I can work it out!

The past couple weeks have been a little bit hectic in terms of homework.
It was one of those unfortunate yet, strangely common scenarios where almost every one of your teachers managed to collaborate, so that all the due-dates for your major projects all manage to fall on the same week and your forced to scramble to get everything together, last minute.

But now that all of thats behind me, I decide that before my triumphant return to behind the gaming controller, I should take the time to write to my readers in regards to my whereabouts. With that, I leave you with my song choice for the week which is "We Can Work It Out" by The Beatles. This may seam to have come out of the left field, but I was thinking that maybe giving my pick for one of my favorite songs every once in a while could make for interesting blog entries, and could maybe  even become a regular thing.

The song can be found here, if your interested!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jlXnQEgbuw.

Thanks for reading my Blog Entry for today,
and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend~! 

Who Killed Julliet?

As the title proclaims, in today's blog-post we will be discussing who killed Juliet in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Now, I know what some of you might be thinking: "But Troy, Juliet wasn't killed by anyone because she committed suicide!" That may be true, but although Juliet was never directly killed by anyone, doesn't mean that someone wasn't indirectly responsible for her death!

The person I believe is indirectly responsible for Juliet's death is her father, Lord Capulet.
The reasoning behind my choice is that Lord Capulet was forcing Juliet into a marriage with Paris; a marriage she was greatly against because she had already made a commitment to Romeo. She has a huge argument with her father regarding the subject and, eventually the debate gets to the point where it became violent and threatening, and her father even told her to "do as he says or he will leave her to die in the streets." So, in response, she chose death over her father's orders.

In conclusion, Lord Capulet influenced Juliet's decision to commit suicide because he backed her into a corner when he told her it was either marry Paris, or die. Frightened and depressed, she chose death over the marriage.

Now, goodnight everyone!

Romeo and Juliet: Love?

   March break is over already...  )':
I think that march break should be extended to two weeks; one week just flies by far two quickly!
But regardless, thats enough ranting, in today's blog entry, we will be discussing even more quotations from the famous Shakespearean play, Romeo and Juliet.

"Alas poor Romeo! he is already dead; stabbed with a white wench's 
black eye; shot through the ear with a love-song; the very pin of
his heart cleft with the blind bow-boy's butt-shaft" -Mercutio, ActII Scene IV 

  
   This quotation expresses the concept of Love vs Lust because it is basically saying, that Juliet posses great power over Romeo's heart and that he would do anything for her, without thinking; he has been brainwashed by her love. It may sound romantic, but can their relationship really be classified as true love?

In my opinion this can't be considered true love, and falls more along the lines of lust. Romeo is willing to do anything for Juliet, but I wouldn't call this submissive behavior love because his reasons for doing so are more along the lines of infatuation, in that they aren't well justified; throughout the play he talks about how much he loves Juliet but, not once did he ever explain why. You see, my definition of  true love involves loving someone for they're character and personality traits, and not just how they look on the outside. Romeo doesn't know Juliet, and they were only united based on the skin deep first impressions that they had of each other.

Now that concludes our blog entry for today and, as always, I hoped you enjoyed it!
Good night every one~! :)

Rhetorical Devices in Romeo and Juliet

At long last, March break is finally here! I'm so excited for a nice relaxing vacation, and It looks like this is just what I need to help break up my busy schedule! Get it? Break, as in, march break; it's a pun! 

A pun, as I have demonstrated, is "a play on words with the same sound but with different meanings," and is a type of Rhetorical device. Speaking of which today, we will be discussing the use of Rhetorical devices in the legendary play, Romeo and Juliet.

The Rhetorical device I would like to discuss today is known as a metaphor, which is defined as a comparison between two nouns without the use of the words like or as. Take for example the quotation "He is the east, and Juliet is the sun." This quotation is an example of a metaphor because it compares Juliet to the sun and, Romeo to the east, without using like or as.  To analyze this quotation even further, since Juliet is the Sun and Romeo is the east, it might be implying that they were destined to meet, as the sun is always destined to set in the east. 

On the other hand, there is also a Rhetorical device known as a Simile. A simile is like a metaphor, as it does make comparisons between to nouns however, it does so with the use of like or as. As a result, similes sound less aggressive than metaphors and much more suggestive; rather than stating that something is something else, it only implies that it is like something else instead. This is the reason I think similes aren't as common as metaphors in Shakespearean literature; since metaphors are much more aggressive than similes they make the writing feel a lot more passionate as a result.

Well, I hope you all enjoyed reading my newest blog entry

and I hope you all have a wonderful march break!! : D

Shakespearean Literature

Life isn't exactly fair but, thankfully, in today's day and age,  most countries have established a consistent set of human rights like, take for example, the right to an education. Can you imagine living your life without any rights; you might feel powerless and insignificant. You might even feel oppressed, having to constantly live your life while abiding to a higher force of power. In other words, you might  feel very similar to how the women of the 1590s might have felt.

Now, for those of you who aren't familiar with Shakespearean literature, the mid 1590s was when Shakespeare's well known play, "Romeo and Juliet," was written. At the time, the rights of women were pretty much nonexistent and, as a result, this was reflected in Shakespeare's writing; an example of which, would be how the majority of the female cast in Romeo and Juliet are virtually powerless, in comparison to the male cast, with very little influence regarding important decisions. Now, there have been many debates regarding the sexism in Shakespeare's plays; some think that the exploitation of the issue of sexism was strictly for comedic value, while others think that the plays accurately reflect Shakespeare's mindset, in regards to the rights of women.

Now, what do you think?

 Is Shakespearean literature evidence enough that Shakespeare might not have respected the rights of women or, are they simply a parody of how women were treated at the time?

 Post your thoughts in a comment, below!

I hope you all enjoyed reading my second blog entry,

and I hope you all have a good weekend!

Poem Analysis

Today was an unusually warm day, especially for a Canadian Winter. Normally, I'm the kind of person of prefers their winters to be chilly, with lots of snow, but I suppose today was a nice change of pace. Now, thats enough of the casual chit because today I will be writing my first ever blog entry so, with out further a due, let's get down to business!

                        

 Today's Topic is a poem called "Knock Knock" by Daniel Beaty. This poem is about a young, African American boy, whose father was taken away from him to work in the corn fields, as a slave. As a result, The boy is forced to learn how to grow up, and become a man, all on his own. Throughout the poem,  the key phrase "knock knock" reoccurs and changes in definition from start to end; at the beginning of the poem it referred to the game that the boy and his father used to play together and by the end of the poem, it gains a much deeper meaning, and is used as a metaphor for "knock knocking" down difficult barriers in life.

This poem can be related back to Kathryn Stockett's "The help." During the climax of the book, Aibileen, the family maid, is fired and is forced to leave the child she's been raising; Mae Mobley. Aibileen has been a very motherly towards Mae Mobley and in response, she has grown very fond of her, and even idolizes her. This relates back to the poem because, because Mae Mobley's idolized person, Aibileen, was taken away from her, leaving her to mature and overcome obstacles in life, all on her own, much like how the boy was forced to grow up without his father.

If you want to watch Daniel Beaty perform this poem, on stage, click the link below!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eYH0AFx6yI

 Good Night Everyone, and I hope you enjoyed reading my first ever blog entry!