front of my mirror and recording myself, focusing on aligning my physical movements with the emotional beats of the monologue. I kept trying new angles, sound effects, and approaches until it felt right. Overall, my performance showcased a strong grasp of the text’s complexity and emotional state. Refining my physicality would've deepened the impact of your delivery and made my act even more compelling.

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My short works presentation was a project that I felt very connected to, I could talk to the class about something I feel so deeply about and expose them to my knowledge. When constructing my presentation, I thought to myself "How will the audience react to this?" before I wrote anything down. This led to a lot of overthinking as I know many peers have strong emotions and I didn't want anyone to disagree with anything I said. Oral presentations are one of the most effective ways to develop my public speaking efficiency and strengthen the skills that come along with it. I enjoyed receiving feedback which I will apply to my speaking in the future. This assignment shows my clear strength in engaging delivery, particularly through my confident tone and steady pacing, which kept the audience (you) attentive. For example, during my introduction, I established a strong connection with my audience by making direct eye contact and posing a thought-provoking question that set the tone for my presentation. Additionally, my use of hand gestures and varied vocal emphasis effectively highlighted key points, such as when I discussed my emotional text-to-self connection. However, an area for continued growth would be improving the transitions between ideas. For instance, while my explanation of the main argument was clear, the shift to the supporting evidence felt slightly abrupt, which might have caused the audience to momentarily lose focus. To address this, a helpful strategy could involve rehearsing specific phrases that bridge my points, such as “Building on this idea…” or “To illustrate further…” This would have made my presentation feel smoother and more cohesive. In contrast, I think I should have made the slides less wordy as it might have distracted the crowd and tempted me to read off. Overall, I think my delivery demonstrated a solid level of mastery, with strong audience engagement and detailed information, while refining my transitions and organization will elevate my communication skills even further.

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Reflecting on my SOAL journals, I believe I captured several key aspects of the novel, including, elements of style, the immigrant experience, relationships, and unfamiliar words. When our class was introduced to our SOAL journals assignment, I made sure to take specific notes when reading individually and with the class that I thought might be useful. Adding onto that, I jotted down new settings, relationships I thought were bonding or changing, characters' experiences and how they might make the book shift, etc. Taking notes helped me construct my journals because I was able to be super specific and pull out precise details from the text that I took notes from. This helped me manage my time well because I didn't have to go back and look through the chapters as tedious as others did because I had a lot of my information already written out. One strength of my work was analyzing Michael Ondaajite's unique elements of style. For instance, I focused on his usage of vivid, and poetic imagery like when Patrick responds to Clara's emotional distance and rejection by saying "The slap, the blow of scored love, the nails of the other in their rake across his eyes." The physical aspect of "slap" and "blow" creates an intense image of pain. The image of "scored love" enhances the fact it's not just rejection, but it's from someone he loves so deeply. My last example that I think I analyzed well of imagery would be the deconstruction of his eyes, I told the reader that the raking across his eyes implies Patrick's ability to see clearly physically and emotionally. These are all precise examples I pulled out from my journals and I think I did a great job being specific. When analyzing relationships and the immigrant experience, I dug deep into individual characters and their stories, talking about how who you surround yourself with and the events that go on in your life, will shape you. I am proud of my writing in this assignment as I believe I was super specific and my details were clear and effective. For future reference, I should make sure I have everything submitted before handing it in because I realized I didn't scan my personal reflection of the book as part of my assignment which would have added a great overall look at how I perceived and thought of the book.

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Reflecting on my analysis of the "To be or not to be" soliloquy, I think I demonstrated several strengths in interpreting the complexity of Hamlet’s internal conflict and his philosophical musings. One of my key strengths was my ability to break down the line “puzzles the will, and makes us rather bear those ills we have than fly to others that we know not of?” where I explored Hamlet’s fear of the unknown after death and how it contributes to his hesitation and paralysis. I also successfully connected this to the play’s broader themes of inaction and existential uncertainty, emphasizing how Hamlet’s indecision reflects a universal struggle with life’s deeper questions. Additionally, my focus on specific word choices, like “slings and arrows” and “...'tis nobler in the mind to suffer.” helped me highlight Shakespeare’s use of vivid imagery to convey Hamlet’s turmoil. However, there were areas where I could improve. One weakness was my lack of deeper analysis of the setting and the details that come along with it. For example, when I mentioned how the lighting changed the mood, I never explained what the mood was and what it changed to based on the lighting. Another example would be when I was saying how the background music sets a tone; I didn't further elaborate and tell the reader what tone was being set. Adding in those little specific details would have enhanced the reading just that much more, making the reader able to connect and visualize the text better. While I touched on his fear of the afterlife, I didn’t fully explore how Elizabethan religious beliefs, such as the Protestant and Catholic views on death and judgment, might have shaped his hesitation. Another area for improvement is providing more structured transitions between my points to ensure that my analysis flows smoothly and builds a cohesive argument. To strengthen my analysis in the future, I could incorporate more secondary sources to provide critical perspectives on Hamlet’s soliloquy, such as scholarly interpretations of how this moment fits within Renaissance thought. Additionally, I could practice organizing my points more effectively to create a stronger overall structure. Overall, I’m proud of my work and think I successfully captured the emotional and philosophical depth of Hamlet’s soliloquy, but refining these areas would take my analysis to the next level.

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Hamlet (6/11) Movie CLIP - To Be or Not To Be (2000) HD