My Mistress' Eyes

     Hold on, what?! William Shakespeare just wrote an entire poem, My Mistress' Eyes, bashing his mistress. However, the smooth talker he is manages to do it in a slightly more polite way. He eloquently says her lips are dill, he breath smells bad, her voice is annoying, and many other awful things. It is the way in which he says these things that makes the reader question what he really is saying, that he really is being rude. I honestly thought this poem was kind of funny, maybe just because I read it after that disgusting Barbie Doll poem. The way shakespeare says her voice is annoying is so elegant, though. "I love to hear her speak, yet well I know that music hath a far more pleasing sound" (Shakespeare, 885). I mean it is sweet that he still enjoys listening, but I feel like he would rather listen to music. I don't know, maybe thats just me. Props to Shakespeare for still liking the girl.

Barbie Doll

     Margie Piercy's poem Barbie Doll absolutely fascinated me by how awfully true it is. The society little girls are raised in these days is disgusting. They are taught that in order to achieve your dreams, you have to be pretty. You could have absolutely everything else going for you, but a crooked nose and you're done for. So much pressure is placed on girls to be absolutely flawless that every girl eventually cracks under the pressure. Like the other stories in this unit, there is quite a bit of irony in this poem. The author describes puberty as "magic," adding an anecdote of a girl going through puberty and having "a great big nose and fat legs" (Piercy, 835). That is not magical. What really got me was the last line of the poem.

"To every woman a happy ending" (Piercy, 836). 

    What. This is said right after the little girl alters her body because she isn't a barbie doll. Sounds delightful. This just shows how ridiculous society is towards woman. This poem made me furious. Happy ending my Aunt Pearl.

A Jury Of Her Peers

     Susan Glaspell's A Jury of Her Peers is a rather interesting murder mystery. Actually, it isn't really about who did, it is about why they did it. Throughout the story, there is quite a bit of irony. When describing Mrs. Peters, the sheriff's wife, I saw a lot of irony in Mrs. Hale. Mrs. Hale described Mrs. Peters vividly, even though she did not know her very well.

"She remembered about her that she didn't seem like a sheriff's wife. She was small and thin and didn't have a strong voice" (Glaspell, 407). 

      While at first, this does not make a person think twice. However, as I continued reading, I kept going back to what Mrs. Hale said. While the women were waiting on the men to get to the bottom of things, the women did it themselves. The men even made fun of them for getting into the quilts. However, their typical "girly" interest in the quilts found the dead bird, a huge clue in why she did it. Even though Mrs. Peters doesn't seem like a sheriff, she got more accomplished than her macho husband. 

Hunters in the Snow

     This story, Hunters in the Snow by Tobias Wolff, is actually very cute. It details a hunting trip of three friends, Tub, Frank and Kenny. while the three begin being very rude and "boyish" with each other through teasing and mean jokes, a dynamic change occurs near the end. After Kenny got shot, Tub and Frank become a little closer on the journey to the hospital. Tub and Frank are dynamic characters because of their change from rude and sarcastic to being so caring.

"Frank, when you've got a friend it means you've always got someone on your side, no matter what" (Wolff, 198).

     This quote from Tub to Frank really shows the change in them. They begin acting like 50-year-old men, with no feelings at all. However, they end as best friends. This dynamic change changes the tone of the story drastically. The three start out as acquaintances and as best friends. The change in their friendship is very admirable.

Othello 8

     .....what. I literally cannot express how much I detest stories where everyone just dies in the end. Literally everyone who was somewhat important died. Leave it to Shakespeare to write a play where boring stuff sort of happens, then there's some action and the reader becomes mildly entertained, and then everyone dies just as you get into the action. WHAT. Alright but seriously, the last act of Othello truly characterizes Iago as the greatest villain of all time. However, karma gets him and everyone finds out it was his fault.


"O thou Othello, thou was once so good,
Fall'n in the practice of a cursèd slave" (V.ii.350)

     These lines address the fact that Othello used to be such a good man and leader, until he fell into the tricks of Iago, "the devil." Iago truly engenders all of the struggles in this play. Without him, the town was literally peachy-keen. Absolutely nothing was wrong. But, we all know a person that just isn't ok with everything being perfect, just like Iago. If it isn't obvious enough, I thought the ending of this play was pretty annoying.

Othello 7

"Oh, villain that I am!" (V.i.29).

     So, that sounds like something Iago would say, right? Surprisingly enough, that line comes from Roderigo in scene V of Shakespeare's Othello. It seems as though we have yet another villain. What?! Two villains in one play? I don't know about that but Roderigo seems to think so. I thought this was a bit of irony because the whole play Iago has been being such a villain (an annoying one, if you ask me) and now all of a sudden Roderigo thinks he's awesome because he killed Cassio. Yes, he killed one person. Iago has messed up the lives of thousands. Ok, not thousands, but at this point it seems like he's messed up the whole town at least a little. Later on, Cassio mentions "villains" as plural. I'm not sure if Shakespeare knew Iago would be the "greatest villain of all time" when he wrote this, but he sure is throwing lots of villains in there while he's at it. Heck, Desdemona is probably the joker.

Othello 6

"My love doth so approve him

That even his stubbornness, his checks, his frowns—" (IV.iii.18-19)

      While reading Act IV scene iii, I came across this quote from Desdemona. She is describing her true love for Othello. I thought this was absolutely adorable, considering everyone is currently accusing her of cheating on Othello. Even while she is going through so much, she still expresses her love for her husband. She says how she loves him even when he frowns or is stubborn, who else says that?! I thought this loosely went along with the theme of Roles of Men and Women in Marriage. The men are usually stereotyped as being stubborn and manly (manly meaning never smiling- boring!) and the women are sweet and caring no matter what. I think this holds true with Desdemona. She is always loving and kind to her husband even when he is being completely rude. However, I do not think the "stubborn and manly" stereotype holds true for Othello. He seems to be able to express his love for Desdemona. Well, I guess just at the beginning of the play. But, as the play goes on it is apparent their characterization is changing. 

Othello 5

     As I read into Act IV of Shakespeare's Othello, I begin to truly analyze Iago's character. He is the entire first scene and appears frequently throughout the act and, obviously, the play. I begin to see how Shakespeare made Iago a round character. He really shows different sides of his personality when talking to different people. For example, we, the reader, are able to see how much of a villain he is. We see his point of view into his devious plans for the other character's downfalls. We feel his emotion and see his motivations behind his actions.

"As he shall smile, Othello shall go mad. 

And his unbookish jealousy must construe

Poor Cassio’s smiles, gestures, and light behavior

Quite in the wrong" IV.i.90

     At this point, Iago is talking to the audience. He is referring to Cassio smiling, which will make Othello mad. This shows how he acts very differently with the audience than with his "friends." To Othello, he acts like he truly cares about his and Desdemona's marital problems. But, in reality, he wants them to continue having problems. He treats his friends nicely in person, but behind their backs, he is fake.

Othello 4

     Throughout Shakespeare's Othello, race has obviously been a prevalent topic. Multiple times people use "black" and "ugly" as synonyms. At one point, Desdemona says, "How if she be black and witty?" (Shakespeare, Act II, Scene i, Line 131). Although by black, she means ugly. This is a horrible thing to say, but what shocks me even more is the fact that her husband, Othello, is black himself. This leads me to another confusing aspect. The play was first performed in 1604, and is set in the late 1400's to early 1500's. During these years, were blacks treated the same as they were in the early years of The United States? I honestly have no idea if these cultural aspects were the same in Venice. But since "black" and "ugly" are used as synonyms. I sense blacks were treated the same way. I don't understand how Othello received such a prominent role in society, if blacks were looked down upon? Also, is it socially acceptable for Desdemona, a white woman, to be married to a black man? These questions have been in the back of my mind this entire time I've been reading the play. Maybe racism was not a big deal in Venice, but it seems, by the diction used, that it was.

Othello 3

     Each time I read Shakespeare's Othello, I realize more and more how two-faced Iago is. He deceives everyone he interacts with throughout the play. He intentionally gives people bad advice in order to make them fall and him rise up. It is clear he will go to any extent of hurting others in order to build himself up. Shakespeare includes how deceitful Iago is and how fake he can be towards so many people in order to further characterize him.

"I had rather have this tongue cut from my mouth Than it should do offense to Michael Cassio"(Shakespeare, Act II, Scene ii, line 200).

     This line is an excellent example of how much Iago is hurting others. He tells Othello he would not deceive Cassio, but in saying this, he does exactly that. He wants to do just that. Iago yearns for Cassio's position, and he goes to great lengths to hold that place.

Othello 2

     As I continue to read Shakespeare's Othello, I begin to learn much more about different characters through characterization.  One Character in particular who continues to grow is Iago. We know that he is the villain of the story, It is clear by many of his actions and many of his interactions with other people that he is fake and two-faced as well. One quote, in particular, made me think a lot about Iago's character.


IAGO
She that was ever fair and never proud,
Had tongue at will and yet was never loud,
Never lacked gold and yet went never gay,
Fled from her wish and yet said “Now I may,”
She that being angered, her revenge being nigh,
Bade her wrong stay and her displeasure fly,
She that in wisdom never was so frail
To change the cod’s head for the salmon’s tail,
She that could think and ne'er disclose her mind,
See suitors following and not look behind,
She was a wight, if ever such wights were—
DESDEMONA
To do what?
IAGO
To suckle fools and chronicle small beer (Shakespeare, page 1387, lines 148, 160).

This quote stood out to me so much because of the way Iago phrased it. In the first section, he is sweet and caring. However he quickly reverts back to being sexist and saying how women are only useful raising children and shopping for groceries. We begin to see the not-so-nice side of Iago and how little respect he shows toward women. The author seems to keep his audience on a string back and froth from liking and disliking Iago. It is definitely working.

Othello 1

     As I begin reading Shakespeare's Othello, I notice many of the themes discussed in class to already be appearing. However, I sense an abundant amount of distrust between Brabantio and his daughter. After only reading a few pages, I can already see how unbelievably angry he is at his daughters running of with a man, a black man, nonetheless.
     Another theme I noticed was the Authorities of Men and Women. This distrust between Brabantio and his daughter shows the roles of women in those time, specifically daughters. Women did absolutely nothing without the consent, or demand, of their fathers. I have not even read far into the story but I can already tell His daughter's relationship will appear often throughout the play.

"We cannot all be masters, nor all masters cannot be truly followed" (Shakespear, 1361, Act I, Scene I, Line 43).

This line stood out to me immediately, because I love it so much, Basically, it's saying "you do you." I really like this quote from Iago because it shows independence and thinking for oneself. Even though he isn't a villain yet, I can already tell I like Iago.