Poetry Anthology

Poetry Anthology:Lyrical and Narrative poems.

  The Hind

Whoso list to hunt, I know where is an hind,

 But as for me, helas! I may no more.
 The vain travail hath wearied me so sore,
 I am of them that furthest come behind.
 Yet may I, by no means, my wearied mind
 Draw from the deer;but as the fleeth afore
 Fainting I follow I leave off therefore ,
 Since in a net I seek to hold the wind.
Who list her hunt, I put him out of doubt,
As well as I, may spend his time in vain;
And graven with diamonds in letter plain
There is written, her fair neck round about,
 Noli me tangere, for Caesar's I am,
 And wild for to hold, though I seem tame.
 (Sir Thomas Wyatt)











 Oh,Oh you will be sorry for that word!

 Give back my book and take my kiss instead.
 Was is my enemy or my friend I heard,
 "what a big book for such a little head!"
 Come, I will show you now my newest hat,
 And you may watch me purse my mouth and prink!

Oh I shall love you still, and all of that.
I never again shall tell you what I think.
 I shall be sweet and crafty, soft and sly;
You will not catch me reading any more:
 I shall be called a wife to pattern by;
And some day when you knock and push the door,
Some sane day, not too bright and not too stormy,
I shall be gone, and you may whistle for me.
( Edna St. Vicent Millay)






The Wife of Bath's Tale (extract)
Now it so happened, I began to say,
Long, long ago in good King Arthur's day,
There was a knight who was a lusty liver.
One day as he came riding from the river
He saw a maiden walking all forlorn
Ahead of him, alone as she was born.
And of that maiden, spite of all she said,
By very force he took her maidenhead.
This act of violence made such a stir,
So much petitioning to the king for her,
That he condemned the knight to lose his head
By course of law. He was as good as dead
(It seems that then the satutes took that view)
But that the queen, and other ladies too,
Implored the king to exercise his grace
So ceasellessly, he gave the queen the case
And granted her his life, and she could choose
Whether to show mercy or refuse.


I've chosen these poems because I think that they show different women being powerful so as to be and do whatever they want with men and with their lives.
The first woman is very coquette and encourages men to follow her because she enjoys her power over men and enjoys the way men try to get her love. She can do with them whatever she wants. That's why I've chosen that picture as it clearly shows a coquette women being followed by men.
The second woman enjoys reading and she will keep on doing it eventhough her husband doesn't want her to read. She is strong enough to confront with her husband and make him clear that she will pretend to be what he asks her to be but she will not stop reading. I've chosen these pictures because they show a woman with her husband (may be in a party) showing that they are a very happy couple, and then the other picture a woman alone reading and enjoying this activity.
The third woman is a queen and it is shown that  she has power on the king as he let her choose what to do with the knight. I like this  picture as it can represent the ladies and the queen dealing with the Knigth's case.

Much Ado About Nothing

Post 1 - Before Reading

What is the most relevant information provided, in your view? What is the most surprising? 

 In my view, the most relevant information provided is that the original Globe Theatre was in the seedy section of town, frequented by prostitutes, pickpockets and indecent people. Also, there was no curtain that opened or closed at the beginning or end of plays. It was also mentioned that there wasn´t much decoration or scenery. What surprised me is how people entretained themselves going to the Bear Gardens, and seeing bears being attacked by dogs. That was an awful practice of that time.

How do you think the acting conditions will affect the development of the plot?

I suppose that acting those days must have been a difficult activity limited to those who really loved doing it. First, as I  saw in the film "Shakespeare in love", people used to round the stage until the edge of it. That was a lot of pressure put on actors, as people who got bored boo and hiss them. And, above all, men interpreted all characters, even female characters, and they should be believable.

How do these two versions compare? Why? Who do you expect the protagonists will be? What do they seem to be like?

I think the characters in the first version are meant to be more real than in the second one, as most of them are not attractive as they might have been in reality. In the second version, almost all of them are good-looking which makes the film more attractive to the public. Apart from that, the setting in the first didn´t change, at least in the part that is shown, and in the second one, the setting seems to be more vivid.
In my view, the protagonists seems to be Hero and Claudio in the TV play, while in the film Leonato´s niece and Benedick are more likely to be the leading roles. Hero and Claudio are very shy and quiet. Claudio are determined to get the love of Hero. On the other hand, Benedick and Leonato´s niece seem to be forthright and they seem not to like each other.

Post 3 - After Reading The Whole Play

What are the most important ideas/ themes in this play? Is there any phrase or line you think represents them best? How suitable is the title?

The major theme is marriage as all the problems in the play result of it. It is represented in the following lines:

Benedick:    "... But I hope you have no intent to turn husband, have you?
Claudio:       I would scarce trust myself, though I had sworn the contrary, if Hero would be my wife"

Beneddick:   "No, the world must be peopled. When I said I would die a bachelor, I did not think I
                    should live till I were married."

Margaret:     "Of what, lady? Of speaking honourably? Is not marriage honourable in a beggar? Is not your 
                     lord honourable without marriage? I think you would have me say 'saving your reverence, a
                     husband.'; an bad thinking do not wrest true speaking, I'll offend nobody. Is there any harm in
                     'the heavier for a husband'? None, I think, an it be the right husband and the right wife; 
                     otherwise 'tis light, and not heavy. Ask my Lady Beatrice else - here she comes."

Another important theme is deception. It is shown throughout all the play: when they tried to get what they want; when they tried to make Benedick and Beatrice fall in love; when Don John made Claudio believe Hero was disloyal too him or when Hero pretended to be dead.

Don John:     " I came hither to tell you, and, circumstances shortened - for she has been too long a-talking
                    of - the lady is disloyal.
Claudio:        Who, Hero?
Don John:     Even she. Leonato’s Hero; your Hero; every man’s Hero.
Claudio:        Disloyal?
Don John:     The word is too good to paint out her wickedness. I could say she were worse - think you of
                     a worse title, and I will fit her to it. Wonder not till further warrant. Go but with me tonight,
                     you shall see her chamber window entered, even the night before her wedding day. If 
                     you love her then, tomorrow wed her; but it would better fit your honor to change your mind.
Claudio:         May this be so?
Don Pedro:    I will not think it."

The title is very suitable because in the play there are a lot of trouble (ado) but in the end nothing happened.
They made a lot of things out of nothing ( eg.: When Don John set a conflic between Hero and Claudio that in fact doesn't exist)
What surprised me more was the way in which Beatrice, being a woman, can show what she thought, and the way she can express to men which was unusual in those days.
If I got the chance, I would ask the writer why the character of Hero didn't even tried to fight for her innocence. 

Assignment nº2 : Poetry Anthology

Power point poetry from Angelabordi

Poetry Anthology

Poetry Anthology from CeciliaPedrido

Post 3: "Much Ado About Nothing" - Nerina Franguelli

After talking about it in class, I think that the important themes in the play are: marriage and property, love, virginity and the idea of Appearances vs. Reality that can be perceived throughout the play.
Marriage:
At that time, marriage brought two families and their property together and with this combined wealth came greater influence over public events. The grander the family, the more direct influence parents expected to have over their children’s choice of marriage partner. In this play we can see that when Hero is thought to have “shamed” the family Leonato treats her with brutality and wish her dead.
Furthermore, different views over marriage are presented, e.g:
- Benedick didn’t believe in long happy marriages, or in women being faithful and he define it as a kind of prison:
“In faith, hath not the world one man but he will wear his cap with suspicion?”
“An thou wilt needs thrust thy neck into a yoke, wear the print of it – and sigh away Sundays.”
- As regards Beatrice, everyone wanted her to get married. They thought that it would calm her down because her behaviour was not suitable for a lady. But like Benedick, she didn’t want to marry, perhaps because she thought it would be difficult to her since she is an orphan.
Leonato: “By my troth, niece, thou will never get thee a husband if thou be so shrewd of thy tongue.”

Love:
A distinction can be made between the different couples: I think that the most believable couple is that of Beatrice and Benedick since both characters are more developed than those of Hero and Claudio and because we see them express their opinion in different situations. Love doesn’t seem to exist between Hero and Claudio since they seem to accept facts or other peoples’ ideas without complaining and they change their mind easily. Besides, we can see Claudio interested in the matter that Hero is an only-child.
Claudio: “Hath Leonato any son, my lord?”

Virginity: at that time, “an unchaste woman lost her value on the marriage market; and if already married, she might corrupt the pure line of descent by insinuating a bastard into it. Consequently a young virgin was counselled to live before her marriage in an utterly chaste manner.”
Margaret Loftus Ranald, Shakespeare and His Social Context, 1986.

Appearances vs. Reality: this idea is well developed in this play since the contrast can be noticed in a number of situations, e.g: in the use of masks at the ball, when Hero is thought to be dead, etc.

As explained in class and in the post of Alejadra Simoncelli the title has two interpretation: the literal one, that implies that a great fuss ("much ado") is made of something which is insignificant ("nothing"), pointing as an example the situation of the wedding when Hero is thought to be unfaithful; and other interpretation that arises if we consider the play on the words “nothing” and “noting”, which, in Shakespeare’s day, were pronounced as homophones. Besides, I´ve found that “nothing” was Elizabethan slang for "vagina", evidently derived from the pun of a woman having "nothing" between her legs.

What surprised me about this play is the way it is written and the use of different devices that aimed at different social classes: “malapropisms” entertained groundlings, whereas “puns” entertained the nobility.

The play made me think about how easily we are sometimes persuaded in certain situations by other peoples´ words and made me remember that we have to think twice before believing what other people say or before basing our acts in relation to things that we´ve been told of.

If I had the chance to ask William Shakespeare a question I would ask him why is the character of Hero not much developed. I would like to know more about her and her thoughts.

Anthology- María Celeste Muttis

Please click here:

http://prezi.com/mdth08hpgfq8/anthology-maria-celeste-muttis/

Poetry Anthology - Nerina Franguelli

Poetry anthology from nerinafrang