Liz’s Comments (group member since Jan 06, 2016)

Liz’s comments from the Ms. A's Advanced English Book Discussions group.

In Response to Jadyn:

There were many similarities in the movie from the book, but the few differences that were in the movie drastically changed the story line. For instance, Simba witnessing his father's death. It was not in the play and that change changed the story line. Also, in the movie, Simba ran away by himself because he was scared of what others might think about him instead of acting crazy and then being sent away because he had to.

I am not saying that it is not an adaptation, I am just making a statement that one change can change the entire story line.

I believe that The Lion King can bee considered an adaptation of Hamlet. Simba is clearly the main character and resembles Hamlet is terms of the play. Sarabi could be considered Gertrude in the play because she (Sarabi) is Simba's mother and Simba resembles Hamlet.

Along with the story line being the same, there was sibling rivalry between brothers. Scar and Claudius was jealous of Mufasa and Hamlet Sr. They were jealous that they were stuck on the sideline while their brother was liked by everybody and was able to rule a kingdom. The story line was the same because the king was murdered by his brother and then he took over the kingdom.

There were also similar themes between the movie and the play. The theme of revenge was relevant. The theme of revenge was more relevant in the play. The theme (I believe) did not come in until the end when Simba realized that Scar killed his father.

Nichole wrote: "Bridgeth wrote: "Cassidy wrote: "How do you think you did? What is one thing you did well on. Explain why that was. What was a challenge for you in this assignment? Why? Do you think it would be di..."

In Response to Courtney:
I agree with the fact that it takes a lot of memorization and I can tell you, I did the same thing memorizing the lines. Repetition is key to memorization and it was not easy with Shakespeare.

I also agree that it was easy, yet hard at the same time for the people in his time because it was a lot to memorize. I give credit to any and all who try to do this today. It can not be easy.

I feel that I did really well. I had memorized it front to back and back to front, so it was easy to recite. I think that the memorization and presentation was the easiest for me. Being in the play for 4 years, you learn to memorize and the key to memorization is to just repeat and repeat. You just keep doing that until you get it right. Once you got the words down, the emotion and feeling goes with it.

I do not think it would be difficult in Shakespeare's time to preform these plays because it was in their language, but it would be difficult for them to memorize and then preform it. I think that it is harder today to memorize Shakespeare because the language is different and we aren't used to it. After having to do this, I respect those who take the time to memorize Shakespeare's works. It takes a lot to memorize the lines we did and it would be difficult to memorize all of the lines in the play.

I envisioned the speech in a dark room. I thought it was going to be dramatic, but not too dramatic, just to get his point across. I also believed that he was going to by himself. I believe that the Hamlet we are watching best fit the mood of the soliloquy. The first one was very monotone and was too bright. The second one was just weird and had the dramatic effect, but it didn't fit the soliloquy at all.

Aric wrote: "I don't think Shakespeare really wore his plays. I think that he was a real person, but I think William Shakespeare is a pseudonym for somebody else. The education that the real William Shakespeare..."

It is true that he did not have a solid education, but neither did many of the geniuses we have today. They either dropped out of high school or college and look where they are today. You don't have to have a solid education, but it might help.

Jadync4 wrote: "Bridgeth wrote: "Cassidy wrote: "Did William Shakespeare really write the works he is attributed to? What is your opinion? Why does it matter?"

I do not believe that William Shakespeare wrote all ..."

You do not need an education to be a great writer, although it might help. If we question that he even wrote these plays and sonnets, than why are we, as high school students, required to read them every year.

I believe that he did write the plays and should still be given credit for his work. If he had help, he still wrote it. I can see where people are coming from when they say that he did not have enough education. I am not going to say that I do not believe them, but that it is not impossible that, with the education he had, he wrote the works he is credited for. Most of the geniuses we know today either dropped out of high school or college. They did not get the full potential that they could have, but the still are given credit for things we use today. So why can Shakespeare not get the credit he deserves. He may not have been the brightest crayon in the box, but he had an idea. He wrote what he imagined his ideas to be and we are now required to read Shakespeare as a high school student. If we question if he is even the author to these great works, then why are required to read them?