https://padlet.com/20053321/6m8ynwntwu4shrfi en-us 2023-08-30 12:22:15 UTC 2023-09-27 13:11:22 UTC hello@padlet.com 20053321 https://padlet.com/20053321/6m8ynwntwu4shrfi/wish/2678149150 Death of the Author is a term concept from the mid 20th century in which states that "an author's intentions and biographical facts should hold no special weight in determining an interpretation of their writing." This in laymen's terms (a way I understood it as) is that it is not the authors intention of the text which creates it meaning but rather how the reader interprets the text. The logic - as the article suggests - behind the concept of "Death of the Author" is that books are meant to be read, not written. 

However, it is only recently in which literature has garner such a fanbase to where authors would feel obliged to share their intention behind their works in order for critics to further their knowledge on the text. Therefore it can also be argued that the concept "Death of the Author" no longer holds any value as the literature community as evolved since the  introduction of the concept. Whilst there is no definite answer highlighted in the article (at least from what I've read), I personally believe that an authors intention behind a text should be taken with a grain of salt. As it is not the plan of an average reader to analyse and break down the authors text, and it is also (in my opinion) the readers interpretation on the text which gives it meaning, because without a reader its just words on a page. 

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DeathOfTheAuthor#:~:text=Death%20of%20the%20Author%20is,an%20interpretation%20of%20their%20writing.

]]> 2023-08-30 12:24:25 UTC https://padlet.com/20053321/6m8ynwntwu4shrfi/wish/2678149150 20053321 https://padlet.com/20053321/6m8ynwntwu4shrfi/wish/2686664334 The Petrarchan Sonnet is a rhyming scheme created by the Italian Poet Petrach. In this  rhyming scheme it divides the 14 lined poem into 2 sections, one with an 8 lined stanza with a ABBABBA rhyming, and one 6 lined stanza with either CDCDCD or CDECDE rhyming. Petrarchan Sonnets are typically love poems about her or to her, Petrach the creator of this rhyming verse hoped that through his poetry those who have loved before will understand his suffering. Centuries after Petrarch's poetry Shakespeare continued the theme of "the greater the sighs, the greater the suffering, the greater the love" in his play Romeo and Juliet.

[1]https://theimaginativeconservative.org/2017/11/francesco-petrarch-love-sonnets-christine-norvell.html#:~:text=Francesco%20Petrarch%20and%20Laura%20de,mush%20in%20cheap%20greeting%20cards.

[2] https://www.poetryfoundation.org/learn/glossary-terms/sonnet#:~:text=The%20Petrarchan%20sonnet%2C%20perfected%20by,sestet)%20rhyming%20CDCDCD%20or%20CDECDE.




]]> 2023-09-06 12:56:36 UTC https://padlet.com/20053321/6m8ynwntwu4shrfi/wish/2686664334 20053321 https://padlet.com/20053321/6m8ynwntwu4shrfi/wish/2691496926 In the essay "A modern Perspective: Romeo and Juliet", the writer, Gail Kern Paster discuses William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" from a historical and cultural perspective. Through Pastors essay, she explores the theme of desire, identity, and gender from within the play, highlighting cultural shifts towards attitudes towards individualism and love during Shakespeare's time. Paster focuses lots on the difference in attitudes surrounding womanhood, and objectification in the modern day. 

Whilst I understand Shakespeare's writing as during his time discussion and attitudes towards woman are entirely different as they are today. I ultimately agree with Pastors argument towards how "Romeo and Juliet" acts as a reflection towards cultural tension surrounding gender and identity during Shakespeare's time. I agree with pastors argument as attitudes surrounding gender norms and the notion surrounding what it meant to be a man or women have been challenged in Shakespeare's play as the character Romeo is portrayed differently towards the masculine stereotype you would expect from a "man" during this time period.]]> 2023-09-09 08:31:45 UTC https://padlet.com/20053321/6m8ynwntwu4shrfi/wish/2691496926 20053321 https://padlet.com/20053321/6m8ynwntwu4shrfi/wish/2707362887 Mercutio:
Mercutio is Romeo's best friend, a character who Shakespeare has written in order to act as the epitome of a "masculine" figure, with masculinity in the play being aggression and sexualization. Throughout the play this is evident, with a great example when Mercutio makes his Queen Mab speech. In this speech Mercutio depicts Queen Mab as this fairy who affects peoples dreams, however Mercutio description of what Queen Mab would do to maids  reveals a degenerate, lonely side of Mercutio. I believe that Mercutio Queen Mab speech reveals Shakespeare's intention when writing Mercutio, this being a character who acts as a complete opposite to Romeo when regarding their views on love. Mercutio has a prosaic view on love, seeing it as nothing but sex, whilst Romeo is a romantic, seeing it liberating force.

Benvolio:
Benvolio is apart of the Romeo, and Mercutio trio, being apart of the Montague family as Romeo's cousin. Benvolio acting as the problem-solver or peacemaker in the trio. Yet despites these traits I view Benvolio as a somewhat irrelevant and boring character in the play. With the characters of Mercutio, a witty character who has so much depth, and Romeo, a character in which the audience is interested in seeing how his love with Juliet will play out. But yet in the trio there is still Benvolio, being out-shadowed by his two friends and just playing as a mediator throughout the entire play.

Romeo:
Romeo is a character who acts entirely on emotion without thinking his actions through. Whether this be marrying Juliet on the spot, or deciding he has to fake his death. But it is ultimately this trait which drives the play, and I think this is intentional by Shakespeare to separate the play from reality.]]> 2023-09-17 13:01:36 UTC https://padlet.com/20053321/6m8ynwntwu4shrfi/wish/2707362887 20053321 https://padlet.com/20053321/6m8ynwntwu4shrfi/wish/2719384004 In Act 2, Scene 3 of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet", Friar Lawrence engages in a soliloquy about the dual nature of plants, which can have both healing and poisonous properties. Lawrence draws a compassion to this to the duality in human nature, suggesting that like plants, humans can possess the same healing and poisonous qualities however it just depends on the nurturing of the plant to make it have either on of said qualities. Furthering on Lawrence's point, he extends this metaphor between the feud between the Capulet and Montague families, mentioning how it their conflict is not resolved it can lead to serious consequences in their world. ]]> 2023-09-25 13:53:00 UTC https://padlet.com/20053321/6m8ynwntwu4shrfi/wish/2719384004 20053321 https://padlet.com/20053321/6m8ynwntwu4shrfi/wish/2723074396 Out of the two Mercutio poems, I have chosen the first one on Mercutio's thoughts before death as my favourite. A poetic technique I have noticed used was the evocative imagery to create a mental picture for the reader. For example, "Looking toward the sky and praying for help" and "Swords in my soul, stabbed to death" paint powerful visual images. The use of imagery ties into another technique used metaphor. I believe that the recurring phrase, "I am madness", ties towards Mercutio's internal struggle, his vivid use of imagery in his final words conveys Mercutio's internal struggle with identity. I see this poem as despite all the misogynistic comments, and penis jokes Mercutio was never true to himself, and only in his final words he can express his inner thoughts. 

Whilst not relating to both Romeo, and Juliet, the line "I am what I am, and You are what they want you do be" links to how throughout the play Juliet never had a say in anything, especially during her marriage with Paris. Juliet is her own person, yet because of how little her parents understand of her "[she] is what they want [her] to be. ]]> 2023-09-27 13:09:54 UTC https://padlet.com/20053321/6m8ynwntwu4shrfi/wish/2723074396