Raphael for President!

When reading Sir Thomas More’s, Utopia, searching for religion and nature in the story was a piece of cake. But what really got me was the structure of the government of Utopia and how Raphael describes it. I’m not into religion at all, and when he begins to speak about the Cardinal and the Utopians religion, honestly, I zoned out. It was just like every other religious hub-bub you read about in stories. Who cares? The really interesting thing is the society and government of Utopia.

The one line in Book one that caught my attention and I thoroughly agree with comes near the very end. Raphael states, “But as a matter of fact, my dear More, to tell you what I really think, as long as you have private property, and as long as money is the measure of all things, it is really not possible for a nation to be governed justly or happily” (543). This line really shows the whole story of Utopia, and what a perfect world could be like. It also shows the hopelessness for our world to ever be a Utopia. Our world, and particularly our government, is controlled by money and material assets. Who has the nicest car? Who has the bigger house? Who has the larger income? The people on top are those with the most money, and as Raphael stays, if this is how the world is, nothing can be ruled over justly or happily. I think that this story really relays a message for our generation.

Look at what has happened in our generation: a war in the Middle East, oil spills, rebellion, all caused by greedy people with too much money. The war in the Middle East was started because of Former President Bush’s statement that the terrorists had weapons of mass destruction. This was a ploy by Bush to outdo his father. W. Bush wanted to outdo his father and be the better president and be more liked by everyone so that he could have a longer term as president and make more money to have better cars, houses, and a better life than his father. We all know how that turned out. And BP’s little boo-boo in the gulf was all because the leaders of the company were too selfish to stop the oil drilling in order to save our environment. They didn’t want to lose any money from their pay checks in order to save the American people and government a lot of trouble. And finally, the rebellions in the Middle East are fights against the government having too much power and too much money, and instead of listening to their people, Kaddafi decided to blow his people up instead. He didn’t want to lose his possessions or money in order to rule justly or happily.

Sir Thomas More’s message he gives to the readers through Raphael is especially important today in our time and age. People need to think about others and not just themselves, and let other people worry about them. If everyone focuses on one another and not themselves the world could be a much better place.

(P.S. This is not a solution for world peace, just a step forward in the way of curing the human condition.)

Donne’s writings all vary from poems to sonnets to prose. But the one thing that stood out most the most to me was his poem “Song.” Most of his poems had some sort of structural symmetry, but this one varies greatly compared to his others. Honestly, I really can not figure out what this poem is about. And that’s one reason I wanted to post about it. To see if I could get some opinions on what its about.

Go and catch a falling star,
Get with child a mandrake root,
Tell me where all past years are,
Or who cleft the Devil's foot,
Teach me to hear mermaids singing,
Or to keep off envy's stinging,
And find
What wind
Serves to advance an honest mind.

If thou be'st born to strange sights,
Things invisible to see,
Ride ten thousand days and nights,
Till age snow white hairs on thee;
Thou, when thou return'st, wilt tell me
All strange wonders that befell thee,
And swear
No where
Lives a woman true, and fair.

If thou find'st one, let me know,
Such a pilgrimage were sweet;
Yet do not, I would not go,
Though at next door we might meet:
Though she were true, when you met her,
And last, till you write your letter,
Yet she
Will be
False, ere I come, to two or three.

The structure of this poem give emphasis to the last lines in each stanza. The last three lines in each begin with two lines that are indented and only contain two words a piece. These four words are clearly emphasized for a reason. This reason partially evades me because I’m not really certain of the story behind Donne’s words. Though in the last stanza he is obviously talking about finding a women and being somehow disappointed.

I know Ruminations are supposed to be about what we know, but I was intrigued by this poem and really wanted to understand what was going on.

Shakespeare VS Time

Shakespeare’s sonnets that we have read all have a similar theme of love and time passing, introduced by metaphors that he creates by personifying the feeling of love and the perception of time. In some sonnets, Shakespeare even goes as far as to capitalize the word “Time” to give it an importance over the rest of the words. The language he uses when speaking of time also shows his attitude towards time, even more so than his metaphors.
Beginning with Sonnet 12 and looking at time, the poem is an entire metaphor for the passing of time with Shakespeare mentioning the seasons passing and people turning old, while at the end of the poem he writes, “And nothing ‘gainst Time’s scythe can make defense” (13). This use of language shows time as death, carrying his scythe and the fact that no one can stop it. The capitalization of time personifies it in the poem as a person or death, which causes a tonal change near the end of the poem. In Sonnet 19, time turns from death to something the Shakespeare is trying to defeat. He wants his love to last forever and therefore has time killed and mauled by animals. “Devouring Time, blunt thou the lion’s paws.” (1). And although Time may take away his love wrongfully, “My love shall in my verse ever live young.” (14). Shakespeare is trying to defeat time; therefore he personifies it as a person so that it is something physical he can overcome. In Sonnet 60, another reference to time as death is made, as he capitalizes time as well as mentioning the scythe:
And Time that gave doth now his gift confound.
Time doth transfix the flourish set on youth
And delves the parallels in beauty’s brow,
Feeds on the rarities of nature’s truth,
And nothing stand but for his scythe to mow.
And yet to times in hope my verse shall stand,
Praising thy worth, despite his cruel hand. (8-14)
Shakespeare’s use of the capitalization of the word time demonstrates that he feels as though time is not something you can escape physically, but it is something his poems and feelings can surpass. As in the final two lines, he states that time can take beauty and life but not his verses, which his transcripts show as a true testament. This statement is shown again in Sonnet 65:
When rocks impregnable are not so stout,
Nor gates of steel so strong, but Time decays?
. . . Shall Time’s best jewel from Time’s chest lie hid?
. . . O none, unless this miracle have might,
That in black ink my love may still shine bright. (8-14)
Without the capitalization and personification of time, Shakespeare’s hatred and fear of it may have been lost in his sonnets.

David Bowie's "Let's Dance"

The album I chose is by one of my favorite men of all time, David Bowie. Bowie's career was an incredible journey, and although he was at times thought to be insane, his fans will always stick by his side. The album that I have chosen isn't all in first person, but all of the songs are about the feeling of love or about a person he is in love with. The songs tones and lyrics are almost melancholy, he has a sense of calm feelings of love, or of a lost love. In "Without You," Bowie is singing about how he wouldn't be able to live without them, and they give him a purpose. The musical tone gives the song a melancholy feelings. The song "Ricochet," if analysed in a certain light, can be seen as what the world is like without love, and how love is sometimes not enough to shield someone from the cruelties of the world. "Criminal World," is written in the third person, but it is a great example of betrayed love. The narrator finds out that he doesn't really know who the person he is in love with is. He one line that "the girls are like baby-faced boys" shows that women can be just as cruel as men, and just as deceiving.

This album represents different types of love and how love can be cruel or doesn't always give you what you want.

A Lover's Quarell: Comparing Wyatt and Surrey

Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard (referred to in the reading and in the blog as Surrey) were two very similar writers. They were close friends and lived working under the infamous Henry VIII. Both were imprisoned multiple times by Henry and in some cases got each other out. When looking at their writing, there is a similar style, maybe because they wrote in the same climate and in the same time period. But if your focus is put on one specific poem by each, you can see that there must be something more going on than just writing in the same time and place.

When looking at Wyatt’s poem “The long love that in my thought doth harbor,” and comparing it to Surrey’s “Love, that doth reign and live within my thought,” you notice right away the similarities in the titles. If the poems are taken line by line, only a few differences remain to be seen. Beginning with Wyatt’s and Surrey’s first four lines, line one begins by speaking of the love that lies within each narrators thoughts. In line two both narrators are speaking of the simple thought of love, which is personified into “he,” and moving from a thought to a feeling in the narrators heart. Where, in the third and fourth line in both poems, “he” is clad in armor and is holding a banner. At this point the love as been symbolized to knight or warrior, and the “banner” is representing of the now thoughts of constant love the narrator’s heart is showing him.

Moving on to lines five to eight in both poems, Wyatt and Surrey both speak of how “she” teaches the narrator how to both love and suffer. “She that learneth me to love and suffer” (Wyatt, 5). Compared to Surreys, “But she that taught me love and suffer pain” (5). Line six in both speaks of the narrator’s carless and doubtful love and lust, moving onto line seven, speaking of modest looks towards “her.” Here, there is the slightest difference in lines, as Surrey’s poem takes a turn for the brighter in line eight: “Her smiling grace convereteth straight to ire.” While in Wyatt’s poem his line eight speaks “his hardiness taketh displeasure.” These difference in lines shows that these two narrators and beginning to have different views on the situation, Wyatt’s poem taking a darker side.

The poems sync up again beginning in line nine, where the narrators are speaking of fleeing cowardly to the heart, followed by line ten which continues the running and hiding, but a slight variance changes the mood yet again. Wyatt’s poem speaks of “pain and cry,” when fleeing to hide, while Surrey’s narrator merely “plain(s)” or complains. Yet both narrators end up losing their way by line eleven. In the last few lines, the narrators of both poems speak of leaving their “lord” and “master.” Wyatt uses master while Surrey uses the word lord, both speaking in lines twelve to fourteen of leaving this person. Surrey’s use of lord may be a religious reference, being backed by the fact that his poem is the lighter of the two, and Wyatt’s poem seems to be coming from a darker side.

Test Post!

I've had this blog set up for a while so I hope no one is in shock by all of my other posts. My teachers have been using this site a lot. Hope to talk to you all soon!

Plays

Today in class, I think I was very surprised. Everyone had very different and unique plays. I was thinking that everyone was gonna have a similar play style or topic. I was also pleasantly surprised how funny a lot of them were. I was thinking that everyone was going to do something serious. It was also cool how everyone sort of picked a certain type of play and used it to make their own. Some of the topics were pretty random, but still really funny. Like, Jen’s play. I was NOT expecting to hear a play about mammoths. Or as Dexter was saying mam-moths. It was an awesome change up. I also thought Michaels play was cool. It reminded me of Law and Order (bum bum).

Performing the plays was also a lot of fun. I think that Michaels was the coolest to perform. I got to be an attorney, which was pretty sweet. I also thought it was strange how funny everyone, well at least Dexter, thought mine was. Cuz it was supposed to be serious. But I think we had fun performing stuff anyway so it doesn’t really matter. It was also cool how everyones play had little twists in them, it seemed like we all used some sort of twist to make our story different from others.

Lastly, I would like to say this was my favorite writing assignment. Everyone got to write about whatever they wanted and make stuff up. Which is pretty easy to do. Also, my little brother, who is 9, loved helping me with this. He picked out the names for me, and also, while I was writing my play, it inspired him to write his own story. Which was amazing, because he hates reading. But I thought it was cute how he felt inspired to write a story like I was. I really enjoyed this class, because I love theatre, and getting a chance to write and share my play was awesome. And I loved listening to others plays, it lets you get an idea of what everyone is really like. Although I hope everyone doesn’t think I do drugs and sleep with lots of women because of my play. Cuz I don’t.