The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

The last stanza (lines 129-131), "We have lingered in the chambers of the sea/ By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown/ Till human voices wake us, and we drown" triggers emotions in the reader because the content is not tangible nor does it make sense. This stanza is also confusing to the reader and emphasizes the importance of emotional response rather than an epiphany, message, etc. T. S. Eliot cleverly challenges the reader to go beyond the content of the poem and to explore the feelings and emotions that the poem evokes.

King Claudius' Manipulation of Laertes

King Claudius uses deliberate language and tone in order to manipulate Laertes into gearing all of his anger and rage towards Hamlet. Laertes is extremely vulnerable due to his fragile and malleable state of mind that resulted from the death of his beloved father. As King Caludius clearly does not like Hamlet he takes advantage of Laertes' vulnerability and manipulates him into wanting to take revenge on Hamlet through killing him. As Claudius works Laertes up, once Laertes finally asserts that he will take vengeance on his father's killer, Claudius validates Laertes as he says "Why, now you speak/ Like a good child and a true gentlemen" (IV. 5. 142-3). Furthermore, Claudius plays into Laertes emotions as he validates his wishes/feelings. Additionally, Claudius takes advantage of Laertes fragile state to clear his own name. For example, in Act I, Scene 5, lines 192-203 Claudius tells Laertes that if Laertes were to assemble his wisest friends, have them determine whether or not he has betrayed Laertes and they decide that he has indeed betrayed Laertes, then Laertes can have all of Claudius' possessions. Essentially, Claudius offers such an extreme proposition that Laertes doesn't even question Claudius.

Sounds in Poetry: Hamlet

Hamlet's soliloquy at the end of Act II is written in blank verse, ending with a rhyming couplet. Shakespeare uses blank -- unrhymed iambic pentameter -- verse because it is very conversational and natural so the Hamlet can easily convey his innermost thoughts to the audience. Shakespeare inserts a rhyming couplet at the end of his speech to give dramatic closure. Shakespeare uses many rhythmic sound effects. For example, in line 24 Hamlet asks himself "Who calls me villain? breaks my pate across?" Here he uses a caesura also to create a dramatic pause that shows his intense confusion. Shakespeare inserts several interjections into Hamlet's soliloquy such as "Ha!" "O, vengeance!" in order to depict Hamlet's erratic state of mind. He also inserts these in their own lines which in turn interrupts the smooth rhythm of the iambic meter. In line 507, Shakespeare uses plosive alliteration with the words "bloody" and "bawdy" which he then juxtaposes with sibilance when Hamlet cries "Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindless villain!" By using this plosive alliteration, Shakespeare highlights the contempt Hamlet feels for Claudius whereas the sibilance suggests how sinister the sinning Claudius certainly is.

Hamlet body 1

Looking at two major speeches of each character – Hamlet’s first soliloquy in act 1 scene 2 and two of the ghost’s speeches in act 1 scene 5 – the elements of audience, delivery, and style first deserve close attention. The identity of the listener helps determine the speech patterns of each character: Hamlet’s being himself and the ghost’s being Hamlet. Because Hamlet is talking only to himself, he reveals his raw thoughts; he is essentially delivering his train of thought and so does not have to explain or censor himself. As Hamlet is utterly disturbed by his mother’s hasty marriage to his uncle after his father’s death, Shakespeare deliberately uses a specific style to convey Hamlet’s distress:

                        she followed my poor father’s body,

            Like Niobe, all tears: –why she, even she –

            O God! a beast, that wants discourse of reason,

            Would have mourn’d longer – married with my uncle,

                                                                                    (I. 2. 148-151)

Here, Hamlet expresses his explicit thoughts through his direct diction, impulsive interjections, and prolific punctuation. Shakespeare’s frequent use of dashes that are even sometimes juxtaposed with other punctuation marks illustrates Hamlet’s passionate temperament and his unfiltered thoughts. His insulting reference to his mother as “a beast” reveals his blunt and uncensored diction. Unlike Hamlet’s private soliloquy, the ghost’s main speeches address and exhort an actual person. Essentially, if Hamlet were a computer, the ghost would be trying to hack him.  Moreover, the ghost is trying to manipulate Hamlet to avenge his “murder most foul” (I. 5. 27). Rather than directly explaining to Hamlet what happened in the orchard, he instead speaks in confusing metaphors and tricky riddles. After introducing himself to Hamlet, the ghost begins to ADVERB intrigue his son through vague references to “foul crimes” and “secrets of my prison-house” (I. 5. 12, 14). Further teasing his son, the ghost asserts: “I could a tale unfold whose lightest word/ Would harrow up thy soul, freeze thy young blood” (I. 5. 15-16). After dangling this terrifying tale before Hamlet further postpones revealing the story by referring to a mysterious serpent: “The serpent that did sting thy father’s life/ Now wears his crown (I. 5. 39-40).  He first uses implication when mentioning a serpent that stung him; next, he alludes to the snake in the Garden of Eden; finally, he employs the snake as a metaphor for his conniving brother, the new king of Denmark. 

Setting

Setting is essentially the time and place in which a literary text or a play takes place. This includes the time period, the country, the season, and the length of the period of time over which the story takes place. Setting has many properties that can help convey certain moods or tones to a story. For example, if a scene is presented in a stormy setting, the reader can expect a negative event to occur. Likewise, if a scene takes place in a bright, summery day, the reader can expect a positive event to occur. However, sometimes an author or a playwright can set up a dreary scene and present a positive event in that scene to convey irony. In Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Austen makes very good use of setting. For example, as she places her novel in a season in which it rains, this helps a very key characteristic of Mrs. Bennett come to light. When Mrs. Bennett strategically sends Jane to the Bingley's on horseback in the rain knowing that Jane will fall ill and thus she will have to extend her stay at the Bingley's, just as Mrs. Bennett wants. Another helpful use of setting in the novel is the time period in which it takes place. Since the novel takes place in 18th century England, Austen is then able to amplify the submissive role of women in society since the novel takes place in a society in which women are especially submissive.

Hamlet Intro

In the various works of William Shakespeare, he thoughtfully manipulates language and speech patterns to convey certain aspects of the play and certain characteristics of characters. As particularly seen in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, he utilizes the numerous forms of speech patterns to illuminate the characteristics of and relationships between characters. Shakespeare makes use of linguistic efforts through his juxtaposition of Hamlet and the ghost’s speech patterns. The ghost’s language is very determined and factually based. The ghost’s primary concern is to reveal the truth about the death of Hamlet’s father and to encourage Hamlet to avenge his father’s murderer. Hamlet’s language, however, is much more complex than that of the ghost. His language is easily influenced by the situation he is in and by the general tone of the scene. Hamlet can be very poetic in his language at times, speaking in metaphors for example, but he can also be very short conveying his apparent upset and bothered emotions. Moreover, Shakespeare cleverly employs the ability of differing linguistic tendencies to reveal the contrasting characteristics of Hamlet and the ghost.

Hamlet

Shakespeare gives very distinct voices to each of the characters in Hamlet. Hamlet and King Claudius' voices differ tremendously. Shakespeare fills Hamlet's voice with many methaphors and poetic language to convey his sensitivity and sorrow. Hamlet's language helps the reader connect with and further understand his sadness regarding the loss of his father. The Queen is sensitive to Hamlet's mourning. On the other hand, King Claudius is completely insensitive to Hamlet's mourning and does not seem to care whatsoever. King Claudius' language is extremely stern and assertive. Furthermore, Hamlet and King Claudius' voices contrast with one another in that Hamlet is very snesitive and in touch with his feelings while King Claudius does not even appear to have feelings.

Out Out vs. To an Athelete Dying Young

The tones of the two poems are very different. The first one introduces death very abruptly and through a tonal shift. Outsiders in the first poem also return to their affairs after the boy is declared dead. The first poem also serves to inform about the truths of and attitudes toward child labor. The second poem expresses a sympathetic tone toward death and gradually introduces it through imagery and implications rather than an abrupt insertion of death. The first poem also explains the details of the death while the second is more sensitive toward such a tragedy. The second poem is also very reflective on and cerncerned with the significance of the deceased's life.

Plot

Plot plays a role in Pride and Prejudice through Austen's dilberate sequence of events and placement of conflicts. Austen initially presents the characters to the reader both through telling the reader characteristics of the characters and through illustrating the way in which characters interact with one another. This introduction of the novel's characters is the first stage in a conventional narrative like Pride and Prejudice, exposition. The next stage, the rising action is when Mr. Bingley and Mr.Darcy begin to be involved in the lives of the Bennett daughters. As Elizabeth begins to develop feelings for Mr.Darcy, she discovers that he prevented her sister from marrying Mr.Bingley and therefore presents a conflict that is the climax of the novel. These are the most prominent plot stages in Pride and Prejudice.

While Pride and Prejudice is an example of the most commmon form of plot, The Reader's plot takes a very different form of plot than Pride and Prejudice. In The Reader, events do not necessarily take place in a continuous way. Each of the three parts of the novel have taken place within severl years of each other rather than in a relatively close amount of time. While the plot does chonologically sequence the narrative, characters often refer back to previous events that are influencing the present therefore adding a more complicated depth to the novel. The Reader also has multiple rising actions that lead to multiple climaxes as there are many conflicts and emotional complexities.

Comparison of Woodchucks and Traveling through the Dark

Both Woodchucks and Traveling through the Dark focus on animals. Mixine Kumin's Woodchucks' speaker is primarily concerned with the execution of animals while William Stafford's Traveling through the Dark's speaker is concerned with the salvation of animals. The speaker's tone in Woodchucks can be catagorized as aggressive and apathetic toward the killing of the woodchcks. The speaker's tone in Traveling through the Dark expresses a concerned tone toward the tragedy of the dead deer's unborn fawn. Furthermore, while these two poems express contrasting tones toward the execution of animals, they do have one similarity: each of the poems conveys the implication that animals are burdensome; the woodchucks destroy the vegetable patch, flowers, etc. and the dead deer acts as an obstacle in the middle of the narrow road.