"Frailty, thy name is woman" - How true is this in Hamlet By: -

Hamlet, in some of his comments, shows strong prejudice against women. The immediate cause for this negative attitude is the activities of Gertrude, his own mother. We first see him in a melancholic mood, as if he seems to have lost all sense of interest in life, The sudden death of his father and the disgust at the abrupt second marriage of his mother contribute considerably to his miserable condition. However, it seems that he attaches much more significance to the latter.

Although both Gertrude and Claudius show coldness to the memory of the late king by asking Hamlet not to mourn for such an extensive period, their motives are different. Claudius does so because he wants Hamlet to take his father's death as a natural one, so that he does not probe the matter. Being the murderer, naturally he is afraid of Hamlet's attaching excessive importance to it. So he tries to convince Hamlet that this is nothing particular to him, rather it is a common happening in human life: "But you must know your father is a lost father".

Gertrude, being a mother, also attaches more importance to Hamlets returning to normalcy, because she is more anxious about the health of her son than the memory of her late husband. At this point, however passionate she is to Hamlet, Gertrude pathetically fails to understand the real motive in his prolonged mourning, and neglects to give him the emotional support he desperately requires. Moreover, she has already weakened her credibility to him because of her second marriage. She completely fails to realise that her "hasty marriage" has exacerbated Hamlets melancholy.

Again, while Hamlet is terribly disgusted by her apathy to the memory of the late king, exhibiting her poor understanding for his real sentiment, she asks him to accept the death of his father as a natural  phenomenon. The irony however lies in the fact that her own reaction to the death of her husband is unnatural - since she fails to sympathise with her mourning son, which is what the natural course of action would be. Claudius also echoes this attitude exhibiting by Gertrude. To him, Hamlets mourning is synonymous to "obstinate, impious stubbornness, unmanly grief". Instead of taking the death of his father 'to heart' he advises him to "throw this unprevailing woe to earth", and should thing of Claudius "as of a father". He almost allures him: - "and let the world take note, You are the most immediate to our throne".

Hamlet wants to find some explanation for his mothers attachment to Claudius. To his utter dismay, failing to understand that his mother is more a simpleton than lustful woman, he finds her as a lecherous and negligent mother. He expects his mother to be a weeping widow at the irreparable loss in her life as well as in his own, but he does not find her so. Finding no other explanation to his mother's behavior, he starts to believe that she places her sexual and primitive desire above her love and affection for him and his father. This misunderstanding of his mother creates and develops in Hamlets mind a profound dislike for women. He thinks it is common weakness of women that leads her to these abominable activities.

However, some would argue that Gertrude is only a puppet guided by patriarchal rule in all affairs. So is Ophelia; even in her love affair she is guided by her father and brother. She does not understand that she is a play-thing in the hands of her father who is appointed by Claudius to discover the true cause of Hamlet's madness. She does not betray any independence of thinking, but also shows her foolish submissiveness to her brothers and fathers instructions in regard to her relationship with Hamlet. Without any protest she allows herself to be used by Polonius and Claudius as a distraction against Hamlet. Hamlet painfully perceives these events as they unfold. That is why he rushes to Ophelia's private chamber in a frightful appearance, to inspect her face closely, just to authenticate his perception. Certainly, it contributes a lot to intensify his already negative attitude towards women, formed by the way his mother behaves. Here Ophelia is much like Gertrude, earlier the queen surrendered to Claudius's "importunity" without ever questioning the motives of the latter.

Unlike Gertrude, Ophelia shows some strength in her character in a sense that she is not entirely vulnerable. But she is placed in a very difficult situation. Ophelia has a keen perception, she understands many things, but she cannot express herself because the patriarchy of the age doesn't allow her to go beyond a certain level. In this play, Ophelia is the second tragic character. Although Shakespeare does not make her the protagonist of the play, he places her beside Hamlet in her tragic appeal, who wins our pity. Indeed, with the exception of Horatio, only Ophelia could comprehensively evaluate Hamlet.

However, many critics have labelled Gertrude to be an intellectual character. Admittedly this is not an orthodox interpretation as she is not presented as a character with a voice, so to speak. Unlike Hamlet, Gertrude doesn't extensively comment on minute aspects of life but rather speaks on matters at hand in a very concise manner. This shows her ability to understand, process, and articulate responses under pressure; just like in her closet scene. Dr. Helibrun contends that "Gertrude is not a weak character who lacks depth and vigorous intelligence".

So having quantified the aforementioned points, we come to realise that, though Shakespeare was born and brought up in this male dominated 16th century English society, he seems to have rejected the values upheld by his society about women. Indeed, he attaches more importance to women in almost all his plays making them the catalyst of his tragedies and the devices that bring them to an end.

* Highlighted characters take you to hyperlinks that show character analysis.

Leonardo Da Vinci's insight into painting - from his notebooks By: -

Leonardo Da Vinci, the father of the Renaissance, needs no introduction. For a man who hasn't heard of him has no place scrolling through the pages of this blog.

So we shall delve into the wisdom of the wisest of men;

Throughout his notes, Da Vinci never rests at reinforcing significance of experience in any path in life. When talking about painting, he says "Those who are in love with practice without knowledge are like the sailor who gets into a ship without a ridder or compass and who never can be certain whether he is going. Practice must always be founded on sound theory, and to this Perspective is the guide and gateway; and without this nothing can be done well in the matter of drawing."

In regards to painting specifically, he goes onto say "The painter who draws merely by practice and by eye, without any reason, is like a mirror which copies every thing placed in front of it without being conscious of their existence."

And building on from perspective, he deliberates the attributes of painting: "Painting is concerned with all 10 attributes of sight; which are: Darkness, Light, Solidity and Colour, Form and Position, Distance and Propinquity, Motion and Rest."

So yield beneath them, and learn from the men of experience.

Analysis of the poem "The Gun" By: -

To read the poem first, click here.

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"The Gun" by Vicki Feaver portrays the consequences of empowering a man with a deadly weapon. It can be deduced from just the title of the poem that it will be talking about the noun in focus and since it is a short phrase - The Gun - it has more of an abrupt impact on the reader.

The former hypothesis is confirmed and reiterated in the very first stanza.  It bluntly states that bringing a gun into a house changes it. It is key to note at this point the irregular lengths of the stanzas. Perhaps this shows the incoherence of the thought process of the voice and thus might be the reason why the protagonist is his own antagonist. This type of structure might also aid the poem in giving it a more narrative structure. Also, the short line lengths create a sense of urgency to the entire situation and sets a progressive mood to the entire poem - the thoughts of the voice don't linger on the dreadful actions that he does.

Feaver has used an interesting approach to tackle the issue at hand. She starts the poem from the point that the voice brings the gun to the house so the reader matures with the voice in a sense. We are made known of his thought process and the causations behind his actions - however unjustifiable they may be. Another interesting thing I noted as a reader is that the longest stanza in the entire poem (#2) was entirely dedicated to the gun; thus showing its significance to the voice. An interesting use of colours and symbolism has been used here: "...casting a grey shadow on a green checked cloth". The colour grey has connotations of gloominess, somberness and death whereas green represents livelihood, pasture and well-being in general. The presence of the gun causes death to cast a shadow over the livelihood of the innocent.

It is a very primitive desire of men to be in power and control. Some might argue that is is an evolutionary advantage; perhaps the reason why homo-sapiens won the survival of the fittest and now dominate the food chain. But this poem exploits that very nature of man. The revitalised power that the gun has given the voice has caused him to go from "just practice" to having a "fridge filled with creature". An interesting simile is used at this point: "...eyes gleam like when sex was fresh". Again, overtly portrays our animalistic and primitive desire showing us that our reptilian cortex (part of brain responsible for primal desires) can perhaps overdrive our higher thinking when suddenly introduced to so much power thus making the voice almost as animalistic as the creatures he kills.

Finally, Feaver makes use of dramatic irony. The phrase "A gun brings a house alive" is a stanza by itself. This creates a dramatic effect by setting a new and slower pace to the poem. The irony lies in the fact that the sole purpose of a gun is to kill but the voice claims it brings the house alive. This can be interpreted as the confusion the voice faces because of how overwhelmed he is or alternatively, the house is more alive than it previously was since it contains more creatures; albeit dead.

Towards the end, the voice calls himself "King of Death", personifying the word "Death". This gives identity to the abstract concept of death, almost as if the voice is endearing and embracing it and thus mimicking the personality of death - which is to kill. For no cause or reason.

Simply to kill. That is what he has become by the end. The King of Death.

Analysis of the poem "Eat Me" By: -

Click here the read the poem itself: Eat me

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Patience Agbabi, a poet highly recognized for her ability to interweave performance and literature, portrays a macabre relationship in her poem "Eat Me". Just by reading the title, it can be deduced that there is an imperative element to this poem, since the title itself is a command.

Being a next generation poet, Agbabi sticks to her conventional style of writing thus adapting the style of dub poetry. The poem follows a reggae-like rhythm throughout with a very conversational tone while the prime motive being to overtly convey a political and social message.  However, Agbabi has slightly manipulated this form since she starts the poem by giving the reader the wrong idea. We are lead to believe that the voice of the poem is happy and content with what she has since her birthday is being celebrated. This shows that she in the company of people who care for her. However, this idea gradually develops and changes - perhaps depicting the naivety of the voice: her realizations for the true intents of her lover unfold as the reader progresses throughout the poem.

Agbabi has used symbolism to a certain extent to portray the horrid nature of the antagonist. "a candle for each stone in weight" - a candle on a birthday cake typically represents the age of the person but this man believes that the worth of her weight is much greater than how old she is. It is also worth noting that the sentences of the poems are very constrained this showing that her movement and thoughts are very limited and puts the reader in a claustrophobic state. This sin't just a representation of physical claustrophobia, but also stresses on the mental and physiological constraint stress, self-affiliation, and insecurity.

Vivid imagery is used throughout the poem by making use of adjectives and verbs. Her physique and movement are described by words such as "wobble" and "judder" - words that are much for befitting to inanimate objects such as jelly. It could be argued that her humanity is stolen from her simply because of her size. Also, Agbabi constantly used repetition. It could be argued that this is to enhance the effect of the general dub poem so it can sound better when sung (or performed) but on the other hand, repetition of phrases such as "too fat" also imply the excess of something. Again, a hint towards the physical size of the voice. Alliteration is also used to enhance this effect. The phrase "called chubby cuddly" creates a "ch ch ch" effect which is onomatopoetic to the sound of water sloshing in a large jug and water is fluid, it cannot escape like gasses, thus showing how trapped she is albeit being able to move.

There seems to be a shift in dynamics in stanza 9. Throughout the poem, the purported antagonist had an imperative voice but at this point she says "...he whispered" perhaps showing fake control. Men in control tend not to whisper their commands and when this man was quite literally drowned in his lust and dazed by how surreal the present is, he revealed his true self. There is a sinister end: "nothing else left in the house to eat". the man hooked her on the habit of eating and now despite anything she tries, she will have to eat. And the only thing in sight is his body. Agbabi tries to show the reader that we pay for the damage we leave behind even long after our deaths.

To learn more about anthropological and sociological concepts, read about The Prisoners Dilemma

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Picture of the year - Nothing to do with Religion. By: -

 

A place that is amongst the most visited on Earth, yet ~ 1/4 of the worlds population is restricted from entering its bounds. A place where millions of people dressed in nothing but white towels stand in straight lines and face this simplistic black structure. A place dotted with specks of black and white yet it radiates vibrancy, A place like and unlike so many other places. Ladies and gents, Lo! The Makkah of the Muslim.

But what I see in this picture is beyond the scope of Religion or any of its entities.

The third tallest building in the world hovers in the air behind the solid façade of structure erected eons upon eons ago by the hands of Abraham. The old juxtaposed with the new. Where the latter merely facilitates the former. The past being the stronghold, linking itself with the present and what to come in the future.

Above the entire frame of the picture hovers time; a constant in the making. It is like the π in the equation of the circumference or the k in Hooke’s law. Despite the frantic nature of man, which can be seen in the bottom of the picture, time keeps moving.

In addition to expressing the oxymoronic themes of past and present, time and ignorance thereof, depth of simple complications and over complication of simplistic things, this picture is also an exquisite portrayal of beauty and perception. Unlike other pieces of art, and yes I dare call it so, the beauty of this piece doesn’t demand a certain perception or analysis. It radiates beauty and harmony therefore inviting understanding and perception. And regardless of how you perceive its connotations, the picture in itself remains a masterpiece.

 

“A picture is a secret about a secret, the more it tells you the less you know.”

 

 

 

 

Hamlets Intellect - To be or not to be? By: -

William Shakespeare exploits Hamlets wit and intellect from the very moment he walks on stage. This is done through his dialogue with the Kings counsel; Polonius. Hamlet insults him with phrases that could potentially have double meaning and he does so whilst also reading a book which leaves Polonius perplexed as to whom Hamlets words are directed to and he persists on making sense of them. I feel as if this draws the audience into the play and introduces them to Hamlets calibre of thought, height of wit, and ability to make even an advisor look like a fool.

After Hamlets banter session with Rosencratz and Guildenstern, Hamlet becomes more serious and starts to reflect on his own melancholy state. He refers to both his parents as "uncle-father and aunt-mother" and this, in my opinion, is a perfect summation of how emotionally attached he feels to both of them - calling them aunt and uncle shows that he feels no nuclear family connection to them. This also shows that at times he feels mad but at other times he feels sane. He is psychologically stretched to two different extremes of mental well-being and cause of all this is the idea that his father might want vengeance. Hamlet decides to settle this by commanding the actors re-enact the alleged murder scene and hope for a response from Claudius. Players and actors were expected to perform for the royalties during Shakespearean era; an idea that has been nicely interweaved with the storyline. In his soliloquy, Hamlet compares his indecisiveness to bad actors.

 Like Hamlet, Fortinbras is the grieving son of a dead king, a prince whose uncle inherited the throne in his place. But where Hamlet has sunk into despair, Fortinbras has devoted himself to the pursuit of revenge. Here, it is important mainly to note that Fortinbras’s uncle has forbidden him to attack Denmark but has given him permission to ride through Denmark on his way to attack Poland. It is notable that Claudius appears indifferent to the fact that a powerful enemy will be riding through his country with a large army in tow. Claudius seems much more worried about Hamlet’s madness, indicating that where King Hamlet was a powerful warrior who sought to expand Denmark’s power abroad, Claudius is a politician who is more concerned about threats from within his state. This highlights where the kings priorities lie and the fragility of his relationships within his own household.

 

What is science fiction and should it be taught in schools? By: -

Science fiction is a genre that combines supernatural scientific speculations with a sense of realism that the audience can relate to. The most redeeming quality of this type of literature is its ability to provoke thought. Yes; simply to make you think. Think about bounteous possibilities without any inhibitions, think about the consequences of these scientific application, and think about how the world could, with the help of science, be a much better place. This is why I think Science fiction should be taught in schools; it encourages this type of thought process in students.

Another quality of Science fiction texts/films is that all the supernatural and unrealistic scientific fantasy is always underpinned by some sort of logic and reasoning. This incorporates the idea that these scientific events could perhaps be a reality if practically considered. The portrayal of the modern industrial society in a sci-fi artwork hundreds of years ago would've seemed far-fetched and even unrealistic to many, but someone must have thought...why not? Why can't we have a world in which the tedious and monotonous jobs of labour are carried out by machines? And that very question is the reason why science fiction should be incorporated into our curriculum. The core academic science subjects fills our heads with practical knowledge, but where do we expect the ideas, the drive, the vision to come from? Sci-fi is the answer.

As a final notion, I would like to say that it is a mark of an intelligent mind to be able to toy with ideas without believing them. Science fiction encourages us to do that. Todays  youth will be the leaders of tomorrow and who wouldn't want motivated, open-minded and ambitious leaders?