Tuesday 23 October 2012

Reading Journal

Act 3-5

  • Hero and Ursula are discussing Benedick's love for Beatrice whilst Beatrice is hiding and eavesdropping
  • Don John and Don Pedro telling Claudio of Hero's supposed 'disloyalty'. 
  • Dogberry is introduced - we begin to understand he is not wise 
  • Watchmen hear Borachio and Conrade talking of the scheme, they are arrested
  • Dogberry tries to tell Leonato what the watchmen have told him but because he is dim doesn't actually tell him anything
  • Claudio humiliates Hero in front of entire church 
  • Why does Claudio do this? Perhaps he does it out of blind fury, because he truly loves her, he is too distraught to function properly. Perhaps he doesn't love her at all, and wishes to regain his title as a vigilant hero in front of his companions. 
  • Why doesn't Hero defend herself? Perhaps she feels her voice will not be heard; she has a group of men talking at her, telling her she has done what she is being accused of. Perhaps it is to do with her status in the play; not a significantly strong character
  • Why does Leonato feel such sudden resentment toward his daughter? E.g - 'Death is the fairest cover for her shame', 'Do not live, Hero, do not open thine eyes'. Perhaps this is shameful to his name, an embarrassment.
  • Why do the other characters seem so set on Beatrice and Benedick falling in love? Perhaps to relieve stress from the war, it shows mockery of Benedick and Beatrice; they are so sure they hate each other but now they are being proved wrong.
  • Why does no one ask Hero where she was the night she is being accused of cheating? Perhaps because she is a woman, her voice is invaluable

Tuesday 16 October 2012

Reading Journal

How is comedy constructed in Much Ado About Nothing and how are the serious elements emerging?
Act 1-2

  • The use of sarcasm and satire between Beatrice and Benedick
  • Use of schemes between Claudio and the Prince to get Hero - immaturity
  • Serious elements such as the past between Beatrice and Benedick - a deeper undertone is beginning to emerge through Beatrice in act 2 scene 2 but again through the use of comedy
  • Sincerity portrayed through the use of Don John's character - why is he so bitter and uptight? He says, 'I'd rather be a canker in a hedge than a rose in his [Don Pedro's] grace' - cutting off his nose to spite his face - perhaps Don John is jealous of his illegitimate brother, as he will never be as important regardless of his current status?
  • How does the romance develop between characters such as Hero and Claudio and Beatrice and Benedick?
  • How does authority develop?
  • Will Don John change his ways further in the play?
  • Why do the characters mask themselves and put on a front? What do they have to hide?
  • Why is it called Much Ado About Nothing when clearly it is about something?
  • Do we really understand the characters?
  • Use of dramatic irony/confusion to generate humour
  • Narrative - follows Propp's eight character types
  • Narrative -binary oppositions e.g bad vs good- Don John vs rest of cast
  •  How far will Don John go to cause disruption?
  • Why is Beatrice so powerful, more powerful than Hero?
  • Beatrice questions the typical role of women in those days - she is strong, independent, does not want a husband
  • Perhaps Hero has more to offer later in the play
  • Comical construction - use of sexual tension 
  • Will Don John become romantically involved with anyone or is he too cold and mischievous?

Tuesday 9 October 2012

Review of Fra Lippo Lippi


Write about the ways Browning tells the story in lines 191-269 of ‘Fra Lippo Lippi’.
               
Browning tells the story by using rhetorical questions that do not prompt an answer eg line 198, ‘Is this sense I ask?’ He already knows the answer and is very sure of himself. Another point is the repetitive use of enjambment and there are no stanzas as he is drunk and therefore rambling on and on. This gives the impression he has wanted to express his feelings for a very long time and now he is voicing everything at once. Dramatic punctuation is used such as ellipses and abrupt stops. This conveys his fluctuation in emotion, his state and level of inebriation and desperation to release everything he has bottled up. The tone of the poem is belligerent as he continuously addresses people as ‘you’ – telling people how they feel for example lines 261-264, ‘You tell too many lies and hurt yourself;/ You don’t like what you only like too much/ You do like what, if given you at your word/ You find abundantly detestable.’

He uses many discourse markers which makes the poem much more realistic, imitating real speech, e.g., line 196, ‘She’s just my niece… Herodias, I would say-/ Who went and danced and got men’s heads cut off!’ This is effective as his pauses insinuate contemplation and thought amidst his drunken state. Also, the metre is very unobvious however is iambic pentameter. He has used this because it is upbeat and is suitable for the poem, accentuating his intoxication and instability in emotion but still shows how he finds the situation humorous. He uses many personal pronouns to refer to himself and the Church, showing how close to home and important this is to him and his degree of irritation toward the Church – you may consider the entire poem to be a direct dig. Browning uses italics to show when Fra Lippo Lippi is singing, for example line 238 – ‘Flower o’ the pine, /You keep your mistr… manners, and I’ll stick to mine!’ which again reinforces his being under the influence, and may even suggest deeper emotion through song or how it is easier to lyrically explain his feelings.

The poem is in linear chronology, which shows how Fra Lippo Lippi is telling a story, his story, and all that brought him to where he is now. This is effective as we should expect a happy ending out of a story but actually the end is Fra bringing us up to date and we should never know the ending of his story.

In conclusion, Browning is wise in his use of linear chronology, iambic pentameter, punctuation, perspective and tone to convey the story of Fra Lippo Lippi and what he felt at that particular time. Through the use of such narrative devices we can understand the personality of this man and his deeper emotion toward the Church itself.

Review Pied Piper of Hamelin

The Pied Piper of Hamelin is a poem by Robert Browning set in Hamelin's Town, Brunswick. The sub heading is 'A Child's Story', suggesting a fairy tale. He starts the first stanza using in media res, with no introduction offering a riveting beginning with only a setting, which leaves much to the readers contemplation. We also get the sense he is omniscient in this poem when he writes,

But, when begins my ditty,
Almost five hundred years ago,
To see the townsfolk suffer so
From vermin, was a pity.

This is because he describes what is unknown to the readers as 'vermin', however he is already erudite in the story. The perspective is from the narrator recounting the tale, which gives the voice a sense of purpose; he is telling the story for a direct reason. The poem uses rhyming couplets and is in iambic pentameter which flows like a song, perhaps even the song to the Pied Piper's music, which may be why the sub heading is A Child's Story.

The poem being in linear chronology and using enjambment supports the story telling and fairy tale theme as we can understand that this is a story the narrator has told many times- again showing a clear sense of purpose being conveyed- as there is no sign of natural speech; there is a complete lack of discourse markers and it flows perfectly like a song, perhaps even the song to the Pied Piper's music.

The use of imagery is strong when the appearance of the Pied Piper is described, when Browning writes

His queer long coat from the heel to head
Was half of yellow and half of red,
And he himself was tall and thin

The use of simple primary colours again appeals to children however the description creates the image of a jester like figure, who should he fail in making the King laugh would be at great risk. This is effective because in this poem it is the 'jester' who holds the upper hand, suggesting role reversal. Browning describes the Mayor in a negative way, which may actually be to insult the Council and those of high authority, for example on line 47:

With the corporation he sat,
Looking little though wondrous fat

and continues throughout the poem to insult the Mayor and council. This may be a comparison with the rats, who take all they please straight from the people - just like the Mayor and council in all their false glory and apparent fake power as they cannot resolve the rat invasion themselves. The poem becomes quite sinister when Browning describes the sounds of the rats-

You heard as if an army muttered;
And the muttering grew to a grumbling;
And the grumbling grew to a mighty rumbling

You may say through the use of personification that again Browning proposes an analogy between the rats and the Council, showing how the cannot be trusted amongst their whisperings and lies. This becomes an extended metaphor

The children are described when the Pied Piper lures them into his musical trance after the Mayor lies to him, and the way they are portrayed provides a great contrast between them and the council:

Out the children came running,
All the little boys and girls,
With rosy cheeks and flaxen curls,
And sparkling eyes and teeth like pearls

This is especially effective as it conveys them as almost angelic; showing how unfair it is that they should be taken as a consequence to the selfishness of the council and how conceited and pompous they truly are. The poem finalizes with the narrator talking to a boy called Willy, telling him of how If we've promised them aught, let us keep our promise! Proving it serves as a cautionary tale and sending out a prominent message.



Wednesday 3 October 2012

Confessions of a Drug Abuser

I am very nearly thirty now
I've been sat in this cold damp place
for hours, thinking of what could have been
had I not touched the powder
A year since my wife succumbed to the sweet lull of death
- Oh, how I wish I could join her.
What I would do to reverse the past
My children and I, together at last
There's nothing left but this bitter shell of a man
My life encompassed by my own selfishness
Waiting, wishing, wondering about what will be
...how cruel a life of misery.
My heart seldom beats much more,
for what is the point in life when you have nothing to live for?