Blog #4: Symbol

Symbols are objects or ideas presented in a piece of text, where the meaning of the concept goes beyond the literal meaning. The meaning of the symbol is very dependent on the context and the plot of the piece of text. A symbol is unique to one individual story. In “As I Walked Out One evening,” Auden utilizes the symbol of the clocks to signify the curtailment of time on love. Auden states that because time limits love and makes it conditional, people must love with a “crooked heart.” A clock in another story or poem does not necessarily have this same symbolic meaning; in fact it probably does not. Contrastingly, in Shakespeare’s Hamlet the ghost actually symbolizes a character in the play. The ghost symbolizes Hamlet’s dead father that only he is able to see, because when he was in his mother’s bed chamber, Gertrude was not able to see the ghost. The Ghost could also symbolize the revenge Hamlet was searching for. Depending on the genre of the piece of text, the meaning of the symbol varies in depth.

Blog #3: Setting

In short, the setting of a piece of text places the collection of words in a set location. The setting sets the tone and mood for entire passage. The setting also allows the reader to visualize what is happening in the story; the story is able to come to life, so it’s not flat words on a page. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, for instance, the reader is aware that the majority of the play takes place in a castle. That being said, the circumstances and the mood of the play change when the setting is altered. For example, when Hamlet kills Polonius, it occurs in Gertrude’s bedchamber. Because this scene does not occur in the main hall of the castle, there is a more secretive feel to the death, hence why most of the characters were unaware that Hamlet stabbed Polonius. Also in the play, when Hamlet speaks to the ghost of his father, the setting is dark and outside during the night. The ominous setting relates to what is occurring the play. Correspondingly, in Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice, the tone of the novel shifts as the characters move from one estate to the other. For instance, there is a more pretentious feel at the Pemberly house and a more sarcastic tone in the Bennet’s house. By the reader know what the setting of the story is, he is able to place the situation in the context it is supposed to be in. On a similar not, in Buckley’s performance of Oklahoma, the play was performed with a full set. There is a different feel of the minds eye when there is a complete set as opposed to a solid black wall. The setting is what gives the reader or audience member the feeling that they are part of what is going on in the story. It gives the full experience.

Blog #2: Character

            The protagonists of a piece of text are often the most well-rounded and multi-faceted characters in their context. Therefore, comparing characters such as Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice to Hamlet from Shakespeare’s Hamlet can prove rather interesting, especially because one is fiction and the other drama, and would not typically be compared. The major difference between the characters, and this could be due to their genre, is that I feel that Hamlet is more internal. This could be partly because of Shakespeare’s use of soliloquy, which is supposed to reflect Hamlet’s internal thought: “O. that this too too solid flesh would melt” (1.2.129). Hamlet considers suicide and schemes mainly internally through his soliloquies. In contrast, Elizabeth mainly talks about her feelings with her sister Jane or with Mr. Darcy. As protagonist of the stories, each of the characters has the ability to feel multiple emotions. Hamlet feels suicidal, vengeful, sorrows and many other feelings. Elizabeth is able to feel confused, witty, and bitter, along with other feelings. She is a foil with her sister Jane who only feels limited amount of feeling. The protagonist of a story is made evident through their changing emotions that dominate the story. 

Blog #1: Plot

            The Plot of a text can be argued to be the single most important element of the text. Without the plot, the content of the text does not move anywhere and nothing is really achieved because there lacks purpose. Pride and Prejudice and Hamlet interestingly have similar plot structures despite one of them being fiction and the other drama. What they have in common is that after the climax of the story is reached the falling action and denouement occurs quite rapidly. In Pride and Prejudice the climax of the story occurs when Elizabeth finally accepts Darcy’s wedding proposal. This scene can also be considered the resolution if Lidia marrying Whickham was decided to be the climax; however, either way, after each of the events, the novel comes quickly to an end. Similarly, in Hamlet the climax of the story occurs when almost all the characters in the play die, which occurs in the last act of the play. The difference with each of these pieces of text is that Hamlet as expected due to its genre, ends in tragedy whereas Pride and Prejudice has a rather happy ending in their denouements.

Turnitin.com review

After reading the comments on my essay, I definitely need work on my proofreading. There was an evident lack of checking for errors because the errors could have been fixed had the paper been read out loud.

Poetry Essay Intro

Why is it that time and love are so related? Both Andrew Marvell and W.H. Auden explore this concept in their thought provoking poetry. The poets use time as the conditional element to love, in that time limits the extent of love. However, Contrastingly to Auden, Marvell accepts the limit of time and loves through carpe diem. Auden on the other hand, espouses the limits of time and states that it in turn causes people to love with a “crooked heart.” Aside from the apparent themes of love and time in “To His Coy Mistress” and  “As I Walked Out One Evening,” the poems share distinct similarities and differences in terms of poetic structure as well as specific diction and word choice. 

2 Poems

After analyzing "To an Athlete Dying Young" and "Ulysses" there is an evident them of time in both, however the content are opposites. In "To an Athlete Dying Young," the poet analyzes what are the affects of dying young and his main point is that you don't outlive the your glory. Contrastingly, "Ulysses" explores the affects of living to an old age and living in the glory of that past. In the athlete poem, the poet talks in second person, so the poet does not truly comprehend the impact of dying young and is just talking in observation. However, in "Ulysses" the poet is talking from first hand experience because he is talking in first person. Interestingly, the lengths of the stanzas of the poems, reflect the content of a short vs. long life. Both poems have a line that slows the reader down when reading, almost like stopping time in a way. 

Ozymandias

In Percy Shelly's "Ozymandias," the fear and awe of the power of time is thoroughly expressed. From the language syntax and diction, the theme of time is effectively espoused to the audience. The punctuation of the poem is an element that really stand out because there are only 3 periods in the entire 14 line poem.  The sentences are very prolonged and almost run on like, which further expresses the theme of time. The slowness of the poem is juxtaposed by the line "Nothing besides remain" (line 12). This is the only sentence in the poem that is succinct and to the point. Aside from the way the poem is formatted and the syntax, the theme is further strengthened by the word choice and content of the poem. The poem states that time can break down even the most powerful.