Our Friendship Runs Deep

Audio Recording on Tuesday night

"Our Friendship Runs Deep"

You continue to flummox me

With your mysterious and clever ways,

Your words can drown me like the sea,

Your actions don’t follow what you say.

You are rough and you are wild,

I am steady, and I am calm,

While you are fiery, I am mild,

When I feel awkward, you harbor aplomb.

Ever since our troubled childhood,

When we first became close friends,

I did what children always should,

But for you, the rules would always bend.

You are a free and blazing fire

You move without turning back.

It is this vivacity that I admire;

You have all the traits I seem to lack.

You have witnessed tragic events,

Events a girl our age should never see,

But you continue to live in the present;

You strive to be happy, and happy you will be.

Despite our faults and despite our follies,

Despite our differences and despite our downfalls,

Our love and friendship knows no boundaries;

You always come back to me when you are called.

I promise to always warn you

Against flying too close to the sun,

If you promise to be one of the few

Who is still with me when all is said and done.

I found inspiration for this poem in Lord Byron’s work “She Walks In Beauty.” In my own poem, I mimicked Byron’s rhyme scheme (ABAB, CDCD, etc.) and his prominent use of imagery. Byron’s literary works are known to include references to the natural world, which can also be found in my poem. Lord Byron is a poet from the Romantic Era, resulting in his poems expressing love for nature, encouraging liberty and individuality, and valuing old legends. In my poem, I compare my good friend to many aspects of nature, and I commend her free spirit. I also refer to the Greek myth of Icarus, the boy who flew too close to the sun and died, in my piece. 

Shakespeare in the Future

Shakespeare in a Future World
by: OliviaFitzpatrick

Here is my playlist for Lady Macbeth:

http://open.spotify.com/user/1219767238/playlist/2u7O57eD08NuAqyNeNKrcq

1.) “Everybody Wants To Rule The World” – Tears For Fears

I chose this track because this song describes the desire of all humans to have power and dominance over others. In Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is very power-hungry and is willing to complete any deed in order to achieve her dream of being a ruler.

2.) “Viva La Vida” – Coldplay

Like the previous track, “Viva La Vida” explores the idea of one individual ruling over others. Many people, such as Lady Macbeth, dream about ruling over a kingdom and being the sole possessor of power.

3.) “The Fear” – Lily Allen

           

In this song, Lily Allen explains that it is human nature to desire fame and fortune. This track turns our obsession with power and popularity into a satire, poking fun at individuals such as Lady Macbeth.

           

4.) “The Perfect Crime 2” – The Decemberists

This track describes a series of discreet crimes committed. In Macbeth, Lady Macbeth advocates a multitude of crimes in order to obtain power. For example, Lady Macbeth schemes with her husband to kill King Duncan. While the murder does not occur exactly how they plan, they still complete a crime that appears perfect to Lady Macbeth because it allows her to posses more power.

           

5.) “There Goes The Fear” – Doves

Throughout the play, Lady Macbeth has to continually convince her husband to have the courage and strength to complete immoral deeds, such as killing King Duncan. Likewise, at the beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth begs evil spirits to rid her of her feminine feelings of guilt and fear so that she can go through with her diabolical schemes.

           

6.) “Crazy” – Gnarls Barkley

When reading this work, I find myself continually questioning Lady Macbeth’s sanity and mental health. While on her quest to obtain power and fame, Lady Macbeth loses herself and her mental stability. Even though it is obvious that her lust for power is harming her, Lady Macbeth ignores these side effects and continues to crazily yearn for supremacy.

           

7.) “Good People” – Jack Johnson

I chose this track because Macbeth seems to be dominated by evil individuals with horrible intentions, such as Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is able to influence inherently good people to complete immoral deeds, resulting in the epidemic of cruelty to spread.

8.) “Rich Girl” – Daryl Hall & John Oates

Throughout this work, Lady Macbeth seems to believe that she can do whatever she wants to do without facing the consequences, similar to the woman described in “Rich Girl.”

9.) “Killer Queen” – Queen

The track “Killer Queen” describes a dominating, evil woman who has the ability to bewitch other individuals. Likewise, Lady Macbeth is able to influence the people surrounding her, allowing her to obtain whatever she desires.

10.) “Maneater” – The Bird and The Bee

In Macbeth, Lady Macbeth always seems to be conjuring up schemes concerning becoming a powerful leader with her husband. Lady Macbeth appears very kind to outsiders; however, she has the ability to be extremely evil. This track serves as a warning to bystanders not to trust deceiving women such as Lady Macbeth.

11.) “Lost in My Mind” – The Head and The Heart

Throughout Macbeth, Lady Macbeth completely disregards the feelings and desires of others. This selfish woman solely acts for herself because she is so lost in her own thoughts and dreams of becoming dominating over others.  

      Ever since the beginning of time, women have been seen as weak, vulnerable individuals. Because of the seemingly feeble and overly emotional nature of females, society has made it extremely difficult for women to develop leadership roles and achieve honorable feats. While strength, power, and potency are vital characteristics of a leader, one must also be able to express compassion and love in order to gain a following of supporters. In order to become a successful leader, individuals must find a happy medium between being composed, hardened, and tough, traits stereotypically applied to men, and expressing heartfelt, caring emotions, characteristics usually attributed to females. All humans must face obstacles when striving for power. However, women who desire leadership find themselves in an especially difficult situation. If power-seeking women openly disclose their emotions to society, the public may view that individual as weak and not fit for leading a group in need of grounded guidance. On the other hand, if women striving for leadership act as a strong, emotionally neutral individual and take on the part of a male leader, the public might view her as not genuine. Women seeking respect and power must channel both their inner strength and emotional side in order to be a well-rounded leader.

            The epitome of women’s struggle for power is shown through the life of Hillary Clinton, a well-known politician. In the past, critics of Clinton have ridiculed her support for the war in Iraq, arguing that because she is a woman, Clinton feels the need to prove her masculinity by advocating aggression. On the other hand, Clinton has also been criticized for her expression of “feminine” emotion. For instance, when speaking about her political career and her fight for the status of presidency, Clinton started to tear up, causing a mixture of passionate responses. Many Clinton adherents defended the politician and admired her ability to show true passion openly to the world. However, many individuals used this opportunity to attack Clinton’s expression of inner emotions, claiming her tears made her appear weak, vulnerable, and incapable of being an effective leader. In reality, the tears that escaped Hillary Clinton’s eyes were not really the cause of such an uproar. Instead, the fact that Clinton is a woman who shed tears is the true source of the controversial reactions. If a male became emotional because of his intense passion for leading and helping people, there may be a few jokes about the incident, but nothing detrimental to his career. In contrast, because society already views women as being incapable of shielding their emotions and remaining collected under pressure, one slip of heartfelt feelings can cause the public to question her leadership. However, while being grounded and strong for one’s people is vital, a leader must also be able to relate to the public. Because we are humans, all people harbor compassionate, sentimental, feminine-like feelings, regardless of if they express them or not. Individuals are not being weak or soft when they show true emotion and step out from behind the walls that humans so often hide behind. But rather, an individual, especially a woman striving for power, expresses true courage when he or she is willing to openly display his or her emotions to the public eye. 

Throughout history, humans have questioned whether an individual submissively carrying out immoral orders, or the instigator of the cruel action, is guiltier. On the surface it would seem that the mastermind behind the torment of an innocent person should be held more accountable than someone simply following orders. However, if one looks deeper into this idea, it is discovered that the henchman is just as guilty of the crime. For example, if a popular, aggressive bully orders a classmate to abuse a smaller, less popular student on the playground, that bully will be guilty of tormenting an innocent child. Clearly, the bully should be held accountable for acting cruelly toward another human being no matter what his reasons. The actual inflictor of the abuse is also immensely guilty of the crime. Although the student disagrees with the bully’s orders, the student does not stand up for the victim out of fear. The student succumbs to the bully in hopes of sparing himself the same fate. The bully ultimately has two victims, while the follower has one. Nonetheless, both individuals are guilty.

            The ultimate example of this theory is the tragedy of the Holocaust. Through his charisma and persuasive nature, Hitler brainwashed much of the world to despise certain individuals simply because they harbored different beliefs and characteristics than him and his “superior race.” Hitler called for his soldiers to coldly torture and kill their fellow human beings. These people carried out his orders, either out of fear of becoming his next victim, or because they did not have the strength to stand up against an evil, powerful dictator. Many followers were engulfed by “mob mentality” and were persuaded by the hysteria triggered by Hitler to discriminate against minority races. Just like the student joining in cruelty against another child on the playground, the soldiers under Hitler’s command robotically carried out his directions to kill innocent human beings. For instance, the story of Victor Capesius is told in the article “Can You Learn Anything From a Void?” Capesius was a pharmacist and adherent of Hitler who worked at Auschwitz, a Nazi concentration camp. Capesius willfully allowed his friends and neighbors to be murdered at this camp. This cruel doctor stood by and watched people who trusted him be coldly killed, and he made no effort to put a stop to the injustice. As in reality, the idea of guilty onlookers is displayed in many literary works, such as Shakespeare’s Macbeth. In this play, Macbeth orders Banquo, an innocent man, to be murdered to ensure Macbeth’s reign as king. The actual murderers are just as responsible for Banquo’s death as Macbeth because they followed through with an action that is unquestionably immoral and unethical. Once again, the individuals carrying out unjust orders are just as guilty as the person instructing the crime to be completed. Individuals need to muster up the courage to stay true to their moral convictions, no matter what the consequences may be. The only way in which injustice can be terminated is if all humans think and act ethically and refuse to complete deeds that are cruel simply because it is popular. Observers of evil actions, and the individuals who are coerced into carrying out morally wrong orders, have the duty to fight against wrongdoings and need to have the strength to stand up for what is ethically right. 

            In “The History Teacher,” poet Billy Collins portrays a professor who tries to shield his students from the harsh truth of reality. This teacher lies about past occurrences that have had a negative effect on the world, such as wars and drastic climate changes. The poem suggests that the teacher creates these alternate, brighter stories in order to protect his students so that they do not experience sadness, pain, and suffering during their lives. However, it is ironic that the students that the history professor is attempting to shield from cruelty make other kids’ lives miserable by bullying innocent children. While the history teacher does harbor good-hearted intentions, the result of his teaching methods is not positive. The teacher walks home everyday obliviously thinking that his students will continue to believe his stories, and therefore, they will lead happier lives. However, the professor is doing his students a disservice by creating a non-existent, fairytale-like world. Through this work, Billy Collins urges readers to gain knowledge of events from earlier times, especially wrongdoings and evil deeds completed in the past. If humans are not aware of mistakes made in the past, history will simply keep repeating itself, and therefore, bad situations will keep reoccurring. The only way that individuals can learn to be compassionate is if we are exposed to issues that cause us to feel empathy. Once we are exposed to the tragedies that the human race produces, we can strive to change the world for the better and break the cycle of repetitive wrongdoings. 

As I am corralled into the chaotic, frenzied theatre, I am welcomed by the scent of salty nuts and the shouts of enthusiastic spectators. Worn coins are shoved into greedy hands in exchange for a viewing of the entertainment. Last minute bargains are made outside the entrance, securing the shaky deals made for sought-after seats. I have watched this festive scene from afar my whole life, but I have never been an actual part of the action. I feel as if I have been initiated into a once secret group of cultured individuals who have the ability to watch England’s best diversion. My wonder of the spectacle overcomes me, but I am violently ripped away from my own thoughts by the impatient crowd. My father beckons me to follow him through the maze of untidy, rowdy onlookers in the Penny Pit. My father guides me up the wooden stairs and onto the stage. Because it is my birthday, my father agreed to pay extra so that I could be one of the privileged stage-sitters. Because of his generosity, I will now be able to have the most vivid view of the performance. I cautiously wipe the dust away from the wooden boards with my sleeve, careful not to tear my new dress. My father notices my predicament and gallantly spreads his coat on the stage so that I can sit with ease. Because my father is a baker, clothing items and other expensive goods are sparse. Living frugally has taught me to value clothing and rare gifts, such as this trip to the Globe Theatre.

            My father stands beside me next to the stage as Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night begins. I am captivated by the actors’ quick, witty conversations and flamboyant props. Romantic gowns diligently follow the fluid motion of graceful ladies, and the bright sun catches on gentlemen’s velvet pants as they float across the stage. The performers speak and move in a confident, passionate manner, engaging even my wandering mind. Although I am a child, the words and actions displayed on the stage are not foreign to me. Rather, I understand this scripted play more easily than reality. Eventually, the performance comes to a close, much to the entertained audience’s dismay. When the spectators’ hands cease praising the acting troupe for their fine work, I am plucked out of the magical world of Shakespeare and dropped back into the bustle of the theatre. When I left my humble dwelling this morning to attend Twelfth Night, I was simply expecting an exciting birthday diversion, not a life-changing performance. However, when I leave the extravagant theatre to return to my comparably dull home tonight, I will have nothing but Shakespeare’s eloquent words flowing through my mind.