Last Blog Post :( Macbeth Big Idea

        One of the big ideas we discussed was what a character will do to get what he wants and what the consequences will be. Back when we did a post on the two statements we had to chose, I analyzed the one on whether or not ambition is a desirable trait. It has turned out in this play Macbeth's ambition was a negative trait because it drove him too far, so far as to kill Duncan and many more after. Macbeth's ambition has blinded him and thwarted his conscience, leading to his impulsive acts of murder. Because of his ambition to be king, there were major consequences.
         Very abruptly, the repercussions for killing Duncan caught up to Macbeth. He ended up killing his own friend Banquo and losing much of his sanity. He started out in this play as an honorable man of high status and skilled fighter. But by the end of the play he was living a tortured life by the encumbrance of his guilt and fear of being struck down. He lost all those who were loyal to him, which contributed even more to his demise in the end of the play, because no one wanted to fight for a wicked and corrupt ruler. In short, Macbeth's attempts at achieving the position of king caused the consequences that would lead to his defeat.

Reading/Work Log

Portfolio- probably about 6 hours

WHAP text- 1 hour 30 mins

Macbeth Quote

“We have scorched the snake, not killed it.

She’ll close and be herself whilst our poor malice

Remains in danger of her former tooth.

But let the frame of things disjoint, both the worlds suffer,

Ere we will eat our meal in fear, and sleep

In the affliction of these terrible dreams

That shake us nightly. Better be with the dead

Whom we, to gain our peace, have sent to peace,

Than on the torture of his mind to lie

In restless ecstasy. Duncan is in his grave.

After life’s fitful fever he sleeps well.

Treason has done his worst; nor steel nor poison,

Malice domestic, foreign levy, nothing

Can touch him further. (Act 3 Scene 2 pg.93)”

                In this quote we can see Macbeth’s jealousy of the dead and his dread for how his life will be. When he says, “We have scorched the snake, not killed it” he means that even though they have gotten rid of Duncan, they will only have to kill more people to stay where he is without everything falling apart. Even though they have killed Duncan, the ‘snake’s tooth’ is still threatening and everything can still be ruined by Banquo. Macbeth wishes he was with Duncan and dead because he has to live in fear and guilt. He fears what will happen to him if people start to find out what he’s done. His guilt comes from killing Duncan.

                The fear and guilt he has from killing Duncan, is deteriorating his mental state. He says that he would rather be dead with Duncan, who they ‘have sent to peace’. In doing this act of treason ‘to gain our peace’, they unintentionally made their own lives torturous. They live with ‘life’s fitful fever’, plagued by nightmares, and in perpetual fear of being avenged for their actions. This quote tells us the state which Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are living in, what got them there, and what they have to do to keep their heads above water.

Reading Log

Portfolio 30 mins

Maximum Ride 1 hour

Macbeth studying and scene preparation 30 mins



Reading Log

Things Fall Apart, 4+ hours, Chapters 10-25

Rhetorical Situation Transformation project thing, 15 mins

A Rhyme Myth and a Vaction Destination in Whales

         Every time you hear someone say there isn't a word that rhymes with 'orange', I have a word to prove them wrong! Don't worry! I'm not going to say 'door hinge'. I don't believe that counts because it's two words. This word is 'Blorenge'. You may have heard it before if you've ever been to Monmouthshire Southeast Whales. Its a hill in the Brecon Beacons National Park and a great place to visit! I've never been there but from what I've seen of it while researching for this blog post is that is quite a destination. Whether you're there for the hang gliding, paragliding (Is there a difference? I don't know), hiking, fell running, or sight seeing, there is always a scenic view for everybody to enjoy.
          If you ever go to Blorenge you can join the Hang Gliding and Paragliding Club or participate in a fell running race. For those of you who are not associated with the fell racing community or don't know what that is, fell running is off road running where the course has an increased difficulty due to the rugged terrain. So.. basically it's just running up and down a bunch of hills. If you are there for the sight seeing there are a plethora of things you can go look at. Such as the grave of the only gold medalist from Britain in the 1952 Summer Olympics, Foxhunter, a showjumper horse. Also there are is an old church you can go see, as well as lots of hills, rocks, and an abandoned tramway for a nearby limestone quarry built in 1796. Cool right?
          There is also a definition in Urban Dictionary for blorenge saying "Blorenge is the only word in the entire world that rhymes with orange...and it's made up to help those people who are out to prove everyone wrong accomplish their goal." There is also one for 'blorange' saying "where someone dyes their hair blond but it looks orange."

Two Statements

1. Who we are--our essential character and temperament--is fixed and unchangeable.
              I disagree with this statement because things can change people, traumatic events or gradual changes in a person's interests. All people have a natural character and temperament, but what if they experienced something terrible like a parent dying or being scarred by the experience of battle? Then they might change.
2. Ambition is a positive, desirable trait in a person.
               I agree with this statement to an extent. I do believe that being ambitious is a good trait since it allows a person to reach the goals they've set for themselves. But in a case like Macbeth's, his ambition might take him too far in order for him to get to his goal.

Reading Log

Things Fall Apart 2 hours

NC Literary analysis 1 hour

NC Letters From Nyasha 1 1/2 hours

NC Vocab 30 mins

NC Title Analysis 30 mins

Reading and Working Times

Maximum Ride - 30 mins over the course of the week

Studying for poetry test 45 mins Thursday and Sunday

Research paper 20 mins Wednesday (I think..)

AP World History Textbook reading 1 hour 10 mins Thursday 

25 Seconds Of Courage

       I felt like I completely failed at writing that poem in class on Valentine's Day, so I wrote this. Enjoy.

25 seconds of courage, that’s all I need

Why am I like this? It’s not as bad as I think

1, I can’t do this, my feet slow their speed.

I’ll change my mind, I’m already at the brink

2, What if they judge me? , I’ll stutter or shake

I know I can do this but still I quake.

3, I’ll be fine, but if I fail...

Not him, but his friends that make me go pale

4, I’m still moving forward, I should be proud,

Look at me! I’m halfway through the crowd,

5, This’ll be easy, he’ll talk to me and I’ll talk to him,

I’ll make him laugh and he’ll make me grin.

6, A fourth of my time is over by the time I’ve arrived,

He says “Hey”, so far I’ve survived

7, 8, I open my mouth, ready to reply,

But I know people are watching, Dang it! I’m too shy

9, 10, 11, 12 Here I go, I’m talking,

Once I start it’s as easy as walking,

13, 14, 15, 16, He starts to laugh then talks a bit,

My chest pounds, but I think I’m gonna make it

17, 18, 19, 20, I can’t believe I was ever afraid,

As I listen to him, the surroundings begin to fade.

21, 22, 23, 24, Conversation’s over, I think it was a success.

Now I’m sure he won’t like me less.

25, I turn around and start to walk away,

I’m so glad I did this. He’s the best part of my day.

         Alright I hope that wasn’t too cheesy.... but I tried ok? Anyway in this poem used end rhyme with the rhyme scheme starting out as an ABAB but then turned into a CCDDEEFF and so on for the rest of the poem. I tried to have an anaphora of the words ‘I’ and ‘he’ but I don’t know if it’s as obvious as I intended. The diction of a lot of the words in this poem was to make it sound like the thoughts of this girl.