In-Class Assignment For 6 May 2008

OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN
In-Class Assignment for 6 May 2008

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Lyricist Oscar Hammerstein joined with composer Richard Rodgers to write more legendary musicals than any other partnership in modern musical history. Together they created Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, Flower Drum Song, The Sound of Music, State Fair, Cinderella, and The King and I, which included dozens of classic songs that dominated American radio for decades until Rock took over the airwaves.
    On March 15, 1958, Hammerstein was interviewed by Mike Wallace for Mike Wallace's television show. Click on Hammerstein's picture (right), listen to this interview and prepare questions for your classmates on Tuesday about issues discussed in the interview. (Be sure you have enough questions.) Your classmates in turn should be prepared to answer these questions.
    Each student will address her questions to just one student (not the whole class). In sum, all students should be prepared both to ask and answer questions about this interview next week. Below is a vocabulary used in the interview.
    To view the interview, go here.

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Here are some classic
Rodgers and Hammerstein songs:

You'll Never Walk Alone
If I Loved You
The Sound of Music
My Favorite Things
Some Enchanted Evening
Shall We Dance

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VOCABULARY

commentaries
    "The web site has brief commentaries on all of Shakespeare's plays."

convictions
    "She has no convictions and follows whoever is her boyfriend of the moment."

sentiment
 "He has little room for sentiment when it comes to his business practices."

sophistication
    "He has no sophistication and prefers comic books to poetry."

sentimental
 "She's sentimental about holidays."

vivid
    "He has a vivid imagination and always fears the worst."

successful
    "Emily's not very successful at socializing."

possessed of
    "He's possessed of a bad temper."

vague
    "His symptoms were vague and the doctor couldn't diagnose him."

humanitarian
    "Mike had humanitarian concerns for the poor and homeless."

fervor
    "She had a fervor for ballroom dancing."

credo
    "Her only credo was to enjoy life."

in contradistinction to
    "Mozart, in contradistinction to Beethoven, considered himself mainly an opera composer."

sophisticate
    "She was a great sophisticate who quoted French, Italian, and German poets with ease."

smash-ups
    "She had several smash-ups in her automobile due to her heavy drinking."

fundamental
    "She ignored the fundamental rule of romance, which is never to say you love him before he says it first."

poseur
    "He was a poseur and pretended to love the opera when it really bored him to death."

infatuated
    "She was infatuated with her next-door neighbor and spent the whole day at the mailboxes hoping to meet him when he picked up his mail."

forfeited
    "He forfeited the award when the judges found out he had studied music at a college for two years."
   
civilized
    "He considered good manners part of civilized behavior."

virtue
    "Her one virtue was she kept her mouth shut."

mature wit
    "She had a mature wit, using a lot of puns."

urban
    "Urban congestion is the bane of modern city life because few people like to walk."

ironic
    "It was ironic that she was caught cheating after she gave a speech condemning cheating among students."

witty
sound critic
    "He's a sound critic of the movies but isn't very perceptive about the theatre."

glitter
    "Her jewelry glittered at the party."

capsulize
    "The floods capulized problems with the central government."

preamble
    "Before she admitted failing her exam, she gave her parents a long preamble about the difficulties of being a student."

incidental
    "Grieg wrote famous incidental music for Ibsen's play, Peer Gynt."

motive
    "Her motive for breaking up with her boyfriend was unclear."

arresting
    "She had an arresting profile that made many men look at her."

race prejudice
    "Race prejudice caused a lot of problems in the American South up until recently."

Polynesian
    "He vacationed on one of the Polynesian islands."

prejudice
    "She's prejudiced against some people."

Marine
    "My boyfriend joined the Marines after high school."

Tonkanese
    "I did research about the Tonkanese."

concludes
    "The biographer concludes that the American write, Edgar Allan Poe, was insane near the end of his life."

miscegenation
    "Due to miscegenation laws in the South, in the 1950s interracial marriages were impossible."

Inter-marriage
    "The musical, South Pacific, deals with the issue of inter-marriages between Asians and Westerners."

sensible
    "She's not very sensible about money and spends her weekly allowance."

symbolized
    "Love is symbolized in Western countries by Cupid."

governess
    "My governess was strict and never let us party at nights."

Siamese
    "I love the slinky look of Siamese cats."

liberal
    "He's very liberal and opposes the death penalty."

conservative
    "She's conservative and is against abortion."

particular
    "He got angry for no particular reason that we know."

infects
    "Her girlfriend infects our daughter with crazy ideas."

gaiety
    "He shows little gaiety and is mostly gloomy."

irresponsible
    "Jack was irresponsible in giving the keys to the car to his brother knowing he was drunk."

intellectual
    "Her tastes are intellectual and tend to jazz and modern poets."

haughtiness
    "Her haughtiness offends many people who think she believes she's better than they."

forceful
    "He has a forceful personality that impresses many of his friends."

disillusionment
    "His disillusionment when he found out his girlfriend, whom he thought was faithful, cheated on him."

autobiography
    "Her brief autobiography shows interests in the fine arts."

reflected
    "Tom reflected on whether or not to accept the job abroad."
    "His poetry reflected his religious convictions."

reactions
    "His reactions tend always to be emotional."

librettist
    "Tim Rice was the librettist of Jesus Christ, Superstar."

conspiracy
    "Nancy thought there was a conspiracy against her at school."

render
    "Her depression rendered her ineffective on the team."

effective
    "She was effective kicking the ball but not hitting it."

bestowing
    "They were bestowing compliments on my brother at the party when I slipped out the back door."

libretti
    "Oscar Hammerstein wrote libretti for many musicals, including Oklahoma! and Carousel."

drawn into
    "He didn't wish to get drawn into an argument, so he left the party."

paranoiac
    "She was diagnosed as a paranoiac who posed a danger to others, since she wanted to hurt them before they hurt her."

availing ourselves
    "We should avail ourselves of the free education offered by the local college."

non-conformist
    "She was a non-conformist and never dressed as the others did."

cocktail parties
    "He hated cocktail parties because he didn't like to drink."

homebody
    "She's a homebody and never accompanies her husband to social functions."

regular hours
    "She keeps regular hours and always dines at exactly 7:00 p.m."

atypical
    "She has atypical features for an Italian."

aspects
    "There were aspects of her personality her mother didn't like."

taint
    "Her many romantic affairs were tainted her reputation."

philosophy
    "His philosophy was simply to enjoy life."

heartily
    "He laughed heartily at her jokes."

endorse
    "She refused to endorse either candidate."

profundity
    "Her novels are popular but they lack profundity of ideas."

religious convictions
    "Her religious convictions are few, except a belief in God and a belief that God loves her."

jay walking
    "In most US cities you can be ticketed for jay walking."

bawling out
    "Mike got a bawling out from his father for coming home late."

curb
    "Most cities require dog owners to curb their dogs."
    "She parked two inches from the curb and was ticketed by the police."
    "The police are trying to curb the recent rise in crime."

endure
    "She can't endure failure."

fiercely
    "He's fiercely loyal to his girlfriend."

self-centered
    "She's self-centered and thinks only of herself."

ferociously
    "The mother was ferociously protective of her children."

ambitious
    "She's ambitious and wants to go to New York to sing in a Broadway musical."

idealistic
    "He's idealistic and believes there's good in everyone."

squandered
    "She squandered her allowance on video games."

prominent
    "He's the most prominent lawyer in the city and everyone wants him to represent them."

sociologist
    "The sociologist found that seven in ten men cheat on their wives."

psychologist
    "The psychologist labeled him as a manic-depressive."

competitiveness
    "Her competitiveness at sports is so great that she once finished a game even with a broken nose."

materialism
    "Materialism is our current religion, since more people shop on Sundays than go to church."

modified
    "The mother gave only a modified approval to her daughter's planned trip to Nevada."

liberal
    "He was a liberal and always voted for the most progressive candidate."
    "He was a liberal spender and tipped a lot."

bulk
    "The bulk of his fortune was made in oil."

complexion
    "Her complexion is darker than her sister's because she loves the sun too much."

free enterprise
    "Free enterprise tends to foster the motivation necessary for a booming economy."

individualism
    "He believes in a politics of individualism and that the government that governs least is the best."

brainwashed
    "The mother felt her son was brainwashed by his friends' political ideas."

leftist
    "Because he had so many liberal ideas, they thought he was a leftist, but he was not."

stranglehold
    "Censorship tends to place a stranglehold on creativity."

dissemination
    "The dissemination of racist ideas can hurt everybody."

intellectual stagnation
    "Dictatorships tend to produce intellectual stagnation."

paralysis
    "Her emotional paralysis was a result of her romantic troubles."

gratuitously
    "She gratuitously agreed with everything he said."

intolerance
    "The mother's intolerance extended to her daughter's friends and musical tastes."

conservative
    "The daughter held conservative views about sex and never dated a man without a chaperone."

trend
    "The trend today is for men and women to speak freely on the first date."

ilk
    "She likes Eminem, Jay Z. and hip hop singers of that ilk."

cleavage
    "Their political differences caused a deep cleavage between the two friends."

divergent
    "They held divergent opinions on many topics but remained friends."

good and sore
    "She's good and sore over not being invited to the party."

spectacular
    "It was a spectacular fireworks show."

controversial
    "His views about using drugs are controversial."

a rash of murders
    "The campus had a rash of murders and the students kept inside most evenings."

tense drama
    "It was a tense drama about a potential suicide."

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