Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Blog entry 3.2



This video clip appeals to a lot because it starts with Macbeth's face floating between clouds and lightnings while it brakes little by little into pieces symbolizing his own destruction. Also, the meeting of the witches who look very evil is very important because this is the time when they made the prophecy and started to talk about facing Macbeth and the bad things that are about to happen. After they placed a curse to the air when they said the phrase "filthy air", Macbeth and his friend Duncan came out in a battle and won. The witches appeared again and told Macbeth and his friend in a very unclear way what their destiny was going to be. Duncan was going to be happier and father of kings and Macbeth was going to be a king hereafter. The king received the news and good things about Macbeth's victories so he decided to meet him and tell him how much He trusted him. Then Macbeth started to see the darkness inside him to become a king and started to understand the witches prophecies. He went to see his wife who already spoke with the witches about Macbeth's destiny. She told him to stop being an innocent flower and become the serpent underneath and leave the rest to her. The king came to their house and made a party to honer Macbeth as the kings man. The witches put the spell on Macbeth and his wife convinced him to murder the king with a dagger that became part to his imagination as well as the crown.
In this video the witches are the evil ones who will destroy Macbeth, the king is the powerful man who is supposed to die in order for Macbeth to destroy himself with greed. The wife is like Eve in the bible, who pushes her husband to murder the king. Macbeth is the murderer and the witches' instrument to kill the king. The dagger symbolizes death and destruction, and the crown the power and ambition for Macbeth to take. The clouds represent turbulence of bad times approaching. This video is the beginning of the destruction of Macbeth in this fascinating story.

Blog entry 3.1



This image of Macbeth appeals a lot to me because it has many symbols such as his hands, blood, eyes, knife, ring, eyes, face and his clothes. The blood on his hands represent all the people he killed around him in order to get to the throne and become more powerful. His hands represent all the actions he did that made him feel guilty. The knife is the tool that he used to take away the lives and the power from his victims and to protect himself from the ones who wanted to accuse him as a murderer. The knife makes Macbeth a killer. In his eyes we can see how tormented and guilty his soul feels for being a murderer and there is nothing he can do since ambition has taken over him. The expression on his face when he looks at his hands with blood is just full of pain and guilt for the things he has done. His ring stained with blood represents that thanks to his power ambitions now his wife is dead along with his kids. Greed took over the love he had for his wife and destroyed his family. His furry clothes make him look as a wild animal who just wants to kill for power, protection, and leadership and therefore get whatever he wants without thinking about the consequences. In general, this picture symbolizes a murderer who spilled a lot of blood from his own family and even from the King he killed so he could take over the kingdom and become a king. At the end he did not become a great person nor a king but a villain who ended up destroying instead of building.

Monday, October 18, 2010

About Me: Entry 2.2: The Altruist /Wanderer Archetypes (in ...

About Me: Entry 2.2: The Altruist /Wanderer Archetypes (in ...: " My positive archetype is the Altruist. From what I have read, the Altruist seems like the sucker of the bunch. Or for a better choice..."

Supernatural Life :): Blog Entry 2.2: Altruist

Supernatural Life :): Blog Entry 2.2: Altruist: " What does the picture above mean to me? The adult in the picture is the image of what I want to be when I become a father. As a..."

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Blog entry 2.2: Altruist/innoncent

My main archetypes are Altruist which is caring for others without expecting anything in return, and Innocent is a lack of guilt, with respect to any kind of crime, sin, or wrongdoing. For altruist i have chosen the following image of Superman:

This picture appeals to me because Superman is always watching for other people or any body who needs help. He is always protecting the world without expecting anything in return. He has two sides: his human side which makes a simple farm boy and a reporter, and his alien side is the powers he possesses to save us all. Superman is a very loving person who would do anything for humans. He is always willing to help, save, and protect. He is very strong physically but emotionally he is weak and that is why he is always willing to do whatever it takes so humans and the world are save.
For the innocent i find the following image just perfect.


Lambs relate to me a lot. They are innocent who only care about living and sometimes do not know about the dangers that come from out side of the fence. They are raised in farms most of the times and that is all they know. They always let any thing come close to them such as predators, unknown people or objects. I was raised in a farm where my two older brothers and Grandparents were the only ones who lived around me. Everything was just nature and animals. This is why now that i moved to New York City I still fall for people who only want to take advantage of me. I am working on being less innocent but i guess the first years of my life have influenced the way I am, so I still have a lot of work to do.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Blog entry 2.1: Symbolism and archeotypes in "Goblin Market"

Christina Rossetti was born on  December 5th, 1830 in London, England. She was educated at home by her mother. Rossetti suffered a nervous brake down when her father's physical and mental health started deteriorating. Therefore, she had to leave school at the age of 14. Because of her depression, her mother and sister became part of the Anglo-Catholic church. Religion devotion came to play a major role in Rossetti's life. Rossetti began writing at the age of 7 and published her first poem at the age of 18. She wrote a variety of romantic, devotional, and children's poems. She is best known for her long poem Goblin Market, her love poem Remember, and for the words in the Christmas carol in the bleak midwinter. Rossetti was opposed to war, animal cruelty, and exploitation of girls in under-age prostitution, and all forms of military aggressions. In the later decades of Rossetti's life, she suffered a nearly fatal attack, then she got breast cancer and though the tumor was completely removed, she suffered and recurrence. She died on December 29, 1894 and was buried in Highgate Cemetery.

In the "Goblin Market" poem Rossetti talks about these unknown creatures that she describes as goblins, who were the fruit sellers. They only came out at dust or dawn to sell. These fruits were very addictive and harmful to any body who ate them. People did not even know where they got them from. There is also these two sisters named Laura and Lizzie who lived in a farm with their poultry and their cows. Every evening before getting dark, they would go through the forest to get water from the brooks so they could have some for the next day. As they went along the forest they would hear these men singing to people to buy their fruits. Laura and Lizzie would also hear them singing every morning when they were milking their cows.  Laura was a very beautiful and curious girl while her sister was more cautious and beautiful too. After hearing these men singing for a while, they approached Laura to sell her their fruits and she agrees to buy a fruit from them. Even though Lizzie warned her and told her the story about a girl who died after eating these men's fruit, Laura did not listen to her sister. Laura bought a fruit from them but she did not pay with a silver coin. One of the creatures asked for one of her golden hair in exchange for a fruit so Laura paid him with a golden curl. She started eating as many fruits as she could until her lips became soared. She filled herself up and still wanted more. She became addictive to these fruits that she could not stop eating. One day, she stopped hearing the creatures singing. She wanted to eat more but they were not there any more so she became really sick. She tried to plant the seeds she saved form the previous fruits she ate from the goblin market but they did not grow at all. She got worse as days went by. She was basically dying until one day her sister Lizzie could not tolerate seeing her in that condition so she decided to go and find the sellers. Maybe that way Laura would heal by eating the fruits again. Lizzy found the sellers getting ready to eat so they invited her to the table to eat with them. She refused to do so because she did not wanted to waste time while her sister was dying. She only wanted to pay for the fruits and leave. These creatures raped her, beat her, and forced her to eat but she did not open her mouth at all. All the juice from  the fruits spilled on her face and her body. After Lizzie got released, she run through the forest back home. She was crying so much that when she got back to her sister she asked Laura to kiss her and suck all the juice from her. Laura drunk the juice and healed. After this event, they never heard from the goblin market again. Both sisters got married to their husbands and had children and of course, they lived happily ever after.

Some of the symbols that i have found in this poem are the following ones:
FRUITS: Satisfaction, temptation, addiction. I found them in lines 44 "who knows upon what soil they fed" and 45 "their hungry thirsty roots". The author is trying to tell us that sometimes eating the unknown or forbidden fruits could be dangerous and even deadly. HAIR: Beauty, sexuality, value, pureness, virginity, age. This symbol is in lines 123 "You have much gold upon you head" and 125 "Buy from us with a golden curl". Rossetti is trying to tell us that there are certain things in life that have more value than a simple silver coin. Such as her dignity, being pure, innocent, and beautiful. We should always take care of those things because once they are gone, we cannot take them back. Laura sold part of herself and paid a lot more for it. FLOWER: Beauty, fragility, love, sadness, pureness, affection, sweetness, destruction, womb. I ffound it in lines150 "Ate their fruits and wore their flowers" and 151 "pluck'd from bowers". The author is telling us that these fruits were very poisoning and dangerous once they went into an innocent, fragile and pure girl who never tried them before. She is telling us that these bad creatures took advantage of Laura's innocence to harm her. FIRE: Essence, warm, light, reaction, birth, life, and death. Located in line 279 "To swift decay and burn" and line 280 "her fire away". The author is telling us that as Laura became ill, her essence of life starting dying, she lost her temperature and became cold, she could not react to anything but the fruits only, she could no longer see the light she saw when she was born; only darkness and death was part of her world at this moment. Another symbol i found was SISTER: eternal bond, connection by love and by blood, affection, protection. In lines number 299 "Tender Lizzie could not bear" and 300 "To watch her sister's cankerous care". The author tries to tell us here that whatever one sister was going through the other one felt it too. They were connected by a family bond and they would do anything to protect and save each other from anyone who would try to hurt them. FLOOD is another symbol that means destruction, power, danger, uncontrollable. Located in lines 408 "white and golden Lizzie stood" and 409 "like a Lily in a flood". These lines try to tell us that as destructive, powerful and dangerous as these bad elves were, Lizzie stood strong and refused to eat their bad fruits. Otherwise, she and her sister would both die. So Lizzie had to stay strong to a greater force.

Some of the archetypes that i found are obvious such as the fruits, the goblin man, and the sisters: Laura and Lizzie. The FRUITS were the poison that almost took Laura's life. They were the instrument that the sellers used to take everything away from Laura. The GOBLIN MEN were the ones who took advantage of innocent and fool Laura. They also tried to destroy Lizzie's life at the cost of their fruits. These were the evil elves or bad creatures of the poem. LAURA was the beautiful, weak, innocent and young sister who allowed herself to fall in temptation for the fruits that almost caused her death. She was like a daughter learning new experiences. LIZZIE  is the strong protector. She was wise and smart enough to not let herself be fooled by the goblin men. She was like a the mother trying to teach her daughter. She would do anything for the good of her sister.

My conclusion about this poem is that these two girls, especially Laura needed to learn a very hard lesson in order to value herself. Sometimes the lessons we learn in life do not come with enough turbulence to wake us up from our innocence and immaturity. But in this case, these two sisters learned their lesson in a hard way. I am sure that from then on they were more careful and valued each other a lot more as sisters. And as we say, what does not kill you makes you stronger, so this is what happened with Laura and Lizzie. They became stronger and wiser and that is why they got married and lived their lives with their new families. I love Rossetti's message in his poem. She is trying to tell all girls that they should be very careful with their beauty because the more beautiful they are the greater the risk is that some one is going to take it from them.  It happens everyday to those who want to be famous or do not take care of themselves. They end up paying with their virginity, beauty, innocence, and purity. To me there is nothing more important than dignity, wisdom, and humbleness to accomplish the goals we want to reach.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christina_Rossetti





Sunday, October 3, 2010

1.3 POETRY SYMBOLISM

The song i chose is called "At The San Blas dock". It was written and interpreted by the band named MANA. Mana is a pop/rock band from Mexico whose career has expanded more than two decades. They use a lot of symbols and metaphors in their lyrics and that is why i chose their following song in which they talk about this girl who became part of the environment in which she was left, waiting for her lover who never came back:

She said goodbye to her love
He parted in a ship at the San Blas dock
He swore he would come back
And soaked in tears she swore she would wait
A thousand moons passed away,
And she was still at the dock, waiting.
Lots of evenings nestled
In her hair and her lips.
She wore the same dress
In case he would come back,
He would not mistake her.
Crabs bit her dress, her sadness and her illusion.
And time went by,
And her eyes were full of dawns.
She fell in love with the sea
And her body grew roots at the dock.
Alone, alone in oblivion
Alone, alone with her spirit
Alone, alone with her love, the sea
Alone at the San Blas dock

Here are some of the symbols i found in this song with the connotation (C) and denotation (D) meanings:

SHIP: (C) Vessel larger than a boat used to transport people or goods by sea        
           (D) Represents a journey, an exploration, an uncertainty of return.
        
DOCK: (C)  Structure extending from the shore into a body of water
              (D) A place to rest, see the horizon, the outside world, sunrise or sunset, stars, clouds, sky.
            

SOAKED:  (C) To immerse in water or liquid.
                   (D) Represents the amount of tears from the sadness coming from within us or the pain caused by someone.

MOONS: (C)  Natural satellite of the earth, visible by the reflected light from the sun
                 (D) Seasons, time going by, cycles repeating themselves, beauty, light, full of hope, half or empty with nothing left.

EVENINGS: (C) Period of time at the end of the day, usually from 6 p.m. to bedtime
                       (D) End of the day; darkness, silence and coldness approaching, time coming and going.

NESTLED: (C) Settle or lie comfortably within or against something.
                    (D) To become part of a place, to inhabit a place where we keep our love, life, hopes, dreams and activities.

HAIR: (C) A fine threadlike strands growing from the skin of humans, mammals and some other animals
            (D) Women, beauty, sexuality, age, wicked, angel, devil, destruction, etc.

LIPS: (C) Either the two fleshy parts that form the upper and lower edges of the opening of the mouth
          (D) Represents a kiss, sexuality, beauty, love.

DRESS.  (C) Put on one's clothes.
                (D) Body language, personality, identification, emotional state, social status, culture, education.

CRABS: (C) A crustacean with a broad carapace, stalked eyes, and five pairs of legs, pincers being the first ones
                (D) That never moves forward,  painful bites, it has two kinds of lives: water and land.

EYES:  (C) Each of a pair of globular organs in the head through which people and vertebrate animals see.
             (D) Window to the soul, beauty, expression, portal to see and interpret our own world.

DAWNS:  (C) First appearance of light in the sky before sunrise.
                  (D) A new beginning, new hopes, expecting the unexpected, it could be something new or the same as yesterday, light returns, everything comes to life again.

SEA: (C) The expanse of salt water that covers most of the earth's surface and surrounds its landmasses
          (D) Deep, expansive, blue or dark, mysteries, strong; keeps, gives or takes life away, dangerous, beauty, wild, etc.

ROOTS: (C) Part of a plants that attaches it to the ground providing water and nourishment to the rest of the plant.
                (D) To become part of the soil, turn into a plant, not being able to move.

OBLIVION: (C) A state of being unaware or unconscious of what is happening.
                      (D) No longer part of this world, ignored by the rest, not to care about anybody else but our dreams, hopes, and illusions.

SPIRIT.  (C) The nonphysical part of a person that is the seat of emotions and character.
               (D) Eternity, indestructible, holy, essence of live. To live forever.

This song talks about a girl who says bye to her lover who went to explore the world or maybe went to war, while holding the promise of coming back to her. She loved him so much that she decided to wait for him exactly at the same place. Years went by and she would still be waiting for him. Days would come and go but without him. After waiting so much for him, she became obsessed for his arrival. She always kept hope so she decided not to change her clothes so just in case he would return, he would recognize her right away. So, time went by and after so much of a wait, she fell in love with the sea and became part of it. People in the town started calling her crazy because she was like a restless spirit staring at the sea. This song is so sad because she grew older and probably died waiting for her lover who never ever came back to her. Mana tries to tell us that when love is real, no matter what happens it will always be there in our souls keeping us strong. They also try to tell us that love can be heaven but it can be destruction at the same time.

http://elerinwen.deviantart.com/art/En-El-Muelle-de-San-Blas-21888330
Mac Book dictionary