346.
i had to cut back a page due to time constraints, but i can only do what i can do. right? so anyway, this is what's going down in Shakespeare Land:
Lucrece feels that what Tarquin has done is worse because he comes from a royal family. he should be held to a higher standard. then she decides that the way to save her honor is to kill herself, but she can't find a weapon. she doesn't want to have his child and she doesn't want him to get away with his crap. she knows her husband will avenge her death.
then, Lucrece realizes that day is dawning and fear overtakes her. she wants to hide, but the light reveals everything. she struggles to adjust to the new day. (see quote below.) Lucrece ponders suicide again. she feels that her soul has already been ruined, and to ruin her body would be simply to dispose of the leftover half of her spoiled self.
Lucrece realizes, however, that she needs to see her husband before she can go through with this. she will kill herself and her husband will kill Tarquin. she calls in her maid, who has no idea what's going on. her maid stays by her side, and feels so sorry for her that she begins to cry as well. the maid lets Lucrece know that Tarquin has gone and asks what happened, but receives no response.
Lucrece writes her husband a letter to ask him to come home quickly. she doesn't tell him what happened in writing so she can be sure that he gets the story straight and can understand what she's going through. she sends the letter off with a messenger, worrying that he is judging her.
so when day breaks, these people are coming out of the woodwork. the maid shows up. we find out that Lucrece's husband has men who work for him on the grounds. my question is: where the heck were they when their mistress was being raped? just sayin'. if there was someone within running distance of me, i think i would go for it.
lines 1149-1162 sound a little like 'to be or not to be' to me. is preoccupation with suicide another theme we're going to see? i sat here for awhile trying to describe this passage, but its too lovely. anything i say just sounds stupid. just read it.
i might be totally off base here, but it seems like Shakespeare inserts a little social commentary in lines 1254-1260. again, i might be wrong, but it feels like he's saying that women shouldn't be blamed for the abuse they suffer from men. during this time period, being raped meant you lived in shame. that's why Lucrece wants to kill herself. she doesn't want to deal with it, and she doesn't want her husband to deal with it. maybe Shakespeare is saying it shouldn't be that way? maybe not. but if he is, that's pretty darn cool of him. what does it seem like to you?
quote of the day:
'so she, deep-drenched in a sea of care,
holds disputation with each thing she views,
and to herself all sorrow doth compare;
no object but her passion's strength renews,
and as one shifts, another straight ensues.
sometimes, her grief is dumb and hath no words,
sometimes 'tis mad and too much talk affords.
the little birds that tune their morning's joy
make her moans mad with their sweet melody,
for mirth doth search the bottom of annoy;
sad souls are slain in merry company.
grief best is pleased with grief's society.
true sorrow then is feelingly sufficed
when with like semblance it is sympathized.
'tis double death to drown in ken of shore;
he ten times pines that pines beholding food;
to see the salve doth make the wound ache more;
great grief grieves most at that would do it good;
deep woes roll forward like a gentle flood,
who, being stopped, the bounding banks o'erflows;
grief dallied with nor law nor limit knows.'
-lines 1100-1120
for tomorrow: lines 1359-the end!
-rebecca the conqueror
i had to cut back a page due to time constraints, but i can only do what i can do. right? so anyway, this is what's going down in Shakespeare Land:
Lucrece feels that what Tarquin has done is worse because he comes from a royal family. he should be held to a higher standard. then she decides that the way to save her honor is to kill herself, but she can't find a weapon. she doesn't want to have his child and she doesn't want him to get away with his crap. she knows her husband will avenge her death.
then, Lucrece realizes that day is dawning and fear overtakes her. she wants to hide, but the light reveals everything. she struggles to adjust to the new day. (see quote below.) Lucrece ponders suicide again. she feels that her soul has already been ruined, and to ruin her body would be simply to dispose of the leftover half of her spoiled self.
Lucrece realizes, however, that she needs to see her husband before she can go through with this. she will kill herself and her husband will kill Tarquin. she calls in her maid, who has no idea what's going on. her maid stays by her side, and feels so sorry for her that she begins to cry as well. the maid lets Lucrece know that Tarquin has gone and asks what happened, but receives no response.
Lucrece writes her husband a letter to ask him to come home quickly. she doesn't tell him what happened in writing so she can be sure that he gets the story straight and can understand what she's going through. she sends the letter off with a messenger, worrying that he is judging her.
so when day breaks, these people are coming out of the woodwork. the maid shows up. we find out that Lucrece's husband has men who work for him on the grounds. my question is: where the heck were they when their mistress was being raped? just sayin'. if there was someone within running distance of me, i think i would go for it.
lines 1149-1162 sound a little like 'to be or not to be' to me. is preoccupation with suicide another theme we're going to see? i sat here for awhile trying to describe this passage, but its too lovely. anything i say just sounds stupid. just read it.
i might be totally off base here, but it seems like Shakespeare inserts a little social commentary in lines 1254-1260. again, i might be wrong, but it feels like he's saying that women shouldn't be blamed for the abuse they suffer from men. during this time period, being raped meant you lived in shame. that's why Lucrece wants to kill herself. she doesn't want to deal with it, and she doesn't want her husband to deal with it. maybe Shakespeare is saying it shouldn't be that way? maybe not. but if he is, that's pretty darn cool of him. what does it seem like to you?
quote of the day:
'so she, deep-drenched in a sea of care,
holds disputation with each thing she views,
and to herself all sorrow doth compare;
no object but her passion's strength renews,
and as one shifts, another straight ensues.
sometimes, her grief is dumb and hath no words,
sometimes 'tis mad and too much talk affords.
the little birds that tune their morning's joy
make her moans mad with their sweet melody,
for mirth doth search the bottom of annoy;
sad souls are slain in merry company.
grief best is pleased with grief's society.
true sorrow then is feelingly sufficed
when with like semblance it is sympathized.
'tis double death to drown in ken of shore;
he ten times pines that pines beholding food;
to see the salve doth make the wound ache more;
great grief grieves most at that would do it good;
deep woes roll forward like a gentle flood,
who, being stopped, the bounding banks o'erflows;
grief dallied with nor law nor limit knows.'
-lines 1100-1120
for tomorrow: lines 1359-the end!
-rebecca the conqueror
I really like:
ReplyDelete"...she feels that her soul has already been ruined, and to ruin her body would be simply to dispose of the leftover half of her spoiled self."
"...sad souls are slain in merry company."
Also, the part about drowning when you can see the shore, etc. "The nearer your destination, the more you're slip slidin' away."