Imagination and Narrative

The poem Kubla Khan is definitely celebrating imagination. The way Coleridge describes the images in the poem helped me as the reader to envision this place he was talking about. He describes the children of Mother Earth (gardens, rivers, etc.) full detail which enables the reader to really imagine it. I feel as though Coleridge is trying to reach out to the imagination of the audience in general due to all of the description and imagery he is using.

Since reading Shelley's poem, I was able to depict three voices. All three are describing the scene of the poem in different ways, but all relating to one another. I was kind of like the different voices that are depicting the thought process.They describe the statue of Ozymandias after it has been destroyed, and the sorrow that people are being filled with. I was left with a sense that Ozymandias was some sort of leader, considering the statue was made of him. However, the destruction of the statue lead me to believe that he did not have victory of whatever he had been leading. The tone of all three voices expresses who Ozymandias was and what he was looked upon. this poem also seem to depict power being overtaken, especially since the statue was destroyed. From the visuals we saw when the statue was demolished overseas it showed the overthrow of the government power.

Hamlet Act Two

While reading Act Two I noticed that they characters seem to be spying on each other to make the other look more immature than thine self. In scene one Polonius sends Reynaldo to Paris to spy on Laertes. With Reynaldo being only a servant he must follow the instructions of spying. But before he leaves to follow Laertes his instructions also increased so that was to also follow in public places and make Laertes look very "loose" and show his immaturity, or better his reputation (which is not what they want to happen.)

Also in scene two more spying takes place between characters. Eager to know the cause of Prince Hamlet's gloom, King Claudius employs Hamlet's former friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to observe him and report on his mad behavior. Another conspiracy of spying on Hamlet, Polonius reads King Claudius a private love letter written from Hamlet to Ophelia. Polonius suggests that love-sickness is the cause of Hamlet's insanity. The snooping advisor arranges a meeting between the lovers and plans to hide with Claudius behind a curtain to mark the encounter. Hamlet does some spying of his own. He plans to scrutinize King Claudius' face during "The Mousetrap" play to detect signs of guilt. At this point everyone is against Hamlet, especially King Claudius since he is interested in Ophelia. With Hamlet spying himself I believe there will soon be a change in sequence of events and who has an "upper hand" in these constant quarrels.

*When grading this piece can you comment on how to stay focused on a topic that may not have as much information as other topics may have. Thanks.*

Hamlet Act One

After hearing so much about this play and how good it was i was ecstatic about starting it. After reading Act One I am becoming more interested in the overall plot. One thing I found interesting, which we also discussed in class was the fact that the play starts in the midst of events that are already taking place. I found this different from the other Shakespearean plays that we have read. With the audience being introduced to the plot in the midst of events they become engrossed faster than if the mysteries were gradually brought in over the length of the play.

One detail of Act One that I repeatedly thought about was the ghost of King Hamlet. I wondered if his repeated appearances were symbolism for more than one reason in the play. One reason that I found obvious was for foreshadowing purposes, while another was for warnings of danger. one personal reason that I thought would be a reason for his appearance was that he may not have had a settled soul. Being a person who knows that in certain religions and belief systems people do stay in limbo until their soul has had complete closure and debts have been payed you that person may return to finish their tasks, I think that could be a main reason for his appearance. With the thought of foreshadowing, after he appeared the guards are warned of strange occurrences on the grounds, and since the King was in quarrel before dying, there could have been a foreshadow of Norway wanting to conquer the land. The reasoning for thinking that he could have been a warning of danger is because when his ghost was seen he was wearing a full suit of armor and those where obviously worn for battle, so that is where that symbolism came from.

The first act captured my attention from beginning to end. though I may not be able to comprehend every word the first time after reading it numerous times the meaning finally is setting in my head. Hopefully the Act Two continues with the drama, as all Shakespearean plays do.

*for grading purposes can you focus on the overall content, as well as how I tried to support my thoughts with details from the section of the play.*