This past week, my literature class moved on from reading poems to reading plays. Our first assigned play was Macbeth by William Shakespeare. Here is my standard response paper that I wrote.

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Summary:

William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth tells about Macbeth, a man who faces some difficult situations and experiences some personal changes as he goes from a victorious battle general to a king to a deceased man.

The play opens when Macbeth is returning from a won battle when he encounters three witches who prophesize, among other things, that he will become king. Unable to put this thought aside, and due to the strong influential power of his violent and manipulative wife, Macbeth ends up going out of his way to make sure this prediction comes true by killing the current king. He blames the murder on others, whom he kills as well, to ensure that nobody will discover he is the true killer.

During this process, Macbeth begins undergoing some psychological changes, as he was forced to do something that, arguably, he would not have done otherwise. He becomes mentally insecure and begins hallucinating; this follows him to the next turning point of the play, when he orders the execution of Banquo and his son Fleance, two individuals who threaten his position as king. After seeing Banquo’s ghost, Macbeth decides to return to the witches for advice; he thinks they respond with reassuring words, but they actually respond with riddles. With this false sense of confidence, Macbeth orders the killing of his family, but his wife commits suicide instead. Not long after, the English forces begin marching towards Macbeth for revenge, and in a final battle between Macduff and Macbeth, Macbeth gets beheaded as predict-ed by the witches’ deceptive riddles.

Impressions:

This is the fourth time I’ve read Macbeth – once early in high school because it was on a recommended reading list, once late in high school for a literature course, once early in college for a different literature course, and once now. It’s unfortunate to say that I still do not fully under-stand Shakespeare’s English syntax, even after reading it this many times, but I was lucky enough to get Sparknotes’ republished version with a modern-English translation in the side for assistance.

It seems that this play is getting moderately better each time I read it. I think this can be attributed to a few things. The most obvious is that, after reading it so many times and getting such a good grasp on how the plot progresses, I essentially have a skeleton or template that I can fill while reading the play again, so I’m able to focus more on the small details while still being able to keep the big picture in the back of my mind. Another reason is that I might be picking up some of Shakespeare’s syntax and becoming more alert to the small, interesting things he put into the play that I might not have noticed before.

Overall, I enjoyed reading the play again. Although I might make a generic statement that I dislike Shakespeare, the reality is that I specifically dislike only his pre-modern English syntax. The actual plot of his plays are still attention-grabbing and compelling.

Critical Analysis:

In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, one of the biggest recurring themes throughout the book is the conflict between the desire for power versus the moral and ethical values confining the extent to which one demonstrates this ambition for power. From their actions, it is clear that Lady Macbeth, and later, Macbeth himself, are prime examples of individuals who take their power-hungry nature and follow through without much self-control. Unfortunately for them, their internal sense of morals seems to be absent, so there must have been some sort of external factor that ended up controlling them. I believe that their hallucinations were this external factor; I decided to analyze the situations surrounding the presence of their hallucinations and demonstrate that the hallucinations were symbolic substitutions of morals.

Macbeth encounters his first hallucination when he is on his way to murder King Duncan. He sees a bloody knife and states, “Is this a dagger which I see before me, / The handle toward my hand? … / And on thy blade and dudgeons gouts of blood.” This bloody knife is representative of the consequence of murdering Duncan, and makes Macbeth pause to think about his action. Although he later declares “I go, and it is done,” it still triggered thoughts in Macbeth.

Macbeth’s second hallucination occurs when he sees Banquo’s ghost, as noted by “Enter the ghost of Banquo, and sits in Macbeth’s place.” The fear that the ghost strikes into Macbeth makes him think back to what he did – ordered the murder of his former friend. This is once again a reality check for Macbeth, and makes him demonstrate less of his aggressive side and more of his weaker side when the guests see his strange behavior.

The third hallucination is observed by Lady Macbeth when she attempts to wipe away blood stains from her hand. This is once again a difference from her murderous past actions, and makes her think about her responsibility regarding the death of many other people. The fact that the blood stains do not wash away from her hands implies that the consequences of her actions are permanently attached to Lady Macbeth, and she needs to understand that being a proxy killer is not something morally acceptable.

In summary, the hallucinations found throughout Macbeth force Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to take a step back in their ambitious actions and look at the bloody mess they are leaving behind. Because of this, the hallucinations always emphasize the contrast of the drive for more power, and thus are symbolic of the moral and reserved end of the power spectrum.

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If you would to read other response papers I wrote for my literature course, or other papers I have written for other classes, feel free to check out the “Academics / Homework” category index.

I’m a tad bit late posting this, but it’s better late than never – here is the response paper I wrote for my literature course for the sixth week of class. The first three paragraphs are my impressions, and the remainder of the paper is my critical analysis.

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I decided to focus on “We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks because her poem was distinctly unique and different from the other nine poems, and it caught my attention in such a subtle but powerful way that it instantly became one of my favorite poems.

I believe that a powerful writer is able to tell intricate and complete stories in a succinct manner. This poem seems to fit that description very well. In 24 words, Brooks was able to essentially tell the life story about a group of pool players who chose to live the free life by only focusing on key events that define who they are.

She left out much of the detail most stories need to illustrate a vivid picture, but in Brooks’ poem’s case, because of the way it is written and how it progresses, the key words prompt our own images in our mind such that it is easy for us to visualize exactly what Brooks wanted us to visualize when reading her poem.

One thing that obviously sticks out in Gwendolyn Brooks’ “We Real Cool” is the way the poem is formatted in print. I decided to focus on the form of the poem and analyze how the way the poem is broken up contributes to the overall meaning of the poem.

There are eight lines, and every set of two lines are paired and separated into their own segment. The line break gives us a mental pause, as if it is the end of a scene and it is time to move on to the next; this is just like a scene transition in a movie where the video cuts from one location to another. Each paired segment has its own significance. The first opens the story by introducing the main characters of the story and gives background information about what they are like. The next gives us an idea about their lifestyle – they prefer to be active at night, and they are straightforward. The following segment tells us of their actions about what they do when they are together playing pool, singing and drinking alcohol. Finally, the last segment is the climax of the poem, where their actions get more intense and dangerous, like their promiscuity, and then includes the end of their lives when they die soon because of their poor choices. These breaks help tell the story because it provides a division between important aspects of their lives.

Another noticeable thing about the way the poem is formatted is how the word “We,” excluding the first line, is at the end of the previous line, rather than the beginning of each line. I believe this places emphasis on the actual activity rather than the people doing it. The “We” leads the first line because, not only is there no previous line, but because this is the only line where the focus is on the people. Afterwards, the “We” is at the end of the line as if the people are just afterthoughts, as if they do not really have a worthy identity because of the poor actions they choose to take. As the poem progresses, we begin to get accustomed to the rhythm and we begin to expect the “We” at the end of the final line, but it is not there. This leaves “Die soon.” on its own line, fitting its meaning – there is an abrupt and early ending to their lives because of their poor choices, just like there is an abrupt and seemingly early ending to the poem before we can get the comfort of the pattern of “We” at the end of the final line.

Overall, I think that this poem carries such power and influence not only because of the words Brooks chose to use to write it, but also because of the way it is formatted. The spacing and breaks included in the flow of the poem contribute a great deal to the impression it leaves on the reader, and because of the reasons stated above, it would lose a lot of its implicit meaning if the formatting were to be changed or removed.

This is my response paper for my literature class for this week. We shifted our focus from prose to poems. We were assigned ten poems to read; for the assignment, we had to summarize all ten poems, then select one about which to write, elaborating on our impressions of the work and critically analyzing a particular topic. This week, we had to focus on symbolism.

Summary:

“Sonnet 116” by William Shakespeare is about how love is not affected by obstacles and persists throughout all challenges it may face.

“A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” by John Donne tells about a man who has to leave his lover, but does not believe the event is one that should prompt mourning. He instead thinks that the separation will be an expansion to their love and will make the bond firmer.

“To His Coy Mistress” by Andrew Marvell is told by a man who is attempting to acquire the love of a woman by elaborating on, emphasizing, and complimenting the positive aspects of the woman.

“Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” by Thomas Gray takes place in a churchyard that is described in great visual detail. The narrator then shifts focus over to a poet by telling about his separated life and describing his grave in the churchyard.

“The Tyger” by William Blake tells of the Tyger, a being that is described as being aesthetically appealing. The poem goes on to ask what other being is powerful enough to be able to construct the Tyger with such excellence.

“A Red, Red Rose” by Robert Burns is a poem about the narrator’s love; it is compared to various pleasant things. Towards the end, he is separated by his love, but he assures that he will once again be reunited.

“I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” by William Wordsworth is about the narrator who wandered around like a cloud when he encountered a field of flowers, where he enjoyed the scenery. Now, when he is lonely, he thinks back to this scene and is happy again.

“Ozymandias” by Percy Byssche Shelley tells of an interaction with someone who traveled to an ancient land and came across a stone sculpted to resemble a king, which, according to the corresponding inscription, was powerful. There was nothing else around the sculpture.

“Ode on a Grecian Urn” by John Keats tells of various things that have happened, including a group of people being pursued, someone playing melodies on a pipe, some people being sacrificed, the lesson that “Beauty is truth, truth beauty.”

“Annabel Lee” by Edgar Allan Poe is told by a narrator who was the lover of Annabel Lee. One day, the angels got jealous of the love between the narrator and Annabel Lee and sent a wind that chilled Annabel to death. She was taken away by her family members. However, the narrator says that because their love was so strong, there is no way that even death can separate him from Annabel.

Impressions:

While reading through the first nine poems listed, I generally had a difficult time understanding the implied meanings of the poems, as I generally have a hard time interpreting syntax that is changed from conventional standards to add artistic value. However, when I got to the last poem, “Annabel Lee” by Edgar Allan Poe, I felt like all the literary beauty was still intact and the rhythm was pleasant, but it still flowed nicely and was easy to understand and visualize what was happening. Thus, it was my favorite poem out of the set for this week.

One thing that I particularly liked about the poem was how it was organized well as what one would expect from a conventional story. The poem starts with a description of the context and setting, which allowed me to visualize a fundamental structure upon which I could illustrate more details in my mind as the poem progressed. By the end of the poem, I was able to produce a short video in my mind and be able to really experience the poem’s message, which was difficult for many of the other poems.

Critical Analysis:

There are a handful of symbolic items in Edgar Allan Poe’s “Annabel Lee” which form a gestalt that gives a deeper meaning to the poem.

One of the most redundant forms of symbolism found throughout the poem is the sea. It is mentioned in many different contexts: “kingdom by the sea,” “demons down under the sea,” “sepulcher there by the sea,” and “tomb by the side of the sea.” In all of these situations, the sea is present when there is a connection between the narrator and Annabel, which leads me to conclude that the sea is symbolic of their love and union. The kingdom is near the sea because they both live in the same area, and are connected by area of residence. The demons are down under the sea, weighted down by the water, because no evil force can disrupt the link between the narrator and Annabel. After Annabel dies, her dead body is placed next to the sea because, as the narrator states, even death is not enough to pull them apart.

Another point of symbolism is the age of the narrator and Annabel. This is also a recurring item of interest – the narrator admits that “She was a child and I was a child,” but later clarifies that “… our love it was stronger by far than the love / Of those who were older than we– / Of many far wiser than we–.” At first, one might think that this love is just adolescent or teenage infatuation, but, as evidenced by the dedication shown by the narrator to Annabel, even after she dies, their age is not symbolic of foolishness, but actually of the true power and dedication of their love. Even when covered by the cloak of immaturity, their love still shines brightly through.

Finally, one last symbolic object that I thought was interesting was the wind. The wind is mentioned twice, once during the recount of what happened (“A wind blew out of a cloud by night / Chilling my Annabel Lee), and once when justifying Annabel being taken away (“… the wind came out of the cloud, chilling / And killing my Annabel Lee”). The wind here seems symbolic of an omen of evil; although it was sent from the heavens, it still inflicted Annabel with an illness (most likely a common cold) that went out of hand and ended up taking her life.

Overall, the symbols in Poe’s poem helps link together the different sections of the poem. They act as threads that allow us to tie together the different parts of the plot and find a theme that integrates one segment to the next.

Works Cited

Blake, William. “The Tyger.” 250 Poems: A Portable Anthology. Ed. Peter Schakel and Jack Ridl. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009. 35. Print.

Burns, Robert. “A Red, Red Rose.” 250 Poems: A Portable Anthology. Ed. Peter Schakel and Jack Ridl. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009. 36. Print.

Donne, John. “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning.” 250 Poems: A Portable Anthology. Ed. Peter Schakel and Jack Ridl. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009. 9. Print.

Gray, Thomas. “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard.” 250 Poems: A Portable Anthology. Ed. Peter Schakel and Jack Ridl. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009. 28. Print.

Keats, John. “Ode on a Grecian Urn.” 250 Poems: A Portable Anthology. Ed. Peter Schakel and Jack Ridl. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009. 57. Print.

Marvell, Andrew. “To His Coy Mistress.” 250 Poems: A Portable Anthology. Ed. Peter Schakel and Jack Ridl. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009. 23. Print.

Poe, Edgar Allan. “Annabel Lee.” 250 Poems: A Portable Anthology. Ed. Peter Schakel and Jack Ridl. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009. 61. Print.

Shakespeare, William. “Sonnet 116.” 250 Poems: A Portable Anthology. Ed. Peter Schakel and Jack Ridl. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009. 8. Print.

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. “Ozymandias.” 250 Poems: A Portable Anthology. Ed. Peter Schakel and Jack Ridl. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009. 51. Print.

Wordsworth, William. “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud.” 250 Poems: A Portable Anthology. Ed. Peter Schakel and Jack Ridl. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009. 37. Print.