Piano Lesson Blog by Meshall Kazmi

At first glance, “The Piano Lesson” did not really grip my attention. I was reading a play expecting something more musical. “The Piano Lesson” is essentially a ghost story. One would not expect that by looking at its name or cover. Its key values also represent what drama is all about; although music is a key value, there are other major themes present-- such as Overcoming Death and even Femininity. The physical piano in the play holds much history, much more than just a mere piano. The piano was handcrafted and made by ancestors of one of the main characters.

August Wilson has written two Pulitzer Prize winning plays; “The Piano Lesson” being one, and “Fences” being the other. Wilson’s plays ultimately explore black American life in Pittsburgh throughout the 20^th century.

The Piano Lesson has been redone time and time again, having many theaters around the country doing their own adaptation of the play. The play was also made into a TV Movie produced by Hallmark Hall of Fame. The movie won an Emmy award for “Most Outstanding Made for Television Movie”, and was nominated for several others.

The characters in “The Piano Lesson” are very unique. Berniece constantly mourns for her husband Crawley. Berniece wants to keep the piano, un-played and does not plan on playing the piano either as she feels it is a part of the family’s history to have it. On the other end, her brother Boy Willie wants to sell the piano, to buy the land that their ancestors were enslaved on.

I personally did not expect to like this play much, but I was wrong. It’s a spook story that reminds one of what family heirlooms and property really stand for. For more information on “The Piano Lesson” visit http://www.enotes.com/piano-lesson-wilson-salem/piano-lesson

The Piano Lesson Blog by Sarahi Barajas

I am new to August Wilson’s work, but I do have to say that “The Piano Lesson” is an interesting story with two good different point-of-view. A brother, Boy Willie, and sister, Berniece, are not in good terms, not only because Berniece blames her brother for the death of her husband but also of a valuable item, a piano. Berniece does not want to sell the piano because it has her family generation carved in it and it represents the hard work that her dad went through, while Boy Willie wants to sell it as a vengeance for his father to buy the land where his ancestors worked. “The Piano Lesson” is not only a feud between siblings but about a generation of a family, which is carved in a piano. There is a lesson in this story, which is obvious as the title says it “The Piano LESSON” which, I might be wrong; in my perspective would be that, in order to go on with our lives is not to forget our family history or be traumatized by it, but to accept it and understand it.

http://www.sparknotes.com/drama/piano/characters.html

Hamlet blog by Saira Gomez

Hamlet is a story with an ending in which Shakespeare was very good at portraying dramatically. Overall, Hamlet is difficult to understand, but as you keep reading it, it draws you in to a point where the mystery of knowing what will happen next with Hamlet and Ophelia, his murderous uncle, and his mother and how this story will come to an end. I was not a fan of Hamlet at first, but as I continued to read and watch the movie it became quite interesting and much more clearer. What intrigued me the most was seeing how short of a mourning the queen had for her former king and instantly married the king’s brother Claudius, talk about short grieving! With this Hamlet finds himself disgusted with the fact that his mother married his uncle while he still grieves for his fathers death. As the Ghost appears Hamlet realizes it is his father in which he tells him that Hamlet’s uncle killed him and he should seek revenge, here Shakespeare shows the rising action going into the climax of what will become of Hamlet and how he will seek the revenge for his father. Through it all it makes one interested to know what will happen throughout the story till the end in which Shakespeare surely meant to do. Definitely recommend it. Enjoy!

www.cliffnotes.com/study_guide/literature/hamlet/at-a-glance.html

Hamlet blog by Elsa Perdomo

Aside from considering "Hamlet" one of my ultimate favorite, it can be analyze as a very complex work of literature. Many readers can argue that is a very challenging play to read. Without a doubt the text requires the reader to spend more time exploring the context and analyzing beyond the obvious. Once you spend sufficient time studying the play, many questions will arise within the reading. Hamlet does not just centralize on vengeance as the main topic, we also find grieve, melancholy among other themes. One of the most important subjects was the struggle Hamlet faces when questioning whether it is worth existing or not.

"To be or not to be" is one of the most famous and known lines of "Hamlet". This really emphasizes on the battle Hamlet faces with all his problems. I find "Hamlet" to be an extraordinary piece of literature but it also demands an intensive effort and attention to fully understand. Watching the movie was really helpful in better understanding the play.

For anyone who has never read "Hamlet". I highly recommend it. If complex and entertaining literature is what you like. You won't regret reading “Hamlet”!

http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/literature/hamlet/at-a-glance.html

Piano Lesson Blog Entry by Lisa Piraino

I believe The Piano Lesson by August Wilson was a very good drama. It had revenge, sibiling rivalry, sex, and a dramatic ending. All of these aspects in a drama are what make the play interesting and keep the reader focused, which is important for the play's success. The reader can tell August Wilson planned his characters extremely carefully, due to how the characters interacted with each other. The play is honestly one of the best I have read, mostly because I understood what was going on the whole time. I did not like how the play ended how ever. In the film, it shows the play ending on a happy note, with Berneice and Boy Willie finally getting along and coming to a compromise. Where as in the text, the ending sounded a whole lot more spiteful to me. In the text, Boy Willie says either himself or Sutter will be back for the piano. As he says this, it sounds like he is threatening Berneice, or at least that is the vibe I got from reading it. While in the film, Boy Willie is protrayed as joking when he says it. Two different reactions to the same words is likely to happen between text and film. Overall I really enjoyed this play, I will recommend others read!

Drama and Theatre by Job Shiach

I think plays are the best type of visual entertainment. The difficulty in a play is that there is no room for mistakes, since the audience is live. I was in theatre throughout High School, and the amount of work and time put into every scene is outstanding. One if the most important, and difficult parts of a play is the blocking; blocking determines the movement and position of every character throughout the play. The most exhilarating part of a play, for the actors is the moments of improvisation. That moment when you or another actor messes up, and you have to improvise quick enough to keep the audience unaware of the mistake. Improv is what makes each showing of a play unique. Another difficult aspect of drama is conveying emotions. Unlike movies, plays have no close ups, so it is very difficult to show a person sitting fifty rows back that you are sad by frowning. Commedia dell’arte, a favorite style of mine, is a Italian style of drama which uses masks to convey character and emotion. This will probably be my favorite part of English 1302, although Frankenstein is a close second.