Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Seventh Reading

My group: Annette, Ian, Tay, Hannah, & Meghan

3 Poems:
  • Elizabeth Bishop
  • Robert Hayden
  • William C. Williams
Poem I read (7+ times)

A Summer’s Dream

To the sagging wharf
few ships could come.
The population numbered
two giants, an idiot, a dwarf,

a gentle storekeeper
asleep behind his counter,
and our kind landlady—
the dwarf was her dressmaker.

The idiot could be beguiled
by picking blackberries,
but then threw them away.
The shrunken seamstress smiled.

By the sea, lying
blue as a mackerel,
our boarding house was streaked
as though it had been crying.

Extraordinary geraniums
crowded the front windows,
the floors glittered with
assorted linoleums.

Every night we listened
for a horned owl.
In the horned lamp flame,
the wallpaper glistened.

The giant with the stammer
was the landlady’s son,
grumbling on the stairs
over an old grammar.

He was morose,
but she was cheerful.
The bedroom was cold,
the feather bed close.

We were awakened in the dark by
the somnambulist brook
nearing the sea,
still dreaming audibly.

Monday, April 14, 2014

Macbeth Act 5 Notes

  • Lady Macbeth sleeps walks talking about the murders of Banquo and Lady Macduff and claims she sees blood on her hands that will never wash off
  • Outside the Scottish lords talk about the military situation, and then the English and Scottish decide to join forces. Macbeth has fortified Dunsinane Castle and is making his military preparations in a mad rage
  • Macbeth comes into hall of Dunsinane saying he is not scared of the English or Malcolm army because "none of woman born" can harm him 
  • Malcolm talks with English lord about Macbeth's plan. They agree to have each soldier cut down a branch to hide their numbers when they approach the castle
  • Once outside the castle, Malcolm tells the soldiers to get rid of their boughs and draw their swords.
  • Macbeth slays Lord Siward’s son and disappears in the fray
  • Malcolm and Siward emerge and enter the castle
  • Macbeth and Macduff are battling and Macbeth says he is invincible because of the witches' prophecy while Macduff says he was not woman born because his mother's womb was ripped and Macbeth is scared but says he will not surrender "to kiss the ground before young Malcolm's feed/ And to be baited with rabble's curse'
  • Malcolm and Siward walk in the castle they have captured.
  • Ross tells Siward that his son is dead
  • Macduff enters with Macbeth's head and says Malcolm is King of Scotland
  • Malcolm calls all those around his friends and invites them to see him crowned at Scone while cursing Macbeth and Lady Macbeth

Macbeth Act 4 notes

  •  Hecate comes by and compliments the witches who are chanting in a circle
  • "By the pricking of my thumbs/ something wicked comes this way"
  • Macbeth asks the witches to reveal the prophecies: floating head says to beware Macduff, bloody child comes and "none of women born shall harm Macbeth", crowned child holding a tree says he is safe until Birnan Wood moves to Dunisane Hill, and lastly, eight crown kings walk by and the last one (Banquo's ghost) is holding a mirror
  • The witches vanish before Macbeth can learn the meanings of the prophesies
  • Macbeth learns through Lennox that Macduff has feld to England
  • Macbeth sends murderers to Macduff's castle to kill his wife and children
  • Lady Macbeth asks Ross why her husband has left and is ignoring her, he says he trusts Macbeth
  • Lady Macduff tells her son Macduff is dead but he doesn't belive it
  • Lady Macduff learns she is in danger but is confused as to why because she has done nothing wrong
  • The murderers come and say Macduff is dead but the son calls him a liar so he stabs him and
  • To test Macduff's loyalty Macolm says he is not fit to be king because he is greedy and violent and says he will be a good king 
  • Macduff's loyalty to Scotland is proven when he agrees he's not fit to be king and he runs back
  • A doctor comes in and says “crew of wretched souls” waits for King Edward so they may be cured, and Malcolm explains to Macduff that the king can cure diseases
  • Ross tells Macduff that his wife an children are well and says he needs to return to his country
  • Malcolm says he will return there with 10,000 soldiers lent from King Edward
  • Ross breaks down and says his wife and children were actually murdered
  • Malcolm says to turn grief to anger and inflict revenge upon Macbeth 

Sunday, April 13, 2014

The Crossroad Between Should and Must

Articles like this one, or any "make you think" type things, always get to me, and make me re-evaluate what I am doing with my life. When I get older, I want to look back and see how the fun and memorable experiences I have created during my lifetime. Personally, I can say I have made some great ones so far, but I know there is plenty of time left on my clock and I'm not entirely sure what I want to do yet.

Currently, I have taken the "should" path with school, because everything seems pointless now. I know where I am going to college, I know what I want to major in, and what job I want, yet high school has trapped me from going out and doing what I want. However, I plan on taking the "must" path in college. I want to make the most out of those four years, before I really have to settle down and focus on my job. My job, however, will be what I love to do, spend time with kids. But in college, or the years right after, I want to travel and be adventurous.

However, after all that being said, I do want to take the "must" path now. Maybe not with school, but with other areas of my life. We are all young and should be enjoying life, and nothing can stop us.

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Macbeth Act 3

  • Banquo thinks that the prophecy about his children sitting on the throne will come true since Macbeth's did
  • Macbeth wants to discuss disappearance of Malcolm and Donalbain, believes they are plotting against his crown
  • Macbeth fears Banquo: sons might overthrow his family
  • Macbeth hires two murderers to kill Banquo
  • Kill Banquo, Fleance flees to avenge his death
  • As Macbeth and Lady M are feasting, murderers come and share the news of his death but Macbeth is angry "the worm that's fled/ Hath nature that in time will venom breed"
  • Macbeth goes to sit at head of the royal table and sees Banquo's ghost is sitting in his chair. However, no one else sees the ghost
  • Lady Macbeth says to excuse her husband he sometimes has visions so they should just ignore his behavior but then urges Macbeth to snap out of it and questions his manhood 
  • The ghost disappears and he tells the company "I have a strange infirmity which is nothing/ To those that know me"
  • Ghost reappears
  • Macbeth "I am in blood/ Stepped in so far that, should I wade no more,/ Returning were as tedious as go o'er"
  • Lady Macbeth says to go to sleep
  • Witches meet with Hecate the goddess of witchcraft
  • Hecate is angry at them for meddling in business of Macbeth without her consent and says she will take over as supervisor of the mischief and when Macbeth comes the next day they will summon visions and spirits whose messages will fill him with a false sense of security and make him confused
  • Fleance is blamed for Banquo's murder since he escaped
  • Both men suspect Macbeth who they call a "tyrant" for the murders of Duncan and Banquo

Sunday, April 6, 2014

Macbeth Act 2 Notes

  • Fleance is Banquo's son
  •  Banquo can't sleep and Macbeth is awake (they have a conversation about witches prophesies)
  • Macbeth has a vision of the dagger in front of him, vision shows that he is uncertain of killing the king but continues with the plan
  • Lady Macbeth imagines Macbeth killing Duncan and she heard him cry out and is scared he failed but doesn't understand how he could because she set everything out perfectly for him, says she should have killed the king herself
  • Macbeth comes back and says he's killed the king, but still has dagger and fears chamberlains might have woken. Lady Macbeth takes dagger back
  • Macbeth heard knocking and even when Lady Macbeth comes back he hears it again, it was the porter
  • Macbeth enters and asks Macduff where king is and Macduff says he still sleeping so Macbeth offers to take him to him
  • Macduff comes running back saying king has been murdered and Macbeth an Lennox run to look
  • Lady Macbeth is hysterical and eventually faints
  • Foreshadowing: an owl killed a falcon and Dancuns horses that were well trained were acting wildly and ate one another before all this
  • Macduff enters and says Macbeth has been made king by other lords and is on his way to Scone to be crowned
  • Macduff also tells them the chamberlains probably were paid to kill Duncon and people are suspicious of two kings Malcolm and Donalbain because they fled the scene

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Look at my Brain

My masterpiece shows my viewers what I love to do, and what I am passionate about, reading and kids. If you were to look at the progress Annette and I have made so far, you can see how our thought process has changed. When we first began, we were just going to present our analyzes of the books we chose but now we have implemented tumblr, another thing we enjoy during our free time. Tumblr is a site where you can express exactly how you feel in any given moment and so allowing everyone into that part of our life, will help you see how we think and understand things. (We plan on giving you the site once Annette figures a problem out, its currently locked for some strange reason). Tumblr is a site where you can express yourself and create something completely different from any one person and that's what we both like about it. And finally, collaboration is a huge part of tumblr itself because everyone is constantly re-blogging each others post, and also simply because Annette and I are working on this masterpiece together.

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

What about my masterpiece?

This week, Annette and I decided that instead of just analyzing the books we enjoy reading, to also make a tumblr account. On the account we can post quotes, pictures or anything that relates to the books, that inspires us and our future audience. On our account, we will also post what we analyze and then when presentations come at the end of the year we will have a blog to show the class.

Love is Blind

There is a big difference between how the audience sees Lady Macbeth and Macbeth sees her. From the readers point of view she is the dominant character between the two, and extremely selfish and wicked. She schemes this whole plot to have Macbeth kill the king and he seems blinded by the horrible deed he has agreed to commit. As the play continues though, Macbeth begins to realize that it isn't a good idea and starts to back down. Lady Macbeth gets angry at this and convinces him to go through with the plan. The reader can see that she is very manipulative but Macbeth cant wrap his mind around it and just continues to do what she says.

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Macbeth Act 1 Notes

  • Duncan wants thane of Cawdor killed because he joined the enemy army
  • King makes Macbeth Thane of Cawdor because he showed bravery and courage and was a ruthless killer
  • This foreshadows: Macbeth will kill the king
  • 3 witches say that: 1. Macbeth will be Thane of Glamis, 2. He will be the Thane of Cawdor, 3. He will be king, 4. Banquo's children will be king
  • Macbeth tells wife he is the new Thane of Cawdor, and she decides she wants the king killed so Macbeth can be king, comes up with plan.
  • Macbeth is very indecisive on whether to kill king or not