Old Paper revised (again): verbed.

The chorus plays several parts in the Doctor Faustus. It serves as a story teller—or way to fill in blanks, transition, and give background—and as a warning against following in the character’s footsteps (i.e. the moral of the play). The storytelling role of the chorus occurs in act 4, “when Faustus had with pleasure ta’en the view / of rarest things and royal courts of kings, / he stayed his course and so returned home” (Marlowe 4.1-3). The storytelling transitions the play without breaking flow; it also progresses the story without acting each part out, which would take time. The warning role of the chorus against the actions the main character takes can be seen in the epilogue, “Faustus is gone. Regard his hellish fall, / whose fiendful fortune may exhort the wise only to wonder at unlawful things” (Marlowe Epi.4-6); the warning is against [APPOSITIVE] practicing necromancy (a heaven forbidden art). The storytelling role of the chorus in Doctor Faustus serves to deliver a moral or warning to the audience.

            Foreshadowing and connection to [APPOSITIVE] the audience—the bill payers—are two roles the chorus plays in The  Spanish Tragedy. Different from other plays, the chorus in The Spanish Tragedy consists of [APPOSITIVE] two actors, Don Andrea and Revenge, rather than a group of people. [PAST PARTICIPLE] Angered by his death, Don Andrea’s part is one of concern over the lack of revenge and as a questioner, which connects with the audience’s own concern for the same thing. An example of such concern is when Andrea says, “Awake, Revenge, for thou art ill-advised / to sleep away what thou art warned to watch” (Kyd 3.15.10-11); this creates a connection to the audience, since they are probably wondering why Revenge has not acted. The chorus foreshadows events through the character Revenge, who captures the attention of the audience by allaying their concern. An example of this foreshadowing—a promise of revenge—is when Revenge says, in response to Andrea’s earlier concern, “Content thyself, Andrea. Though I sleep, / Yet is my mood soliciting their souls.” (Kyd 3.15.19-20).

The Spanish Tragedy uses the chorus as a foreshadower and connection to the audience.

            The chorus aids in the action of the play. The chorus’ role as actor moves the action forward, such as its role in Oedipus. The chorus’ role in Doctor Faustus helps move the play along by allowing unnecessary or cumbersome scenes to be left out by simply describing the action. The chorus lays the groundwork for upcoming scenes by providing necessary background.  It also provides a summary of the morals, thereby giving the play a [APPOSITIVE] little more meaning: a purpose. Lastly, its role as foreshadower and link to the audience is demonstrated in The Spanish Tragedy.  Andrea, [ADJECTIVES OUT OF ORDER] concerned and questioning, connects the audience with the play, since the audience feels similar emotions as him. While Revenge, [PRESENT PARTICIPLE] appearing indifferent and unconcerned, provides assurances in a way that would draw the audience deeper into the action of the play. Revenge’s answers would be as if directed to the audience, and it would leave them with expectancy for the promised revenge.

Old Paper (Slightly) Revised!

*Ok, so this is a paper partial--it's not the whole thing, but is three consecutive paragraphs.

In the play Doctor Faustus, the chorus plays a couple parts, it serves as a story teller—or way to fill in blanks, transition, and give background—and as a warning against following in the character’s footsteps (i.e. the moral of the play). An example of the chorus being used as a storyteller is in act 4, “when Faustus had with pleasure ta’en the view / of rarest things and royal courts of kings, / he stayed his course and so returned home” (Marlowe 4.1-3). This storytelling helps to transition the play without breaking flow; it also helps the story progress without having to act everything out. An example of a warning or moral against the actions the main character took is in the epilogue, “Faustus is gone. Regard his hellish fall, / whose fiendful fortune may exhort the wise only to wonder at unlawful things” (Marlowe Epi.4-6); the warning given is against [APPOSITIVE] practicing necromancy: a heaven forbidden art. Doctor Faustus is an example of storytelling and of how a chorus can serve as a way to deliver a moral or warning to the audience.

            Two other roles the chorus can play, such as in the play The Spanish Tragedy, are the parts of a foreshadower or as a connection to [APPOSITIVE] the audience—the bill payers. The chorus in The Spanish Tragedy is different from other plays because the chorus consists of [APPOSITIVE] two actors, Don Andrea and Revenge, rather than a group of people. [PAST PARTICIPLE] Angered by his death, Don Andrea’s part in the chorus seems to be one of concern for the lack of revenge and as a questioner, which provides a connection with the audience’s own concern for the same thing. An example of such concern is when Andrea says, “Awake, Revenge, for thou art ill-advised / to sleep away what thou art warned to watch” (Kyd 3.15.10-11); this helps the audience to relate, since they too are probably wondering why Revenge has not acted. The chorus also foreshadows events through the character Revenge, who also seems to work to capture the attention of the audience by allaying concern. An example of this foreshadowing—a promise of revenge—is when Revenge says, in response to Andrea’s earlier concern, “Content thyself, Andrea. Though I sleep, / Yet is my mood soliciting their souls.” (Kyd 3.15.19-20). The chorus can play the role of a foreshadower and a way to relate to the audience, and The Spanish Tragedy is a good example of this.

            Using the aforementioned examples of the role of the chorus, the chorus seems to help the action in the play. The role of the chorus as an actor in the play helps the plays action move along, such as its role in Oedipus. The chorus’ role in Doctor Faustus also helped to move the play along, it allowed for scenes that would have been unnecessary or cumbersome to be left out by simply describing what happened or was happening. The chorus helped to lay the groundwork for upcoming scenes by providing necessary background for the scene.  It also provided a summary of the morals to take from the play, thereby giving the play a [APPOSITIVE] little more meaning: a purpose. Lastly, its role as a foreshadower and as a way to connect the audience is demonstrated in The Spanish Tragedy.  Andrea, [ADJECTIVES OUT OF ORDER] concerned and questioning, helps to connect the audience with the play, since the audience would be feeling similar emotions. While Revenge, [PRESENT PARTICIPLE] appearing indifferent and unconcerned, provides assurances in a way that would most likely draw the audience deeper into the play. Revenge’s answers would be as if directed to the audience, and it would leave them with expectancy for the promised revenge.

The Dora experience

*sorry for the late posting--first chance I've had to sit down and write it (I didn't get back until Sunday at 7 P.M. and didn't have access to a computer all weekend--the woods tend to limit access).

I didn't really have a hard time understanding the Dora reading, it seemed to make sense to me, even if my expereince was very different. I don't remember ever placing periods between every word. When I did write sentences, it was usually copying them down. But then again, I only attended Kindergarten for about 6 months before my family moved and I began homeschooling. After that I remember focusing on reading in a book called "My First Step," which was about a family with two siblings and their adventures (I continued reading this series of books, which became more advanced as I went from grade to grade). Aside from learning to write words (correct spelling and vocab meaning), I didn't write until later in my eduaction and by then I had a grasp of how a sentence was structured.

What I found interesting and wish there had been more of a discussion on was how closely related family talk and writing were. I've read research on how closely related reading and writing are (and know it from experience), but I've never heard about how tied together talk and writing are beyond knowing that people tend to write like they talk. But I have heard that vocabulary and social interaction are pretty dependent on family. I think it's interesting how the two are related, but I wanted to know more about how they are tied together.

As to what I disagreed with, it would have to be how intense the teacher was in the learning process. I liked how the teacher allowed her students to explore, but the fact that her students were exhausted showed that the level of learning she was requiring was probably a little too high for her students. The point is to stretch what they know, not tear expanding muscles by making them exhausted. I feel the teacher could have eased a little more into their learning process but carrying it out over a slightly longer stretch of time, as well as providing a little more scaffolding to ease on the building tension between what the students know and what they are learning.

Question: Did anyone's learning experience align with Dora's? In what ways?