The computer had a massive fit and deleted all of my puncuation for some crazy reason so please let me know if the punctuation is terrible.

William Blake

It is sufficient to suggest that William Blake is perhaps most know for the nostalgia and torment present in his prophetic poems. As both an artist and a poet his narrative creates visual artistry and colour expressing not only his emotions and inner thought through sights, but also the torment and change present within his lifetime through use of religious or lack of religious guidance. Perhaps the most common topic of Blake’s poetry is change and the mental debate that can initiate as part of the human reaction. Born in 1757 and died in 1827 it is arguable that Blake, as a romantic poet, is largely neglected. His recognition has come long after his death and this sense of limbo and lack of placement is present possibly in his use sermonic language as he turns to God or too some sense of guidance In order to find a place or settlement.

The Echoing Green and the Garden of Love are two of Blake’s poems using language from the lexical groups of love, nature and change to emphasises and indicate his loss and longing for a world better than that of the present. A world that has now been lost. Instantly the constant, melodic rhyme and positive sentences describing the scene of what used to be establishes a fairy tale or story book quality. This can represent not only the joy and light literally in a rural setting of England but metaphorically, the comfort of thoughts and morals in a life you are used to made dark and erratic once change has occurred. Thus altering the view in which you know see the future presenting a side of vulnerability of what it is to be human and volatile in the face of change.

The Garden of Love begins in an iambic open style, with use of open vowels indicating once again the love and joy present in this place where he used to play as a child. This can support the previous claim  advocating the comfort and innocence present in the previous life. The open vowels do not suggest vulnerability as they do not attempt to hide or disguise the true meaning of how he responds to the scene present before him. This can also be reference to the new type of life present in the latter half of the poem, in which people are judged for their actions and faith as the Christian faith is “binding” the joy and desire that was so freely encouraged in the Garden of love. Similarly the Garden may not actually be a literal garden but rather an alternate sense of reality that now seems so far and out of reach. Gardens are open green spaces where children can have fun, but they also have gates of which can be shut rendering the garden no longer in use. The garden could also be a metaphorical indication of his emotion. As within the garden he begins to “see what I’ve never seen” can advocate that perhaps he now feels a foreign emotion or one that he never thought he would. For example he is now recognising an opinion he never thought he would have. This could be perhaps, the concept of loss of religion, as religion is described in dark imagery and with negative connotation later on in the poem. Similarly advocating his reluctance or the sense of not wanting change and the fear of what this new change may bring. The poem follows two scenes at the same time of which the reader is made aware of in the transitional word of “turn’d”. This is the part of the poem where the nostalgic feeling begins to fade and the new presence of a higher power or an unwanted realisation begins to alter the tone. The vowels become closed and the rhyme continues internally presenting  a trapped feeling, or perhaps hiding the rhyme within the sentence can now demonstrate hiding in order to be less vulnerable to the change and the new world. The syntactic parallelism and lengthening lines can signify a sense of overwhelming emotion that he is now trying to contain. This is further implied by the removal or killing of the rhyme scheme altering the tone and speed of the poem, creating a slow monotonous feel removing the bounce and soft story book imagery present in the first stanza. This can suggest the new industrialised lifestyle or the new controlling presence of the church, of which is further emphasised by associating the description of the church with dark, forboding language and language from the lexical group of death. Therefore it is sufficient to suggest that the poem can indicate a sense of impending shadow and darkness upon a light that was once present in the past revealed in what can be perceived as a small passing thought of sadness evoked by the change of landscape that had little meaning before it was drastically altered.

Similarly the Ecchoing Green presents a poem of transition in reference to the new world facing  industrial  revolution on the very  brink of change. The poem begins with a once upon a time feeling, with a possible case of pathetic fallacy in using the weather to create a setting and feeling. The personification or emotions given to the surroundings can indicate the emotional importance of the places to the writer, indicating what feelings are evoked by the memory of the fun that was had on the green. The sounds and onomatopoeic language such as “ring” and “sing” along with the laughter and conversation present in the middle part of the poem not only creates a literal feeling of being drawn into the actual green, stimulating all the senses, but also builds the poem louder and louder making the change in tone and setting more obvious in the last stanza. The constant alternate rhyme scheme is bouncy and much like a song or nursery rhyme implying innocence or naivety to what was about to happen to their life and their society. The transition in the last stanza through the use of the word “Till” instead of “The” references now to the passing of time rather than the present. This breaks the pattern build previously by the poem, presenting a slight sense of anti-climax to the building of sound up until this point. Use of conjunctive words to now describe what is not possible instead of the joys and freedom portrayed previously referring to the restriction of the new world and the negativity of Blake in receiving the future. It also suggest that the day is over signifying a new day, of which can literally mean a new day or can indicate the phrase a new dawn in which change is present.

Therefore to conclude it is plausible to suggest that William Blake is tormented with change and struggles to adapt and forget the past. This is emphasised in both the Ecchoing Green and The Garden of Love in which he struggles with the changing landscape and moral atmosphere of rural England. This could be in reference to the religious and industrial evolution of the country altering society and community drastically changing virtually every type of lifestyle.

‘Antony and Cleopatra is the story of Cleopatra’s tragedy.’ To what extent does your reading of Act 1 support this statement?

The story of Antony and Cleopatra is presented as a tragedy through the frequent dramatic irony and foreshadowing within Act 1. The bittersweet picture painted by Shakespeare as a love that is obsessive and utterly dependant wills the reader, as an outside observer, to wish that the love will succeed. Thus relying on how susceptible our emotions become as a result of the characters development. Furthermore we can witness how devastating the effect of the separation from each other would be on the characters mental health. Similarly the presentation of Cleopatra as the embodiment of Egypt convinces us of her sensuality and invincibility as one of the great powers of the world, a direct juxtaposition to the severe Roman Empire. The presence of Cleopatra’s aura and vivacious personality solidifies the piece as specifically her tragedy due to the state she is reduced to in the very first act. As we live her dramatic fall from control and power within her relationship, and acknowledge the loss of manipulation she wields against Antony at the start of Act 1, we learn that perhaps her power is down to a man after all. This constant creation of discrete stereotypes allows for a much more tragic story as we are lead to believe she is infinite and eternal.

The creation of Cleopatra’s illustrious character from the very beginning of the play presents to us a constant glorified persona, publicising her greatness from the very start of the play. We are instantly greeted with the controversial conclusion by Philo that Antony, one of the world’s greatest warriors is reduced to “the bellows and the fan” by a female. The instantaneous introduction to Cleopatra as a over powering  presence we have yet to meet, generates not only a divine characteristic but a prominent character deemed suitable for a male topic of conversation. The reference to her as a “Gypsy”, although intended as derogatory, presents a mystical fascinating woman of whom is incredibly sensual fuelled further by the mention of a growing “fire” consequently suggesting passion and danger. Immediately from the beginning of the play we are introduced to this woman as a bold, strong character. She is presented as a formidable force, a woman who is in control of one of the world’s most powerful men. She appears almost mythical. By creating such an imperative character it is even more tragic when we discover her vulnerability. As a female whom appears to break female stereotypes is subsequently a disappointment to the audience, focusing the play on her fall from grace, making it a tragedy about both her loss of love and her loss of supremacy. If we delve further however, we can derive that her power is not appreciated nor solely as a result of herself. The Luxurious Egypt as a manifestation of sensuality and mystery perhaps fools the reader or audience in to believing that she is this daunting phantom like being. But it is this lack of clarity in the descritiption and understanding of the East that can lead us to believe she is much more than what she truly is. Her strong criticism from Philo and the rest of the Roman empire suggests that she is being allowed to behave like this by Rome and the male population, she is talked about like an adult describing a small badly behaved child advocating perhaps she is not as influential and domineering as her reputation leads us to believe. This condescending monologue of speech reveals that she is not as potent or mighty as previously described dramatising her impending fall.

 The revolutionary behaviour of Cleopatra is accentuated further at its most basic level by allowing her much larger quantities of speech than a typical female Shakespearean character. This is essential in instigating a relationship between the audience and Cleopatra as we are invited to form a judgement or emotional association with her personality. She is a possible inspirational figure presenting, particularly to other women, a superior presence to represent the best of the gender. Subsequently when she is then reduced to an immature, incoherent condition at the end of Act 1 scene 3 we are bitterly disappointed that this durable and resilient woman is no different from the rest of us. This divine characteristic is emphasised in the demonic or witch language such as “siren” demonstrating not only her sensuality but her dangerous nature lost when faced with love. Thus we are presented with not necessarily a common theme of tragedy as yet, but rather a reference to a different kind of tragedy, the loss of female empowerment.

 The irrationality of Cleopatra’s emotions and actions furthers the bond between character and reader in manipulation of feelings. Her actions are so incredulous that we are drawn into her thoughts and reasoning’s in order to from an understanding of this ridiculous behaviour. Upon hearing of Antony’s plan to leave Egypt, and as a result her, she tries to blackmail him into remaining with her ‘Oh never was there a Queen so mightily betrayed!’ Her power is revealed through her manipulation and ability to domineer characters and audience alike demonstrating the disparity driving her to make Antony stay. Her solution to lower herself to such petty behaviour is indication of her true vulnerability. She is behaving like a child in a desperate attempt to make Antony stay. Although initially this can be perceived as her control over Antony and manipulation of his feeling, as her in control, we can more alternatively suggest that this is her greatest revelation of weakness allowing others to witness her immature behaviour if it will make him stay.

Finally the constant dramatic irony and foreshadowing in reference to Cleopatra’s death centres the play as the tragedy of her fall and her death. Although we are lead to believe there will be a war for Antony we are not concerned with his wellbeing. The introduction of a soothsayer claiming that Charmian will “outlive the lady whom you serve’ introduces the first mention of Cleopatra’s death, of which we are then repetitively reminded of after this scene. This also solidifies the presence of Cleopatra in the room even without her present, haunting the scene as perhaps another reference to her death. Furthermore the mention of Antony’s departure causing “death” and his mention of “a serpents poison” reaffirms the audience’s previous knowledge of the story foreshadowing a near death. Subsequently by this point we are reminded that she is going to die, however by this point we have formed relationships and bonds with her character making it a tragic tale. The specific mention to her demise makes it her tragedy alone as we are constantly reminded of her fragility as a woman but as a life form. Use of language from the lexical group of death, and her endless haunting of places and scenes is a reference to her ghoul like quality concluding frequently that she will die.

Therefore to conclude, Antony and Cleopatra can be described as solely Cleopatra’s tragedy due to Shakespear's revolutionary creation of Cleopatra’s character. Her destructive tendencies and emotional response allow insight in to a more exposed helplessness of which we are not aware of at the start of Act 1. Her powerful response to any situation involving Antony is such a direct Juxtaposition to her strong female character at the start of the play that as an audience, and personally as a female, it is disappointing to witness her failing resolve and susceptibility to the actions of a man. Although the tragedy is not necessarily currently about her death, there is tragedy in her downfall alongside constant reminders that her fate is not positive. Consequently by the end of Act 1 we are prepared to witness her further demise and reminded of her impending death.