After Hamlet's father was murdered, Hamlet becomes obsessed with the thought of death. He also becomes very distant and develops a strange behavior toward the rest of the characters. They notice that he may be in mourning but cannot understand why it is so hard to communicate with him.
and over the course of the play he considers death from a great many perspectives. He ponders both the spiritual aftermath of death, embodied in the ghost, and the physical remainders of the dead, such as by Yorick’s skull and the decaying corpses in the cemetery. Throughout, the idea of death is closely tied to the themes of spirituality, truth, and uncertainty in that death may bring the answers to Hamlet’s deepest questions, ending once and for all the problem of trying to determine truth in an ambiguous world. And, since death is both the cause and the consequence of revenge, it is intimately tied to the theme of revenge and justice Claudius’s murder of King Hamlet initiates Hamlet’s quest for revenge, and Claudius’s death is the end of that quest.
The question of his own death plagues Hamlet as well, as he repeatedly contemplates whether or not suicide is a morally legitimate action in an unbearably painful world. Hamlet’s grief and misery is such that he frequently longs for death to end his suffering, but he fears that if he commits suicide, he will be consigned to eternal suffering in hell because of the Christian religion’s prohibition of suicide. In his famous “To be or not to be” soliloquy (III.i), Hamlet philosophically concludes that no one would choose to endure the pain of life if he or she were not afraid of what will come after death, and that it is this fear which causes complex moral considerations to interfere with the capacity for action.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
Poetry of Coleridge and Shelley
In your opinion, does “Kubla Khan” celebrate the imagination or caution against its indulgence? To whom might Coleridge be writing and for what purpose(s)?
1. In "Kubla Khan" Colerigde is celebrating the imagination and the caution against his indulegence because while he describes this vision that he had, he tries to reveal in a way, that he wants to resist the indulgence but cannot. It is too strong for his own good. He describes the contrast between I believe Coleridge is writnig.
Even in the brief space of a sonnet, Shelley suggests a number of narrative frames. How many speakers do you hear in "Ozymandias"? What does each of these voices seem to say to you (or to others) as listeners?
2. In Shelley's sonnet, I hear the voices of three people. The first voice I hear is the narrator, who is telling a story about his travels, when he came across another man. The second voice I hear is the man that the narrator meets. He tells the narrator about a scuplture that represents a man that once lived who held great power. The third voice I hear belongs to the man that the second voice speaks about. Of course, his name is "Ozymandias", the man who held power a long while before the two gentlemen's existence. "Ozymandias" was also known as Ramesses the Great, a pharoh of the nineteenth dynasty of ancient Egypt. All of the voices are speaking to those to come after thier time on Earth has ended.
1. In "Kubla Khan" Colerigde is celebrating the imagination and the caution against his indulegence because while he describes this vision that he had, he tries to reveal in a way, that he wants to resist the indulgence but cannot. It is too strong for his own good. He describes the contrast between I believe Coleridge is writnig.
Even in the brief space of a sonnet, Shelley suggests a number of narrative frames. How many speakers do you hear in "Ozymandias"? What does each of these voices seem to say to you (or to others) as listeners?
2. In Shelley's sonnet, I hear the voices of three people. The first voice I hear is the narrator, who is telling a story about his travels, when he came across another man. The second voice I hear is the man that the narrator meets. He tells the narrator about a scuplture that represents a man that once lived who held great power. The third voice I hear belongs to the man that the second voice speaks about. Of course, his name is "Ozymandias", the man who held power a long while before the two gentlemen's existence. "Ozymandias" was also known as Ramesses the Great, a pharoh of the nineteenth dynasty of ancient Egypt. All of the voices are speaking to those to come after thier time on Earth has ended.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
william blake poetry
1. I do agree with the editors of your textbook that Blake's poetry had the power to enact social change by appealing to the imagination of the reader, because many people who can't read and understand blake's work they can still use there imagination to comprehend the poems.
2. The editors included the parliment transcript so that people can relate the poem to a real event that happened. It helped me visualize a child being force to do something he or she did want to do, and it makes you feel sympathy for that child.
2. The editors included the parliment transcript so that people can relate the poem to a real event that happened. It helped me visualize a child being force to do something he or she did want to do, and it makes you feel sympathy for that child.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Treaching prep.
1.) Questions:
a. Does he want to take over their land?
b. What is their understanding of one another?
c. Is he calm because he is scared or is there another reason?
d. Do they sort of understand one another without exchanging the same language?
2.) Excerpts:
Page 653- “I thought it the most prudent method to lie still, and my design was to continue so till night, when, my left hand being already loose, I could easily free myself…:”we would like to discuss what he means in this part of the excerpt. He says his method is to lie still all day and then just wait to see what else they will do because he could easily free himself if he wanted.
Pages 654-655- They speak different languages; they obviously are not the same size; they are trying to understand why he is there and he has his own reason, just not sure, what it is. Would like to know what the class thinks.
Page 655- “But the remembrance of what I had felt, which probably might not be the worst they could do, and the promise of honor I made them, for so I interpreted my submissive behavior, soon drove out those imaginations. Besides, I now considered myself as bound by the laws of hospitality to a people who had treated me with so much expense and magnificence.”So he is calm because of his promise of honor. He could easily unbind himself but he will not.
Page 656-“And producing his credentials under the Signet Royal, which he applied close to my eyes, spoke about ten minutes, without any signs of anger, but with a kind of determinate resolution; often pointing forward, which, as I afterward found, was toward the capital city, about half a mile distant, whither it was agreed by his Majesty in council that I must be conveyed. I answered in few words, but to no purpose, and made a sign with my hand that was loose, putting it to the other (but over his Excellency’s head for fear of hurting him or his train) and then to my own head and body, to signify that I desired my liberty. It appeared that he understood me well enough, for he shook his head by way of disapprobation, and held his hand in a posture to show that I must be carried as a prisoner.”This excerpt shows that with a simple nod or tone of voice, or even actions, such as Gulliver’s passive posture, can signify appropriate communication between people.
3.) Prediction:
The class may find it hard to know exactly what the understanding is between one another because they attack him first off, signaling dislike probably out of fear, then they feed him and give him something to drink, which of course must give a sign of trust or like in their new prisoner.
a. Does he want to take over their land?
b. What is their understanding of one another?
c. Is he calm because he is scared or is there another reason?
d. Do they sort of understand one another without exchanging the same language?
2.) Excerpts:
Page 653- “I thought it the most prudent method to lie still, and my design was to continue so till night, when, my left hand being already loose, I could easily free myself…:”we would like to discuss what he means in this part of the excerpt. He says his method is to lie still all day and then just wait to see what else they will do because he could easily free himself if he wanted.
Pages 654-655- They speak different languages; they obviously are not the same size; they are trying to understand why he is there and he has his own reason, just not sure, what it is. Would like to know what the class thinks.
Page 655- “But the remembrance of what I had felt, which probably might not be the worst they could do, and the promise of honor I made them, for so I interpreted my submissive behavior, soon drove out those imaginations. Besides, I now considered myself as bound by the laws of hospitality to a people who had treated me with so much expense and magnificence.”So he is calm because of his promise of honor. He could easily unbind himself but he will not.
Page 656-“And producing his credentials under the Signet Royal, which he applied close to my eyes, spoke about ten minutes, without any signs of anger, but with a kind of determinate resolution; often pointing forward, which, as I afterward found, was toward the capital city, about half a mile distant, whither it was agreed by his Majesty in council that I must be conveyed. I answered in few words, but to no purpose, and made a sign with my hand that was loose, putting it to the other (but over his Excellency’s head for fear of hurting him or his train) and then to my own head and body, to signify that I desired my liberty. It appeared that he understood me well enough, for he shook his head by way of disapprobation, and held his hand in a posture to show that I must be carried as a prisoner.”This excerpt shows that with a simple nod or tone of voice, or even actions, such as Gulliver’s passive posture, can signify appropriate communication between people.
3.) Prediction:
The class may find it hard to know exactly what the understanding is between one another because they attack him first off, signaling dislike probably out of fear, then they feed him and give him something to drink, which of course must give a sign of trust or like in their new prisoner.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Doctrine
The doctrine that O’Brien proclaims to Winston in this passage, plays an important role in maintaining the system of oligarchical collectivism because he is trying to convince winston to just join them now, because eventually he will. When Winston asks O'Brien if he too has been captured by the Party, O'Brien replies, “They got me long ago.” This reply could signify that O'Brien himself was once rebellious, only to be tortured into passive acceptance of the Party. Also O’Brien says to Winston, “You believe that reality is something objective, external, existing in its own right. You also believe that the nature of reality is self-evident. When you delude yourself into thinking that you see something, you assume that everyone else sees the same things as you. But I tell you, Winston, that reality is not external. Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else. Not in the individual mind, which can make mistakes, and in any case soon perishes; only in the mind of the Party, which is collective and immortal.” By telling Winston that "reality is created in the mind of the Party and not the individual", he shows that he believes the idea that everything exists to benefit the party and Big Brother, thus maintaining oligarchical collectivism. O'brien's main purpose is to convince Winston to forget about the system ever changing because it will never change.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Orwell's motive
I believe George Orwell wrote 1984 as a warning after World War II, with the intention of describing a society that he would never want to live the day to see, but he knew that it was more of a precaution to say this is how life for some was like in Germany or the Soviet Union. Both of these places having been in power during his time he wrote this to show the rest of the world how it was too late for them, and coming nearer for everyone else.
Also on pages 147-148, Winston reflects on the omnipresence of The Party: "He thought of the telescreen with its never-sleeping ear. They could spy upon you night and day, but if you kept your head you could still outwit them...Facts at any rate, could not be kept hidden. They could be tracked down by inquiry, they could be squeezed out of you by torture. But if the object was not to stay alive, but to stay human, what difference did it ultimately make?" What, in essence, is Winston saying about the lone individual in relation to The State? Does this contention remain true throughout the novel? These are a couple of questions i had.
Also on pages 147-148, Winston reflects on the omnipresence of The Party: "He thought of the telescreen with its never-sleeping ear. They could spy upon you night and day, but if you kept your head you could still outwit them...Facts at any rate, could not be kept hidden. They could be tracked down by inquiry, they could be squeezed out of you by torture. But if the object was not to stay alive, but to stay human, what difference did it ultimately make?" What, in essence, is Winston saying about the lone individual in relation to The State? Does this contention remain true throughout the novel? These are a couple of questions i had.
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