Dracula 5

"I feared she might catch cold sitting there, and asked her to come in and sleep with me, so she came into bed, and lay down beside me; she did not take off her dressing gown, for she said she would only stay a while and then go back to her own bed. As she lay there in my arms, and I in hers the flapping and buffeting came to the window again. She was startled and a little frightened... I could hear her poor dear heart still beating terribly. After a while there was the howl again out in the shrubbery, and shortly after there was a crash at the window, and a lot of broken glass was hurled on the floor. The window blind blew back with the wind that rushed in, and in the aperture of the broken panes there was the head of a great, gaunt grey wolf. Mother cried out in a fright, and struggled up into a sitting posture, and clutched wildly at anything that would help her. Amongst other things, she clutched the wreath of flowers that Dr. Van Helsing insisted on my wearing round my neck, and tore it away from me. For a second or two she sat up, pointing at the wolf, and there was a strange and horrible gurgling in her throat; then she fell over—as if struck with lightning, and her head hit my forehead and made me dizzy for a moment or two. The room and all round seemed to spin round. I kept my eyes fixed on the window, but the wolf drew his head back, and a whole myriad of little specks seemed to come blowing in through the broken window, and wheeling and circling round like the pillar of dust that travellers describe when there is a simoon in the desert. I tried to stir, but there was some spell upon me, and dear mother's poor body, which seemed to grow cold already—for her dear heart had ceased to beat—weighed me down; and I remembered no more for a while."
Chapter 11, Page 157

This is the passage in which Lucy witnesses her mother's death, described in grisly detail. First, the mother lying next to the daughter as thought the daughter was protecting her, and then the mother dying, is symbolic of the daughter being dangerous and a foreshadowing of how Lucy is almost a magnet for danger, and she is becoming that danger herself. The wolf is a tool, used by Dracula as a method of breaking into Lucy's room and frightening the mother into removing her protective garlic necklace. The mother herself has proven before to be a danger to her daughter, by previously removing the garlic in her room, and even in death she causes her danger by freaking out and falling on top of her almost as though she wanted to pin her to the ground. Once Lucy is pinned and incapable of resistance, something resembling a sandstorm flies into the room, compared to a simoon, or a harsh Arabian wind. The entire passage is tailored to effect a mood of horror, and when Lucy finally passes out, the scene immediately, almost physically, stops.

Dracula 4

"...I saw Van Helsing break down. He raised his hands over his head in a sort of mute despair, and then beat his palms together in a helpless way; finally he sat down on a chair, and... began to sob, with loud, dry sobs that seemed to come from the very racking of his heart. Then he raised his arms again, as though appealing to the whole universe. “God! God! God!” he said. “What have we done... that we are so sore beset? Is there fate amongst us still, sent down from the pagan world of old, that such things must be, and in such way? This poor mother, all unknowing, and all for the best as she think, does such thing as lose her daughter body and soul; and we must not tell her... or she die, then both die. Oh, how we are beset! How are all the powers of the devils against us!” Suddenly he jumped to his feet. “Come,” he said, “come, we must see and act. Devils or no devils, or all the devils at once, it matters not; we fight him all the same.”"
Chapter 11, Page 147-148

In this passage, we see a humanity in Van Helsing we have not seen before in the book. Previously he has been very aloof and calculating character, but now he finally expresses his emotions. The author uses simile to describe Van Helsing's emotions, "as though appealing to the whole universe". His dialect in the way he talks is also noticeable: "as she think" instead of "thinks", and "or she die" instead of "dies". He describes the powers they are set against as "pagan" and that fate works against them, as though his actions are actively contested by a manifestation of evil. In reality he is, which is dramatic irony.

Dracula 3

"There was a bright full moon, with heavy black, driving clouds, which threw the whole scene into a fleeting diorama of light and shade as they sailed across... Then as the cloud passed I could see the ruins of the abbey coming into view; and as the edge of a narrow band of light as sharp as a sword-cut moved along, the church and churchyard became gradually visible...the silver light of the moon struck a half-reclining figure, snowy white...it seemed to me as though something dark stood behind the seat where the white figure shone, and bent over it. What it was, whether man or beast, I could not tell...The town seemed as dead, for not a soul did I see;...it seemed to me as if my feet were weighted with lead, and as though every joint in my body were rusty. When I got almost to the top I could see the seat and the white figure...There was undoubtedly something, long and black, bending over the half-reclining white figure. I called in fright...and something raised a head, and from where I was I could see a white face and red, gleaming eyes."
Chapter VIII, page 102

This passage, where Mina witnesses Lucy under the thrall of Dracula for the first time, is rife with Gothic imagery. The bright moon and shifting clouds, as well as the setting of a crumbling church and graveyard, are staples of Gothic tone. The authors diction makes heavy use of sharp consonants i.e. "as sharp as a sword-cut" and "light of the moon struck...", thus lending the scene a lot of tention and a sense of unease and what might be described as "the need to move quickly". Lucy is consistently described as white, a color with the connotation of innocence and child-like qualities; the count is described as a black figure leaning over the fallen white one, unmistakable imagery of an evil man taking advantage of an innocent girl. The recurring motif of death in this passage, and the metaphor of "a sword-cut", and the similes which Mina uses to describe her body as "weighted with lead", all add more to the mood of fear, tension, and all-around panic of the scene.

dracula 2

"There lay the Count, but looking as if his youth had been half renewed, for the white hair and mustache were changed to dark iron-grey; the cheeks were fuller, and the white skin seemed ruby-red underneath. The mouth was redder than ever, for on the lips were gouts of fresh blood... Even the deep, burning eyes seemed set amongst swollen flesh, for the lids and pouches underneath were bloated. It seemed as if the whole awful creature were simply gorged with blood. He lay like a filthy leech, exhausted with his repletion."
Chapter IV, page 58

This passage shows Dracula, as described by Jonathan Harker, slumbering as though dead, and full of blood for the first time. He appears to have been renewed in his almost-debauchery, swollen and disgusting like a bloated dead body. Harker compares him to a parasitic leech, a simile which has especially heavy meaning here. This is an important passage because this is the last in a series of realizations for Jonathan Harker that make him realize that his host is something other than just some weird guy, and it is probably the end of the last of his naivete.

I'm sorry this is late. I had the All-county concert yesterday and I didn't get home until very late.

dracula 1

"His face was a strong—a very strong—aquiline...His eyebrows were very massive, almost meeting over the nose, and with bushy hair that seemed to curl in its own profusion. The mouth... was fixed and rather cruel-looking, with peculiarly sharp white teeth; these protruded over the lips, whose remarkable ruddiness showed astonishing vitality in a man of his years. For the rest, his ears were pale, and at the tops extremely pointed... The general effect was one of extraordinary pallor."
chapter 2 page 22-23

In this passage, the narrator, Jonathan Harker, describes his host, Count Dracula. His physical appearance is that of a very strong, pale man, built seemingly along straight lines. His teeth, ears, and nose are pointed, and he has the look of a man who hasn't seen the sun in ages. He also seems to have amazing strength for one of his age. These are all classic hallmarks of vampires. Stoker, in the guise of this character, speaks in a cultured manner befitting one of his schooling as a lawyer. He also doesn't seem to reflect fear at his hosts odd appearance, perhaps suggesting naivete.

taming of the shrew 6

"Thus have I politically begun my reign
And 'tis my hope to end successfully
My falcon now is sharp and passing empty,
And, till she stoop, she must not be full gorged,
...She ate no meat today, nor none shall eat.
Last night she slept not, nor tonight she shall not.
As with the meat, some undeservèd fault
I'll find about the making of the bed,
And here I'll fling the pillow, there the bolster,
This way the coverlet, another way the sheets.
Ay, and amid this hurly I intend
That all is done in reverend care of her.
...And with the clamor keep her still awake.
This is the way to kill a wife with kindness.
And thus I'll curb her mad and headstrong humor.
He that knows better how to tame a shrew,
Now let him speak; 'tis charity to shew."
Act 3, Sc. 2, Lines 188-211

This passage is spoken by Petrucio on his return to his house. He speaks to his servants regarding his new, shrewish wife and how he will handle her anger. He plans to keep her hungry and weakened. He also plans that she will not sleep either, as he will find something wrong with the bed and make noise and not allow her to rest, all the while pretending to care for her well-being and to give her no reason to able to rail at him. This is important because this speech is Petrucio's master plan for taming the shrew and wooing his new wife. He will be kind to her without end, but will kill her nature in doing so. At the end he says

taming of the shrew 5

"Hic ibat, as i told you before, Simois, I am Lucentio, hic est, son unto Vincentio of Pisa, Segia tellus, disguised thus to get your love, Hic steterat, and that Lucentio that comes a wooing, Priami, is my man Tranio, regia, bearing my port, celsa senis, that we might beguile the old pantaloon."

The Taming of the Shrew is a comedy, and this passage proved that fact exactly. Lucentio, disguised as a Latin teacher, is wooing Baptista's daughter through translations of Latin text. This specific passage is important because it is when Lucentio confesses that he is not a teacher, and that he has employed this deception to gain Bianca's affection. She replies that she does not yet trust him, but for him to have hope, thereby foreshadowing that something important is going to happen between the two of them.

taming of the shrew 4

"That 'only' came well in. Sir, list to me.
I am my father's heir and only son.
If I may have your daughter to my wife,
I'll leave her houses three or four as good,
Within rich Pisa walls, as any one
Old Signior Gremio has in Padua,
Besides two thousand ducats by the year
Of fruitful land, all which shall be her jointure.
What, have I pinched you, Signior Gremio?"

This quote is spoken by Tranio while he is impersonating Lucentio in a ploy to gain access to Baptistas' daughter Bianca. Tranio speaks of how he has gained a great inheritance and will take care of Bianca so much better than Gremio will. This demonstrates the mood of this part of the play, as the suitors are all vying for both Bianca's affection and Baptista's permission to marry her, and they are all sniping at each other during their individual courtships.

taming of the shrew 3

"Moved! In good time, let him that moved you hither
Remove you hence. I knew you at the first
You were a movable."

This is Katharine. She is shrewish and mean-spirited and generally permanently pms'ing. The importance of this quote is that it is the beginning of the "woo-ing" of Kate, and it proves just how hard it is going to be, even for an ubermensch like Petrucio, who prides himself in being able to woo anything female. (Incidentally, this quote has a special significance for me because when I played Petrucio in Kiss Me Kate Sarah Kerper, who was playing Kate, punched me. Its a good memory)

postscript: This post is a little late because I was experiencing technical difficulties with the computer.

post numero dos

"Katharine the curst!
A title for a maid of all titles the worst."

This quote, spoken by Petrucio's manservant, Grumio, basically sums up the first part of the first act, which I have read. The main character, Petrucio, has decided to take on the daunting task of wooing a violent, shrewish woman, Katharine, who the men of the town call Katharine the curst. The humor in this is that Grumio is able to see that this is a task that may be beyond the talents of his master. The irony is that though Petrucio is the master, his servant is the wiser and shrewder of the two.

1st entry

"Your honors players, hearing your amendment,,
are come to play a pleasant comedy.
For so your doctors hold it very meet,
seeing too much sadness hath congealed your blood,
And melancholy is the nurse of frenzy.
Therefore they thought it good you hear a play
and frame your mind to mirth and merriment,
which bars a thousand harms and lengthens life."

This is the passage spoken by the messenger to the tricked Christopher Sly. The Lord who started the trick has some players, or traveling actors, come and perform a play for him. This is important because the rest of the play is based on the fact that it is a play within a play and the whole thing is a practical joke. This passage is also ironic because they refer to the fact that Sly was found drunk, a state that might be considered a "frenzy", and they are "trying" to keep him sane and treating him like a lord.

yeah stufff

woot