M. Night Shyamalan & the Raven

For those who enjoyed The Village, you may be interested in checking out the director's official website. It is instructive to note that the icon/symbol M. Night Shyamalan uses on his website is the raven -- taken from Edgar Allan Poe's famous poem "The Raven" (Once upon a midnight dreary...)

Not coincidentally, the first work we'll be reading from Poe next week is "The Raven."

The Village -- A Review

Now that you've seen the movie and had a bit of time to consider its themes, here's a balanced review from The National Review from 2004, at the time The Village was released in theaters. An excerpt:

The Village's greatest strength is a moral core that never devolves into moralistic propaganda.

Shyamalan poses questions about the human response to evil and loss then allows the audience to come its own conclusions. His themes are incredibly relevant to the dilemmas we face today: Should we confront the things that threaten us and try to defeat them, or should we retreat, sacrificing even truth if it is necessary to enjoy a precious, if tenuous, peace? Should we ignore real menaces we can't control in favor of imagined ones we can?

Shyamalan doesn't paint his villagers motivations as right or wrong, and his reticence to make an allegory of his tale may leave some viewers frustrated. But it will also leave them thinking more deeply about the issues than if they were force-fed a lesson. Already, critics are reviewing The Village through their own political lenses, and it is to Shyamalan's credit that both the left and right could make credible arguments that the film falls in their favor. [ read whole review ]

Your thoughts on the movie, its relevance to The Crucible and Irving's stories?

Crucible Test -- Key

For a limited time, I'm making available the answer key for the multiple choice section of the Crucible test in PDF form, so you can check your answers and see which ones you missed (if any).

That PDF is available by clicking here.
[Update: The answer key is now offline.]

At the same time, for something a bit offbeat (and silly), but still related, have a look at this:
The Crucible 3-Minute Cartoon

Or if you'd like to see Giles Correy say, "More weight!"
Giles Corey Death Scene

Tickets for Poe Show -- Sunday, November 1

We'll be having the high-school night out to see the new one-man Poe show at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company on Race St. downtown on Sunday, November 1 at 7:30 p.m. Student tickets are $15 -- a great price! Adult tickets are $20.

You have two options to purchase tickets:

Option One: If you give me your ticket money by this Friday at 11:00 a.m. I'll buy them for you at the Box Office on Friday afternoon.

Option Two: You can purchase your tickets directly by phoning 513.381.BARD or online from the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company's website [here]

So, you want to know: What is a one-man Poe show. Actor Vincent Price was famous for his one-man Poe show presentations. Here are a few links to Price's renditions of Poe's works:

• The Tell-Tale Heart
• The Raven
• The Cask of Amontillado

If you have any questions, you may leave them in the comments box!

The One-Man Poe Show

After we finish The Crucible unit this week -- the end of the first quarter -- we will be taking a break from the Puritanism of 17th century Salem and turning to the American Gothic works of Edgar Allan Poe before we dive into The Scarlet Letter (also set in 17th century Salem). Late October seems to be a suitable time to study the "master of horror and suspense."

In order to supplement the Poe unit I'm going to organize a high-school night out to see the new one-man Poe show at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company on Race St. downtown. I'm looking at Friday, October 30 and Sunday, November 1 as possible dates. The shows are at 7:30 on both days. Student tickets are $15 -- a great price!

Stay tuned for further information on how to obtain tickets. We're inquiring into getting a block of tickets for one of these nights; so, please let me know ASAP if any of you see any obvious scheduling conflicts for one night or the other.