Friday, December 12, 2008
“Exeunt pursued by a bear” - more than comical relief?
Fairy Tale elements in The Winter's Tale
- Perdita, a baby what was in essence left exposed to die, and being found by ordinary rural people, is a very Classical theme and provides a link between the two separate “plays” within Winter’s Tale.
- The two “separate plays” are linked by a voyage across the sea, which can symbolize change.
- Bohemia and Siciliy are half-imaginary/half-distant= places for a setting.
- Perdita doesn’t know she is a princess (but we, the audience, does)
- There is an old man who gives advice and gives some sort of “magic aid” to help (Antigonus giving the scroll).
Did anyone else catch on any other fairy tale themes?
Elizabethan Period
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Paulina's Curious Role
As the play went along, I started to question her relationships with both Leontes and Hermoine. After her first confrontation with Leontes, I found it curious that he punished her husband rather than her. Don't get me wrong, I understand that during that time husbands were responsible for keeping their women in line. This explains why Leontes burdens her husband Antigonus with the task of abandoning the baby. However, she is merely a gentlewoman, and she told off her King, whom she should respect perhaps even MORE so than her husband. Particularly looking at how she basically added fuel to the fire with her words and the showing of the baby, howcome Leontes didn't punish her, imprison her, or have her killed? He sure didn't show any mercy for his own wife, and Hermoine was nothing but respectful and obedient to him the whole time!
Later in the play, the relationship between Leontes and Paulina seems even weirder. Although they do not say this directly, you can tell that she has been harping him for the past 16 years. Howcome he puts up with it? He also swears to her that he will not marry another person, that the only person he would ever be with again would be Hermoine. Ummm... why is he swearing to her? What authority does she have? Howcome she has always had such a control over him?
The relationship between Paulina and Hermoine is also very strange. I noticed something suspicious in scene III of Act 5. If you look at the stage direction in italics, it says "Pauline draws a curtain, and discovers Hermoine standing like a statue." Since Shakespeare gives it away here that it is not really a statue, I think he is trying to point out that Paulina knew that what was behind the curtain was a real person. Even though she says things like "You'll mar it if you kiss it (V:iii:82)," I think she is merely playing along. The explanation that Paulina has been secretly harboring the Queen is the only one that makes sense to me. Initially, I had thought it was so stupid that a statue would just magically turn into a human out of nowhere when there have been no elements of magic in this play (and I didn't forget the Oracle but that person isn't so much magical as they are blessed by the higher power). If you look at the end of Scene III of Act 5 though, it would only make sense that she has known all along. Unless we went as far as saying that Paulina has magic powers (which I really don't think she does), she was pretending to have magic powers so that she wouldn't get in trouble for harboring the Queen for 16 years. Because if Leontes knew, he would probably feel pretty angry (and I wouldn't blame him) that this woman has been making him feel extremely guilty for the past 16 years while she's known all along that the Queen has been alive. Maybe my theory is radical, but I just think Paulina and the Queen plotted this whole thing, from the swoon in court, to the statue, to get revenge. (The only thing I can't really make sense of with this theory is the ghost of Hermoine that Antigonus saw on the ship)
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Power in Macbeth/ other plays we have read
…So what do you guys think about power in Macbeth or in the other plays we read?
Hermione's Use of Words
Iago= The Devil
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
knock knock jokes
I found it amusing to discover that Shakespeare may be the instigator of knock knock jokes. At the very opening of act II, scene III in Macbeth, there is a knocking at the gate. While the porter goes to answer it, he is basically telling knock knock jokes. I went on Wikipedia to see if I could find the origin of knock knock jokes, but it remains unknown. There may be the possibility that they stemmed from Shakespeare's Macbeth. On Wikipedia (if it’s to be trusted), it gives the meaning of each of the porter’s satires for each knock knock joke he makes. Apparently, he is imagining that he is the porter to the gates of hell and is welcoming people in through the gates. Each joke is made in reference to people of various occupations. I just thought that it was interesting how Shakespeare more or less uses the same types of jokes that we have today.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Emilia's Questionable Role in Othello...
So I know this is something we touched on at least in our section, but maybe not everyone has considered it yet. I’m wondering what our reactions are to Emilia’s role in Othello? I mean, she is undoubtedly Desdemona’s close (instant) friend, and doesn’t seem to be playing a part in Iago’s scandal, yet she still steals the scarf for him. Sure, she claims she has no idea why he wanted the scarf and that she was just following his request, but really, what was she thinking? Who just steals their friend’s scarf for their husband and doesn’t even bother questioning why the heck he would want it? Maybe this all has to do with obedience and the fact that it possible was inappropriate to question the intentions and actions of one’s husband at the time? All I know is I would be extremely mind boggled if my boyfriend randomly BEGGED me to steal a scarf from my friend. Perhaps she is one of those girls who loves drama and just wanted to steal it to see what would come out of it, or maybe she secretly had it in for Desdemona and wanted to see trouble arise. I can’t imagine she would have had any idea what her twisted, wacko husband was planning, but I suppose there’s a chance.. Thoughts?