Ignorance in The Tempest and Sonnet 93
Ignorance has been said to be bliss. To equate appearance with reality is a facet of ignorance, and leads to a part of the bliss. Many of Shakespeare's characters find the bliss of ignorance and revel in it, and some end up coming to terms with their gullibility. Some few are unwilling to abandon their ignorance even when they can see real truth. All are experiencing different stages of the human cycle. Coming into the world, we are equipped with nothing more than recognition of appearance. We must learn to the distinguish what is real from what is seen. Those who have the opportunity to learn this difference will often deny the truth to live in bliss a moment longer, those who are no longer ignorant can occasionally re-enter the cycle in a moment of absolute trust and wonder, and finally there are those who have spilled off one end of the cycle or the other, and are trapped in a particular stage for their life. In all cases, real truth is irrelevant to the human goal of happiness.
The speaker of sonnet 93 is fighting his own intelligence to stay ignorant. In order to avoid living a cycle of clear reason, he uses the fogging image of the ideal. He tells himself he cannot see any trace of falseness in his lover because she is so beautiful: 'Whatever thy thoughts or thy heart's workings be,/ Thy looks should nothing but sweetness tell'. Essentially he has doubled back on his own mind: convinced himself he has not seen the change he has seen. He is willing to sacrifice the truth he sees to prolong his happiness.
Miranda in The Tempest is shown slowly bridging the gap between her untouched childlike ignorance and the clarity ...
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...e too close to the truth, seek truth when wonder is empty or exhausted. The only way to tie oneself to the truth is to wind one's happiness around the truth until they are inseparable, while exhausting the capacity for wonder.
Works Cited and Consulted:
Bloom, Harold. Modern Critical Interpretations: William Shakespeare's Sonnets. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987. pg. 12-13
Davidson, Frank. "The Tempest: An Interpretation." In The Tempest: A Casebook. Ed. D.J. Palmer. London: Macmillan & Co. Ltd., 1968. 225.
Ingram, W. G. and Theodore Redpath, Ed. "Sonnet 93," Shakespeare's Sonnets.New York: Barnes & Noble, Inc., 1968. pg. 168-169.
Shakespeare, William, 1998. The Tempest. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1998
Webster, Margaret. Shakespeare Without Tears. Greenwich: Fawcett Publications, Inc., 1996.
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Karl Marx 's writing of ‘The Communist Manifesto’ in 1848 has been documented by a vast number of academics as one of the most influential pieces of political texts written in the modern era. Its ideologically driven ideas formed the solid foundation of the Communist movement throughout the 20th century, offering a greater alternative for those who were rapidly becoming disillusioned and frustrated with the growing wealth and social divisions created by capitalism. A feeling not just felt in by a couple of individuals in one society, but a feeling that was spreading throughout various societies worldwide. As Toma highlights in his work, Marx felt that ‘capitalism would produce a crisis-ridden, polarized society destined to be taken over by
The United States government should pay reparations to African Americans as a means of admitting their wrong-doing and making amends. The damages African Americans have sustained from White America’s policy of slavery have been agonizing and inhumane. Therefore, I am in favor of reparations for African Americans. The effect of slavery has been an enduring issue within the African American community. Many of us are cognizant of the harm racism brought to the African American race, conveyed through slavery, racial segregation and discrimination. African Americans suffered many atrocities, but the greatest damage done to them was the destruction of they’re original identity. African Americans no longer have a native language or any African customs to connect them to Africa. Today, African Americans are connected together because they all share a common foundation-the horrendous experience of slavery-and the great effort to conquer its lingering result.(www.AcedemicLibrary.com)
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When discussing the makeup of Congress, one must first look to the intent of the framers around creating a bicameral legislature. This would take me to the first section of our class regarding the debates the founding fathers had about equal representation of the states in the Congress.
Presently, the federal government acts according to the public’s interest. Civil rights cases are still common within government, but will the issue of reparations of the descendants of slaves be substantial enough for government to want to give it attention. No matter what is done, African Americans will always be seen as the victims of slavery, and whites will be those always guilty of it. This guilt by association through skin color will never fade, no matter what type of reparation is made.
Bradstreet, A., & Kallich, M. (1973). A Book of the Sonnet: Poems and Criticism. New York: Twayne Publishers.
In America guns have been a part of the country’s society since it’s birth. Throughout history the citizens of the US have used firearms to protect the nation, protect their families, hunt for food and engage in sporting activities. The issue of Guns and gun control is complex. Weighing the rights and liberties of the individual against the welfare and safety of the public has always been a precarious balancing act. In the United States, gun control is one of these tumultuous issues that has both sides firmly entrenched in their positions. Those parties in favor of gun ownership and the freedom to use and keep arms, rely on the fact that the provision for such rights is enshrined in their constitution. In this climate of growing violence, rife with turmoil and crime, gun advocates feel more than ever that their position is justified. As citizens of the “Land of the Free” possessing a gun is a fundamental right, and may even be a necessity... Anti- gun lobbyists point to the same growing violence and gun related crimes in an effort to call on the government to take action. By enacting more laws and stricter control, these people not in favor of guns feel society would be better safer.
Tushnet, Mark V. Out of Range: Why the Constitution Can't End the Battle over Guns. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2007. Print.
Throughout the play, Prospero is a figure who talks at rather than to the other characters, including his daughter Miranda, Prince Ferdinand, and Ariel, his airy servant. At the end of Act IV Prospero is caught up in the ecstasy of punishing and determining the fate of his foes. The beginning of Act V, however, marks a change in the character of Prospero, which averts a possible tragedy. Prospero is unsettled even though his plans are reaching fruition. In his talk with Ariel for the first time we see an actual conversation take place. In addition, in the line "...And mine shall." (Shakespeare V.i.20) we see a change of heart on the part of Prospero, and in the following monologue the audience is privy to introspection and contemplation even beyond that of the end of the masque in Act IV "We are such stuff as dreams are made on..."(Shakespeare).
...ays him. He tricks himself into believing that he and his friend are such kindred spirits that they are truly one in mind, body and spirit, when in fact, they are not. The final line of the sonnet begins with an initial spondee, "Sweet flattery" (14) in which Shakespeare himself is admitting how sweet delusion really is, and ends in a terminal spondee, "me alone" (14) showing that the young man and Shakespeare were really never more than acquaintances that loved the same woman.] Through a figment of his imagination, he developed a mythical relationship with the young man when in fact, the only really loving relationship he had was with his own pretentious subconscious.
Karl Marx, in the Capital, developed his critique of capitalism by analyzing its characteristics and its development throughout history. The critique contains Marx’s most developed economic analysis and philosophical insight. Although it was written in 1850s, its values still serve an important purpose in the globalized world and maintains extremely relevant in the twenty-first century.
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