The Great Gatsby

Chapter One

• He doesn't have a problem with Gatsby - it is the people who hung onto Gatsby who he has a problem with
• Nick comes from a wealthy background
• He went to the war and when he got home he was bored and moved to the East, thinking it would be a permanent move but it wasn't - he tells up straight-up he left for a reason 
• I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer
• Nick's education shines through in the first chapter; the structure and language is well developed, he's quite wordy and it appears quite pompous
• Displays a certain ambivalence in his dedication to Gatsby's memory - he wants to recall every little minute detail about this important time of his life
• The mention of his father's advice establishes the larger concern about the relationship between the present and the past which has great relevance to Gatsby's personal history
• Ironic with the name "eggs" because eggs suggest new life
• Nick is not emotional or passionate 
• References to sounds "full bellows"  , "wings beating" , "persistent organ sound" Daisy "sings"

Chapter Two

• Sunday Summer afternoon - people would be restless 
• Issue with illusion and reality as Nick believes time is going a lot quicker than it is in reality
• Repetition of the word "small" in the description of the apartment; could be Nick judging people again or questioning why it would be a small apartment when Tom could afford a lot more
• Tom is manipulative and interrupts people in this chapter as well
• Tom is rude - going to the garage is like parading it in George's face. He is mocking George for being so ignorant and oblivious
• They are drinking illegally. This links in with the fact Tom is spending a day with his mistress. Sundays are normally religious days but there is a complete disregard for religion 
• "Tom Buchanan broke her nose" - no mystery, straight to the point and very blunt. It also emphasises that Tom is powerful in society and physically 
• There is a lot of references to death "ghost", ashes etc. creates a sense of foreboding

Much Ado About Nothing - full reading journal

Act One 

Scene One

• the war is over and the soldiers are returning valiant and victorious 
• all the main characters and the play's settings are introduced
• banter between Beatrice and Benedick has begun - highly witty and funny
• positive tone so far; seems like it will be a happy play
• seems to be a hierarchy between the characters - Don Pedro being referred to as "my lord" by many of the characters

Scene Two

• Antonio is introduced
• he is recounting how he heard Claudio confess his love for Hero
• they plan on telling Hero
• seems positive furthermore

Scene Three

• Don John and Conrade are introduced
• Don John is Don Pedro's bastard half brother
• given a status and degree of power yet he is feeling sorry for himself
• Conrade is his "right hand man" yet he asked him why he was so hard - Don John must not always be this sad
• a plan is being thought of that will ruin the happiness of those in Messina

Act Two

Scene One

• Masked ball provides humour; characters are unaware of who is who. Beatrice and Benedick dance whilst Beatrice is talking about Benedick, unaware it is him she is talking to
• Don John creates confusion and momentary anger by twisting words and lying to characters about other’s intentions
• Claudio and Hero finally arrange a marriage, despite Don John’s efforts to disturb their happiness
• Don Pedro plans to make Beatrice and Benedick fall in love with one another

Scene Two 

•  Don John plans to go to Claudio and Don Pedro and convince them that Hero is not a virgin, and whom instead effectively sleeps around
• They do this by convincing the two to hide and look at who they believe to be Hero having sex with Borachio.. but it is instead Margaret who is wearing Hero’s clothing
• Don John promises Borachio a large reward if he can prevent the wedding from occurring

Scene Three

• Benedick eavesdrops on a conversation between Don Pedro and Claudio, who notice him, and talk about how Beatrice has fallen in love with Bendick

• They go deep in the conversation; with Leonato now joining in and talking about how Beatrice is afraid of telling Benedick
• They end the conversation by saying Benedick does not deserve her

• Benedick decides he will love her back, and desires to marry her

Act Three 

Scene One

• Hero tricks Beatrice into believing that Benedick is in love with her
• Hero, Margaret and Ursula go on to discuss how Benedick does love her, but go on to say how he believes Beatrice would just be horrible
• After they leave, Beatrice decides that she will “take pity” on Benedick and love him back

Scene Two

• Don Pedro, Claudio, and Leonato tease Benedick about the fact he wants to marry Beatrice
• Don John tells Claudio that Hero is a “whore” and that he should not marry her
• Don John offers proof that Hero is unfaithful; he claims if they go to her window they will see her sleeping with another man
• Claudio promises that if he sees Hero doing so he will publicly disgrace her at the wedding

Scene Three

• Dogberry gives orders to the other watchmen to act vigilant near Leonato’s house
• Don Pedro, Claudio and Don John go to Hero’s window
• They see Margaret (whom Don John and Claudio believe to be Hero) making love to Borachio
•  Claudio vows to get revenge on Hero for breaking his heart
• Don John’s plan has worked

Act Four
Scene One

•         The wedding is about to take place and the Friar asks Claudio if he wishes to marry Hero but he says no and then undergoes an angry and outraged speech
•          Don Pedro supports these claims, along with Don John
•          Hero passes out, Leonato says she would be better off dead
•         When Hero regains consciousness she reiterates that she is innocent, then passes out once more
•        The Friar, claiming she is most innocent, comes up with the plan to pretend that Hero has died, in a bid to make people believe she isn’t guilty
•          Beatrice asks Benedick to “kill Claudio”
   
  

Scene Two

•          Dogberry and the Watch interrogate Borachio
•         Borachio confesses that he was paid by Don John to pretend to make love to Hero

Act Five
Scene One

•          Leonato is devastated, still not knowing whether to believe Hero or not
•          Leonato blaims Hero’s death on Claudio and challenges him to a duel
•          Claudio and Don Pedro are also upset, and ask Benedick to use his good humour and wit to cheer them up from their low moods
•         Benedick refuses to and also challenges Claudio to a duel, claiming he is the cause of her murder
•         Dogberry and all turn up and inform Claudio and Don Pedro of Borachio’s confession
•          Claudio begs for Leonato’s forgiveness. Leonato tells Claudio to clear Hero’s name

Scene Two

•          Benedick tries to write love poetry for Beatrice
•          He fails to do so, and when she turns up they tease eachother as they always have done, but still show great affection towards one another
•          Benedick informs Beatrice that he has challenged Claudio to a duel- just as she wished

Scene Three

•          Claudio visits Hero’s grave and reads the poem/epitath out loud, and promises to do so that day every year

Scene Four

•         Don John’s plan comes to light and everyone in the city now knows of it
•         Claudio promises to marry the woman next to him, whom he believes to be Hero’s cousin, as requested by Leonato
•         Hero takes off the mask and her name is cleared and they plan to marry
•         Beatrice and Benedick admit that they don’t love eachother
•         They do however, find out they have been tricked, but go ahead with the marriage anyway
•         Don John is a prisoner
•        Both Claudio + Hero and Beatrice + Benedick are married, all is well

The Pied Piper of Hamelin

One of the most effective ways Browning tells the story in The Pied Piper of Hamelin is through the use of rhyme. Throughout most of the poem (with a few exceptions), Browning uses ABAB. The use of such a rhythmic scheme allows Browning to transform the poem into a child's poem, which is completely different to his other poetry. Traditionally, the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin is used as a cautionary tale for children, and the rhythmic scheme allows the poem to take this form.

Throughout the poem, there are clear voices: the mayor, the Pied Piper, the lonely child and so on. There is also a clear linear chronology. It goes from the story of the Pied Piper being told, to then the voice of the poem talking directly to a child. Both of these narrative techniques emphasise the possibility of this poem being a cautionary tale for children as it ensures the poem has a simple and basic flow.

Browning's descriptions of the politicians/the "Corporation" are another effective way of telling the poem, and highly interesting. Line 27; "vermin" and line 29; "furry civic robe". This animalises the powerful people which makes it seem as if its deeper than a child’s cautionary tale, and it is another way of Browning making a dig at politicians, claiming they’re completely detached from society and humanity on a whole.

There are many underlying issues in this poem that suggest that it is not just a child's tale, but it is actually a story about corruption and the issues with lying. As a result of the leaders of Hamelin lying to the Pied Piper about how much money they would give to him, he leads the children to their death. This mixed with the animalistic descriptions of the Corporation is yet another direct dig at politicians; that deceit ends in death and unhappiness. 

Another way of telling the story is the difference between the blandness of the citizens of the town (and the town itself) and the Pied Piper. The way he dresses is depicted as “quaint” and he describes at length how much he has travelled; “I eased in Asia the Nizam Of a monstrous brood of vampyre bats”. Whereas they are described as being “monstrously fat”. In this sense, it is Browning’s way of singling the Pied Piper out; perhaps a foreshadowing as it suggests they are hugely different so said difference could perhaps lead to a conflict or issue later on. 

Porphyria's Lover

Porphyria's Lover (1836) is a dramatic monologue by Robert Browning. It begins with Porphyria seeking refuge from a storm in the voice's (her lover's) cottage. She proceeds to light a fire, tell him she loves him and then loses her virginity to him. Porphyria even goes as far as to say she "worhip[s]" him.

The beginning of the poem is much alike the Romantic poetry of the early 19th century; a raging and ever-worsening storm going on whilst someone is in the warmth, initially alone. In Romantic poetry, nature is seen as sublime, however in this poem, both nature and Porphyria are seen as sublime. From the very beginning Porphyria is described as an almost angelic woman. Browning contrasts the negative imagery of the storm with the beauty of Porphyria. Contrasting the "sullen wind" with her "smooth white shoulder" etc.

The voice describes the events that take place in an eerily calm manner, ever so bluntly; "I wound Three times her little throat around, And strangled her." which makes it seem like he does not really think what he is doing is unnatural. However, the ABABB rhythmic scheme is unnatural and also quite intense, so in this sense the rhythmic scheme represents the voice's mental state.

There are many different interpretations that could be seen to explain why the voice decides to strangle Porphyria. The 'storm' outside could symbolise society and its harmful ways; you cannot control what society does. Because of this, her seeking the warmth and calm of his cottage is highly meaningful, it means she is defying society. In a way, her actions are of greater meaning than the words she says, as it is clear she fully trusts and loves him by this.

In lines 15-20 the voice describe how Porphyria lays her shoulder bare for him, which is a common way of comforting someone. However, from lines 50-54, after he has killed her, he describes how he did this with her corpse. This portrays a shift in power dynamics, opening the interpretation that he killed her to regain control in the relationship. The name of the poem backs up this point. It is called Porphyria's Lover; he belongs to her. 

I believe the voice thinks what he did is the right thing, it was an act of love; albeit an unstable and warped way of going about things. Upon having sex, he say she "gave herself to him forever". Losing her virginity to him meant he had a piece of her, a piece he so strongly wanted to keep. On line 57 he says "her darling one wish would be heard", she died belonging to him which is what she wanted; in this sense she was his "for ever."

INSTEAD OF KILLING YOURSELF 

wait until
a year from now
where you say,
“Holy fuck,
I can’t believe I was going to kill myself before I etcetera’d…
before I went skinny dipping in Tennessee,
made my own IPA,
tried out for a game show,
rode a camel drunk,
skydived alone,
learned to waltz with clumsy old people,
photographed electric jellyfish,
built a sailboat from trash,
taught someone how to read,
etc. etc. etc.”

The red washing
down the bathtub
can’t change the color of the sea
at all.

Derrick C. Brown

This is one of my favourite poems. Its not good to analyse in the sense that it doesn't have any other interpretations but I think its beautiful. The final stanza just sets out the belief that although you may be low now, killing yourself won't change anything. I like this poem because it highlights that having strength, even throughout rough times, pays off eventually. You shouldn't do something arguably reckless like kill yourself when you have so many things to look forward to in life.