#4 Symbol

Symbols are important in poetry and help hint at the meaning of the stanzas they are in and the poem as a whole. For example, in Andrew Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress” unique symbols are used in the three stanzas that help allude to the emotions and promises of the speaker. In the first stanza symbols help support the idea of time as everlasting. The use of “rubies” and “empires” suggests riches and corresponds with the speaker’s attempt to lure in his “mistress”. Additionally, in the second stanza the speaker asserts that if his coy mistress does not take advantage of the present time, then she will end up in a “marble vault”. This reference to a “marble vault” connotes a stone, cold, and deadly image, which is exactly the environment that the speaker is trying to describe. To continue along with this theme of death, are the “iron gates of life”, that are mentioned in the third stanza, paint a picture of the loss of life and all hope. Ultimately, the speaker uses these images as symbols to point out what could be if his coy mistress does or does make the most of the time she is given. 

Blog #3 Setting

The setting in a fiction or drama is the item by which the time and place and the when and where are indicated. (Jago 67) Detailed, the setting hints at the overall atmosphere that the story is going to take on. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, references to the time of day, the season, and the weather help crystallize the image of the separate environments. For example in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, there is an opening graveyard scene where the setting is described as a castle in Elsinore sometime in the middle of the night. Usually the word “castle” suggests a dark and spooky scene; this connotation is quite accurate in predicting the eerie events that follow in scene one. Similarly, in Austen’s Pride and Prejudice setting helps mold the image of the Bennet sisters’ surroundings. Austen’s novel, however, presents more of a social scene where the attitudes and personalities of each character are introduced right in the beginning. This insight provides the same kind of information that the setting does in Hamlet, just with points about people and their reactions rather than physical details. Both help to form the storylines and hint at the subsequent scenes or situations. Therefore, setting in a fiction or drama is very crucial and helps relate to the meaning of the stories as a whole. (Jago 67). 

Character

Character is an essential element in every fiction and drama, especially because it ties directly into the plot. Without any characters, it would be difficult for the plot to unfold. The plot is laid out and the characters are introduced and the presence of protagonists and antagonists becomes apparent. In Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, the characters and their backgrounds are very complex. Hamlet, the main and dynamic character, is the protagonist who also acts in conflict with Claudius, the antagonist. The interactions between both characters aid in the development and progression of the plot. For example, Hamlet’s character reaction to the sight of the ghost, his deceased father, helps present the major conflict of the play, which gives meaning to his need for revenge against Claudius. Similar to the importance of character in Shakespeare’s drama, Austen’s novel, Pride and Prejudice, presents more internal characters. One of these characters is Elizabeth Bennet, who is the protagonist. She fosters the most conflict because of her judgmental beliefs and reactions against opposite character, Mr. Darcy. Her behavior can be justified by categorizing her as a round character with a range of emotions that change over the course of the story (p64). This justification helps give meaning to Elizabeth’s character and her unexpected actions to fall in love with Mr. Darcy towards the end. Both Hamlet and Elizabeth have foil characters that help their unique character and personality stand out. Moreover, character in Shakespeare’s drama and Austen’s fiction goes “hand-in-hand” (63) with the respective plots and helps give meaning and value to the storylines. 

Plot in Hamlet and Pride and Prejudice

The way the plot is unfolded is similar in both Hamlet and Pride and Prejudice. Both stories lay out a series of events and present background information that is necessary to follow the story line. For example in Hamlet the introduction of the characters in the beginning grave scene is a necessary component for understanding the death of Hamlet’s father and why the ghost is so relevant. Like Hamlet, Pride and Prejudice also presents the characters and story line in chronological order. This arrangement helps the reader stay connected with the characters and become familiar with their distinct reactions to certain situations. For example, Elizabeth is introduced as the sister of a very complex family and her reactions in the first few chapters help the reader see that she is very judgmental; an observation that is essential to understanding the overall meaning of the novel and her place in it. 

Although similar, the plots of Hamlet and Pride and Prejudice prove to be different. While both do follow the basic stages of a play, including the exposition, rising actions, climax, falling action, and denouement, their physical arrangements contrast. Hamlet, opposed to Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, is broken up into acts and those acts into scenes. This fragmented arrangement helps keep the reader in line and focused, while giving them a break in between critical moments to absorb all of the events that previously occurred.  In Pride and Prejudice there are chapters, and in the first chapter Austen employs “in medias res” by using a show not tell method. Specifically, Austen throws the reader into an unfamiliar conversation between unfamiliar characters, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. Although, at first this may seem strange to the reader, it actually forces him to hesitate asking questions until more information is revealed. 

Evaluation of Turnitin.com Essay

Overall, I felt like I was more focused while writing this essay, especially on narrowing down my topics. However, I need to be more clear and refrain from writing sentences that trail off because I loose the main point. For next time, I need to aim at making clearer sentences so that I can effectively communicate my points. Specifically with this essay, I may have lost sight of the prompt a little ways into the essay, so next time I can make sure that all of my body paragraphs refer back to the thesis, and ultimately to the prompt.

Ozymandias and To the Virgins to Make Much of Time:

Percy Shelly’s “Ozymandias” serves as a justification to Robert Herrick’s “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time,” by illustrating how quickly life and time come and go. The main idea of Ozymandias lies in the transient nature of time: the fact that even the most powerful beings be torn down or overcome just as quickly as time afforded them notable titles.  The ability for time to decay even the greatest royalties becomes an incredible, yet depressing truth. Inevitably, the “Mighty” Ozymandias was remembered only with a plaque on a remnant sculpture.  Furthermore, the idea of a short-lived life perfectly gives light to the request by the speaker in Herrick’s poem; the idea of carpe diem. The entirety of Herrick’s poem stresses the importance of seizing every moment of the day, seeing as there is not enough time to accomplish all the enjoyable things in life while still youthful. Although, the speaker in Herrick’s poem primarily alludes to relational requests, his urgent tone is justified by the bigger picture portrayed in Shelly’s poem. Moreover, Ozymandias serves to explain the importance of seizing the day by showing the “bare” and “lonely” aftermath that awaits life after death if opportunities are not sought out and accomplished. Therefore, both poems use time as a vehicle to hint at complementary main ideas; While To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time stresses that time is of essence; Ozymandias explores time’s ephemeral nature and explains exactly why it is so important to take advantage of the present moment and the available possibilities. 

Acting Notes: Make-up

Pg. 728 Dialogue between King, Hamlet, and the Queen
My character: The Queen
When I was deciding how I was going to go about the acting notes for the queen during this moment, I first read the scene outloud and discovered an almost forced tone that was attempting to be genuine. More specifically I felt like the Queen was trying to be persuasive as a mother in order to calm or pacify Hamlet; therefore, I believed the queen should take on a pacifying and soothing tone. But I also felt like she was holding some of her own feelings back: perhaps they were shut down by the king's authority; as a result I simultaneously adopted a somewhat insecure attitude for the queen . There were also a few moments where The Queen was trying to make logical claims with a furthered effort to placate Hamlet. For example the line " all that lives must die" --- Here I find it appropriate to acquire an assuring tone as well as a persuasive one...in order to satisfy Hamlet.
Overall, in my opinion, the queen's tone of voice is very gentle-- exemplifying her motherly role--- while at the same time, she is not fully absorbing all of Hamlet's emotions enough to give credit to his mournful state because she is inherently insecure.

To the Virgins to make Much of Time

This poem reminds me of Marvell's To His Coy Mistress. Both emphasize the necessity to take advantage of time because it is very short. The pace is rushed and the tone is urgent and persuasive as demonstrated by the line: "Then be not coy, but use your time." The speaker also introduces the concept of time and " the glorious lamp of heaven, the sun" and that the more one waits the more time and opportunity is wasted. Both Marvell and Herrick stress the importance of carpe diem and taking advantage of "youth."

To An Athlete Dying Young

To An Athlete Dying Young
This Poem follows a traditional rhyme scheme. The main idea of this poem lies in celebrating youth and the accomplishments that were able to be achieved. The first stanza really paints a picture and presents the imagery of a joyful time in the athlete's career. This poem emphasizes that it's better to be have than a have-not and to have fame forever as a young and able man.

Compare/Contrast Two Poems:

These two poems have differing tones and main ideas. Whereas Ozymandias’ tone is depressing and ironic, Ponder presents a facetious tone that is quite rushed. While both poems hint at the concept of time and its ephemeral nature, they each separately use time as a vehicle to hint at different main ideas. Ozymandias presents the idea of greatness that seemed everlasting but then counters that feeling of timelessness by describing how quickly vast loneliness can tear down something so powerful. This poem suggests the presence of a wonderful empire that expects to take on an everlasting legacy, however over time it decays into “nothing.” Ponder uses the concept of time to illustrate that time is of the essence and similar to Marvell’s “Coy Mistress” the pace is rushed and harsh in order to allude to his main request that all that's important is “horizontal business.”