Shakespeare Journal
9/14 Sonnets (1.
I usually have to force myself to read poetry, especially sonnets about romance that seem contrived or sentimentalized. Also, I am not very good at understanding and explaining the various metaphors, hidden meanings and so on. Sonnet 18 is so famous that it has long since turned into a cliche ("Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?") and would simply not go over very well is a more cynical, less romantic age. I know that I have never met anyone who made me feel like they were a summer day, not in this world. Reading and rereading all of them, however, I began to wonder if Shakespeare was even writing these about a woman. Some of them I had never read before, such as Sonnet 20 which is far riskier since the writer states openly that he loves a young man who is a beautiful as a woman. I had never read this one and it still comes across as something quite startling for the 17th Century, including the regret that "for a woman thou wert first created" and that nature "pricked thee out for women's please." For whatever reason, I do not think that I had ever realized this before, but Shakespeare expresses this quite openly in ways that would not have been allowed in more 'modern' literature, at least not until fairly recent times.
It makes me wonder how the readers of 400 years ago would have reacted to this, and if they found the idea unsettling, including the use of a term like 'pricked', which had the same double meaning then as now. Even though our society is not particularly enlightened in these matters, I have always thought that Shakespeare's world would have been far more conservative and religious on the subject of openly-expressed homosexual desires -- not that the term even existed them. Number 29 also has the same theme, of the poet's love for a young man of higher birth and status and it promises that "so long as men can breathe or eyes can see, so long lives this, and this gives life to thee." He describes himself as a "slave" to his master in Sonnet 57 and again in 141, like a vassal or a serf to his lover, although 130, 135 and 138 are clearly written about a woman and in the last one he says that "therefore I lie with her and she with me, and in our faults by lies we flattered be." I also wonder who he refers to in Sonnet 116 when he talks about the "marriage of true minds," since I suspect that this person might not be his wife. In modern terms, does this mean that Shakespeare was bisexual? He must have been, although I can't say that I ever gave the idea much thought before. Of course, he may not even be writing about himself at all in any of these, but it certainly sounds like he was. Much to my surprise, I found them more interesting than I at first imagined.
9/21 & 9/28 Othello (1 page)
I've read the play Othello before and have seen film versions of it, so I was generally familiar with the plot and the main characters, especially Iago, one of my favorite amoral and sociopathic villains. I like the part at the end when he finally drops the mask and reveals his true (evil and twisted) character, shocking everyone when he tries to draw his sword to kill a woman. This was just not the action of a chivalrous gentleman but a true monster. Iago hates Othello and wants to destroy him, but plays the part of a trusted friend and confidante. He is cunning and manipulative, and makes the entire play worth watching, for none of these tragic events would have transpired if not for this malevolent influence. I wonder if he hates Othello only because he was passed up for promotion, or because he was black and a Muslim. Surely racism in some form existed in Shakespeare's time since this was the period when European empires were involved in the African slave trade and exterminating the Natives in the Americas.
Othello is an outsider in this white world, by religion, culture and color, and it makes him edgy, nervous and insecure. Perhaps this is why he was so quick to believe the worst about Desdemona, even though she dies proclaiming her innocence. Michael Cassio was a white man, after all, powerful and well-connected in Venice, while Roderigo was really in love with Desdemona and resents...
Your answer should be at least five sentences long. The Legend of Arthur Lesson 1 Journal Entry # 9 of 16 Journal Exercise 1.7A: Honor and Loyalty 1. Consider how Arthur's actions and personality agree with or challenge your definition of honor. Write a few sentences comparing your definition (from Journal 1.6A) with Arthur's actions and personality. 2. Write a brief paragraph explaining the importance or unimportance of loyalty in being honorable. Lesson 1 Journal
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