Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Satire III


    "Satire III"
     
    During the last weeks, we've been reading John Donne's poetry in my Literature class. There was a poem that caught my attention immediately because it made me think a lot about God, devil and religion in general, this poem is called "Satire III". This poem mainly talks about man and religion.
    It's interesting that in someway, Donne's poem makes me want to have a religion and do the "right thing" by following the word of God. Another interesting fact about "Satire III" is that he establishes that when human follow their temptations, they're not actually feeding their soul and that religion is the solution for everything they need.
    This is related to the fact that people actually have a religion because they feel more confident and less scared of real life. Therefore, I can conclude by saying that it is essential for humanity to have a religion because it is a guide that will make them feel less afraid of their future.
    What I learned about John Donne when I finished to read this poem is that he thought religion was the right thing for him and wanted to transmit that message to everyone else.
    He was a person that really, really liked metaphors and we can see one in the beginning of "Satire III", when he says "Death be not proud".
    My experience with "Satire III" is that at first, I didn't understand what he was talking about because his constant use of metaphor, so I had to read it again and again. Also I realized that for a lot of people, religion (how Donne describes it) is their answer and guide for everything, but not for me. 
     
     
     
     
     "I would rather live my life as if there's a God and die to find out there isn't, than live as if there isn't and to die to find out that there is." 
    -Albert Camus
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    Friday, March 7, 2014

    John Donne


    John Donne 
    In our English class we've been reading poetry lately. We've read a lot about John Donne's poems and I've discovered that his poetry is literally unique. There are not other words to describe it because when I first read "The Flea", I realized how intelligent he was for writing something with double meaning that at first sight looks really simple but when you read it again and again, you realize that its more than simple. 
    At first sight, when reading "The Flea", I thought that he was talking about a real flea, but once I started to analyze it, I realized the intellect of Donne's because he choose words that are not related to each other at all, but once you give them meaning, you realize that they have a lot in common and can be interpreted as something else. For example, in "The Flea", the "flea" represents marriage between a man and a women. 
     John Donne is famous for his wit, this means that his poems are full of multiple meanings because he uses a lot of words that have double meaning but because of the context of the other words, we can understand what he is talking about. 
    Undoubtedly he is different from other poets because in comparison with others, he uses a lot of "common words" in his poems that have a hidden meaning and other poems use a lot of "complex words" that can cause confusion towards the reader because sometimes we don't know what do they refer to. 
    My opinion about his poetry is that its universal in the way that he talks about a lot of themes such as love, war, religion, etc. I believe that he mainly used "common words" with different meanings because he thought that the importance of the message in his poems, depends on every person and their own interpretation.
     
    "Since you would save none of me, I bury some of you."
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    Saturday, February 15, 2014

    Poetry.

    Poetry. 
    In Literature class, we have been reading about poetry and I would the discussions and readings have changed my point of view in some way because there are some facts I already knew about poetry. One of the things we discussed was that something becomes "poetry" when the author transmits his/her feelings in words and make them in such a perfect way because the words have rhyme without affecting the meaning of the message. I also believe that poetry is a way of interpreting the world in all its manners. The feelings you have inside are what make you write poetry and this poetry causes more feelings on the readers. Poetry is about express your feelings without saying something, is about writing those feelings. 
    A poem needs to have rhyme and meter because these elements are what makes a poem unique. It can also have rhetorical figures, therefore, readers will have to reflect deeper when reading the poem, and its meaning will be stronger and richer.
      

    Personally, I prefer romantic, heartbreaking or motivational poems over all. What I like about them is that most of the times whenever you don't understand something, at the end, the important thing about reading a poem, is the interpretation you give to it.
    The discussions in class made me realize the importance and purpose of poetry. I realized that poems are written based on experiences and feelings. 
    A poem must have poetry, if not, it wouldn't be a poem. Poetry still exists without being in a poem, because it can be created without intentions. Also, a poem becomes a poem when a man uses poetry to express his feelings, thoughts or experiences.
     "A poem begins as a lump in the throat, a sense of wrong, a homesickness, a lovesickness."
    -Robert Frost
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    Tuesday, February 11, 2014

    Semiotics and insights



    Semiotics and insights 

    The perspective that Semiotics brings me to my every day life is a new one, because it helps me with the interpretation and analysis of symbols, it also helps me to give those symbols the right meaning according to the context. Since there are a lot of words with a lot of meanings and if someone tells me "you may see a rainbow in May" or even if I read it in an article, the words "may" sound the same, but because of my knowledge acquired by society, I can give meaning to those "may" according to the context of the sentence, therefore, I can conclude that person told me that I am probably going to see a rainbow in the month of May. 
    In conclusion, it helps me understand better the symbols in society. 

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    After watching Throne of Blood and after reading Macbeth, I concluded that humans are naturally ambitious and they are going to be looking for power all the time because they will never be satisfied. It doesn't even matter everything you have to do to achieve your goals, you'll always want to have the best.  This means that whenever someone wants something so much, that person can even forget about his/her inner humanity, and can commit crimes such as murder. 
    As conclusion I learned from Throne of Blood and Macbeth, that karma exists and what you give is what you receive, so, for your bad actions, you'll receive worse things. If you kill, sooner or later the guilt is going to attack you, therefore, you're either going to commit suicide or going to be killed by someone else. 

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    "As long as karma exists, the world changes. There will always be karma to be taken care of."
    -Nina Hagen




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    Tuesday, February 4, 2014

    Throne of Blood and Macbeth

    "They say dreams manifest our basest desires."
    -Throne of Blood (1957)
    Throne of Blood and Macbeth
    Throne of Blood, a novel written by Kurosawa, is a Japanese adaptation of Macbeth by Shakespeare, except that Macbeth is derived from historical events in the eleventh-century Scotland and Throne of Blood is derived from the civil war in medieval Japan. 
    Many people consider Throne of Blood as an adaptation of Macbeth, others don't. However, both of them have a lot of similarities. For example, Shakespeare's play contains ideas of kingship, ambition, murder, evilness, among others. On the other hand, Kurosawa in Throne of Blood, also demonstrates how a human becomes from being a moderated person into a blinded one due to the hunger of power. Kurosawa dramatizes in Throne of Blood murder and evilness, which can be considered as themes. Other similarity between these two plays, is the encounter with the witch, however, we can infer from Kurosawa's movie, that when Washizu saw the witch for the first time his reaction towards her was serious and unrelenting, in contrast, in Shakespeare's play, Macbeth's first reaction towards the witches was of eagerly confrontation.  
                                

    When Washizu met the witch, he wasn't the one that asked about the omens demonstrating that we wasn't anxious and/or ambitious about the outcome of his future. In contrast with Macbeth, Macbeth was the one that insisted the witches to tell him about his future and fame that was predicted by them. Washizu left the forest after his encounter with the witch but Macbeth didn't show an eager reaction, instead, he decided to stay and had a discussion with Banquo. 
    Another difference between both is that Washizu became speechless after he hear the prediction of the witch but Macbeth asked Banquo if his sons would be kings, because he was wondering about how many impediments he had to eliminate for the fulfillment of his desire: becoming king. 
    Another similarity between both, is the atrocities Washizu and Macbeth need to commit to achieve their purposes created due to the wicked prophecy. Washizu assassinated the Great Lord and Macbeth assassinated King Duncan. Both cracked under pressure when they decided to take away someone else's life, they also longed to have more power.
     There is a similarity between Lady Macbeth and Asaji-donno, both manipulated their husband and led them take the wrong way. It is important to say that as well as their husbands, they both were ambitious, they wanted to have power. However, there is also a difference between them, Asaji-donno was not the most word-expressive woman, instead she used a lot facial expressions to imply her  thoughts, this made Washizu feel vulnerable and weak. On the contrary, Lady Macbeth seemed to be  very word-expressive with his husband. Asaji-donno told his husband several times that the seeking  of power and crown was a conduct that shouldn't cause guilt nor pain. On the other hand, Lady  Macbeth did several wrong actions, she blamed herself for causing the irrevocable sin with remorse  and made his husband murder others. 




    It is  possible that Kurosawa choose to emphasize certain aspects over other Shakespeare emphasizes because of his culture, he was Japanese and Shakespeare was English. Maybe Kurosawa adapted Macbeth in Throne of Blood, taking in consideration the interests of the Japanese society. One of his purposes was to show the world the most important values of the Japanese culture and how Japanese society decide to face situations according to their principles and values. 
     
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    Monday, January 27, 2014

    Shakespeare and human nature.

    Macbeth
    Part II 


    Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, better known by most of the world due to his unique works. In them, he uses metric for an specific purpose because he wants to transmit something to the reader. It is amazing how he achieved to have a giant impact on the readers with his words, it obviously that he knew how to express his feelings in a piece of paper. Undoubtedly, his works were, are and will be some of the most precious and privileged creations in Literature.



    File:Shakespeare.jpg
    One of his most famous creations is Macbeth, which I talked about in my last post. The thing here is that Macbeth contains a message related to human nature in the seek of power. According to Hobbes's philosophy, all men are equal by nature but each one of them looks for their own conservation that leads to competition and mistrust between each other, starting to live in a permanent war field. 

    Each and every one of  humans on Earth, look for their own benefit. At the beginning of the "competition" in their seek for power, they may seem to be caring towards others but at the end the main priority is themselves. It doesn't matter if at the end they end up hurting someone as long as they have what they wanted, they will be satisfied.

    The problem is that whenever humans achieve what they wanted in first place, they will be happy momentarily, but will want to have more and more. It's in the nature of humans be competitive and to have an unfulfilled appetite of having infinite power, just as Hobbes said: "man is a wolf to man".

    "There is no such thing as perpetual tranquility
    of mind while we live here; because life itself is but motion, and can never be without desire, nor without fear, no more than without sense".
    -Thomas Hobbes 

    In comparison, Shakespeare exemplifies in Macbeth this philosophy. At the beginning of the novel, we can see that Macbeth is a man that would do anything in order to have a place in the throne, even if this means that he has to take away someone's life. He killed his own cousin and best friend, that caused him to be blinded by his hunger for power. 

    It is inferred from this novel that there is always a karma that makes people have in return what they have done. This karma is not necessarily bad but it is just about the rules of life, you get what you give. Macbeth is the example of human nature in its very worst way, that is the reason why Macbeth ended up being murdered. 


    "It will have blood; they say, blood will have blood"
    —After Banquo's ghost has gone, Macbeth feels that his crime is pursuing him.



    In conclusion, this play shows that everyone can choose the path they want to take in life, whether they make bad choices or not and how this decisions affect the outcome of someone's future.
    "Fair is foul, and foul is fair." 
    -The witches's philosophy of life.

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    Sunday, January 19, 2014

    Macbeth- William Shakespeare

    Macbeth
    This novel dramatizes the story of an Scottish general called Macbeth who had an unexpected encounter with three witches that made a prophecy about his future. His destiny is about to change just at the moment he gets to know that he is going to be the king of Cawdor; but, how is this possible if the current king of Cawdor is still alive? 



    Themes in Macbeth
    The most notable theme in this novel is certainly ambition. Macbeth is a man that would do anything in order to get the throne and fulfill his desires and aspirations, even though his personality and values make him regret his crimes, he continues doing such crimes but at the end he is not capable to bear the consequences of his acts. Similarly, Lady Macbeth is a highly ambitious woman who shows everyone her strength and her ability to control the relationship between her and Macbeth. As his husband, she aspires to have power and position in the throne. At the beginning of the play, she shows as the evil character that would commit atrocities or make others commit crimes just to assuage her desires and temptations. 
    Furthermore, the relationship between these two characters could also be another theme, because they constantly show their love in an unique and cruel way*. They are presented as being in love and they commit crimes together. Lady Macbeth manipulates Macbeth's behavior, making him commit acts he hadn't planned, therefore, he seems insecure to act for himself. 
    *Cruel because they are in a constant fight of who is in charge of the relationship. Also, Lady Macbeth constantly bothers his husband by questioning his manhood and skills he doesn't have. 

    Between these two characters exists a noticeable exchange of personalities as the play progresses. At the beginning of the novel, Lady Macbeth seems to be really firm because of the decisions she made and how she command over others.
    Macbeth may have the idea of committing the crime on his mind, but there's something missing that will force him to commit the atrocities, this is where Lady Macbeth has an important role, because she's the one that impulses his husband to act in such way.

    Lady Macbeth's behavior can be exemplified in the next quote (Act I, scene 5):

    Lady Macbeth: 
    "The raven himself is hoarse
    That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan
    Under my battlements. Come, you spirits
    That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,
    And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full
    Of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood,
    Stop up th’access and passage to remorse,
    That no compunctious visitings of nature
    Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between
    Th’ effect and it. Come to my woman’s breasts,
    And take my milk for gall, you murd’ring ministers,
    Wherever in your sightless substances
    You wait on nature’s mischief. Come, thick night,
    And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell,
    That my keen knife see not the wound it makes,
    Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark,
    To cry ‘Hold, hold!’"

    We can infer from this quote that Lady Macbeth would have commited murder in order to have power and position in the throne. This speech demonstrates the audience that she is the engine behind every decision that Macbeth makes. Because of the first impression, we can easily say that the ambitious one is Lady Macbeth. I believe that both are ambitious because Lady Macbeth manipulates his husband, but in some way Macbeth's ambitiousness makes presence because if he had not wanted to make such acts, he would deny to do them, but there was something inside him telling him that he must do such atrocities (his ambition). So, I can conclude that both committed the crimes together, it wasn't just about Lady Macbeth's manipulation over his husband.
     

     
    What I have liked by far about Macbeth, is that is kinda based on the life of James I. Also that it shows how karma interferes in the story, making the criminals regret for their actions. Another interesting aspect is the presence of Lady Macbeth; she is not the stereotypical woman that is manipulated by his husband, conversely, she shows in a certain way, the strength of women in relationships. I really like the way ambitiousness is exemplified in this novel and what can the man do to fulfill his desires.
    The only thing I don't like about Macbeth is that is written as a play. I understand that it was the main purpose for it, but I would have liked it better if it wasn't written like that. 


    "Thou hast it now: King, Cawdor, Glamis, all,
    As the weird women promised, and I fear
    Thou pay'dst most foully for't"

    -Alone, Banquo reflects on Macbeth's rise to the throne.  





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