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LITERATURE
ACADEMIC DISCUSSIONS AND ESSAYMENU
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* Emily Dickinson
* King Lear
* Small Island & My Beautiful Laundrette * The Picture Of Dorian Gray* Volpone
* William Blake
* The Little Stranger* Other Poetry
* Mansfield Park
‘THROUGH NATURE ONE FINDS PEACE’ – VOLPONE AND SONGS OF INNOCENCE AND OF EXPERIENCE Posted on June 19, 2013by Lauren Lind
‘THROUGH NATURE ONE FINDS PEACE’ In light of this view, consider the uses which writers make of thenatural world.
_*Disclaimer: this essay is a collection of my own thoughts and ideas, backed up by the texts. You may agree or disagree (even better) but feel free to leave comments or ask any questions. I have spent a long time researching the concept of ‘nature’ and exploring what it really means within the texts*_ Nature is defined as an ‘uncivilized or uncultured condition’ which is based on the advancements of individuals through the evolutionary principal of survival of the fittest. This concept undermines morality and religious authority and to some degree challenges our perception of ‘nature as good’ or as ‘peace’ bringing. Ben Jonson and William Blake both explore the advantages and disadvantages of a natural state, through satire. During the 1600s and 1700s, in Jonson and Blake’s time, society was mainly protestant – following the law and teaching of the bible which presented the idea that human nature was inherently ‘sinful’ and corrupt (Psalms 51). It may be argued in this respect that the ‘nature’ of an individual truly presents the base animal instincts of that person (as outlined by evolutionary law) and this is reinforced when Mosca states ‘thy wolfish nature’. It is also important to note that Volpone is of the beast fable genre representing most characters as animals, further reinforcing this idea. Therefore, the eponymous Volpone, symbolises a Venetian civilization who are slaves to their desires, but it is important to note that Volpone’s Venice may be viewed as a ‘magnification of London’, under disguise due to literary censorship. Whilst, Volpone arguably reveals the danger of being controlled by natural human desires, Blake suggests that purging natural emotions is a form of repression with disastrous consequences. In ‘The Marriage of Heaven and Hell’ Blake states ‘He who desires but acts not breeds pestilence’ which in many ways reveals the view that desire is a natural and healthy human emotion. In this way, Blake supports the idea that ‘through nature one finds peace’, rather than pestilence whereas Jonson suggests that there is no ‘honour… in nature’ according to the character of Corvino. Nature simply results in a society which rejects religion and law ultimately producing individuals who live selfishly in crime and corruption, at the demise of others and therefore rejecting peace, asa society.
Blake argues in the Marriage of Heaven and Hell that ‘if the doors of perception were cleansed, every thing would appear to man as it is, infinite’ and this explores the idea that our perception of nature is limited, as it is either viewed as liberating and bringing ‘peace’, or simply as another form of chains resulting in further repression, rape and death. This can be explored in both of our texts, as Volpone satirises the idea that ‘through nature one finds peace’ . When Volpone attempts to rape Celia, she states ‘punish that unhappy crime of nature’. which reveals the idea that Volpone, attempting to satisfy his inner natural desires, does not bring peace for Celia. She becomes a victim of abuse and unhappiness in order for Volpone to find ‘peace’ through his own natural desires which challenges, to some extent, the perception that ‘nature brings peace’. Volpone was published in 1606, when sex was considered as an act of intimacy bringing two individuals together as one, which was an act of the celebration of marriage. Furthermore, in 1650, during the ascendancy of the Puritans, fornication was a felony which was punished by law if discovered. Edward Shorter, who studied rape suggested that it only decreased due to the ‘growth’ in sexual permissiveness during and after the industrial revolution (which was around the time of Blake’s writing). This may be why William Blake explores themes of sexual liberation, in terms of poems such as the angel and the blossom. Short also argues that rape occurred due to the frustrated elemental sex drive of early modem men and from this point of view, we can view nature as something which breeds never ending frustration and results in crime, rather than peace. However, the Greenwich production of Volpone presents the rape scene as highly comedic, as Celia shouts and throws pillows at Volpone. The Bath (2012) production also attempts to do this by portraying Volpone as a stripper, with disco lights and the use of the modern day ‘sex bomb’ music. In my opinion, whilst this depiction of the scene may be seen to undermine to seriousness of the crime, it does so by destabilising the audience – forcing them to question the true injustice of the crime. In this way Volpone encourages both a Jacobean and 21st century audience to question what ‘human nature’ and the ‘human world’ truly represents in terms of society. Nature therefore does not ‘simply’ bring peace, but rather a frustrated desire that cannot be fully satisfied (or at least for very long). The Songs of Innocence and of Experience present two states of the human soul, where innocence could be viewed as nature without knowledge and experience as the wisdom of understanding good and evil (which could be argued is either a divine or made man creation). We must therefore question whether our understanding of nature has simply been polluted by man-made control. This can be explored in ‘London’ and ‘The Lamb’. The lamb lives by the ‘steam o’er the mead’ indicating a form of clean, unpolluted nature, whereas London presents an image of the ‘chartered thames’ which is symbolic of a negative image of the human control within the natural world, as the Thames was known to be heavily polluted in the late 1700s. For the lamb, it is the unpolluted and freely running stream of innocence which brings ‘peace’, but this is at the cost of the lamb being completely unaware of a pollution, which could be a metaphor for experience. In this way it could be argued that unpolluted and free nature, which does not exist at the expense of the weak, is true nature which does in fact bring peace to the innocent. Nature can be explored through Adam and Eve and original sin, which is a motif that both texts draw upon to some degree. Whilst Mosca’s name means ‘parasite’ in Italian, Mosca may also be viewed as the serpent from Genesis enticing Volpone to seek Celia , who he describes as being ‘bright’ as Volpone’s ‘gold’, and this questions the idea of whether we are inherently curious and deviant in terms of our nature – or whether it is something that needs enticing and encouragement (and hence something that has to be learned). It has been argued that The Sick Rose is ‘paradise lost in 8 lines’, which is an epic poem by John Milton published in 1667. Blake was highly influenced by Milton, even to a point where he made a Paradise lost illustration which presented the love of two people in Eden, beneath what could be an isolated Lucifer figure. The love of this couple is being controlled by Satan, who represents corruption and sin – and is therefore why the couple cannot find peace through natural love. The Sick Rose describes a ‘dark secret love’ which ‘destroy life’. During the 1800s, there was a large amount of prostitution and sexually transmitted diseases. Many would therefore argue that Blake’s ‘Sick Rose’ is the result of a ‘crimson joy’ – which connotes lust and a lack of innocence, and a hence a sexual disease. Therefore, Blake suggests that whilst submitting to your nature might result in momentary ‘joy’, it does not result in ‘peace’ but rather, pain and suffering that causes a destroyedlife.
There is also an argument to be made which suggests that ‘nature’ is cursed as a punishment for original sin and this can be explored through both of our texts. Volpone’s natural instincts, passions and desires are ultimately punished as a result of obeying the serpent like Mosca. The Court in Volpone therefore may viewed as a metaphor for God who allows humans the free will to explore their nature, but punishes them for submitting to it. The court’s inability to differentiate reality from fiction is also a comment, that Jonson may be making about societies interpretations of the bible and the God of the new and old testament. In addition, many of the courts in Jonson’s time were known to be corrupt and biased, which is why there were so many accused plots at the time, including the Gunpowder plot – which Jonson was accused for being involved with. It is however revealed in Genesis that the earth was ‘punished’ due to the sin of man. Genesis 3:17 states that the earth was ‘cursed in thy work’ and In Isaiah ‘the earth is defiled by its people disobeyed its laws’. This can be explored in Earth’s Answer who perhaps describes God as ‘selfish father of men’ who is ‘cruel’ and ‘jealous’. Earth does however plead for man to ‘break this heavy chain’, by discontinuing sin – which is symbolic of the idea that nature (which was created by God as ‘good’ and peaceful in Genesis) is what suffers because of human sin. In this way it can be argued that ‘Nature’ was designed to be ‘peace’ bringing, but has been destroyed through misguided perception and an inherited sinful nature which is a result of the tree of knowledge. The Human Abstract states that the ‘Gods… sought through nature to find this Tree; but their search was in vain; There grows one in the human brain’ which may be symbolic of the idea that sinful nature is something that grows within us, rather than something which simply created by religious ideologies. Another idea may be that our understanding of ‘nature’ is something controlled by society rather than something inherently inside of us. We must also therefore question whether our perception of ‘peace’ is something which is created by society, or if it is something we inherently know, feel and understand and is natural. Both texts also explore repression, due to the purging of natural desires. When Celia throws the handkerchief out of the window to the mount back, it reveals her desire for freedom as we are told that she has ’10 men’ watching over her, by the order of Corvino, at every moment. She is arguably repressed in every sense, including her happiness, freedom and sexuality – as we find that Corvino makes her wear a chastity belt, which is unnatural in the sense of marriage. Blake also explored repression of the natural world in The Garden of Love, where the ‘gates of chapel’ are ‘shut’ and ‘though shalt not’ is ‘writ over the door’. Andrews argues that the church is a ‘tool of political and social repression’ which covers where the ‘green’ fields was once (and this is associated with natural imagery). Here Blake argues that religion represses nature and represses individuals of being free. Blake was known for his views on free love, but it can still be argued from a biblical point of view – that there is no freedom in nature. Blake the dissenter who was a social, religious and political anarchist therefore does not break free of the chains and ‘mind forg’d manacles’ (London) , but rather simply hands himself over to another master, by following the Swedenborgian. Romans 6 states that everyone is simply ‘slaves to the one they obey’, ‘slaves to sin’ or ‘slaves to righteousness’. In this way, characters giving in to their natures are ‘slaves’ to sin and their own natural desires, and hence can never be fully in peace. This is why Blake states ‘I must create a system or be enslaved by another man’s’. Finally, it can be said that nature and the natural world is extremely difficult to understand and define. Whilst Christian ideologies would align love with marriage, Blake and Volpone both view marriage as corrupt and in essence, the antithesis of free love. Marriage was often viewed as a social contract between families, often rejecting love as its core which is why, London uses the juxtaposing words ‘marriage hearse’, which reveals how everything about nature and the natural world has been inversed and corrupted by human decisions. Volpone presents no real families, where the death of marriage is explored through Celia and Corvino’s as well as and Sir Politic and his wife. In each case, there is no trust or real relationship, but rather a courtship based on wealth and reputation, where Volpone replaces family with money. Nature is therefore represented in both texts, as far too corrupted, to bring any real peace to individuals.Advertisements
Report this ad Leave a comment MOCKERY, WISDOM, HUMOUR AND SATIRE IN BEN JONSON’S VOLPONE AND BLAKE’S SONGS OF INNOCENCE AND OF EXPERIENCE Posted on June 19, 2013by Lauren Lind
‘MOCKERY BRINGS WISDOM’ In the light of this view, discuss the ways in which writers make useof humour.
Volpone is categorised as a satirical comedy which draws on an eclectic mix of elements from city comedy, black comedy and beast fable genres. Satire is important in understanding humour and can be described as a genre in which the vices of the characters are used to expose and shame the individuals of society. Black comedy uses humour that makes light of dark or solemn subject matters and this can be explored in the scene where Volpone attempts to rape Celia. In addition, City comedy was simply defined as an English comedy written during the reign of James the first, which was set in London and depicted ordinary London life. Notably, Volpone is set in Venice – a city which was stereotyped for decadence and corruption, but it is important to note that Volpone is a clear ‘magnification of London’ and the setting was used to expose and criticise society’s move to capitalism. In this way, satirical comedy and mockery is used to explore the follies of London’s society in hope of bringing new wisdom to the people. Blake’s poems – although sometimes depicted as childlike and simple, are often satirical and deal with a range of topical and controversial issues such as poverty, social revolution and the abuses of the Church. In the Laughing Song, the ‘green woods’, the ‘dimpling streams’ and the ‘meadows’ are all personified to laugh ‘with the voice of joy’. The poem has three stanzas with two rhyming couplets in each section and this rhyme scheme is used to evoke the song like quality of children’s songs. The Laughing Song shows the world in its purest and most innocent form and it has been argued that Blake does this in an attempt to induce laughter ‘in a world where such laughter is in perpetual danger of becoming forever absent’. In this way the motif of laughing is symbolic of innocence which is something that Blake often mocks. In the Greenwich production of Volpone, Celia and Volpone have a scene on stage together where Volpone attempts to rape her. This scene is portrayed in a comic way as Celia is shocked and hits Volpone with the cushions on his bed. In my opinion this use of black comedy both mocks and undermines the seriousness of the crime, but it is this feeling of social injustice which evokes morality questions from the audience and ultimately brings Wisdom. In addition, within this scene religious language and imagery are often used, such as when Volpone says ‘that never tasted the true heaven of love’ and ‘applaud beauty’s miracle’. This is an example of situational irony as the audience would not expect religious language to be associated with rape. Volpone states that he ‘would only have sold part of paradise’ which is a metaphor and illustrates that his paradise is sex. When Volpone speaks of being ‘raised’ in ‘several shapes’, this makes a biblical allusion to Lazarus being raised from the dead, but is also profanely and ironically a phallic joke. Irony is a convention of satire and comedy and is often used as mockery in order to evoke wisdom. Notably, religion and biblical language is often used as a veneer to cover up the corruption of Volpone’s world. Blake also uses irony within his poems and this can be seen dominantly in The Chimney Sweeper. Tom Dacre was ‘sold’ as a sweeper and cried when his head was shaved. The speaker tells Tom ‘hush’ and ‘never mind it’ for when his ‘head is bare’, ‘you know the soot cannot spoil white hair. Tom’s hair is used to resemble a lamb before it has been shaved and this is ironic because his white hair is a symbol of innocence. Blake is therefore ironically saying that it is better to have no innocence than to have it, to be ‘spoiled’. In addition, the free direct dialogue illustrates the self repression of these characters in what they are being told to accept in terms of religion and other aspects. Dominant use of humour and metatheatricality can be seen through Volpone’s dwarf, eunuch and fool – who are portrayed very comically throughout the play. Lady Would-be prays to Volpone to ‘lend dwarf’ and this shows how these characters are objectified and often portrayed as pets. In the Greenwhich production Lady Would-be even attaches a collar to his neck which reinforces this idea. In addition, it is argued that in city comedy, two types of Renaissance gentleman can be found – the ‘natural idiot or deformed fools’ and here Volpone’s children are examples of deformed fools. In Genesis it states that we are made in the image of God and in the same way, it has been argued that Volpone’s children are made in the true image of Volpone. Therefore although these characters are highly comical, they are used to represent the unnatural, profane and reversed nature of Volpone’s character. Comedy, satire and irony are therefore all used as mockery in order to expose the follies, and in a sense, hold a mirror up to the audience of the time. Shakespeare states in As you Like it, ‘all the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players’. Jonson, like Shakespeare believes that we all put on roles and disguises in life and metatheatricality is therefore a Jacobean theatrical metaphor. Mockery and humour used in Volpone and Blake therefore bring wisdom to both a Jacobean and twenty first century audience through the use of humour and comedy.Lauren Lind
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‘HUMAN SOCIETY IS INHERENTLY CORRUPT.’ – VOLPONE AND SONGS OF INNOCENCE AND OF EXPERIENCE Posted on June 18, 2013by Lauren Lind
‘HUMAN SOCIETY IS INHERENTLY CORRUPT.’ IN THE LIGHT OF THIS COMMENT, DRAW COMPARISONS BETWEEN _VOLPONE _ACT 1 SCENE 1 ANDBLAKE’S POEMS.
It is argued that ‘disguise, deception and false identity are all fruits of corruption emblematic of the dishonesty which greed leads’. In Act 1 Scene 1, the characters enter Volpone’s house which is situated in the Italian city of Venice. The play’s setting is vital in understanding Volpone’s world of corruption, as the Venice of the Renaissance was viewed abroad as the seat of corruption, infamous for its vice-ridden inhabitants and decadence. Venice was stereotyped for many years in English drama and as a result, Italians were often portrayed as sensuous beings who were associated with greed, disguise and deception. For example, Shakespeare, who was one of Jonson’s contemporaries, includes a scene in _Othello_, where Iago speaks of the ‘super-subtle’ Venetians and this serves to reiterate the belief that Venetians were ‘masters of duplicity’. In addition, it has been said that Jonson’s Venice was a ‘magnification of London’ and was used to expose and criticise society’s move to capitalism. It is therefore ironic that Jonson uses Venice as a disguise of London (which exposes its corruption) because the characters in Volpone also take on disguises to both conceal and reveal inner truths. Notably, Blake also explores London’s corruption in his poem _London_ but he does so directly, with a melancholic mode of address and without the use ofsatire.
Blake’s Songs of Innocence and experience serve to explore the binary opposition between the innocent and a pastoral idyll, which is associated with childhood, and the adult world of repression, corruption and experience. In the poem London, Blake portrays a very negative and cynical view of the city as the ‘Church’ is black’ning, ‘youth’ are described as ‘Harlot’, the ‘Soldier’ are ‘hapless’ and ‘Marriage’ is placed in line with the ‘plagues’. This reveals the complete inverse of natural order, symbolising an inherently corrupt and hopeless world, where Christian values are completely manipulated and reversed. In the poem money is spent on church buildings whilst children live in poverty, ‘cry’ and are forced to clean the chimneys. The use of the word ‘charter’d’ portrays the language of materialism and consumerist ideologies within London and to Blake, this makes a mockery of true Christian virtues and religion. Blake also often makes an allusion to the many biblical figures who speak of hypocrisy in the bible. For example, in the new testament Matthew states that ‘the King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ The bible often speaks of charity and states that we should look after the sick, give food to the hungry and give shelter to the homeless. It however never tells its followers to spend money on big churches or reject the ungodly, which is why in the old testament, God actually calls religious people whores for worshipping money and materialistic idols. In ‘Holy Thursday’ charity and pity are celebrated but this is once again reversed as the last line, ‘then cherish pity, lest you drive an angel from your door’, connotes the idea these religious, ‘aged men’ who are ‘wise guardians of the poor’ are just attempting to ultimately buy their way into heaven, which illustrates the corruption and hypocrisy of the church. The ‘blackening’ church walls and the ‘blood down Palace walls’ in London also makes an allusion to the French revolution and it therefore has been argued that Blake may be warning society that unless corruption is revealed and dealt with, people will be forcedto revolt.
In both Volpone and Blake’s poetry the main source of corruption is money and greed. In the Greenwich theatre production of Volpone, the opening scene begins with a buzzing fly trapped inside a champagne glass and this is a metaphor for Mosca’s image of excess and wealth. It also serves to foreshadow how avarice will become Mosca’s hamartia. Notably, Mosca is referred to the ‘parasite’, who feeds off of the other characters. In addition, Volpone’s name means ‘the great fox’ in Italian, where foxes are often symbols of cunningness and trickery and this further serves to reflect the corrupt nature of the characters within the play. In the opening scene we learn that Volpone has gained his wealth through cons, rather than by honest work. In addition, in this scene there is also a binary opposition between light and darkness, where the darkness suggests a lack of wealth, and money is described as ‘a flame by night’. Volpone states that ‘Am I, to view thy splendour, darkening his’, which shows that in order to gain money somebody else has to lose it. Volpone also describes kissing with ‘adoration’ every ‘relic’, where relics are roman catholic imagery and further symbolise the idea that money is Volpone’s religion. The first scene has a semantic field of religious blasphemy including the words ‘hail’, ‘heaven’ and ‘saint’. Volpone also states that the ‘price of souls; even hell, with thee to boot, is made worth heaven’, which makes reference to the Faustian legend and also shows his value of Gold being higher than his value of God. This is an example of situational irony as the audience would expect religious language to be associated with God and virtue, however Volpone further reverses our expectations by constructing this language as profane and immoral. Therefore both Blake and Jonson explore the corruption of society through the loss of Christian virtues due to human’s sinful nature. The bible also addresses sin as inherently apart of the human beings and this is something that both authors explore. Whilst Jonson uses Satire in terms of disguised constructive and social criticism, Blake asks big questions about society directly and in doing so explores the corruption of innocence through experience.Leave a comment
DECEPTION IS THE SPICE OF LIFE – VOLPONE AND SONGS OF INNOCENCEAND EXPERIENCE
Posted on June 18, 2013by Lauren Lind
DECEPTION IS THE SPICE OF LIFE ‘IN LIGHT OF THIS VIEW, CONSIDER WAYS IN WHICH WILLIAM BLAKE AND BEN JONSON EXPLORE DECEPTION IN _INNOCENCE AND EXPERIENCE_ AND _VOLPONE_ In Volpone, Jonson often uses complicated imagery and lexis to explore the theme of Deception, such as the language and semantic fields of disease. Miasma was a term coined by the ancient Greeks and during the 1600s, the miasma theory meant that it was frequently believed that many diseases such as cholera, Chlamydia and the Black Death were caused by a form of pollution or ‘bad air’. When Volpone enters in disguise and tells Voltore that Volpone ‘grew diseased’ and that his ‘body and that house Decayed together’, this is symbolic of Volpone’s diseased imagination. It also however ironically connotes Volpone’s relationship with money as his house and possessions are personified to become diseased as a result of Volpone dying. Furthermore, Volpone tells Mosca that he will be ‘a sharp disease unto ’em’ which refers to Volpone and the way he will go on to corrupt the other characters, arguably – even Mosca, with his money. A Jacobean audience would have believed that the love of money was the root of all evil – which is what is written in the first epistle to Timothy in the New testament, and in Volpone, money is the root of alldeception.
Blake on the other hand uses deceptively simple language and rhyme schemes to mask the corruption and deception of human beings, that he explores within his poems. This can be seen in the Lamb, where Blake uses a child as the narrator – who asks simple and profound questions such as ‘who made thee?’ and then goes on to answer them. The answers provided in the second stanza, ‘for he calls himself a lamb’, reveal the child’s innocence and reflects the idea that ‘children often go to the heart of existence because they have not yet learned to complicate things. The poem ends on a short childlike prayer ‘Little Lamb, God Bless thee’, which is repeated. The simple rhythm and assonance reinforces this idea that Blake is adopting a child’s persona. The Lamb also serves to make biblical allusions and reflects where Jesus told people that ‘unless you become as little children’ in faith, ‘you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven’, in Matthew. However, a deeper level or reading into this poem can be explored through Marx’s idea of false consciousness which is the idea that we are ideologically controlled in many aspects of life, especially by language. In this way, we can question the idea and ask why the innocent Lamb must be told ‘who made thee’, rather than inherently knowing. In believing what the speaker testifies, the Lamb (being an allegory for society) could ultimately be completely deceived. Blake therefore frequently explores the ideas of religion, corruption and deception – using simple ideas and imagery. In addition, the repetition of the pronoun ‘thee’ ‘gives a feeling of familiarity and closeness’ between the child and the lamb and this signifies the idea that human’s often trust and form ideologies based on familiarity or how ‘good’, something appears in terms of the outward appearance. This is problematic as disguises are often used to deceive and this can be explored in Volpone. Jonson uses disguise in two ways: to conceal and to reveal, such as when Peregrine deceives Sir Politic Would-be in order to conceal his true character but also when Volpone dresses as Scoto Mantua. In doing so, he reveals more of his ‘true self’ – as he is really vital and healthy. In this way disguises are used to deceive characters. Furthermore, the Italian commedia dell’arte which refers to the 16th century carnival period, were performers were masked and played on outside stages, is echoed in some of Volpone’s scenes. Volpone wooing Celia in disguise as a mountebank exposes the deceptive nature of his character through metatheatricality. The characters names also connote their true deceptive natures, to include some examples, Volpone means ‘fox’ in Italian, Mosca means ‘fly’ and Voltore means ‘Vulture, which are all associated with and connote groups who ‘scrounge’ and take all they can with little regard for others. In the Nurse’s song, in Songs of Experience, the nurse tells the children that their ‘spring’ and their ‘day, are wasted in play’, which signifies the idea that the Nurse perhaps wants the children to grow out of innocence into the ‘sleep of experience’, and this creates a dichotomy and binary opposition between both innocence and experience as well as youth and age. In addition, in the Nurse’s song in Songs of Innocence, the children laugh on the hill, but in Experience, we read ‘whispering are in the dale’, which implies secrecy and deception. The narrator also states that the children’s ‘winter and night’ are wasted in ‘disguise’ where darkness and winter are set against the honest daylight of Innocence. Notably, the ‘night’ and ‘winter’ in disguise suggests that everything in this world, including nature – is corrupt. We also notice that unlike in Innocence, the children are not given a voice and perhaps this is because they have not yet gained experience – and the truth of it is therefore disguised to them. Chicanery and deception are seen frequently in Volpone, as he uses trickery in order to achieve a financial purpose. Volpone attempts to deceive Corbaccio, Corvino and Voltore and they in turn attempt to the do the same to him. Mosca also grows greedy and attempts to take all of Volpone’s money and there is a strong motif of gulling within the play. Deception, disguise and dishonesty are used in a hyperbolic way within Volpone and are used in order to satirically criticise those who are greedy, by ‘exploiting them as foolish characters’. In addition, the exposing of deception and punishment by law means that Volpone is also often viewed as a morality play. In both Blake and Volpone, religion and Christian virtues are a veneer for society which are used to cover up the corruption of the characters. Mosca tells Corvino ‘why, think that these good works may help hide your bad’ which reinforces this idea, but it is ironic that he says this, because the ‘good works’ he speaks of, are another form of disguise and therefore corruption. In Holy Thursday, the ‘wise old guardians of the poor’ can be seen to ‘cherish pity’ in order that they do not ‘drive an angel’ from their ‘door’. This connotes the idea that these ‘aged men’ buy their way into heaven, through the disguise of ‘guardians’. In this way, disguises are often seen to ‘exert a certain force and power all of own’. By taking on a disguise, Mosca is able to exert his power through Volpone’s money which is why Rick Bowers argues that the ‘God of this play is performance’ in terms ofmetatheatricality.
Therefore it is fair to say that deception is found in every aspect of the play and in Blake’s poems. I agree that ‘deception’ is the ‘spice of life’ but only within the worlds of the text – because when justice is served and deception is uncovered, the play must come to an end. Volpone and Blake also do however explore corruption in the real world and this can be seen when Mosca reminds Voltore of his ability, as a lawyer, to ‘give forked counsel’ and in essence, disguise and manipulate the truth. Blake also reminds us of religious deception and false consciousness – asking us to question our beliefs and trust in organised religion. Jefferson Bethke, a 21st Century poet who takes on Blake’s views argues against religion, but for Christianity and in the same manner as Blake – asks ‘if religion is so great, why has it started so many wars? Why does it build huge churches, but fails to feed the poor?’ All authors explore human deception, as a mode of control and corruption. Deception is therefore integral to the understanding of Volpone and where it is set, in Venice – which is a ‘magnification of London’. The motif also serves as a warning to the reader in Blake’s poetry as he reminds us of Jean-Jacques Roussea’s words ‘_Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains_‘. Check out Bethke’s poem ‘Why I Hate religion, but Love Jesus’here:
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THE LITTLE STRANGER – SARAH WATERS. (FARADAY AND THE ACORN) Posted on June 18, 2013by Lauren Lind
WHAT DOES FARADAY PICK OFF THE WALL, ON HIS FIRST VISIT TO HUNDREDS HALL AND WHAT SIGNIFICANCE DOES THIS HAVE? Faraday first visited Hundreds Hall at the age of 10 ACORN: During the Norman Conquest, the English carried dried acorns to protect themselves from the brutalities of the day. Considered to be an emblem of luck, prosperity, youthfulness and power, the Acorn is a good luck symbol indeed! It also represents spiritual growth.HE TAKES THE POWER
The acorn is a symbol of strength and power. http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/mabontheautumnequinox/p/OakAndAcorn.htmPAGAN
‘I was drawn to one of the dustless white walls’ ‘a decorative plaster border, a representation of acors and leaes’ ‘I did, what strikes me now as a dreadful thing’ ‘I worked my fingers around one of the acorns and tried to prise it from it’s setting; and when that failed to release it, I got out my pen knife and dug away with that’ ‘In admiring the house, I wanted to possess a piece of it – or rather, as if the admiration itself, which I suspected a more dinary child would not have felt, entitled me to it. I was like a man, I suppose, wanting a lock of hair from the head of a girl he had suddenly and blindly become enamoured of.’ ‘I’m afraid the acorn gave at last, though less cleanly than ‘d been expecting’ –> the strike for power. It wasn’t easy to get to the point he is now (at the end – where he is the one lookingafter the house)
‘I put the acorn in my pocket, and slipped back behind thecurtain’
‘I felt the hard plaster lump in my pocket sick excitement’ ‘I had been drawing it in and out of my pocketm and it had left a chalky trail on the gray flannel of my shorts’ –> the shift of power in and out of his pocket (money issue?) ‘Queer little thing in her hand’ –> queer is also used about the supernatural things that happenLeave a comment
THE LITTLE STRANGER BY SARAH WATERS – REVIEW AND ANALYSIS Posted on June 18, 2013by Lauren Lind
REVIEW
The Little Stranger is set in the 1940s and 50s in Warwickshire and tells the story of the Ayres, a family made up of Mrs Ayres, Caroline and Roderick. Notably, Mrs Ayres’ youngest daughter died at an early age from Diphtheria and Colonel Ayres died a few years after the birth of his last two children, of an aneurism. The respectable family lived in the Hundred Halls – an ‘absolute mansion’ (1) but as the story unfolds we find that the property becomes a decaying disaster which seems to reflect the decline of the family. Through third person narration the story is told by the family’s physician, Dr Faraday. Interestingly, the Doctor’s second formal visit – thirty years later showed the ‘appa’ (5) decline of Hundreds Hall in terms of the ‘overgrown park’ and obvious ‘signs of decay’. Here the decline connotes the deterioration of the class system in Britain, following the years after the war. The book also makes a comment on the post traumatic stress or war shellshock and this is explored when the doctor examines both Roderick’s physical and later– mental state.
Historically, the book does explore themes of war and class with high levels of verisimilitude, whilst also surveying practical events of the period – such as the introduction of the National Health Service (which ironically is the only thing that did seem to frighten Dr Faraday). However, the Little Stranger is, undoubtedly, a ghost story – but whether or not there is a ghost in the house is left to thereader to decide.
Lastly, what I liked most about this novel was the fact that even the most insignificant events, such as Mrs Ayres misplacing her glasses, became significant through the potential supernatural aspect that thenarrative presents.
ANALYSIS
PAGE 467
After being bitterly rejected by Caroline, Dr Faraday carried on up to his ‘attic bedroom’ and retrieved everything he could find that had ‘connected to the house’. Firstly we notice that the objects collected are kept in the attic – indexical of a place of secrets. We find the Dr is often ashamed of his working relationship with the family and earlier on – in particular with Caroline. Perhaps, the attic reflects his subconscious need to suppress his true feelings in terms of the relationships he has formed. Notably, Faraday hides the objects away ‘as if ashamed’. We also notice that he finds the objects that ‘connected to the house’ – rather than the family which suggests and anchors the idea that Faraday’s true values lie in the house, rather than his relationships with the family. Furthermore we are forced to question why Faraday would not let Caroline sell the property even after the queer events, fire andsuicide.
‘A medal, a photograph, a whistle, a pair of keys, an unworn wedding ring’ is the ‘queer collection’ that Faraday found in his attic bedroom. We notice that the order of items appears chronologically, in accordance with the events in the book. The simplicity and absence of adjectives paints a set of 5 ordinary mundane objects and this irony is used to explore Faraday’s obvious and quick logic. Throughout the book he continuously dismisses the supernatural events as a playing of the mind and a lack of ‘sleep’. His logic is something that makes unordinary events ordinary and the way he describes these objects – makes them ordinary too. He states that he looked to them for ‘meaning’ and was ‘defeated’. The keys here are symbolic of the truth and Faraday states that he ‘couldn’t quite give them up, not yet’. The doctor can not yet give up the reality and truth of Caroline’s rejection.Leave a comment
FANNY PRICE AND MANSFIELD ESTATE – THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SETTINGAND CHARACTER
Posted on June 18, 2013by Lauren Lind
WHERE DOES FANNY PRICE SPEND THE MAJORITY OF HER TIME, WHEN SHE FIRST ARRIVES IN MANSFIELD PARK AND HOW IS THIS SIGNIFICANT? (PAGE 14 AND 15ANALYSIS)
When Fanny Price first arrives at Mansfield Park, in Northamptonshire at the young age of 10, she is described as spending her time in the ‘school-room, the drawing room, the shrubbery’ and this is significant as each setting represents an aspect of Fanny’s character, development and growth. The drawing room is a large room in a private house which is used to seat guests who are to be received and entertained. In the first week of Fanny visit she is seen significantly in the drawing room and this connotes the idea that Fanny regards herself as more of a common guest in a house, rather than a family member who is comfortable with the people and rooms of Mansfield Park. This is further reinforced when Fanny describes her experience in the house as one filled with terror and fright and we find that she ‘ended every day’s sorrows by sobbing herself to sleep’. In this section of the book Fanny does not regard herself as a family member but rather as a trapped visitor and she even goes on to describe her room as a ‘chamber’. Here a chamber is symbolic of isolation and entrapment and clearly represents Fanny’s emotions. It is important to note that at this point in the story, Fanny is described as being ‘disheartened by Lady Bertram’s Silence’ and Sir Thomas’ ‘grave looks’ and in this respect, she does not feelwelcome.
The school room is another place Fanny spends a lot of her time and this is because we know that Fanny values the privilege of being educated by a governess, something her brothers and sisters do not have the privilege of. Therefore the time she spends with Miss Lee is described as the happier aspects of her life at Mansfield. Furthermore, we know that the School room later becomes ‘useless’ to the Bertram Family and is to be adopted by Fanny and this useful because it shows us that even whilst the Bertrams stop requiring a formal education – Fanny never stops learning. In each of her conversations, jobs and outings she develops as a character and after some time she is described as being ‘almost equally mistress’ to the room, which reflects this idea. The shrubbery is a border to the garden where shrubs are planted and the fact that Fanny spends her time here, on arrival, represents the idea that she is a seed in the family who is physically planted and will grow to challenge and change the dynamics of this family. The shrubbery is also a feminised area and in terms of gender ideologies – further reflects Fanny’s character as quiet passive and shy. Lastly, Edmund finds Fanny sitting ‘crying on the attic stairs’. Notably the attic stairs are between the school room and the white attic( where Fanny sleeps) and the stairs therefore act as a liminal space – exploring the idea that Fanny does not quite feel like a servant but that she does not feel like a member of the family either.Lauren Lind
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