A Game of Thrones Reading Challenge Discussion #2

Tags

A Clash of Kings, A Song of Ice and Fire, George R R Martin, Reading Challenge

This is the second discussion post for A Game of Thrones for the A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire Reading Challenge) hosted by The Lit Bitch.

The discussion posts will consist of five questions about the book which the challenge participant will answer.

———————————————————————————————————

Below are the five questions along with my answer:

1) Each of the ‘kings’ have official advisers or family members who give them advise on how to win the Iron Throne. Do you think these advisers are valued by the kings? Why or why not?

From the time he was crowned in A Game of Thrones, Joffrey never heeded the advise of his council. He was advised to let Ned Stark take the black but he went against that advice and asked for the head of Ned at the Great Sept of Baelor. Even in A Clash of Kings, he seems to have his own way going as far as having Sansa stripped in front of the entire court. However, in terms of keeping him on the Iron Throne, we all know that that job falls into the hands of Tyrion, Cersei, Varys, Littlefinger, and Grand Maester Pycelle.

The only two others contending for the Iron Throne are the brothers Baratheon, Renly and Stannis. We don’t see much counsel going on in Renly’s camp other than the fact that they wholeheartedly support his claim to throne despite knowing how wrong it is. Stannis has circulated a letter claiming that Joffrey is born of incest but Renly’s camp doesn’t seem to believe that as well. They seem to believe that Renly can take the crown through strength of arms.

Stannis, on the other hand, seems to value the honest opinion of Davos Seaworth. However, he doesn’t seem to mind at all the doings of the red priestess Melisandre. I like Stannis. Just have Melisandre stop poisoning his mind with all her Azor Ahai talk.

Balon Greyjoy wants the North and it seems that he has already made the plans even before Theon arrived on the Iron Islands. Theon comes to him with plans to invade Casterly Rock but Balon wants to “take” the North as it is undefended because most of the northmen as off warring in the South. I dislike the notion of having to “take” what he wants because he cannot fathom it being “given” to him.

Robb Stark on the other hand, does not want the Iron Throne. He is intent on having the North and the Riverlands independent from the crown. He seems to trust Brynden Tully (his mothers uncle) and some of his northmen.

2) Each of the so called kings have reason to think the Iron Throne is rightfully theirs. Who do you think is the rightful king and why? Is it necessary to have one king who rules the Seven Kingdoms?

I don’t think Robb wants the Iron Throne. He wants independence of the North and the Riverlands from the Crown. Balon Greyjoy has set his sights on the North. Stannis and Renly are fighting for the crown that Joffrey wears and the throne he sits on.

Stannis is the rightful heir to the Iron Throne of Westeros by right of birth and blood. He can lay claim to the throne through his Targaryen blood (as Robert did before him) and being the rightful heir by laws of succession since Robert left no true born heir.

I find it a bit odd that Robert was labeled a usurper when the crown was not the reason that he, Jon Arryn, and Ned Stark went into battle. It was triggered by the “kidnap” of Lyanna Stark by Rhaegar Targaryen but a war was never started for that. Nor was a war started when Brandon Stark and his father Rickard along with Jeffory Mallister, Kyle Royce, Elbert Arryn and their fathers were put to death by Aerys Targaryen. The war was started when Jon Arryn raised his banners in rebellion rather than comply with the demand of Aerys Targaryen for the heads of his wards, Robert Baratheon and Eddard Stark. Soon after, Robert and Ned called their banners to fight in the rebellion.

The Targaryens were overthrown and the current ruling monarchs are the Baratheons. Sure, there was no honor in murdering Rhaegar’s wife and children but that was not done at Robert’s command but by the hands of the Lannisters. Where Robert went wrong was when he didn’t seem to object about the murders and let his hatred of Rhaegar blind him to the brutality of what the Lannister men have done.

I do not think that there needs to be one king to rule the Seven Kingdoms. The Seven Kingdoms were doing alright as Seven Kingdoms until Aegon the Conqueror brought his and his sisters dragons and made them kneel. The Targaryens would have lost had it not been for their dragons.

3) Do you think Shae loves Tyrion or is she just a whore like Cersei says? Why or why not? Any predictions for how that love story will play out?

I don’t think that Shae loves Tyrion. There’s just something off about a woman who seems to pay more attention to the clothes that she gets to wear.

4) How did you feel about Theon Greyjoy’s character? Was what he did to the Stark family more or less different than the Stark’s did to the Greyjoy family? Was it justice, revenge, or both? Did you like his character why or why not?

I don’t know what to feel about Theon Greyjoy. Part of me wants to feel sorry for him for not being accepted by his own family yet there’s a part of me that hates him for the chaos he has caused. Its very obvious that he is not at all comfortable with the ways of the ironborn as evidenced by his feelings of their attack on the Stony Shore:

“Theon thought of seeking out the bodies of the two men he’d slain himself to see if they had any jewelry worth the taking, but the notion left a bitter taste in his mouth.”

“He tossed his bow back to Wex and strode off, remembering how elated he’d felt after the Whispering Wood, and wondering why this did not taste as sweet.”

What he did to the Starks was totally unfair. Sure, he was taken as a ward (hostage in truth) by Eddard Stark for his father’s good behavior but he was never treated like a hostage. He was clothed, educated, and fed. What happened to his family was the result of their rebellion. No one descended on the Iron Islands with the intention of killing his brothers. They died fighting a battle.

What makes it even worse was that he even fought for the Starks and was sent as an envoy to ask the aid of Balon Greyjoy. But what did he do? He turned his back on that for wanting his father to be proud of him. Sure, there was something admirable about taking a castle with less than 50 men but there was nothing honorable about the murder of men he knew and lived with for most of his life. His father’s desire for the North in the midst of a war has only made things worse.

5) What is Daenerys Targaryen’s motivation for returning to Westeros? Her brother was the exiled ‘king’ and she his traveling companion and bargaining chip to hire the Dothraki, now that he is dead what would her motivation be for returning to the Seven Kingdoms? Why not stay on the island and rule there?

Her only motivation is to claim what her brother has ingrained into her mind of what is rightfully theirs. Viserys was old enough to understand but he just somehow couldn’t stomach the fact that their family was overthrown, plain and simple. The Targaryens only ruled Westeros for 300 years and half of that was with the aid of their dragons while the First Men have ruled for thousands of years before they were overthrown and have lived with that fact without being bitter and mewling about what was once rightfully theirs.

Her dragons have definitely made her arrogant enough to believe that she can reclaim the Iron Throne. The only question is would Westeros suffer another Field of Fire just so she could claim what she thinks is rightfully hers? The people of Westeros have had enough of fighting and high lords playing their game of thrones and all she seems hellbent on doing is invading a land that she has no knowledge of and putting them through more suffering just so she could sit on the Iron Throne.

Favorite Passage

This book is riddled with lots of quotable passages. But here are a few that I liked:

“My lord, why have you told me this, about Maester Aemon?”

“Must I have a reason?” Mormont shifted in his seat, frowning. “Your brother Robb has been crowned King in the North. You and Aemon have that in common. A king for a brother.”

“And this too,” said Jon. “A vow.”

The Old Bear gave a loud snort, and the raven took flight, flapping in a circle about the room, “Give me a man for every vow I’ve seen broken and the Wall will never lack for defenders.”

“I’ve always known that Robb would be Lord of Winterfell.”

Mormont gave a whistle, and the bird flew to him again and settled on his arm. “A lord’s one thing, a king’s another.” He offered the raven a handful of corn from his pocket. “They will garb your brother Robb in silks, satins, and velvets of a hundred different colors, while you live and die in black ringmail. He will wed some beautiful princess and father sons on her. You’ll have no wife, nor will you ever hold a child of your own blood in your arms. Robb will rule, you will serve. Men will call you a crow. Him they’ll call Your Grace. Singers will praise every little thing he does, while your greatest deeds all go unsung. Tell me that none of this troubles you, Jon… and I’ll name you a liar, and know I have the truth of it.”

Jon drew himself up, taut as a bowstring. “And if it did trouble me, what might I do, bastard as I am?”

“What will you do?” Mormont asked. “Bastard as you are?”

“Be troubled,” said Jon, “and keep my vows.”

---

“If I had needed her dead, I would have left her with Ebben, or done the thing myself.”

“Then why did you command it of me?”

“I did not command it. I told you to do what needed to be done, and left you to decide what that would be.” Qhorin stood and slid his longsword back into its scabbard. “When I want a mountain scaled, I call on Stonesnake. Should I need to put an arrow through the eye of some foe across a windy battlefield, I summon Squire Dalbridge. Ebben can make any man give up his secrets. To lead men you must know them, Jon Snow. I know more of you now than I did this morning.”

“And if I had slain her?” asked Jon.

“She would be dead, and I would know you better than I had before.“

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Wrap Up Post

Tags

A Midsummer Nights Dream, Reading Challenge, William Shakespeare

This is the sixth and last discussion on A Midsummer Night’s Dream as part of the Reading Shakespeare A Play A Month Reading Challenge hosted by Risa of Breadcrumb Reads.

Click here to read the first discussion post.
Click here to read the second discussion post.

Click here to read the third discussion post.

Click here to read the fourth discussion post.

Click here to read the fifth discussion post

———————————————————————————————————

This post concerns my final thoughts on A Midsummer Night’s Dream, by William Shakespeare.

With regards to Oberon, I found it nice that he pitied Helena for chasing and being ignored by Demetrius but to intervene? Not a good idea.  I also found it quite amusing that after getting what he wanted (the Indian boy) he was ready to make amends with his wife Titania and lift up the spell put on her.

Oberon’s wife, Titania, is a perfect example of what one is willing to give up in the name of love.  Well, she was under a spell but still in love nonetheless.  That and she was practically badgered while trying to find a gift for Bottom.

Hermia was a surprise for me.  I thought she was going to be sweet all through out  but she can really stand up for what she wants as well.

I can’t say much about Lysander really aside from that night in the forest where he somewhat insinuated that he sleep with Hermia.

Demetrius on the other hand, I feel, is the embodiment of a modern day womanizer. :p It always felt wrong that he just left Helena to pursue Hermia.  Well, by rights, he could pursue anyone he wants but a close friend of the person you were once interested in just seemed wrong to me.

Helena is the most sorry character in this play.  I feel sorry for her despite getting Demetrius in the end because I don’t think he was ever relieved from the spell that was put on him.  Well, if the fairies say that another flower needs to undo the deed then I’d reckon that he was still under the influence of the first flower.  However, I also think that it was quite unnecessary for Helena to chase after a guy who has clearly stated that he does not want her.  It bordered on stalkerish but she did get her man.

Who can blame Puck for his mistake? He was just told to put the flower on the eyelids of an Athenian man and it was just unfortunate that the Athenian man happened to be the wrong one. His mistake started all the craziness that followed.  That and turning Bottom’s head into that of an ass.

The laborers are one funny bunch.  Well, Bottom did most of the talking for them anyway.  It was unfortunate about the play “Pyramus and Thisbe” that they had to put up for the king and queen and the four lovers though.

I can’t say anything much about Theseus, Egeus, and Hippolyta.  Egeus is a harsh father and Theseus and Hippolyta are just there.  I actually feel sorry for Hippolyta as she does not seem to do much.  When she is in a scene she is quiet and the only time she had a lot to say was towards the end of the play.  At least Theseus gets to perform some of his duties.

Overall, it was a fun play.  The sentiments of love in the play are still echoed today. In Lysander’s words: “The course of true love never did run smooth.“

A Game of Thrones Reading Challenge Discussion #1

Tags

A Game of Thrones, A Song of Ice and Fire, George R R Martin, Reading Challenge

This is the discussion post for A Game of Thrones for the A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire Reading Challenge) hosted by The Lit Bitch.

The discussion posts will consist of five questions about the book which the challenge participant will answer.

———————————————————————————————————

Below are the five questions posted along with my answer.

1.) Why do you think Ned insists on keeping Jon with the Stark family? Are Catelyn’s feelings really about Jon or do they have more to do with Ned’s refusal to tell her who the mother is? What does Catelyn’s treatment of Jon say about her own personality?

From what we have read about Ned Stark in A Game of Thrones, we know that he is an honorable man. I feel that something must have happened to Jon’s birth mother that made Ned take him home to live with his family.

With regards to Catelyn’s feelings about Jon, I think its just the fact that Ned had fathered a child in their first year of marriage and had the audacity to actually bring him home and raise him among their trueborn children. Plus the fact that Jon looks more like Ned than any of his other children.

“Many men fathered bastards. Catelyn had grown up with that knowledge. It came as no surprise to her, in the first year of her marriage, to learn that Ned had fathered a child on some girl chance met on campaign. He had a man’s needs, after all, and they had spent that year apart, Ned off at war in the south while she remained safe in her father’s castle at Riverrun. Her thoughts were more of Robb, the infant at her breast, than of the husband she scarcely knew. He was welcome to whatever solace he might find between battles. And if his seed quickened, she expected he would see to the child’s needs.

He did more than that. The Starks were not like other men. Ned brought his bastard home with him, and called him “son” for all the north to see. When the wars were over at last, and Catelyn rode to Winterfell, Jon and his wet nurse had already taken up residence.

That cut deep. Ned would not speak of the mother, not so much as a word…”

…

“… It had taken her a fortnight to marshal her courage, but finally, in bed one night, Catelyn had asked her husband the truth of it, asked him to his face. That was the only time in all their years that Ned had ever frightened her. “Never ask me about Jon,” he said, cold as ice. “He is my blood, and that is all you need to know.”

“Whoever Jon’s mother had been, Ned must have loved her fiercely, for nothing Catelyn said would persuade him to send the boy away. It was the one thing she could never forgive him. She had come to love her husband with all her heart, but she had never found it in her to love Jon. She might have overlooked a dozen bastards for Ned’s sake, so long as they were out of sight. Jon was never out of sight, and as he grew, he looked more like Ned than any of the trueborn sons she bore him. Somehow that made it worse.”

I have always disliked Catelyn’s treatment of Jon. The child has done nothing wrong to hurt her other than inherit the looks of her husband. What does that tell me about her? That she is downright spiteful. She is admirable for what she would do for her children but to treat another human being as such is just not right. Her children have managed to accept him, why can’t she. Although it is practically within her rights to be mad as a legal wife but she can at least treat him somewhat nicely.

2) For those of you who haven’t read ‘high fantasy’, did you find this first book intimidating or challenging? What was the most difficult thing for you to understand/read in this series? Was it the prose, point of view, or the over all story etc?

I’ve read Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia and each had its own challenges.  The thing with A Game of Thrones that it is so complex and laden with small clues here and there that make you go crazy.  Plus, I’ll be honest that I had a hard time keeping up with the multitude of characters, especially the minor ones.

3) What do you make of the direwolves? Are they a bad omen? Do you think the direwolves foreshadow the coming of something more sinister than the fight of the throne? In what ways?

I think that it is  sign that changes are about to come.  As the famous Stark saying goes, “Winter is coming.”  Benjen Stark did mention that they still here direwolves north of the Wall so that is proof that there are still direwolves.  Its just that the litter that they found was not anywhere near the Wall and killed by a stag nonetheless seemed to set the mood for ill tidings to come.

4) Aerys Targaryen (the mad king), raped Lyanna Stark and murdered her brother, and then attempted to murder their allies–the Starks, Baratheons, and Arryns rebelled and overthrew the king. Afterward, Robert was crowned king. How much of his actions now are still revenge orientated? Do you think he is justified in his hatred of the Targaryens? Do you feel his actions, past and present, are justified?

I think that it was Rhaegar Targaryen, the son of the Mad King, who was accused of raping Lyanna Stark by Robert Baratheon. The Mad King did have Brandon Stark and Lord Rickard Stark murdered. All of these events triggered the war that was won by Robert at the Trident when he killed Rhaegar Targaryen.

Robert still seems mad at the thought that there are still two living and breathing Targaryens yet he couldn’t do anything about it. I think that it was rather stupid that his hatred should go far down the family tree when the only person that had done harm to him were the Mad King and Rhaegar Targaryen. Both of which were now long gone.

I would consider his past actions to be rather justified because the Mad King did commit murder for no apparent reason. But his present actions are more of security for the throne as the Targaryens were the last ruling dynasty that they overthrew and could still lay claim to the throne.

5) How do you feel about Jon’s choice to join the Night Watch? Do you think he is giving up his life and his gifts/talents? Do you think his choice is an honorable one? How did you feel when the Lord Commander gave Jon his family sword?

I really felt bad that Jon Snow would want to join the Night’s Watch. But then again in a world where bastards are shunned, where else could he hope to go? As Ned said, “bastards can rise high in the Night’s Watch.” And we also know that for a fact because one of the leaders in the Night’s Watch was a son of a tavern wench (I’m forgetting the name). So, it was definitely an honorable move from Jon but just rather shocking that he would request to take the Black at fourteen years of age.

I also do not think that Jon was giving up his gifts and talents. I feel that they are of more use in the Wall where they defend the entire realm from forces that mean to do harm. Albeit scarier because they have to deal with supernatural forces as well but I find it to be real defending rather than fighting for lords who only want to play the game of thrones.

I think it was great the Mormont gave the sword to someone who can actually wield it. It belonged to his House and was last the possession of his son who dishonored the family by selling poachers instead of giving them to the Night’s Watch and is now in league with Daenerys Targaryen. Since Mormont mentioned that the sword was left forgotten until the fire, I think that it was right to give it to someone who could use it to defend the Wall.

Favorite passage?

There are lots to choose from.  Here are some:

Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armour yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you.

---

Bran thought about it. ‘Can a man still be brave if he’s afraid?’
‘That is the only time a man can be brave,’ his father told him.

---

The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword. If you would take a man’s life, you owe it to him to look into his eyes and hear his final words. And if you cannot bear to do that, then perhaps the man does not deserve to die.

---

Most men would rather deny a hard truth than face it.

---

It is one thing to be clever and another to be wise.

---

Oh, my sweet summer child,” Old Nan said quietly, “what do you know of fear?
Fear is for the winter, my little lord, when the snows fall a hundred feet
deep and the ice wind comes howling out of the north. Fear is for the long
night, when the sun hides its face for years at a time, and little children
are born and live and die all in darkness while the direwolves grow gaunt and
hungry, and the white walkers move through the woods

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Discussion Post #5

Tags

A Midsummer Nights Dream, Reading Challenge, William Shakespeare

This is the fifth of six posts on A Midsummer Night’s Dream as part of the Reading Shakespeare A Play A Month Reading Challenge hosted by Risa of Breadcrumb Reads.

Click here to read the first discussion post.
Click here to read the second discussion post.

Click here to read the third discussion post.

Click here to read the fourth discussion post.

———————————————————————————————————

We are finally here at the last act of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  I actually just made this post so that there will be a balance of posts on the play as for the next play, there would be only one and will be be about the entire play and not a post after every Act.

In this Act, we get to see the play that the laborers had rehearsed.  Before that, Theseus and Hippolyta discuss the events that the four young lovers related to them about what happened to them in the forests.   Theseus dismisses it as a dream.

The play out on by the laborers turn out to be comical and while the laborers are performing the play, we also get to hear the comments from the nobles, which weren’t exactly complimentary.

After the play, Oberon and Titania come to bless the marriage of the three couples. Puck is left behind to deliver his message to the audience and think of what has happened as a dream.

If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended:
That you have but slumbered here,
While these visions did appear;
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding but a dream,
Gentles, do not reprehend.
If you pardon, we will mend.

This act further reiterates the theme of dreams.  Theseus dismisses the story of the four lovers as a dream and Puck addresses the audience no less that what they have witnessed was actually just a dream.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Discussion Post #4

Tags

A Midsummer Nights Dream, Reading Challenge, William Shakespeare

This is the fourth of six posts on A Midsummer Night’s Dream as part of the Reading Shakespeare A Play A Month Reading Challenge hosted by Risa of Breadcrumb Reads.

Click here to read the first discussion post.
Click here to read the second discussion post.

Click here to read the third discussion post.

———————————————————————————————————

While Act III was rather long, this one is rather short.

Act IV opens with Titania fawning over her lover.  Bottom is still not aware of his transformation and seems to have also developed a taste for hay and oats.  Oberon, in the meantime, has decided that it is time to end Titania’s spell because he has already got what he wanted from her.

Oberon says that he met Titania earlier while she was trying to find presents for her lover and badgered her for the boy which she relinquished to him without question.  Funny the things we would gladly give up when we are in love.

Bottom decides that he has to sleep and Titania sleeps as well.  And here signals the role of sleep in the resolution of Titania being in love with an ass.  When she wakes, she reconciles with Oberon and they dance and play music so the lovers would continue to sleep.  It is also curious to note that they seem to love the night as when Puck announced that he hears the morning lark, Oberon says that they move to a place where it is till night.

Theseus, Hippolyta, and Egeus and others walk through the woods after celebrating May Day and find the sleeping lovers.  They are woken and are confused by the events that have transpired.  Lysander admits that he and Hermia were planning to run away which causes Egeus to get mad but Theseus intervenes and decides that all three couples should get married on the same day.

I actually found this rather sad since it was only Lysander who was restored to his love for Hermia.  Demtrius’ love for Helena was fulfilled through the use of magic.

With regards to Bottom, he wakes up and like the lovers, thinks it but a dream.  He manages to find his friends and instructs them to meet him at the palace as they are to perform their play.  I can’t imagine what would happen since they never even got anything right during their rehearsal.

This were the events that happened in Act IV.  It was a rather peaceful act.  Lysander and Demetrius don’t seem to be mad at each other anymore and so are Hermia and Helena.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Discussion Post #3

Tags

A Midsummer Nights Dream, Reading Challenge, William Shakespeare

This is the third of six posts on A Midsummer Night’s Dream as part of the Reading Shakespeare A Play A Month Reading Challenge hosted by Risa of Breadcrumb Reads.

Click here to read the first discussion post.
Click here to read the second discussion post.

———————————————————————————————————

My, this was longer than the rest of the previous acts.  In Act III Scene I, we see the laborers practice their play in the woods and close to where Titania is sleeping.  In this scene with the laborers, Bottom suggests a couple of really silly things for the play.  With regards to his issue that the audience might misconstrue Pyramus killing himself with a sword as real, he requests a prologue to be written that he is NOT in fact killing himself for real and that he is Nick Bottom and not Pyramus.  Where in the world can you find a play like that?

Before, I head on to the “resolution” Bottom had for the lion, I just wanted to say something about Snout and Starveling. These two were given parts that they had no time to contest and I brought up that issue for the discussion on Act I and I also wondered how that would play out in the further part of the play.  Well, let me just say that Snout and Starveling (at this point) don’t do much at all.  Snout brings up that he is quite concerned about the lion when it was already said that Snug would just act like a lion.  Starveling just echoes Snout’s concerns.  By the way, Snug is pretty quiet in this Act.

Anyway, about the issue of the lion.  Bottom suggests that Snug declare who he is and that he is not a real lion before performing his role as a lion.

Another issue they had is creating an atmosphere that would suggest that it is night because Pyramus and Thisbe meet by moonlight.  Quince crazily suggests that sticks and a lantern would do the trick.  In this particular scene, I can’t help but notice certain repetitions like “A calendar, a calendar!” and “Look up moonshine, look up moonshine!” Probably doesn’t mean anything but a rhetorical device but just though I’d mention it.

The last issue they discussed was the wall since Pyramus and Thisbe talk through a crack in the wall.  Bottom comes up with a very crazy suggestion to have someone play the Wall and cover him with plaster then he would hold his fingers up in a V position then the lovers would talk through the space.  How odd would that look?

Another thing to notice is the consistent mistakes each of the rehearsing laborers make.  Bottom says “odious” instead of “odors” and Flute says “Ninny’s grave” instead of “Ninus’ grave.“

Without their knowledge, Puck was seeing the entire thing.  After Bottom rehearsed his part, he exits and while waiting for his next cue, Puck transforms his head into that of an ass.  When his friends see what has emerged, they run away. Bottom doesn’t understand why and keeps calling them asses.  Bottom decides to sing and this wakes Titania.

Given that the nectar of the flower will make Titania fall in love with the first thing she sees, she immediately falls for Bottom.  Bottom doesn’t seem to mind that attention either.  Titania then calls on her fairies to attend to Bottom and take him to her sleeping area.  On a side note, I have been re-reading A Game of Thrones and there were three servants who repeat what the other says (“It is known“) and I couldn’t hep but compare it here (“Hail mortal!”, “Hail,” “Hail,” “Hail”).  I don’t know about you but I also found this line uttered by Titania to be particularly funny because of Bottom’s current state: “So is mine eye enthralled to thy shape.“

I also found her ending dialogue as something of a reflection on the state of the lovers as the men are pursuing [Lysander pursues Helena and Demetrius is pursuing Hermia] yet nothing is ever reciprocated:

The moon, methinks, looks with a wat’ry eye,
And when she weeps, weeps every little flower,
Lamenting some enforced chastity.

Next we see Oberon and Puck discussing what they have done.  Puck declares to Oberon, “Titania waked and straight away loved an ass.”  I found that really hilarious.

They then decide to watch Demetrius and Hermia argue and Oberon finds out that Puck has made a mistake when he says that Demetrius is not the man he dropped the nectar on.  Oberon declares that Puck’s mistake has caused “Some true-love turned, and not a false turned true.”  Demetrius, at this point, decides to sleep as Hermia has left him.  Oberon instructs Puck to find Helena and bring her here while he drops the nectar on Demetrius’ eyes so when he wakes and sees Helena, he would fall in love with her.

Lysander and Helena arrive and they Helena keeps pushing him away but he is relentless.  Demetrius wakes up and declares his love for Helena.  Poor Helena thinks it is all a joke.  Tensions arise when Hermia arrives and we find out that she is really feisty.  Accusations are thrown and pledges of love are made.  In those dialogues, we find out that Hermia is short and dark while Helena is rather tall.  All the bickering ends when Demetrius and Lysander decide to fight elsewhere.

Oberon chastises Puck for his mistake and orders him to cause confusion between the two.  Probably exhausted from their confusion, both fall asleep.  Hermia and Helena also chance upon the same spot and both also fall asleep.  Puck applies another type of flower to Lysander so his love for Hermia will be restored when he wakes.

Those are the events that have transpired for this act.  I have noticed that sleep plays an important role here.  It seems that sleep here acts as a solution to the lovers quarrel.  While in the previous acts, sleep played a part in the ruckus.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Discussion Post #2

Tags

A Midsummer Nights Dream, Reading Challenge, William Shakespeare

This is the second of six posts on A Midsummer Night’s Dream as part of the Reading Shakespeare A Play A Month Reading Challenge hosted by Risa of Breadcrumb Reads.

———————————————————————————————————

Act II has been by far my favorite.  I loved the dialogues in this Act.  In this Act, we get to meet Oberon and Titania, the King and Queen of the Fairies.  We also get to meet the mischievous Robin Goodfellow a.k.a. “Puck.”  I find his name rather intriguing as he is called Goodfellow but “good” is not entirely what he does! And we also get to see the lovers out in the wood.

Oberon and Titania bicker like an old married couple.  Well they are. But their fight is rather childish because it is over a young little Indian boy. The mother of the Indian boy was a devotee of Titania and she took it upon herself to look after the boy following the after his mother passed.  Now, Oberon wants him as his page and Titania won’t allow it.  And this has caused problems in their marriage with Titania refusing to share his bed.  Now, I don’t get why Titania couldn’t let Oberon “borrow” the child and since they are a married couple, she would still see the child and attend to his welfare.  But, what do I know? This is a fantasy.

Oberon declares revenge and instructs Puck to retrieve a flower whose juices when applied to the eyelids of a sleeping person would cause that person to fall in love with the first creature they see.  While Puck goes searching for the flower, Demetrius enters the wood searching for Hermia and Lysander with Helena following after him like a lost puppy.

I know that I’m probably supposed to take Helena’s declarations of love to be serious but I found her relentless pursuit of Demetrius through the woods to be rather comical.  Take this dialogue between the two:

Demetrius
     Do I entice you? Do I speak you fair?
     Or rather do I not in plainest truth
     Tell you I do not, nor I cannot love you?

Helena
     And even for that do I love you the more.
     I am your spaniel, and, Demetrius,
     The more you beat me I will fawn on you.
     Use me but as your spaniel: spurn me, strike me,
     Neglect me, lose me; only give me leave
     (Unworthy as I am ) to follow you.
     What worser place can I beg in your love
     (And yet a place of high respect with me)
     Than to be used as you use your dog?

Demetrius
     Tempt me not too much the hatred of my spirit,
     For I am sick when I look on thee.

Helena
     And I am sick when I look not on you.

I just don’t know how much pain this woman (Helena) could take.  She is very relentless.  You could put up a tally board of how many times Demetrius has insulted her and they would still come up a tie because for every insult, she has a corresponding rebuttal.

But despite my dislike of Helena’s apparent lack of self-respect, I still found the following dialogue to be rather cute (in my country, words like these are the staple of romantic movies) :

Helena
     For you, in my respect, are all the world.
     Then, how can it be said I am alone
     When all the world is here to look on me?

Anyway, Helena continues to chase after this awful man and all the while Oberon has heard the entire thing.  When Puck arrives, he instructs him to drop the nectar on Demetrius and describes him as a man with “Athenian garments.”  I don’t know if Shakespeare intended it but Helena did call Demetrius by his name during their “conversation” in the woods and I wonder why Oberon did not pick it up.  Well, what fun would that be if he did pick it up?

The scene changes to one with Titania and her fairies.  She instructs her fairies to sing her to sleep and I find the song they sung rather amusing, especially the lines: “Never harm, Nor spell nor charm.”  Because we all know that Oberon intends to inflict “harm” by dropping nectar into Titania’s eyelids and wishing her to “wake when something vile is near.”

The scene we see next is of the two lovers, Lysander and Hermia running away (as they agreed upon in Act I).  Lysander is and lost suggests they rest and somewhat suggests that they lie together but when Hermia protests, he segues into an oration of how he was misunderstood.  Hermia’s modesty prevails and they both sleep apart from each other.  I don’t know if he really meant to sleep with Hermia because if that was the case then he is no different than Demetrius whose claims of love seem to be of lust.

Since the description given by Oberon to Puck of Demetrius was an “Athenian man” and Lysander being the only Athenian man that Puck sees, drops nectar into his eyelids.  And the very unfortunate Helena, who comes by Lysander through her relentless pursuit of Demetrius through the wood, thinking Lysander to be dead tries to wake him and much to her surprise, declares his love for her.  Thinking that she is being fooled, leaves …. and Lysander follows her.

Now, Hermia is awakened by a dream of a serpent eating her heart while Lysander just smiles and watches.  I think that this is a foreshadowing of the things to come.  Since we know that Lysander is now pursuing Helena, not because he loves her, but because of the deceit of magic. She wakes up begging for help from Lysander and since she couldn’t find him because he is out chasing poor unfortunate Helena, she decides to find him.

And that sums up my post on Act II of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Discussion Post #1

Tags

A Midsummer Nights Dream, Reading Challenges, William Shakespeare

This is the first of six posts on A Midsummer Night’s Dream as part of the Reading Shakespeare A Play A Month Reading Challenge hosted by Risa of Breadcrumb Reads.

———————————————————————————————————

This post mainly concerns Act I of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, by William Shakespeare.  Act I is divided into two scenes, the first introduces us to the lovers: Hermia, Lysander, Helena, and Demetrius; Theseus and Hippolyta who are set to be married; and the second scene introduces us to the band of laborers: Peter Quince, Nick Bottom, Snug, Tom Snout, Francis Flute, and Robin Starvelling who are putting on a play for the wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta.

Since Theseus sounded awfully familiar to me, I did a quick Google search and found that he was in Greek mythology, the founder-king of Athens.  And that he is in fact somewhat connected to Hippolyta, whom he kidnapped and took for his wife.  I’ve also noticed several other references to mythology in this play.

In this play, Theseus is a duke of Athens who wooed Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, with his sword and won her love by injuring her.  But despite this, Hippolyta does not seem bothered at all.  And she’s only spoken once so far.

Egeus then enters bringing along his daughter Hermia and her two suitors, Lysander and Demetrius.  Egeus has come to Theseus to complain about Hermia because she refuses to marry Demetrius, who Egeus has chosen for her, and is instead in love with Lysander.  Egeus asks Theseus that he may be able to exercise his right as a father according to law to force her to marry Demetrius or have her killed (Ouch! Harsh).

To comment on that, I think its rather harsh to force somebody to love another.  And in the case of Egeus, to bear the thought of having his daughter killed for not following his will.  As to why he chooses Demetrius over Lysander is not made clear.  For I, personally, dislike Demetrius because of his lack of tact when he moved from one girl to the other (and friends at that) and still insisted on wooing a girl who has made it clear that she does not want him.  Couldn’t he have chosen another girl and why should it be the closest friend of the person he was once wooing?

Anyway, enough of the Demetrius rant.  Back to the play, Theseus gives Hermia two choices: to either become a nun (serving Diana/Phoebe the goddess of the hunt, the moon, and chastity) or face death.  Hermia chooses death as she would rather die than marry a man that she does not love.  Theseus then tells her to think about it and decide on his and Hippolyta’s wedding day.

Lysander then exclaiming “For aught that I could ever read, Could ever hear by tale or history, The course of true love never did run smooth” decides that he and Hermia should elope and get married where they are not bound by the Athens law.  Hermia immediately agrees.  I couldn’t blame her here despite the idea being rather foolish because she was tasked to choose between death and becoming a nun.

At this point, we meet Hermia’s friend Helena who does nothing but list the ways in which Hermia is better than her: “Your eyes are lodestars, and your tongue’s sweet air | More tunable than lark to shepherd’s ear” then proceeds to wish to have what Hermia has so that Demetrius may want her again.  Hermia and Lysander foolishly tell her of their plans to elope.  Helena, who suddenly gets the “brilliant” idea to tell Demetrius so that he may follow them into the woods in hopes that she might win back his love.

I don’t know how I should feel about Helena.  I pity her for having her heart broken yet find her obsession of wanting to win back the person who broke her heart to be rather insane.  If she lived in this day and age, there’s a thing called “moving on.”

That was the entirety of Act I Scene I.  Act I Scene II deals with the laborers planning to rehearse a play called “A Very Tragic Comedy About the Horrible Deaths of Pyramus and Thisbe” to present during the marriage of Theseus to Hippolyta.  In here we meet

• the very meddlesome Bottom who gets to play Pyramus but would rather play every possible character in the play,
• their “leader” Quince who will play Thisbe’s father,
• the whiner Flute who gets to play the female part of Thisbe then goes on to complain that he can’t because he has a beard coming,
• the self-proclaimed slow learner Snout who gets to play a lion and do nothing but roar,
• and Starvelling and Snug who didn’t get to meddle nor complain and were given the roles of Thisbe’s mother and Pyramus’ father respectively and both without protest

That was the entirety of Act I Scene II as well.  It was about Quince assigning the roles that each of the laborers will play with additional meddling from Bottom.

Now, I also looked up Pyramus and Thisbe and it turns out that their tale is told in The Metamorphoses, by Ovid.  Their story is very much like Romeo and Juliet where there is forbidden love and suicide.

2012 Twilight Series Challenge

Tags

Reading Challenge, Stephanie Meyer, Twilight, Vampires, Werewolves

I have a confession to make. The only book in the series that I read intently was Twilight. The rest I just skimmed over. Without thinking about me already drowning in reading challenges, I’ve decided to take this one up. I just thought it would be nice to be able to read the entire series before Breaking Dawn Part Two comes to cinemas in November 2012.

This challenge is hosted at Pages of Forbidden Love.

2012 Greek Classics Challenge

Tags

Classic Greek Literature, Classic Literature, Classics, Greek Classics, Reading Challenge

Since I’m planning on increasing the amount of classic literature I read, this challenge hosted at Howling Frog Books sounds about right. I plan to participate at the Sophocles level (read 1 to 4 books) and hope that I actually read more than that.

These are the books that I plan to read:

1. The Iliad, by Homer.  I read this in high school but never in poetry form.  So I plan to read this in poetry form this year.
2. The Odyssey, by Homer.  Same as The Iliad, I intend to read this in poetry form.
3. Histories, by Herodotus.
4. History of the Peleponnesian War, by Thucydides.