Macbeth LRJ 2

In Act II, Macbeth appears to have more positive qualities than negative ones. He does not want to kill the king, and after he goes through with it, he is full of fear and remorse. “I'll go no more:/ I am afraid to think what I have done;/ Look on 't again I dare not.” He can’t bring himself to go back into the room to incriminate the servants for Duncan’s murder, which shows he still has a bit of humanity left. However, the fact that he goes through with the murder and then covers it up shows he is becoming crueler. He kills the servants to prevent them from confessing their innocence and pretends to be shocked and saddened when the rest of the household learns the news. “Had I but died an hour before this chance,/ I had lived a blessèd time, for from this instant/ There's nothing serious in mortality./ All is but toys. Renown and grace is dead.”
Lady Macbeth continues to be more savage and cruel than her husband. After he has committed the murder, she scornfully says to him, “My hands are of your color, but I shame/ To wear a heart so white.” This refers to how though her hands are as bloody and guilty as his, she is disgusted by his weakness. She is an extremely good actress, however, and when the household finds out about Duncan’s death, she goes as far as to pretend to faint to keep up the appearance of shock. She exclaims, “Help me hence, ho!” right before she falls to the ground.
The image of a sword or dagger appears many times throughout Act II. The first scene opens on Banquo talking to his son Fleance, and letting him hold his sword. “Hold, take my sword.” Later that scene, when Macbeth is alone, he sees a vision of a bloody dagger and takes out his own to compare it. “Is this a dagger which I see before me,/ The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee./ I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.” In the next scene, Lady Macbeth takes the bloody daggers used for the murder and wipe them on the servants so her husband will not be suspected. “Why did you bring these daggers from the place?/ They must lie there. Go carry them and smear/ The sleepy grooms with blood.” Finally, in Scene 4, there is yet another mention when Donalbain says, “Where we are,/ There's daggers in men's smiles.” The theme of daggers is important because it represents the murder of the king and the slow severing of Macbeth’s conscience and sanity.

Macbeth LRJ 1

Macbeth is an honorable man with good intentions. However, his great love for his wife blinds him from her not-so-honorable actions and he allows himself to be led into an awful situation that might possibly lead to his downfall. “Yet I do fear thy [Macbeth’s] nature;/ it is too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness” (Shakespeare 31). Lady Macbeth is not an evil woman, but she has enormous ambition for herself and for her husband. She won’t allow anything to get in her way, and even asks the spirits to make her less gentle and more ruthless. “Come, your spirits/ That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,/ And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full/ Of direst cruelty…” (Shakespeare 33). Banquo, the commander of the king’s army, seems like an upstanding, moral man who puts his duty before all else. He is loyal to the king and to Macbeth. “Noble Banquo,/ That hast no less deserved nor must be known/ No less to have done so, let me enfold thee/ And hold thee to my heart” (Shakespeare 27).
There are several important themes in Act I. Mystery and danger play a large part, especially in the first scene with the witches. They all chant “Fair is foul, and foul is fair,/ Hover through the fog and filthy air” (Shakespeare 7). Macbeth and Banquo stumble upon them and hear their prophecies, which introduces the next theme of betrayal. When Macbeth hears “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” (Shakespeare 17) the idea to murder the king is planted in his and his wife’s minds.
One of the most striking images in Act I is when Lady Macbeth declares “I would, while it was smiling in my face,/ Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums/ And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn to you” (Shakespeare 43). This reference to smashing a baby’s head is important because it both expresses Lady Macbeth’s utter devotion to her husband, and the suggestion of the beginnings of insanity.

The Inauguration

On Tuesday, Barack Obama was sworn in as president. A couple of my friends and I went to Ms. Graber's room to watch the beginning, and then we watched the rest in fourth period. It was so great! Obama made an amazing speech following his oath that sent chills down my spine. It was especially exciting for me because I volunteered for his campaign back in October and November and experienced firsthand regular people's reactions to him. A lot of the people we called were supportive, but whenever we accidentally ran into a Republican, things got a little heated. I think it's amazing the people of this country could come together to elect Obama, especially since the race was so controversial. I think he will do wonderful things for the United States, and I can't wait to finally support America's actions again.

Beowulf LRJ 1

When reading Beowulf, values of this society become apparent. One such value is the unswerving loyalty to the king. Even after King Hrothgar gives up after failing to protect his people, and the foreign Beowulf comes in to save them, the Danes remain faithful to Hrothgar. "Yet there was no laying of blame on their lord,/the noble Hrothgar; he was a good king." (861-862) Another value is the habit of taking trophies from one's victims. This tradition continues to this day, when hunters mount the heads of deer they killed on their wall. In Beowulf, he rips Grendel's arm off and displays it in the rafters of the mead-hall for all to see. "Clear proof of this/could be seen in the hand the hero displayed/high near the roof: the whole of Grendel's/shoulder and arm..." (832-835) One more value repeated in this tale is the sexism and male superiority in their society. In the selections read so far, only one mention of a woman has appeared. Every other character has been male. She is referred to only as a wife, rather than an actual person. "The lord of Shieldings... left the hall to lie with Wealtheow,/his queen and bedmate." (663-665)
Alliteration can be found throughout Beowulf, like "...shadow-stalker, stealthy and swift,"(704) or "...terror-monger... and now the timbers trembled and sang." (775-776) Alliteration is included because Beowulf was originally presented orally. Alliteration adds to the excitement of the story and makes it more interesting for the audience.
Along with alliteration, Beowulf uses kennings to draw the audience further into the story. Some examples of these are "ring-giver" (36) for the king Shield Sheafson, "treasure-seat" (168) for the throne, and "sea-lanes" (239) for the sea. Kennings also create interest and are almost like a puzzle for the reader or audience to figure out while enjoying the story.

Antigone LRJ 2

There are many vivid, important images in the play Antigone. These include descriptions of Polyneices and his fate of being eaten by animals. In many cases, the Chorus seems to have the most lines containing detailed imagery. For example, the Chorus uses a long metaphor to retell the story of how Polyneices attacks Thebes: “…the vexed claims of Polyneices; and, like shrill-screaming eagle, he flew over into our land, in snow-white pinion sheathed, with an armed throng, and with plumage of helms… He paused above our dwellings; he ravened around our sevenfold portals with spears athirst for blood; but he went hence, or ever his jaws were glutted with our gore…” This conjures a vivid image in one’s mind of the violence and cruelty of the attack.
Another important image is Polyneices’ body described being eaten by animals. A few characters in the play mention this, but it is Creon who says, “…none shall grace him with sepulture or lament, but leave him unburied, a corpse for birds and dogs to eat, a ghastly sight of shame.” This makes one shudder at the awful fate of abandoning a body out in the middle of a hot, deserted field.
King Creon has quite a few flaws, but pride and stubbornness could be called his fatal ones. For almost the entire play, he refuses to relent his thoughtless choice of denying Polyneices his burial. In some cases, he seems to almost regret it, but doesn’t want to back down and look weak. Finally, in the end, he says, “Ah me, 'tis hard, but I resign my cherished resolve,-I obey.” However, it is too late.
The anagnorisis and peripeteia of Antigone are the same -- or, Creon recognizes the truth at the same time as his fortunes are completely reversed. This happens, of course, when Antigone commits suicide, thereby prompting his son Haimon to kill himself, which then causes his wife Eurydice to as well. Creon is crushed by these losses, and doesn’t even want to remain living. He anguishes, “Oh, let it come, that I may never look upon to-morrow's light.”
The catharsis comes at the very end, when the leader of the chorus speaks the closing lines. The audience is stunned and saddened by the ending of the play, and with these words, feels a sense of release and closure: “Wisdom is the supreme part of happiness; and reverence towards the gods must be inviolate. Great words of prideful men are ever punished with great blows, and, in old age, teach the chastened to be wise.”
In Antigone, women are treated as though they are worth less than men. This issue comes to light many times during the play, and is recognized not only by the men but the women as well. Though Antigone is rebellious and breaks the law to bury her brother, she knows women are less valued than men and accepts it-- or at least, this is not the issue she out rightly challenges. Her sister acknowledges it more fully, saying to Antigone, “…we were born women, as who should not strive with men.” When Antigone disobeys her uncle, Creon says, “While I live, no woman shall rule me.” These two casual comments hint at a world of prejudice and privilege, where women are universally thought of as less important than men and thereby assumed untrustworthy and sometimes automatically guilty.

Antigone LRJ 1

WAR TRAITOR POLYNEICES FOUND BURIED

Early this morning, Oedipus' traitorous son Polyneices was found buried under a mound of dirt. The day before, our lord Creon ordered no one to touch the body as punishment for the treasonous sins committed by the late prince. However, someone dared to defy him, and now the people of Thebes are wondering who.
"I hath seen it with mine own eye," one befuddled sentry told the Thebes Press, looking around nervously. "The body was covered in dust, protected from scavenging birds and beasts."
However, the sentry remained mute when inquired as to his opinions on the perpetrator.
Our lord Creon is investigating into the crime, though they would not officially release suspects' names. Many homes are being searched by Creon's agents to find Polyneices' sympathizers.
Polyneices, brother to the war hero Eteocles, turned on his birth city with an army at his back. The younger son Eteocles was murdered in the fighting, but not before his traitorous elder brother was killed. King Creon declared that he shall not be buried! Foolish indeed is the man who crosses the king.
Advice to the guilty one: Get out of Thebes!

First Impressions

I think that using blogs for schoolwork is an interesting idea. It's a nice break from the traditional write-until-your-hand-falls-off essay in class, which I'm sure many of my classmates will enjoy. Even though some people have complained about confusion with technology, I was pleasantly suprised to find how easy Blogger is to use! I'm excited to see how this new way to complete assignments turns out!