King Lear, Myself, and Nature

            Throughout much of the turmoil of Act III, the weather plays a very important role. Goneril and Regan have refused to let their father stay with them, let alone him and fifty of his knights. Lear is losing everyone around him from his daughters to his servants and virtually has nothing left to his name. After he curses his daughters, he walks into a violent storm and refuses to retreat back to the palace or take shelter. As his daughters shut and lock the doors, Lear is alone in the storm. The storm symbolizes cruelty and madness that are common themes throughout the play. A storm in nature is uncontrollable and destructive, much like Lear’s state of being. He shouts at the storm saying irrational demands such as “all-shaking thunder, strike flat the thick rotundity o’ the world/that make ingrateful man!” (III. ii. 6-8). He wants the storm to challenge him in the most disparaging ways possible. He also feels at ease with the nature because even though thunder, fire, hurricanes, whirlpools etc are all violent forces of nature, none of them are as vengeful and terrible as his daughters. King Lear beckons to the fool, “I tax not you, you elements, with unkindness. I never gave you kingdom, called you children, you owe me no subscription.” (III. ii. 16-18). Part of the king’s outbursts and yelling can stem from madness and anger, but when he succumbs through the storm and makes comments such these and being more acceptable than his children, shows that his relationship with nature is a way for him to seek refuge and let go of feelings.

            Even though King Lear can be seen as irrational and somewhat mad throughout most of the play, I felt genuinely empathetic towards him as he began his trek through the storm. Most people find that rainy days or days that have more gloomy or dismal weather as days that are unproductive or unsatisfying. I completely disagree, perhaps I am just the opposite but I find myself much calmer and somewhat happier on those days. I think the forces of nature have ways of influencing how we feel. I am not saying that people are always happy when the sun is out and sad when it is raining. I am saying that it has a way of making us feel like the universe is somehow understanding how we feel. This may be too deep or pretentious, which is not what I am trying to do, but I find that when I am outside or looking outside there is an emotion or sentiment that is evoked in me. Maybe it is because we all come from nature or maybe it is because I am too emotional about this, but I think King Lear is on to something when he walks through the storm, and I think I would have done the same thing.   

"Bereft" Explication

               Bereft by Robert Frost contains powerful imagery and metaphors. The narrator describes a wind that is heard rather than felt. He describes the wind as like a “deeper roar” as if it were some sort of creature howling at him rather than just the wind rustling. Already, the reader can tell that the weather is harsher and perhaps a storm is coming soon or that the weather is just getting colder.  The speaker seems to be weary and nervous, especially as he stands near the door as, asking if holding the door will do anything to stop the roaring wind. He describes the door as being “restive” and the wind could be what is causing that.  It is as if he is trying to keep the destructive wind from entering the house. In the next few lines the reader has a clear image of what the season is like. He describes the shore as “frothy” and that summer has past and the day has past. The poem suddenly becomes a little eerie knowing that is colder in the year and that it also takes place in the evening. The next two lines exhibit personification when describing the clouds as “somber” and the porch as “sagging”. These words add to the glum and ghostly feeling that the Frost is evoking in his poem. In the next two lines, Frost uses metaphorical language when describing the wind. “Leaves got up in a coil and hissed, blindly struck at my knee and missed”. The wind is described as a snake getting ready to attack, meaning that the wind is so strong it is threatening. The speaker continues describing the wind as if it were talking to him. He describes the wind as having a sinister tone and told him that his “secret must be known”. The last four lines of the poem are poignant in describing his secret. The “secret” itself is not revealed but he mentions that he is alone and away from people and that it “must have gotten abroad” and delivered to other people. He makes it sound like wind was what was carrying his secret and now it is telling him he has nowhere to hide anymore. The last two lines are “Word I was in my life alone, word I had no one left but God.” Frost hints at the secret that he is all alone and has no one with him except God, but it is still mysterious as to why he is all alone and what did he do to be that way. Throughout the entire poem, the wind is a metaphor for the narrator. The secret may be compared to the wind and trying to get into his house that he has left for himself. The weather also illuminates his sadness and despair that he is currently feeling and certainly illuminates the title of the poem “Bereft” because the narrator does feel as though he is lacking something.

Goneral, Regan, and Cordelia

Goneril: In the very first scene, Goneril makes a horrible first impression, at least to me. It is ridiculous that a father would ask his daughters to elaborate on how much they love him in front of a court in return for his wealth and property. It is cruel, unreasonable, but mostly egotistical. The way that Goneril does not even think twice about her father’s request and says very passionately and outlandishly how much she loves her father makes her look desperate and petty. “Sir, I love you more than word can wield the matter;[…] No less than life, with grace, health, beauty, or honor” (I. i. 56-57 & 60). I am not saying that she does not love her father but it definitely seems like she is trying too hard.  At the end of the Act I she continues scheming with her sister, Regan, and even when her father stays with her palace. In Act III she openly talks about how King Lear’s knights are annoying and that her own father is intolerable. Instead of confronting them and telling them how she feels, she plans to have her severs behave badly towards her father and his knights. I do not understand why she cannot confront people in her own home, especially when it is her father. Even when her father finds out, she still pursues getting him to leave.  It is concerning.

Regan: Regan is very much like her sister Goneril, however it is difficult because she is not mentioned too much in the first Act, primarily only in the first scene.  She, like her sister, fervently professes her love and admiration towards her father in a manner that is full of histrionics. She states, “I am made of that self metal as my sister, and prize me at her worth” (I. i. 72-74). However she quickly interjects her appreciation for her sister and then claims that her sister fell short of honoring and loving their father, even though Goneril used words like “beyond what can be valued, rich or rare;” (I. i. 59). She clearly has many of the same attributes as her older sister but it is easy to detest Goneril more due to more examples of sly trickery.

Cordelia: Out of all three siblings, it is easiest to claim that Cordelia is the most likeable and amusing. She immediately finds her father’s request humiliating and distasteful and already knows what she is going to say when her father calls upon her. Upon her father’s request she replies, “Nothing, my lord” (I. i. 92).  Her answer is humorous but also inspiring in a sense that she does not succumb to her sister’s petty attempt at gaining higher recognition in their already high status. She seems the most stubborn out of the three of them but I see it as also being intelligent. She is knowledgeable in the sense that she knows how ridiculous the request is and knows that it is logical and right for her to do the most justifiable thing that is righteous for the situation. She becomes disowned and loses everything from her class to her property. It is ironic that several times she is mentioned as the “favorite daughter” among the three and King Lear so quickly gets rid of her. It is also quite interesting that the Duke of Burgundy wants nothing to do with her anymore now that she has so little status but the King of France reveres her for her nobility. I think it shows that people like her father and her sisters admire her stubbornness and intelligence but at the same time are jealous of it. 

"The Man with Night Sweats" by Thom Gunn- Explication

The poem begins with tactile imagery. The man wakes up feeling cold yet that feeling is juxtaposed with heat which he says come from his dreams. His describes his dreams as “dreams of heat” which creates images of passion and anguish and thus allow the reader to imagine their own ideas of what the dreams could be about. The man awakens to sweat drenched in his sheets and still holding on to his bed. The first stanza exhibits a tone of uneasiness due to the man’s apparent nature from awakening from a tumultuous dream.

                The second stanza describes his flesh as a shield that was penetrated by the sweats brought on by his dreams. The difference between his skin and a shield is that his skin can heal itself thus he can heal himself.  In the third stanza, he talks about his growth through trusting his body even while participating in risky behaviors that made him feel strong or “robust”. These images of gnashed skin and risky feelings along with night sweats from the first stanza could mean that the voice of the poem is experiencing a debilitating disease against the body.

                The next two stanzas continue to discuss the skin, this time referring to challenges that come across the skin. These “challenges” could be rashes, sores, or lesions. He also mentions that he cannot apologize for what has happened to him. His flesh is withering away along with his mind and overall being. 

                In the next stanza he states “I have to change the bed, but catch myself instead.” This line is poignant because he is saying that he is tired and needs to fix himself before fixing his bed. The last six lines encapsulate what the man is thinking and feeling all through imagery. He recalls hugging his own body as means to get rid of the pain his body is giving him, the pain he compares to an avalanche. When I first read this poem I was confused as to why night sweats upset this man so much and thinking that maybe his dreams caused the change of temperature and homeostasis in his body. Now reading over and over it is clear to me that it could be much more than just night sweats and that the pain through the imagery is what explained it to me. 

Ranking Characters in Hamlet

Hamlet Characters in Order of Defiance

1.       Hamlet: It is no secret that Hamlet is bold and defiant. The title of the play is his name after all. In the first act alone, Hamlet sits outside with Horatio and talks about how he thinks his stepfather is a fool and his mother is wrong for rushing to marry her dead husbands bother. From there, Hamlet’s whole motivation is to devoid anything anyone asks of him and to negate or completely ignore peoples wishes or commands. He also plots the entire play to kill Claudius, completely defying his superior.

2.       Polonius: Polonius really does not listen to anyone in the play. He orders Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to watch over his son while he has at school-going so far as to spread lies about him and see if he is actually doing those things. He also makes Ophelia not go through with being with Hamlet. He makes people do what he wants them to do and will not let people be defiant of him, only he himself is allowed to be.

3.       The Ghost: The Ghost really does not have a huge role except when he comes in contact with Hamlet. He is defying the supernatural forces in visiting his son and instructing him to murder and avenge Claudius. It is still unclear as to whether the apparition is real or just Hamlet’s imagination, but either it way its powers are very present.

4.       Fortinbras: Even though Fortinbras is the pit of jokes, he is clearly defiant of Hamlet’s kingdom. He is vengeful of his father’s death and wants to get back at King Hamlet and take the throne of Denmark. He takes his army up to the Hamlet’s castle to fight a bloody war over a name of a country and not even the throne, that was another part of his plan.

5.       Laertes: Though Laertes complies with the orders of his father when going off to school, he is so willing fully ready to defy the throne in killing whoever killed his father Polonius. This revenge is caused by honest disdain and remorse and may not be his original goal in the beginning of the play.

6.       Claudius: Claudius is defiant mainly to Hamlet and the throne of Denmark. He knows that he can take the throne and royally goes against the proper conformity associated with the Denmark monarchy. His defiance is more internal and not as profound and prominent as Hamlet’s or Polonius.

7.       Ophelia: Like her brother, Ophelia is mostly defiant after her father dies. She is still innocent and obedient both before and after his death. She defies Gertrude when she tries to figure out what is wrong with her and trying to make her feel better.  It is unclear whether it is defiance or just sheer sadness.

8.       Gertrude: Gertrude complies with the social conformity that is around her. She follows what she believes is right as a queen, as a mother, and as a wife. She really wants to fix things that go wrong on the play and pretty much wants to please everyone which in the end does not fix anything.

9.       Rosencrantz and Guildenstern: The two comrades are the most loyal characters probably throughout the play. Their willingness to follow orders inevitably leads to their own demise.

10.   Horatio: Horatio is also the most loyal and obedient character although he does not receive anything in return. He eventually tells Fortinbras about his new role in Denmark and is satisfied with his order from his late friend, Hamlet. 

"Desert Places" Explication

            In Robert Frost’s Desert Places, there is constant imagery. The first stanza describes snow falling in the nighttime and how the ground is almost completely enveloped in snow except for small stubbles of grass that poke through at the top. The denotation of snow is a kind of crystallized precipitation that occurs in the winter time. The connotation of snow could mean both joyful and melancholy. When snow falls, it can mean a sign of elation or happiness or a reminder of holidays or possibly new beginnings. It could also bring youthfulness and feelings of innocence. On the contrary, it could also be a meaning of loss, as in the decay and death and nature surrounding a person. It could mean cold, both in the literal tactile sense and in being harsh and unforgiving. Depending on who could read this poem may interpret the first stanza differently. Personally, I imagine a gloomy picture of the snow falling because of Frost also mentioning that it is nighttime, which could also enforce the feeling of a more bitter cold. 

            The poet describes the forest as having “it” in the first line of the second stanza and that the “it” is all theirs. As the animals stay in the lairs and the narrator is too “absent-spirited” to count them all. The “it” could be defined as loneliness, as in stanza four Frost writes “The loneliness includes me unawares”. This enhances the harsh feeling of snow falling in the forest adding the word loneliness. The meaning of “it” could in fact be loneliness. The animals themselves could also be alone. By using the word “lairs” instead of “home” or “burrow”, it creates an image of a darker place because a lair could conjure up an image of a hiding place or a place of solitude and it does not sound as comforting.  The loneliness is so powerful that it takes the narrator without them being aware of it happening. They even describe themselves as being too “absented-spirited” to notice; literally feeling devoid of their soul.

            The end of the third stanza describes the snow falling as “with no expression, with nothing to express”. This directly correlates with the connotation of snow as snow being seen as devoid of life or blank or empty. This could enhance the feeling that the narrator is trying to evoke throughout the poem-the ever increasing loneliness of the environment around them.

            The narrator tries to prove that he is not affected by the loneliness. Frost writes, “They cannot scare me with their empty spaces”. This proposes questions such who are “They”? and what “empty spaces” are the narrator referring to? “They” could be the loneliness and how it is evoked through nature.  Loneliness can be connected to feeling empty so that could be a further connotation of the word “loneliness”. The last three lines are especially potent because of what Frost is saying. The point that loneliness is so much closer to home than the “desert places” he is surrounded with. When one thinks of a desert, one does not picture snow or trees, but the feeling of emptiness is still apparent and Frost is trying to say that the feeling lies within our minds and that you simply cannot walk away from them.