Lorenzo, the Play, a review

Here's a short review of the play Lorenzo from the recent Litera Team members.  We have been quiet for a while (6 months and counting) and we found a way to temporarily cut our slumber with this one.  Thanks Ryan.

"Lorenzo" is a rock opera about a Filipino named Laurence, a modern OFW who awaits execution in the Middle East for killing his employer for attempted rape.  In his misery and depression, Laurence finds solace and meaning in the life and martyrdom of Saint Lorenzo Ruiz (patron of overseas workers) and decides to write a play about the saint.  The play-within-a-play unveils the life story of the saint which becomes the channel by which Laurence turns back to God.  "Lorenzo" has many serious and dark moments with amusing and entertaining pop culture references, all the while remaining true blue to the heroic spirit and example of Ruiz.  Aside from a plethora of emotions and intense earworm, the viewer leaves the theater with one question on his head:  Am I too, ready to die, out of love for my God and for my faith?

Should there be a re-staging, go ahead and watch it.

Life as Troubling as King Lear

Can life really be as troubling as how the play, King Lear, presented it?
This is the question raised in one of our major assessments on King Lear. They were given four quotations about the play from the experts and were asked to choose two to support their arguments. These three were chosen as the better responses.
Slightly edited and modified for our readers' convenience.

Infographics

Finally we give you the latest update from the new litera team.

Here are some of their infographics on the middle ages.  It's a really cool way to encapsulate learning.  And students enjoy doing it!

Thanks to the students who submitted these fine works.

 here they combine ideas on feudalism and monarchy

while here they focus on two diseases during the period

Copyright (c) 2012 Litera Team

As long as you acknowledge us, we have no problem with you using the images above.

Romantic Poetry

Here's a Romanticist poem from the previous Litera Team, a paired activity.  Good enough as an initial attempt at serious poetry writing. They were also made to render the images presented in the poem.  Will post the artwork soon.  For now, hope webquestors will find this pleasing to the inward eye.

The Shadows of Life

NG and DQ

Are life and death really that far apart?

One night, you feel so forgotten and lost, 

Fighting those shadows and seeing no cost.

That is how I feel with this broken heart.

Large waves come crashing down creating art.

Sad and abandoned, you begin to frost.

Your heart stops beating, in a silent pause,

battered and beaten, a thunderstorm starts.

Mother Nature's tears pour down on lonely shores.

The sky darkens and amplifies the moon.

Tortured and cheated, it breaks down my core.

There's no hope in life, death is coming soon.

Romanticism and Democracy

Asked the previous litera team:
Is there a connection between the ideals of Romanticism and Democracy?
Here's one of the best responses from Tanph.

Government has always been a major part of the ability of a person to express himself.  An oppressive government would prevent such expression.  However, democracy, a government centered on the expression of the people, facilitates the articulation of one's feelings.  This enables the person to practice Romanticism which is concerned with the natural, free-flowing thought geared towards the ideal.  Democracy facilitates the expression in Romanticism.

Caesar Diaries

I asked the current team to write diary entries assuming a particular character.

They were asked to write an entry dated March 15, 6:00am meaning hours before the assassination of Caesar. 

Here's the output.  I hope other teachers and students wherever they may be may learn from this activity.

This is a borrowed idea and I don't claim that I am the first to implement this in my classroom.

From RT as Caesar

             Calphurnia and her omens have been pestering me all morning. She claims that just because the night watch has seen omens in the sky, Caesar must remain at home. These omens are directed to me as much as they are directed towards anybody else in this world. Comets fall to announce the imminent death of a prince but that doesn’t mean everyone in the world should hide inside their houses out of fear. However, she is convinced that her horrible nightmares are a sign of my death. She claims that she saw a statue of Caesar with holes that poured out blood. As men came to drink from the fountain of blood, they had grins. Such a dream is ambiguous. What does she want me to do? Does she want Caesar to wait for her to have a good dream before leaving the house? Such an excuse not to leave the house would make me the laughing stock of the entire senate.

Calphurnia worries too much. I am Caesar and Caesar has nothing to fear. Even fear itself cowers before Caesar. All the things that threaten me only lurk behind me because they fear me. When they see Caesar’s face they vanish. Even if I must die, all men are destined to die. Death will come whenever it wants to but Caesar knows this is a test. The gods test my bravery to see if Caesar is worthy of the crown. If I remain in the house because of these fears, I will be nothing but a heartless animal. Caesar is not a heartless animal. I am the eldest and strongest of lions and I will prove to the gods that my bravery is absolute.

I will go to the senate today and show Rome that Caesar fears nothing. I will show Calphurnia that all her dreams are just figments of her imagination. I think I hear Decius at my door. Let me talk to him about the senate. I have a feeling that they will crown Caesar king of Rome and I will not let these inexistent threats prevent my rise.

  

From SA as Brutus

In light of upcoming events, I have opted not to disclose to my wife my plans for the defense of Rome from the powers brewing within her. However, I cannot bear to keep anything from her, especially not this, which has very well consumed me. So this entry is for you, Portia, may it not be my last.

I had a dream last night - or perhaps it was a nightmare. Caesar had returned to Rome with the blood of Pompey forming puddles in his footsteps. The beloved city rejoiced in his arrival, as if upon his shields he bore the head of Hannibal and not that of an honorable man. Hundreds of Romans spilled into the streets, dogging the man and his lackeys, that pleasure-seeking Antony, chanting his name.

To this, however, I bore no qualms – I too loved Caesar to some extent. But the man is ambitious. He is a lion lurking in plain sight. Are we to reward his lust for power and feed his insatiable appetite? Or are we to crush the serpent egg before it hatches? Many of the people of Rome want his head anointed and crowned, whereas I would sooner prefer it on a silver platter.

I’d hate to have to resort to such morbid means, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Rome’s sons and daughters need a savior – a man to liberate them from the terrors Caesar would bring down upon our city. Cassius and the rest agree with me that it is for the betterment of Rome that the lion is slain.

Portia, as you read this, I will already be in the Senate with my fellow vanguards of democracy, purging the land of the plague that is Caesar. Rome’s sons and daughters need a savior - a man to liberate them - and on my honor, I am to be that man.

From PC as Cassius

            Finally, the day has come! I’m going to get to kill Julius Caesar! I should be careful though…Brutus still shows a bit of hesitation. I’m not sure if he’s as 100% on this as the rest of us. I don’t understand! Those forged letters I sent him were flawless! I need Brutus to make this crime look just. We must look like heroes, not criminals.

            Okay…So Brutus wants to destroy Caesar but doesn’t want to kill him. He wants us to look like purgers rather than murderers. Aha! I sense a bit of pride in Brutus! I recall him saying he himself was honorable! Thanks to myself, he ignored the authenticity of those letters I sent. Now that he is in with us on this, I must control my excitement! I can’t let anyone else know about this great plan. They call me an oppurtunist…ha! I call them stupid! I am fed up with this stupid man’s “godliness” in the eyes of the Romans! Caesar has become too powerful. Soon enough he will be drowning in the lake of his own power. A Megalomaniac. I’m doing this for the sake of Rome. Down with Caesar! 

Once again, I thank the students for their contributions.

Renaissance Graphic Organizers

Here are new graphic organizers from the current Litera Team, this time about the Renaissance. Click the images for a better view.

from Ryan and Jerome

from Jose

 from Raffy

and Emil and Riggs

Leave a comment if you plan to use this or acknowledge it (from http://well-lit-place.blogspot.com/).


Thanks to the contributors for making us learn from you.

oedipus: victim of fate?

This same question is raised in classrooms that take up this subject all over the world. And for certain, responses are available in the web. Here's one from my current Litera Team.

I believe that Oedipus was fated from the very beginning of the story to suffer in tragedy, and he was used as a puppet of the gods to portray what Greeks shouldn’t do. I would also like to think that his actions/ attitude alone merited such punishment because he thought highly of himself. We can see this vanity and high self-evaluation in the line: “It is I, you know me, the world knows my fame. I am Oedipus.” Another instance is when he said: “Why is it that you pray to the gods? I will be the one to solve your problems”. In Greek literature, the gods are of higher ranking compared to men, and because Oedipus knows and proclaims that he can solve the riddles instead of turning to the gods, he is proclaiming in a way that he is better than the gods. His anger and high-rating of himself merited his downfall, but despite all of this he would have suffered the same fate anyway, because for the Greeks: No one escapes fate.



To Ryan, thank you for writing and sending to me. The others didn't bother. :)

Autobiographical Essay continued

Here's the second installment of the Autobiographical Essay excerpts...

It was already dark when my mother arrived. I underwent an X-ray and a CT scan at her request. Tired and weak, I needed to use a wheelchair to go from one room to another. Later on, I learned that one of the passengers had a spine injury while two passengers were rushed to a nearer hospital due to more serious injuries. It was already 11 P.M when I was discharged from the hospital. From the ambulance up to that moment, I was secretly crying, amazed with the second life I received from God. from ML 

Even now I still think about how much computer games ruined my life. If only I knew how to balance my time then, the result should have been better and if only I fought my laziness and put my studies as my top priority during those times it would have turned out the other way around. Honestly speaking this event did not really change my life. Afterwards my grades got even worse because I figured that I got used to grades in line of 7s.I think it’s already too late for me and I don’t want others to end up like me so I hope someone will learn from my experience. from JP

I wanted to answer the question, just like any student being called to recite avoiding humiliation but my mind seemed empty.

“1+1???”, the teacher repeated, but this time, in a much irritating sound comparable to a can scratching a rough floor.

But I didn’t know how to answer it. It seemed that the numbers written on the board were missing, so how can I look for it? To save myself from further humiliation, or to lessen it, at least, I made an educated guess.

“Maam, 1+1 is equal to…”, I said with suspense.

“Is equal to???”, the teacher asked excitedly.

“Is equal to…9! 1+1 is equal to 9!” I replied with excitement.

That feeling of excitement faded away easily when I realized that everybody was laughing, even my teacher. - from BB

Once again, my gratitude goes with the students who supplied these superb anecdotes. I wish them luck.

Autobiographical Essay

One of the latest outputs from the litera team is an autobiographical essay or narrative. It is chosen as the first exercise because it makes the writer share an experience. We all have stories to tell and it's best to start formal studies in writing with a familiar experience. Many writing classes make the usual attempts by asking students to write about an unforgettable experience or a memorable summer vacation. While these are usual prompts in writing, there may be other ways or strategies to make a student-writer plan what will be shared. The key is in the coaching.

The following excerpts are from outputs that took three to four drafts. While they can still be further improved, they are chosen for their unique merits.

Here's the first installment.

Finally, an event happened that made me feel that I really had a singing talent. When I was in Second Grade my teachers told us to sing any song, either in pairs, group or solo. My friend and I decided to sing together. When we finally ended singing, I was called by our teacher in Music. He asked me to join in a program of our school to sing “Beauty and the Beast” with my classmate. At first I didn’t feel like participating in that program because I had that shame and fear of singing in a huge crowd, something I still possess until now. When the final moment came, I felt really pressured, but when I sang the song I felt really relieved and happy because the crowd cheered for me. At first I thought that they were cheering because of my costume as a beast, but after singing our teachers applauded us and said we were really good singers. That was my first performance on stage, and it encouraged me to perform in more programs in school. by EJ

* * *

Days have gone so fast. We need to accept that he is gone. We need to let him fly above the sky, he is now with God in heaven but the memories he made for us were the memories we will never forget. Until now, I haven't forgotten my grandfather because he helped me know more about myself. He taught me to open my mind and heart to the things around me by teaching me to appreciate the achievements even the loses. I should appreciate them because I did my very best. by Jeff

Graphic Organizers

Here are some Graphic Organizers from the present Litera Team. These organizers are about the Middle Ages and the genius of the period, Dante Alighieri.

Thanks to RB, AO, GdlC, and CE.

Click on the images for a bigger and better view.






While we willingly share these works, it would be better if you cite the source.

Thanks!

Dead Star Themes

on Dead Stars by Paz Marquez Benitez

Finally, here they come

from Rombawa

The short story “Dead Stars” by Paz Marquez Benitez is conveying the theme that pertains to forbidden love. It says that forbidden love is only apparent, and its banes haunt the person until such time that he realizes his faults. It is clear in this story, where Alfredo and Julia’s forbidden love has caused Alfredo such remorse for eight years in his marriage with Esperanza. It all seemed so good for him at the beginning, but it brought conflict later on, when Esperanza notices the placidity of Alfredo’s affection for her. This led to an argument that nearly separated the engaged couple. When Julia left, it left Alfredo with the thought of what could have been. Even after eight years in his marriage, he still wanted to know what could have happened if Julia were his wife. When the time came that they met, Alfredo felt hopeful that Julia still feels the same way that he does. Alas, the love is gone, and all that he felt in the last eight years, that feeling that he always tried to suppress, is just illusionary. Their illicit love was like a dead star, extinguished in the abyss of the universe, but still in sight for man to be fooled.

from Raf

Reading Paz Marquez Benitez’s Dead Stars for the first time made me think that the theme of the short story is just about love. This was my initial idea because I saw that the plot revolved around a love story. Aside from this, the main conflict was caused by love. However, after re-reading the text many times, I was wrong in my early conclusion. Actually aside from love, the short story also reflects the painful consequences of making the wrong decisions in life. It tells us that hasty and wrong decisions can lead to regrets and disappointments. The first reason for this is that the story began and ended with Alfredo regretting his actions. The second is that throughout the story, Alfredo kept on identifying his rash decisions as the cause of his disappointments.

and from JP

The theme of the story ‘Dead Stars’ is that, temporal happiness or pleasure is not authentic. In the long run, it could even result to pain, suffering and loneliness. In the story, Alfredo Salazar experienced happiness in a wrong way that’s why this happiness is deemed as pleasure. Despite the fact that he was engaged with Esperanza, the woman he shall marry, he still enjoyed the company of another woman named Julia Salas. This was proven many times in the story when Alfredo was with Julia, they tell each other things which did not suit their relationship. There was even an instance that Alfredo said, “I will not go, of course, until you are there.” The happiness they felt with each other was romantic. Unfortunately, this happiness was not long-lasting because it was forbidden. They did not end up being with each other. In the end, Alfredo’s hopes were torn apart as he proved that Julia was not really destined for him. This spells the theme of the story as Alfredo eventually felt immense sadness which is considered his suffering.

Stars not yet Dead

What's a possible theme for "Dead Stars" by Paz Marquez Benitez?

Here's one who bothered to send me his response to the writing exercise.

Thanks Dene. Hope the others will follow suit even if they are looking forward to other endeavors.

Life waits for no one; we must not go unhurried. We are sometimes given choices which we must grab at once; for if these are lost, it may be too late and we may be unable to choose. Alfredo was always unhurried, too unhurried, and because of this he was unable to choose between his heart and his mind. Life waits for no one; even youth will blemish and vanish with all its radiance if we make delays. We can live life to the fullest but we must not forget that there will come a time when we shall move on. Life has different phases which will progress and will not wait for us, especially if we move at a slow pace. There is no place in this world where faded gardens bloom again, and where live on in unchanging freshness, the clear, dead loves of vanished youth. For in this world, even the brightest stars in heaven do not last forever, for there will be a time when even these stars will lose their luster and cease to shine.

Reader Response

Students were tasked to write a possible blurb--a sentence that captures their thoughts and feelings on Dante's Inferno.

While admittedly some of them are personally favorites, I decided to include all of their answers in this post. May the next students to study Inferno gain inspiration from Dante; may they also gather some from the following responses to the 700-year old masterpiece.


It appeals to one’s intellectual and spiritual understanding. – A.A.
Magnificent detailed literature that captures the true essence of artistry. – JV
Anguish unwaveringly expressed resulted in this fierce yet apt disdain of man’s sins. - DO
Superb! The Inferno is one of the most interesting books that I’ve read; Dante’s description of Hell sends shivers down my spine. – D.DC.
Inferno gives the readers the idea of perfection at its best. Y.B.
Inferno is a great literary work because of the graphical content that tickles the imagination of its readers for the purpose of showing everyone an amazing representation of the sins and its punishments. - L.B.
The allegory of sins in Dante’s Inferno as a symbolism makes it a great literary work. - K.B.
A great book that contains ‘Dulce et Utile’ and out of this world images that captures the imagination of the readers-M.D.
The Inferno finds its strength in the combination of Greek and Roman culture namely mythology and religion by creating vivid descriptions. – R.C.
Inferno is a literary work that describes how each person is being judged as a consequence of their bad deeds in a form of punishment. J.C
The strength of Dante’s Inferno is its relation to the supernatural aspect of man making his work great. – I.D.
Freaks me out of my Imagination! – G.D.
Dante’s Inferno showed the image of hell by the sins of man and the corresponding punishments for it, giving us the lesson that while we are here on earth we should always follow the way directed to God. - K.E.
Inferno, Dante’s great literary work, is an instrument to show the different kinds of sin done one earth and what punishment would bear on hell. – K.G.
It is beyond Perfection! The imagery and symbolism are magnificent. - J.I.
Dante’s symbolic retribution is simply staggering... he's a genius, more like our modern Dan Brown got ideas from this being- L.J.
Dante’s Inferno viewed Christian issues regarding Heaven, Hell, and freewill and with his vivid artwork  only shows the reality that Literature is indeed a work of one’s heart and mind that is close to Christian values. – B.I.
I can feel the pain of the sinners in their punishment because of symbolic retribution and the personalities; also the monsters give Inferno a far better meaning that will surely make the readers believe in hell. - J.L.
Dante’s Inferno survived history because it gives its readers a glimpse of imagination. It's unbelievably good that the Inferno was able to give a part of theology as well as in politics, mythology, and science in a compact literature. – I.M.
Dante was successful to keep his readers interest to finish the book, through the images the he described and the parallelism of the punishment to the sins of the damned souls. – C.M.
Can you imagine Dante’s effort to create a whole new world and describe it even though he has never been there before? – M.S.
For me, a good literary work would make its readers feel what the author wants them to feel and that’s what Dante’s Inferno does. – C.F.
The Inferno will be loved by people of all places and generations. – J.M.
The symbolisms of how the sins are punished, makes the Inferno a very great literary work. - R.T.
Dante’s Inferno has the best mix of emotions, pity for the damned, sorrow of the punished, and the comedy which is entailed in the punishments. – E.U.
The universality of Dante’s Inferno has made the literary work close to the minds and hearts of its readers. - R.M.
The wordsmith’s voice echoed through the circles in hell, the sound is that of Religion and Mythology fused and harmonized, the result, a vivid masterpiece. - K.M.
Dante’s Inferno is a great literary work that captures the passion for the people to read it because it contains ideas which are spiritual and somewhat fantastical. – J.M.
The Inferno is the best literary piece that merges pain and vivid descriptions for the brave readers. - J.P.
Hell caught on video. No HDTV beats the surmounting frights of Dante. - A.R.
It is fantastical and yet so true in the eyes. - L.F.
The strong, vivid image of allegory and the message it partakes makes it truly a "Dulce et Utile"-F.G.
I never thought that words could contain so much blood, guts and gore.-T.C.
Dante's vivid depiction of the punishments using known human sufferings will make the readers part of Dante's journey through Hell.-E.S.
The very clear and precise portrayal of the horrifying supernatural place shows how great a mind Dante has." – J.G.
Dante’s choice of punishments, in itself, already says a lot about life and hell. – S.A.
Dante’s best attempt to portray the supernatural world of hell resulted to a very incomparable journey one could barely imagine. – D.G.
Dante captures the image of man’s darkest secrets. – A.A.
The immortal death that Dante perfected is the immortality itself of the Inferno. – N.S.
The Inferno of Dante Alighieri shows the artistic, horrifying, and painful sufferings that touches the divinity of God. – J.A.
A magnificent book that creates images it wants to show before the very eyes of the readers. – J.B.
In terms of logic and imagination, Dante is at his best – J.R.
Not all beautiful things are pleasant to one’s eyes- Circles in Dante’s Inferno – N.O.
As they sinned so are they punished: Masterpiece! – JPS
Timeless: Dante’s Inferno instills fear and realization in beautiful allegory to people of all ages and generations. – G.A.
One of the strengths I see in Dante’s Inferno is that it gives man the full vision on what’s hell going to look like together with all the sins and possible punishment. - R.A.
Superb! The brilliance of Dante really made the Inferno an extraordinary literary work. - J.A.

Harmony in Beauty Essays

The following excerpts are taken from student output. Following the belief that writing is a process (NCTE), the students went through several stages. First, students wrote a short reflection followed by sharing of ideas with a writing partner. In between the stages of writing were discussions on Horace's Art of Poetry specifically the ideas of dulce et utile, some Odes of Horace, and the Beatles's song "Across the Universe" including a listening exercise. The students exchanged first drafts of the Harmony in Beauty essays with their partners and focused on identifying weak and strong sentences. The teacher then edited the second draft.

The final published/printed essays were graded following a ten-point scale; most of the works merited 8's, 9's, and 10's due to the noticeable improvements in writing. While still in the rough, the following samples are noted for the writers' emerging style and voice. I marvel at what these high school students have accomplished.

Since life is beautiful, there is harmony not only in beauty but also in life. This is about the harmony between sorrow and joy. Looking at the opposite meaning of a word helps to the better understanding of a concept. Having to experience sorrow means to experience happiness also. This is the reality of life. “No pain, no gain”, “Peace in war”, “Pools of sorrow waves of joy”, all of these mean that. In the midst of bad events, there always come good happenings as well. One needs to be open-minded to see both sides of the coin. People should learn to be thankful not only when they are joyful but also in times of difficulties and trials, aware of the reality that these are the means in attaining a meaningful life, a life that is beautiful.
- Simon

Intimidation is an additional obstacle which is attached to the difficulty of interpreting poems. It is an additional obstacle because it clouds the intellect and it prevents a person from understanding the core meaning of a poem. Because of the hindrance which it poses, I think that people should first work on how to fight intimidation before they analyze a poem. If additional obstacles are removed out of the way, then it would be easier to analyze a poem. If this is the case, then what are the ways in order to fight intimidation? After last week’s discussion in our Literature class, I realized that in order to fight intimidation, we should first know what makes the poem beautiful because understanding the beauty decreases the pressure and diminishes the difficulty of analyzing the poem. As the pressure decreases, the intimidation also fades away and the harmony between the context of the poem and the interpretation follows. Maybe I should try this technique in the near future so that I could test its effectiveness and share it to my classmates.
- Rafael

The beauty of a poem may be shown in different ways. A poem may contain different types of figurative language which could make it sound more pleasing. A poem may also convey a message which could contribute to its beauty. In each of these ways, a poem can be considered beautiful. In the beauty that each poem shows, harmony can be expressed. It might be harmony in terms of how the poem may become pleasing to the ears or it might be harmony with reality. The reality that life would be filled with problems is part of the message conveyed by the poems. It conforms to a reality of life which should be accepted. Through the acceptance of this reality, a person may live beautifully by being tranquil and living in harmony whatever he may encounter in life.
- Dene