TONE/MOOD

Tone allows the author to reflect different attitudes toward the subject of the work. And mood comes hand in hand with tone as it is the result of tone: the feeling the reader gets due to the tone of the environment. Without tone or mood authors would not be able to include emotion in their works nor would they be able to increase readers' attention by sounding relatable. Literary devices such as diction, figurative language, imagery, syntax, all contribute to the tone and mood of a poem. These devices are then used in the writers choice of style to portray specific emotions. The tone and mood of a text can be difficult to determine without hearing the speaker's tone of voice, however, if you look beneath the surface of the text and analyze the type of words the author is using, the style the author chooses to configure, and the meaning created by figures of speech, you can hopefully decipher the tone/mood the author is trying to portray.

DICTION

Authors utilize diction to portray different environments or meanings to their writing. One way of using diction is to use a word or words that have multiple meanings. That way when analyzing the text, the reader must consider all possible meanings OR how they relate to other aspects of the text. Diction can also effect the tone of a poem such as how Sylvia Plath does in her poem Daddy. She starts off the poem with a sad tone but the poem progresses, she beings to use diction with harsh sounds that portray a more angry tone. Words such as.. Ich, Auschwitz, Taroc, and swastika. Diction allows an author to portray a second meaning below the surface of what is written and to change the tone of the text without actually saying so.

POETIC SOUNDS

Sounds increase the understanding of a poem. Readers are able to catch the symbols or imagery bring expressed by sounds that accentuate the image. Different sounds can create different feelings or tones to a poem. There are sounds such as assonance. An example of this is in the poem Dover Beach by Matthew Arnold: "Where the moon meets the moon-blanched land." Arnold uses assonance here to slow down the line and reveal the overall tone of the poem - Sadness and tranquility.

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

Using figurative language allows the author to further explain a concept by comparing it to something more relatable to the audience. Poems cannot use music or props to increase the reader's understanding of the scene. Therefor, authors use figurative language such as imagery for detailed description. Using personification, metaphors, irony, etc... allows an author to be descriptive and relatable. For example, irony, brings forth extreme contradiction that reveals an unexpected truth. Using this more creative way of revealing information further increases the readers interest in what is going on. An example of this figurative language is in To An Athlete Dying Young by Housman: "I am become a name/ and early though the laurel grows/if withers quicker than the rose." (21.11-12) This use of a metaphor is to descriptively explain the death of a young athlete which allows Housman to create an image in the readers mind, thus increasing the readers interest in the poem.

SYMBOL and THEME

Symbols as well as themes greatly impact the perception of a story's meaning or purpose. Using symbols and themes allow an author to accentuate the deeper meaning of the plot. For example, the theme of 'To An Athlete Dying Young is time. This theme reoccurs throughout the entire poem to reinforce the deeper meaning behind the story. The theme is extremely significant as it allows the author to connect with their readers or audience. Similarly, symbols can create meaning behind characters or scenes that are revealed in the introduction and fully explained by the end. These deeper meanings usually connect with the audience by pertaining to current events or popular aspects of life.

SETTING

Setting is very important when it comes to creating a believable atmosphere that a character is trying to portray through speech. It also allows the audience to further engage in whats happening and understand why its happening. Different kinds of settings can portray all kinds of environments depending on the mood of a scene. If a scene is meant to be depressing, the setting would include dim lighting, quiet surroundings, and possibly rain. The setting may just be the background however as many may not realize, it greatly effects how an audience perceives the focus of a scene. The setting not only portrays this atmosphere but it also reveals time and location without having to inform the audience with this background information.

CHARACTER

The character hamlet in hamlet and elizabeth in pride and prejudice are both protagonists - main characters. Hamlets conflict is that he is eying to seek revenge on claudious for killing his father and overcoming his fathers death itself. Elizabeth's conflict is that she can't decided whether or not she is in lover with Darcy. Character can change throughout the plot just as hamlet does when he goes from mourning his father and open about his real emotions to using madness as a mask while seeking revenge on claudious. Contrastingly, a character like ms. Bennet stays a gossiper throughout the entire book.

PLOT

Both hamlet and pride and prejudice have a play that consists of a rising action that leads to a climax which is followed by the falling action. However fiction and drama are very different when it comes to how the contents of a plot are put together. The plot is what happen on a narrative and authors must "arrange conflicts, complications, and resolutions to create logical cause-and-effect relationships." (59). The climax is the moment of recognition or complete recognition within the plot. In pride and prejudice the climax occurs in the middle of the plot when Ms. Bennet's daughters begins to act out. This is more of a traditional structure, where as in hamlet he climax doesn't occur till the end of the play. Which is usual for tragedies where the climax Is known to occur before or after death. Though a plot does not have to be realistic, the reader must understand what is happening and why its happening. This is why the plot is so significant for an author to put together correctly.

Essay Comments

My essay writing has improved since my last essay but i still have a few weaknesses I have to work on. I can make simple improvements such as proof reading more as well as printing the essay out and revising it on paper. But other errors I must work on is the way I structure my essay. I need to organize my ideas so that my essay is easier to understand. My ideas and analysis do not flow as smoothly as they should. But more importantly, I need to stick to the essay question! I guess it was a mis understanding of the question but regardless, writing off topic will obviously hurt my grade. From my essay comments I've learned that I am showing improvement but to fully succeed I have to become more aware of my weaknesses so that I can correct them when revising rather than the teacher catching them.

Intro Paragraph

The two poems, To An Athlete Dying Young and Ulysses, both address the concept of time as their theme however, Housman's poem is about a boy who lives too short and Lord Tennyson poem is about a man who lives too long. In second person using formal diction, Housman attempts to justify a young boy dying young after achieving greatness - the athlete dies before his glory fades. Lord Tennyson wrote Ulysses in first person with a more natural tone to expand on a mans once heroic ability and great strength that fade with age. The retired hero, Odysseus, must watch himself demise as a weak old man whereas the young athlete never had or has to experience such a defeat. In both proems, time is devastating, but the damage time brings upon Odysseus - faded glory - contrasts with the young athletes life being cut too short.

Ulysses and To an Athlete Dying Young

The two poems, Ulysses and To an Athlete Dying Young, both have the theme of time, however, the ways they both address the theme are different. In To an Athlete Dying Young, time is lost by a young athletes life being cut too short. Ulysses is about a man whose life is too long and he longs for the a past. To an athlete dying young addresses how dying young has a positive side being that the boy dies with glory. He still holds his records and he dies a very successful young man. The athlete will never have to experience failure or someone else breaking his record. He dies happy and satisfied. On the other hand, Odysseus looks back on his past and wishes he could be young again and go back to his days of great achievements and strength. His life is dragging on and he's tired of sitting around waiting to die. Another difference is that the poem of the athlete is written in 2nd person and Ulysses is written in 1st person. The athlete uses more formal diction than Ulysses. The poems can seem very similar as they both talk of time and the toll its taken on their lives however the poems are contrasted by their differing predicaments being that the athlete lives too short and odysseus lives too long.

Performance Choices

Lauren and I have prepared to to act out the conversation between Horatio and Hamlet right after Hamlets first soliloquy. As we practiced reading the lines aloud, we realized how significant it is to put emphasis on certain words. The tone of the conversation constantly shifts and hand gestures or movement is not always enough. Actors must take into account that there is a large audience and the people sitting in the back rows cannot see the actors clearly, thus, their speech must portray their emotions. Ergo, emphasis on words when the tone shifts is extremely important. I, being hamlet, noted when to use an angry tone towards Horatio as he is frustrated with the fact that horatio would come to his mothers weeding opposed to his fathers funeral.

Appearance vs. Reality

The theme, appearance vs reality is clearly demonstrated through the characters Hamlet and his mother. In the beginning of the play, Hamlet attempts to confront his mother and open up to her about his depressions. However, she responds saying his sadness is only his appearance (black clothing and depressed facial expression). Hamlet tries to explain himself further and he details how his external sadness is only a reflection of his internal sorrow. He tries to tell his mother how he is truly upset. UNfortunately, she continues to submit to King Claudius and remains clueless to her sons emotions. She, as well as Claudius, bullies him about shamefully unleashing his emotions in public and finally convinces him to conceal them in public.

Concealing vs. Revealing

The theme, Concealing vs. Revealing plays a huge role in Hamlets character. Hamlet is forced to "conceal" his real thoughts in public but he is able to "reveal" these true emotions in private. He starts of mourning with no shame of his depression. But after being bullied by the queen and king claudius, he is forced to hide his real emotions from the public. He becomes ashamed of his vulnerability and frustration. Hamlet lets all of this thoughts build up inside his head as he masks them with this newly found manic attitude. he uses craziness to be deceitful in order to help get revenge on king claudius. However, when he is alone, during his soliloquies, he lets out all of his emotions and reveals his anger, frustration, and disappointment. Hamlet's obsessions are unveiled as well. He seems to be oddly obsessive about talking of his mothers affairs and lack of loyalty to his dceceast father. He cant stand the fact that the queen would marry another man within three weeks of the kings death, let alone to his uncle! This frustration is understandable considering the fact that almost any normal person would be rightfully upset over this. However, he cannot stop obsessing over his disgust with the situation and displays himself to be out of the ordinary. Although, hamlets manic behavior is only a strategy thus far to seek revenge, his craziness could still possibly begin to fool himself.

Four Soliloquies

In Hamlet's very first soliloquy, his depressed emotions as well as suicidal thoughts are first exposed to the audience; "O, that this too too solid flesh would melt, Thaw and resolve itself into a dew!" (I.ii.129-130). Finally alone, hamlet is able to express his inner thoughts in result to anger from being humiliated by Claudius in front of everyone. He shows his first signs of wanting to kill himself as he wishes himself to just melt away; thinking death would be better than his present situation. "Fie on't! ah fie!" (I.ii.135). This expression of emotion is through sounds instead of words. Here, hamlet begins to emote and make grunts of frustration and anger. As he continues to poor out his emotions when he enters the subject of his mother marrying Claudius. The queen's lack of respect for hamlet and for his father truly bothers hamlet and his obsessive frustration over this matter is first revealed in this soliloquy. His bursts of pure emotion disrupts the syntax and his speech deteriorates as it becomes fragmented. This fragmented speech unveils hamlet's serious frustration with his family situation. He hides his true emotions in public which causes all these emotions to pile up over time. And he is revealed of these backed up emotions only when he is alone. His anger builds up over time and because he is so eager to let it out, his thoughts come out in uncontrollable bursts, ergo, his speech becomes broken. Towards the end of his speech, Hamlet's frustration becomes too overwhelming for himself and he is forced to be calm himself down with a self-soothing tone.

Questions #7 and # 14

Question #7:
Hamlet implies that he will put on an “antic disposition” (I.v.172) because his plan to get revenge on king Claudius causes him to develop manic behavior. Hamlet was forced to disguise his depression by acting out manically however this reaction is also a strategy for hamlet. Though Hamlet seems to be vulnerable to the audience, he plans to get revenge on king Claudius though his craziness.

Question #14:
In act II, scene II, hamlet says, "why, then, 'tis none to you; for there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." In this scene, hamlet is trying portray himself as depressed and vulnerable. Ever since his fathers death he never felt as comfortable in his own home. Especially after having to watch his mother marry his uncle the same day of the funeral. However, underneath the surface, he clearly is not mentally insane, as one would infer from his manic behavior. Rather, his mind is soli concentrated on getting his revenge on King Claudius. A man who can decipher when to act crazy, is not actually mentally ill. Instead, his intelligence is revealed. Hamlet continues to play this 2-faced character, however, the possibility still remains of him becoming what he religiously pretends to be.
Hamlet also states, "I am mad north-west: when the wind is southerly I know a hake from a handsaw." (2.2.330-331). This quote further demonstrates hamlets control over his appearance and his behavior. He is in control of his behavior at the moment but the question is.. When will he fall for his own deceit.

Advising Ophelia

Hsmlet's and Ophelia's relationship is objected by Polonius and Laertes. Polonius is worried that Hamlet will have too munch control over Ophelia and that she might get hurt in the end. Laertes believes that Hamlet's love for ophelia might be fake. He even attempts to warn Ophelia to not believe everything Hamlet tells her and to keep her distance from him. They both obviously object to Hamlet's and Ophelia's relationship however Laertes's arguments seems to be more logical considering the fact that polonius's argument seems to be bias. Laertes is making an assumption based on his knowledge of Hamlet and is only giving Ophelia advice. Polonius' on the other hand, seems to be more demanding than genuine. His argument is much more commanding as he tries to tell her what to do as if he has complete com inane over her. But overall, both of their arguments display their did respect for women which inevitably reveals their their dominant role over ophelia. As for class functions within their arguments.. Both Laertes and polonius argue the validity of hamlets claim to "love" Ophelia and believe it to be suspicious due to Hamlet's royal status and loyalty to the throne.

Hamlet Intro and Thesis

In William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, the protagonist Hamlet is a strong young man who seeks revenge on Claudius, the new king. Claudius married his mother shortly after his father's death, which angered Hamlet greatly. In the presence of other people, Hamlet displays himself with confidence and assertiveness. But when he is left along on the stage for a soliloquy, he reveals his real persona.At first glance Hamlet is portrayed to be a confident man who is seeking revenge; however, below the surface his true emotions are displayed through his broken up speech patterns within his soliloquies that reveal his insecurities and uncertainty.   

To His Coy Mistress Analysis

The poem, To His Coy Mistress, is written in iambic tetrameter with rhyming couplets. The purpose of these literary devices is to effect the rhythm of the poem. This rhyme scheme brings attention to the idea that the poem is not meant to be taken seriously. On the surface to his coy mistress is interpreted as a love letter from a man to his love interest. However, the real purpose of the poem is to seduce his mistress into having sex with him. The poem suggests that we can not know what lies ahead because the human mind can only experience the present. Thus, introducing the theme Carpe Diem (seize the day). 

In the first stanza the speaker attempts to seduce his mistress with flattery. He says how if they had more time, shyness would not be an issue. The speaker also explains that if they had more time, he would spend years admiring her and loving her forever. Starting off sweet and praising his love interest is why the poem is perceived as a love letter at first glance. However, the mood of the poem shifts in the second stanza when the speaker dismisses everything he said previously. The speaker explains that time passes too quickly to wait. His patience is running out and he can not love her at such a far distance. The romantic feel moves toward a sexual feel when he states that he does not want to wait to seek his desires (sex). He tells his mistress how life is too short but death is forever. And he explains that if they don't have sex now, then when she dies worms will come into her coffin and take her "virginity." In the last stanza the speaker appears to be confident of his persuasive argument when he says "Now therefore, while the youthful hue.." He concludes that due to the reasons he just listed, they should therefore have sex now. He acts as if he knows his argument was successful and that she is going to listen to his commands. But on a lighter note, he ends the poem by complimenting her youth and beauty. Ultimately, the poem suggests that people must not wait to meet their desires, rather they should seize the day! And in the speakers situation this pertains to having sex with his "coy mistress."

To His Coy Mistress

Lines 11 - 14:
"My vegetable love should grow
Vaster than empires, and more slow;
An hundred years should go to praise
Thine eyes and on thy forehead gaze"


In these lines we begin to see the speakers love for his mistress. He claims he would wait till the end of time for her.. "everlasting love." He starts to describe his love for her by saying he will dedicate one hundred years to her eyes. But then you can see his attention shift towards sex rather than love when he says, "Two hundred to adore each breast.." (Line 15). He starts off being sweet and then nonchalantly sneaks in his real concern being sex. Not only are his intentions not what they initially seem to be, but in the next stanza you begin to see his patience running out as well. He attempts to be deceitful by misdirecting the readers opinion of him in the beginning.. hoping the reader wont notice his sexual remarks.. but do not be fooled!!

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D. W. Harding: Funny or Nightmare?

In the novel Pride and Prejudice Mr. Collins can be described as a nightmare in the way he treats women. He judges a woman based on social norms and general consensus. More specifically, he judges Elizabeth in this way. An example of this "nightmare" that he represents is when he proses to Elizabeth. She rejects his proposal with a lucid explanation, however, he continually asks to marry her. Elizabeth has to refuse several times before he gets the hint. In Pride and Prejudice everything Mr. Collins says is exaggerated so that Austen can attack the society without upsetting the reader. Woman are forced to marry based on wealth and status of the man, not love. In today's reality, this situation would be a nightmare but Austen's ability to exaggerate his character disguises him has a comic relief. Thus, in my opinion, Mr. Collins is a funny nightmare. 

Essay Comments

The comments on my essay were very helpful. I learned that I need to proofread more carefully because I had some careless errors. I also need to work on expressing my ideas and analysis using conversational vocabulary. I realized my sentences do not flow as smoothly as they should and using more of a conversational writing style will help. I'm also missing a proper topic sentence for the first body paragraph, I used semicolons improperly (and should be using commas instead), I have a few sentence fragments, I need to remove the header on the first page, and i could use a better title. All together, i need to clean my essay up. My ideas are there but I need to work on expressing them clearly and smoothly.. and the grammar mistakes only reduce clarity. I may know what I'm trying to say but the reader does not.. so I now know that I need to be more aware of my grammar and the way I demonstrate my thoughts.

The Most Important Part of an Essay..

THESIS!

The thesis is the backbone of an essay, thus, being extremely crucial. The thesis briefly explains what the entire essay is going to be about. After reading a proper thesis, the reader should understand the point of the essay and how the writer is going to prove this point. Without a thesis, the reader is left confused and lost; not knowing specifically what the writer is talking about. And if one were to write a bad thesis, this situation would leave the reader with more confusion because the reader is unsure of what the writer is trying to say.. thus leading to the possibility of the reader losing interest. Ones interest in reading an essay is extremely important because it's what compels them to keep reading. The thesis allows the reader to fully comprehend where the essay is going and interests them to read on; THUS, making it the most important part of an essay!

A for Alfi

I read 3 essays and A for Alfi was my favorite....


The main point of the essay is about how Austen introduces his characters giving the reader distinct first impressions that which are not always valid.


The essay begins with an introduction to Austin's writing style. Leading to the first impressions that Austin provides the reader with  The body paragraphs address characters that Austen gives false first impressions of. Also providing quotes that support these examples and the author clearly backs their thesis statement


The author has a good sentence structure. The only sentence i would revise would be the last sentence of the second paragraph. Its an awkward sentence in my opinion and it doesn't make sense. Also i found 2 grammatical errors that must be fixed.


Besides those few corrections, i think this essay topic was well addressed and structured clearly. It was an itneresting topic and the author did a great job at proving thier statement.