The Great Fox

Volpone by Jonson, even though a lengthier reading assignment, was one of my favorite weeks during this class. I thought the style of writing and the sarcasm within the play was intriguing to read and different from what we had been assigned to in the past. While reading the play, I kept imagining how it would appear on stage. Having taken a theatre class that required attending various productions, I thought about the different parts of the play we had discussed and how the words on the page could translate into actors in front of my eyes. Skimming through the play the first time around, I found the plot and characters more difficult to follow than anticipated. Not until I had read through the play several times [once when it was assigned and once before writing this rumination] did I truly understand all of what had been going on. Personally, I think Volpone is far too diffcult to follow or truly appreciate on paper. Much of the sarcasm that is implied throughout the play is lost on the reader. I did not find the play to be particularly humorous until the middle of events, where Sir Politic is allowing Peregrine to read his diary. It implies that Sir Politic writes down every part of his day in the diary, even when he "urinated on St. Marks cathedral." This is the first time, throughout the entire reading, that I stopped to laugh. I then realized if this were presented in front of me, I would have most likely laughed at alot more throughout the course of the play. The events that take place throughout each scene is extremely comical and the theatrics that could be included on stage would have the audience laughing "until their face was red" - which was in fact Jonson's mission.

Other than the humor and satire throughout the play, I focused mostly on the names of the characters. At first this was hard for me to follow, much like the plot line. To make things more clear, I started to focus on the translations of each character's name and see how the translation related to their personality. The first, and most obvious, was Volpone, meaning "the great fox." Naturally, Volpone is a con and owns up to this fairly early on in the play. A fox, often seen as a mischievious animal, is the perfect description for the main character. Throughout the entire play, Volpone is pulling the biggest con of his entire life. He has three men fighting for his inheritance while attempting to steal a man's wife. He even fakes his own death. What had me wondering was, where did Volpone attain all of this power? Mosca, his parasite, follows Volpone around for most of his life. It is not until all of these events take place that Mosca realizes he holds more power than Volpone. Why has Mosca chosen to live his life in Volpone's shadow up until now?

Mosca was, to me, the most interesting character throughout the entire play because he had the biggest transition. At the beginning of the play, I almost felt bad for Mosca [his name meaning "fly"] since I saw him as a person in Volpone's life that was taken advantage of. Volpone bossed him around and made it seem as though he was insignificant, much like an insect is considered. Throughout the play he evolves into somewhat of an enemey to Volpone. Volpone for so long as been pulling the wall over people's eyes that he did not see Mosca's scheme coming. This is where the nickname "parasite" begins to make sense. Mosca, who had for so long obeyed Volpone, was now going to take everything away from him, the same way a parasite sucks the blood from its victim. I found this shift in Mosca to set the tone of the play since all of the other characters trusted his word. Once Mosca betrayed them, is when pure chaos insued.

A Friend in Need

When asked to complete a random act of kindness this week, I was stumped as to what I could do. Fortunately, the opportunity fell right into my hands. My close friend who is a junior found out at the end of last week that her grandmother has passed away. Dealing with the stress of finals and now the family issues, she was not handling it all very well. She decided to take a train home on Tuesday for the wake and funeral, missing several classes. Her train was to leave on Tuesday morning and get her there in time for the family wake. However, the train was running late Tuesday morning, meaning that she would miss the wake. Hanging by a thread, she called me frantically and in a panic. I knew I had to help. I looked up alternate ways for her to get back to New York and found a bus that was not leaving Wilmington for another hour. I quickly picked her up from the train station and brought her to the bus stop, where she luckily made it on and returned home in plenty of time. Even as we approach the weekend she has been thanking me consistently for helping her out, yet I assured her it was nothing at all...and really, it wasn't. I was happy that I could help a friend in need, one who has been there for me so many times in the past. I know she would have done the same for me.

Shakespeare and Sympathy

When first given the assignment to watch a documentary titled, "Shakespeare Behind Bars," I was confused - what could this have to do with our course? How would I benefit from listening to prisoners recite Shakespeare? What I got out of the film was much more than I had anticipated. By the end of the documentary, I found myself relating to the inmates and wanting to see each one of them succeed.

From a young age, you are taught that people who comment crimes are bad. Each one of the inmates that told their story had murdered someone and received a sentence for it. Being addicted to Law & Order and CSI, these stories were not uncommon for me to hear. It did hit closer to home when the viewer realized these were actual stories, not just something made up for television viewers to watch. Also, many of the inmates had no reason to kill their victim. The men simply became frustrated or let our their anger on their victim. One even got away with kiling his wife for over ten years. Hearing these stories should have made me outraged and scared of the men on the screen; however, I found myself cheering for them as they struggled through their Shaekspearean characters and performance.

Throughout the documentary, many of the men who told their stories broke down crying. You could feel the remorse that they had from their crimes and how they were becoming better through the Shakespeare Behind Bars program. Prison always seems to be a place where inmates have trouble adjusting and get into trouble. I never knew that inmates who behaved had as many priveliges as these men did. I also was not aware of the various programs set up for each prisoner to join and take part in. It was great that the documentary included the positive effects of being in prison and how it could change a man.

In every English class I have taken, Shakespeare is seen as one of the best playwrights of all time. I usually just went along with this idea, never truly understanding the impact Shakespeare has had on literature, plays, actors, and the audience. When I went to London over winter session this year, I saw several Shakespearean plays at various theatres and was asked to recite a sonnet. While in the theatre, I saw some spectators moved to tears at the performance, an emotion I had never seen at a play. People were so moved by the words of Shakespeare that they were overwhelmed with emotion. Performing my sonnet with another student showed me how this emotion can be felt in the actor as well. I learned to understand the words inside and out, for once getting the meaning behind Shakespeare's words. Without even knowing it, I was displaying emotion. My classmates could feel it too.

This type of emotion was clearly displayed by the men in prison. Each one of the men had a character that involved raw emotion. The reason this program was so successful in prison was because the inmates were allowed to take the emotions they never were able to deal with and apply them to another character in another story. The man who played a woman was able to directly relate to her situation - not knowing who her father was. The performance was so powerful because the inmates were able to express themselves in a way they were not used to. Each one who took part in the performance only had positive things to say about it. Shakespeare had truly impacted their lives in a way they were not expecting.

Individuality: Lost.

Sir Thomas More's Utopia (Book 2 specifically) focuses a large deal on the idealistic society, a part of an individual's imagination where everything is perfect. In the particular society More describes, the citizens of Utopia are all treated equally and find true happiness in their lives on the island. Although More may be right with this statement, after reading, I found it hard to believe that a life where everything and everyone is the same can bring true happiness to each individual.

This got me thinking about individuality and the role it plays in our lives today, as well as More's Utopia. Today, people strive to be unique and individual. Currently looking for a job after graduation, I want to make sure that I stand out to a recruiter. Most of the time this happens because I hold a specific quality that the other applicants do not. This individualism would not exist in the utopia described in our reading for this week. More states that every person receives the same rights, freedoms, jobs, education, etc. - there is no differentiation among the people. It seems that the narrator's version of pure happiness is when everyone is the same; however, I see this as more of an opinion, then a true fact.

During college, everyone always says it is a chance to find yourself. Many freshmen come into college without knowing what they want to do with their lives, may not know how to handle difficult situations, and have never had to pave a way for themselves without their parents input. Within the four years at school, each student is given a chance to grow and figure out what works for them as an individual. Rewind to the time of this utopia and it would be hard for a young person to find their own way when there truly aren't any options for them to follow. Each citizen continues down the same path as the last one did to make everything in their lives equal. Having young men and women get married at a certain age limits their time to explore their individuality and become an "us" before it can become just "me."

My final thoughts after reading More's work was: can there really be a utopia? Personally, I don't think so. Because we are fortunate enough to live in a society where individualism is important, and never lost, each person has their own perception of what a utopia would be like. Some people would be willing to sacrifice their rights and personal feelings for the good of the cause, while others would believe in themselves before the masses.

Advertising At Its Finest

Advertising is something that we are exposed to every day of our lives. Television is set up around commericals, the internet constantly has ads popping up on the side of every website you click on, billboards are located on highways or posted on various means of transportation, and every other page of a magazine is a stunning picture of a new product. These attempts at catching our attention almost go unnoticed during our everyday activities because we are so used to them. During the 1500s, advertising was done through writing and speaking. In order to convince a large group of people on an idea or a new invention, respected people in society had to either give a speech or record their ideas on paper for circulation. These prose by Sir Walter Ralegh, Drayton, and Donne all advertise the same general idea: new land and new opportunity. Each author chooses to express their persuasive argument by appealing to different aspects of this new land filled with opportunities. Sir Walter Ralegh's excerpt draws the reader in by providing vivid imagery of nature. The openning paragraph describes hills, plains, mountains, and rivers using heavy diction that is sure to stay in the audience's mind. As the first paragraph continues, Ralegh describes the land as if it were a utopia, almost with a heavenly image. It seems as though nothing negative can come out of this land and the opportunities that it presents. The second paragraph, after the first break, starts with "I will promise these things that follow, which I know to be true." This statement is self-assured and confident, encouraging the reader to believe in the narrator's thoughts and observations. With such a sentence, it seems as though a world of opportunity awaits the people who take the voyage to this new land. Ralegh goes on to describe the geographical setting of Guiana, describing it as isolated and safe. Again, these conditions make it seem as though the land is nothing short of perfection. He ends the excerpt with a religious impact. If he did not convince the audience just yet, he adds this last paragraph in to seal the deal. During this time, religion played a huge factor in society. By including words such as, "God, King, and Lord," the audience is left with a sense that this new land is meant to exist because of God's will. Michael Drayton describes a specific voyage and formats his prose differently than Ralegh. He uses short and concise phrases, formatting the text to look like more of a poem. Drayton uses simple words that have enormous meaning. For example, he starts off the prose with the phrase, "You brave heroic minds." Using the words, "brave and heroic" right away give the reader a sense of optimism and confidence. The reader no longer sees him or herself as the average commoner, but a "brave and heroic" person. Putting the reader in this light makes them more likely to continue reading on and truly believe in the words Drayton has written on the page. In lines 23 and 24, Drayton goes as far as to call Virginia "Earth's only paradise" and alludes to the Golden Age in line 37. All of these phrases are extremely appealing to an audience that may see themselves as less fortunate. Building up the new world and playing on the reader's emotions and senses will lure them into making a change for themselves since they believe it will benefit them greatly in the long run. Donne's "Elegy 19. To His Mistress Going to Bed" was the most entertaining prose for me to read. When reading this the first time it was assigned, I did not make as many connections to the new world as I did this week. Reading Ralegh and Drayton first, made the connections of expansion and discovery much more apparent in Donne's work. I think Donne was extremely clever since he played on the sexual desires of the readers, rather than on the natural beauty or religious relevance of the new land. Every man and woman have sexual desires and in the scene of the poem, Donne makes sure to use comparisons that put an image in the readers mind. If moving to a new land will exude the same passion and excitement that a sexual encounter will, the audience is much more likely to take the risk and move to a place unknown to them. Line 27 is the most powerful and truly speaks to the purpose of Donne's work. It reads, "O my America! my new-found-land." The narrator is comparing his lover to the new world. Just as the narrator is exploring the features of the woman's body, new settlers are exploring the untamed lands in America.

Shakespearan Sonnets: Ideal Love Songs

When looking at our reading assignment for this week, I was extremely pleased to see that we would be reading Shakespearean sonnets. Over winter session, I went abroad to London on the English/Theatre program. A majority of the course focused on Shakespeare's plays and I was fortunate enough to see both King Lear and Hamlet performed at various London theatres. One of my assignments was to memorize a sonnet and analyze each and every line of it so I could truly understand its meaning and appreciate every word. At first, I found this assignment to be tedious more than anything else, but soon realized how much more the sonnet spoke to me once I had a chance to digest all of it. This previous assignment definitely helped when it came time to read all of the sonnets for this week. I was able to recall some of the sonnets my classmates had memorized, along with my own sonnet, and remembered some of the close reading I had done which helped me better understand Shakespeare and his work.
The one aspect of Shakespeare's sonnets that immediately captures my attention is the raw emotion that is expressed. Unlike any other author I have been exposed to, Shakespeare seems to write exactly how he feels about a loved one in the purest and most elquoent way possible. The love sonnets that he writes would surely have any girl fall to her knees and the sonnets where he is asking for forgiveness would be difficult to refuse. They are the ideal love songs.
Sonnet 116 caught my attention while going through the first pass of the reading. During my second pass, I spent extra time on this sonnet since the first couple of lines, "Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments; love is not love which alters when it alteration finds," caught my attention. This sonnet explains, based on the narrator's point of view, what love is and what love is not. Those first several lines talk about how love is contant and never changes. Regardless of what happens between the couple or them as individual people, the love that the narrator feels for the other will never change. Lines 9-10, "Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks within his bending sickle's compass come," explains that love is not a time limit feeling, but will continue on forever. Even though rosy lips and cheeks may fade, the love that the narrator has for the other will remain regardless of the outer appearances. The couplet, "If there be error and upon me proved, I never writ, nor no man ever loved," challenges the reader. The narrator is so confident of what he says and how he feels that he challenges the reader to prove him wrong. The narrator knows that true love is what he speaks of in this particular sonnet and that he cannot be proven wrong otherwise.
Many of the other sonnets that Shakespeare wrote end in much of the same way. Personally, it leaves me thinking and wondering if anyone would ever challenge the narrator of the feelings that they feel. While reading thru all of the sonnets I felt as though I was reading thru the stages of someone's rollercoaster of emotions. Each sonnet speaks of a different feeling so very strongly it is hard not to get sucked in and picture yourself being the person that is saying the very words on the page.

Taylor Swift's "Fearless" Album

When given this Wildcard assignment for the week, this was the first artist and album that popped into my head. Even though I see Taylor Swift as too fragile or sensitive sometimes, I think her songs are extremely catchy and easy for young girls to relate to. Her album, "Fearless" is all about love. Many of the songs she has written actually include the names of her exboyfriends or real situations that she has found herself in. The first song of the album is the same as the title - "Fearless." This song starts off talking about a young girl who is nervous and timid about love, yet when she is around the person that she feels most comfortable with she suddenly becomes fearless of anything. To start off the album like this, it is obvious that the song writer has a positive outlook on love and being a young girl, has many love stories to look forward to.
As the songs of the album continue, Swift starts to sing about specific instances in her life or in the lives of people close to her and their experiences with love. The second song of the album "Fifteen" talks about a fifteen year old girl who is very naive when it comes to boys and love. This connects to the album title again since this teenager is fearless when thinking about love, she is willing to believe anyone who says that they feel something for her. The girl, Abigail, mentioned in this song was acutally Swift's friend when she was younger and they both had the same thoughts about their high school boyfriends - they would end up together. The song goes on to say that looking back, the song writer wishes she knew what she knew now since not everything is so important as it seems when you are fifteen. In general, I think that many people can relate to this. In high school I always felt that little arguments or friendships were so much bigger and greater than they actually were.
The songs throughout the middle of the album are all related to the greater things about love. Some popular songs include, "Love Story," "Hey Stephen," "You Belong With Me," and "Breathe." I thought that placing "You Belong With Me" before "Breathe" was very clever, since the messages of both songs can be intertwined. The first, "You Belong With Me" is a young girl singing about how the popular boy at school is with the wrong type of girl. The singer wants him to notice her, but instead he is involved with a popular girl at school. "Breathe" is a song talking about how without that specific person in your life you feel as though you cannot get any air. Perhaps the song writer placed these two songs one after another because the person that he/she longs to be with does not notice them and makes them feel as though they cannot live without them. Again, this is a feeling that can be relatable to many young boys and girls since at a young age we all have feelings for someone else that are not reciprocated.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuNIsY6JdUw

Towards the end of the album, we see the heartbreak that Swift has experienced with the song "Forever and Always." This song talks about a boy who promised to always be there for her, yet broke her heart in the end. The song writer is left confused and hurt by the break up. The very last song of the album is called "Change." This is definitely a different tone than from the first song, "Fearless." At this point, the song writer has gone through all of the emotions one can feel when experiencing love and has come out on the other side a changed person. She now sees that being fearless when entering love can cause pain, but that pain can sometimes make you stronger.