John Donne's Holy Sonnet XIV

In London 1572, John Donne was born to a Roman Catholic family during a time when Catholics were the persecuted minority in England. He grew up with mixed views of religion. He did not pursue a degree from either of the colleges he attended because receiving a degree would mean conforming to the Anglican church through the Thirty-nine Articles. After his brother died in prison for his Catholic loyalties, Donne finally joined the Anglican Church at age 22. In 1601 after a naval stent, he secretly married the sixteen year old Anne More. Her father-in-law did not approve and Donne was briefly imprisoned. After twelve children, Anne died at an early age of 33. John died in 1631 after writing several works that showed his fear of death and being appointed dean of Saint Paul’s Cathedral in 1621.

He was considered a metaphysical poet. This means he used religious imagery that stretched beyond conventional social structures as well as other techniques to explore spirituality.

http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/243

John Donne's Holy Sonnet XIV is an interesting examination of a soul that urges to please God but often fails.  First of all, the character acknowledges the power of Go. He then acknowledges that God has every power to break him to His will. He wants God to break every offence and strength of resistance he has so that he may better serve Him. He acknowledges his weak and sinful nature and wants nothing else than to force himself to stay true to his faith. He would go as far as to let God "imprison me" to accomplish his goal. While his body may be sinful, his mind and heart does seem to be in the proper place. He is truly mentally devoted to God and it is evident when he shows he is willing to do anything to please him.

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=john+donne+biography+.org&um=1&hl=en&safe=off&sa=N&tbm=isch&tbnid=PKKmchEpRQvP8M:&imgrefurl=http://www.online-literature.com/donne/&docid=RNr3SpMkLVUM4M&w=160&h=230&ei=qNk0Tqr4JoPEgAe2y5nsDA&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=373&page=1&tbnh=126&tbnw=102&start=0&ndsp=17&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:0&tx=52&ty=92&biw=1066&bih=551

Romeo and Juliet (1968)

I watched Franco Zefferilli's 1968 version of Romeo and Juliet in my high school AP English class. Instead of a contemporary remake of Romeo and Juliet with modern conventions, Franco used original script and realistic, traditional settings to give a modern video recording of Shakespeare’s famous play of two lovers with hated families. While the dialogue did seem to sometimes be drawn out at odd moments and there was a lack of realistic expression from Juliet, the movie was overall still enjoyable. Most of the problems did settle on Juliet’s performance. This may have been an interpretation of Franco’s that sought to portray Juliet as sober and obsessed with an ideal as opposed to actually being in a deep emotional love. Romeo on the other hand seemed to portray his rash sudden love for Juliet quite well. He sneaks into Juliet’s family’s’ party and provides an amusing scene that really set the show up for a decent performance from the beginning. Unfortunately at the end of the movie, Juliet once again shows a very unrealistic emotional response to Romeo’s death that ends up simply bringing the movie down. Her reaction is just numb like she is just reading lines as opposed to actually experiencing the death of her lover at her own disguise. Overall, the performance was decent due to some poor acting, but it’s realistic setting and adherence to Shakespeare’s words means it has some value.

 http://www.google.com/imgres?q=romeo+and+juliet+1968&um=1&hl=en&safe=off&sa=N&tbm=isch&tbnid=-fmO-C0MydmS1M:&imgrefurl=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romeo_and_Juliet_(1968_film)&docid=n12oXrcURMzF2M&w=220&h=308&ei=4M40TrPHHcnagQeKoMysDQ&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=350&page=1&tbnh=137&tbnw=104&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0&tx=61&ty=53&biw=1066&bih=587

Hamlet Reflection

Shakespeare’s Hamlet, written around 1600, details the story of Prince Hamlet as he deals with the murder of his father, the remarriage of his mother, loss of love, and the betrayal of friends. Hamlet’s journey reveals how individuals deal with tragedy and express a wide range of emotions. I think Hamlet showed a very natural emotional state after experiencing the massive amount of harm he endured. He was angry and alone, but he never let his distress interfere with his intellectual capabilities. His revenge was full and personally delivered although others suffered throughout the story such as his lover Ophelia and his mother Gertrude at no fault of his own. This shows that even intelligence and the best laid plans can go awry or be interrupted by unexpected events. Shakespeare did not hold back any possibly result through the work. The fact that Claudius ends up poisoning his new wife who I personally think he probably cared for since he was probably close to her since she was his brother’s wife, shows that betrayal leads to a vicious circle that can eventually cause even loved ones harm. When Prince Hamlet’s friends betray him to Claudius and Polonius, Shakespeare reveals that power and potential social gain has a profound effect on human conscience. Hamlet’s story shows Shakespeare’s personal emphasis on reality and the extreme reactions people can have to tragedy. While most cases of death do not result in multiple homicides, Shakespeare explores the potential for human downfall in Hamlet.
http://www.globe-theatre.org.uk/summary-of-hamlet-and-characters.htm

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=hamlet+play&um=1&hl=en&safe=off&tbm=isch&tbnid=ZHbSl5P50c_11M:&imgrefurl=http://www.zazzle.com/hamlet_play_quote_poster-228278498450434427&docid=k3Uz3FGjPBDMGM&w=400&h=400&ei=Wso0Tv6YEoXZgAfSx4CbDQ&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=395&page=2&tbnh=114&tbnw=114&start=18&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:18&tx=76&ty=20&biw=1066&bih=551

Shakespeare Background

William Shakespeare’s actual birth date is not specifically known, however, he was baptized on April 26, 1564, as the son of John Shakespeare and Mary Arden. He group up in Stratford and married the older Anne Hathaway in 1582 who was already six months pregnant when they got married. At the time, he would probably been socially forced to marry her even if he didn’t want to because of disapproval of unwed births. Two of his three children with Anne grew to adulthood. In the 1580’s he left for London and worked both as an actor and as an author. The time frame from 1585 to 1592 is often referred to as the ‘lost years’. Since drama was a common part of Shakespeare’s society (evident in amateur plays performed regularly), it is often believed that he was a school teacher at this time teaching what he would eventually become famous for. He helped run a theatre group known as King’s Men that built their own theatre that later burned during a performance of one of Shakespeare’s works. Between 1610 and 1613, Shakespeare retired before dying in 1616. He was buried in the same church he was baptized in. Anne died seven years later and his family line officially ended with the death of his grand-daughter Elizabeth in 1670.

I find most of this information from these two sites.

http://tudorhistory.org/people/shakespeare/

http://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/students-and-enthusiasts/engage/tea-room/shakespeare-039-s-life-and-times.html

http://shakespeare.mit.edu/

William Shakespeare has had a profound effect on modern culture. His works were extremely popular and he is the most wide spread read author in modern history. While his home life might have been questionable and his education less than outstanding, William’s creativity and effort paid off. Reading his works it is easy to see the genius William was able to attack to simple realistic expression of emotion and tragedy. He did not shy from the truth.