With lots of love,

Christabel

Questions for Tutorial in Week 8 on Act 1 Sc 2 to Act 2 Sc 2 (Or for some of you: Act 2 Sc 4)

N.B: You will be called upon to share your work in class, so make sure you do it neatly.

All of these are to be done in point form:

1. Examine the master-servant relationships presented so far:

a) Lear and Kent

b) Lear and the Fool

c) Goneril and Oswald

2. Examine the development for the father-child relationships:

a) Gloucester and Edmund

b) Gloucester and Edgar

c) Lear and Goneril

d) Lear and Regan

3. Describe the husband-wife relationships:

a) Albany and Goneril

b) Cornwall and Regan

4. Compare and contrast the 2 sisters. How are they alike and how are they different?

a) Goneril

b) Regan

please compete by our lear tutorial, which is on tuesday, 15th of August..

ohh! one more thing, we have plath make up tutorial this friday (11th August), from 4.30 to 6.30 pm at LT2. attendance is compulsary, and we are to prepare the poems scheduled for this week, which are ‘Poppies in October’, ‘Poppies in July’, ‘A Birthday Present’ and ‘Balloons’. For those who have ccas, you are to go for your cca and mr sas will have private consultation with you guys.. hahah, that’s about it! happy national day guys! ((:

ms chua:) this is my second essay.i have a very strong feeling that my first paragraph is totally redundant but i would like to know if its actually acceptable. thanks.

Plath uses imagery, form and structure and diction to portray the theme of identification with community in the poem. The title of the poem itself “The Moon and the Yew Tree”: grabs the attention on the reader as readers question as to whom the moon and the yew tree represents, paying greater attention to the capital letters “M”, “Y” and ‘T’ in spelling out the words “Moon”, “Yew” and “Tree”. This makes readers suspect that there is a greater, underlying meaning in the words which forms the title of the poem, alerting readers that the moon is not simply the round object orbiting around the earth and the yew tree is not simply the trees planted near churches. The moon and the yew tree do represent something else, which in this case, the yew tree represents the speaker and the moon represents the speaker’s mother. This shows that the speaker is trying to establish a relationship with the cosmos in order to identify herself with the community.

In the first stanza, a contrast is created when the “light of the mind” is “cold and planetary” instead of giving warmth and protection. The diction “light” usually envelopes one into a sense of security and reassures one’s safety, as the brightness of the light would make things seem clear and reveals any hidden or suspicious things. However, in this case, the light does not relate to people and seems aloof and cold, just like the distant relationship between the speaker and the society. Throughout the poem, people within the community and even the speaker and the speaker’s mother are being represented by cosmological landscapes such as “grasses”, “yew tree” and “moon” respectively, showing that the speaker has indeed a skewed perception of people, thus making the speaker unable to establish a rapport with the community. The image of society as weak, inanimate and paralysed objects to the speaker is heavily emphasized by the metaphor comparing humans to grasses. Grasses are living things but are incapable of movement and are weak not to be able to do anything except being rooted to the soil. Grasses are also constantly being stepped by people, showing how lowly and unimportant grasses are being regarded. By comparing humans to grasses, the poet is mocking the society by labelling them as useless people who cannot handle their own problems and have to unload their griefs” on the speaker. This results in the speaker beginning to compare and consider herself as “God”, someone of higher authority and power than the rest of the people on earth and this shows her failure in building a relationship with nature, thus proving her inability to establish an identification with society since she is different from the rest of the people in the community.

The technique of alienation is also being applied by the speaker. The speaker considers herself living on the moon, far away from the people on earth. The speaker is isolated from the people around her as though she is not part of the society, showing that she is unable to relate to people and again failing to identify herself with the community.

The image of the yew trees being gothic as seen by the speaker show her incapability to establish a relationship with religion and religious people. Yew trees are often planted near churches, which represents holiness and Christianity. The items found in and around the church are blessed with holiness and purity. Since the yew tree represents the speaker, the speaker ought to possess a close bond with her religion and not represent her religion in a “gothic” way. This shows that the writer has no regard for the religion, contributing to an inauthentic relationship between the speaker and religious people. The speaker also sees death and pain of the people “floating on their delicate feet over the cold pews/ their hands and faces stiff with holiness” associated to religion, again resulting in the failure of her identification with the community. The image of her mother as the moon, which is being compared to a religious figure “Mary” shows that the speaker is trying to reach outwards to find a relation in the cosmos. By relating the moon to her mother, she is trying to claim her relationship with her mother, to “believe in tenderness” and see her mother’s “mild eyes”. However, she again fails to build that relationship with the cosmos as she sees the moon as “bald and wild”, meaning her attempt to see her mother’s “tenderness” and a loving “mild eyes” is denied.

The diction of the word “blackness” in lines 29 to 30 shows that the self is unable to establish a meaningful relationship with the community. She is only able to see others as a function such as the “moon”, “grasses” and “yew tree” and not normal human beings. While she transforms society into cosmological landscapes such as “moon”, “grasses” and “yew tree”, she still fails to claim a relationship with any of them, thus leaving her in “blackness and silence”. The anaphora of the word “blackness” harps on her failure to identify herself with society and how her skewed and narrowed perception of people has denied her a larger idea of the cosmos. She is now left alone, isolated in “blackness” and nothingness. The technique of hyphenation which contributes to the caesura and the steady reduction of syllables from lines 29-30 dramatises the disclosure of the speaker’s complete lack of identification with any community and portrays her self as completely isolated and independent form the society, in “blackness and silence”. Throughout the poem, there is also an anaphora of the word “blue”. The colour blue creates an image of disillusionment, again showing that she sees other people as a shadow, without any value or substance and this therefore causes her failure to identify herself with the community.

 In conclusion, the poem centers around how the speaker tries to establish a relationship with the people, by seeing them as cosmological landscape but end up failing because of the skewed and narrowed perception of people which she possesses.

Plath, through her use of diction, imagery and rhythm in the poem “The Applicant” has created an image of women as servants, objects and mechanised robots which are perfect and possesses no flaws to be used by males in a male dominated society.  It also shows how men themselves unconsciously display their flaws and imperfections and are unknowingly being transformed to become inanimate, mechanised robots, just like women. Throughout the poem, women are being potrayed as inanimate objects to be manipulated and used by men as tools to satisfy their needs and desires, without men realising that they themselves are being domesticated into mechanical robots in the society.

 The image of women as a servant and a inanimate object is emphasised by the used of the work “it” thoughout the poem.  Women are being referred to as “it”, who plays second fiddle to men and are responsible in serving men by “(bringing) teacups and roll away headaches/and do whatever (men) tell (them)”. Women are also being treated as a sale product which bears a “gurantee”, potraying women as possessing no flaws, just like mechanised robots.

 Women are also being kept in the “closet” and is referred to as a “living doll”, as if they are display objects which are useless and are kept away from the society and is only used when needed. Plath uses the imagery of a “living doll” to communicate the superficiality of men who only see women as dolls, to take consideration only their outward appearance and to emphasise on physical attributes on women as ornaments to be displayed and trophies to be proud of.

 The poem centers around the conversation between the male applicant and the male salesperson.  Plath uses adjectival words such as “glass’, “false” and “rubber” to describe the body parts of the applicant and this further empahasises the artificiality of their “sort of person”.  The incapability and incompleteness of “their sort of person” is also being highlighted by relating their bodies to the need for mechanical items such as “crutch”, “brace” and “hook” to help them survive.

In the fifth stanza, the sult becomes a metaphor of society and the personas it creates.  The sult is potrayed as a flawless, indestructable object which is “waterproof”, “shatterproof” and “fireproof”.  It becomes apparant that society, represented by the sult seems perfect and inevitable.  However, this innocence of the society is being contrasted by the pun conveyed by the word “bury”. To the speaker, the sult buries the applicant init as a form of protection and to provide a sense of security of being accepted by the society. However, the word “bury” also dramatises the effect of the trnasformation of men by the society which could eventually kill these men.  Where previously society was potrayed as an innocent guide for men, we are suddenly given a new insight of how society can eventually destroy these men, showing that men are indeed changing from their unpolluted and clean state to one who is chanelled just like mecahnical robots to possess superficial thinking such as women simply being living dolls.

The systematic form and structure of the poem of providing solutions – “How about this suit”, “here is a hand”, “i have a ticket for that”, “its a poultice” and “its an image” immediately after displaying the problems – “you are stark naked”, “your head is empty”, “you have a hole” and “you have an eye” creates an abrupt and rhythmic synthetical structure which unconsciously seduced the applicant to believe that a women is the solution to his life problems, again showing that men are being transformed and “brainwashed” to think in this way because of influence of society. The use of the absolute “last” makes the situation more abrupt and rust, forcing men to believe and generates a sense of need for man to have woman as solution to his problems.

The poem has a rhythm to it, created by the anaphoras sucha as “it can”, “you have”, “talk talk talk” and “marry it, marry it, marry it”.  These repetitons creates a standard and non changing lively tone which shows that the salesperson himself is similar to that or a robot.  This similarity is further emphasised by the juxaposition between the “you” and “our” in the first stanza.  The word “you” refers to the society and the word “our” refers to the salesperson since the salesperson is also part and is the product of society himself, he is therefore, unknowingly, the unthinking mechanical robot created by society.  He himself undergoes a transformation, just like the other women and men in the society.

In conclusion, the poet aims to shed light on the attitude of men who judges women based on their outward appearance only and regards them as their servants and mechanical robots as well as to highlight the sense of falseness occuring in men and how they, like these women are unconsciously being transformed into mechanical robots as well.

The poem ‘The Applicant’ is about a man helping another man find a good marriage partner. It also identifies women as an object in the “marriage market”. The themes of the objectification of women in the society, the constructed nature of women and even men themselves and scaling that the society has produced is established through the imagery, diction and the form and structure of the poem.

The theme of objectification of women in the society is established through the portrayal of the image of women as an artificial object. In the opening stanza, the criteria of “our sort of person” are a listing of artificial objects-“glass eye”, “false teeth”, “rubber breasts”, and “rubber crotch”. This suggests that the criteria of an ideal woman are such that women are to possess these physical qualities in order to meet up with the expectations of society. The emphasis on the physicality of women communicates the idea of the superficiality of society and how women have become reductive in their roles in the society.

The theme of the constructed nature of men themselves is established through the tone of the speaker, the rhythmic pattern and the form and structure of the poem. The constant rhythmic repetition of the question “Will you marry it?” is a reflection of the speaker’s personality as being robotic. He has taken on a sales pitch as he widely promotes women as an object of admiration of men and women as a product in the “marriage market”, unconscious that he is a product of society himself. The tone of the speaker in the last line of the second last stanza, “It can talk, talk, talk” is disturbing as he seems to be suggesting that anything which is able to talk is human. The repetition of the single word “talk” creates a rhythm which suggests a mechanical clockwork quality of women. It also portrays the constructed nature of men as being just as mechanic as the women.

            The theme of scaling that the society has produced and how this production line will continue to exist for generations to come is established through the imagery, diction and the form and structure of the poem. The imagery of the “suit” being “black and stiff” is a metaphor of society as it represents the uniformity of society. The applicant whose head is said to be “empty” and the woman who “stark naked” represent a clean slate that society will work on. The personas are a product of society themselves but they do not realize it. The structure of the lines in the poem is in the form of a problem and a solution. The final line “Will you marry it, marry it, marry it.” is a solution rather than a question posed to the applicant. Furthermore, the use of the absolute words “last resort” inject a sense of urgency and it takes away the choice of the applicant. The applicant is supposed to be seduced unconsciously by the synthetical structure of the final two lines of the last stanza. The effect of this is to generate a kind of need for this sort of a woman. 

            Plath through her use of imagery, diction and rhythm in the poem ‘The Applicant’ has created the image of women as servants, objects and mechanized robot in a male-dominated society.

'Birth'  

The smog stands in the valley

Amid rows of silent heads

In reverence. The heart beats slowly

Excitement, Hesitation, Cyclone

Silent WHispers breed hesitation

Fear entraps me. Sudden peace

Loving, encouraging presence assure me

One, two, three I lift up my soul

Eyes open, Applause. My Roots move

One step I take, ten thousands. Mercy

Amid a sea of happiness my soul surges

Forward. People are moving. I am not

Alone. A hand on my shoulder, that comforting whisper

Friend. I reach the valley. My heart stops.

I enter a battlefield. This battle,

It is not mine. I stand on a hill

All around me, tears aflow. What is that?

My cheeks wet. My heart beats, steady slow

I plead mercy in a utterance. Amen

Light rushes in. I stand in awe.

GO! smog you have no power here.

The battle is won

By John Ho (2006)

Heh. My first poem. Who would have thought? Inspired by GP. Arhar.

One of the themes highlighted in this poem is struggling for self identity. It is about the speaker’s dissociation of self from her body when she describes herself as “and I, stepping from this skin/ of old bandages, boredoms, old faces”. The image gives the impression that the speaker’s physique is rotting and detachable that the speaker not only has difficulty defining herself, there is also a need for her to shed herself in search of the true identity. Next, the speaker expresses the paranoia frustrations of not being able to find the true self by the structure of the poem that is not in standardize order. This can be seen with the line lengths that are irregular with chunks of 2 stanzas and finally the last stanza of just 2 lines. It shows the little degree of control that she has over her emotions thus the disorder in the way she forcefully expresses herself. Next, the diction used that is associated with the negative feelings of being worthless and useless is clearly shown when she said that “this earth [she] rise from, and [she] in agony”. Thus this is the feel of worthlessness when she added that “[she] cannot undo [her] self, and the train is steaming”. The speaker is feeling insignificant with the train that is leaving her behind and she is still struggling to find her identity. Furthermore, the recurring images of the endless search for true self is seen with the repetition words used like when she kept asking “how far is it?” to the reader. Also the image when she wrote “turning and turning…untouchable and untouchable” emphasize her struggle to identify herself properly but is actually quite futile.

 One of the main theme of the poem is destruction. In the first paragraph, the speaker made use of the technique of imagery to describe the "gigantic gorilla" through the use of alliteration. Here, she is able to show the "largeness" of the vehicle so as to empahsize on how powerful and destructive it is, creating a harsh and hard effect. In addition, the use of words the speaker such as "muzzles", "cannon", :wounded", "pistons" and "deathmask" enables her to convey the high degree of destruction whereby the lives of people are concerned as it is associated with death. The use of dashes can also be seen throughout the poem so as to create the overall dull and gloomy mood. By using dashes after sentences like "they appall me", the speaker is trying to allow the readers to be able to feel the shock and fear, further emphasizing on the destruction which can also be seen through the use of exclamation marks after "punching out Absence" as it enhances on the impact.