jueves, 1 de noviembre de 2012

Paula's Poetry Anthology

POEM 1: Lyrical Poem: SONNET 18 by William Shakespeare


I have chosen this poem because I think it is extraordinary the way Shakespeare describes the beloved. Besides, I consider it very interesting how the speaker idealizes the man by using different comparisons. In my opinion, the theme of this poem is love, beauty and youth.
 As regards language, the author uses metaphors to describe this woman/man. The more obvious example is when he compares her/him with a summer’s day and when the speaker describes the sun as "the eye of heaven shines". What’s more, Shakespeare says that this woman/man’s main difference with summer is that her/his beauty will last forever and never die. The explanation for this eternal beauty is given in the couplet where the author says that unlike the temporary qualities of summer, his beloved shall never see his death, and his beauty will live in his poetry: “so long as men can breathe or eyes can see, so long lives this, and this gives life to thee”. In this sonnet, there is personification for example when it says "But thy eternal summer shall not fade" and there is alliteration when it says "fair from fair".
Finally, there is an example of hyperbole when the beloved is described as being better than the best summer day: "Thou art more mild and more temperate".
 IMAGES:
1- SUN: this image represent the summer so I've chosen it because throughout the sonnet the beloved is compared with a summer's day.
2- GIRL: She represents the way people enjoys summer and the beloved is described as "more enjoyable". 3- ARROW: I've chosen this image because it represents the decline of beauty throughout time.
4- ROSES: they represent how natural things sooner or later become old and uggly.
5- POEM: it represents the way the beloved will live "forever".
6- MAN READING: it explains how the belowed will live in poems... Provided there is somebody who reads it.

POEM 2: Narrative Poem "The Wife of Bath's Tale" (extract)


viernes, 26 de octubre de 2012

Post 3: After reading the whole play- Paula Orozco

I think the most important ideas/themes in this play are:
-Love: Mitch: You need somebody. And I need somebody too. Could it be you and me, Blanche? (p.123)

-Sex: Stanley: ...They locked her out of that high school before the spring term ended and I hate to tell you the reason that step was taken! A seventeen-year-old boy she'd gotten mixed up with! (p.133)

-Death and tragedy: Blanche: I ran out all did! all ran and gathered about the terrible thing at the edge of the lake! I couldn't get near for the crowding. Then somebody caught my arm. "Don't go any closer! Come back! You don't want to see!" See? See what! Then I heard voices say-- Allan! Allan! The Grey boy! He'd stuck the revolver into his mouth, and fired-- so that the back of his head had been-- blown away! (p.126)

-Illusion and reality: Stella: I could't believe her story and go on living with Stanley. (p.180)

-Loneliness: Blanche: I think you have a great capacity of devotion. You will be lonely when she passes on, won't you?
I undestand what that is. (p.125)

-Memory: Blanche: Something's the matter tonight, but never mind. I won't cross- examine the witness. I'll just--[She touches her forehead vaguely. The polka tune starts up again.]--pretend I don't notice anything different about you! That--music again...
Mitch: What music?
Blanche: The "Varaouviana"! The polka tune that were playing when Allan--Wait! (p.153)

In my opinion, the title has two meanings, one that is literal and the other that is figurative. The literal meaning of "Desire" refers to the name of the Streetcar that brought Blanche to the Kowalskis' house and the figurative meaning, refers to different scenes or situations in which desire is involved. These situations are when Blanche had to leave the town because of her fornications in the Flamingo hotel and she had no other choice but to go to New Orleans; when she had sex with a seventeen-year-old boy student of hers and as a consequence she was fired from her job; when her ancestors lost Belle Reve for their epic fornications; when she found her husband having sex with another man and he killed himself; and finally when she was raped by Stanley.

The play made me think about human beings' necessity of having someone to talk, to express feelings, to share experiences. It's true that if we don't have a friend or a relative to talk about some difficult situations, we would feel alone in the world.
What's more, while I was reading I thought of those people who invent an artifical word so as to hide their real personality or lifestyle. In my opinion, that "virtual reality" will be reveal sooner or later.

If I got the chance to ask the writer one question I would ask him why is it that Mitch is alone if he is presented as a gentleman that is actually looking for a woman to get married. 

viernes, 19 de octubre de 2012

Post 2: After reading Scene Five- Paula Orozco

After reading Scene Five I was able to confirm that the play involved humor and that it has mystery in many scenes (what makes the plot intriguing). What's more, I confirmed that sex was related to the play. An example of this could be when Blanche informed Stanley that the plantation in Belle Reve was lost because of "our improvident grandfathers and father and uncles and brothers exchanged the land fot their epic fornications".

The character I like best is Blanche. I think I like her because she is unpredictable and has a lot of personality traits to be discovered. So far I can describe her as melodramatic, impulsive, ironical, emotional, superficial, superior and a gold digger.

In my opinion, the stage directions, light and music are particularly important to set the mood of the play. While I was reading it, those descriptions made me feel "inside" the scene and helped me to imagine more detailed the situation.

The quotation I selected is:"Honey, would I be here if the man weren't married?" Blanche. (Scene Four, page 85)
I have chosen this quotation because it reflects some of the most important characteristics Blanche has. They are: superficial and gold digger. She went on a trip only to find a millionaire, no matter which kind of person he could be, she was willing to get married because of money.



jueves, 18 de octubre de 2012

Post 1: Before reading- Paula Orozco

The characters mentioned are:
-Blanche: a young English teacher who was raised in Mississippi. Besides, she is described as an unforgivable liar and as somebody who wants to hide her "real" world.
-Stella: Blanche's sister.
-Stanley: Blanche's brother-in-law who is a rough-and-ready mechanic.

As regards the setting, I reached the conclusion that it is in Stella's house, a place which only has two dreary rooms. In the review, it is also mentioned the neighborhood that is described as dirty and unpleasant.

The descriptions given are great and they called my attention. I expect to read an intriguing play with a mix of death, sex and humor!