Macbeth LRJ #1

Natalie Mironov

Ms. Peifer

English 10 IB, Hr 4

23 February 2009

Macbeth: Act 1

Initially Macbeth comes off as a very conflicted character. He is torn between goodness and power. When he hears of the prophecy, Macbeth thinks, "If good, why do I yield to that suggestion whose horrid image doth unfix my hair... My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, shakes so my single state of man" (1.3.47-153). This is showing how his mind immediately jumps to the way to achieve power, through murder, but then regrets it because his conscience kicks in and makes him realize that isn't right. This also shows his potential to be evil since the first thing that comes to his mind is to murder the Thane. Lady Macbeth, on the other hand, is very strong, ambitious, and influential. She has a lot of power over Macbeth and is able to push him to do what she wants through things such as questioning his manhood. She says, "When you durst do it, then you were a man" (1.7.56), implying that if he is not able to murder Duncan he is too cowardly to be a man. She also is very power hungry and creates an entire plan for the murder of Duncan. She tells Macbeth they will frame the guards to "bear the guilt of our great quell" (1.7.81-82). Unlike Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, Banquo is a more innocent character and seems to think things all the way through better. When Macbeth asks him if he wants his children to be kings, Banquo replies, "That, trusted home, might yet enkindle you unto the crown, besides the Thane of Cawdor. But 'tis strange. And oftentimes, to win us to our harm, the instruments of darkness tell us truths, win us with honest trifles, to betray 's in deepest consequence" (1.3.131-137). This is talking about how trying to get this could lead to bad things that one wouldn't want to do and could still get without having to do anything bad. It shows Banquo's intelligence and goodness as opposed to Macbeth's murderous thoughts.

The theme in this act is power and ambition as well as gender roles. This power and ambition is displayed by Macbeth after hearing of the prophecy because his thought immediately go to murder. Lady Macbeth shows that ambition is important when she says, "Though wouldst be great, art not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it" (1.5.18-20). This is saying that to be great one must be ambitious and do so ruthlessly to achieve the goals they are striving for. In this way, she thinks Macbeth should kill Duncan so he will be king and together they will gain more power. The theme of gender roles is more minor but Lady Macbeth portrays an image of men as more violent and women as gentler and more helpless. She says, "Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood" (1.5.47-50). This is saying that she wishes she were a man so she could kill Duncan herself, but being a woman, she cannot.

In this act there is also some strong imagery. An example is when Lady Macbeth is speaking to Macbeth of his promise to kill Duncan. She tells him, "I have given suck, and know how tender 'tis to love the babe that milks me. I would, while it was smiling in my face, have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums and dashed the brains out, had I so sword as you have done to this" (1.7.61-67). This image stands out so much because of the awful thought of dashing the brains of one's own baby out. It shows how hungry for power Lady Macbeth is and shows her evil side, displaying how she will do whatever it takes to achieve the power she craves.

Sonnet 116 Commentary

Natalie Mironov
Ms. Peifer
English 10 IB, Hr 4
February 23, 2009

Shakespeare's Sonnet 116

Shakespeare's purpose in Sonnet 116 is to show the reader the glory and the strength of love. He achieves this through his use of metaphors, personification, and the theme.

Shakespeare uses metaphors to say love is "an ever-fixed mark/ That looks on tempests and is never shaken" (5-6) and "the star to every wandering bark" (7). These metaphors portray love as a unwavering guide that is always looking out for people. This makes love seem like a very strong thing since it is there to support you no matter what happens.

Also present in this sonnet is personification. Shakespeare personifies time and love saying "Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks/ Within his bending sickle's compass come" (9-10). This is saying that even though time has the power to make a person's rosy lips and cheeks go away, time cannot control love. This is turn shows how great love is that it es able to resist another very strong power.

The theme of this sonnet is love and Shakespeare is trying to portray the greatness of it to the reader. He does this by saying, "Love is not love/ Which alters when it alteration finds,/ Or bends with the remember to remove" (2-4). This quote states that love isn't really love if it disappears or changes when the one who is loved does. He is saying how potent it is that changes such as these are insignificant and unimportant, and then reinstates that point by saying that it "bears it out even to the edge of doom" (12). Shakespeare's certainty of this is evident in the couplet at the end of the sonnet which says, "If this be error and upon me proved,/ I never writ, nor no man ever loved" (13-14). This ending to the sonnet shows how powerful love is because Shakespeare says that if someone proves this definition of love wrong than nobody has ever really loved because this is truly what love is, an unbelievable strong and glorious thing.

Everyman Theme

      The theme of "Everyman" is that there is more to life than appearance and material goods. The most important thing in life is to do good deeds because if a person doesn't, once everything else is gone, they will have nothing left.

      In the play after Beauty, Strength, and Discretion leave, Good-Deeds says, ,"All earthly things is but vanity:/ Beauty, Strength, and Discretion, do man forsake,/ Foolish friends and kinsmen, that fair spake,/ All fleeth save Good-Deeds" ( 14). This is saying that caring only about beauty, strength and discretion in life is vain. These attributes all disappear at some point, but if one does good deeds they will stick with the person through death and live on even in their memory.

      By hoarding these physical and material belongings people "will become much worse than beasts;/ for now one would be envy another up eat;/ Charity they all clean forget" ( 2). This quote is stating  how people can become hateful and deceiving by fighting for these things and through it they forget to do good. If people concentrated on just doing good things for themselves and others, the world would be a much better place. This is why the theme of "Everyman" is not being vain and doing good. 

Inferno Commentary

Natalie Mironov
Ms. Peifer
English 10 IB
January 9, 2009

The Inferno

"About us now in the depth of the pit we found

a painted people, weary and defeated.

Slowly, in pain, they paced it round and round.

All wore great cloaks cut to as ample a size

as those worn by the Benedictines of Cluny.

The enormous hoods were drawn over their eyes.

The outside is all dazzle, golder and fair;

the inside, lead, so heavy that Frederick's capes,

compared to these, would seem as light as air.

O weary mantle for eternity!

We turned to the left again along their course,

listening to their moans of misery,

but they moved so slowly down that barren strip,

tired by their burden, that our company

was changed at every moment of the hip.

And walking thus, I said: 'As we go on,

may it please you to look about among these people

for any whose name or history may be known.'"

(Alighieri 55-72).

This passage of The Inferno is from circle eight, bolgia six, which is about the hypocrites. The hypocrites are forced to wander endlessly wearing coats that are elegant and extravagent, yet extremely heavy. This is representative of one of Dante's main themes, symbolic retribution. The sinners must wear these coats because on the outside they will appear beautiful and holy, but underneath is the weight of all the lies and wrongdoings that the sinner must carry around forever. The passage also shows how dismal a place hell must be since it is filled with sinners of all types.

This section of the text uses literary devices such as connotation, allusion, similes, and imagery to portray hell and the punishment for hypocrisy. A sad and dejected connotation is especially present in the beginning of the passage when describing the sinners. Dante calls them a "weary and defeated" (Alighieri 56) people, stuck in a "weary mantle" (Alighieri 64) along a "barren strip" (Alighieri 67). This shows how desolate and boring a place they are in because sinners must get punished rather than rewarded.

Allusion and similes are also a key component to understanding the full meaning behind the retribution. The sinners "all wore great cloaks cut to as ample a size as those worn by the Benedictines of Cluny" (Alighieri 58-59). This is referencing the elegant robes worn by the monks in the Benedictine monastry in Cluny. By comparing the robes of the hypocrites to those of the monks, the reader understands how luxurious these cloaks actually appeared. The second allusion goes on to discuss "the inside, lead, so heavy that Frederick's capes, compared to these, would seem as light as air" (Alighieri 62-63). When it says Frederick's capes, Dante is referencing the Roman Emporer, Frederick II, who punished traitors by forcing them to wear leaden capes and placing them in boiling cauldrons. Saying the capes given to the traitors are light as air compared to the ones given the hypocrites in hell emphasizes how heavy these cloaks actually were and how awful the punishment must have been.

Visual imagery is the last important literary device used to support the gloomy atmosphere of hell where the sinners reside. "In the depth of the pit we found a painted people, weary and defeated. Slowly, in pain, they paced it round and round" (Alighieri 55-58). This gives the reader a picture of how dismal and repititious this pit of hell must be with the sinners wandering endlessly due to their hypocrisy during life.

This passage stands out because of the symbolic retribution. The punishment of the sinners is exactly that, punishment, but without being outright torture. In other pits of hell there are more physically painful retributions, but this one is important in that it makes the sinners realize their wrongdoings. The interesting part is how it's done through this weariness rather than them just being stabbed with a sword.

Works Cited

Alighieri, Dante. The Inferno. Trans. John Ciardi. London: Signet Classics, 2001.

Beowulf Commentary

Natalie Mironov
Ms. Peifer
10 IB, Hr 4
15 December 2008

Beowulf Commentary

"A light appeared and the place brightened

the way the sky does when heaven's candle

is shining clearly. He inspected the vault:

with sword held high, its hilt raised

to guard and threaten, Hygelac's thane

scouted by the wall in Grendel's wake.

Now the weapon was to prove its worth.

The warrior determined to take revenge

for every gross act Grendel had committed--

and not only for that one occasion

when he'd come to slaughter the sleeping troops,

fifteen of Hrothgar's house-guards

surprised on their benches and ruthlessly devoured,

and as many again carried away,

a brutal plunder. Beowulf in his fury

now settled that score: he saw the monster

in his resting place, war-weary and wrecked,

a lifeless corpse, a casualty

of the battle in Heorot. The body gaped

at the stroke dealt to it after death:

Beowulf cut the corpse's head off."

(Heaney 1570-1590).

The story of Beowulf is full of heroic acts and fights. This passage is about Beowulf defeating Grendel's mother and symbolizes the themes of revenge and heroism present throughout the story. Beowulf's goal was to "take revenge for every gross act Grendel had committed" (Heaney 1577-1578). Beowulf wasn't going to just sit there, he needed to be part of the action, he needed to avenge Grendel and his mother and not let all these lives be lost in vain. Another idea portrayed in this section is how evil Grendel is. "He'd come to slaughter the sleeping troops, fifteen of Hrothgar's house-guards surprised on their benches and ruthlessly devoured, and as many again carried away" (Heaney 1580-1583). Grendel murdered all these people and the fact that Beowulf is seeking revenge for all his awful deeds just proves his greatness as well as his strength and bravery. All of these portrayals are shown through the use of alliteration, imagery, and connotation.

The use of alliteration in this passage emphasizes the character of Beowulf. The line, "With sword held high, its hilt raised" (Heaney 1573) is descriptive of Beowulf. The "h" sound is gentle, yet powerful at the same time. It shows Beowulf's true character as a strong leader, but one who does it to benefit others and not just himself. Another example of alliteration is talking about Grendel's mother as "war-weary and wrecked" (Heaney 1586). The "w" sounds tired and helpless. She was fighting Beowulf as revenge for what he did to Grendel and the fact that Beowulf defeats her continues to prove his strength and how honorable he is to take on these evil beings.

Imagery plays a big part in Beowulf because with all the battles that take place it helps the reader see what is happening and understand the characters. "He saw the monster in his resting place, war-weary and wrecked, a lifeless corpse... The body gaped at the stroke dealt to it after death: Beowulf cut the corpse's head off" (Heaney 1585-1590). This is an example of imagery being used to heighten Beowulf's glory and make him seem even more incredible. Nobody would dare oppose a warrior as powerful as Beowulf. He is able to compete with even the most deadly of creatures and through this point has always been victorious.

Connotation is important in the way Grendel is portrayed. When describing Grnadel's actions the story says he "ruthlessly devoured" (Heaney 1582) men and he is "brutal" (Heaney 1584) as well as saying he came "to slaughter the sleeping troops" (Heaney 1580). These words are very harsh and full of negative connotation. Through this choice in words it doesn't give the reader a chance to question Grendel's motives it just immediately leads them to thinking how evil Grendel is and what a hero Beowulf is for avenging his awful deeds.

This passage is made up of many little things that are present throughout all of Beowulf. The themes and literary devices used provide insight into what can be expected throughout the rest of the story and really give a good understanding of the characters. In this way, the reader understands the roles of Beowulf and Grendel and how important their parts are to the story. This section is very interesting to read because of all the details provided, it weaves an interesting story even without all the background knowledge.

Works Cited

Beowulf. Trans. Seamus Heaney. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2008.

Beowulf LRJ #3

Pride and glory are often values of a warrior, and this is the case in Beowulf. Beowulf was a very proud man and was not one to ask for help. "This fight is not yours, nor is it up to any man except me to measure his strength against the monster or to prove his worth" (Heaney 2532-2535). This is an example of Beowulf being too proud to ask for help, even when it later becomes needed. Pride is a value, not just important to Beowulf, but also to the rest of society. The warrior who helped Beowulf battle the dragon said, "I would rather my body were robed in the same burning blaze as my gold-giver's body than go back home bearing arms" (Heaney 2651-2653). His image would have been hurt had he gone back to the people having let Beowulf die, and all the while standing there watching and being armed. This shows how the society valued pride and their image as warriors. Glory is the other prominent value. Glory was important to Beowulf as well as the other warriors. Glory was used to honor people in many situations, Beowulf's victories and the bravery of other soldiers. "He picked us out from the army deliberately, honoured us and judged us fit for this action, made me these lavish gifts -- and all because he considered us the best of his arms-bearing thanes" (Heaney 2638-2342). As well as something occuring after the heroic act, glory is also present as motivation. "Inspired again by the thought of glory, the war-king threw his whole strength behind a sword-stroke" (Heaney 2678-2679). This was Beowulf's last attempt at glory by trying to kill the dragon even after he was mortally wounded.

The battle with the fire-breathing dragon is different than the rest of Beowulf in many ways. For one, Beowulf was fighting a dragon instead of a creature like Grendel and Grendel's mother. Also, "That final day was the first time when Beowulf fought and fate denied him glory in battle" (Heaney 2573-2575). Beowulf was not used to not winning and "his mind was in turmoil, unaccustomed anxiety and gloom confused his brain" (Heaney 2331-2333) because "his own home, the best of the buildings, had been burnt to a cinder" (Heaney 2325-2326). This creates a sense of vulnerability that has never been present before. This final section of Beowulf gives Beowulf human qualities that the reader never knew he possessed and this is significantly different than the rest of the story. It is the first time the reader experiences Beowulf feeling emotion and being mortal.

Although the battle with the dragon brings the death of Beowulf, it is an honorable and fitting end for a hero. He died in battle, a very important thing for a warrior. Beowulf was determined to give it his all. Before setting off he said, "I shall win the gold by my courage, or else mortal combat, doom of battle, will bear your lord away" (Heaney 2535-2537), and he did just that. Beowulf's death was also honorable because even after he was wounded and knew he was dying, he never gave up. "Once again the king gathered his strength and drew a stabbing knife... He stuck it deep into the dragon's flank. Beowulf dealt it a deadly wound" (Heaney 2702-2705). This is just one example of Beowulf's strength and determination because even though he was dying he still managed to kill the dragon. That last display of courage is why Beowulf's death was a fitting end for a hero.

Beowulf LRJ #2

An important value in their society was revenge. Fighting and warfare were things that were admired and honored and revenge goes right along with them. "'Wise sir, do not grieve. It is always better to avenge dear ones than to indulge in mourning" (Heaney 1384-1385). This shows how one was expected not to mourn the death of a loved one but to immediately seek revenge. There are many other places where revenge takes place in the story but one specific instance is when Grendel's mother gets involved in the fighting. "He died in battle, paid with his life; and now this powerful other one arrives, this force for evil driven to avenge her kinsman's death" (Heaney 1337-1340). Grendel's mother wanted revenge for what Beowulf did to Grendel but the Danes wanted revenge on Grendel just as much. "The warrior determined to take revenge for every gross act Grendel had committed" (Heaney 1577-1578). This shows how large a role revenge played in people's actions. Another key value is bravery. Bravery was a very respectable attribute in their society and the men were expected to display it and face Grendel, even when they didn't stand a chance. The reader can tell how honorable it was to be brave because of how respected Beowulf was for the courage he displayed. "Beowulf got ready, donned his war-gear, indifferent to death; his mighty, hand forged, fine-webbed mail would soon meet with his menace underwater" (Heaney 1402-1404), and when he returned from battle, "His courage was proven, his glory was secure" (Heaney 1646). He showed everyone how brave a single man can be and proved to them how brave he was.

It is unrealistic when Beowulf swims to the bottom of the lake to fight Grendel's mom. "Without more ado, he dived into the heaving depths of the lake. It was the best part of a day before he could see the solid bottom" (Heaney 1494-1496). It it not possibly for a person to hold their breath for a whole day but this makes Beowulf seem even more powerful than he already is. It makes the reader feel like Beowulf is invincible and nothing can ever stop him. Beowulf's strength is another part of the story that is unrealistic. "Hygelac's kinsman kept him helplessly locked in a hand grip" (Heaney 812-813). The fact that Beowulf is strong enough to hold on to a creature this large and dangerous in itself but on top of that he is able to make "shrews split and the bone-lappings burst" (Heaney 816-817). This is not humanly possible, especially to a beast like Grendel but it gives the reader an awe of Beowulf and makes the story more entrancing with all of Beowulf's feats.

A powerful quote in Beowulf is, "The warrior determined to take revenge forevery gross act Grendel had committed -- and not only for that one occasion when he'd come to slaughter the sleeping troops, fifteen of Hrothgar's house-guards surprised on their benches and ruthlessly devoured, and as many again carried away, a brutal plunder" (Heaney 1577-1584). This is so meaningful becauseas well as making Beowulf seem very heroic in wanting to repay Grendel for what he has done, it adds to the evilness of Grendel. It makes the reader picture such a horrendous thing happening and enforces the negative feelings one has towards Grendel.