The Merchant of Venice Background Reading

After reading multiple background readings on social class and gender along with an essay analysis on the The Merchant of Venice, I find this text to be a complex drama revolving around social issues. What stood out for me the most when annotating the essay was how it began with the emphasis of antisemitism and thought provoking questions on the controversy surrounding the play. Juliana in her blogpost discussed how the exclusion of Jews was central to the formation of a group and its identity. In the psychological social identity theory, the concept of "us" versus "them" is what allows for stronger group bonds and identity.  The video definitely highlighted violence surrounding the discrimination of Jews but I thought the essay focused more on the differences between Jews and Christians which build the plot.

I think another important concept in the play is the presence of hypocrisy in the society. In the essay, Jews are described as following the law but also highly motivated by money and usurpation. Shylock, a Jewish man, is mentioned in the essay as prioritizing sentimental value rather than monetary value when his daughter traded an object for monkeys that was dear to his wife. It demonstrated that although Jews are viewed as greedy and wealth-centered, Shylock's sentimental value overrides the loss of his wealth. Christians on the other hand emphasize divinity and Christ as the savior who calls upon his people to be kind to their enemies. However, Christians look down upon Jews because they perceive them as non-human and they also owned slaves, thus placing monetary value on human beings. Furthermore, Christian marriages were usually interconnected with economic interests and was usually sought for due to financial security.

On the topic of marriages, I think the role of women will also play a significant role in the play. When reading the background passages on the role of women in society, I think that women will somehow bridge all the different sociocultural factors together because women most probably play subordinate roles in both Jewish and Christian households. Overall, The Merchant of Venice definitely seems to involve many different social issues. 

I stepped from Plank to Plank: Mini Analysis

I stepped from Plank to Plank is a poem which seeks to convey an overarching message on life and experiences. In the first stanza, the speaker steps plank to plank "A slow and cautious way", emphasizing the lack of speed and great concentration to her steps. This movement is precise and the cautiousness implies that the speaker is trying to avoid something. Since this is an abstract poem, what the speaker is trying to avoid maybe something as large and vague as fear itself or something personal to the speaker. The next line "The Stars about my Head I felt/About my Feet the sea -" portrays two opposites of nature; the stars are above while the sea is below.  I think this line serves to illuminate the setting of the poem.  In our small class discussions, my group interpreted the speaker to be walking across a bridge or a dock with unstable planks. The stars also imply that the poem takes place during nighttime, therefore the speaker is more aware of her movements. We thought that the sea could be the destination or signifying how the speaker is paying attention the sea around her feet so as not to drown in the sea.

Image Source

In the second stanza, I think diction plays an important role to convey the central purpose of the poem. The first two lines "I knew not but the next/Would be my final inch -" shows uncertainty of death or the final destination. It signifies that the speaker is inferior in her knowledge of the future, the only thing she is certain of is that death would be the final step. The "final inch" emphasizes the calculation  and length of her steps; each step brings you closer to the final step. The word "final" also indicates the end of something, in this case the end of your life.  The last two lines communicate the central purpose of the poem of how life consists of many uncertainties and the only certainty is that your final step will lead you to death. The  phrase "precarious Gait" is related to the word "Experience". "Precarious" indicates dependence on uncertain conditions while "Gait" is the manner of walking. The word "Experience" usually has positive connotations because it is something valuable you gain in life which I thought contrasts the doubt in "precarious Gait".

Much Madness is divinest Sense: Analysis

"Much Madness is divinest Sense" is definitely one of my favorite poems by Emily Dickinson because of the use of paradox  to describe madness. At first I perceived the poem to be extremely vague because madness and insanity is such an abstract concept.  However, as we looked more in depth into the poem during our Socratic Seminar discussion, the structure of the poem is actually more of a mathematical equation with symmetrical properties. In the first line, Much Madness = divinest sense, while in the third line, Much Sense = the starkest Madness. Equating madness with sense and vice versa is considered as a paradox in our social norms. Madness is usually frowned down upon by society as someone who is unable to reason logically.

In the poem, the speaker also uses a commanding and absolute tone which indicates that there is no middle ground. When you're mad, you possess the highest form of sense but if you're full of sense, you possess madness. This absolute tone is also further illustrated in the sixth and seventh line: "Assent- and you are sane- Demur- you're straightaway dangerous." Therefore assenting equal to staying sane, while agreeing equals danger in becoming insane.  What makes this poem thought-provoking is the strong use of paradox since agreeing with the majority is usually attribute to normality whereas disagreeing makes the odd one out, therefore less normal. However, since the first two lines paradoxically define madness and sense, the whole poem follows the logic of how those who are mad are those with the most sense.

In the last line of the poem, those who demur and are "handled with a Chain" portrays people who demur as being punished for going against the majority. Chains indicate a sense of the lack of freedom which poses a barrier to your own imagination and self-expression. I think the speaker is trying to convey that although those who are mad have the divinest sense, the majority who are in the "Much Sense" category will inevitably dictate the social norms. Being handled with a chain doesn't necessarily mean a direct control how someone else's freedom, but it can also indicate that madness is always handled with chains therefore it cannot exist in its truest form of madness.

Because I could not stop for Death: Analysis

In The Book Thief "Death" is also portrayed in a civilized manner which I thought was very similar to to Death in this poem. Source

Summary/What is the tone of the poem?

I was really surprised at the optimistic tone of the poem despite the poem revolving around the theme of death. Usually death is described as morbid, horrifying, and comes to you when you least expect it. However in the poem, the speaker personifies death into a kind gentlemen with who courteously waits for her to prepare herself for the journey towards death. The two last lines of the poem, "I felt surmised the Horses' Heads Were toward Eternity" supports the optimistic tone of the poem with the feeling of hope for eternity. The word "eternity" is also often associated with religion and the hereafter as opposed to the temporary nature of life on earth.

Who is the speaker? What kind of person is the speaker?

As in most of Emily Dickinson's poems, the speaker is ambiguous but more of her personality is revealed in this poem compared to other poems. The speaker seems to be female because she mentions "For only Gossamer, my Gown--My Tippet--only Tulle--" which describes her delicacy.

State the central idea or theme of the poem in a sentence.

The central theme of the poem is that when death approaches you and takes you away, life goes by without you and death essentially makes you immortal.

Discuss the diction of the poem.

In the poem, the words associated with death all have civil connotations, in both manners and societal matters, that give "Death" respect and authority.  "He kindly stopped for me" shows civil manners and portraying death as thoughtful and respectful. The words "carriage", "labor", and "leisure" in the first and second stanza all relate to overall daily life indicating transportation, work, and entertainment. In the third stanza "school", "Children", and "Recess" describe childhood while the "Fields of Gazing Grain" reflect adulthood and labor. Therefore there is a contrast between childhood and adulthood which indicate the impact of the passage of time as Death and the speaker "passed the Setting Sun".

Imagery

We passed before a House that seemed
A Swelling of the Ground--
The Roof was scarcely visible--
The Cornice--in the Ground--

The fifth stanza of the poem is a great example of Dickinson's use of imagery in her poems. "a House that seemed A Swelling of the Ground" is referring to a grave that is submerged into the ground. It is called a "House" because that's where dead bodies are sheltered in when they're buried. "Roof" and "Cornice" are both architectural properties of the house and in the poem both of these structures can barely be identified because it reveal destruction and lack of structure. Like death, the destruction of the roof and cornice shows the collapse of life and how death gives you a new home. The use of imagery in this stanza emphasizes the contrast between the house of death and the house of life.

I had been hungry, all the Years (Mini) Analysis

I find this poem interesting to do a mini analysis on because of the use of hunger and abundance of food food as the conceit of the poem.  Hunger symbolizes unfulfilled desires or cravings and abundance of food thus represents over-fulfillment and the loss of appeal to certain desires. What I particularly liked about this poem is its simplicity and how it uses the feeling of hunger and the guilt of gluttony to describe human behavior.

The dining room inside windows vs "nature's dining room"

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Paraphrase the poem

The speaker in the poem reflect upon on how she used to feel relentless hunger and looked for "Wealth" in windows which in turn inflicts pain upon her because she realizes all that "wealth" will never belong to her. She was used to having crumbs while the rich had "ample Bread". Not only do the poor only have crumbs, but the poor share among the poor thus emphasizing how little they have and presents a stark contrast to those who possess not only more, but an abundance of it: "The Birds and I, had often shared In Nature's--Dining Room--". The references to nature and animals portray hunger as a primitive emotion and I found that "sharing in nature's dining room" is ironic because dining rooms usually have tables served with food but nature in essence only serves you what you need and not necessarily what you want. The two lines that come after about a berry bush transplanted to a road I think draws reference to the artificial dining room which serves your desires as opposed to nature serving strictly enough to feed you. The poem then ends in the last stanza about how she was no longer hungry, therefore there was no longer any desire to go outside windows and hunt for fulfillment because "The Entering--takes away" (entering windows and finally receiving what you've wanted all along depletes all the desire you've had in the first place and now you're stuck inside the window with nothing to hunt for.)

What is the setting in time?

The poem begins with "I had been hungry, all the years" but does not specify how many years or how long ago she was looking through windows and hurt by all the wealth she saw. As usual, time in Dickinson's poems are very ambiguous and either defined as "long ago" or a change in "day/noon" and "night''. Perhaps because time is always passing but you never actually consciously register time in accordance to your emotions.

One need not to be a Chamber - to be Haunted: Analysis

The skeleton represents the inner fears within you that you cannot escape.

Source

Surprisingly, I felt that this poem was actually relevant to our lives and something that I could actually relate to compared to other poems by Emily Dickinson. I admired Dickinson's use of metaphors and her careful use of diction which all serve a purpose to convey the message of how you can never escape from your own mind but you can always run away from other people. Through this poem, she made the message more tangible by describing chambers and houses as something with solid walls that you cannot penetrate through and there are no doors available to exit out of the confinements of your own mind and fears. To further analyze this poem, I will answer the following questions.

Outline the poem to show its structure and development/Point out examples and explain any metaphors

The first stanza of the poem describes physical structures such as chambers, houses, and corridors. The speaker states that "One need not be a Chamber-- to be Haunted--One need not be a House--". The word "haunted" gives a feeling of horror along with the word "chamber".  However, the line claims that there are other forms of horror and it is not always confined by physical walls. Furthermore, "The Brain has Corridors--surpassing Material Place--", so it is essentially the opposite of a chamber and a house because there are multiple corridors which extend beyond material walls and confinements. The brain is a metaphor for all of the intangible fears and abstract thoughts in your mind that you cannot run away from.

In the second stanza, the poem then mentions how it's safer to confront and "External Ghost" during midnight than confronting "That cooler Host". The external ghost is something physical or someone who you fear and you're able to escape from. However, the "cooler Host" is the person inside of you. I feel like the word "cooler" gives a darker sense of horror because it's inside of you that you can't confront. The fourth stanza is very similar to the second stanza because it compares inner horrors/fears to an external fear: "Ourself behind ourself, concealed--Should startle most--Assassin hid in our Apartment Be Horror's least--". Our inner fears are hidden within ourselves compared to external fears which are assassins planning to kill us while we're in our apartments. The poem then transitions to the last stanza which is "He bolts the Door-- O'erlooking a superior spectre--Or More." The "He" represents the body who bolts the door trying to escape an external fear but then overlooks a superior ghost or a superior fear which is the fear/horror inside of him.  Therefore, although we can always run away from external fears, our inner fears will always remain with us no matter what door we choose to exit through.

What is the tone of the poem?

I feel that the tone of the poem is dark and haunted especially through the use of ghosts as metaphor for our fears. Even chambers gives a sense of being haunted and the use of assassins and a revolver implies murder and killing.

Discuss the form or pattern of the poem.

There is a pattern of using confined infrastructures as something that can seemingly be haunted when you assume that ghosts or assassins  are all around you, similar to how children are scared of monsters under their bed. However, Dickinson always contrasts those external fears to inner fears which emphasizes the greater darkness and horror of what lies within you.

Criticize and evaluate the poem.

For the most part, this poem is fairly straight-forward and I think Emily Dickson could make the central purpose more convincing by adding a different dimension to fear other than simply contrasting internal and external fears. The poem currently demonstrates fear as two opposite ends of a spectrum, but doesn't explain the grey areas in between the "black and white".

Dare you see a Soul at the "White Heat"? : Analysis

At a first read, I found this poem very hard to understand because I wasn't familiar with ironwork and its tools. I realized that imagery plays a significant role in Emily Dickinson's, or poems in general because they help convey the central purpose and the overarching theme. The main components of the poem is the fire/heat within the forgery, the blacksmith and his/her tools, and the ore which goes through refinement through the hammering and the fire (the blaze). The first line of the the poem, "Dare you see a soul at the "White Heat", I feel sums up the entire poem because it expresses the process through which an ore (which I interpreted as symbolizing the soul" goes through a fire so hot that the fire turns into "white heat".  At the end of the whole ironwork process, the ore is refined to its highest value, therefore the soul is purified through the "white heat".

http://smithery.co/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/blacksmith.jpg

Here are some questions that helped me gain a further insight into the poem:

Is there an identifiable audience for the speaker?

I don't think there's an identifiable audience for the speaker in the poem because I interpreted the poem is written used as a means to express the speaker's journey and the hardships of her soul. Poetry is sometimes used as a form of therapy or trying to understand one's own life and all of the feelings they've dealt with. However, Dickinson could be writing the poem for others who relate to her own experience.

 What is the setting in place?

The setting of the poem primarily takes place inside a blacksmith's workshop to explain the process through which an ore is refined "until the designated light repudiate the forge".

Summarize the events of the poem.

The poem starts off with asking the reader whether or not you dare to see a soul at the "White Heat" and then transitions to the ironwork setting where the "vivid ore" will proceed to vanquish the heat of the flame and it will quiver from the forge. Once the ore has gone through the heat, it is refined with a hammer and once again with more heat until it has enough light in it to "repudiate" or fight against the forge.

Discuss the diction of the poem/ Point out and explain any symbols .

The use of the colors white and red contrast each other to represent the fire into different heat levels. Through religious interpretations, white could symbolize purity and red could symbolize bloodshed and hell-fire, or the forgery itself. The fire is described in many different components: heat, flame, and blaze. Heat indicates the actual temperature which refines the actual material of the metal. Flame, in my opinion, describes the physical appearance of the fire while the use of the word "blaze" indicates the violent movement of fire. Therefore, the heat, physical appearance and the movement of the fire in the forge all could describe the hell-fire which one's soul has to go through in order to reach the white heat and able fight against/repudiate the hell-fire.

I felt a Funeral, in my Brain,: Analysis

Deviant Art: http://cleanup.deviantart.com/art/i-felt-a-funeral-in-my-brain-33650461

I chose to blog about this poem because I think it's reflective of most of Dickinson's poems. Her poems are almost always related to death and self-deterioration. What I find most interesting about her poems is her use of rich imagery in both visuals and sounds which contribute to the  meaning of the poem. Her use of imagery to describe the numbness in her mind is also emphasized through the use of a funeral procession and other objects connected to funerals and death.

Here are some poetry guidelines I used to further deepen my understanding of the poem:

Who is the speaker? What kind of person is the speaker?

I think the speaker in the poem is very ambiguous due to the many different pronouns used in ambiguous contexts. I feel that Emily Dickinson herself is the speaker because the poem could possibly be a way for her to express the "funeral" she experienced inside her mind in a very delusional way.

What is the occasion?

The occasion of the poem takes mostly inside the speaker's head but the funeral itself is a separate occasion and the mind is described with a funeral setting. There is no absolute location because the poem emphasizes on emotion regarding her brain, soul, isolation, and internal depression.

What is the central purpose of the theme?

I interpreted the central purpose of the theme to convey the presence of death inside her mind. More specifically, the poem references "That Sense was breaking through" and the "Plank in Reason, broke". The death taking place inside her mind causes her mind to go numb "And [she] dropped down, and down".


Discuss imagery of the poem.

The imagery of the poem surrounds the theme of death and funeral processions. Mourners are described to be walking "to and fro" and there's a "A Service, like a Drum". Furthermore, in the third stanza: "And then I heard them lift a Box" could make reference to a coffin or uncovering something that was hidden or ambiguous to reveal something clearer, perhaps relating to death.

What is the tone of the poem? How is it achieved?

I felt the tone of the poem was very pessimistic and morbid. There was a lot of descending motion and the idea of falling and dropping down. Overall, the language revolves around depression and death and there's a tone of indescribable suffering and pain.