So you're Ecgtheow's son, that don't impress me much

            This week I am extremely excited to write a rumination. The first week I did not feel as if I was ready to comment on Beowulf, but afterwards was disappointed that I missed my chance.  While working on third pass of Beowulf I was reminded of something striking from my first two reads. A common form of identify in Beowulf dealt with family lineage.

            When you think of it in more modern terms, I personally think it is a little silly. Here comes an armed Beowulf with his men, dressed for combat. When confronted by the guard of the Danish shore, Beowulf tells of his father’s friendship to Hrothgar and that he was here to help. Oh you are Ecgtheow’s son, sure come on in! The level of trust to me is almost laughable, but then again, perhaps the Dane had reached desperation. I knew from the beginning that you family lineage was really important in Beowulf, I spent this pass searching for clues on the ever pressing why. I ultimately decided that although family lineage is a strong component of identity in Beowulf, actions are ultimately more relevant.

            The poem starts with Shield Sheafson, who was a foundling or in other words an orphan. Yet Sheafson was able to make a name for him based on his own merit rather than in his father’s name. Lines 24 and 25 confirm this. “Behavior that is admired is the path to power among people everywhere.” Shield Sheafson came to power through his actions, not by any other means.

            When Beowulf first arrives in the land of the Danes, before allowing him to come in the guard says to Beowulf “Anyone with gumption and a sharp mind will take the measure of two things: what’s said and what’s done.” (lines 287-290) At this point Beowulf had just finished elegantly speaking of his family and his loyalty to Hrothgar including his intentions. The guard basically responds to him, that is all well and good, but your actions will have to back up your brave words.

            On another instance, Beowulf himself says “For every one of us, living in this world means waiting for our end. Let whoever can win glory before death.” (lines1366-1368). Here Beowulf talks about how his actions will bring remembrance to him after his death. Therefore it is the slaying of grendel and other great feats that will bring honor to Beowulf's memory after death, not his family name.

            Overall your family name helps get your foot in the door, but your actions will outweigh your name. It’s the same today, daddy’s name may help you get a job interview, but if you’re a total idiot, its not going to do you much good to be so and so’s son.

Shakespeare's Sonnets

My sophomore year in high school brought me what I thought was a healthy dose of Shakespeare’s works. Through my required British literature course and an elective attributed to the man himself, I thought I had a pretty good idea of about the legend that is Shakespeare. However, my overall, my experience with Shakespeare has been limited to his dramatic works. The sonnets assigned for this week, opened my eyes to an aspect of Shakespeare than had been previously overlooked. I cannot say I always enjoy reading in Shakespearean English, but I can say that the work that I have encounter of Shakespeare has seemed to always strike an interest with me.

The first three sonnets in our Norton Anthology, sonnet 1, sonnet 3, and sonnet 12 share a theme of the importance of childbearing. Having never read Shakespeare’s sonnets before this idea was a little surprising. I was half expecting sappy love poems not a public service announcement to have children.

Sonnet 1 starts with, “From fairest creatures we desire increase, That thereby beauty’s rose might never die… his tender heir might ear his memory;” (1062) I can see how this could be interpreted in a few ways, but how I read it was, from the beautiful people or animals even, we as humans want and even expect increase, in this case procreation. Having children, would result in the good qualities of that person or creature to live beyond the life of the particular individuals through their offspring. Shakespeare goes as far as to accuse gluttony on line 14 to those who do not pass their gifts along prior to dying.

Sonnet 3 continues these same ideals. The second line of the sonnet “now is the time that face should form another” speaks to the man in the mirror in attempt to influence the startup of a family.  Very similarly to Sonnet 1, Shakespeare tells the reader to not cheat the world out of a child. “Thou dost beguile the world, unbless some mother.” (1062) The poem continues to call men who do not have children foolish and then reinstates the message in the first lines of sonnet 1. “Die single, and thine image dies with thee.” Shakespeare in both sonnet 1 and 3 presents two very different ideals: the very giving idea of having children to give your good to the world and the very selfish idea of having children so that your legacy will cease to die when you do.  Each of these arguments lends itself to the contradicting ideals humans may have in relation to major decisions as in whether to have a child.

Sonnet 12 differs from the central message of having children in sonnets 1 and 3. Sonnet 12 is more about time passing by. However the end of the sonnet presents the idea of having children similar to those observed in sonnet 1 and 3. “And nothing ‘gainst Time’s scthe can make defense Save breed, to brave him when he takes thee hence.” In this instance your offspring, who outlive you are your only defense against time, since when you perish, they who are in essence a part of you, continue to live on.

These sonnets seem to be written to persuade. I continually questioned who the audience Shakespeare had in mind while writing these particular sonnets while reading.  Who did Shakespeare want to influence to have children? Likewise, why did it matter to Shakespeare if this person had children? It wasn’t as if he did not have children of his own to satisfy this desire. 

SPEAK NOW, or forever hold your peace – Week 3 Wildcard

     When this assignment was assigned, I was a little overwhelmed. I felt like I could not think of anything that qualified as a lyric sequence. Obviously I know that there are tons out there, but I really wanted to do something I knew and liked.  I was trying to stay away from Taylor Swift to find something a little deeper. But in the end I settled. There are very few artists that I like or listen to the entirety of the album; however Taylor Swift is one I can say that I fully enjoy the whole way through. So here it goes the cliché teen girl’s blog post about Taylor Swift.

     Fearless was probably the best choice of her album’s for this assignment, but Christina chose to do that, so I am going to go with her  more recent album, Speak Now.  Each song on the album doesn’t necessarily have to do with the same person, however most the songs are linked by the common theme of the love. The album tells the story of Taylor Swift’s experiences in the two years she spent working on her album.  In the prologue that Taylor has written in the album cover which has lyrics etc. (I’m sure this has a name that I am totally blanking on now, I hope you understand what I’m talking about though) she says “These songs are open letters. Each is written with a specific person in mind, telling them what I meant to tell them in person.” 

The first two songs on the album “Mine” and “Sparks Fly”, carry a happy tone related to love. Mine talks of abandoning the bad feelings and running away from love and finding the person who can be the exception to these negative feelings. Sparks Fly continues with the happy tone telling the story of falling in love with someone that may not be the conservative choice, but the connection and chemistry ultimately is the deciding factor.

I chose to embed “Sparks Fly” because I am sure most of you have heard “Mine” on the radio.

     The tone towards the end of the album is the exact opposite of the first few songs. “Haunted” and “Last Kiss” have the melancholy feel of many of the sonnets from this week’s readings. They certainly do not have the upbeat positive feeling you would usually expect from a Taylor Swift song, but stay true to her story telling style. Haunted comes directly before “Last Kiss” on the album, in my opinion rightly so. Haunted is about the moment in time where you realize the person you are with is drifting away and you feel hopeless and don’t know your next move. “Last Kiss” is the story of the feelings you have after a break up. The songs mesh together to tell the story of a relationships ending and the sadness the aftermath brings.

Below is the tract list from the CD. Speak Now, Back to December, Dear John, The Story of Us, Enchanted and Better than Revenge are about love

Mine

Sparks Fly

Speak Now

Back to December

Speak Now

Dear John

Mean

The Story of Us

Never Grow Up

Enchanted

Better Than Revenge

Innocent

Haunted

Last Kiss

Long Live

There was a special edition of this CD released only at Target. So if you’re not a Taylor nut like me, you may not have heard these songs. If you’re interested check out:  Ours, Superman, and If this was a Movie. She also had alternate versions of Back to December, Haunted and Mine.