Author Archives: Michael Martello

One show I watch that contains a lot of violence in a chaotic, unregulated society is The Walking Dead. In a world without government and cops to enforce laws against violence, the show holds an “every man for himself” and “eye for an eye” way of living.

In the clip above, the scene depicts the type of Jacobean style violence similar to that in literature such as The Duchess of Malfi. In this scene, the main groups’ enemies find them at an abandoned church, ready to get revenge for causing chaos and escaping their established (and very flawed and immoral) community. At first (before this scene), the two groups acted like they could be civil friends, even though there was still skepticism about intentions. The main character group of the show was taken away their right to bear arms, and after more chaos and killing, the main group escaped their cannibalistic society only to be hunted by them again in the clip shown above.

At the 2:55 mark, the brutal violence, beating, shooting and killing commences, in a sort of vengeful “we win” attitude. However, in this particular scene, there is no two-way fighting. The main group has full control over their enemies, holding them hostage and able to do whatever they please. This relates to the some types of Jacobean style of revenge and power, with the strongest taking full control. In the Duchess of Malfi Act 5 Scene5, for instance, Bosola murders the Cardinal easily,  violently stabbing him. All the Cardinal does is scream for help instead of fighting back. It is Bosola’s way of seeking revenge for all the wrongdoings.

Similar to Jacobean drama, The Walking Dead kills off main characters, acting as a “nobody is safe” television drama. While watching this scene when it aired, I was truly unsure which side would lose and who would end up dying. Main character deaths in this show cannot come as a surprise to anyone. By whenever time the series ends, it makes me wonder if any main character will still be living, just like Jacobean drama or more specifically The Duchess of Malfi. Jacobean drama contains so much tragedy, just like The Walking Dead.

The flocks of birds have flown high and away,

a solitary cloud goes off calmly alone.

We look at each other and never get bored–

Just me and Jingting Mountain.

To me, this short, four-line Tang poem has a lot of meaning. The narrator is completely alone, but feeling serenity out in nature on the mountain.

I heard a song on TV recently that reminds me of this poem: “Ends of the Earth” by Lord Huron:

To me, the song ultimately is about traveling the big world to discover the small world inside your soul. The protagonist of the song does not seem to want to do it alone at first, but in the end, he is completely content with it.

“Ends of the Earth” immediately begins with lines connecting to being at peace with nature. The most relevant connection to the poem is between mountains: “Oh, there’s a mountain that no man has mounted / I’m gonna stand on the peak.” Both protagonists in the poem and song feel a connection to the Earth that they do not believe anyone could understand.

The song line “To the ends of the Earth, would you follow me / There’s a world that was meant for our eyes to see” simply connects the desirability to travel for both the protagonists. The lines “what good is living a life you’ve been given / If all you do is stand in once place” showcases this as well, stressing the importance of freeing your soul through travel and away from society.

The song line “Oh, there’s an island where all things are silent / I’m gonna whistle a tune” shows how the song’s protagonist finds purpose in his travel, without any boredom. In this sense, he is using his own sounds to connect himself with the Earth, able to listen to himself in the silence. This connects to the poem’s line: “We look at each other and never get bored / Just me and Jingting Mountain.” In this line of the poem, the protagonist is connecting himself through vision, with him and the mountain “looking at one another.”

The last lines in the song: “Maybe I’m headin’ to die but I’m still gonna try / I guess I’m going alone” showcase the solo travel of both protagonists. For whatever reason, both proceed their journey solo, and therefore feel a stronger connection to nature and the Earth. The poem’s last line “Just me and the Jingting Mountain” shows the peace the poem’s protagonist made with himself, his soul, and with the Earth. Neither are truly alone, since they feel such a strong connection with the Earth.

SONG LYRICS