Great Works of Literature I, Spring 2014

In the final act of the play, the inevitable violence that was so long delayed due to Hamlet’s indecisiveness, erupts in rapid fashion. All the characters start to fall one by one. People are poisoned, stabbed, and results in a major bloodbath. Finally, the themes of justice and revenge come to a conclusion when Hamlet kills Claudius. However, I found it very interesting that before all the bloodshed, Hamlet seemed peaceful and content with what was yet to happen. He seems to come to terms with death and we see the growth in his character. Hamlet shows some sympathy for Laertes, which is surprising because throughout the play, he is only obsessed with himself and his family. The death of Ophelia and his desire to obtain Laertes’s forgiveness shows that he does have a humanistic side to him.

Hamlets death is not what you would call heroic, however it is one that is not shameful either according to the morality of the play. The play comes to a close when he finally suceeds in avenging his fathers murder, however does it in the worst way possible. Everyone that he knows dies, including slowly watching his mother die knowing that hes next.

Although “Hamlet” is nothing like “The Odyssey,” in the way that there are Gods in “The Odyssey” that help the protagonist on his journey. “Hamlet” is like a “what if” story to “The Odyssey.” What if Odysseus was actually dead from the beginning, never to return home? A suitor now takes Penelope’s hand in marriage. Now with nothing to live for Telemachus sets out to revenge his father’s death. And in “The Odyssey” the person that could have killed Odysseus is a list that could itself tell its own story with each entry. The suitors being the most obvious, wanting to take Penelope’s hand in marriage. Even the Gods in “The Odyssey” could be a candidate such as Poseidon, for injuring his son, Calypso, for not staying with her. “The Odyssey” is a story of a father fighting, and “Hamlet” is a story of a son fighting for something.

Act 4 shows that Hamlet can be very cunning. He confuses Rosencrantz when he questions Hamlet about the whereabouts of Polonius body: “The body is with the king, but the king is not with the body. the king is a thing-“. Since hamlet is the only one who knows where the body is hidden , it’s as if he feels that he’s one step ahead of everyone else, which is probably why he is making all of those sarcastic remarks to the King. Moving into scene 5, Ophelia is really dramatic about her fathers death, in fact I think she is a bit too dramatic. When her drama is interrupted by the messenger, I think she took that chance to go commit suicide because there is no way that she would have continued living without her father. On the other hand she could’ve also been so anxious about her fathers death and drowned on accident.

Ophelias death is continued in scene 5 when Hamlet returns with the welcoming of her suicide/ accidental death. Following Hamlet finding out about her death, Hamlet then reveals how he really feels about Ophelia. I think that this  is only the beginning of how much drama happened in this act. Scene 2 gives more details of who got executed in the battle but I thought the lives of Hamlet and his mother should’ve been spared.

I noticed that a common element in many of the poems in “The Kokinshu” is the use of personification and metaphors. These literary elements help the reader visualize what each poem is trying to illustrate. It is not uncommon for poets to use such elements in their work because poetry is all about descriptive and metaphorical language.

I truly appreciate the way each poem is able to convey a different emotion even though they are written similarly. We can see that words are very powerful and can stimulate people in endless ways. Even though a lot of the poems have a common theme of nature, each of the poets is able to capture different aspects of it and express them in varying ways.

One poem that I really enjoyed reading was Ono no Komachi’s. You could feel the pain and suffering that she is facing, as she compares it to rootless shifting water weeds that drift away with the currents. This simile allows us to really connect with her emotions and feel what she feels.

When the demon was just about to kill the merchant, he began to recite a verse on the bottom of page 567. I believe this verse represents innocence, when the merchant killed the demons son he was unaware of it, and it happened by accident. I think that this verse means that life has two sides, a good one and a bad one. When we are happy we do not think of sadness, and when we are sad we do not feel happiness. When people lead mainly a happy life full of good, they do not tend to worry about the bad that goes on in life. And sometimes do not even think that a bad incident can occur in their lives. But when people lead a more careful or scarce life, bad incidents are not so unlikely, and copping with the effects might seem more bearable. They might seem more bearable simply because one is already prone to the damages of life. I believe this verse is also saying that bad luck strikes mostly good people. “Don’t you see that the blowing, ranging storms only the tallest of trees beset, and of the earth’s many greens and barren lots, only the ones with fruits and stones are hit”. It is common that when something unwanted occurs in ones life, one might say “why me, I do not deserve this”. Yet bad luck can fall on anyone’s side whether or not it is deserved. Anything can happen to anyone at any given time, but when we are at the prime of happiness or success the last thought that runs through our minds is destruction. The merchant is saying in this verse that life is unpredictable, one might think that they are doing everything correctly and have control of what happens in their life but in a matter of a second everything can change.

Paulina Brzostowska

Here is the clip of John Stewart’s interview with Michio Kaku, a theoretical physicist whose latest book, The Future of the Mind, discusses the power of the brain. Feel free to post a comment on this clip if you are still needing to fulfill your blog assignment.

http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/6zj4ki/michio-kaku

This is a story about two brothers and their misfortune in life. Shahzaman “found[s] his wife lying in the arms of one of the kitchen boys,” and kills “both his wife and the cook”.  When Shahrayar, his older brother, went for hunting, Shazamama, who “stayed in the palace,” saw his brother’s wife with her lover, Mas’ud. Shahzaman finds a relief in this event.  He realizes that, “everyone suffers” and, “find[s] consolation in his own affliction and forget his grief.” When Shahzaman tells his brother about their wives, they decide to go and find a person that suffers a greater misfortune than their own. It’s like a “contest” for them to see who suffers more, in order for them to win-feel better.

Its human nature, to feel a little bit better about one’s self, when hearing about others misfortune. We compare our troubles to others, exactly as Shahzaman feels better and begins eating when he sees that “he is no longer alone in his misery.”

But I wonder why is that we feel schadenfreude, which is according to Oxford Dictionary the “enjoyment of the misfortunes of others.”

As I was reading cantos 27-34 from Inferno I was shocked by those torches sinners face with in eighth circle. I found it one of brutal scenes from the hell. In this part of the circle sower of scandal and schism are punished. AS They walk as a circle they are wounded by devils continuously. Dante meets Mahomet who is a founder of Islam. He is in hell, is being punished. I found it strange because according to Quran which is holy book of Islam, he is very respected by Muslims and he is treated as a greatest in the religion, obviously he is a profit. Also, in Islam Muslims follow his footsteps.
There is also Bertan de Born in this circle. He is being punished because he advises son against his own father which is one of the worst sins. And his punishment is that his head is cut off and he carries it with his own hands. I think this is really fear or suitable punishment for him, because he makes son to go against his own father, and he is carrying his own head.

Cantos 19-26 tell about one category in hell, which is fraud. Every aspect of fraud can be defined by the vicious use of reason.

Dante describes the importance to earthly fame, to be precise, the figures of the several shades (earlier). In my opinion, he tries to refer to the afterlife as well. He thinks that someone’s glory is based on honest work. If you work hard and treat other people fairly you will have a good afterlife. This can be referred to Roman and Greek poetry, as they thought about the same scenario as well. It was all about fame. The only way to achieve glory was honest work e.g. to lead a crew over the sea or in terms of war – which would result in being remembered forever.

Another important aspect is his attack on Ulysses (Odysseus) in Canto XXVI. This strike caught my attention as he assaults one of the last heroes of Greek mythology. He places Odysseus in the Eight Circle of Hell. It was quite surprising that he decides to refer him to such a deep point in hell. He must see him as some sort of enemy, maybe an enemy of Rome. In the same breath, he might intend to remind the readers of the great Roman Empire, which he clearly admires. All of these aspects show me, that he takes Christian morals before the one from Ancient Greek, especially their values.

The first 9 lines of Canto III impressed me the most. These lines are essentially placed on the Hell gates. The inscription is literally devastating and horrifying. These words carry clear message to those who entering: “No way out”. The last line: “Abandon every hope, all you who enter”, is especially overwhelming. For those who enter the Hell as a ghost, it really means a lot. This is there their suffering begins.
Luckily for Dante, this is not applied on him as he alive. However, it adds him even more fear. As far as I have learned, Dante Alighieri was the politician at Florence. After his exile he has to find himself again in the abandonment. As Virgil suggests, he decides to go to the very bottom in order to rise again. In modern days the principal of going deep down to find the way up is still in place, sometimes.