To His Coy Mistress

"To His Coy Mistress" by Andrew Marvell

"Had we but world enough, and time,/This coyness, lady, were no crime" (Marvell, 803).

From the beginning of the poem, the speaker is clear on his dilemma he is facing with his mistress. He is urging his mistress to stop being coy and have sex with him. She is being coy in not having sex with him but he asks her to do so before they die. He says that if they had more time, he would not mind that she was being coy presently. The reality to the speaker is that they are nearing death and therefore they do not have time to jump around her coyness and he urges her to have sex with him while they have the chance. The three stanzas split up the speakers argument into the three parts of his argument. The first being his admittance of knowing of her coyness. He says his love has grown as he has waited for her to have sex with him but that it is time for them to finally have sex. In the next stanza, he says that they do not have time to waste as they are nearing death and death is permeant and they cannot have sex once they are dead. The last stanza is the speakers final plea of his mistress to have sex with him while they can. The progression and set-up of the stanzas organize Marvell's thoughts as he progresses to convince his mistress to have sex with them before they die. 

Barbie Doll

"Barbie Doll" by Marge Piercy

The girl in the poem was definitely not a Barbie Doll. She was a normal girl that was not a perfect Barbie doll that the people around her wanted her to be. She was marked by her big nose and fat legs. She was told that all she was needed to do as a woman was to "exercise, diet, smile, wheedle" (Piercy, 836) much like a Barbie would be characterized to do. The irony of the poem comes in the final three lines. The girl is previously characterized for her big nose and fat legs until she changed them. On her death bed, the people who had previously discounted her beauty because of her fat legs and big nose now found her pretty as she was missing both and a better nose was painted on. Also, the comparison to a fan belt was proper as a fan belt is an essential piece of a car needed to keep the car running properly. The girl was the fan belt and as soon as the fan belt wears out, the car begins to have decreased performance. It was important and relevant as she was wore out from striving to be perfect and eventually gave out on the fight for acceptance. Through this, her demise is brought on only for the people to finally find her acceptable without her big nose and fat legs.

A Jury of Her Peers

"A Jury of Her Peers" by Susan Glaspell

"'Nothing here but kitchen things,' he said, with a little laugh for the insignificance of kitchen things" (Glaspell, 412).

There are many apects to "A Jury of Her Peers" that lead to the conclusion of the story being relevant. First, without reading the story, the title makes the reader believe that a woman has possibly done some sort of crime and a group of her peers, women, are her jury in a trial. The irony of that comes through as the reader quickly learns of Mrs. Wright's crime of killing her husband and the investigation ensues. The relevation comes through that Mrs. Wright's "jury" of investigators is a group of men who look down on women. Furthermore, the attitude the men have against the women end up hurting the impending investigation of the murder as the men are rude to the women that could potentially help them in the investigation. As the story comes to an end, the women decided to not tell the men what they discovered about Mrs. Wright's motive to kill her husband. The bond of the women who are similar from their situation of being oppressed by their husbands provides them a reason to not tell on Mrs. Wright as they understand her situation. At the end of the story, it is clear that the title of the story can be taken from another perspective. That perspective is the jury being of the women in an informal way. The women were the jury that decided whether or not to turn the evidence in to the men and therefore, the women decided whether or not Mrs. Wright is found guilty of the crime.

Hunters In the Snow

"Hunters In the Snow" by Tobias Wolff

"'Frank,' Tub said after a time, 'you know that farmer? He told Kenney to kill the dog'" (Wolff, 201).

The characters in "Hunters In the Snow" progressed through the story to be characterized as two-faced. At the beginning, Tub and Frank initially are characterized to be a fat man and a blunt, honest, of frank man based on their names, respectively. Kenney is characterized as being an unruly character as his introduction is nearly running Tub over in a truck. Through this, the initial idea of each of the characters is made. As the characters progress through the story, each character develops to show their initial schema but also shows another surprising element to each of the characters. At the tail end of the story, Tub admits knowing that the farmer told Kenney to shoot the dog rather than Frank's misconception that Kenney shot the dog on an out of control rage. Through this, both Tub and Kenney are characterized again but in another two-faced way. Tub, being a stock-ish character, withholds information that could have put Tub in the position of being blamed for shooting Kenney rather than being praised by Frank for stopping Kenney from continuing his shooting rage. Also, Kenney is characterized to be more than an out of control man but rather someone that does something civil for another person. Lastly, Frank is characterized again at the end of the story when he admits that he would rather that Kenney got shot by Tub than Tub getting shot by Kenney. In saying this, Frank is changing from being the brutally honest person that makes fun of Tub to siding with Tub and making himself look like he only acts brutal around Kenney to be like Kenney.

Othello - 8

Othello the Moor of Venice by William Shakespeare

"Of one that loved not wisely but too well; Of one not easily jealous, but, being wrought, Perplexed in the extreme; of one whose hand, like the base Indian, threw a pearl away" (Shakespeare, V.ii.343-346).

Is Iago the greatest villain of all? I would not be able to say he is the greatest villain of all but he has to be up there in the ranks. The cunning Iago resulted in the death of the hero! The resolution of Othello was going to be his imprisonment for aiding with the planning of murdering Cassio. Personally, I would believe that Othello was a victim to Iago and is therefore innocent of being an accomplice as he only knew false knowledge. Before Othello is taken away, though, he commits suicide. Through this, Iago is villainous as the great Othello that was so noble and peaceful, is committing suicide for the actions he took under false suppositions. Also, the one man Iago wanted to rid of from the beginning of the play was Cassio and he lived. Overall, Iago is a great villain in his failures. His plan from the start of the play was to be in Cassio's position as he felt he deserved the position instead of Cassio. At the end though, Iago does not even achieve that. He only achieves destroying the lives of everyone around him for his greed. The irony of what Iago wants and what he achieves creates Iago to be a great villain. 

Othello - 7

Othello the Moor of Venice by William Shakespeare

"Good gentlemen, let me have leave to speak. 'Tis proper I obey him, but not now" (Shakespeare, V.ii.194-195).

A dynamic character is one who changes in some important way as a result of the story's action. Emilia, like Othello, changes from the events of the play. In the first half of the play, Emilia is characterized to be a passive wife that wants to please Iago. Iago is nearly impossible to please and Emilia falls a victim to that throughout the first half of the play. By the time Emilia seems to be fed up with Iago's temperament  Desdemona is found dead. This is the first time in the play where Emilia's change is noticed. Emilia went from being afraid to stand up for herself to yelling at Othello for believing Desdemona was unfaithful to him. When Emilia is brought to this rage, she begins to confess what she knows about the events of the play. Othello mentions he heard of his wife's unfaithfulness from Iago. Emilia is able to come from being a partner in innocently aiding Iago to being honest about what she has done. In this sense, Emilia and Iago have become each other with Iago being a lier and Emilia reveling herself to be honest. Also, this can characterize Emilia and Iago as somewhat of foil characters to one another throughout the play as Emilia finds herself changing. 

Othello - 6

Othello the Moor of Venice by William Shakespeare

"An old thing 'twas, but it expressed her fortune, And she died singing it. That song tonight Will not go from my mind" (Shakespeare, IV.iii.28-30).

Foreshadowing is the use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in a plot. Foreshadowing is used with the placement of the song "Willow" at the end of Act IV. The song is said to be stuck in Desdemona's head at the end of the act. She says her mother's maid died while singing it after her husband left her. The husband of the maid turned out to be mad and left her. Through this, a connection to Othello can be made comparing Desdemona to the wife and Othello to the husband. Desdemona even admits the song stuck in her head is like an omen of her to be crying soon in the future. Based on the context and lyrics of the song, it is clear to be an apparent foreshadowing of events as some of the events mentioned in the context and lyrics line up with past events of the play. Also, Desdemona admits that she would never cheat on her husband especially because of what could happen to her if she did. This opens up to a view at both Emilia and Desdemona through their conversation about cheating. In total, the entire scene seems to be a foreshadow of Act V. The possibilities seem to be that Desdemona will die and probably soon. The maid died while singing the song and Desdemona says she has the song stuck in her head. Also, Desdemona has admitted her view on being unfaithful and I believe it will play into the action of Act V. 

Othello - 5

Othello the Moor of Venice by William Shakespeare

"Aye, let her rot, and perish, and be damned tonight, for she shall not live. No, my heart is turned to stone, I stike it and it hurts my hand" (Shakespeare, IV.i.169-171).

A dynamic character is one who changes in some important way as a result of the story's action. Othello exemplifies this in his transformation from Act I to Act IV. In the beginning of play, Othello stands up and ignores the harsh racial slurs directed toward him. He is characterized to be someone who does not easily react emotionally. When being called an animal, instead of getting mad, Othello disregarded the comment and was firm in his belief and love of Desdemona. As the actions unfold with Iago telling Othello the lie of Desdemona being unfaithful, Othello begins to change. By the middle of the play, Othello has began to respond with epileptic tendencies from Othello being told of Desdemona being unfaithful to him. In Act IV, Othello has nearly gone mad with anger for Desdemona being unfaithful to him. Instead of being a calm man, he is a man who wants revenge for his wife's unfaithfulness. Also, Othello has another seizure or epileptic episode because of the rage from inside. By this point, Othello wants blood specifically from Cassio.

Othello - 4

"Othello, the Moor of Venice" by William Shakespeare
"I had rather have this tongue cut from my mouth than it should do offense to Michael Cassio" (Shakespeare, II.iii.200-201).

Iago manipulates many of the characters in the events during Act 1 through Act 3. Initially, Iago begins his quest of becoming the lieutenant by controlling Roderigo. Through using Roderigo's love of Desdemona, Iago is able to convince Roderigo to get money for Iago in exchange for help in swooning Desdemona into marrying him. Through this, Iago is able to create commotion with Cassio. Iago then moves his motive toward Cassio in order to gain the position by making Cassio look like an irresponsible drunk. Furthermore, he works through Montano by planting a seed in Montano that Cassio is a drunk all the time. Overall, the biggest manipulation is on Othello. Othello fully believes that Iago is an honest man and therefore believes Iago. Iago makes Othello believe his wife is cheating on him with Cassio even though he went through interrogation to prove his love to his wife. All of the manipulations are a secret to the other characters of the play including his own wife and fellow men. This allows for Iago to continue on with his plans and end goal.

Othello - 3

"Othello, the Moor of Venice" by William Shakespeare
"She told her while she kept it 'twould make her amiable and subdue my father entirely to her love, but if she lost it or made a gift of it, my father's eye should hold her loathed and his spirit should hunt after new fancies" (Shakespeare, III.iv.52-57).

The handkerchief that Othello gave to Desdemona plays a key role starting in Act 3. Deriving from Othello's story, the handkerchief displays Othello's opinion of the purpose of it. To Othello, the handkerchief symbolizes Desdemona's love and fidelity. In Desdemona's hand and to Desdemona, the handkerchief shows Othello and Desdemona's love for one another. When Desdemona gives the handkerchief to Othello to help with the headache, it is dropped and then taken by Emilia for Iago. By letting it drop to the ground, both Desdemona and Othello are falling to Iago's plans and corruption by letting what they had carelessly fall to the ground because they have both been manipulated by Iago to not focus on their marriage but what Iago wants. Furthermore, by characterizing the handkerchief to display love and virginity from the history of the handkerchief, Bianca takes possession which could symbolize that Iago is going after her next for manipulation of love to do what Iago wants. All of the characters seem to be so blinded by their love for another person that they are blind to what Iago is doing and therefore being manipulated by Iago. The handkerchief overall seems to symbolize the passing of the torch of Iago's manipulation through love.

Othello - 2

"Othello, the Moor of Venice" by William Shakespeare
"She that was ever fair and never loud, never lacked gold and yet went never gay, fled from her wish and yet said 'Now I may'" (Shakespeare, II.i.147-150).

Iago's response to the four different types of women plays a role in his actions throughout the first couple of acts of the play. Iago's opinion of women leads to a conclusion that he believes women just work to manipulate men. He then says that women's purpose was "to suckle fools and chronicle small beer" (Shakespeare, II.i.159). This means that Iago believes women are there to have children and do housework for their husbands. Also, Iago believes that women have motives in their husbands and work to do their goal and not do what they need to for their husband. This shows how easily Iago was convinced by the rumors that his wife is cheating on him so he can use her for his advantage now. With this opinion, Iago does not mind ruining the reputation of Desdemona in the city and especially with Othello. Also, Iago can use his belief of the women to support and help his cause behind all of his mischief. Also, this reveals Iago's feelings to Desdemona that could come back to him later if she is suspicious on his motives.

Othello - 1

"Othello, the Moor of Venice" by William Shakespeare
"Because we come to do your service and you think we are ruffians, you'll have your daughter covered with a Barbary horse, you'll have your nephews neigh to you, you'll have coursers for cousins, and jennets for germans" (Shakespeare, I.i.109-112).

The prejudice and racism toward Othello helps develop the context and attitude of Iago toward Othello. Although Iago does not say all of the racist comments, all characterize how Iago thinks down toward Othello because of his race and because of his decision for Cassio to be the lieutenant instead of Iago. Iago continually refers to Othello as the Moor instead of by his name like it would be most proper to do. Othello is also referred to as an animal and that his children will be like children in order to scare of Desdemona's father from approving of the marriage to Othello. The comparison to farm animals implies that Othello is like an animal that is unintelligent and only interested in the sex of the marriage instead of a relationship of love as animals do not love like humans do. Furthermore, the Duke states that Othello is a good guy for being a black guy leaving an underlying racist comment toward Othello that he is good for a black guy rather than just being a good guy. Despite all of the racism that Othello receives in the first act of the play, he still stays calm and confident in the accusations against him for his marriage to Desdemona.