Meet Macbeth

How is Macbeth introduced through in/direct characterization?
-Within the first ACT there are several instances in which we the readers are given clues via both direct and indirect characterization. Prior to the Macbeth's first appearance on stage a quote from the witches begins Macbeth's characterization.
What elements of foreshadowing do the witches provide?
-If you are at all familiar with the play "Macbeth" the witches' spells, speech, or whatever you want to call it definitely provide some interesting clues as to the plot. The first huge foreshadow of things to come resides in line 11 of ACT I scene 1 with the words, "Fair is foul, and foul is fair." These six words really set the tone for the play and action to come. They imply that things are not exactly right in the world of the play and at the same time begin to set the tone of the play. The witches return again in ACT I scene 3 right before Macbeth and Banquo enter again after the battle. The First Witch says that, "A sailor's wife had chestnuts in her lap..." which is most likely a foreshadow to the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in which Lady Macbeth for lack of a better term, wears the pants in the relationship.
How does Shakespeare's approach to exposition give the reader background information about the setting and characters and a sense of what's to come without spoiling the play?
-The first ACT is almost pure exposition. We get the traditional exposition and laing the background for what's to come, but even further Shakespeare alludes to history. This play was first written and performed for the King who was a descendent of one of the play's characters (Banquo I believe). And because Shakespeare always knew his intended audience he expects the audience to already be familiar with the story of Macbeth from a historical standpoint.
How does Shakespeare's characterization of Macbeth reflect a sense of tone (i.e., the author's attitude toward the character/s, audience, and/or subject matter)?
-Right off the bat the reader gets a sense of the dark and almost morose tone that is going to play a large factor within the performance of the play. The idea of "Foul is fair, and fair is foul..." brings that idea home. In terms of the characterization of Macbeth

Spring Literature Analysis #3-As I Lay Dying

I've been behind all month so I'm posting what I have done so far and will continue to update it as I can. I will have it done Monday afternoon.

Spring Literature Analysis #3

“As I Lay Dying” William Faulkner

Book Edition: Vintage International

“We go on, with a motion so soporific, so dreamlike as to be uninferant of progress, as though time and not space were decreasing between us and it.”

-“As I Lay Dying”(Darl, Pg 107)

1. Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read according to the elements of plot you've learned in past courses (exposition, inciting incident, etc.).  Explain how the narrative fulfills the author's purpose (based on your well-informed interpretation of same).

-Fifteen distinct narrators (by my count) and from Wikipedia, a total of fifty-nine “chapters”.  Although I would be hesitant to call them chapters, because they range in such drastic style to several pages to one sentence, they would be best called (in my not so professional opinion) snapshots. Snapshots not in the sense of their rigidness, rather I found them quite elastic and the syntax and diction allowing for wide interpretation, but for what they cover. They are so varied and quite frankly difficult to read at times because of Faulkner’s writing style.  A bit of background info before I begin and then rather than a plot summary (which I find incredibly boring, I will be incorporating a brief blurb on allusions specifically found in the title, based on what I learned on my previous project. Because I truly feel that a discussion on allusions by Faulkner will suit us better than a plot summary. Maybe I’m wrong, but we’ll see.) Faulkner wrote this novel at the beginning of the Great Depression. He was working in a power plant, and according to him he wrote it over the course of six weeks, and considered it his personal “Tour de Force”.

-In terms of allusion, the biggest one you will get comes directly from the title of the novel itself; “As I Lay Dying”.  The title alludes directly to book XI of “The Odyssey” by Homer which reads, “As I lay dying, the woman with the dog’s eyes would not close my eyes as I descended into Hades.”  Originally I interpreted only the obvious allusion to “The Odyssey” itself not thinking much about the significance of the situation Odysseus finds himself in. As you may already know the term odyssey has come to mean a long wandering or journey marked by challenges of fortune, which parallels nicely with the journey of the Bundren family going to bury the matriarch Addie Bundren, and the subsequent events and problems that ensue. But even further in that allusion is complex and twisted tale of a family. That quote is not said by Odysseus but rather a hero from the Trojan War, Agamemnon, who Odysseus sees in Hades. Agamemnon describes the circumstances behind his death which again parallel (though on a different level) the problems and struggles the Bundren family.

2. Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. Avoid cliches.

-

 3. Describe the author's tone. Include a minimum of three excerpts that illustrate your point(s).

-

 4. Describe a minimum of ten literary elements/techniques you observed that strengthened your understanding of the author's purpose, the text's theme and/or your sense of the tone. For each, please include textual support to help illustrate the point for your readers. (Please include edition and page numbers for easy reference.)

-Allusion: See question 1 above.

-Synesthesia:

-Syntax:

- Metaphor: My mom is a fish

-Narration (through Stream of Consciousness):

-Interior Monologue:

 

-Simile:

 CHARACTERIZATION

1. Describe two examples of direct characterization and two examples of indirect characterization.  Why does the author use both approaches, and to what end (i.e., what is your lasting impression of the character as a result)?

 -The characterization reminds me a lot of “The Sound and the Fury” also by William Faulkner. The Stream of consciousness style he uses really gives us a deep and personal touch into the minds and experiences of the characters.

 2. Does the author's syntax and/or diction change when s/he focuses on character?  How?  Example(s)?

-

 3. Is the protagonist static or dynamic?  Flat or round?  Explain.

 4. After reading the book did you come away feeling like you'd met a person or read a character?  Analyze one textual example that illustrates your reaction.  

- Darl, for example, is probably the character I connected with most both because of the style of writing and the number of snapshots Darl has. One of the most significant sections for me at least was early in the novel where Darl describes a simple experience as drinking water and the joy he gets from it. Those simple moments described by Faulkner allow you to simply connect with the character on a more personal level. Especially since you experience the events as they truly do.

SEEKING MENTOR

As the mentors for my field I identified Jamie and Adam from Myth Busters. They have the expertise the experience and the vision to really get a project off the ground an moving.


As far as questions and other things as for why I need a mentor, I don't really know. In fact I am not looking for a mentor for this project. I don't expect it or frankly even want it to go past this year, because my main focus isn't to build a career in destroying fruit with senior year stresses and problems stapled to it. I am simply trying to blow off some steam.


But if anyone did have some expertise in this field, a suggestion or two for how to destroy some fruit or build a simple Rube Goldberg Machine would be greatly appreciated.

My Macbeth Resourses

A short list of resources that I can use to build a deeper understanding of the text itself, and perhaps a short description of how and why it can help me.




1. You tube:
Watching a play on you tube in movie format is one of the best things you can do to further understand a play. In fact when you think about it, plays were not originally meant to be read, but rather watched. And watching a play helps us understand nuances and subtleties not explicit within the text itself.
A Great Example:
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow.


2. Harvard:
I found what looks to be a promising course detailing the later works of Shakespeare, although sadly it looks as if we would have to pay to audit the course ourselves. Regardless it may have some free resources embedded somewhere.


3. Ted Talks:
I found a Ted Talk, and although it isn't about reading Shakespeare it does mention "Macbeth" and then continues off that. But what makes it so usable to our reading is the topic behind it, regret. A driving theme throughout the play, and you'll soon see why.
-And this Ted Talk on conflict of interest, something Macbeth probably should have considered.


4. Harvard:
It comes through again, but this time for free and by Marjorie Garber, who has actually written several books on Shakespeare.

THIS IS ONLY A TEST

Our Project does not live in theory, and therefore I need to build something or come up with some way to completely destroy one of my multiple rejection letters! What an excellent way to move past failure, blow off some steam, and do something productive and depending on the way you look at it, better society!

What my problem is now, is brainstorming. Because I have been focused on my old project I haven't given much thought at all to what I am going to do. I had previously planned to film or simply watch but now I want to make my own impact.

I am leaning toward a Rube Goldberg Machine, although realistically it will never happen (I have neither the time, energy, talent, or brainpower), but it is nice to dream!

IS THERE AN EXPERT IN THE HOUSE?

Well the greatest two people in this field of demolition in the name of science and entertainment are Jamie and Adam from Mythbusters. Their individual and combined experience is longer than my lifespan and that of my dachshund combined. And what makes them unique is their varied background. Both have worked in several fields and have so much hands on and professional experience which makes them incredibly valuable to any project.

Update

So for those of you who don't know, I am permanently joining Lindsey Wong's demolition group. I was previously a collaborator and was going to briefly participate, but after recent events I realized how much I really would like to do some demolition! My previous project  which involved me reading and working through a Yale open course is no more for several reasons chief among them is that I was, and still am struggling on why I have to validate reading. My project was focused on reading and trying to actively work through Lit Terms and such only made me stressed and reminded me why most high school students absolutely loathe reading. So in order to improve my state of mind and maintain my love of reading my Reading Experiment is over! I am still actively pursuing it, but at my own pace and without having to validate its worth to anyone else besides myself.

Long Overdue Resource of the Day

I'm back! See title for explanation. So without further ado, because of the impeding doom of the AP Exam and my general distaste for long poetry I am going to attempt to post some poetry from time to time to simply get in the habit of reading it more often!


And how I could not use Edgar Allen Poe for my first poetry post!


A Dream Within A Dream

Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow-
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand-
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep- while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?

Edgar Allan Poe

Benchmark

Because I don't know how to embed it, here is a link.

Resource of the Day #3

Resource of the Day #3

The focus this week is still on famous/popular speeches, monologues and soliloquies by William Shakespeare. On Friday I plan on posting a quick discussion on the Resources of the Day from the week.

Mark Antony: Friends Romans Country Men from "Julius Caesar"
Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;
I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him;
The evil that men do lives after them,
The good is oft interred with their bones,
So let it be with Caesar … The noble Brutus
Hath told you Caesar was ambitious:
If it were so, it was a grievous fault,
And grievously hath Caesar answered it …
Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest,
(For Brutus is an honourable man;
So are they all; all honourable men)
Come I to speak in Caesar’s funeral …
He was my friend, faithful and just to me:
But Brutus says he was ambitious;
And Brutus is an honourable man….
He hath brought many captives home to Rome,
Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill:
Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?
When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept:
Ambition should be made of sterner stuff:
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;
And Brutus is an honourable man.
You all did see that on the Lupercal
I thrice presented him a kingly crown,
Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambition?
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;
And, sure, he is an honourable man.
I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke,
But here I am to speak what I do know.
You all did love him once, not without cause:
What cause withholds you then to mourn for him?
O judgement! thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason…. Bear with me;
My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar,
And I must pause till it come back to me.

Resource of the Day #2

Resource of the Day #2

Literary Speeches and Quotes:


Othello by William Shakespeare
Iago-How am I then a Villian
ACT II scene 3


"And what’s he then that says I play the villain?

When this advice is free I give and honest,

Probal to thinking and indeed the course

To win the Moor again? For ’tis most easy

Th' inclining Desdemona to subdue

In any honest suit. She’s framed as fruitful

As the free elements. And then for her

To win the Moor, were to renounce his baptism,

All seals and symbols of redeemèd sin,

His soul is so enfettered to her love,

That she may make, unmake, do what she list,

Even as her appetite shall play the god

With his weak function. How am I then a villain

To counsel Cassio to this parallel course,

Directly to his good? Divinity of hell!

When devils will the blackest sins put on

They do suggest at first with heavenly shows

As I do now. For whiles this honest fool

Plies Desdemona to repair his fortune

And she for him pleads strongly to the Moor,

I’ll pour this pestilence into his ear:"


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3De429jdIE

Resource of the Day #1

Literary Speeches and Quotes

Resource of the Day #1

Macbeth: Tomorrow Tomorrow Tomorrow Speech
ACT V scene 5

"She should have died hereafter;
There would have been a time for such a word.
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury
Signifying nothing". — Macbeth (Act 5, Scene 5, lines 17-28)