John Donne

John Donne was born to a Roman Catholic family in London in 1572. Donne's father died suddenly in 1576 making Donne's mother a single mother of 3. Donne studied at the Hart Hall in the University of Oxford for three years with his brother Henry. In 1953 Donne's brother Henry died in prison from a fever. After the death of his brother Donne began to question his faith. Donne married Anne More in 1601 secretly and was thrown in prison for a few weeks. Anne died on August 15, 1617 after giving birth to their twelfth year who was a stillborn. Donne died March 31, 1631.

WOMAN'S CONSTANCY.by John Donne


NOW thou hast loved me one whole day,
To-morrow when thou leavest, what wilt thou say ?
Wilt thou then antedate some new-made vow ?
            Or say that now
We are not just those persons which we were ?
Or that oaths made in reverential fear
Of Love, and his wrath, any may forswear ?
Or, as true deaths true marriages untie,
So lovers' contracts, images of those,
Bind but till sleep, death's image, them unloose ?
            Or, your own end to justify,
For having purposed change and falsehood, you
Can have no way but falsehood to be true ?
Vain lunatic, against these 'scapes I could
            Dispute, and conquer, if I would ;
            Which I abstain to do,
For by to-morrow I may think so too.

John Donne is using rhetorical questions to ask their lover if their love is valid and sincere. The speaker is questioning weather their love will last. I personally dont enjoy poems I cannot understand what they are talking about right off the bat. This poem is more understandable than others of his but I cannot say I enjoyed it all that much.

This Info came from:
http://fadwasaidwhat.blogspot.com/2009/01/womans-constancy-or-lack-thereof.html
http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/donne/constancy.php
Photo came from
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/John_Donne

"O"

OTHELLO
"O" (2001) Is an updated version of the Shakespeare play Othello. "O" revolves around a high school cast and spotlights a basketball player named Odin, played by Mekhi Phifer. Shakespeares original Othello told the tale of love gone bad by jealousy. The movie in my opinion is nothing close to the Shakespeare version. Both version's are based around jealousy. The movie version of Othello includes some big names such as, Julia Stiles, Josh Harnett and Martin Sheen. I enjoyed the movie, I had seen in previously before this assignment but had to re-watch it as I had forgotten some parts. The movie is about a basketball team with mostly white players except one black player, Odin James (played by Mekhi Phifer). The team was coached by Coach Duke Goulding (played by Martin Sheen). Gouldings son Hugo (played by Josh Harnett) is a player on the team who feels he doesnt recieve the glory he should from his father who glorifies Odin. The coach gives Odin the Best player award and even tells him he loves him like his own son. Hugo decides he is going to get revenge on the boys who stole his glory.  I would suggest this movie becuase it's a good watch. I stayed on the edge of my seat watching this, and was tearing up at the end. Definately a tragedy. I cant say that Shakespeare would consider this an adaptation of his original, but I enjoyed it.

Websites Used:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0184791/
http://absoluteshakespeare.com/guides/summaries/othello/othello_summary.htm

Photo Came from :http://edufilms.blogspot.com/2008/04/contemporary-films-2000-present.html

Hamlet

Shakespeare's Hamlet
"TO BE OR NOT TO BE: THAT IS THE QUESTION"

The Tragedy of Hamlet,The Prince of Denmark, was written in the early 17th century in London. Although Hamlet was written so long ago, people still find this famous Shakespearean play relatable.  Lets look at some key points that could be seen as relatable. Often times when a parent dies or parents divorce the child rarely likes the new figure in his or her parents life. Hamlet has to handle this as a prince, with many people closing watching his every move and mood. Hamlet was angry before the appearance of the ghost because the thought of his mother marrying his uncle was repulsive to him. Not only did Hamlet resent his mother for marrying his uncle but because she married so quickly with not even enough time to grieve her husbands death. After the appearance of the ghost of his father, Hamlet is told that his uncle (his mothers new husband and the new King of Denmark) was the cause of his fathers death. Hamlet is outraged. Take a second to think of how you would feel at this moment. 1.Hamlet's father is dead. 2.His mother is married to his uncle. 3. His uncle is the cause of his fathers death. I would feel not only betrayed but I would feel the need for revenge and the need for the truth. I thought Hamlet included all the perfect pieces to fit the description of a tragedy: murder, betrayal and revenge.

WEBSITES USED:
http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/hamlet/facts.html
PHOTO CAME FROM:

http://schoolworkhelper.net/2010/08/betrayal-in-hamlet/

Shakespeare Biography

William Shakespeare was born to John Shakespeare and Mary Arden supposedly on April 23, 1654 in Stratford-Upon-Avon. The Holy Trinity Church records show that Shakespeare was baptized there on April 26, 1654. Church records also showed that William was the eighth child to be born to the Shakespeare family. It is known that Shakespeare did not attend a university, but much speculation has been put out there about what type of education he had. It is believed that John Shakespeare enrolled William into a "free grammar school." William married Anne Hathaway in November 28th 1582 at the age of 18. Anne however, was 26 at the time and carrying Shakespeare's unborn child. On May 26, 1583 Susanna Shakespeare was born, followed by twin brother and sister Hamnet and Judith born on February 2, 1585. Shakespeare's son Hamnet died of the Bubonic Plague on August 11, 1596 at the age of 11. Shakespeare wrote 38 plays including Romeo and Juliet (Tragedy), Othello (Tragedy), The Tempest (Comedy) and A Midsummer Nights Dream (Comedy). Shakespeare also wrote 154 sonnets and poems such as Venus and Adonis and Rape of Lucrece. It is believed that  William Shakespeare died on his birthday April 23, 1616.

Info came from:
http://www.bardweb.net/man.html

http://www.william-shakespeare.info/william-shakespeare-biography.htm
PHOTO CAME FROM
http://myfivebest.com/five-things-you-may-not-have-known-about-shakespeare/