BLOG #4: Symbol/theme

Symbol and theme in a play or novel are crucial in the development of the work, but often even create the basis of a novel or reoccurring aspect to the whole work.  First of all, an author often includes symbol on his or her work to express a different type of opinion or draw into focus real-life issues prevalent at the time of the work.  For example, in Rafael, by Ana María Matute, the metaphor of a bird in a cage ties in with Spanish Civil War that was occurring at the time the work was written.  This bird, oppressed and confined for days by the cage was finally set free.  The bird flying free in a metaphor for the spanish people who have been liberated during the Spanish Civil War.  The cage is a metaphor for the oppression of the people.  In any given narrative, there may be moments that can be understood in ways that transcend the literal, as expressed in Rafael.  In this case, the moment that the bird was liberated from the restrictions of a cage was the moment that transcends the literal.  Moreover, the bird's liberation has a thematic meaning to the whole story, and a metaphorical one that intertwines with the current events of the era in which the story was written.  Next, theme is often the basis that keeps a work moving, and arguably the most important literary aspect to a work.  For example, in Hamlet, the theme's of life and apparitions keep the whole play moving.  Furthermore, in Pride & Prejudice, the themes of class, reputation, and wealth/status determine the whole story, and what it is about.      

BLOG #3 Setting

The setting of a literary work, whether it be Hamlet, or Pride & Prejudice, is always determined by the time, location, and place of the story.  The setting of Pride & Prejudice is in Longbourn, England circa 1800.  The setting of a novel or work often has to do with the topics and themes in which the play is based on.  In Pride & Prejudice, the themes of love and class are portrayed not only through context, but also through character diction.  To express how setting affects the themes and characters in a play, one can contrast Pride & Prejudice to Hamlet.  The setting of 1800 Longbourn, and the themes that accompany that era are drastically different from the themes of life and death in Hamlet's late medieval period in Denmark.  Moreover, the themes that accompany the medieval era in Denmark, such as the mystery of death are different from the themes of love and reputation and class in Pride & Prejudice.  Next, the setting of a play or novel also affects the diction and use of syntax within that work.  For example, in Hamlet, the words and construction of sentences are diferent from those of Pride & Prejudice.  "Pray you, be round with him"(line 5, scene 4, act 3) are Polonius' words.  This type of word organization would never be said in Pride & Prejudice.  Finally, the setting of a play or novel, from the time of day to the mood instilled to the location, all affect the themes written about in the work and the diction employed by the characters.      

BLOG #2 CHARACTER

Despite the fact that the fiction Hamlet is different from the drama Pride & Prejudice, the main characters in each work are quite similar.  First, in P&P, Elizabeth is undergoes an internal problem out through the play, just like Hamlet does in Shakespeare's play.  This problem for Elizabeth, is whether or not to conform to the societal norms around her, and once she receives the proposal from Darcy, her problem become even for immense.  First of all, as the novel progressed, the reader was able to identify with Elizabeth, and also had the ability to watch her personality grow.  At the beginning, Lizzy's hate for Darcy was a mere facade of what was to come, true love.  Similarly to Hamlet, there is also character growth, and tough decision making.  In Hamlet, we watch the young man grow and gain responsibility and self-reliance.  More importantly, however, is Hamlet's tough decision's that he has to make; similar to Lizzy's predicament.  First of all, Hamlet has to decide whether or not to kill Claudius immediately or wait and be patient, as tough as it may be.  Subsequently, another and even more challenging decision that Hamlet encounters several times through out the play is whether or not to take his own life, suicide.  Hamlet, especially when talking to the skull really contemplates living, and the value of life.  These tough predicaments that both characters have to face in the play are crucial to character development, and tie both Lizzy and Hamlet together.      

PLOT post

While the plot is essentially what happens in a narrative, there is not always a similar approach to revealing plot, especially in a fiction vs. a drama.  First, it is important to notice the plot scheme in Pride & Prejudice, and then compare and contrast it to that of Hamlet.  First, the exposition in Pride & Prejudice is different from that of Hamlet.  In P&P, Austen utilizes different methods of introduction, like show to tell, to provide background information.  However, the exposition in P&P is different from that of Hamlet because of Shakespeare's ability to set up the exposition strictly through characters.  In Hamlet, there is not one narrator who narrates the whole play; rather, there are multiple characters who offer insight to the future and into the past through their diction and conversation.  While both Hamlet and P&P are different because they do not share exposition methods, they are alike because of both Austen and Shakespeare's abilities to offer insight and foreshadowing that lead up to the climax of the play, or the problems.  For example, in P&P Austen employs the use of Elizabeth in order to express problems that others are having such as Darcy while in Hamlet, Shakespeare also builds up the rising action through other characters and events that do not always correspond directly to the protagonist.  P&P and Hamlet are different in their employment of climax.  In Shakespeare, the climax is arguably the last scene, when Hamlet and the others die.  This scene was different than the climax in P&P because is was tragic, and detrimental to the protagonist; however, because the climax in P&P is Darcy's proposal to Elizabeth which is a happy and good scene for the protagonist.  On the contrary, the falling action in a fiction is much different than that of a drama.  First, P&P's falling action constituted of the turning point and what followed the proposal; but, in Hamlet, the climax was the last scene because almost everyone died, thus, there was no significant falling action.  Lastly, one of the more crucial factors that P&P and Hamlet contrasted in was the denouement.  In P&P, the denouement unraveled through out the time period of when Darcy proposed, and the end of the book.  The denouement in P&P was more of a "ever after" type that includes the happiness of Elizabeth, and her life long aspirations (and those of her mother) coming true.  However, the denouement in Hamlet expresses a sense of abruptness, that ends with the play's main characters dying.  Though Pride & Prejudice and Hamlet are different (thus have differences) in the sense of a fiction vs. drama, they do share similarities as well in terms  of several of the narrative traits.

Essay comments

After reading my comments to my essay, i feel like i have come a long way from the time of my last one.  First, I am happy with the drastic change in the amount of surface errors.  In terms of the idea, i feel like I made a strong effort to be original, while including large idea into the mix of my essay.  On one final note, i think one thing i need to do next time is have someone else proof-read my essay.  While i did print it out this time, i did not have someone else read it.  This is something that may have changed the couple small surface errors i did have.

Dying as a recognized youngster, or living too long as an idle elderly

The poem Athlete Dying Young by A.E. Houseman juxtaposes the poem Ulysses (Odysseus) by Lord Alfred Tennyson not only in the general contextual ideal, but also in a more specific and confined analytical analysis.  In Houseman's poem, the story of a boy who does not live long enough to see the glory of his own success juxtaposes to Tennyson's Odyssues through the story of an elderly king who has just "become a name" (Tennyson 11).  The poems not only differ in terms of literary structure such as imagery, syntax, and paragraph structure, but also through general contextual confinements such as theme, sound, meaning, and speaker.  Despite the fact that both poems are similar in the larger sense because of their correlation with life, A.E. Houseman's Athlete Dying Young greatly differs from Lord Alfred Tennyson's Ulysses through literary structure and general contextual confinements.  

Two poem comparison: Athlete Dying Young vs. Ulysses

While Athlete Dying Young and Odysseus share very minute similarities, they are very different.  Right off the bat, the first thing that is different is the character scenario.  For example, Houseman's poem is about someone who died too young while Odysseus is about someone who has lived too long.  Next, the two poems are different because the speaker in Houseman's poem receives nostalgia from the people around him (the dead boy), while Odysseus creates his own nostalgia for himself.  Moreover, Athlete Dying Young is in the 2nd person, "you" while Odysseus is in the 1st person, "I".  Moreover, in Houseman's poem, the syntax implies a sad feel, one of possibly grief and remorse, while in Odysseus, the syntax creates a lamenting feel- an old man's complaint about inaction.      

Ozymandias blog

In Ozymandias, Shelly expresses the significance that time has on everything in life.  Through the diction that Shelly employs, she is expressing the toll time take on life and the fear of how time leads to an eventual platonic perception of everything.  So, what Shelly is saying, especially by alluding to the slab of rock with the writing on it, is that time eventually will eliminate any accomplishment and make everything meaningless.  Shelly's choice of diction and punctuation, or lack of punctuation, coincide with the length of eternal time.  The sentences almost run-on, just like time.  Next, "Nothing besides remain" is the only straight forward line in the whole poem, and the only one that expresses Shelly's main point in a straight forward and brief sentence. 

Page 833: Number 3

Through out Hamlet, the choices of diction that juxtapose reality and appearance create a fine line between the tangible and the apparitions.  More specifically, one case when this juxtaposing language is prevalent is in the encounter between Hamlet and his father, the ghost.  First, words including appear form like and assume all convey an unreal mood and form while words such as reveal and play seem more concrete in their description of the matter at hand.  Moreover, words that can describe an apparition, like Hamlet Sr. or show the certainty that are carried in Hamlet's speech patterns while words that describe an apparition convey  tone of uncertainty, and in his speech with his father, vengeance.  So, while words can be subtle, they often imply the true motive, feel, and intention behind them, thus, drawing a fine line between reality and not.