Blog Post #38

What Do I Notice?

Hm, well a lot is occuring in this painting. It seems as if everyone is doing their own thing, a fisherman, a hiker, a merchant? Many ships traveling, other towns and mountains in the distance, yet no one seems concerned about the drowning person? 

What is the artist trying to portray? 

The artist along with Williams and Auden try and display how nobody notices Incarus' fall. 

Upon comparing the two poems and the painting, I have found that they each are in a way about Icarus' famous fall. The first poem by William Carlos Williams specifically focuses on Icarus and his story and the second poem by W. H. Auden uses Icarus' fall to contribute to their overall message. Most importantly, each of the poets talk about how nobody notices Icarus. Upon first looking at the painting, you don't even notice Icarus until you look a little closer and see two legs in the water. The painter and poets did this on purpose and from this we can see that the important theme of the tree pieces is "the ignorance of the comfortable many when faced with the obvious suffering and peril of the helpless few".

But how does this all relate to King Lear? The answer to that can best be found in the poem by W. H. Auden when he says,"The old Masters: how well they understood its human position: how it takes place while someone else is eating or opening a window or just walking dully along;.." This line is very powerful because it emphasizes how in the painting and the poems that the death of Icarus goes unnoticed. People don't realize the value of a moment until its gone and even though the Flight of Daedalus and Icarus is the most well known greek story, it is ironic that nobody in the poems or the painting seem to care or notice that it happened at all. This is similar to King Lear because  as the play goes on Lear slowly realizes the mistakes he has made and how he could have and should have done things differently because it would have prevented the chaos that has consumed their lives. Irony also plays a big part in this Shakespearian play as it does in these three works as well. People can be ignorant at times especially in King Lear when the audience sees or notices something that the other characters do not when they are faced with hard decisions or suffering and peril of the helpless few.

Blog Post #37

"Among iconic images from King Lear, the portrayal of Lear in this scene, an elderly isolate angrily and determinedly shaking his fist at the heavens, is certainly the most famous.
The famous shaking the fist at the gods, oh Lear you crazy ole fart. This scene is famous because Lear has offically lost it, he's sad, but wow oh wow he is so angry. His anger reigns on more than his sadness for sure, he is sad his daughters betrayed him but he is more angry about it. He believes its the Gods fault.. "Rumble thy bellyful! Spit, fire! Spout, rain! Nor rain, wind, thunder, fire are my daughters. I tax not you, you elements, with unkindness. I never gave you kingdom. called you children; You owe me no subscription. Then let fall your horrible pleasure..." (Shakespeare, 128) He doesn't understand why his daughters are so vile to him. A higher power must be in charge of why they do the things they do. Fate is very prominent in Shakespeare Lear is furious that his Fate has lead him here. Lear expresses, "I am a man more sinned against than sinning." (Shakespeare, 131) He believes more bad things happen to him than bad things he commits. He's angry that that is the way it is for him. He confused, he confusion leads to a very angry outburst on the Gods because he reflects on his life.

Blog Post #34

A soliloquy occurs purely for the audience's benefit to know and learn what a certain character is thinking. Edmund, the bastard son of King Lear's close friend Gloucester, is not allowed to speak unless spoken to do so by somebody else. Edmund resents the fact that he is unable to inherit anything from his father because he is not his legitimate son. He also resents his brother Edgar because he recieves everything when his father dies and he respected unlike himself. Edmunds soliloquy is as follows:


Thou, Nature, art my goddess; to thy law My services are bound. Wherefore should I Stand in the plague of custom, and permit The curiosity of nations to deprive me, For that I am some twelve or fourteen moonshines Lag of a brother? Why bastard? wherefore base? When my dimensions are as well compact, My mind as generous, and my shape as true, As honest madam's issue? Why brand they us With base? with baseness? bastardy? base, base? Who, in the lusty stealth of nature, take More composition and fierce quality Than doth, within a dull, stale, tired bed, Go to th' creating a whole tribe of fops Got 'tween asleep and wake? Well then, Legitimate Edgar, I must have your land. Our father's love is to the bastard Edmund As to th' legitimate. Fine word- 'legitimate'! Well, my legitimate, if this letter speed, And my invention thrive, Edmund the base Shall top th' legitimate. I grow; I prosper. Now, gods, stand up for bastards!

Edmund's soliloquy is a true reflection of all his built up internal anger. He is not allowed to speak and his soliloquy releases this anger at once. Compared to the scene his speech is very similar in the way where it shows his intentions, in the scene he writes a fake letter and is plotting an evil plan. Both his speech and his scheming show the hatred he has in his heart for his brother and father. The difference is in the scene he stands in the back quiet, everyone unaware, in his soliloquy he does not hold back. 

Blog Post #33

In Act 1 scene 1 of King Lear the audience is introduced to Lear's daughters; Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia. The King is awaiting to hear each of his daughters speeches for the land they seek to inherit. The King motions Goneril, the eldest to speak first. She replies, "I love you more than word can wield the manner, dearer than eyesight, space, and liberty." (Shakespeare 11) Next up in this little session to impress their father for their own personal gaining is Regan the next eldest. Regan is thinking she must somehow one up Goneril's speech. Which seems pretty hard to beat after, "dearer than eyesight, space and liberty." But yes somehow she does. "I am made of that self mettle as my sister and prize me at her worth. In my true heart I find she names my very deed of love; only she comes up too short." (Shakespeare 11) So here we see the younger sister who somewhat follows into Goneril's footsteps, basically say, "everything big sis said, but more, even more than my husband who is standing right next to me." That leaves Cordelia left to speak her love for her father. Cordelia is favorable from the King so he awaits her speech very excitedly.. only to be let down. Cordelia speaks, "Nothing my Lord."and tells her father she is the only one who actually cares for him, she also explains how she cannot love him as much as her sisters say they do because she must love other people in her life as well. Just from these three responses we can see the similarities and differences of the daughters. Goneril and Regan of course are very similar in the way of greed and lies. They lie to their father to receive land. This of course shows Cornelias difference in where she values the truth, she is the only one who actually cares for her father and shows her actual morals in which she knows she will love others. Goneril and Regan both have motivation to lie, they want land of course! But Cordelia have no motivation to lie, and quite frankly she doesn't need to lie, she loves her father the most she is the most loyal to him by far, but the fact that she does not lie however not fluff him either shows she has motivation for morals. She kind of comes off as stubborn as well. So the sisters share motivation for what they say to their father, however Cordelia again differs from her sisters. So far we see the bad guys winning :(

Blog Post #34

Soliloquy. What is this medium sized cool sounding word? It is often used in Shakespeare when a character is alone on stage expressing ones feelings to the audience. We see here in Act 1 Scene ii that Edmund, the bastard son receives a soliloquy. Before his soliloquy the audience sees Edmund cannot speak unless spoken too, because of course he is the illegitimate son. His soliloquy is as follows:

Thou, Nature, art my goddess; to thy law 
My services are bound. Wherefore should I 
Stand in the plague of custom, and permit 
The curiosity of nations to deprive me, 
For that I am some twelve or fourteen moonshines 
Lag of a brother? Why bastard? wherefore base? 
When my dimensions are as well compact, 
My mind as generous, and my shape as true, 
As honest madam's issue? Why brand they us 
With base? with baseness? bastardy? base, base? 
Who, in the lusty stealth of nature, take 
More composition and fierce quality 
Than doth, within a dull, stale, tired bed, 
Go to th' creating a whole tribe of fops 
Got 'tween asleep and wake? Well then, 
Legitimate Edgar, I must have your land. 
Our father's love is to the bastard Edmund 
As to th' legitimate. Fine word- 'legitimate'! 
Well, my legitimate, if this letter speed, 
And my invention thrive, Edmund the base 
Shall top th' legitimate. I grow; I prosper. 
Now, gods, stand up for bastards!

The audience feels and sees the anger within the bastard son. He is so hateful toward Edgar, and he is so hateful towards his father. I think a lot of his anger also comes from the fact he is looked down upon, sit in the background, only speak when spoken too. All this built up anger is released in his soliloquy. Anger can be described but a more well put word to describe his speech is evil. He is evil. Because of his evil spirit he fakes a letter from his brother Edgar that says he is going to kill his father. Edmund of course wants Edgar to downfall, but not only that, he plots to erase his title of a bastard son. 

Blog Post #32

"[The great Shakespearean Tragedies] are not primarily treatments of characters with a so-called 'fatal flaw', whose downfall is brought about by the decree of just if inscrutable powers... the fundamental flaw is not in them but in the world they inhabit: in the political state, the social order it upholds, and likewise, by projection, in the cosmic state of shifting arbitrary phenomena called 'Fortune.'" -J.W. Lever (1987)

From the quote of scholar J.W. Lever I can predict that in King Lear a downfall of a major character will occur, not because of self infliction, but because of their environment. Lever states a 'fatal flaw' will cause this downfall. Lever continues and says, "the fundamental flaw is not in them but in the world they inhabit" In class we talk a lot about how Shakespearean characters have a strong belief in fate. All these tragedies occur simple because they are "supposed to" its fate! Fate is clearly portrayed when Lever states "brought about by the decree of just if inscrutable powers..." These inscrutable, meaning impossible to understand or interpret, powers take down a character in the play. Indescribable powers lead me to believe it comes from a source of fate or the source of a higher power (God). Now is there a different between God and Fate? Maybe I will learn so in the reading of King Lear!

Blog Post #31

Lily Sale

The Collar By: George Herbert

The Collar by George Herbert is known as a metaphysical poem. The poem have incentive for concepts such as love or religion. In George Herbert's’ case, The Collar is a religious  poem, dramatic rebellion is portrayed as well.  The poem begins with a dramatic statement of refusal—“I struck the board, and cried, No more”—and the following lines give examples of the kind of life that the speaker wants to leave behind. He is a person of ambition and desire, yet everything in life seems to conspire to frustrate or torment him. His life is one of “sighs” and “tears,” a situation he finds particularly distressing because he can readily imagine the joys and glories, the wine, fruit, and flowers, that are withheld from him. “The Collar” gives full expression to the speaker’s resentment of the pain and rigor of leading a life that is moral and holy. Only after these complaints are freely, almost hysterically voiced is the speaker taught how quickly they can be banished by a patient God who ultimately gives more than he asks. One of the most interesting aspects of “The Collar” is the way the form of the poem helps to convey not only the dramatic rebelliousness of the speaker but also the concluding resolution. The speaker’s anger and nervousness are underscored in several ways. His speech pattern is halting and constantly interrupted. Many of the statements are short, and the frequent punctuation in the lines gives them a clipped, adding to the impression of uneasiness. Any sense that this is the speech of a confident and determined man is also undermined by the fact that much of it takes the form of questions. These are meant to be rhetorical questions, but still they suggest that the speaker is plagued with doubts.