Grace Nichols is one of my favourite poets and she is a Guyanese-native. in this post I intend to share one of my favourite poems from her collection, Sun time Snow time.
This poem is a candid reflection of a Guyanese rite of passage that all children go through. It was a very nostalgic work for me. N.B- 'Jumbie' is a Guyanese word for 'ghost'.
I Like to Stay Up
I like to stay up
and listen
when big people talking
jumbie stories
I does feel
so tingly and excited
inside me
But when my mother say
'Girl, time for bed'
Then is when
I does feel a dread
Then is when
I does jump in me bed
Then is when
I does cover up
from me feet to me head
Then is when
I does wish I didn't listen
to no stupid jumbie story
Then is when
I does wish I did read
me book instead
N.B- 'Jumbie' is a Guyanese word for 'ghost'.
Monday, June 24, 2013
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is one of the most famous plays that Shakespeare has ever written. It has been a major influence on the movie industry and has been a prescribed texts on several school curriculums. It is easy to see why this play has stood the test of time and continues to captivate audiences for centuries. It strikes the very core of the human condition, the very them that caused man to sin and become fallen in Garden of Eden, desiring a forbidden item.
This infatuation with the forbidden is what has concretized this play as a classic which cannot be easily equaled. Add the amazing word-smithing skills of William Shakespeare and crafting a plot that is tragic beyond compare, to the theme of wanting the forbidden, the result is a timeless piece of art. The star-cross'd lovers thing might be a bit clichéd now. But it becomes cliché because we just can't resist loving it.
Humans are all about adaptation and conflict resolution. The entire human civilization has become what it is today because it has devised the solutions to seemingly insurmountable issues. This play focuses on that. Two young lovers who were never to fall in love because of a nasty family feud. Two young lovers who were never to fall in love because they were enemies. This insurmountable issue is not overcome, at least not the way one would expect. It ends tragically with both lovers dead and the feuding families wracked back and forth by grief like a stick by the ocean waves.
Does the tragic ending do the trick? Is it because of this tragic ending that the play has become timeless and unforgettable? Yes, it has. The plot is carefully weaved with many factors which contribute to the tragic denouement of the work but what is most striking is the choice Juliet makes at the end of the play.
This ideal lover refuses to live without Romeo by her side so she commits suicide. Further, she is made an idol, almost a deity of ideal love by the promised resurrection of a golden statue of the girl. This play may come across as extreme and even stupid to some extent. The fast pace at which the events occur gives the play a sense of unrealism. However, the themes of ideal love, forbidden love, social prejudice, and forgiveness are powerfully rendered and mightily arrest the reader's attention. Why? Simply, because these issues have been contentious since the beginning of human civilization and who would be more fitting to use as vehicles through which to explore these issues than the nobles of society, the aristocrats, who are the most civilized.
This play never gets old and its sophistication has made it a favourites among the literary scholars. There has been a new movie about this place, Romeo and Juliet 2013. Check it out and evaluate the originality or modern twists. God bless!
This infatuation with the forbidden is what has concretized this play as a classic which cannot be easily equaled. Add the amazing word-smithing skills of William Shakespeare and crafting a plot that is tragic beyond compare, to the theme of wanting the forbidden, the result is a timeless piece of art. The star-cross'd lovers thing might be a bit clichéd now. But it becomes cliché because we just can't resist loving it.
Humans are all about adaptation and conflict resolution. The entire human civilization has become what it is today because it has devised the solutions to seemingly insurmountable issues. This play focuses on that. Two young lovers who were never to fall in love because of a nasty family feud. Two young lovers who were never to fall in love because they were enemies. This insurmountable issue is not overcome, at least not the way one would expect. It ends tragically with both lovers dead and the feuding families wracked back and forth by grief like a stick by the ocean waves.
Does the tragic ending do the trick? Is it because of this tragic ending that the play has become timeless and unforgettable? Yes, it has. The plot is carefully weaved with many factors which contribute to the tragic denouement of the work but what is most striking is the choice Juliet makes at the end of the play.
This ideal lover refuses to live without Romeo by her side so she commits suicide. Further, she is made an idol, almost a deity of ideal love by the promised resurrection of a golden statue of the girl. This play may come across as extreme and even stupid to some extent. The fast pace at which the events occur gives the play a sense of unrealism. However, the themes of ideal love, forbidden love, social prejudice, and forgiveness are powerfully rendered and mightily arrest the reader's attention. Why? Simply, because these issues have been contentious since the beginning of human civilization and who would be more fitting to use as vehicles through which to explore these issues than the nobles of society, the aristocrats, who are the most civilized.
This play never gets old and its sophistication has made it a favourites among the literary scholars. There has been a new movie about this place, Romeo and Juliet 2013. Check it out and evaluate the originality or modern twists. God bless!
Friday, June 7, 2013
Othello The Moor of Venice
I love tragedies and I think Shakespeare's tragedies are the best in the whole world. In this post, I will focus on one of the tragedies that I like, Othello.
Othello is a wonderful play! It masterfully renders the darkness of the human heart and the menacing power of assumption. Further, it mightily delineates the danger of putting too much trust in the wrong person. Othello was doomed from the very beginning because he trusted the "honest Iago". However, it is important to note that everyone in Venice thought that Iago was a saint and incapable of the diabolical schemes which he created every time the opportunity presented itself. This is another major theme in the play, DECEPTION. People are not always who they appear to be, matter of fact, the master wordsmith of the sixteenth century is reminding us that we cannot judge a book by its cover. To effectively illustrate just how blanketed the truly villainous Iago was by his honest guise, Shakespeare characterizes Emilia as an ignorant woman who has no idea the man she married and was willing to hypothetically commit adultery in order to have the whole world for was a vile, treacherous snake.
Then there is the question of race which the play gives rise to. It is a very controversial topic, however, Shakespeare does deconstruct the Elizabethan stereotype of African men in this play. He both conforms and challenges the stereotype of the society. He uses animal imagery to depict the beastly sexual appetite of African men and Barbantio's accusations of witchcraft and the constant references of the Moor as "devil" clearly delineate the aversion towards the colour and all things black by the Elizabethan society since they associated the colour with Satan and all forms of evil. The Moor is degraded to a mere "Barbary horse" and "old black ram". Further, since the fair Desdemona has decided to marry the Moor, she too suffers degradation since she is rendered a "white ewe" and "guinea hen" by Iago. Further, he makes the black guy in the play lose self control at the end of the play and kills his wife which conforms to the beastly perception of African men. however, it is important to note that it was caused by a "seed of doubt" planted by the white guy, Iago in Othello's mind and to top it all off, Othello did not know the first thing about dealing with women. He even needed Cassio to act as a go-between for him when he was courting Desdemona. The argument goes both ways.
Desdemona is too pure and innocent in this play. But that was the plan to create the ideal wife who would faithful to death even if she was being killed by her husband. Cassio even claims that the grace of heaven "enwheels" her as if she was a saint even angelic. This saintly imagery is apt since Desdemona is absolutely virtuous. However, what is really important to notice is that a contrast is created in the play between Othello and his wife. Othello is a devil according to the Venetian perception but because of his military prowess he is saved from more overt racial prejudice. Desdemona, however, is a rebel and degrades herself by marrying Othello, thought she is virtuous (irony). However, Desdemona maintains her virtuous ways and is not misguided while Othello spirals into a maniacal state.
In this play there is a superb use of imagery and symbolism which makes this work priceless and timeless. Timelessness of this work is not only as a result of the imagery, symbols and other dramatic devices used in crafting the play but also the themes which tackled hit the core of human society. It addresses issues which are still prevalent in today's society and has important lessons which we can learn in the 21st century.
Othello is a wonderful play! It masterfully renders the darkness of the human heart and the menacing power of assumption. Further, it mightily delineates the danger of putting too much trust in the wrong person. Othello was doomed from the very beginning because he trusted the "honest Iago". However, it is important to note that everyone in Venice thought that Iago was a saint and incapable of the diabolical schemes which he created every time the opportunity presented itself. This is another major theme in the play, DECEPTION. People are not always who they appear to be, matter of fact, the master wordsmith of the sixteenth century is reminding us that we cannot judge a book by its cover. To effectively illustrate just how blanketed the truly villainous Iago was by his honest guise, Shakespeare characterizes Emilia as an ignorant woman who has no idea the man she married and was willing to hypothetically commit adultery in order to have the whole world for was a vile, treacherous snake.
Then there is the question of race which the play gives rise to. It is a very controversial topic, however, Shakespeare does deconstruct the Elizabethan stereotype of African men in this play. He both conforms and challenges the stereotype of the society. He uses animal imagery to depict the beastly sexual appetite of African men and Barbantio's accusations of witchcraft and the constant references of the Moor as "devil" clearly delineate the aversion towards the colour and all things black by the Elizabethan society since they associated the colour with Satan and all forms of evil. The Moor is degraded to a mere "Barbary horse" and "old black ram". Further, since the fair Desdemona has decided to marry the Moor, she too suffers degradation since she is rendered a "white ewe" and "guinea hen" by Iago. Further, he makes the black guy in the play lose self control at the end of the play and kills his wife which conforms to the beastly perception of African men. however, it is important to note that it was caused by a "seed of doubt" planted by the white guy, Iago in Othello's mind and to top it all off, Othello did not know the first thing about dealing with women. He even needed Cassio to act as a go-between for him when he was courting Desdemona. The argument goes both ways.
Desdemona is too pure and innocent in this play. But that was the plan to create the ideal wife who would faithful to death even if she was being killed by her husband. Cassio even claims that the grace of heaven "enwheels" her as if she was a saint even angelic. This saintly imagery is apt since Desdemona is absolutely virtuous. However, what is really important to notice is that a contrast is created in the play between Othello and his wife. Othello is a devil according to the Venetian perception but because of his military prowess he is saved from more overt racial prejudice. Desdemona, however, is a rebel and degrades herself by marrying Othello, thought she is virtuous (irony). However, Desdemona maintains her virtuous ways and is not misguided while Othello spirals into a maniacal state.
In this play there is a superb use of imagery and symbolism which makes this work priceless and timeless. Timelessness of this work is not only as a result of the imagery, symbols and other dramatic devices used in crafting the play but also the themes which tackled hit the core of human society. It addresses issues which are still prevalent in today's society and has important lessons which we can learn in the 21st century.
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