The poem “To My Book” from Epigrams by Ben Jonson struck me as intriguing as it is rare to find the hopes of the author for the book in its first paragraph. The first two lines is the speaker (or in this case, the author himself) telling the book what its readers will be looking for. In some books you may find the author’s wish that you enjoy it, but very rarely do you ever hear an author admit that their book “…should’st be bold, licentious, full of gall, / Wormwood and sulpher, sharp and toothed withal” (3-4) let alone “become a petulant thing, hurl ink and wit / As madmen stones, not caring whom they hit.” (5-6) The book becomes a living thing in your mind, something that has a choice between being what it’s creator wants it to be and something else.
What really struck me though was line ten: “Made from the hazard of another’s shame—“ as it conveyed the author’s embarrassment in making his thoughts known to others. To my knowledge, many authors struggle with this concept as their work is a part of themselves. Sometimes it is a very private part hidden in metaphor and false images. Some fiction writers may strive to write their life story through more fanciful words in order to soften the blow of how common or repetitive it is. Finally, he ends with “He that departs with his own honesty / For vulgar praise, doth it too dearly buy.” (13-14) This is a bit confusing to me, but I assume that it means that many will finish reading his book will probably comment on the audacity of the author.
In this week’s set of readings, I found Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” the most interesting. When I first read the title, I thought it would be something like that of the Passionate Shepherd. A proposal to a lady in which he humbly admits that he has not much to offer or something of the sort. Therefore, it took me by surprise that it was instead a proposed solution to a common problem in impoverished Ireland. I couldn’t help but laugh by the time I got to the end of the fourth paragraph. The very idea of eating babies came as a surprise as I was expecting a more political answer to the poverty problem. The intriguing thought pulled me in and grabbed my attention for the rest of the “proposal”. I began to wonder what the world would be like if this had been put into action around the world. What if there was a world in which it was acceptable to eat burdensome infants? If modern-day humans came to this world, I am sure we would try to rectify it. It would not matter that doing so may just bring misery to the inhabitants as it is a horrifying concept to us.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Test 1
Category I – Option B
The monster is something that is present in every work of literature we make. Over the years, it has evolved and become more abstract: more of a concept than a physical thing. I believe the reason for this is that, in our gradual dominance over earth, we have all but eliminated the natural enemies that once plagued us. Without a common enemy to focus on, we turn inward, battling inner demons. The monster becomes more cunning, something intangible and often imperceptible. Thus, there is a perceptible change between Beowulf, Faerie Queene, Shakespeare’s Othello, and Holy Sonnet 9.
In Beowulf, the monster is obviously Grendal, his mother, and the dragon. They are physical creatures with an insatiable hunger that mere humans cannot reason with. They are also completely separate monsters with different reasons for fighting Beowulf. As described in the text, Grendal, “nursed a hard grievance. It harrowed him / to hear the din of the loud banquet / every day in the hall.” (87-9). The text further described the kinds of sounds being made, which give the impression that Grendal found not just the loudness of the noise offensive, but also the mention of god. He holds no personal grudge against Beowulf, as he was not there, but more against humanity as a whole. Grendal’s mother, however, had a personal grudge against Beowulf’s band of heros as shown in the following: “his mother / had sallied forth on a savage journey, / grief-racked and ravenous, desperate for revenge.” (1276-8). Finally, the dragon was “moved into a wrath” (2222) by “a slave / fleeing the heavy hand of some master,” (2223 – 2224) so it was not a personal attack against Beowulf, but it was Beowulf’s duty as king to protect his people. However, they are all definitely monsters and leave no conceptual gray areas to dwell on. Grendal “dwelt for a time in misery among the banished monsters, / Cain’s clan, whom the Creator had outlawed / and condemned as outcast.” (104-6) Since Grendal is part of “Cain’s clan”, Grendal’s mother was a “monsterous hell-bride” in more than just character. Finally, the dragon is, of course a fire-breathing, hoarding, greedy, giant lizard with barely any human-like characteristics.
In Faerie Queene, the monsters do not pose much of a threat against humanity as a whole and are, instead, a series of obstacles Redcrosse has to overcome. They are cunning and intend to corrupt the honorable knight and his pure lady as much as they wish to destroy them. The first monster was “Halfe like a serpent horribly displaide, / but th’ other halfe did womans shape retain” (Canto 1, 124-5) and did not have a name. Instead she was linked to the Catholic Church as described in verse 177: “Her vomit full of bookes and papers was,” as are the other monsters within the book. She was the least deceiving of the monsters in the whole book (from what I’ve seen) as the Catholic Church is also manifested as a monk who persuades Morpheus, god of sleep, to corrupt Redcrosse with indecent dreams of his lady.
In Othello the monster is not a single person, although you could say that Iago is most likely to fit the monster concept. Othello, the “hero”, could also be considered the monster as he kills his own love. However, the true monster is the seed of jealousy that resides in every human being. This “green-eyed monster, which doth mock / The meat it feeds on.” cannot be killed physically and is a constant source of misfortune, sin, and wrongdoing. Thus, the true monster is never killed in this story.
In 17th century holy sonnet number 9, the speaker refers to the monster is that which is inside us: “Why should intent or reason, born in me, / Make sins, else equal, in me more heinous?” (5-6) Previously he mentioned the apple and snake seen in Genisis as things more worth the term monster than what humanity has become.
Category II – Option D
Sonnet 130 seems the most interesting of the sonnets you assigned. As I read the poem, I got the impression of a man looking through a mound of poetry in the hope of finding one that accurately describes the woman he loves. This coincides with verses 1-8 as he compares the appearance of his mistress to that commonly found in poetry describing women. As the poem continues, his tone becomes one of incredulity at the high bar poetry has forced women to conform to. Indeed, in verse 9 he adds, “I love to hear her speak”, which starts to infuse the thought that his mistress does not need perfect beauty for him to love her. Further, in verse 11 and, especially, verse 12 he mocks the thought that a woman must be otherworldly in order for him to love her. After searching through flowery words, he concludes, “And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare / As any she belied with false compare,” since he has not found what he was looking for. Additionally, the last two verses finish the transformation from comparison of his mistress to poetry to comparison of the love he has for his mistress to the fake love written of in flowery poetry.
Required Question
The text I had the strongest emotional reaction to was Sonnet 93 as it describes what I have long thought the three men that have fallen in love with me have felt. “So shall I live supposing thou art true, / Like a deceived husband; so love’s face / May still seem love to me, though altered new— / Thy looks with me, thy heart in other place.“ (1-4) The speaker first uses metaphor to compare his woman’s faltering love to that of a cheating wife. At first, I deceived myself in believing that it was love I felt. I was inexperienced, confused, and eager to please and help others. I am still one to help for little gain, but I digress. Months passed by and I was still in love but I started to doubt myself. It was in my nature to seek time alone and even to disappear for days at a time. Unfortunately, the men I fell for were the clinging type and it worried me that I wasn’t feeling the same way they were.
Thus my uneasiness grew, although there wasn’t a tangible difference as portrayed in the next lines: “For there can live no hatred in thine eye; / Therefore in that I cannot know thy change. (5-6). I never hated them, but I did start to hate myself. I wanted to know what was so wrong with me that I could not show the same devotion as they did to me. After a while they started to suspect that I was having doubts: “In many’s looks and false heart’s history / Is writ in moods and frowns and wrinkles strange;” (7-8) I would suddenly have sour moods and push them away. However, I kept my feelings to myself and when they asked me what was wrong; I lied and told them naught.
“But heaven in thy creation did decree / That in thy face sweet love should ever dwell; / Whate’er thy thoughts or thy heart’s workings be, / Thy looks should nothing thence but sweetness tell.” (9 – 12) To this day, I still believe that they love me and that I have done them wrong. Many times I have thought of myself as a bane to man as shown in the last verse’s visuals: “How Eve’s apple doth thy beauty grow / If thy sweet virtue answer not thy show!”(13-14). It is always I that breaks up with them. There is also the visual of grass on the other side. They cannot be with me anymore and it takes them a long while for them to get over it. I am not saying that I am unique in this respect, but I do not know much about relationships nor had many friends growing up. Furthermore, I’m usually not one to talk about my feelings readily and I doubt if I have any true friends. Fortunately, I don’t mind it.
The monster is something that is present in every work of literature we make. Over the years, it has evolved and become more abstract: more of a concept than a physical thing. I believe the reason for this is that, in our gradual dominance over earth, we have all but eliminated the natural enemies that once plagued us. Without a common enemy to focus on, we turn inward, battling inner demons. The monster becomes more cunning, something intangible and often imperceptible. Thus, there is a perceptible change between Beowulf, Faerie Queene, Shakespeare’s Othello, and Holy Sonnet 9.
In Beowulf, the monster is obviously Grendal, his mother, and the dragon. They are physical creatures with an insatiable hunger that mere humans cannot reason with. They are also completely separate monsters with different reasons for fighting Beowulf. As described in the text, Grendal, “nursed a hard grievance. It harrowed him / to hear the din of the loud banquet / every day in the hall.” (87-9). The text further described the kinds of sounds being made, which give the impression that Grendal found not just the loudness of the noise offensive, but also the mention of god. He holds no personal grudge against Beowulf, as he was not there, but more against humanity as a whole. Grendal’s mother, however, had a personal grudge against Beowulf’s band of heros as shown in the following: “his mother / had sallied forth on a savage journey, / grief-racked and ravenous, desperate for revenge.” (1276-8). Finally, the dragon was “moved into a wrath” (2222) by “a slave / fleeing the heavy hand of some master,” (2223 – 2224) so it was not a personal attack against Beowulf, but it was Beowulf’s duty as king to protect his people. However, they are all definitely monsters and leave no conceptual gray areas to dwell on. Grendal “dwelt for a time in misery among the banished monsters, / Cain’s clan, whom the Creator had outlawed / and condemned as outcast.” (104-6) Since Grendal is part of “Cain’s clan”, Grendal’s mother was a “monsterous hell-bride” in more than just character. Finally, the dragon is, of course a fire-breathing, hoarding, greedy, giant lizard with barely any human-like characteristics.
In Faerie Queene, the monsters do not pose much of a threat against humanity as a whole and are, instead, a series of obstacles Redcrosse has to overcome. They are cunning and intend to corrupt the honorable knight and his pure lady as much as they wish to destroy them. The first monster was “Halfe like a serpent horribly displaide, / but th’ other halfe did womans shape retain” (Canto 1, 124-5) and did not have a name. Instead she was linked to the Catholic Church as described in verse 177: “Her vomit full of bookes and papers was,” as are the other monsters within the book. She was the least deceiving of the monsters in the whole book (from what I’ve seen) as the Catholic Church is also manifested as a monk who persuades Morpheus, god of sleep, to corrupt Redcrosse with indecent dreams of his lady.
In Othello the monster is not a single person, although you could say that Iago is most likely to fit the monster concept. Othello, the “hero”, could also be considered the monster as he kills his own love. However, the true monster is the seed of jealousy that resides in every human being. This “green-eyed monster, which doth mock / The meat it feeds on.” cannot be killed physically and is a constant source of misfortune, sin, and wrongdoing. Thus, the true monster is never killed in this story.
In 17th century holy sonnet number 9, the speaker refers to the monster is that which is inside us: “Why should intent or reason, born in me, / Make sins, else equal, in me more heinous?” (5-6) Previously he mentioned the apple and snake seen in Genisis as things more worth the term monster than what humanity has become.
Category II – Option D
Sonnet 130 seems the most interesting of the sonnets you assigned. As I read the poem, I got the impression of a man looking through a mound of poetry in the hope of finding one that accurately describes the woman he loves. This coincides with verses 1-8 as he compares the appearance of his mistress to that commonly found in poetry describing women. As the poem continues, his tone becomes one of incredulity at the high bar poetry has forced women to conform to. Indeed, in verse 9 he adds, “I love to hear her speak”, which starts to infuse the thought that his mistress does not need perfect beauty for him to love her. Further, in verse 11 and, especially, verse 12 he mocks the thought that a woman must be otherworldly in order for him to love her. After searching through flowery words, he concludes, “And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare / As any she belied with false compare,” since he has not found what he was looking for. Additionally, the last two verses finish the transformation from comparison of his mistress to poetry to comparison of the love he has for his mistress to the fake love written of in flowery poetry.
Required Question
The text I had the strongest emotional reaction to was Sonnet 93 as it describes what I have long thought the three men that have fallen in love with me have felt. “So shall I live supposing thou art true, / Like a deceived husband; so love’s face / May still seem love to me, though altered new— / Thy looks with me, thy heart in other place.“ (1-4) The speaker first uses metaphor to compare his woman’s faltering love to that of a cheating wife. At first, I deceived myself in believing that it was love I felt. I was inexperienced, confused, and eager to please and help others. I am still one to help for little gain, but I digress. Months passed by and I was still in love but I started to doubt myself. It was in my nature to seek time alone and even to disappear for days at a time. Unfortunately, the men I fell for were the clinging type and it worried me that I wasn’t feeling the same way they were.
Thus my uneasiness grew, although there wasn’t a tangible difference as portrayed in the next lines: “For there can live no hatred in thine eye; / Therefore in that I cannot know thy change. (5-6). I never hated them, but I did start to hate myself. I wanted to know what was so wrong with me that I could not show the same devotion as they did to me. After a while they started to suspect that I was having doubts: “In many’s looks and false heart’s history / Is writ in moods and frowns and wrinkles strange;” (7-8) I would suddenly have sour moods and push them away. However, I kept my feelings to myself and when they asked me what was wrong; I lied and told them naught.
“But heaven in thy creation did decree / That in thy face sweet love should ever dwell; / Whate’er thy thoughts or thy heart’s workings be, / Thy looks should nothing thence but sweetness tell.” (9 – 12) To this day, I still believe that they love me and that I have done them wrong. Many times I have thought of myself as a bane to man as shown in the last verse’s visuals: “How Eve’s apple doth thy beauty grow / If thy sweet virtue answer not thy show!”(13-14). It is always I that breaks up with them. There is also the visual of grass on the other side. They cannot be with me anymore and it takes them a long while for them to get over it. I am not saying that I am unique in this respect, but I do not know much about relationships nor had many friends growing up. Furthermore, I’m usually not one to talk about my feelings readily and I doubt if I have any true friends. Fortunately, I don’t mind it.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Reflection 5
The first definition for protagonist in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary reads, “the principal character in a literary work (as a drama or story)” and the second: “a leading actor, character, or participant in a literary work or real event.” Thus Iago is, in my opinion, the true main character and protagonist in this play. Who says the leading role has to be one of a hero? Alternatively, if it must, who is to say what the true hero is? In many stories, the hero gets away with many things, including murder. His actions are justified by reasons or the hope that his actions will benefit all of humanity. Indeed, many the so-called “hero” would end up in prison if tried in court of law.
Furthermore, the justification of Iago’s actions relates to how much reasoning is needed to absolve him of being a “bad guy”. Yes, he does admit that, “Hell and night / Must bring this monstrous birth to the world’s light.” (1.3.394-5) However, is he admitting that his plan is large or that it is evil? In my opinion, he believed that he was working for the greater good of the war as Othello’s choice in a lieutenant showed that he was corrupted. Indeed he states, “Why, there’s no remedy. ‘Tis the curse of service. / Preferment goes by letter and affection, / And not by old gradation, where each second / Stood heir to th’ first. Now sir, be judge yourself, / To love the Moor.” (1.1.37-41)
In my opinion, the modern film was morally debasing and uncouth in comparison to the actual play. For example, the music was horrible (although I may be slightly biased as I find rap music repulsive) and the acts committed were illegal, unlike those in the play. O and Desi were probably both underage as well as unwedded during the sex scene, unlike in the play where they were both of age and wedded. Near the end of the modern movie, O was sniffing cocaine while Othello had done no such thing. Hugo also got Mike, who was underage, drunk. This was also done in the play, but it was neither illegal nor frowned upon until Michael Cassio started fighting under its influence.
I also found the play to be more comedic than the modern movie as I was smiling more by the time we ended it (also hoping that we will see the rest of it in class today). The text, which was dry upon paper, came to life rather well in the film as the actors were more convincing and experienced. Although they were dressed and spoke for a different era, I believe the play related better to the adult world around us. Yes, the modern version had a more relatable context, but it had a much narrower audience.
Furthermore, the justification of Iago’s actions relates to how much reasoning is needed to absolve him of being a “bad guy”. Yes, he does admit that, “Hell and night / Must bring this monstrous birth to the world’s light.” (1.3.394-5) However, is he admitting that his plan is large or that it is evil? In my opinion, he believed that he was working for the greater good of the war as Othello’s choice in a lieutenant showed that he was corrupted. Indeed he states, “Why, there’s no remedy. ‘Tis the curse of service. / Preferment goes by letter and affection, / And not by old gradation, where each second / Stood heir to th’ first. Now sir, be judge yourself, / To love the Moor.” (1.1.37-41)
In my opinion, the modern film was morally debasing and uncouth in comparison to the actual play. For example, the music was horrible (although I may be slightly biased as I find rap music repulsive) and the acts committed were illegal, unlike those in the play. O and Desi were probably both underage as well as unwedded during the sex scene, unlike in the play where they were both of age and wedded. Near the end of the modern movie, O was sniffing cocaine while Othello had done no such thing. Hugo also got Mike, who was underage, drunk. This was also done in the play, but it was neither illegal nor frowned upon until Michael Cassio started fighting under its influence.
I also found the play to be more comedic than the modern movie as I was smiling more by the time we ended it (also hoping that we will see the rest of it in class today). The text, which was dry upon paper, came to life rather well in the film as the actors were more convincing and experienced. Although they were dressed and spoke for a different era, I believe the play related better to the adult world around us. Yes, the modern version had a more relatable context, but it had a much narrower audience.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Reflection 3 & 4
The monster is something is present in every work of literature we make. Over the years, it has evolved and become more abstract: more of a concept than a physical thing. I believe the reason for this is that, in our gradual dominance over the earth, we have all but eliminated the natural enemies that once plagued us. Without a common enemy to focus on, we turn inward, battling inner demons. The monster becomes more cunning, something intangible and often imperceptible. Thus, there is a perceptible change between Beowulf, the Faerie Queene, and Othello.
In Beowulf, the monster is obviously Grendal, his mother, and the dragon. They are physical creatures with an insatiable hunger that mere humans cannot reason with. They are completely separate monsters with different reasons for fighting Beowulf. However, they are all definitely monsters and leave no conceptual gray areas to dwell on. The destruction of the monsters is only a small part of the whole poem as most of it describes the amount of preparation Beowulf and his people have to undergo before they can even fight the monster.
Like Beowulf, the “monsters” in Faerie Queene are obviously black in contrast to the white of the hero. However, the monsters are cunning and intend to corrupt the pure knight and his pure lady as much as they do destroy. Each physical monster is killed, but the concept behind the monster (the Catholic Church) is not. Thus, the “monster” lives on.
Finally, the monster in Othello is not a single person, although you could say that Iago is most likely to fit the monster concept. Othello, the hero, could also be considered the monster as he kills his own love because of the jealousy fostered by Iago. In fact, this story displays the monster that resides in every one of us. You cannot kill this monster, as it is a constant source of misfortune, sin, and wrongdoing. Thus the monster is never killed in this story. Because of this, I consider this type of monster the most serious and most intimidating of them all. To fight the monster you must admit the wrongness present in yourself and step out of yourself (in mind only, of course) to see the big picture.
In Beowulf, the monster is obviously Grendal, his mother, and the dragon. They are physical creatures with an insatiable hunger that mere humans cannot reason with. They are completely separate monsters with different reasons for fighting Beowulf. However, they are all definitely monsters and leave no conceptual gray areas to dwell on. The destruction of the monsters is only a small part of the whole poem as most of it describes the amount of preparation Beowulf and his people have to undergo before they can even fight the monster.
Like Beowulf, the “monsters” in Faerie Queene are obviously black in contrast to the white of the hero. However, the monsters are cunning and intend to corrupt the pure knight and his pure lady as much as they do destroy. Each physical monster is killed, but the concept behind the monster (the Catholic Church) is not. Thus, the “monster” lives on.
Finally, the monster in Othello is not a single person, although you could say that Iago is most likely to fit the monster concept. Othello, the hero, could also be considered the monster as he kills his own love because of the jealousy fostered by Iago. In fact, this story displays the monster that resides in every one of us. You cannot kill this monster, as it is a constant source of misfortune, sin, and wrongdoing. Thus the monster is never killed in this story. Because of this, I consider this type of monster the most serious and most intimidating of them all. To fight the monster you must admit the wrongness present in yourself and step out of yourself (in mind only, of course) to see the big picture.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Reflection 2
Sonnet 130 seems the most interesting of the sonnets you assigned. As I read the poem, I got the impression of a man looking through a mound of poetry in the hope of finding one that accurately describes the woman he loves. This coincides with verses 1-8 as he compares the appearance of his mistress to that commonly found in poetry describing women. As the poem continues, his tone becomes one of incredulity at the high bar poetry has forced women to conform to. Indeed, in verse 9 he adds, “I love to hear her speak”, which starts to infuse the thought that his mistress does not need perfect beauty for him to love her. Further, in verse 11 and, especially, in verse 12 as he mocks the thought that a woman must be otherworldly in order for him to love her. After searching through flowery words, he concludes that his love must be rare, since he has not found what he was looking for. Additionally, the last two verses finish the transformation from comparison of his mistress to poetry to comparison of the love he has for his mistress to the fake love written of in flowery poetry.
I found this intriguing because this concept continues on today with the advent of photoshoped images, weight-loss diets, and fast-working complexion enhancers. Many young girls have made themselves ill and even died because they were chasing after a false beauty they could never attain. The rare love has become even rarer because there are now more believable descriptions of the perfect woman. The most relied upon sense is sight, so the most powerful medium is images: be they still or moving. Since images can now be faked just as easily as text, honest love has been buried by the “Say what she wants to hear.” mentality.
What caught my attention the most last Wednesday was that others dislike driving as much as I do, if not more. I still do not have my driver’s license since I would rather carpool, saving money, than drive myself somewhere. Compounding my dislike of driving is the routine I have fallen into as I consistently avoid driving. It would take me ten or more minutes after I got in the car to realize that I “wanted” to drive today. Further complicating matters, my permit expired a few months ago and it will more than likely be embarrassing to go into the secretary of states office and get a new one. Thus, it has become difficult to get a permit in order to practice driving, let alone find the opportunity to drive. Unfortunately, my lack of a license means that I cannot move out of the house by myself as I live out in the country. This also means that job opportunities are limited and the possibility of traveling outside of the state, let alone America, rather impossible.
I found this intriguing because this concept continues on today with the advent of photoshoped images, weight-loss diets, and fast-working complexion enhancers. Many young girls have made themselves ill and even died because they were chasing after a false beauty they could never attain. The rare love has become even rarer because there are now more believable descriptions of the perfect woman. The most relied upon sense is sight, so the most powerful medium is images: be they still or moving. Since images can now be faked just as easily as text, honest love has been buried by the “Say what she wants to hear.” mentality.
What caught my attention the most last Wednesday was that others dislike driving as much as I do, if not more. I still do not have my driver’s license since I would rather carpool, saving money, than drive myself somewhere. Compounding my dislike of driving is the routine I have fallen into as I consistently avoid driving. It would take me ten or more minutes after I got in the car to realize that I “wanted” to drive today. Further complicating matters, my permit expired a few months ago and it will more than likely be embarrassing to go into the secretary of states office and get a new one. Thus, it has become difficult to get a permit in order to practice driving, let alone find the opportunity to drive. Unfortunately, my lack of a license means that I cannot move out of the house by myself as I live out in the country. This also means that job opportunities are limited and the possibility of traveling outside of the state, let alone America, rather impossible.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Reflection 1
The author of Beowulf mentions many of the values of an epic Anglo-Saxon story. The building of Hrothgar’s great hall, Heorot, is but one example of the generosity displayed by the Danes, Geats, and Swedes throughout the story within and between their peoples. “it would be his throne-room and there he would dispense / his God-given goods to young and old— / but not the common land or peoples’ lives.” (71 – 3) Of course, a promise does not guarantee his generosity, so the poet further explained: “Nor did he renege, but dole out rings / and torques at the table.” (80 – 2) An example of generosity between the Danes and Swedes could perhaps be “…a daughter, I have heard, who was Onela’s queen, / a balm in the bed to the battle-scarred Swede.” (62 – 3) The reasoning behind this is that it has been common throughout history for two great houses to arrange a marriage in order to keep peace and instill kinship.
Bravery is also a heavily used value in Beowulf as the hero describes his mindset as thus: “It is always better / to avenge dear ones than to indulge in mourning, / for every one of us, living in this world / means waiting for our end. Let whoever can / win glory before death. When a warrior is gone, / that will be his best and only bulwark.” (1384 – 9) In other words, he would rather die fighting in vengeance than an old man’s death morning those he lost. This did not mean he did not fear, but that he could overcome his fear to defend his kin. “No easy bargain / would be made in that place by any man. / The veteran king sat down on the cliff-top. / He wished good luck to the Geats who had shared / his hearth and his gold. He was sad at heart, / unsettled yet ready, sensing his death. / His fate hovered near, unknowable but certain.” (2415 – 21)
The death of Beowulf served as an epic sacrifice, as portrayed in Wiglaf’s thoughts. “It was hard then on the young hero, / having to watch the one he held so dear / there on the ground, going through / his death agony. The dragon from underearth, / his nightmarish destroyer, lay destroyed as well, / utterly without life.” (2821 – 6) This sacrifice also provides wealth for the Geats, as mentioned in the following: “The treasure had been won, / bought and paid for by Beowulf’s death.” (2843 – 4) Furthermore, the wealth is much needed, as there is no great hero to take up the mantle of Beowulf. Hence, the sacrifice has value and meaning.
Bravery is also a heavily used value in Beowulf as the hero describes his mindset as thus: “It is always better / to avenge dear ones than to indulge in mourning, / for every one of us, living in this world / means waiting for our end. Let whoever can / win glory before death. When a warrior is gone, / that will be his best and only bulwark.” (1384 – 9) In other words, he would rather die fighting in vengeance than an old man’s death morning those he lost. This did not mean he did not fear, but that he could overcome his fear to defend his kin. “No easy bargain / would be made in that place by any man. / The veteran king sat down on the cliff-top. / He wished good luck to the Geats who had shared / his hearth and his gold. He was sad at heart, / unsettled yet ready, sensing his death. / His fate hovered near, unknowable but certain.” (2415 – 21)
The death of Beowulf served as an epic sacrifice, as portrayed in Wiglaf’s thoughts. “It was hard then on the young hero, / having to watch the one he held so dear / there on the ground, going through / his death agony. The dragon from underearth, / his nightmarish destroyer, lay destroyed as well, / utterly without life.” (2821 – 6) This sacrifice also provides wealth for the Geats, as mentioned in the following: “The treasure had been won, / bought and paid for by Beowulf’s death.” (2843 – 4) Furthermore, the wealth is much needed, as there is no great hero to take up the mantle of Beowulf. Hence, the sacrifice has value and meaning.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Concepts
| Direction | Element | Color | Biome |
|---|---|---|---|
| East | Air | Yellow | Steppe |
| South | Fire | Red | Desert |
| West | Water | Blue | Marine |
| North | Earth | Green | Forest |
| Center | Spirit | Purple | Civilization |
Combinations
Southeast = Savanna
Southwest = Rainforest
Northwest = Swamp
Northeast = Tundra
Places
Atlantis -Situated at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Atlantis is the capital of the Aquarian people. At this current age, however, the Atlantic Sea is much smaller than it was originally and few Aquarians actually live there. Many have found new homes in the Pacific Ocean.Mauna Loa - a very large, active volcano where Hawaii once was. Draconic people reside here as well as in many of the active volcanoes found in the ring of fire.
Haven - a city orbiting Earth, Haven is home to a group of humans who left to start a new life above Earth a century after the Cleansing. This human relic is now mostly devoid of life as other worlds were colonized.
Everest - The tallest mountain in the world is now much taller. The avian-human population mostly lives here.
The Commons - In the center of the unified landmass lies a group of mini-cities in which all races converge to instill peace and harmony.
The Underground - a large series of tunnels that many different intelligent beings use to get away from the light of day
Wastelands - Now nuked land that is now a vast desert, only races hardy enough to survive live here. The most notable are the lizard people of the desert.
Races/Species
HumansMost of the unchanged humans live in Japan. Some have developed mental powers (ESP), but they otherwise look the same as pre-cleansing. There are now few racial discrepancies between humans and all that live in Japan and Haven are of Asian descent somewhere down the line and speak Japanese. No mutated humans exist in Japan because they had long ago found a cure to undesired mutations.
Mutants
Those who cannot endure the sunlight retreated to The Underground with the rest of the light-sensitive beings. Most just look odd and disfigured, but some were lucky and the mutations improved their looks instead. All mutant DNA is constantly changing, but at different rates depending on age, metabolism, environment, and health. Scientists all over the world had secret projects starting from the 20th century until the day of cleansing. All of the experiments now are in Japan where there is advanced enough technology to mesh human DNA with that of animals.
Halfling
A stable mutation that had been occurring pre-Cleansing, all Halflings are half the normal height of humans. Most live in tunnels close to the surface and some live in The Commons. Most Halflings are afraid of heights and falling. Some humans mistakenly call them Hobbits.
Ogre
Basically humans that suffered the “hulk” mutation, Ogres are slow not just physically, but mentally as well. Like the Halflings this mutation is very stable, much like their mountain-like resistance to being moved. They also don’t seem to know about good hygiene either since you can smell one from miles away.
Orc
Like Ogres, Orcs suffer the “hulk” mutation. Unlike the Ogres, however, they are intelligent enough to bathe every now and then. They see Ogres as their slower cousins and take great pains to keep them out of trouble.
Hybrids
Prior to the cleansing, scientists had been working on creating animal/human hybrids. The hybrids that survived were, obviously, sexually compatible with humans and other hybrids. Otherwise they would have died out long ago. The successful hybrids include avian, reptilian, lycan, feline, and marine.
Elves
To date there are only five mutated elves. Only one of the five lives among the pure elves, as they are ashamed of their distorted appearances. Like human mutants, their DNA is constantly changing. However, the rate of change is much slower and they have a higher rate of gaining abilities.
Animals
It is quite rare to find a pre-cleansing animal so each one that is found is cherished and prized highly.
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