Self & Society: British Lit @Hood College

"And, as a vapor or a drop of rain, Once lost, can ne'er be found again,      So when you or I are made      A fable, song, or fleeting shade,      All love, all liking, all delight      Lies drowned with us in endless night. Then while time serves, and we are but decaying, Come, my Corrina, come, let's go a-Maying." (63-70)

Silence were now a sin: nay passion now Wise men themselves for merit would allow 7,8

"So restless Cromwell would not cease In the inglorious arts of peace, But through adventurous war Urgèd his active star, And, like the three-forked lightning, first Breaking the clouds where it was nursed, Did through his own side His fiery way divide" (Marvel, 9-16) Is Marvel blaming Cromwell for the civil war? Restless Cromwell through war urged his star (which controls his fate) and divided his side (which I take just means his countrymen since it's being compared to lightning breaking the clouds that nursed it). Am I reading this correct?

When Love with unconfin e' d wings Hovers within my gates, And my divine Althea brings to wisper at the grates; stock image, hands of prisoner on prison bars, istockphoto.com

See how Aurora thows her fair Fresh quilted colors through the air Lines 2-3 Robert Herrick

In the ending of the story it is quite humorous and shameful on Macbeth's part. After he kills Macduff's entire family, he is reluctant to fight and face Macduff. In the text it reads, "then yield thee, coward"(5.8.27). Many people love to create acts of wickedness but cower at the innocent blood to be repaid. This lets everyone know that you will always pay for the evil done by your hands and your wicked heart. I wonder if he would have still done the act if he knew this was his fate?

Even though I do feel bad for Lady Macbeth, I believe that this was already coming for her. Prior to act 5 she did not give a care in the world as to what has happened to any of these people. She was a selfish woman. I do understand, doing whatever one wants to get what they want out of life, but there also comes a cost with that. In the beginning of act 5, the reader sees Lady Macbeth having a  struggle with herself. Perhaps everything she has done has caught up with her. She now feels guilty when it is too late. Why is it now that she seems to be remorseful?  Why did she not think about all the options when she was telling her husband to do these foul things from the very beginning? She did it just for power and look at where she has ended up. It was all for nothing ultimately. She has driven herself so mad that she feels like she has to kill herself.

I love the way that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth switch roles from the beginning to the end of the play. Initially, Macbeth is apprehensive and afraid to commit murder, but Lady Macbeth is assertive and confident in their abilities to be on the throne. By Act 5, Macbeth has become overly-confident in his security and fighting abilities, claiming that no man can strike him down because of his false interpretation of the witches prophecies. Lady Macbeth has taken to sleep walking and muttering about her bloody hands because of her overwhelming guilt and paranoia. This is especially ironic because earlier she told Macbeth that a little water would wash away the evidence, but she is walking around at night worrying about how to remove the stains. As Lady Macbeth unhinges, Macbeth takes on the role she initially played. Lady Macbeth's suicide is profound to me because I would have expected Macbeth to kill himself and Lady Macbeth to have been murdered based on the first two acts. https:/...

Your conscience is so powerful at times that it can haunt you. Scene one shows the perfect representation of what happens when something is weighing heavy on ones conscience. In this scene Lady Macbeth is being observed for her sleep walking. While she was being observed the doctor saw that Lady Macbeth kept washing "blood" off her hands saying, "Out, damned spot, out I say!..." She began to feel guilty for the death of Duncan. Even though she didn't physically commit the murder she played a role in his death. No matter how much she scrubbed she could not get the smell off her hands, she asked, will her hands ever be clean and that all the perfumes of Arabia cant sweeten her hand. Why did she feel so guilty if she didn't commit the crime? http://www.istockphoto.com/photos/bloody-hand?excludenudity=true&sort=mostpopular&mediatype=photography&phrase=bloody%20hand

http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20151207-ecuadors-mysterious-walking-trees I thought that the prophecies of the witches were handled like a prophecy from an oracle in Greek literature. Where it was by some unthinkable actions and word play that eventually lead to the prophecies coming true. That lead to the whole theme of free will. I enjoyed how the witches prophesied that he would die when the woods moved to Dunsinane Hill. That came true because the soldiers brought the woods to him to hide the number of soldiers. The prophesy that Macbeth wouldn't be killed by a man born from woman came true in a weird way, where "Macduff was from his mother's womb untimely ripped" (5, 8, 19-20). He really should have heeded the first prophesy that said to beware Macduff.