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February 28, 2006
Helpless in Egypt
Article: Simonds -- Jerz: Intro to Literary Study (EL150)
"Through colorful visual pageantry and one spectacular banquet scene after another onstage, Shakespeare's tragedy dramatizes Antony's fall from heroic virtue to helpless sensuality in Egypt. Moreover, the hero's violent moments, during which he wildly displays uncontrolled jealousy and wrath, soon erode much of our sympathy for this man who can no longer control his passion" (222).
I think this quote really shows a new perspective on Antony. We see that the audience is looking for a hero, a protagonist. They are longing for someone to step up and be a leader. The audience takes for granted that Antony will be this hero character. Although this play has been studied by many many scholars and Antony is confirmed the protagonist, I feel from this article that perhaps Antony wasn't anymore of a protagonist than Enobarbus, or even Cleopatra. To me, we can see that Antony is a wavering man. He's a flip flop. He doesn't know what he wants, a characteristic which differs from Caesar. The audience I feel at times is afraid that their "hero" isn't a strong leader. Antony has lapses of jealousy and turmoil as Sidmonds pointed out, which leads us to fear his character in a way. We want to jump onto the "Mark Antony" bandwagon, but he's stopping us from doind that because of his inconsistent personality characteristics.
Posted by AndrewLoNigro at 07:59 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
February 27, 2006
Black Widow
Article: Levin -- Jerz: Intro to Literary Study (EL150)
I sincerely enjoyed this academic article. It brought into the spotlight a whole new point of view and in essence gave attention not to Antony and Cleopatra, but to Caesar and Cleopatra. To me, this is very interesting. Levin brings up many instances in which Cleopatra and Caesar are entangled in their own sexual desires for each other, except that Caesar's desires are more for power that for sex. One thing that Levin did that I really liked was he always offered more than one possiblity to a claim. I think that this is a great example of what Dr. Jerz is trying to show us. Here's an example.
"Either she [Cleopatra] is asking whether Caesar would make a like sacrifice for her, or she is sardonically noting a contrast between Julius Caesar and Octavius, the former choosing to love her and the latter choosing to intimidate her."
The comparison that I want to make is between Cleopatra and a "Black Widow" spider. Okay, she doesn't kill her husbands, so it's a stretch, but she does indeed use them, and she uses them well. However, if you think about it, Caesar is basically in the same boat. He uses people as well. This whole article is about how they (may have) tried to use each other.
The main case of CDW that I found in this acad. article was a claim that I picked up from the author's connotations. The claim is that Clepatra makes her moves for her own well-being or to protect herself. Likewise, the amazing thing that I find about Caesar is that he supresses his sexual desires and is totally business first. (In itself there is a contrast between Antony and Caesar, but that's another story.)
There is much data that backs this up. One of the best, I feel is when Levin says the following quote in the article: "Of most interest is the possiblity that the death she speaks of is not death at all but a metaphor for sexual orgasm." Like this, there are so many quotes throughout the article that imply Cleo as using her sexuality to lure people, not just Caesar, into her web. Another quote that supports the claim dealing with Caesar is, "Caesar no longer has need of Cleopatra to eliminate Antony, and her death would complete Caesar's conquest of the east." With this we can easily see how Caesar has a single eye on his goal and is using every advantage that he has to reach that goal.
The warrant explains that the two are indeed working their "magic" on one another. As a result, Caesar wins, obviously, because he got was he was striving for, Cleopatra's death. This article offered many insights that I couldn't see until I read it. I think Levin did an excellent job, although a few of the sexual examples might have been a stretch, but hey... if you can prove it, it works, right?
Posted by AndrewLoNigro at 09:16 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
February 26, 2006
Poilitics or Opinion?
Foster (11 and 13) -- Jerz: Intro to Literary Study (EL150)
Chapter 11, dealing with the death of characters is very interesting, however the one thing that caught my attention was present in Chapter 13, "It's all political."
As I read this chapter, I agreed with Foster. I was reading Mike's blog and in referance to "To Kill a Mocking Bird," and "Brave New World," he said, "The author's wrote these stories while reacting to the current events of the day, yet they managed to make their stories timeless and their messages unobtrusive." The key to that statement is unobtrusive. As Foster mentioned, every story or almost every story, deals with politics. It seems to me, however, that there is a fine line between politics, and opinion (or getting a certain message across).
In stories that force their opinions on others, we as reader's, in a sense, turn-off that work, or author. However, in stories that we are able to analyze and take what affects us from, we can really enjoy. I feel that every author is attempting to get a certain point across from what their writing, or else what are they writing for? So, if "politics and opinon" are indeed too close to call, then I feel that the good stories, are the one's in which we can take our own opion of, and not buy into what the author's opinion was originally.
Posted by AndrewLoNigro at 11:18 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Claim, Data, Warrant
Article: Kinghorn -- Jerz: Intro to Literary Study (EL150)
CLAIM:
In finding Cleopatra, Charmian, and Iras dead, Ceasar and Dolabella proceed the whole operation in a way that boosted their own egos.
DATA:
"The stage action rolls on to show Caesar the politician working out on his feet the best means of tidying up the whole affair with least inconvenience and greatest advangtage to himself" (109)". This quote shows how Caesar was making himself look good, like the one who figured it all out.
"Instead they encourage Caesar and Dolabella to go on play-acting 'detectives.' Caesar announces authoritatively that the cause of death could not have been ingested poison since no external swelling is visible on either of the corpses" (108). These two characters take all the credit that the guards have, and use it as their own, deceptively. In the quote above, Caesar uses the information provided by the (slow) guards and makes a statement based on it, in a position of total control.
WARRANT:
In order for this claim to be true, there must be evidence within the play that Caesar and Dolabella have total control over the situation as it is. Do they allow the guards to speak without being spoken to? The argument against this claim, could be that Caesar and Dolabella are just using the information given to put together a logical conclusion, for the betterment of the situation.
Posted by AndrewLoNigro at 11:03 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 23, 2006
Entry in blank verse
Ex 1-4c: A Clever Blank-Verse Entry on Your Blog (10pts) -- Jerz: Intro to Literary Study (EL150)
I'm not sure what we're s'posed to be doing
For this assignment, but here goes nothing?!?!
Hello, Good day! How did your weekend go?
I know what you are asking yourself now,
"Is Andy writing this blog in blank verse?"
The answer, yes, I definately am.
So far this year, I've learned to write two ways.
I've written sonnets, tried to rhyme, and yet
I did not know how much I did not know.
Sir William Shakespeare gained respect from me.
One thing that I have learned from all this work,
Is that it's hard to write like this and not
Go crazy from the stress that comes from it.
Although I'd rather be insane than dull.
Posted by AndrewLoNigro at 11:45 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
February 21, 2006
Perseverance
This is a short story about my experience with high school basketball. In it, I learn how to put my own emotions aside and play for the betterment of the team.
Perseverance
There we were, twenty-one of us, including Justin King, the late transfer from Greensburg Salem. He was about my height, slender and athletic. He moved to our school just before basketball season and was now standing right in front of me.
It was the day of the first practice. I was anxious, but not nervous. After all, Coach promised me a starting position this season, what did I have to fear?
The gloomy gym was silent as we all stared at each other. Secretly, each of us was inspired by the other’s faces of fear. Coach broke the ice as he blew his piercing whistle and let the first stern words of the season out of his mouth, “line up!”
We all knew what that meant: we were going to run. Running had always been a dislike of mine, as it is to most players. For some reason, however, with every painful stride I took, the only thought that was racing through my mind was, “This is my senior year and I can’t hold anything back.” I wanted to be the fastest and best that I could be. No one could stop me.
The pre-season buzz was that Coach talked Justin into transferring here. But I didn’t have time to pay attention to these tedious rumors, I was on a mission.
“I have to start this year” I whispered to myself as I tried to catch my breath. That was the only thing that I wanted, and the only thing that mattered to me.
For the first two weeks of practice, I showed no mercy. I won every sprint, finished every drill, and ran every lap that coach would make us run. Coach was sure to see I was the hardest-working player on the team.
“One more day,” I said impatiently to my dad at the breakfast table the Friday morning of our first scrimmage.
“The first game is tomorrow night,” I said.
“Yep,” he answered with an authoritative tone. “Remember what I told you, don’t take anything for granted. You have to find a way to keep yourself focused.”
“I will, I will,” I murmured as I rushed out the door and into the car. “See ya,” I yelled out the car window as I drove to school.
The bus ride to Elizabeth Forward High School seemed like eternity. I couldn’t help but imagine myself stealing a pass and making a three pointer to win the game.
Thoughts of hearing my name announced and running out to mid-court unaffected by the roaring fans consumed my mind.
The bus pulled into the small, country school and unloaded the restless players into the tiny locker room. My teammates were complaining about how small the room was, but I was too excited to notice it. As I changed into my uniform, I could feel my chest pumping with adrenaline. I shifted back and forth and anxiously awaited Coach to come and announce the starting five.
As he walked through the doorway, my heart seemed to jump out of my chest. “Calm down,” I said to myself, but it was no use. To hear him say that I was starting tonight would be the only thing that could stop this nervousness. As he walked towards me, I saw the stern and powerful look on his face. In his hand, on that piece of paper was everything in the world to me. I yearned for one of those five names to be mine. He was holding my destiny in his palm.
He stopped, looked around, and broke the silence as he raised the small, wrinkled paper to his face, pulled up his glasses, and recited the words that held my future.
He began. “Tonight we’re going start…”
As I watched his lips, he read off the first four names; none of which were mine. He paused for a second and I knew that my name would be next. I couldn’t wait. I couldn’t hold back my smile. As I stared into his face, I heard the words escape his lips.
“…and Justin King.”
My first instinct was that there was a mistake. That inclination was proven wrong when I suddenly saw the ornery grin on Justin’s face, much like a boy who has purposely put gum in a little girl’s hair.
Thoughts started racing through my mind. “Justin couldn’t start. He’s a new transfer. He doesn’t know the offense.” Time seemed to be moving so slowly, and then it hit me like a dagger plunging into my chest. I realized that, Coach broke his promise.
That scrimmage was terrible. I sat on the hard bench surrounded by my uninterested teammates and soaked with embarrassment. I was ashamed with only playing a few minutes in each half. I thought to myself, “Justin is a junior and I’m a senior. My friends are playing and I am sitting on the bench watching like I did last year and the year before.”
The game ended and we road the bus back home. I walked through my front gate and sat on the porch steps. Starting on the team was my world, my life, and my dignity. How could I face my teammates, my coach, or my dad again?
I thought to myself, “I must not be that good.” Doubts raced through my mind plummeting my self-esteem into the depths of sorrow.
All of a sudden, a familiar voice broke through my pitiful thoughts and snapped me out of my daze. I looked into the dark, cold night, and standing in front of me, like a solid rock, was my dad.
“How’d it go?” He asked sternly.
“I…I…didn’t start tonight,” I stuttered quietly.
“So? Did you play hard?” he immediately followed.
I thought to myself, “He must not have heard me. I told him I didn’t start, didn’t I?” I decided to remind him again, “I didn’t start, Dad. Justin King did.”
Again he repeated, “So what?”
I couldn’t comprehend what he was trying to get across. Is he saying that starting isn’t important? Is he saying that he knew I probably wouldn’t start all along?” I felt alone in a world in which everyone was against me.
Then he stepped into the porch light and spoke in a calm and loving tone.
“Andy, it doesn’t matter if you were one of the starting five. It doesn’t matter if Coach lied to you. It wouldn’t matter if everyone in the world lies to you and tells you that you’re a terrible basketball player,” he said.
His eyes pierced mine as his heart pierced my soul. Though I wanted to, I couldn’t pull away. Something in his words was quenching the fire of shameful hopelessness inside me. I was drawn to his mouth, longing to hear the next sound that would escape his lips.
“The only thing that matters is if you gave all you had to your coach. Whether he is right or wrong is not for you to decide. Did you play hard?”
What could I say to this? I knew that I had pouted. I knew that I had given up on myself during that scrimmage. I knew I did what every other person would have done in that situation. I wasn’t different. I wasn’t special. I fell into the same trap that every other complaining player fell into.
My dad walked away, and yet his presence still lingered. I vividly remember looking up at the stars in the crisp November sky, and making a promise to myself. From that day on, things became so clear.
“If I never get in the game, if my coach lies to me everyday, if my friends talk about me behind my back, I only have one thing to do; play hard.”
At that moment, that exact point in time, I chose to not let my emotions control my actions. I learned that life isn’t fair, but who cares? No one is going to give you anything. You’ve got to keep on going to practice everyday, knowing that your coach isn’t going to promote you, and still play as hard as you can anyway. From that rejection, I got something greater than starting could ever be; something that no one can take away from me. I learned to keep on going when you just don’t think that you can go anymore. I learned to persevere.
Posted by AndrewLoNigro at 11:05 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 20, 2006
Blogging Portfolio 1
This is a portfolio of my best blogging to date. I am showcasing my ability to think critically about literature and to interact with others about their thoughts.
Coverage:
This entry kicked the year off. I discuss how Foster points out the difference between reading material and analyzing it.
Turned around
This entry is on "Bernice bobs her hair" in which I discuss the reversal in the story.
Season's and Emotions
In this entry I discuss how authors use famous characters from the past to give reader's a mental picture of what they're trying to get across.
Dark and Stormy?
In this entry I discuss how weather conditions can affect the mood, tone, and atmosphere of a particular part of a story.
To think or not to think... that is the question.
With this entry, I discuss "How to build a fire." I talk about how I feel this story is about self-motivation and action.
Call of the Wild
This entry is written about the academic article that we read about Jack London. I discuss how London uses the man's inner thoughts to get across his important characteristics.
Something to believe in
This entry was written about "The Machine Stops." In it, I discuss how the machine is the people's "god" yet they say that they don't have a religion.
A poetic experience
With this entry, I basically get across my point that I don't know squat about poetry, but I'm willing to learn and to apply myself in order to get something out of it.
It's not so bad...
This entry is about Emily Dickenson's poem, "Because I could not stop for Death." I discuss how she makes death a pleasant experience through her words and alliteration.
Choose.
Probably, my favorite entry. Something about "Disillusionment of Ten O'Clock really hit me personally. I talk about things such as living life to the fullest and how some people are letting life pass them by.
The power of indecision
In this entry I basically compare "The love song of J. Alfred Prufrock" to Hamlet.
Happy Thought
I discuss this short poem in the most intellectual way possible.
The Turtle by Ogden Nash
This poem discuss how Nash is really saying how important nature is.
Trees, Turtles, and Swings
In this entry I talk about these three short poems. I give a thought or two on each of them.
Love isn't just a game
This entry is on Shakeseare's sonnet "Let me not to the marriage of true minds." I discuss how I feel that Shakespeare telling us that love can stand the test of time.
Are we conceited?
In this entry on the poem, "The Raven," I discuss how there is three levels of nature in this poem, and Coleridge uses these effectively to make the reader's think.
Do you fear Death?
In this entry about "Death be not Proud," I discuss how Death is a common thing and everyone must face it.
Why despair?
In this entry about the academic article dealing with "The Raven," I discuss how the no one is really selfish in this poem, even though most of us feel sorry for the raven.
A real eye-opener
In this first entry about "Antony and Cleopatra" I discuss how we really get to know the characters in the first two acts.
Wow
In this entry, I talk about how Shakespeare proves to us why he is Shakespeare. I talk about some of the character flaws in "Antony and Cleopatra" and discuss how some of the character's motives affect the outcome of the play.
Perseverance
This is a short story that I had written for class. It is a personal narrative in which I share my experiences with high school basketball. I learn how to lay my own emotions on the line and play for the betterment of the team.
Depth:
Choose.
Probably, my favorite entry. Something about "Disillusionment of Ten O'Clock really hit me personally. I talk about things such as living life to the fullest and how some people are letting life pass them by.
Wow
In this entry, I talk about how Shakespeare proves to us why he is Shakespeare. I talk about some of the character flaws in "Antony and Cleopatra" and discuss how some of the character's motives affect the outcome of the play.
The power of indecision
In this entry I basically compare "The love song of J. Alfred Prufrock" to Hamlet.
Are we conceited?
In this entry on the poem, "The Raven," I discuss how there is three levels of nature in this poem, and Coleridge uses these effectively to make the reader's think.
It's not so bad...
This entry is about Emily Dickenson's poem, "Because I could not stop for Death." I discuss how she makes death a pleasant experience through her words and alliteration.
To think or not to think... that is the question.
With this entry, I discuss "How to build a fire." I talk about how I feel this story is about self-motivation and action.
Turned around
This entry is on "Bernice bobs her hair" in which I discuss the reversal in the story.
Interaction:
Comment on Denamarie's blog
Comment on Kevin's blog
Comment on Sarah's blog
Comment to Brittney on course blog
Comment on Denamarie's blog
Comment on Dena's blog
Another comment on Dena's blog
Comment on Amanda's blog
Comment on Amanda's blog
Comment on Kevin's blog
Comment on Dena's blog
Comment on Erin's blog
Timeliness:
My timliness section features the same entries that are found under the coverage section. I blogged all of them at least 24 hours before the class period.
Discussion:
Discussion on Kevin's blog
Discussion on the course blog: "To build a fire"
Good discussion on Dena's blog about "The Machine Stops"
Discussion on Dena's blog with Kevin Hinton
Discussion on Kevin's blog
Discussion on Dena's blog about the academic article
Discussion on my blog about "Antony and Cleopatra"
Xenoblogging:
Sparked a discussion on Amanda's blog
Sparked a discussion on Kevin's blog
Sparked a conversation on Dena's blog
Sparked a discussion about "Antony and Cleopatra"
Wildcard:
Perseverance
This is a short story that I had written for class. It is a personal narrative in which I share my experiences with high school basketball. I learn how to lay my own emotions on the line and play for the betterment of the team.
Posted by AndrewLoNigro at 07:31 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Wow
Antony and Cleopatra (Acts III-V) -- Jerz: Intro to Literary Study (EL150)
What can I say, Shakespeare certainly didn't hold back on the ending of this play. I really, really enjoyed this play and everything that happened in it. I found it interesting and entertaining as well.
In Act III, Scenes 8 & 9, Shakespeare only writes 10 lines combined. However, these two super-short scenes really foreshadowed things for me personally, and defined each character's personality. In scence 8, Ceasar is confident. He is ordering his soldiers, he knows what he wants, and he's ready to enforce it. In scene 9, the opposite seems to occur. Antony, instead of being confident and bold in his decisions, he seems to be waiting for Ceasar to act and then he will counter-act. It gives the impression that he is in a defensive mode and as the story progressed we find out that Antony plays pretty much the defensive end of things in many of the battles.
I felt throughout the play that Enobarbus was the voice of reason. In scence 13, of Act III after Cleopatra fled from the battle, she wants to know what they should do now. Enobarbus simply replies,
ENOBARBUS
Think, and die.
To me, he sees right through the face of love that Antony and Cleopatra are playing each other with. He realizes that this is a life and death situation and that both of them are being blinded by their love. With this line, I feel that Enobarbus (the voice of reason) is finally convinced that the situation is hopeless. Because of this, he trades sides, and then because of overwhelming guilt and fear, he ends up killing himself. For some reason, he was my favorite character.
I found it noble of Antony to send Enobarbus's treasures and chests to him after he knew he had traded sides. He still respected him and knew that he was only trying to survive. It stunned me though that Antony didn't react like he previously had in situations by letting his temper get the better of him. I mean, he ususally would have flipped out (which I think was one of his character flaws) but instead he gives in, which I feel represents him giving up and accepting that he isn't going to survive. This is beautifully written.
The thing that got to me the most at the end of the play was Cleopatra. What a guilt trip! When Antony thought she had betrayed him, he lashed out at her, and instead of calming him down and trying to be a comforter for him, she hides. Okay, I can understand that she was scared. But when Cleopatra, and Charmian send word to Antony that Cleopatra has slain herself, that's just ridiculous.
CLEOPATRA
To th' monument!
Mardian, go tell him I have slain myself.
Say that the last I spoke was "Antony"
And word it, prithee, piteously. Hence, Mardian,
And bring me how he takes my death. To th' monument!
In essence, the childish games that Cleopatra and Antony played during the whole play with each other, such as jealousy and guilt, lead to both of their downfalls. The amazing thing, well not really, is that Antony fell for it and decided to die himself.
I feel that it all boils down to people's egos and their personal motives. In this play, Shakespeare gives every character one similarity, they all look out for number one. Yes, Cleo and Antony loved each other, but as we see in the Scene 14, both of them are extremely concerned with their self-image. I also think that Shakespeare took this opportunity to put some of his ideas about the good things and bad things of love in his work. Overall, I really liked this play and look forward to seeing it live at SHU.
Posted by AndrewLoNigro at 07:25 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
February 19, 2006
A real eye-opener
Antony and Cleopatra (Acts I & II) -- Jerz: Intro to Literary Study (EL150)
To start off, I have never read this play before. Naturally, I had a difficult time understanding it but after I read it once through and thought about it, I feel that I have at least a basic knowledge of what is going on. I found a few interesting topics to discuss.
The first thing that interested me took place in Act I Scence 2. At this part in the play, Antony is informed that his wife is dead. Now, from his relationship with Cleopatra shown earlier in the play, you would think that he doesn't really care for her. However, when he finds out this news, his attitude totally changes.
ANTONOY
There's a great spirit gone! Thus did I desire it.
What our contempts doth often hurl from us,
We wish it ours again. The present pleasure,
Then, when Enobarbus starts giving his talk about how there are other fish in the sea, Antony seems to miss his wife more. To me, this is beginning to describe Antony's characteristics. I don't know how this story ends, but I'm willing to bet that one of Antony's flaws are his uncertainty, or his willingness to please others before himself.
The other thing that really interested me is dealing with Cleopatra's character. I think the first time Shakespeare really let's us see what kind of character she is, is when Enobarbus is describing her ship to Agrippa in Act II Scene 2. In this dialog he says
The barge she sat in, like a vurnished throne,
Burned on the water. The poop was beaten gold;
purple the sails, and so perfumed that
The winds were lovesick with them. The oars were silver,
Which to the tune of flutes kept stroke and made
The water which they beat to follow faster,
From this we can see that she is a very pompous, ellegant, and somewhat "cocky" individual. However, in scene 5, when we get an even better picture of her. In fact, I was a little scared myself. When the messanger came to tell her that Antony had married Octavia, she was kind to him, and then (somewhat like Antony did earlier) totally turned around and started literally beating the servant because of the news he brought. Obviously she had never heard the old cliche, "don't shoot the messanger."
MESSENGER
Good Madam, patience.
CLEOPATRA
What say you? Hence,
Horrible villian, or I'll spurn thine eyes like balls before me! I'll unhair thy head,
Thou shalt be whipped with wire and stewed in brine,
Smarting in ling'ring pickle.
WOW! I do not want to mess with her. From this however, we do see her love for Antony.
Posted by AndrewLoNigro at 10:02 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
February 15, 2006
Why despair?
Something that interested me about this article is the following quote: "He came [the woodsman] to cut down the tree because he wanted to use its wood for selfish purposes (this is similar to the grudge of the swines in the beginning of the poem). The woodman used the oak to make a ship, but absurdly, this ship became its coffin."
How ironic? The question that I asked myself (I don't know if it will make any sense to you?) is that if the woodsman is selfish, why isn't the raven selfish? Because of the context of the raven having a family, we automatically feel bad for the raven. The raven was just making the best life he could for himself and his family, right? Well wasn't the woodsman making the best he could for himself, and the others who needed a ship? The boat was a necessity to cross the water. And in order to make a boat, one needs wood, which by chance, just happens to come from trees. I don't know, but to me, it doesn't sound like the woodsman was selfish. Or if he was, then I must be really selfish.
"Coleridge did not find a suitable and reasonable answer to the question why despair, hatred and death should always win against posititve values such as joy, love and life."
Nothing can put "The Raven" in better perspective that the quote above by the author himself, Coleridge.
Posted by AndrewLoNigro at 03:21 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
February 13, 2006
Do you fear death?
Donne, "Death Be Not Proud"
It was so ironic reading this poem because just before I read it, I was randomly looking at quotes and I read the one be Ralph Waldo Emerson:
"Do the thing you fear and the death of fear is certain."
When I read the last line of this sonnet, I couldn't believe what it said:
"And death shalt be no more, Death thou shalt die."
From this comparison, I got my agenda item for this sonnet. This whole poem is about standing up to death and saying in essence as Rocky did in Rocky IV when he was fighting Drago, "You ain't so bad, is that the best you got?" John Donne is pretty much telling Death off. He tells Death not to get too cocky in the first line. My favorite line is:
9Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men, 10And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell; 11And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well
12And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?
He's saying that people are afraid of death but really, fate, chance, kings, and desperate men have power over it. To me this gives me great confidence. In the end, Donne says that we fall asleep and then we wake eternally in heaven, so there really is no negative side to death.
Posted by AndrewLoNigro at 09:00 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Are we conceited?
Coleridge,''The Raven'' -- Jerz: Intro to Literary Study (EL150)
This poem was excellent. As many of you put said on your blogs, you felt that the poem was about revenge and love of a family. I agree with this, however, I feel that this poem represents three levels of nature. First, the animal. Birds scientifically do not have the brain capacity of a man and cannot think and feel emotion. Number two: humans. Humans do have emotion and do have feelings. The third and biggest level was mother nature herself, represented as a storm in this poem.
"But soon came a Woodman in leathern guise,
His brow, like a pent-house, hung over his eyes.
He'd an axe in his hand, not a word he spoke,
But with many a hem! and a sturdy stroke,
At length he brought down the poor Raven's own oak.
His young ones were killed; for they could not depart,
And their mother did die of a broken heart."
The interesting thing to me is what Coleridge did with these three elements. He gave mother nature full, uncontrolable power, as nature usually has. But what is backwards is the raven and the man. Coleridge gives the raven emotion in this poem. He makes us, as Amanda said on her blog, feel bad for him. He loves, thinks, and morns. He has human qualities. However, if you look at the man, he doesn't. Coleridge doesn't give the man any feelings of love or emotion, period. The raven cannot take revenge on the man himself so he is happy when nature just so happened to do this for him. So in a way, it's like things are out of order. I think that we feel for the raven because of this mix up of roles in nature. I kind of like this technique.
Posted by AndrewLoNigro at 08:31 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
February 12, 2006
Love isn't just a game...
Shakespeare, "Let me Not to the Marriage of True Minds"
Let me not to the Marriage of True Minds
William Shakespeare - Sonnet CXVI:
This sonnet is about love that is unmovable by circumstances. I really enjoyed this sonnet because of the way Shakespeare personalized love and gives it meaning with the words he choses. An example of this is in line 2, 3, and 4.
2 Love is not love
3 Which alters when it alteration finds,
4 Or bends with the remover to remove.
To me, these lines are all the true meaning of the sonnet. I feel that many people say that they are in love and yet don't understand what true love is. Shakespeare is obviously speaking from experience with this sonnet and is saying that true love isn't always a walk in the part. It's about weathering through the hard times and holding firm to what's inside when the outside conditions are forcing you to change.
11 Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
12 But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
This says to me that true love can endure the most powerful challenge, time. Even if it costs you everything you have, all of your dignity, all of your self-confidence, and all of your soul, you will still trust in true love even until the edge of doom. It's something deeper than we all think.
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February 10, 2006
Trees, Turtles, and Swings
Poetry Selections -- Jerz: Intro to Literary Study (EL150)
Well the last three poems seemed pretty basic. So I figured I'd put them all on the same entry.
THE LITTLE TURTLE
This poem seemes to me to be geared toward a younger audience. It says that it was a Recitation for Martha Wakefield, a three year old. This poem rhymes very well. It kind of reminds me of a Nursery Rhyme. Something like Peter Piper, or Dr. Suess.
THE SWING
This poem was very interesting as well. It talks about how a swing is an escape from reality. To me the line that stuck out the most was "Ever a child can do!" It seems as if he is Stevenson is longing to get back to the childhood innocence. He describes all of the things that a child would notice and an adult would perhaps look over. Such as the rivers and trees and cattle, and the green garden and the blue air.
TREES
This one was probably my favorite out of the three. Once again it seems to follow the nature theme as many poems do. Kilmer says that she will never see a poem as lovely as a tree. And at the end she says "Poems are made by fools like me, But only God can make a tree." This poem obviously is connecting nature to God. She points out that the tree gets to look up at God all day long and lifts her leafy arms to pray. She says that the tree is lucky because in the summer it gets to have birds in it's hair (dealing with nature). The tree also gets to have snow lay on top of it, and it is intimate with the rain (nature again). It's very descriptive and it makes me want to go outside and climb a tree.
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The Turtle by Ogden Nash
Poetry Selections -- Jerz: Intro to Literary Study (EL150)
Once again another short poem. I thought long and hard about this and couldn't come up with any philosophical representation of turtles or reproduction. Instead, I think Nash is just noting how amazing nature is. We can't tell what sex a turtle is by looking at it because of it's shell and it's hard stomach. However, it's interesting how they are always reproducing.
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Happy Thought
Poetry Selections -- Jerz: Intro to Literary Study (EL150)
This poem is short, sweet, and to the point. The point that I think Stevenson was trying to make is that THE WORLD is full of so many different types of things such as, respect, dignity, passion, treachery, deceit, kindness, life, death, and innumerable others. And from first glance at the text one thinks that he's saying there are so many good things in the world that we should never be unhappy.
However, upon further scrutinization of my brain, I came up with the question of whether or not kings are really happy? Yes, they have wealth and power and clout, but they also have a country to rule. They have to deal with "bad" things such as wars and villians and poverty and such. So perhaps what Stevenson is saying is that we are supposed to tough it out and get through all of the hard times and don't take for granted the good times. That's just my personal view, what do you guys think?
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February 09, 2006
The power of indecision
Poetry Selections -- Jerz: Intro to Literary Study (EL150)
This poem is obviously a love song. I really found it funny when I was asking myself what this poem was all about. I was trying to think of what T.S. Eliot was trying to get across. But when I took the advice given in the introduction of this book (don't try to think too deep into what is being said, just let it come to you) I found something very interesting about it. This play is about indecision. To be perfectly honest, this guy is a procrastinator and he does nothing but think. Hmmm... who does this remind us of. Actually, the irony of this whole thing is what Eliot wrote on page 173:
"No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was I meant to be;"
He thinks so much about what he wants to do that he never gets to meet this girl. He gets so off track that by the end of the poem, he's thinking about weird mermaids in the ocean.
"I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker,
And I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker,
And in short, I was afraid."
I really liked this line. Eliot really does a great job of making words be something more than just what we're reading on the page. This passage just kind of rolls off of the tounge. It seems to me that this man has seen himself have a chance to talk to this girl, and in a sense he saw the person holding his coat laugh at him and call him "chicken." It seems to me that he kind of dared him to go talk to her. Then in the last line he admits that he was just too afraid to do it and he chickened out.
"And time yet for a hundred indecisions,
And for a hundred visions and revisions,
Before the taking of toast and tea."
I think that these lines really sum up the poem. To the man in this poem, time is moving slowly. He wants to tell this woman that he loves her but he can't make the decision to do it. I can relate to him because there have been things in my life that I was afraid to do. And when I'm afraid, my mind works like a machine in order to find all of the excuses that I can use to not have to do it.
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February 07, 2006
Choose.
Poetry Selections -- Jerz: Intro to Literary Study (EL150)
Disillusionment of Ten O'clock
Wallace Stevens
"Wallace Stevens thought that it was possible to look at things that way, that we have a choice about the way things are, and that what they are depends on our own imaginations."
I have nothing to say. This quote pretty much sums up everything. This is exactly how I view life personally. Perhaps this is the reason that I liked this poem the most out of the three we were assigned to read. To me life is what you make it. Without getting onto a soapbox, we have control over our lives. Or in Wallace's words, "we have a choice about the way things are." Our perception of life is based on our consiousness. What it all boils down to is whether or not I'll get upset when I hear someone talking about me behind my back. When I fall and knock my tooth out, do I let my mind be controlled by the negative thoughts of how my face will be "messed up" for the rest of my life? Or do I get up, shake it off, and say this situation is going to make me stronger? Yeah I may have some messed up teeth, but I'm going to be so tough that no one can bring me down. If I can conquer this small situation of an injury imagine what I will be able to conquer down the road. Imagine how my outlook of life will be. Everything is a positive situation in which we constantly build on. Even what we call "negative situations" can be a stepping stone for success, if we choose to see it that way. The most imortant word I'm saying is choice. We have a choice to see things negatively or positively. I really find it comforting to find someone like Stevens who shares these same ideas.
(Sorry, this was my chance to let some of this built-up emotion out, you can skip over that part if you want.)
I found this poem to touch me personally. I can relate to it and I enjoyed it very much.
The houses are haunted
By white night-gowns.
From these opening lines, I feel that Stevens is showing us boring people who are living boring lives without any excitement or any passion. They are sleeping their lives away like ghosts. These people seem to be arrogant and feel that they know all there is to life. They are stuck in the status quo. Their lives (night-gowns) are void of color and are bland.
People are not going
To dream of baboons and periwinkles.
It seems to me that Stevens is saying that in their lives, these people are afraid to step outside the accepted society. They are afraid to not line up to the status quo. To dream adventurous dreams would be too brilliant, too out of the ordinary for them. They must follow their parents and live their lives out of obligation.
Only, here and there, an old sailor,
Drunk and asleep in his boots,
Catches tigers
In red weather.
This is my favorite line of the poem. From it, I feel that this world is filled with so many of the same people. People who will live their lives out and never taste the magic of life. They will never feel the dynamic of adventure and hope. I feel that Stevens is saying that all of the people in the white night gowns think that they have the secret to life. But sometimes, we must let our pride go. We must, for once, step outside of our pious dignity and become like a child. Or in this case a drunken sailor. We must become oblivious to how we are being viewed by others and we must have a passion for adventure. There must be something more out there. For me, the drunken sailor represents the innocence that we are supposed to have. We are suppose to trust in God and sacrifice our worldly desires so that we can have God's desires for us. The innocent sailor, who was working hard and fell asleep in his boots, finds that his dreams are indeed adventurous. I'm not trying to sound religious or anything. What I'm saying is that I don't believe God is a dignified religious figure that "zaps" us when we're bad. I feel that God is a principle in which we are supposed to be happy, joyful, living life to the fullest, adventurous, and taking all that we can out of each day. I believe that if we lose our self-dignity and go after the desires that God has for us, then we too can "catch tigers in red weather."
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It's not so bad...
Poetry Selections -- Jerz: Intro to Literary Study (EL150)
Because I Could Not Stop For Death
Emily Dickinson
I really enjoyed this poem. I realize that poetry is not like math, or science. There is no certain, positive, absolute, answer for the questions that it provokes. I know that people can interperet poetry in many different ways. When I read this poem, ideas went through my mind that dealt with what the text means to me, and what the author is trying to get across. So I understand that I could be wrong, but I'm willing to risk the slight embarassment in order to show how the text affects me personally. I picked out my favorite lines from the poem and added my thoughts.
Because I could not stop for Death-
He kindly stopped for me-
When I read this first line, I realized that Dickinson used the word "kindly" and Death in the same thought. This connection is unusual and in a way contradictory. However, from Dickinson's choice of words, I feel that she's really taking the sting away from Death, and making it just another person in which we will all have to face. It's really not that bad.
We slowy drove-He knew no haste
And I had put away
My labor and my leisure too,
For His Civility-
These lines are very powerful to me. From this, I feel that she is handing over her prized possesions from her life. All that she worked for and all the gain that she recieved from this labor is forgotten, thrown away. It means nothing now that her journey (of life) has ended. She gave it up in exchange for him to be civil, to be humanly and gentle.
We passed the Setting Sun-
Or rather-He passed Us-
From this I feel that she is saying that her life is now over. She has now passed the setting sun. Or, her time only ran out, as every mortal person's time will run out. She is admitting that she has no control over when she is taken from her life.
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A poetic experience
Poetry Selections -- Jerz: Intro to Literary Study (EL150)
Well, I'm not going to lie, I'm not a very poetic guy (Just pretend I didn't try to rhyme there). From the introduction of this book, however, I feel that I may enjoy this new wave of literature. There were a few things that caught my attention. First of all, I'm extremely new to the idea of poetry. I feel from the introduction however that I will be able to fit into poetry after some practice. It was encouraging to hear:
"Reading poetry is not a completely passive pleasure, as is sitting in the sun or watching television. It is more like the pleasure you get from playing tennis or listening to music. There is a difference in the first time you play tennis and the fiftieth time."
With this in mind, I feel that the more I read and discuss the easier it will be to understand the concept of poetry and the concept of others' works. I also found some very interesting advice that was given by the author.
"Also don't hesitate to say when you don't understand a poem or some part of it. Even if you don't understand it, you can talk about it's tone (does it, sound like something you'd hear in church? at a party?), the kinds of words in it, its title, how things are conneted in it, how it begins and ends."
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February 06, 2006
Something to believe in?
Forester, E. M. The Machine Stops
"O Machine!" she murmured, and caressed her Book, and was comforted.
I'm with you Dena and Erin. I too think that this story is kind of mimicking how lazy our sociey has become today. But I seemed to get something a little different out of this story. I saw more of a religious connotation. From the quote above, even though Vashti said that religion has gone and they don't worship anything anymore, she is definately worshiping something. To me religion is what you believe in when you feel insecure. It's something that is bigger than yourself and you can give yourself to it. That is exactly what Vishta is doing with "the book." The Machine is indeed her god whether she admits it or not.
"They wept for humanity, those two, not for themselves. They could not bear that this should be the end. Ere silence was completed their hearts were opened, and they knew what had been important on the earth. Man, the flower of all flesh, the noblest of all creatures visible, man who had once made god in his image, and had mirrored hisstrength on the constellations, beautiful naked man was dying, strangled in the garments that he had woven."
What I get from this lengthy quote at the end of the story was that they were finally realizing that they couldn't do it on their own. Perhaps that is what Forster was trying to say with this play that thought things that we make may be doing okay for a while, we can't do it on our own and we need to put our strength and beliefs in something bigger, in God.
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February 02, 2006
Call of the Wild
Pease, Donald E. Psychoanalyzing the Narrative Logics of Naturalism: The Call of the Wild
This reading was indeed unique to me. I know that academic articles are not supposed to be entertaining and that most of them are dry, but I really had trouble focusing on what Pease was trying to get across. The one thing that did catch my attention was a connection between this article and the story that we just read, "To Build a Fire."
"The move toward transparent narration converted the narrator's authority into a form of impersonality -- a subject without a subjectivity -- which not only allowed the narrating voice to dramatize a full access to the consciousness of a fictional character but provided the power to structure that consciousness as well."
What I got from this quote was kind of what London did with "the man" in "To Build a Fire." London used the narration to get the man's emotions, thoughts, and fears to us as the readers. This gives the author/narrator control over his character. In other words London "had the power to structure that consciousness." This was just one thing that got from the article. If someone has an opposing view to this, feel free to comment.
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February 01, 2006
To think or not to think... that is the question.
London, Jack "To Build a Fire"
I really loved this story. Whether the reason is that I love the outdoors and spend much of my time there or because the storyline is about self-determination and sheer desire to live, I don't know, but something about it really struck me.
As I've already noted, I feel that London was really showing us self-motivation with this story. There is no dialog but there London constantly let's us into the man's head, inside his thoughts. This gives the idea that there is a lot of thinking going on, and with Foster's book in mind, the weather conditions really offer the reader to believe that this story is based on self-improvement. The man is indeed on a "quest." I really enjoyed all of the inner thoughts that London let us share with the man. I like being able to see what his motivations are and what he's thinking. And example of this is how the man is constantly fighting this imaginary battle with in his head with the old-timer on Sulphur Creek.
"The old-timer had been very serious in laying down the law that no man must trabel alone in the Klondike after fifty below. Well, here he was; he had had the accident; he was alone; and he had saced himself."
The other key point that entered my mind while reading this story was the connection between the main character here and Hamlet. Yes, you're probably asking yourself; "where did he pull this one from?" But I have a point, I do.
"Such were his thoughts, but he did not sit and think them. He was busy all the time they were passing through his mind."
Here is a man of action. Here is a man that puts down the negative in his own mind and makes does something, whether it's right or wrong, he puts himself in motion. Hamlet on the other hand was a man of questions and guilt. He was never sure if he was right or wrong and because of that he never acted on his gut feeling. Hamlet was a hestitator (? I just made that up) and a thinker. He was a learned man, and he tried to use that knowlege to his advantage. The character in this story may or may not have been an educated man, but he knew how to survive as long as he did in the wild. So what's the point? Well, I really don't know because in the end, both men died. So the real question is, is it better to sit around and let inactiveness kill you, or go down swinging? I chose to go down swinging I don't know about you.
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Dark and stormy?
Foster (10&12)
I think Foster says it perfectly when he starts the chapter off with, "It was a dark and stormy night." In this chapter it once again opened my eyes to something that was in all seriousness, pretty obviuos. He showed us once again that how weather and other surroundings can affect characters moods, outcomes of the story, and most of all the reader's reaction to things that would have been normal if not for the extreme conditions.
"Rain can be more mysterious, murkier, more isolating than most other weather conditions."
When I thought about this I couldn't disagree with him, however, I thought to myself what else has this same affect. I came to the conclusion that it isn't just the rain itself, but something that he hinted on in the first sentence of this chapter. The "dark" part. When I think of the scariest things I've read or watched on television, yes, most times there's rain, but almost everytime, it was dark. I think that humans are mostly afriad of the dark because of that factor that affects all of us; the fear of the unkown.
"So if you want a character to be cleansed, symbolically, let him walk through the rain to get somewhere."
How true?! If you think back to your favorite movies, not only the horror ones, something very important happens in the rain. One example; think of Spiderman, and when Spiderman kissed M.J. while he's upside-down in the rain, if it wasn't raining, the same affect would just not have occured.
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