As You Like It LRJ #5

Ryan Readinger

English 10 IB

3/16/09

Ms. Peifer

As You like It LRJ #5

Act Five is probably the most exciting act out of them all, and probably the most active too. Almost all the characters are seen on-stage in this act, and most of them are heard from. The ending is great with everybody finding love in some way or another. Duke Senior doesnt necessarily find love, but he comes across it with his daughter Rosalind and Orlando.

In Act Five, most of the action takes place in the Forest of Arden, where Duke Senior resides as an exile of his brothers court. It takes about half of the act to get to a scene that he is in. In Scene Four, he is talking with Orlando about his upcoming wedding to the Dukes daughter Rosalind.

Duke Senior in Act Five wants his daughter to get married to Orlando. That's pretty much his goal, which would also be the same as Orlando and Rosalind. He achieves this goal by making sure the festivities will go on, and by giving his word to Ganymede that he will give his daughter to be married to Orlando.

Duke Seniors relationships in this act are pretty much the same as they have been for most of the time. His relationship with his brother that hates him doesn't change at all throughout the play, and he stays friendly with almost everybody else. He invites the marriages of the different couples at the end of Act Five, so that makes him a loving and loveable guy.

As You Like It LRJ #4

Ryan Readinger

English 10 IB

3/19/09

Ms. Peifer

As You Like It LRJ #4

As in Act Three, Duke Senior does not appear on-stage in Act Four. He is mentioned about in a scene, but not explicitly. Even though he doesn't appear much on stage, he does have an important role overall in the plot for As You Like It. He is still in the Forest of Arden, enjoying himself as he always does. He doesn't play that key of a role in the mix of things in Act Four, but his existence is important enough for him to be significant throughout the play. He still controls his band of merry men, and in one scene in Act Four, Jaques and other lords are bringing back a deer for the band to eat."Let's present him[the deer] to the/ Duke like a Roman conqueror."(3-4,4.3). That shows that the men are still loyal to him and still pay respect to him. Duke Senior still plays a role of authority even though he is in exile in a strange forest.

As You Like It LRJ #3

Ryan Readinger

English 10 IB

3/16/09

Ms. Peifer

As You Like It LRJ #3

Duke Senior in Act Three does not appear in the text, but he still plays an important role in the plot of the play. Even though you dont hear from him, he still has importance and significance to other characters. Duke Senior is still an outcast from Duke Frederick's, his brother, court. He still presides in the Forest of Arden with his band of merry men, along with other characters that have ventured into the forest as well. He has met with his daughter, but not knowing it was her, and she talked with him.

Duke Senior is in the Forest of Arden enjoying the life of an exile during Act Three. He doesnt really ever move from the Forest, and he enjoys it there so he shouldn't have to. He doesnt ever appear on stage either in Act Three.

Duke Seniors goal in this act is to lay low and have a good time with trustworthy friends. He wants and acheives this in all acts. He doesnt want to cause harm to anybody or cause conflict between anybody, so he pretty much stays on everybodys side for most of the time.

The relastionships with the Duke and other characters remain the same, but also more relationships develop off the stage. Ganymede visits the Duke in the Forest and speaks with him, and, of course, he doesnt realize the Ganymede is actually his daughter, Rosilynde. That relationship remains good and healthy, and she praises his parenting in a sly way. "I met the Duke yesterday and had much/ question with him. He asked me of what parentage, I was. I told him, of as good as he. So he laughed/ and let me go."(33-36, 3.4)

As You Like It LRJ #2

Ryan Readinger

English 10 IB

3/11/09

Ms. Peifer

As You Like It LRJ #2

In Act Two of As You Like It, Duke Senior makes regular appearances and it is easier for the audience to understand his character and his motives and how he develops throughout the play. From Act One to Act Two, there really is no character development in him, I believe because Shakespeare intends for Duke Senior to be the old, wise, mentor figure. His mentality stays the same thoughout the act, with no real change in the way he thihnks or speaks.

As in Act One, Duke Senior is in the Forest Of Arden with his great and jolly companions. He makes appearances throughout the act, and all of the scenes he appears in are set in the forest. He is almost always accompanied by other lords or others of his loyal followers. His positions in the forest will almost undountedly lead to interaction with him and his daughter, whether he will recognize her or not is unknown to the audience. It also shows that Duke Frederick still reigns in his court, and that he still leads the life of an outcast.

For the most part, Duke Senior remains to be the character that is the mentoring figure, and older and much wiser person than say Orlando or some of his Lords. His goal I think is to stay in the Forest Of Arden with his good friends, and remain in exile to keep everybody happy. That is really his overall goal, and it is also his goal throughout the acts. Duke Senior relaxes in exile, which all in all is his goal, so that is what he does to achieve it.

The relationships between Duke Senior and the other characters in the play are mostly good and healthy relationships. The only relationship that is not good and healthy is with all of the people that dislike him or don't trust him in Duke Frederick's court. Duke Senior doesn't really do anything to cure the relationship, but he also doesn't do anything to make it worse.

As You Like It LRJ #1

Ryan Readinger

English 10 IB

3/11/09

Ms Peifer

As You Like It LRJ #1

Duke Senior is the older, wiser, but also more carefree character in the play. He is content with just being with the woods with loyal friends, and he doesn't really seem to be phased by his expulsion from the court by Duke Frederick. He and his counterparts relax in the Forest of Arden, with not really a care in the world, but he still does have things to say to people, using is knowledge to assert his authority.

In Act One, Duke Senior is in the Forest of Arden with his loyal band of merry, merry men. He has already been banished from the court and had his throne usurped, and yet he still is happy in the forest, without a care for the court of his younger brother. This sets up the contest between the two and the implications of that because since Rosalynd is his daughter, Duke Frederick banishes her as well. That is pretty much the basis of the play, so Duke Senior being an outcast is a major part of the plot.

Duke Seniors goal and ambition is unclear in this act since we never hear from him. It is assumed that he is in the forest with his loyal companions, relaxing and having fun in the forest. His motive may be later explained in the play, but in Act One it remains unclear.

Duke Seniors relationships are again not known yet, but it is also assumed he has good relationships with all of his loyal men, but that his relationship with his younger bother, Duke Frederick is not good in the slightest. His relationship with his daughter is also not known, for they have not spoken yet in the play.

Everyman LRJ#1

Ryan Readinger, Alejandro Peltoniemi, Ian Hedstrom, Alex O'Brien

Ms. Peifer

English 10 IB Hour 5

January 29, 2009

The theme of the play is that of ones realization that you can't die with your peers or family, only your deeds follow you into death. In the play, Death is told by God to tell Everyman to go into Death, which is his journey. Everyman then tries to persuade all of his friends to accompany him on his journey, but to no avail. This is where Everyman comes to the realization that nobody will venture into hell with him, except for his friend Dr. Good-Deeds, which symbolizes his deeds, which are the only things that a man can take into death with him.

When Everyman tries to convince Fellowship to come into death with him, at first Fellowship complies with him, but soon after, he rejects Everyman's offer and decides not to. "[Fellowship] Yea, thereto ye would be ready;/ To go to mirth, solace, and play,/ Your mind will sooner apply/ Than to bear me company in my long journey./ [Fellowship] Now, in good faith, I will not that way./ But and thou wilt murder, or any man kill,/ In that I will help thee with a good will." This quote shows Fellowships unwillingness to die with Everyman. He tells Everyman that he will do anything else with him, just not die with him. This was the first of many let downs for Everyman. Everyman is disgruntled that no one will go on his journey with him, only Dr. Good-Deeds will go with him. That thought is the theme of the play.

Inferno Commentary

Ryan Readinger

10 IB English

January 8, 2009

Ms. Peifer

Dante’s Inferno Commentary

“’Your citizens nicknamed me Ciacco, The Hog: / gluttony was my offense and for it/ I lie here rotting like a swollen log. / Nor am I lost in this alone; all these/ you see about you in this painful death/ have wallowed in the same indecencies.’/ I [Dante] answered him: ‘Ciacco, your agony/ weighs on my heart and calls my soul to tears; / but tell me, if you can, what is to be/ for the citizens of that divided state, / and whether there are honest among them, / and for what reasons we are torn by hate.’” (Dante, 49-60 in Canto 6)
This passage is very important to the overall story of Dante’s venture into hell. When Dante talks to Ciacco, this is really his first view and understanding of how bad Hell really was to the people being punished in it. Dante gets that idea and feeling when he sees the misery of Ciacco and the others. When Dante engages Ciacco in conversation, Ciacco tells him that everybody on his level of hell endures the same pain as him, and that they all committed the same felony. Dante’s mistake, though, is his pity for Ciacco and the rest of those being punished “‘Ciacco, your agony/ weighs on my heart and calls my soul to tears’”(Dante, 56-57). He is later scolded for his pity by Virgil, and that’s what makes Dante have no pity for the rest of the doomed in Hell.
The language used in this excerpt makes the passage more in-depth and quite detailed. Dante uses more complex words to brighten, or darken in some cases, a sentence of phrase. He scatters these words thought the passage, using them to describe the situation or thing in greater detail. The way Dante constructs this diolouge throughout the story is quite interesting. Though not mostly in this passage, Dante uses phrases such as “ and I to him” and “and he to me”, but he does start to uses these in this passage. When Dante is asking his question to Ciacco, “’but tell me, if you can, what is to be/ for the citizens of that divided state, / and whether there are honest among them, / and for what reasons we are torn by hate.’”(Dante, 57-60) Dante makes you think about the question by not clearly defining what his asking. Though Ciacco knows exactly what he is querying about, the reader must think back to history and find out when the city from which both Dante and Ciacco came was fighting. It is a smart use of allusion.
The overall impact of this passage on the rest of the story is big because of the pity that Dante shows Ciacco and the scolding he shortly received after wards by Virgil.