The following short paragraphs are completely unrelated ideas and feelings that I am going to expand on in my paper.
The House of Mirth can be summed up in one sentence: Girl with everything gradually loses it all, overdoses, and dies. Wharton’s novel is the quintessential tragedy. The stagnant speed of the heroine Lily Bart’s demise makes it all the more painful to read.
There are good reasons for reading tragic literature, though. For one, this novel is alarmingly realistic. Sometimes the fairy tale endings from Pride and Prejudice don’t always convey the misery that persists in the real world.
This novel also reminds its readers that usually we only want what we can’t have. That is every one’s tragic flaw. Once we have something, we realize the grass isn’t always greener.
The House of Mirth is obviously a social commentary on a world that was not unfamiliar to the author herself. Lily’s story is not much different from Edith Wharton’s. The only difference in the two women’s lives is really just that Edith settled and married where as Lily searched for more and for better.
Lily Bart is the kind of character that is constantly sabotaging herself. There is no concrete villain. Her inner demons are what impede her happiness.
This novel is one that makes the reader want to scream into its pages. Lily’s happiness is right within her grasp in the form of Lawrence Selden throughout the entire novel. She is painfully unaware but the reader is conscious of it from the beginning. Her downward spiraling life is like a slow motion train wreck that you can’t help but watch.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
House of Mirth II
I am considering using the following sources:
Joan Lidoff's "Another Sleeping Beauty: Narcissism in The House of Mirth"
Wai-Chee Dimock's "Debasing Exchange: Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth"
Jennie A. Kassanoff's "Extinction, Taxidermy, Tableaux Vivants: Staging Race and Class in The House of Mirth"
Deborah G. Lambert's "The House of Mirth: Readers Respond"
Roslyn Dixon's "Reflecting Vision in The House of Mirth"
James W. Gargano's "The House of Mirth: Social Futility and Faith"
Joan Lidoff's "Another Sleeping Beauty: Narcissism in The House of Mirth"
Wai-Chee Dimock's "Debasing Exchange: Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth"
Jennie A. Kassanoff's "Extinction, Taxidermy, Tableaux Vivants: Staging Race and Class in The House of Mirth"
Deborah G. Lambert's "The House of Mirth: Readers Respond"
Roslyn Dixon's "Reflecting Vision in The House of Mirth"
James W. Gargano's "The House of Mirth: Social Futility and Faith"
Sunday, April 13, 2008
House of Mirth: I
I have read the first eight chapters of House of Mirth and already so much has happened. The book is interesting and hard to put down. Edith Wharton ends each chapter by revealing a new bit of shocking information, leaving the reader dying to know more.
Miss Lily Bart is the protagonist and in my opinion, a tragic hero—her flaw being her insatiable need for acceptance and luxury. Miss Bart starts off in the novel with no prospects for marriage, very little money, and an intensely strong desire for the lavish and the exquisite. Miss Bart's age is her worst enemy because currently her only possessions are her beauty and her charm.
As she heads to Bellomont--an annual retreat for the super wealthy--she sets her eyes on a dull, but very rich, Mr. Gryce. She plays her cards perfectly and adheres to his standards. That is, until she has a run in with a suddenly more appealing Mr. Selden. Lawrence Selden represents the antithesis of everything that Lily Bart has been working for. They share an afternoon walk together that causes Lily to question her life choices. Mrs. Dorset is another important character in the life of Miss Lily. She was linked to Mr. Selden in the past and is incredibly angry to hear that he arrived to Bellomont with Lily in mind. Mrs. Dorset then conspires to tarnish Lily's reputation in the eyes of Mr. Gryce, thereby eliminating Lily's chance of winning him over and achieving her idea of success. In another plot twist, Lily approaches her best friend's husband, Mr. Trenor, with the hope that he will help her turn her small pile of bills into a large treasure. All we know about Mr. Trenor so far is that he makes his money by taking tips from a sketchy Mr. Rosedale who is regarded with ill repute by the rest of the community. With her first few investments in the risky stock market, Miss Bart has won thousands of dollars, which helps restore her confidence and the belief that she still may have a chance to win over Mr. Gryce.
Since all of these hectic scenes have passed and I am only ninety pages into the book, I can only think that there is so much more in store for these characters. Miss Lily Bart's tendency to sabotage herself may lead her into some very perilous situations especially with her recent entry into the risky stock business. As a reader, I identify and sympathize with Lily. I hope for her that she sees the error of her ways and lets love and freedom into her heart in the form of Mr. Selden. I look forward to reading the rest. I couldn’t be happier with my book of choice.
Miss Lily Bart is the protagonist and in my opinion, a tragic hero—her flaw being her insatiable need for acceptance and luxury. Miss Bart starts off in the novel with no prospects for marriage, very little money, and an intensely strong desire for the lavish and the exquisite. Miss Bart's age is her worst enemy because currently her only possessions are her beauty and her charm.
As she heads to Bellomont--an annual retreat for the super wealthy--she sets her eyes on a dull, but very rich, Mr. Gryce. She plays her cards perfectly and adheres to his standards. That is, until she has a run in with a suddenly more appealing Mr. Selden. Lawrence Selden represents the antithesis of everything that Lily Bart has been working for. They share an afternoon walk together that causes Lily to question her life choices. Mrs. Dorset is another important character in the life of Miss Lily. She was linked to Mr. Selden in the past and is incredibly angry to hear that he arrived to Bellomont with Lily in mind. Mrs. Dorset then conspires to tarnish Lily's reputation in the eyes of Mr. Gryce, thereby eliminating Lily's chance of winning him over and achieving her idea of success. In another plot twist, Lily approaches her best friend's husband, Mr. Trenor, with the hope that he will help her turn her small pile of bills into a large treasure. All we know about Mr. Trenor so far is that he makes his money by taking tips from a sketchy Mr. Rosedale who is regarded with ill repute by the rest of the community. With her first few investments in the risky stock market, Miss Bart has won thousands of dollars, which helps restore her confidence and the belief that she still may have a chance to win over Mr. Gryce.
Since all of these hectic scenes have passed and I am only ninety pages into the book, I can only think that there is so much more in store for these characters. Miss Lily Bart's tendency to sabotage herself may lead her into some very perilous situations especially with her recent entry into the risky stock business. As a reader, I identify and sympathize with Lily. I hope for her that she sees the error of her ways and lets love and freedom into her heart in the form of Mr. Selden. I look forward to reading the rest. I couldn’t be happier with my book of choice.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
WBY's When You Are Old
There are many ways to interpret the words of a poet. But for me, one resounding message emanates from William Butler Yeats’ poem “When You Are Old.” In my opinion, the story that this poem tells is one of unrequited love. The speaker’s words seem to be a final address to the woman he loved deeply and truly with no reciprocation on her part. This poem unveils his true feelings for her and leaves her with a piece of advice, a warning of sorts, to chew on.
I get the impression that the speaker is not significant at all in the mind of the woman being addressed but that this confrontation is meant to leave a big impression on her. I also got the sensation that the speaker is criticizing the woman’s disregard for meaningful relationships in favor of a shallow existence in which she effortlessly captivates men with her beauty. The way that the speaker uses the past tense of the word love in the second stanza reinforces my theory. The way that he says “but one man loved” implies that the speaker has decided to stop waiting for her. The way that he says he, unlike other men, loves her changing i.e. aging face is a warning to her that if she does not change her ways, she will end up old and lonely with a photo album of her beautiful youth as her only comfort.
In the second stanza, the speaker talks about other men loving her beauty with “false” love as opposed to his true love of “the pilgrim soul in [her]” and “the sorrows of her changing face.”
The first and the last stanzas of this poem describe the speaker’s prediction of the woman’s life as an elderly woman. The words in the first stanza convey the image of an old woman sitting in solitude, looking at old photos of herself and reminiscing about her fleeting youth and the simple lifestyle that came with it. Then, in the last stanza the speaker evokes the feeling of sadness that the woman will be faced with when her beauty and the attention she receives because of it all vanish. I interpreted the last stanza as a metaphorical way of saying that because of the woman’s attitude, both her false and true admirers will eventually leave her (“love fled and paced upon the mountains overhead”). Their love will then be out of reach to her and her only hope is to wish upon the stars for its return (“[love] hid his face amid a crowd of stars”).
“When You Are Old” is written into three stanzas. The first and third stanzas talk about the woman’s life when she is old. The second stanza talks about her youth. The way in which it was written reminds me of the photo album in the woman’s hands. The first and third stanzas are like the covers of the album, old and dusty and aging along with the woman. However, in between those two covers lies a woman eternally frozen in time as young and beautiful as ever—the second stanza.
The poem is written with very delicate words that sound pretty when spoken—dream, soft, glad grace, love, beauty, soul, glowing, stars. There is no easy way to describe it but these words just sound pretty and young. They are so sweet that at first glance the poem sounds like a love letter from a loving devoted husband to his wife of fifty years. However, with a closer look, the smooth, flowing words cannot disguise what I truly believe is a fed up man’s final speech to a woman who may never realize the extent of what she is losing.
[617]
I get the impression that the speaker is not significant at all in the mind of the woman being addressed but that this confrontation is meant to leave a big impression on her. I also got the sensation that the speaker is criticizing the woman’s disregard for meaningful relationships in favor of a shallow existence in which she effortlessly captivates men with her beauty. The way that the speaker uses the past tense of the word love in the second stanza reinforces my theory. The way that he says “but one man loved” implies that the speaker has decided to stop waiting for her. The way that he says he, unlike other men, loves her changing i.e. aging face is a warning to her that if she does not change her ways, she will end up old and lonely with a photo album of her beautiful youth as her only comfort.
In the second stanza, the speaker talks about other men loving her beauty with “false” love as opposed to his true love of “the pilgrim soul in [her]” and “the sorrows of her changing face.”
The first and the last stanzas of this poem describe the speaker’s prediction of the woman’s life as an elderly woman. The words in the first stanza convey the image of an old woman sitting in solitude, looking at old photos of herself and reminiscing about her fleeting youth and the simple lifestyle that came with it. Then, in the last stanza the speaker evokes the feeling of sadness that the woman will be faced with when her beauty and the attention she receives because of it all vanish. I interpreted the last stanza as a metaphorical way of saying that because of the woman’s attitude, both her false and true admirers will eventually leave her (“love fled and paced upon the mountains overhead”). Their love will then be out of reach to her and her only hope is to wish upon the stars for its return (“[love] hid his face amid a crowd of stars”).
“When You Are Old” is written into three stanzas. The first and third stanzas talk about the woman’s life when she is old. The second stanza talks about her youth. The way in which it was written reminds me of the photo album in the woman’s hands. The first and third stanzas are like the covers of the album, old and dusty and aging along with the woman. However, in between those two covers lies a woman eternally frozen in time as young and beautiful as ever—the second stanza.
The poem is written with very delicate words that sound pretty when spoken—dream, soft, glad grace, love, beauty, soul, glowing, stars. There is no easy way to describe it but these words just sound pretty and young. They are so sweet that at first glance the poem sounds like a love letter from a loving devoted husband to his wife of fifty years. However, with a closer look, the smooth, flowing words cannot disguise what I truly believe is a fed up man’s final speech to a woman who may never realize the extent of what she is losing.
[617]
Thursday, February 21, 2008
My pulse makes healthful music
SCENE IV. The Queen's closet.
Enter QUEEN GERTRUDE and POLONIUS
LORD POLONIUS He will come straight. Look you lay home to him: Tell him his pranks have been too broad to bear with, And that your grace hath screen'd and stood between Much heat and him. I'll sconce me even here. Pray you, be round with him.
Subtext: Polonius knows that the Queen needs a little encouragement before putting her son in his place.
HAMLET [Within] Mother, mother, mother!
Subtext: Hamlet is using every ounce of his will power to keep from unleashing his wrath upon his mother.
QUEEN GERTRUDE I'll warrant you, Fear me not: withdraw, I hear him coming. Subtext: Gertrude urgently tells Polonius to hide before Hamlet enters.
POLONIUS hides behind the arras
Enter HAMLET
HAMLET Now, mother, what's the matter? Subtext: Hamlet is desperately trying to control himself in his mother’s presence.
QUEEN GERTRUDE Hamlet, thou hast thy father much offended. Subtext: Gertrude attempts to chastise Hamlet. Her words instead grant him permission to reveal emotions to her that he has long been hiding.
HAMLET Mother, you have my father much offended. Subtext: He emphasizes “you” in this sentence. He answers in the same style she addressed him with to remind her that the man she speaks of is most definitely not his father.
QUEEN GERTRUDE Come, come, you answer with an idle tongue. Subtext: Gertrude does not know what to make of Hamlet’s response and she gets defensive.
HAMLET Go, go, you question with a wicked tongue. Subtext: Hamlet again answers in the style she had just addressed him with. Their conversation is turning into a juvenile, back-and-forth fight.
QUEEN GERTRUDE Why, how now, Hamlet! Subtext: Gertrude is shocked. Her son has never spoken to her in her way.
HAMLET What's the matter now?
QUEEN GERTRUDE Have you forgot me? Subtext: She cannot believe Hamlet’s audacity. No son may disrespect his mother like this.
HAMLET No, by the rood, not so: You are the queen, your husband's brother's wife; And--would it were not so!--you are my mother. Subtext: Hamlet makes this statement because he knows how much it will anger his mother. He unleashes his store of hurtful ammunition upon her.
QUEEN GERTRUDE Nay, then, I'll set those to you that can speak.
HAMLET Come, come, and sit you down; you shall not budge; You go not till I set you up a glass Where you may see the inmost part of you. Subtext: With great force, Hamlet grabs his mother. He is seething with anger and disgust.
QUEEN GERTRUDE What wilt thou do? thou wilt not murder me? Help, help, ho! Subtext: Gertrude starts to panic feverishly. She is finally realizing Hamlet’s capabilities.
LORD POLONIUS [Behind] What, ho! help, help, help! Subtext: Polonius, still cloaked by the drapes, is very frightened by Gertrude’s screams.
HAMLET [Drawing] How now! a rat? Dead, for a ducat, dead! Subtext: Hamlet is under the impression that Claudius is hiding behind the curtains. He reacts without a second thought and thrusts his sword into Polonius.
Makes a pass through the arras
LORD POLONIUS [Behind] O, I am slain!
Falls and dies
QUEEN GERTRUDE O me, what hast thou done?
HAMLET Nay, I know not: Is it the king? Subtext: Hamlet, forgetting his rage, is excited at the possibility of the dead King.
QUEEN GERTRUDE O, what a rash and bloody deed is this! Subtext: Gertrude cannot even begin to comprehend all that has happened in this short period of time.
HAMLET A bloody deed! almost as bad, good mother, As kill a king, and marry with his brother. Subtext: Hamlet shows no sign of remorse. In a calm, even voice, he openly accuses his mother of being apart of a plan to kill her husband and marry his brother.
QUEEN GERTRUDE As kill a king! Subtext: Gertrude does not understand the implications of Hamlet’s words and questions their meaning.
HAMLET Ay, lady, 'twas my word. Lifts up the array and discovers Polonius Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell! I took thee for thy better: take thy fortune; Thou find'st to be too busy is some danger. Leave wringing of your hands: peace! sit you down, And let me wring your heart; for so I shall, If it be made of penetrable stuff, If damned custom have not brass'd it so That it is proof and bulwark against sense. Subtext: Hamlet, though disappointed that it was not Claudius that he killed, believes that Polonius deserves death. He then turns back to his mother and warns her that he is not yet finished giving her a piece of his mind.
QUEEN GERTRUDE What have I done, that thou darest wag thy tongue In noise so rude against me? Subtext: Gertrude is very obviously naïve to her son’s rantings.
HAMLET Such an act That blurs the grace and blush of modesty, Calls virtue hypocrite, takes off the rose From the fair forehead of an innocent love And sets a blister there, makes marriage-vows As false as dicers' oaths: O, such a deed As from the body of contraction plucks The very soul, and sweet religion makes A rhapsody of words: heaven's face doth glow: Yea, this solidity and compound mass, With tristful visage, as against the doom, Is thought-sick at the act. Subtext: Hamlet exhibits a complete lack of respect for his mother. He tells her plainly that she is a sinful, classless woman. He boldly tells her that she should be ashamed.
QUEEN GERTRUDE Ay me, what act, That roars so loud, and thunders in the index? Subtext: Gertrude is still not catching on to the implications of Hamlet’s words.
HAMLET Look here, upon this picture, and on this, The counterfeit presentment of two brothers. See, what a grace was seated on this brow; Hyperion's curls; the front of Jove himself; An eye like Mars, to threaten and command; A station like the herald Mercury New-lighted on a heaven-kissing hill; A combination and a form indeed, Where every god did seem to set his seal, To give the world assurance of a man: This was your husband. Look you now, what follows: Here is your husband; like a mildew'd ear, Blasting his wholesome brother. Have you eyes? Could you on this fair mountain leave to feed, And batten on this moor? Ha! have you eyes? You cannot call it love; for at your age The hey-day in the blood is tame, it's humble, And waits upon the judgment: and what judgment Would step from this to this? Sense, sure, you have, Else could you not have motion; but sure, that sense Is apoplex'd; for madness would not err, Nor sense to ecstasy was ne'er so thrall'd But it reserved some quantity of choice, To serve in such a difference. What devil was't That thus hath cozen'd you at hoodman-blind? Eyes without feeling, feeling without sight, Ears without hands or eyes, smelling sans all, Or but a sickly part of one true sense Could not so mope. O shame! where is thy blush? Rebellious hell, If thou canst mutine in a matron's bones, To flaming youth let virtue be as wax, And melt in her own fire: proclaim no shame When the compulsive ardour gives the charge, Since frost itself as actively doth burn And reason panders will. Subtext: Hamlet is now ranting. He cannot keep the words that he has stifled for so long from coming out. Finally, he speaks directly about his father and Claudius. He compares the two of them to show his mother the error of her ways.
QUEEN GERTRUDE O Hamlet, speak no more: Thou turn'st mine eyes into my very soul; And there I see such black and grained spots As will not leave their tinct. Subtext: Gertrude is trying desperately to convince him that she too believes what she did was wrong so that perhaps he will not hurt her.
HAMLET Nay, but to live In the rank sweat of an enseamed bed, Stew'd in corruption, honeying and making love Over the nasty sty,-- Subtext: Hamlet makes a reference to the bed in which his mother has disgraced herself by sharing it with both her husband and her husband’s brother.
QUEEN GERTRUDE O, speak to me no more; These words, like daggers, enter in mine ears; No more, sweet Hamlet! Subtext: Hamlet succeeds in making his mother suffer.
HAMLET A murderer and a villain; A slave that is not twentieth part the tithe Of your precedent lord; a vice of kings; A cutpurse of the empire and the rule, That from a shelf the precious diadem stole, And put it in his pocket! Subtext: Hamlet now begins a verbal attack against Claudius and the way he wrongfully usurped his brother’s kingdom and legacy.
QUEEN GERTRUDE No more!
Subtext: Gertrude is sobbing and pleading.
HAMLET A king of shreds and patches,--
Enter Ghost
Save me, and hover o'er me with your wings, You heavenly guards! What would your gracious figure?
Subtext: Seeing his father’s ghost, Hamlet stops his yelling and questions the ghost’s presence respectfully.
QUEEN GERTRUDE Alas, he's mad! Subtext: Gertrude cannot see the ghost. She then comes to the conclusion that Hamlet must be out of his mind.
HAMLET Do you not come your tardy son to chide, That, lapsed in time and passion, lets go by The important acting of your dread command? O, say! Subtext: Hamlet knows that his father’s ghost has come because has let his main priority—revenge—slip his mind.
GHOST Do not forget: this visitation Is but to whet thy almost blunted purpose. But, look, amazement on thy mother sits: O, step between her and her fighting soul: Conceit in weakest bodies strongest works: Speak to her, Hamlet.
Subtext: The ghost reprimands Hamlet for his inaction.
HAMLET How is it with you, lady?
QUEEN GERTRUDE Alas, how is't with you, That you do bend your eye on vacancy And with the incorporal air do hold discourse? Forth at your eyes your spirits wildly peep; And, as the sleeping soldiers in the alarm, Your bedded hair, like life in excrements, Starts up, and stands on end. O gentle son, Upon the heat and flame of thy distemper Sprinkle cool patience. Whereon do you look?
Subtext: Gertrude is confused and frightened. She attempts to get her son to return to reality and forget his hallucinations She speaks softly to calm him down.
HAMLET On him, on him! Look you, how pale he glares! His form and cause conjoin'd, preaching to stones, Would make them capable. Do not look upon me; Lest with this piteous action you convert My stern effects: then what I have to do Will want true colour; tears perchance for blood.
Subtext: Hamlet is panicky and paranoid. He wishes that his father’s ghost would stop pressuring him with his ominous glares.
QUEEN GERTRUDE To whom do you speak this?
Subtext: Gertrude tries to gently hint to her son that what he is seeing is not real.
HAMLET Do you see nothing there?
Subtext: Hamlet’s mind is racing. He does not know what to believe.
QUEEN GERTRUDE Nothing at all; yet all that is I see.
Subtext: She tells Hamlet that she can see everything there is to be seen in the room, meaning that there is no ghost present.
HAMLET Nor did you nothing hear?
QUEEN GERTRUDE No, nothing but ourselves.
HAMLET Why, look you there! look, how it steals away! My father, in his habit as he lived! Look, where he goes, even now, out at the portal!
Subtext: Hamlet wants to convince his mother that this is not a product of his imagination.
Exit Ghost
QUEEN GERTRUDE This the very coinage of your brain: This bodiless creation ecstasy Is very cunning in.
Subtext: Gertrude tells Hamlet in a soothing voice that he must believe her when she says that there is no one in the room but themselves.
HAMLET Ecstasy! My pulse, as yours, doth temperately keep time, And makes as healthful music: it is not madness That I have utter'd: bring me to the test, And I the matter will re-word; which madness Would gambol from. Mother, for love of grace, Lay not that mattering unction to your soul, That not your trespass, but my madness speaks: It will but skin and film the ulcerous place, Whilst rank corruption, mining all within, Infects unseen. Confess yourself to heaven; Repent what's past; avoid what is to come; And do not spread the compost on the weeds, To make them ranker. Forgive me this my virtue; For in the fatness of these pursy times Virtue itself of vice must pardon beg, Yea, curb and woo for leave to do him good.
Subtext: Hamlet frantically begs his mother to listen to him and believe all the things that he has seen and been told by this ghost. He no longer yells at her for her sins but instead wants her to repent them so that she may be forgiven.
QUEEN GERTRUDE O Hamlet, thou hast cleft my heart in twain.
Subtext: She tells Hamlet that he has reached the inner most part of her heart with his words. He has caused her a great deal of pain but she now knows what to do to rectify her bad deeds.
HAMLET O, throw away the worser part of it, And live the purer with the other half. Good night: but go not to mine uncle's bed; Assume a virtue, if you have it not. That monster, custom, who all sense doth eat, Of habits devil, is angel yet in this, That to the use of actions fair and good He likewise gives a frock or livery, That aptly is put on. Refrain to-night, And that shall lend a kind of easiness To the next abstinence: the next more easy; For use almost can change the stamp of nature, And either [ ] the devil, or throw him out With wondrous potency. Once more, good night: And when you are desirous to be bless'd, I'll blessing beg of you. For this same lord,
[Pointing to Polonious]
I do repent: but heaven hath pleased it so, To punish me with this and this with me, That I must be their scourge and minister. I will bestow him, and will answer well The death I gave him. So, again, good night. I must be cruel, only to be kind: Thus bad begins and worse remains behind. One word more, good lady.
Subtext: Hamlet shows his mother compassion—the purpose of everything he has said was to help her. He tells her that all hope is not lost and everything she has done can be fixed. He shows her the way to absolve her sins. He also finally feels remorse for accidentally condemning Polonius to death.
QUEEN GERTRUDE What shall I do?
Subtext: A mother asks her son’s advice
HAMLET Not this, by no means, that I bid you do: Let the bloat king tempt you again to bed; Pinch wanton on your cheek; call you his mouse; And let him, for a pair of reechy kisses, Or paddling in your neck with his damn'd fingers, Make you to ravel all this matter out, That I essentially am not in madness, But mad in craft. 'Twere good you let him know; For who, that's but a queen, fair, sober, wise, Would from a paddock, from a bat, a gib, Such dear concernings hide? who would do so? No, in despite of sense and secrecy, Unpeg the basket on the house's top. Let the birds fly, and, like the famous ape, To try conclusions, in the basket creep, And break your own neck down.
Subtext: Hamlet precisely lays out the course of action that his mother must avoid.
QUEEN GERTRUDE Be thou assured, if words be made of breath, And breath of life, I have no life to breathe What thou hast said to me.
Subtext: Gertrude has been enlightened. She is drained and exhausted.
HAMLET I must to England; you know that?
QUEEN GERTRUDE Alack, I had forgot: 'tis so concluded on.
HAMLET There's letters seal'd: and my two schoolfellows,
Whom I will trust as I will adders fang'd,
They bear the mandate; they must sweep my way,
And marshal me to knavery. Let it work;
For 'tis the sport to have the engineer
Hoist with his own petard: and 't shall go hard
But I will delve one yard below their mines,
And blow them at the moon: O, 'tis most sweet,
When in one line two crafts directly meet.
This man shall set me packing:
I'll lug the guts into the neighbour room.
Mother, good night. Indeed this counsellor
Is now most still, most secret and most grave,
Who was in life a foolish prating knave.
Come, sir, to draw toward an end with you.
Good night, mother.
Exeunt severally; HAMLET dragging in POLONIUS
Enter QUEEN GERTRUDE and POLONIUS
LORD POLONIUS He will come straight. Look you lay home to him: Tell him his pranks have been too broad to bear with, And that your grace hath screen'd and stood between Much heat and him. I'll sconce me even here. Pray you, be round with him.
Subtext: Polonius knows that the Queen needs a little encouragement before putting her son in his place.
HAMLET [Within] Mother, mother, mother!
Subtext: Hamlet is using every ounce of his will power to keep from unleashing his wrath upon his mother.
QUEEN GERTRUDE I'll warrant you, Fear me not: withdraw, I hear him coming. Subtext: Gertrude urgently tells Polonius to hide before Hamlet enters.
POLONIUS hides behind the arras
Enter HAMLET
HAMLET Now, mother, what's the matter? Subtext: Hamlet is desperately trying to control himself in his mother’s presence.
QUEEN GERTRUDE Hamlet, thou hast thy father much offended. Subtext: Gertrude attempts to chastise Hamlet. Her words instead grant him permission to reveal emotions to her that he has long been hiding.
HAMLET Mother, you have my father much offended. Subtext: He emphasizes “you” in this sentence. He answers in the same style she addressed him with to remind her that the man she speaks of is most definitely not his father.
QUEEN GERTRUDE Come, come, you answer with an idle tongue. Subtext: Gertrude does not know what to make of Hamlet’s response and she gets defensive.
HAMLET Go, go, you question with a wicked tongue. Subtext: Hamlet again answers in the style she had just addressed him with. Their conversation is turning into a juvenile, back-and-forth fight.
QUEEN GERTRUDE Why, how now, Hamlet! Subtext: Gertrude is shocked. Her son has never spoken to her in her way.
HAMLET What's the matter now?
QUEEN GERTRUDE Have you forgot me? Subtext: She cannot believe Hamlet’s audacity. No son may disrespect his mother like this.
HAMLET No, by the rood, not so: You are the queen, your husband's brother's wife; And--would it were not so!--you are my mother. Subtext: Hamlet makes this statement because he knows how much it will anger his mother. He unleashes his store of hurtful ammunition upon her.
QUEEN GERTRUDE Nay, then, I'll set those to you that can speak.
HAMLET Come, come, and sit you down; you shall not budge; You go not till I set you up a glass Where you may see the inmost part of you. Subtext: With great force, Hamlet grabs his mother. He is seething with anger and disgust.
QUEEN GERTRUDE What wilt thou do? thou wilt not murder me? Help, help, ho! Subtext: Gertrude starts to panic feverishly. She is finally realizing Hamlet’s capabilities.
LORD POLONIUS [Behind] What, ho! help, help, help! Subtext: Polonius, still cloaked by the drapes, is very frightened by Gertrude’s screams.
HAMLET [Drawing] How now! a rat? Dead, for a ducat, dead! Subtext: Hamlet is under the impression that Claudius is hiding behind the curtains. He reacts without a second thought and thrusts his sword into Polonius.
Makes a pass through the arras
LORD POLONIUS [Behind] O, I am slain!
Falls and dies
QUEEN GERTRUDE O me, what hast thou done?
HAMLET Nay, I know not: Is it the king? Subtext: Hamlet, forgetting his rage, is excited at the possibility of the dead King.
QUEEN GERTRUDE O, what a rash and bloody deed is this! Subtext: Gertrude cannot even begin to comprehend all that has happened in this short period of time.
HAMLET A bloody deed! almost as bad, good mother, As kill a king, and marry with his brother. Subtext: Hamlet shows no sign of remorse. In a calm, even voice, he openly accuses his mother of being apart of a plan to kill her husband and marry his brother.
QUEEN GERTRUDE As kill a king! Subtext: Gertrude does not understand the implications of Hamlet’s words and questions their meaning.
HAMLET Ay, lady, 'twas my word. Lifts up the array and discovers Polonius Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell! I took thee for thy better: take thy fortune; Thou find'st to be too busy is some danger. Leave wringing of your hands: peace! sit you down, And let me wring your heart; for so I shall, If it be made of penetrable stuff, If damned custom have not brass'd it so That it is proof and bulwark against sense. Subtext: Hamlet, though disappointed that it was not Claudius that he killed, believes that Polonius deserves death. He then turns back to his mother and warns her that he is not yet finished giving her a piece of his mind.
QUEEN GERTRUDE What have I done, that thou darest wag thy tongue In noise so rude against me? Subtext: Gertrude is very obviously naïve to her son’s rantings.
HAMLET Such an act That blurs the grace and blush of modesty, Calls virtue hypocrite, takes off the rose From the fair forehead of an innocent love And sets a blister there, makes marriage-vows As false as dicers' oaths: O, such a deed As from the body of contraction plucks The very soul, and sweet religion makes A rhapsody of words: heaven's face doth glow: Yea, this solidity and compound mass, With tristful visage, as against the doom, Is thought-sick at the act. Subtext: Hamlet exhibits a complete lack of respect for his mother. He tells her plainly that she is a sinful, classless woman. He boldly tells her that she should be ashamed.
QUEEN GERTRUDE Ay me, what act, That roars so loud, and thunders in the index? Subtext: Gertrude is still not catching on to the implications of Hamlet’s words.
HAMLET Look here, upon this picture, and on this, The counterfeit presentment of two brothers. See, what a grace was seated on this brow; Hyperion's curls; the front of Jove himself; An eye like Mars, to threaten and command; A station like the herald Mercury New-lighted on a heaven-kissing hill; A combination and a form indeed, Where every god did seem to set his seal, To give the world assurance of a man: This was your husband. Look you now, what follows: Here is your husband; like a mildew'd ear, Blasting his wholesome brother. Have you eyes? Could you on this fair mountain leave to feed, And batten on this moor? Ha! have you eyes? You cannot call it love; for at your age The hey-day in the blood is tame, it's humble, And waits upon the judgment: and what judgment Would step from this to this? Sense, sure, you have, Else could you not have motion; but sure, that sense Is apoplex'd; for madness would not err, Nor sense to ecstasy was ne'er so thrall'd But it reserved some quantity of choice, To serve in such a difference. What devil was't That thus hath cozen'd you at hoodman-blind? Eyes without feeling, feeling without sight, Ears without hands or eyes, smelling sans all, Or but a sickly part of one true sense Could not so mope. O shame! where is thy blush? Rebellious hell, If thou canst mutine in a matron's bones, To flaming youth let virtue be as wax, And melt in her own fire: proclaim no shame When the compulsive ardour gives the charge, Since frost itself as actively doth burn And reason panders will. Subtext: Hamlet is now ranting. He cannot keep the words that he has stifled for so long from coming out. Finally, he speaks directly about his father and Claudius. He compares the two of them to show his mother the error of her ways.
QUEEN GERTRUDE O Hamlet, speak no more: Thou turn'st mine eyes into my very soul; And there I see such black and grained spots As will not leave their tinct. Subtext: Gertrude is trying desperately to convince him that she too believes what she did was wrong so that perhaps he will not hurt her.
HAMLET Nay, but to live In the rank sweat of an enseamed bed, Stew'd in corruption, honeying and making love Over the nasty sty,-- Subtext: Hamlet makes a reference to the bed in which his mother has disgraced herself by sharing it with both her husband and her husband’s brother.
QUEEN GERTRUDE O, speak to me no more; These words, like daggers, enter in mine ears; No more, sweet Hamlet! Subtext: Hamlet succeeds in making his mother suffer.
HAMLET A murderer and a villain; A slave that is not twentieth part the tithe Of your precedent lord; a vice of kings; A cutpurse of the empire and the rule, That from a shelf the precious diadem stole, And put it in his pocket! Subtext: Hamlet now begins a verbal attack against Claudius and the way he wrongfully usurped his brother’s kingdom and legacy.
QUEEN GERTRUDE No more!
Subtext: Gertrude is sobbing and pleading.
HAMLET A king of shreds and patches,--
Enter Ghost
Save me, and hover o'er me with your wings, You heavenly guards! What would your gracious figure?
Subtext: Seeing his father’s ghost, Hamlet stops his yelling and questions the ghost’s presence respectfully.
QUEEN GERTRUDE Alas, he's mad! Subtext: Gertrude cannot see the ghost. She then comes to the conclusion that Hamlet must be out of his mind.
HAMLET Do you not come your tardy son to chide, That, lapsed in time and passion, lets go by The important acting of your dread command? O, say! Subtext: Hamlet knows that his father’s ghost has come because has let his main priority—revenge—slip his mind.
GHOST Do not forget: this visitation Is but to whet thy almost blunted purpose. But, look, amazement on thy mother sits: O, step between her and her fighting soul: Conceit in weakest bodies strongest works: Speak to her, Hamlet.
Subtext: The ghost reprimands Hamlet for his inaction.
HAMLET How is it with you, lady?
QUEEN GERTRUDE Alas, how is't with you, That you do bend your eye on vacancy And with the incorporal air do hold discourse? Forth at your eyes your spirits wildly peep; And, as the sleeping soldiers in the alarm, Your bedded hair, like life in excrements, Starts up, and stands on end. O gentle son, Upon the heat and flame of thy distemper Sprinkle cool patience. Whereon do you look?
Subtext: Gertrude is confused and frightened. She attempts to get her son to return to reality and forget his hallucinations She speaks softly to calm him down.
HAMLET On him, on him! Look you, how pale he glares! His form and cause conjoin'd, preaching to stones, Would make them capable. Do not look upon me; Lest with this piteous action you convert My stern effects: then what I have to do Will want true colour; tears perchance for blood.
Subtext: Hamlet is panicky and paranoid. He wishes that his father’s ghost would stop pressuring him with his ominous glares.
QUEEN GERTRUDE To whom do you speak this?
Subtext: Gertrude tries to gently hint to her son that what he is seeing is not real.
HAMLET Do you see nothing there?
Subtext: Hamlet’s mind is racing. He does not know what to believe.
QUEEN GERTRUDE Nothing at all; yet all that is I see.
Subtext: She tells Hamlet that she can see everything there is to be seen in the room, meaning that there is no ghost present.
HAMLET Nor did you nothing hear?
QUEEN GERTRUDE No, nothing but ourselves.
HAMLET Why, look you there! look, how it steals away! My father, in his habit as he lived! Look, where he goes, even now, out at the portal!
Subtext: Hamlet wants to convince his mother that this is not a product of his imagination.
Exit Ghost
QUEEN GERTRUDE This the very coinage of your brain: This bodiless creation ecstasy Is very cunning in.
Subtext: Gertrude tells Hamlet in a soothing voice that he must believe her when she says that there is no one in the room but themselves.
HAMLET Ecstasy! My pulse, as yours, doth temperately keep time, And makes as healthful music: it is not madness That I have utter'd: bring me to the test, And I the matter will re-word; which madness Would gambol from. Mother, for love of grace, Lay not that mattering unction to your soul, That not your trespass, but my madness speaks: It will but skin and film the ulcerous place, Whilst rank corruption, mining all within, Infects unseen. Confess yourself to heaven; Repent what's past; avoid what is to come; And do not spread the compost on the weeds, To make them ranker. Forgive me this my virtue; For in the fatness of these pursy times Virtue itself of vice must pardon beg, Yea, curb and woo for leave to do him good.
Subtext: Hamlet frantically begs his mother to listen to him and believe all the things that he has seen and been told by this ghost. He no longer yells at her for her sins but instead wants her to repent them so that she may be forgiven.
QUEEN GERTRUDE O Hamlet, thou hast cleft my heart in twain.
Subtext: She tells Hamlet that he has reached the inner most part of her heart with his words. He has caused her a great deal of pain but she now knows what to do to rectify her bad deeds.
HAMLET O, throw away the worser part of it, And live the purer with the other half. Good night: but go not to mine uncle's bed; Assume a virtue, if you have it not. That monster, custom, who all sense doth eat, Of habits devil, is angel yet in this, That to the use of actions fair and good He likewise gives a frock or livery, That aptly is put on. Refrain to-night, And that shall lend a kind of easiness To the next abstinence: the next more easy; For use almost can change the stamp of nature, And either [ ] the devil, or throw him out With wondrous potency. Once more, good night: And when you are desirous to be bless'd, I'll blessing beg of you. For this same lord,
[Pointing to Polonious]
I do repent: but heaven hath pleased it so, To punish me with this and this with me, That I must be their scourge and minister. I will bestow him, and will answer well The death I gave him. So, again, good night. I must be cruel, only to be kind: Thus bad begins and worse remains behind. One word more, good lady.
Subtext: Hamlet shows his mother compassion—the purpose of everything he has said was to help her. He tells her that all hope is not lost and everything she has done can be fixed. He shows her the way to absolve her sins. He also finally feels remorse for accidentally condemning Polonius to death.
QUEEN GERTRUDE What shall I do?
Subtext: A mother asks her son’s advice
HAMLET Not this, by no means, that I bid you do: Let the bloat king tempt you again to bed; Pinch wanton on your cheek; call you his mouse; And let him, for a pair of reechy kisses, Or paddling in your neck with his damn'd fingers, Make you to ravel all this matter out, That I essentially am not in madness, But mad in craft. 'Twere good you let him know; For who, that's but a queen, fair, sober, wise, Would from a paddock, from a bat, a gib, Such dear concernings hide? who would do so? No, in despite of sense and secrecy, Unpeg the basket on the house's top. Let the birds fly, and, like the famous ape, To try conclusions, in the basket creep, And break your own neck down.
Subtext: Hamlet precisely lays out the course of action that his mother must avoid.
QUEEN GERTRUDE Be thou assured, if words be made of breath, And breath of life, I have no life to breathe What thou hast said to me.
Subtext: Gertrude has been enlightened. She is drained and exhausted.
HAMLET I must to England; you know that?
QUEEN GERTRUDE Alack, I had forgot: 'tis so concluded on.
HAMLET There's letters seal'd: and my two schoolfellows,
Whom I will trust as I will adders fang'd,
They bear the mandate; they must sweep my way,
And marshal me to knavery. Let it work;
For 'tis the sport to have the engineer
Hoist with his own petard: and 't shall go hard
But I will delve one yard below their mines,
And blow them at the moon: O, 'tis most sweet,
When in one line two crafts directly meet.
This man shall set me packing:
I'll lug the guts into the neighbour room.
Mother, good night. Indeed this counsellor
Is now most still, most secret and most grave,
Who was in life a foolish prating knave.
Come, sir, to draw toward an end with you.
Good night, mother.
Exeunt severally; HAMLET dragging in POLONIUS
Sunday, January 27, 2008
If Only
If you have ever been pulled over by a police officer for speeding, your immediate response should be something like, "Oh my god officer, I am sooooo sorry. I hadn't seen a posted speed limit for a while." To which, the unjust officer would most likely respond, "Ignorance is not an excuse, young lady."
Now, my mom once told me if I was ever in this situation that I should bite my tongue and resist the urge to argue. However, that is just not in my character. If indeed I was ever faced with this situation, I would consider it my duty to give the cops of the world a piece of my mind.
Ignorance should very well be an excuse. And I am prepared to argue my point to any officer who will listen. For instance, if you genuinely have no idea what the speed limit is, how can you be punished for exceeding it!? If something does not exist, it cannot be exceeded, right? I know it may seem strange that I am rattling on about cops and tickets when the blog assignment was to discuss some aspect of the story of Oedipus the king. I am getting there.
Oedipus' ignorance is the way in which I can identify with him. The way I see it this poor guy does everything in his power to evade his tragic fate and thus puts himself in the perfect position to fulfill it. The irony is undeniable. Although Oedipus does indeed kill his father and share a bed with his mother, I can't blame him and I definitely don't see why he is condemned to blindness and suffering. He has no idea he's doing it! I know Freud was brought up in class and some students mentioned that perhaps he was aware of his actions subconsciously. I do not believe that this is the class. Despite what Freud may say, I am unconvinced that within every boy is a repressed desire to kill his father and sleep with his mother.
Oedipus had every intention of doing the right thing and just stumbled across some unfortunate plot twists. His situation is directly comparable to that of a speedy driver's behind the wheel. While they have no intention of breaking the law or any knowledge that they are doing so, they are still punished with a ticket. It makes no sense to me.
Although I do not feel that certain consequences are suitable, I am a firm believer in the power of destiny. I recently saw a movie called “If Only” that reinforced this belief. In this movie, Ian Wyndam is working on a proposal for a gene therapy company that explains his method of genetic testing prior to birth that will enable doctors to cure diseases by altering genetic make ups. Upon hearing his proposal, his girlfriend tells him that the sick will still suffer, the old will still get older, and the children of the world will still die needlessly. To me she is telling him that no matter what course we choose, the destination is always achieved. Fate cannot be fought as people like Iocasta would like to believe.
Therefore, let ignorance be excused and let consequences vanish because regardless of the present, karma and fate will serve their purpose in the end.
Now, my mom once told me if I was ever in this situation that I should bite my tongue and resist the urge to argue. However, that is just not in my character. If indeed I was ever faced with this situation, I would consider it my duty to give the cops of the world a piece of my mind.
Ignorance should very well be an excuse. And I am prepared to argue my point to any officer who will listen. For instance, if you genuinely have no idea what the speed limit is, how can you be punished for exceeding it!? If something does not exist, it cannot be exceeded, right? I know it may seem strange that I am rattling on about cops and tickets when the blog assignment was to discuss some aspect of the story of Oedipus the king. I am getting there.
Oedipus' ignorance is the way in which I can identify with him. The way I see it this poor guy does everything in his power to evade his tragic fate and thus puts himself in the perfect position to fulfill it. The irony is undeniable. Although Oedipus does indeed kill his father and share a bed with his mother, I can't blame him and I definitely don't see why he is condemned to blindness and suffering. He has no idea he's doing it! I know Freud was brought up in class and some students mentioned that perhaps he was aware of his actions subconsciously. I do not believe that this is the class. Despite what Freud may say, I am unconvinced that within every boy is a repressed desire to kill his father and sleep with his mother.
Oedipus had every intention of doing the right thing and just stumbled across some unfortunate plot twists. His situation is directly comparable to that of a speedy driver's behind the wheel. While they have no intention of breaking the law or any knowledge that they are doing so, they are still punished with a ticket. It makes no sense to me.
Although I do not feel that certain consequences are suitable, I am a firm believer in the power of destiny. I recently saw a movie called “If Only” that reinforced this belief. In this movie, Ian Wyndam is working on a proposal for a gene therapy company that explains his method of genetic testing prior to birth that will enable doctors to cure diseases by altering genetic make ups. Upon hearing his proposal, his girlfriend tells him that the sick will still suffer, the old will still get older, and the children of the world will still die needlessly. To me she is telling him that no matter what course we choose, the destination is always achieved. Fate cannot be fought as people like Iocasta would like to believe.
Therefore, let ignorance be excused and let consequences vanish because regardless of the present, karma and fate will serve their purpose in the end.
Monday, January 21, 2008
When You Are Old
When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;
How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;
And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.
--William Butler Yeats
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;
How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;
And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.
--William Butler Yeats
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