Twelfth Night

This is by far one of my favorite stories that we read during the semester. One of the parts that describes what is going on in this section best for me starts with line 33 of Act 2 Scene 2:

How will this fadge? My master loves her dearly,
And I, Poor monster, fond as much on him,
And she, mistaken, seems to dote on me.
What will become of this? As I am man,
My state is desperate for my master’s love.

I think this encompasses the chaos that ensues in the story and the twisted love triangle that is in place. I love how intricately woven everything is in the story. The thought that was put into everything from the personalities to confusing names (Olivia, Viola, Malvolio) just feeds into this being such a funny and chaotic story. One of my favorite things was when Maria tricked Malvolio into acting like an idiot to prove his love to Olivia. I felt like she was showing her genius because the “secrecy” of the letter; Malvolio didn’t explain his randomness to anyone to make sure it was kept secret. I always associate Shakespeare with Romeo and Juliet, so I really liked reading this because I don’t think I would have seen Shakespeare in the same light. I thought the play was so funny, and it was witty. It wasn’t just stupidity that makes you laugh; it was well thought out and orchestrated. I think this was also an enjoyable read because it was one of the first times where we were just reading for enjoyment (atleast for me) as opposed to constantly looking for themes, undertones and motifs. It just basically celebrated chaos at its best and poked fun at it.

Utopia: My favorite place in the world

Here is a lovely map of Utopia. The most perfect place in the world. Right. As you all know I thought the story was great, but I think the idea of this place was pretty ridiculous. I always wondered where George Orwell came up with his idea for Animal Farm, and I definitely think that Utopia was a muse. I think that Utopia portrays the epitome of a socialist society where everyone is equal and everything is perfect. Not so much. I mean More stresses this idea of everyone getting treated the same and having the same responsibilities, etcetera. One of the blatant examples of this idea being corrupt in the story can be seen in the way that dinner takes place. The minors have to wait on the elders, and the tranibors (meaning gluttonous) get more food than others. Not only do the minors wait on everyone else, they only get to eat if someone gives them scraps. I mean I guess that’s fair… I suppose the idea sounds ideal in some cases, but for the most part I don’t really see it working. Not everyone has the same personality time, and this type of society calls for everyone to be on the same page all the time. Like I said before I love competition and a society that really doesn’t have any (other than gardening) would fail, because I know I am not the only person that happens to have a competitive personality. Doing everything to be “equal” wouldn’t work, and corruption—which is even implied in his version—would be inevitable. The constant intellectual stimulation would be tiresome, too. It is so relaxing sometimes to just go lay on the beach and think about nothing.

Overall I feel like Utopia is meant to sound ideal, but it really isn’t. The live like sheep, they are herded here and there and all wear the same thing. Even in More’s Utopia the idea of complete equality wouldn’t work. There are constant undertones of how some people receive preferential treatment. Not only that, but there are constantly contradictions. My favorite is that Utopians don’t slaughter animals because it destroys compassion, so they make slaves do it. But how compassionate is it to force people to be slaves? After reading the story again, I almost feel like More, the real Thomas More, doesn’t believe it would work either, but as I said, he is contradictory. Maybe this feeds back into the idea from Book 1 that he really doesn’t know if he feels one way or the other, which then becomes evident in the creation of Utopia.
Let’s be honest, who wants to put in for “vacation time” with the government, then work while you are on vacation in a place that looks exactly like home? Think about it…

Utopia Book 1

I know that Thomas More in the book may not be the same as Thomas More the character. However, I feel like Thomas More is channeling his conflicting emotions/ideas through two different characters. I feel like Hythloday is serving to portray the more exaggerated opinions of Thomas More, and More the character has a more conservative point of view. I think he is trying to send the message that he has mixed feelings about how government and his country should run. Whenever Hythloday (meaning nonsense talker) comes up with a crazy idea, such as enslaving thieves, More goes on to disagree with his ideas and says they won’t work. However, he will still assure Hythloday that he would do well to “engage in public affairs”. To me its saying that More is ambiguous about his thoughts, and is almost trying to write out his thoughts on paper to compare. The fictitious More goes on to support Hythloday’s ideas and decides that with patience they can be implemented and help improve the current system. Hythloday disagrees and says that his radical ideas will cause the government to tighten their ways more than in the past. I feel that this further supports the idea that More is trying to rationalize his mixed thoughts.

Hythloday then states his opinion that:
"As long as there is property, and while money is the standard of all things, I cannot think that a nation can be governed either justly or happily; not justly, because the best things will fall to the share of the worst men; nor happily, because all things will be divided among a few (and even these are not in all respects happy), the rest being left to the absolutely miserable."

I feel like this is one of the biggest moments where the ideas to come in Book 2 are foreshadowed. And we all know how I feel about Book 2…but why not elaborate anyway J

Wife of Bath's Tale. Yeah. I'm playing "catch up".

The Wife of Bath was a really fun and interesting story for me. The prologue portrays her as this woman who knows the ins and outs of men and relationships. I felt like the Tale sent a different message. In the beginning I think you see where the story is heading as far as the lesson that has to be learned, etcetera. I do think it is funny when she prefaces his task by talking about Midas and the asses ears, then tells everyone they have to read Ovid to figure out how it ends. I think this is Chaucer taking a jab at her social class and her actual intelligence, basically he is saying she doesn’t really know how it ends. I really want to focus on her feelings about men and how she expresses them in the story.

Line 1044-1046: “Wommen desiren to have sovereyntee
As wel over hir housbond as hir love,
And for to been in maistrie him above.”

So basically she is saying that women want to be in control of their husbands and have the freedom to make their own decisions in the relationship. Obviously here I feel like she is expressing her desire to be considered superior to men. Later when he is judging the old woman based on her looks and social status—saying she is nowhere near nobe, she responds with:

“For, God it woot, men may wel often finde
A lords sone do shame and vileinye;

So she is saying that men of nobility have definitely done wrong (HINT HINT: You raped someone and you are supposedly “noble”). Basically that nobility doesn’t come from your parents and your possessions, it comes from God and grace. To support her idea of “wearing the pants” in the relationship, she is pointing out the faults of men. Up until this point I have considered her to have a feminist point of view. Then he wins in the end. I think it is really funny (as in ironic) that he learns his lesson by giving her the final decision of her physical appearance and giving her sovereignty in the relationship. By doing this she gets what she wants—what every woman wants—and is extremely pleased. However, did he really learn the lesson? I mean I really feel like in the end he is definitely still superior because all he had to do was give her what she wanted and he is cleared of the fact that he flat out raped someone. So let’s break this down.

Man rapes women
Women puts man to the test
Man passes the test only because of a woman
Man “learns lesson” and ends up with a beautiful wife.
Man really doesn’t learn lesson, woman really isn’t in control

…there’s my humble opinion on that.
With that being said I feel like it shows that the Wife of Bath pretends she likes to be in control, but really she still likes for the man to have superiority in the relationship.

The Lowdown on Oroonoko

I found this story to be very different almost bordlerine Romeo and Juliet with the plot if you actually sit and think about it. The story start of with Oroonoko, who is the grandson of an African king, who falls in love with Imonioda, the daughter of that king's top genreal.
But guess what the king, Oroonoko grandaddy falls in love with the same girl! The king gives the sacared veil, basically making her his wife. She really didnt want to be there with the king and so she decided to choose Oroonoko. Bad Choice! because the king sold her as a slave and Oroonoko was tricked and captured by an English slave captain. Both Imroinda and Oroonoko are carried to Surinam. Surinam is a sugarcane colonoy that the English established in the West Indies. Well anyways the two lovers are reunited therem under new names Caesar and Clemene. But the trouble doesnt stop there, Imonida is so beautiful that she caught the attention of the governor Byam.
Well in the mean time, Oroonoko organizes a slave revolt. That didnt work out to his advanatage because even though Byam promised ammnesty when he was captured he was beat. So of course you know that Oroonoko wanted his revenge because his pride was hurt, he decided to kill Byam. So he decides to kill Byam and in the process he decided to kill Imoroinda as well because he doesnt want her to suffer any injustices, that might happen from his actions. Now, here is where it starts to sound Romeo and Juliet, she agrees that she will go thorugh with this plan. As you are well aware in Romeo and Juliet they did something similiar but it dealt with a misunderstanding and poison. Ok, so Oroonoko really doesnt really want to kill her, because of the love that he has for her, but when he stabs her to death she dies with a smile on her face. He is captured mourining over her body, they kept him from killing himself because they wanted him to get excuted publically. But the crazy thing about the ending is that that while being dismembered, Oroonoko calmly smokes a pipe and he doesnt even make a noise. That takes a lot of courage to stay that calm.
I found that novel is written in a mixture of first and third person. It has been said that narrotor is Aphra Benn herself becuase of how pesrsonailzed the experiences are, but who really knows! In the story the narrotor presents herself as a lady who came to Surinam, with her father, which nobody knows his name, and that they basically came to because her father was supposed to be the new deputy governor of the colony. But in the process of the trip traveling to the new colony the father dies and the narrotor and the family still settles there in Surinam.
There is so much going on with this story. The theme is centered around lust, sex, and slavery.

Delight in Disorder

"A sweet disorder in this dress" what would the disorder be? It has to be a physical characteristic being the dress causes it. Maybe he is saying that attractiveness is a disorder? The way he words the poem, it seems very sexual to me, like the lady wearing the dress is very atractive. The clothes have a "wantonness" Which seems to be loose fitted and excessively luxurious. I think the shoestring line is the most interesting line "a careless shoestring, in whose tie i see a wild civility" It's like he's speaking bad of the shoes not being tied, but then goes to say but that's a daring statement/action i like it. That's a flaw the shoe not being tied correctly, but then after that he says that things like this "bewitch" him more than "when art is too precise", Maybe he's saying flaws are a nice thing everyonce in a while?

Review!

I am going to bed, Must I say this is a good review though! I'm reading all these stories and making sure i know it for the exam, will finish all of them first thing in the morning!

To Penshurst

Is Penshurst really beautiful? "Thou art not," "built to envious show" is saying that it was not built to show off. It also says that "nor boast a row of polished pillars, or a roof of gold". So is it beautiful? He is saying that it doesn't have polished pillars or a gold roof, right? I am confused by the lines 5 and 6. It says that it stands on an ancient building "and, these grudged at, art reverenced the while." grudged is to have an ill resentment towards something and reverenced is to have deep respect for something. How can their be both?

I do think that line 7 is saying that if you go for the natural characteristics of the place that it would be "fair" of you to go. Many people go there to walk and play sports. The place is described very beautifully, although i still get the feeling that the author doesn't like the place. It seems to me that he has a "grudge" for it, it's a little too perfect. The fish that jump in your hands and all the people are welcolm? Too perfect for me! He shows some sarcasm around line 82 when he says "what (great i will not say, but) sudden cheer" showing some negative feelings. Then he goes to say what he finds a wonder at the palace, the fact that the king's children are his (obviously it's common for them not to be), his lady is beautiful and that he raised his children the right way. They will be well rounded children and have good moral behavior. I like the last few lines

"when they see Those proud, ambitious heaps, and nothing else, may say, their lords have built, but thy lords dwells", I think this is saying that if you pass down your knowledge and it will show in your children, even later one, the lord will still dwell because he is reflected in the way the children are.

Friendship's Mystery

<--- Katherine Philips as "Orinda"

This is a poem written to Katherine's friend Anne Owen. The first thing I wonder is who is she speaking of when she says "To the dull angry world let's prove there's a religion in our love."? Is she speaking of the women and men; or is she speaking of her and Anne? Maybe she is speaking of a friendship love between her and her friend? She seems to be telling of their mutual feelings and situations. That they, as women, were "designed t' agree". Their "election is as free as angels"? She must be speaking of electing friendships, since women couldn't elect anyone or even make decisions then. Even as they "diffuse and both engross" they still remain together at heart. I think she says that they are alone all the time and they date their "captivity", but that it's not confinement or restricted but that they are there for looks, they are there for an "ormament" on their men's arms. That if they feed the friendship it will never die. Their hearts are both the same, they both have been hurt and share their pain, but they give love to each other to keep theirselves going on.

A Married State

This is a very interesting poem. I have never viewed marriage as a bad thing, still really don't but I do understand what Philips is saying. She is saying to keep your focus on your spiritual or religous beliefs you must keep your virginity and stay away from the wild ways of marraige. If you son't marry, you won't have to worry about cranky husbands or crying children. You will only have to worry about your prayers. My favorite line is "Supress wild nature is she dare rebel."

Twelfth Night

One thing that I find interesting is that Malvio is normal and isn't under the influence of love until he recieves the letter from "Olivia" reveiling her love for him. When he gets a glimpse of "Olivia"'s love he does whatever it takes to get her, including the foolish things the letter says. He ends up being locked up in a dark room and forgotten about. I think that this is showing how love can drive you crazy, it can make you go mad!

And also the fact that Orsino still called Viola by her male name, Cesario, even after she revieled herself as a woman! Obviously he wasn't straightout gay, but did he have a fetish for males?

Twelfth Night

The twelfth night is one of the most original stories that we have read so far. The love triangle in this is almost like a soap opera. This is also another story that shows how women were treated at one point. A woman could not get a labor job, so Viola disquised as a man went to work for Olivia, who later falls in love with Cesario (Viola as a man). Although Viola has her sights set on Orsino from the start. I think that Viola knew that Orsino had money, since he was the duke of Illyria and all. So she begins asking questions about Orsino and Olivia before she sets off to Olivia's place in search of a job. Why would you like a man you have never seen before? There is only one thing, if you are interested in something they have. This total chaotic love triangle is showing how these people are fools for love. The only person who isn't a fool when it comes to love ironically is the fool, Feste!

Utopia Book 1

First off Utopia means U-no & Topia- place; So this is No where, this place is not real. It is something this man has made up. But why would you make this up, form an entire story about this imagined society?

My Galley

A Galley is a ship or boat usually propelled by oars. We have discussed that the ocean is usally portraited as someone's life. Well this journey the galley is on, must the the author's life journey. Through the rocks, tough times, and over sharp waves, getting over the obsticles in lifes path. But The "Lord" has steered his path, according to him, and he seems upset at the way it has turned out. He even seems to be accusing the "Lord" to be "mine enemy". "endless wind doth tear the sail apace" He is the ship, so the wind, life, is tearing him apart. He uses human emotions in speaking of the conditions at sea, letting us know that he is talking about himself, the "rain of tears, a cloud of dark disdain". He is torn with "error and eke with ignorance", he made bad choices and lead him to bad situations, and he has abandoned all "reason" that maybe he should join. He ends the poem being mad at the world "despairing of the port".

i find no peace

<---Sir Thomas Wyatt~

This poem is about the feelings this man is having inside. It seems to me like they are hidden feelings, he acts normal but on the inside something is eating him alive. He is done with it but there has been no solution, no positive outcome. He burns mad but feels cold as ice, maybe like he's been abandoned left out in the cold. He's so full of sorrow he cannot get up but mentally is flying. What has kept him close has entrapt him. But now that the grip has loosened he can't get away, he's stuck there, mentally or physically? I wonder what the line "with out eyen I see, and without tounge i plain" means? Maybe he "wasn't" seeing this woman it was a secret love, so he couldn't talk about her or even look at her when other people were around. To me it seems he could be a married man and there are two sets of feelings. The ones he has about loving another, that's where he burns and freezes like ice, he can not arise, he finds no peace. Maybe he got a divorce for this other woman, maybe that's why the "war is done" but he finds no peace because he has wronged his wife. The "death" of his marriage and the "life" with this new woman. He thought he would be happy with this new woman that's why his "delight is causer of this strife".

Whoso list to hunt

This poem is about a man who knows where a female deer is, in the woods? One thing that doesn't make sense is that a female deer is not the objective in hunting. The males always have more muscle on them, and the females breed so hunters never kill does, unless that's all there is. So, I think that this is about a woman. A woman that he lusts over. He refers to her as a doe because he is hunting her in a way, watching her, waiting for her to come. But she belongs to another, the landlord of the woods. "Noli me tangere" means don't touch me. So it is a forbidden love. It will always be a unsatisfied hunt. He will return knowing where the deer is but unable to touch her.

~The wife of bath's Tale~

It's weird how much this story seems like sir Gawain and the Green Knight! It's a little bit odd. When I first read this story I thought that what the Knight took from the lady was a hat or something, but when reading back over the prologue, I realized that it was her virginity. Makes more sense! i was wondering who Ovid was, well I looked it up and Ovid is a Roman poet that wrote about love, seduction, and mythological transformation! And the Wife of Bath tells that the knight comes upon a lady that is magical! He sees 24 women when he is riding up but once he gets to the edge of the woods, there is only one old lady. She magically transformed. well, the whole point to the story I thnk is that , the knight must find out what women really want. Which is what the wife of bath wants, to be in charge of their husbands. When the knight has to marry the old lady, he is completely horrified, hates it, he pretty much says kill me now. In the end the old lady gives him the choice of her being ugly and loyal or beautiful and unloyal. He says "put me in your wyse governance" (just like the wife of bath says she governed her husbands). This pleases the wife, and she becomes both, young and good! I think this is saying that it may be the best for a couple to be governed by the wife sometimes. Maybe thats why the wife of bath loved her last husband so much, because they both governed, he let her govern sometimes, shile he was still in charge.

~Wife of Bath 2~

The Pardoner is almost, should i say, persuaded into not marrying his soon to be fiance because of what the Wife of Bath says. To me it's almost like she is saying that marriage is a sentence, and each person must keep up their parts. The wife must rule, in her eyes, and the husband must use his "instrument" well. Which is exactly the opposite of what was real in that time. The wife of Bath is playing the normal man's role. Maybe it is a mockery of the way that women were dominated?
She says that the good husbands were old and rich, she made them work at night, sexually i assume. Although what is her duty? She says that she made them work at night so that would be a payment from them as well as they gave her their land and money. My favorite line she says is:

I governed hem so wel after my lawe

Here she shows her dominance of the men. Of all the husbands the wife of bath had, the last husband has left a mark on her. He reversed her normal role of her being in charge. He had the control, he was the only one to stand up to her, although violent, and got to her. She shows that he had the most impact on her because of the fact that she talks about him more than the other four husbands. She admits that she loved him, would that be because he had the power to reverse the role? This 5th husband was marred for love, but the others were because of money and superficial things. She admits it herself by saying that "the bren, as I best can, now moste I sell" she uses sex to get the men to leave everything to her. As said in class she is a "gold digger"!

~Wife of Bath's Prologue~

She starts off with the word "Experience". She has it in many things. Throughout her marriages she has learnt trades and qualities from her 5 husbands. So she feels she is qualified to speak on the "woes of marriage". It seems she is justifying herself for marrying so many times, since people tell her that "crist ne wente nevere but onis to wedding". She says that "God bad us for to wexe and multiplye" but how can she use this? She never speaks of children, so she must not have married for this reason! But she continues to give more and more excuses for marrying more than once. She says that God never said marry only ONCE, she gives examples of people in the Bible that she believes to have more than one wife.

She says that she married the best of men, because of their "nether purs and of here cheste". She married them because of the sex and their money! So surely she doesn't care about them. Which she proves when she says:

Whan myn housbond is fro the world y-gon

Som cristen man shal wedde me anon;

For thanne the'Apostle seith that i am free

to wedde, a Goddes half, where it lyketh me.

So she definately doesn't care, there is no way, if she is prepared to wed as soon as one dies, there is no emotions involved. What really makes me wonder is that she feels he must "paye his dette". What does he owe for? The marriage? The companionship? Her "instrument"?

The man of Law's Epilogue

What is a Lollard? Well dictionary.com gave this meaning:

Lol·lard
(lŏl'ərd) n. A member of a sect of religious reformers in England who were followers of John Wycliffe in the 14th and 15th centuries.

Who is John Wycliffe? answer.com provided this:

A man who was born in 1324. After his retirement he continued to write and is credited with initiating the first full English translation of the Bible. His followers, called Lollards, are considered forerunners to the Protestant Reformation.

So obviously he is a very religious man, but why is he cut off too? This time the wife of Bath says that he will not preach and speak of God, because they " alle in the grete god". She tells him not to "springen cokkel in oure clene corn." I think this might mean that she doesn't want trouble. You know how when people usually preach things in a group of mixed people, thee are always a few people who don't agree and this causes trouble. The only thing that I wonder is, what does "ther is but litel latyn in my mawe" mean?