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In Shakespeare Sonnet 35, Shakespeare writes:

For to thy sensual fault I bring in sense
Thy adverse party is thy advocate
And ‘gainst myself a lawful plea commence.
Such civil war is in my love and hate.

I tried to really focused on Shakespeare's intent in the oral presentation of this poem. When I initially read this, it made no sense to me. But after lecture this week it really highlighted the importance of speaking a poem as opposed to just reading. I think when reading none of the words made sense together. But with verbal presentation it made me really focus on Shakespeare's writing and made me more in tune with the words.

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In William Shakespeare's Sonnet 62, Shakespeare wrote:

Sin of self-love possesseth all mine eye
And all my soul and all my every part;
And for this sin there is no remedy,
It is so grounded inward in my heart.

This passage really stuck out to me because of the religious undertones. This passage mentions the word sin twice, heart once, and soul once. I know that we discussed that lots of writings from this period relates to God, but I found this passage so intriguing. I found the phrase the sin of self love and to me this reminds me of pride and the dangers that comes with this.

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For my associative entry I wanted to discuss a connection I made to life today. In this past discussion, the TA Bridget really engaged the class to speak the poems instead of just reading. This morning I was playing wordle and I was really stuck on the word. I was trying everything and had 3 greens and 2 grays. Finally instead of just entering random letters I started sounding out words and on the sixth try, I got it. This moment reminded me of yesterday's discussion because without spelling out that word, I would have probably never gotten it.

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This weeks readings, we read Sir Gawain and the Green Knight:

"in truth in turn out you're by far the mot faultless fellow on earth. As a pearl is more prized than a pea which is white, in good faith, so in Gawain, amongst gallant knight" (lines 2362-65).

I found this text really interesting because it shows the reader the value of worth. By stating a "pearl is more prized than a pea" makes sense on its own, as a pearl, as a pearl is a jewel. But stating that I because its white there me off. It makes me wonder if there is a racial undertone to that statement? Or rather if white represents purity, cleanliness, etc? Regardless, I think that this quote leave the reader which questions and feeling uneasy.

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In similar light, another quote I wanted to touch on was:

"Would be sinful; I know myself too well.
By God, I'd be glad, if it pleased you, to offer you. Some different service, in word or deed
To serve such excellence would be endless delight" (lines 1244-1247).

I found this quote interesting because it shows the understanding of flaws. As someone who is religious I can understand how important it is for someone to mention and acknowledge themselves and their sins. Accepting this is humbling and show their accountability. Gawain accepting this show how he is taking accountability and realizes how fault.

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We are continuing reading SGGK:

"Gawain hesitated, his heart
reached for protection, like a thief for a gem:
He could come to that chapel, and take that stroke, and with this glorious device walk off
unharmed" (lines 1855-1859).

Continuing from last weeks findings, this was another example of Gawain's maturity. Stating that his (Gawain's) heart reached for protection, shows the reader how tender his heart is. Furthermore, going to the chapel means that he is choosing and turning himself and his heart towards God. This shows the reader the humility Gawain hold. I also find it interesting the authors use a simile. By stating "like a their for a gem", we know that gems are very valuable, therefore reinforcing the value of ones heart- comparing it a very valuable item; a jem.

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This semester has been really hard for me. My grandma is battling with dementia and every day she is becoming in a worse and worse state. Every weekend I will go back to Minnesota, visit my family, but most importantly spend time with my grandma. This week readings have really taught me the importance of God in my life. It is really difficult for me to talk to others about this, as I am protecting my heart from the truth. But reading this has really shown me the importance of trusting God and turning to him.

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Another quote I found interesting in SGGK is:

"I'm false, now, forever afraid of bad faith and treachery: may trouble, may sorrow come to them! Oh knight: I humbly confess
my faults: bless me with the chance to atone.
I'll try to sin less" (lines 2382-88).

This quote really shows the importance of religion. The recognition of sin is incredibly humbling and being afraid of bad faith is as well. To me this quote reminds me of the human condition; how we do things that hurt others, feel guild then plead to do better. As I am reading SGGK, I am really taking a liking to Sir Gawain, because of his humility. This quote really hows the weight ones conscience can hold. That sinning and doing bad deeds weights heavy on our souls and strives us to doing better.

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This week we are reading Chaucer's Canterbury Tales:

"Men may divine and glosen up and down, but well I woot, express withouten lie, God bade us for to wax and multiply: That lentil text can I well undertone".

We discusses the quote in lecture, yet this quote really stuck with me. Starting the quote with, "men may..." leads the reader to believe that what is going to be said is official, fact or law. Whereas it lays a more sympathetic role on women. This quote really reminded me of the double standard that men and women are subjected to. How men can be in charge, where women can only be bossy. Or how men are passionate whereas women are dramatic and emotional. It is crazy to see how similar themes that happen today can be seen in Chaucer's time. Yet, I think that Chaucer is highlighting the double standard between men and women.

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Continuing on my theme of double standard lets look at the Pardoner:

"I paine me to han an haute in speech, and ring it out as round and gooth a bell".

Although this text is in Middle English and very difficult to follow, I think the text highlights some importances. The first being is the Pardoner's text versus the Wife of Bath's is night and day. The Pardoner is discussing how it is important for him to speak loud. As a women I find that speaking loud is not just so others can hear your voice but I have also found it to being a power move. By someone speaking loud, it drowns out others voices, making themselves seem more dominative. I think that Chaucer worded this words to show the importance of one talking loud. In my week six: primary entry 1, the Wife of Bath's tone seems very quiet and also secretive. I think that the difference of these two things allows the reader to pick up on these double standards within gender.

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Continuing on Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, last week I discussed the double standard within gender whereas this week I will focus more on romance within the story.

" In every bush or under every tree There is none other incubus but he, And he ne will doon them but dishonor" (lines 864-7).

This quote is certainly not alluding to the beauty in romance, rather the bad part of romance. In the Bible, incubus means bad and evil spirits. By stating "there is none other incubus but he" is saying that nothing is more evil than man. Chaucer is letting the reader know that men are the worst things in human kind, by stating that they are worse than evil spirits. Furthermore by following the quote with " he ne will soon them but dishonor", points the reader in the direction that men are only here to dishonor someone, presumably women. This is a bold statement and goes to show how men are perceived by the Wife of the Bath.

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Following up on my theme of romance, let's discuss another interpretation of romance.

" Full many of a noble wife, and many a maid, And many a widow - for that they been wise - The queen herself sitting as justice, Assembled been this answer for to hear" (lines 1026-29).

I found this quote interesting because to me it seems to totally contradict the other primary entry for week seven. By referring to women as noble is a positive attribution. Additionally referring to them as the queen also is a positive and powerful name. In addition calling women wives, widows, wise, etc. allows the reader to better understand and like women. I found this quote interesting because it appears to totally contradict the other quote for this week.

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As I am writing this week's entry I am sitting in a hospital room. In efforts to distract myself I started reading random pamphlets and I stumbled across a pamphlet on abuse. As I was reading this pamphlet I was shocked by all the signs and how benign these signs could seem in the moment. This reminded me of this weeks readings because reading those pamphlets made me realize the danger certain relationships can bring. Furthermore, to the degree how people can hurt those they are in a relationship with.

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"What, is great Mephostophilis so passionate For being deprivèd of the joys of heaven? Learn thou of Faustus manly fortitude And scorn those joys thou never shalt possess. Go bear these tidings to great Lucifer: Seeing Faustus hath incurred eternal death By desperate thoughts against Jove’s deity, Say he surrenders up to him his soul So he will spare him four and twenty years, Letting him live in all voluptuousness, Having thee ever to attend on me"

As someone who grew up in a religious household, this passage was very frightening to me. As a Catholic one of my biggest fears is the devil and Faustus mentioning the devil made this even more eerie. I think Faustus's referring to the devil as "great Lucifer" is especially concerning because it shows how persuasive the devil can be and how easily convinced we can be. I also was wondering what it means to be spared four and twenty years? I don't believe this to having religious ties, but maybe I am wrong.

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The reward of sin is death? That’s hard.
Si peccasse negamus, fallimur, et nulla est in nobis veritas.
If we say that we have no sin,
We deceive ourselves, and there’s no truth in us.
Why then belike we must sin,
And so consequently die.

This week I want to focus on this plays religious ties, because I find them to being so prevalent in the play. But the questioning of death was especially eerie to me. I believe in the afterlife and saying the reward of sin is death really resonated with me. Because I believe that there is heaven and hell and going to heaven means living forever in heaven with God. Therefore passing away and going to hell is truthfully dying because go to no joy. Especially in the lenten season, I thinking more and more of sins and attempting to drive away from sin. That is one thing I really like about older literature is the ties its has to religion. I feel now these days literature is more contemporary and mirror society, therefore religion and God seemed to be overlooked. But Faust's really leaves the reader to ponder religion and their relationship with God.

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This week we focused on Satan and played around with the idea of heaven and hell. "Can make a Heav’n of Hell, a Hell of Heav’n.

What matter where, if I be still the same,

And what I should be, all but less than he

Whom thunder hath made greater? Here at least

We shall be free; th’ Almighty hath not built

Here for his envy, will not drive us hence:

Here we may reign secure, and in my choice

To reign is worth ambition though in Hell:

Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heav’n." (Lines 255- 263).

To me, I found this passage being very eerie because I am a very religious person and the notion of going to hell may be one of the scariest things that could happen. But for this passage I want to focus on the first part if you can make heaven a hell and vice versa. Personally, I do not believe that this can be true. I think that heaven is the most peaceful and best place that one could be and it has no sin, therefore Satan could never reach you in heaven. Similarly, I think that you could never be happy or fulfilled in hell. The church teaches that hell is one of the most isolated places one could be and being there could never be enjoyable rather a constant state of agony. I guess to a viewer that isn't religious this notion may not be concrete but as someone who is strong in their faith, I find it asinine to think that one could make hell like heaven.

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"Here for his envy, will not drive us hence:

Here we may reign secure, and in my choice

To reign is worth ambition though in Hell:

Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heav’n.

But wherefore let we then our faithful friends" (Lines 260-264).

Kinda going off the primary entry above, I found this text very disrespectful. As someone with a religious background I find it far more important to serve rather than fulfill. Don't get me wrong, I certainly like to feel wanted and be served but nothing allows my heart more happiness than being able to serve others. Taking that into account, I would rather serve God, something that gives me eternal life and has been there for me throughout my whole life versus get the validation from the devil, whom never wanted what is best for me. I understand that this whole week revolves around the idea of the devil but I cannot conceptualize how this could even be debated.

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Going off of my Primary Text 2 for this week I want to give a brief example from my own life.

This lent for my almsgiving I decided to once a week buy a homeless person off state street meal and sit and talk to them. Doing this have given me an immense amount of fulfillment and allowed me to build deeper connections with those in my community. To be completely honest, I struggle with mental health and focusing on others instead of myself has dissipated my anxiety, depression etc. On the other hand when I focus internally on myself I experience new levels of anxiety and have never felt more alone. I feel these two acts the difference of focusing on God versus the devil. To serve others is to serve God and that provides a great sense of accomplishment and contentment. Versus focusing on myself to attempt to gain improvement from other derives from the devil and leaves me feeling so incredibly alone.

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For my first primary entry I want to depict a scene that stood out to me. Seward writes "Enchanting Syrens trill'd th' alluring song,
Bound to the mast the charm'd Ulysses hears,
And drinks the sweet tones with insatiate ears;
Strains the strong cords , upbraids the prosp'rous gale,
And sighs, as Wisdom spreads the flying sail (Seward lines 158-62).

This excerpt really stuck out to me is how this poem was written by a woman, and furthermore how it's so well versed in the Greek Gods. I know that sounds bad but I can imagine that not many women were poets at this time. Additionally, I would think something like the Greek Gods would be regarded as a "masculine topic". I am also surprised how Anna has so much knowledge of the Greek Gods, as education was not accessible to women. I am also wondering how well versed the English were in Greek mythology, and if it wasn't as big a thing in England, how Anna was able to learn about it?

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This next entry follows closely along with the first entry, but I am shocked by the melancholy nature of the poem. Although I didn't live in the time of Seward's writing, I would imagine that a woman writing in a subdued way wouldn't be endorsed. Throughout the entirety of Seward's poem there is a sad energy to it with dark imagery. Seward opens her poem with "Sorrowing, the Nine beneath yon blasted yew
Shed the bright drops of Pity's holy dew;
Mute are their tuneful tongues, extinct their fires;
Yet not in silence sleep their silver lyres ;
To the bleak gale they vibrate sad and slow,
In deep accordance to a Nation's woe" (Lines 1-6).

Words like sorrowing, mute, fires, silence, sad, slow, and woe all allude to the dark nature of the poem. Yet some of these words stand by contrasting words almost leaving a juxtaposition. This can be seen in "bright drops if Pity's holy dew" and "mute their tuneful tongues". I think this can be interpreted in many ways but I think this made to take something that was once happier and turn it sad. If Seward wanted a sad tone she could have exclusively stuck to sad adjectives. But sprinkling in positive words makes the reader feel something that was once happy, now is not.

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In Ignatius Sancho "The Letters of the Late Ignatius Sancho" a quote that really stuck out to me is the passage of "I received yours with ratification as it gave me a certainty of our being much better. upon the whole much better. As to faying you are not girlishly inclin why I give you credit for it must watch and pray for Sa is artful and knoweth all our parts and that dirty little feathered shouldered scoundrel of a boy master Cupid lurks couchant in the pupil of an eye in the hollow of a dim in the cherry ripe plumpness of pair of lips in the artfully timid preffure of a fair hand in the complimentary squeeze of a farewell in short and in one word watch watch " (Letter VI). In discussion we discussed the usage of letters and their significance and I think everything we covered is especially prevalent in this story. Letters are a way for the audience to be able to relate to the narrator despite the difference in their experience. For me, I think the contents of this passage is difficult to understand but putting it into letter form makes it easier to read. Stating, "I give you credit for it must watch and pray for Sa is artful and knoweth all our parts and that dirty little feathered shouldered scoundrel of a boy master Cupid lurks couchant in the pupil of an eye in the hollow of a dim in the cherry ripe plumpness of pair of lips in the artfully timid preffure of a fair hand in the complimentary squeeze of a farewell in short and in one word watch watch" allows the reader to immerse themselves into the text for deeper comprehension.

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This week in discussion we discussed parasocial relationships and we were tasked to get into groups and think of some parasocial relationships. And that time reminded me a lot of how I am while dating. When I first meet a guy I am unable to help myself from giving the man a whole new narrative and creating who he is in my mind. Additionally, I must confess that I am notorious on stalking his socials to find out more information. I didn't even realize this prior to discussion but I think this is a form of a parasocial relationship. I create this guy and his whole story in my head and I glom onto this narrative that is fully made up. And although I don't know if it would be considered a traditional parasocial relationship, I have this whole backstory on someone I do not know.

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In Oliver Goldsmith, The Citizen of the World, a quote that stuck out to me is “The first time I read an excellent book, it is to me just as if I had gained a new friend. When I read a book over I have perused before, it resembles the meeting with an old one.”. To me this quote really embodies a parasocial relationship. We discussed this a lot in discussion but it's the notion of having a relationship with someone you do not know. I really like this perspective because I would not classify myself having a relationship with a book, but it really makes sense. Books allow you to dig deep into its plot and you learn so much about its characters that it almost makes you feel like you know them personally. I find this quote so interesting because reading is an excellent way to decompress and is relaxing and that kinda mirrors being around someone you know personally. I think this quote is so cool because it not only shows the power of reading but also alludes to how one can have relationships in an uncommon way.

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In Phillis Wheatley's from Poems, one thing that really stuck out to me is the poem on imagination and Wheatley's comparison of imagination to flying free, like a bird. Wheatley writes, "Now here, now there, the roving Fancy flies, Till some lov'd object strikes her wand'ring eyes, Whose silken fetters all the senses bind, And soft captivity involves the mind" (Lines 9-12).

One thing that really shocked me about this passage was how whimsical Wheatley writes. Stating "roving Fancy flies" has a very airy and almost springy vibe to it. Additionally, stating "soft capacity involves the mind" alludes to the fact that what the speaker is alluding to is something they long for yet it is out of their reach. But the thought of it gives them the hope. I think that Wheatley is depicting something that is longed for yet very not attainable. I attribute this to the fact Wheatley is a Black ensalved woman and for her the thought of being free must of what made her get through her days. When reading this, I got this feeling that imagination means so much more to Wheatley then it may to you or I. Imagination is a form of survival and kept Wheatley sane, instead of a pastime that it may be for you or me.

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Continuing on Phillis Wheatley's works, I want to discuss her poem entitled "On Being Brought from Africa to America. Wheatley writes, "That there's a God, that there's a Saviour too: Once I redemption neither sought nor knew. Some view our sable race with scornful eye, "Their colour is a diabolic die." (Lines 3-7).

To me this passage and poem set really stuck out to me because it is so raw and encapsulates the moment of going from Africa to America. This really stuck out to me because in school we learned extensively about slavery but really never when a slaves were brought to America. Wheatley was brought to America when she was around 6 or 7, and this passage really alludes to the innocence of a child, yet with a sophisticated take. I found the lines "That there's a God, that there's a Saviour too", because it really goes to show the hope that Wheatley held. I also find the quote "Once I redemption neither sought nor knew" really powerful because she is seeking something but doesn't even really know what that even means or entails. I think this poem is very powerful and shows the reader something that is often overlooked.