Symbolism and theme

Symbolism is used by writers to help convey their theme to the reader. In Ozymandias, for example, the king's fallen statues symbolize the frailty of mankind and how time ultimately conquers all. Even the "great" King Ozymandias can't withstand time. Piercy Shelley's symbolism in this poem helps clarify the theme of time and it's affects on life to the reader. Likewise, in Andrew Marvell's poem, To His Coy Mistress, the speaker's uses hyperbolic language symbolizing his longing for the woman. The image of dew connotes how life (especially youth) is merely temporary and that it's best to submit to temptation in regards to love and pleasure. The speaker's urgency to be with her before their time runs out is the overall theme of Marvell's poem and thanks to symbolism, the theme is easily recognizable to the reader.

Setting in Hamlet and Prufrock

Setting is used ultimately to set the mood of the story. In Hamlet, a dark and foggy night set inside a medieval castle adds a sense of mystery and unease. The fog parallels to Hamlet's obscure vision of several characters including Claudius and Ophelia.  The desolate setting in Prufrock resembles his internal feelings towards life and himself: "The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes,The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes." (Lines 14-15). Fog is used once again but this time it's personified to represent a mysterious black cat. This cat also represents Prufrock's feelings towards society because the cat at one point lingers and decides whether or not to join society or to remain separate. The cat finally chooses to remain on the outside by curling up alone: "Curled once about the house, and fell asleep." (22). The setting in both Hamlet and Prufrock can either resemble what each character feels on the inside or helps indicate the mood of the story or poem before the characters are even introduced.

Characters Darcy and the Ghost

The overall plot is an important element to every story; however, there would be no plot if it wasn't for characters in stories creating conflict with one another. Pride and Prejudice, for example, wouldn't be as interesting if Darcy and Elizabeth didn't have a love-hate relationship to spark the reader's interest. In addition, Hamlet would be dull without Claudius murdering Hamlet's father and Hamlet wanting revenge. Conflict usually arises when someone acts as a catalyst and intervenes in a negative way by talking someone else into or out of doing something, thus altering the plot. In both cases the Ghost of Hamlet's father and Darcy intervene and create conflict. The ghost tells Hamlet that Claudius murdered him and he should therefore avenge his soul. Without the ghost, Hamlet would never spend the entirety of the play seeking revenge. Darcy, on the other hand, intervenes in his friend Mr. Bingley's life by insisting he not marry Jane because she is from a lower class. Once Elizabeth discovers this, she continues despising Darcy despite his devotion to her. With negative intervening comes positive intervening. Darcy redeems himself in Elizabeth's eyes by ensuring that Wickham and Lydia marry by paying for the whole event. His good deed allows for Elizabeth to fall in love with him. Another example of a character reacting to the world around him is Prufrock. His tone is melancholy throughout his dramatic monologue. He even prefers to live a life under the sea that on land in his society: "I should have been a pair of ragged claws scuttling across the floors of silent seas." Prufrock doesn't fit in and he believes life couldn't be any worse in the ocean as a crab than now. At least he could be left in solitude literally than amongst tons of people but still alone in the figurative sense. Someone like him could not get along with someone like Mrs. Bennet because she enjoys being around people since she's a product of her society.

Plot

Pride and Prejudice and Hamlet are conventional narratives that follow a chronological sequence. One of the most important elements of a narrative is the climax or turning point. The turning point in Pride and Prejudice is Elizabeth's realization that she cares deeply for Darcy and that she is just as prejudice as the people she looks down upon: "until then I never knew myself." The climax in Hamlet is when Hamlet 100% believes Claudius killed Hamlet Sr. after noticing his guilty disposition during the play "Murder of Gonzago".
Their plots differ, however, in terms of foreshadowing and introduction of characters. Shakespeare uses foreshadowing to hint at events that might happen later on in the play. Marcellus's quote: "something is rotten in the state of Denmark" foreshadows the death of an important character or multiple characters. Another example is the acting troupe performing "Murder of Gonzago" which foreshadows Hamlet finally getting revenge on Claudius. Pride and Prejudice isn't conventional in regards to introducing characters. Jane Austen prefers to use gossip to allow the reader to familiarize with each character before actually being introduced. This way, the reader's opinion is shaped by rumors that appear true until proven false by each character's actions.

Blogpost about Hamlet Essay

I felt that my essay needed a lot more work. My idea in my opinion was strong; however, I didn't convey my point clear enough probably due to vagueness. I think my biggest downfall has to be that I didn't follow the assignment as well as I intended. I should have answered the prompt and not twist it to make my idea work. Next time I will follow the prompt and I will be more clear on what I am trying to prove in my thesis.
I'll also work on choosing shorter quotes and expanding on my ideas.

Athlete Dying Young and Ulysses

A hero is a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. In A.E. Housman’s poem To An Athlete Dying Young and Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s poem Ulysses, both poems demonstrate two men who are the best at what they do whether it being a top athlete or battling against Gods. While Housman's poem uses iambic tetrameter and an aa bb rhyme scheme, Tennyson's Ulysses is styled as more of a monologue in blank verse. No matter what approach each poet uses, they both portray the central theme of each of their poems: the downfall of being a hero. The speaker in To An Athlete Dying Young discusses how that it's better that the athlete died now as a hero than having to live past his prime and be forgotten. Ulysses goes further with this idea and depicts Odysseus after his adventure having nothing to do. He is forced to deal with boredom and a lack of fame for the rest of his life. Each poem has similarities in themes and imagery; however, contrast in terms of poem structure and tone make these poems unique and more memorable.

Slam, Dunk & Hook and Ulysses

The two poems I chose to analyze were Slam, Dunk & Hook by Yusef Komunyakaa and Ulysses by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Slam, Dunk & Hook have a common theme of characters being superhuman due to their heroic defeats whether it be at sea or on the court. In Komunyakaa's poem, the speaker uses Greek mythological allusions to emphasize how godlike the players are during basketball: "With Mercury's Insignia on our sneakers" (Lines 1-2). Mercury was a Greek God who was infamous for being able to run incredibly fast. The basketball players are therefore quick on their feet and faster than the competition. Not only are they fast but they are dangerous. "Like storybook sea monsters" (10) is another Greek metaphor depicting them as indestructible and wicked. In the poem Ulysses, the speaker, Odysseus, reminisces about his past heroic adventures and accomplishments: "Some work of noble note, may yet be done, Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods." (Lines 52-53). He makes a point of stating that he fought with Gods and ended up victorious. The reader realizes that Odysseus is in fact superior to anyone around him. The reader can also understand why the speaker is so bored with his life. Odysseus was born adventurous and a fighter. Without conflict, Odysseus has nothing to do. When the speaker says, "how dull it is to pause, to make an end, to rust unburnished, not to shine in use!" (22-23), he is not only referring to his dull life but to his swords and armor losing their luster. Since he has no use for them now, Odysseus' weapons stay kept in the dark, forced to rust.

Two Poems

Percy Shelley's poem Ozymandias strikes me as being ironic in lines 11-13. The plaque first reads that Ozymandias is the king of kings and his work will speak for itself; however, the next line disputes all of that by saying nothing remains. This proves that Ozymandias wasn't that great of a king as he claims because he couldn't withstand time.
Time is a theme evident in both Ozymandias and Ponder These Busted Statues. Here, time is personified in line 11: "Them Greediest Paws of careful time." "Greediest paws" refers to time as being devious and working against him and his lover. The speaker in Ponder These Busted Statues uses time as an argument to persuade the object of his affection to have sex with him but in a satirical manner. Cummings' poem is a parody of To His Coy Mistress by Andrew Marvell.