Tempo Crescendo

Emptiness is so fulfilling...

Act 3 Scene 1

In the most hedonistic of the ways, off course. (Ive been on it, believe me.)

"To be or not to be": word-based analysis is only plausible by grammatical basis, according to Jem Bloomfield; "The form of words guarantees that Hamlet’s question will be interpreted on a general level: the line uses one of the most basic verbs in the language, one without which English itself would surely be impossible to speak. The verb is then phrased in the infinitive, “to be”, rather than attaching it to any specific noun or pronoun (not even Hamlet’s own “I”). Balancing it on the other side of “or” is the simplest possible opposition, the same verb with a one syllable prefix: “not”."  Thank you Jem,  I suppose it cant be braked down better. Shakespeare reduces English to its simplest form, opening therefore a tremendous, abstract (tedious) gap in any kind of interpretation, oblique in its essence.

Feeding my nonconformity, I would like to respectfully address Shakespeare's soliloquy with a philological counterargument, aided by my good friend Frederich Nietzsche on its text "On Truth and Lies in a Nonmoral Sense"; "Every word immediately becomes a concept, inasmuch as it is not intended to serve as a reminder of the unique and wholly individualized original experience to which it owes its birth, but must at the same time fit innumerable, more or less similar cases—which means, strictly speaking, never equal—in other words, a lot of unequal cases. Every concept originates through our equating what is unequal." To be as "not to be" are concepts, solemn perceptions subject to ones critique, they end up being just that, a partial truth. Consequently forming a pseudo-oxymoron when placed parallel to each other, producing a "metaphysical" response reaction to a dialectical foundation, a corroborated truth which is a sum of two lies.

In conclusion, the actual question does not provide an objective underlined meaning by itself, meaning its usage relies entirely on context, which is fairly poetic, even more in Hamlet where romanticism is subject to this kind of adornments. Alienation issues and emotional crises of the main character, that is.  

 Take that "To be or not to be".

 High five Nietzsche. 

 
To Be Or Not To Be: An Analysis of Hamlet's Famous Soliloquy http://www.suite101.com/content/to-be-or-not-to-be-a32234#ixzz12rvGhBhE

Exercise: Passive Voice

- The statue is being visited by hundreds of tourists every year.

Hundreds of tourists visit the statue every year.

- My books were stolen by someone yesterday.

Someone stole my books yesterday.

- These books had been left in the classroom by a careless student.

A careless student left these books in the classroom.

- Coffee is raised in many parts of Hawaii by plantation workers.

Plantation workers raise coffee in Hawaii.

- The house had been broken into by someone while the owners were on vacation.

Someone broke into the house while the owners were on vacation.

- A woman was being carried downstairs by a very strong firefighter.

A very strong firefighter carried the woman downstairs.

- The streets around the fire had been blocked off by the police.

The police blocked off the streets around the fire.

- Have you seen the new movie that was directed by Ron Howard?

Have you seen the new movie directed by Ron Howard?

- My car is in the garage being fixed by a dubious mechanic.

A dubious mechanic is fixing my car in the garage.

10. A great deal of our oil will have been exported to other countries by our government.

Our government will have exported a great deal of our oil to other countries.

B for Bendetta on Star Trek

After finding myself somewhat clueless when attempting to execute a decent comparison between two of Hamlets soliloquies, I decided I was going to turn to the pros, and by turning to the pros it was necessary to go back to the Basics. 

I'm talking about Patrick Stewart.   

I can predict what your thinking, YOU think, that I'm turning to good ol' Patrick just because he was Jean-Luc Picard, or just because he was good ol' Xavier. And I cant deny, this guy has something going on for wisdom, I mean, he is always the smart ass elder who shuts everybody up or its the dude that everybody turns to for advices, while still able to hold his modesty by having a day just for him. (Note min. 1:55). As some Star Trek geek once said about Captain Picard: "Picard is deemed the ultimate delegator of authority, knowing how to gather and use data better than any other Star Trek captain. His leadership style is best suited to a large, process-centric, either geographically identical or diverse team." Wow, Paul Kimberly and David R. Webb, wow. you really have something going on for ol' Picard, I mean, you wrote and ENTIRE serious PAPER about it! (Please note their pictures at the bottom of the page.)

Well, yes I must admit I've been influenced to a certain extent by this factor, but the real reason for which I am turning to Mr. Stewart  in this occasion is simply because he is a prodigious actor and an active participant of The Royal Shakespeare Company. This man has played various astounding roles in many adaptations of Shakespeare's plays, being in over 60 productions of just Shakespeare. Casually, he also played Claudius in the 2008 Hamlet adaptation were David Tennant is the main role. The Hamlet in the soliloquy of Act. 2 Scene. 2. I personally would agree that Mr. Stewart would be very pleased with Tennants performance, since despite being obnoxiously modern, it conveys a fruitful piece of alternative focus. Tennants Hamlet is exquisite and obscene, a definite breakthrough in drama. Mr. Stewart must know, since the man itself was the leading role of a "photo negative" adaptation of Othello in 1997, in which an all-black cast contrasted with white Othello, being an extremely vivacious racial-bending approach to Shakespeare. In parallelism, Kenneth Brangh's Hamlet is much more conservative, despite being extraordinarily expressive, focusing more in performance than props. Mr. Stewart would not appreciate it as much, (he would), I just want to pretend that he wouldn't. Either way, both performances are astounding and impressive, each having secular and juxtaposing notabilities.

As a proof and as my inspiration, I would like to present to you one of many prolific Mr. Estewart's performances, in this occasion performing a soliloquy. Mr. Stewart also turned to the very basics, but recalling his snobbish spiritual self, I think this simplistic piece of art holds unimagined sights of lucidity. Or meth addiction. 

(I would like to clarify that by no means I would like to be considered a Star Trek geek or freak or wathever.)
   
   

"A Memorable Equinox"

 

Striking details turn Krapp's Last Tape into a worthy piece of psychological internalization. The symbols at the beginning of the play are intended to drive the viewers attention towards the man and his particular state of mind. The banana, which is commonly referred as a sweet, tropic fruit can be often be interpreted as happiness, yellow as a jolly color, its condition is universally accepted as being enjoyable. However, Krapp completely diminishes its meaning in less than two minutes, diverting its image into a disgusting element of desperation, restlessness. A more pictorial communication is achieved in the filmed play, since this single detail introduces the viewer into Krapp, a consolidated image of madness can be perceived by Krapp trashing completely this symbol. A more comprehensive understanding of the tape is achieved when being exposed to preluding scenes as these ones. 

The second "big" symbol is the boxes, the film focuses on the objects brought by Krapp after the banana scene, the first one being a set of vintage boxes and the second being the actual tape. A three minute segment shows Krapp handling the boxes, apparently looking for something. In Krapp's emotional scale its the first time a certain feeling of satisfaction is perceived by the viewer, by no special factor, just a set of boxes. Perhaps the importance of such insignificant symbol is that is the last considerable drive of attention from Krapp before focusing on the tape, and also, a breakthrough in Krapps interior, what can be judged from a elder who finds satisfaction in counting boxes? The interesting part is that at the end of this sequence of events, Krapp ends shoving the boxes from the table, a prolific ending point indeed.

From looking at these two minor symbols, one can conclude that the image striking in film is much stronger than in writing, or at least, more direct. Personally these two images introduced me to the general play, and were big motivators to "Krapp understanding". Despite being considerably less important to the overall meaning of the play, they constitute a strong presence in the viewers notion. 

Getting away from plain interpretation, I found myself really intrigued by some of the quotes in the tape, since it hugely juxtaposed the overall setting of the play, it was really sarcastic in a way, since in theory the objectives in a film are to portray images, but in the play, the true image provenience came from the tape, a voice, sound. I reiterate, I want to get away from plain interpretation, I mean, everybody knows Hamlets plot, but not everybody knows how to understand it, you know what I mean? I mean, everybody knows Krapp's last tale, but not everybody knows Krapp. I'm confused with myself by now.

-"Memorable Equinox"

-"Farewell to love" 

From a broad interpretation, the viewer (I) can assume a dismal perspective of the past, a fluctuated presented that is nurtured by better times. These are from the first quotes in the play, which come up strong. 

I want to quote the next paragraph entirely since I think it constitutes as the most important passage of the play, for being the most shocking, the most vivid and cruel portrayal of Krapps past, not Krapp as a character. It embraces entirely the conceptual truth of Krapps thought since it comes from the tape, and also directs to the tragedy of the self as a whole: 

 To drink less, in particular. (Brief laugh of Krapp alone.) Statistics. Seventeen hundred hours, out of the preceding eight thousand odd, consumed on licensed premises alone. More than 20%, say 40% of his waking life. (Pause.) Plans for a less . . . (hesitates) . . . engrossing sexual life. Last illness of his father. Flagging pursuit of happiness. Unattainable laxation. Sneers at what he calls his youth and thanks to God that it's over. (Pause.) False ring there. (Pause.) Shadows of the opus . . . magnum. Closing with a --(brief laugh)--yelp to Providence. (Prolonged laugh in which Krapp joins.) What remains of all that misery? A girl in a shabby green coat, on a railway-station platform? No?

I couldn't help on feeling a little unmotivated about life, since, in a way, this could be your life, a mediocre configuration of statistics and shattered hopes, a couple of memoirs of some chick called Byanca and another one which you cant really recall her name. I cant help feeling each one of us are a little Krapp, a freaky old fella with an exemplary remembrance of the past. Definitely, the play is a sick and unmotivated psychological internalization, pure scorn.

What remains of all that misery?

A memorable Equinox 

 

Article

-There are different types of affliction from reader to reader, but truly, the mother of all afflictions is laziness. And the only way to cure it is throughout discipline.

-There is no such thing as discipline.
-What?
-There is love, love for reading, there is no hate for reading and then analyzing from an unconscious state, there is no meaning. And no result. For example, you have love for burgers or for abs, more love for one of the two, no discipline really, no discipline in the picture.
-Oh...  


One insight made by Mrs. Chung really took my attention, and that was the reiteration of the craft and style of the novel, where Fitzgerald is able to make such fine a piece of a Hitchcock murder sequence with a relative simple structure, as said before in a The Road analysis, Gatsbys narration captures the magic of "setting descriptions to evoke complex emotions". Just as McCarthy, but with greater wit.

Overall, the article was beneficial on boarding a simple readers perspective, making it entertaining and informative. 

Images

He squatted and scooped up a handful of stones and smelled them and let them fall clattering. Polished round and smooth as marbles or lozenges of stone veined and striped. Black disclets and bits of polished quartz all bright from the mist off the river. The boy walked out and squatted and laved up the dark water.

One relevant aspect from The Road which may often be overlooked is imagery. McCarthy utilizes a concise and objective narrative which helps images to be more vivid and flagrant. According to this perspective, metaphysical reflections convey from these images, since the short direct descriptions tend to reflect more an idea than a simple sequence of events. In the passage below, when the events are taking place the following excerpt stands out from the context, serving as an interpretation for a deeper meaning of the actual road deviation: "They came upon the road unexpectedly and he stopped the boy with one hand and they crouched in the roadside ditch like lepers and listened. No wind. Dead silence." The mans state of vulnerability can be seen past the passage. Being evident the position in which he is encountered with no wind and no sounds, a pseudo emptiness I would say.

They moved on east through the standing dead trees. They passed an old frame house and crossed a dirt road. A cleared plot of ground perhaps once a truckgarden. Stopping from time to time to listen. The unseen sun cast no shadow. They came upon the road unexpectedly and he stopped the boy with one hand and they crouched in the roadside ditch like lepers and listened. No wind. Dead silence. After a while he rose and walked out into the road. He looked back at the boy. Come on, he said. The boy came out and the man pointed out the tracks in the ash where the truck had gone. The boy stood wrapped in the blanket looking down at the road.

What does a scanner see? Into the head? Into the heart? Does it see into me? Clearly? Or darkly?

Ive always had a fascination with apocalypse, some way or another individuals tend to push themselves towards to these wicked interests...(sex, death, violence, psychedelia..) Currently, I'm not that really into it as before, but I recall having serious psychological issues at the ages of 10 to 12 thanks to this fetish. Reading McCarthys novel and all the post-apocalyptic embroidered setting I couldn't help the feeling again, the bizarre excitement that it produced.  Although The Road is not a dystopia, some characteristics in its narration make a comprehensible resemblance to the whole futuristic degradation of reality, along with some philosophical underlying meaning: 

"What is this place, Papa?
It’s the house where I grew up.
The boy stood looking at it. The peeling wooden clapboards were largely gone from the lower walls for firewood leaving the studs and the insulation exposed. The rotted screening from the back porch lay on the concrete terrace…. This is where we used to have Christmas when I was a boy."

 

There's a movie I really like and its called A Scanner Darkly http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/scanner_darkly/. Its affiliation to the novel can be made throughout their main characters, Fred and the man, respectively. I thought of the same type of mental alienation and functionality for both characters, since both motives are alike in the sense that both rise from the decadent reality they live in. Fred from the imminence ofsubstance D and the man from the harsh condition he lives and the responsibility to save his son. There is always an over understood feeling that "happily ever after" for these characters is not a possibility, meaning that an unhealthy curiosity for armageddon to happen lies within the reader, or in this case myself.