Hey so this is a fun thing a thought I would post. For are graph design class we had to make a poem and then using typography skills make a poster and upload it to a site called Prezi. As the poem I wrote deals with books I thought I could put it here. So down bellow is the prezi poster so check that out if you want. Also here is the full text for the poem
What Are Book?
Books are they just words on a page
are they so useless or are they more.
The words could be like players on a stage,
or like garbage on the floor.
The covers could be the stage's curtians,
or the back and front doors of a house
filled with garbage like fish in the oceans.
In the end books can be to celebrate or grouse.
So who is to decide which one it should be.
Is is it only up to the scholars who study it.
NO! It is up to you who read to see;
what books can be and if you see it fit;
books can be the doors to new places.
That will be celebrated throught the ages.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Day Late! Review of The Merchant of Venice by Shakespeare
Hi. I am late but only by a day so shall we begin.
Book: The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare
Grade: A-
Another book that while very good just did not wow me like some of Shakespeare's other plays. Actually this play is not what it seems to be in my opinion. It is labeled as a comedy but if we look at it from Shylock's perspective it is a tragedy. The story has many things going on it but I wish to focus in on the store of Shylock the Jewish money lender. From the moment he appears in the play it is apparent he is not suppose to be the hero. In fact I believe Shakespeare intended for him to be the villain merely for being a Jew. Being Jewish myself it shocks me to see such Anti-Semitic attitudes in this play. Shylock story stars by being approached by two other characters to lend them money. It is a good sum of money, 2,000 ducats, the currency of the time, and for a fair amount of time, three months. Shylock accepts but makes a nasty deal with the characters that if they do not pay him in time he will take a pound of flesh from one of them. They agree to this and Shakespeare appears to be setting us up for the climax here. As the play goes on we see a man who works for him leave him because he is a Jew and his daughter elope to escape him. Again Shakespeare plays the Anti-Semite card and gives him a stereotypical attitude. As the play comes to a close we see that the merchants ships did not do well and he must get a pound taken from him by Shylock. However a loop hole is found and Shylock can take the pound but it must be exact and no blood must be shed. Knowing this is impossible Shylock wants to take the other mans offer of triple the sum and be done with it. Instead he looses all his money and must convert. The end of the play is the characters celebrating this fact but is it to be celebrated? This man has his daughter run away and steal some of his money and now he is loosing the rest of it and his freedom. While this is just one part of the play it is the part that most struck a cord with me and while their is comedy in other scenes, a character having to see who chooses correctly in a riddle to marry her, most of the play is vile towards Shylock only because of his religon. This is not my favorite play by Shakespeare I have read but deffinetly worth reading.
Keep reading.
Book: The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare
Grade: A-
Another book that while very good just did not wow me like some of Shakespeare's other plays. Actually this play is not what it seems to be in my opinion. It is labeled as a comedy but if we look at it from Shylock's perspective it is a tragedy. The story has many things going on it but I wish to focus in on the store of Shylock the Jewish money lender. From the moment he appears in the play it is apparent he is not suppose to be the hero. In fact I believe Shakespeare intended for him to be the villain merely for being a Jew. Being Jewish myself it shocks me to see such Anti-Semitic attitudes in this play. Shylock story stars by being approached by two other characters to lend them money. It is a good sum of money, 2,000 ducats, the currency of the time, and for a fair amount of time, three months. Shylock accepts but makes a nasty deal with the characters that if they do not pay him in time he will take a pound of flesh from one of them. They agree to this and Shakespeare appears to be setting us up for the climax here. As the play goes on we see a man who works for him leave him because he is a Jew and his daughter elope to escape him. Again Shakespeare plays the Anti-Semite card and gives him a stereotypical attitude. As the play comes to a close we see that the merchants ships did not do well and he must get a pound taken from him by Shylock. However a loop hole is found and Shylock can take the pound but it must be exact and no blood must be shed. Knowing this is impossible Shylock wants to take the other mans offer of triple the sum and be done with it. Instead he looses all his money and must convert. The end of the play is the characters celebrating this fact but is it to be celebrated? This man has his daughter run away and steal some of his money and now he is loosing the rest of it and his freedom. While this is just one part of the play it is the part that most struck a cord with me and while their is comedy in other scenes, a character having to see who chooses correctly in a riddle to marry her, most of the play is vile towards Shylock only because of his religon. This is not my favorite play by Shakespeare I have read but deffinetly worth reading.
Keep reading.
Monday, April 11, 2011
I am a horrible blogger!
Hello.
I hope I have not lost my small audince. Rest assured change is coming and I will be blogging more. That said here are a few things.
1. I was going to rank my first 13 books but could not do it so that will have to wait until week 26, halfway point.
2. My book for week 14 was Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare and week 15, this week, is Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman.
3. Review of Merchant of Venice will be up tomorrow.
Now here is my week 13 book review
Book: Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Grade: B-
For starters this is a good book. Not great but good. I thourougly enjoyed it but it was long winded. This was to the extremity of the term. The story is about life in both France and England during the French Revolution. The cast of characters is large but not completely overwhelming at most points. The intricate details that the author puts in are good but I think it would work better if it was broken up. In fact it at first was orginally published as a weekly serial for 32 weeks. This is a lost art form as people do not read serials any more except in comics and watching them on TV. I think however this format could still work in today's society especially with the rise in eBooks. This is in fact starting to happen and I would love to see more of it.
Keep Reading!
I hope I have not lost my small audince. Rest assured change is coming and I will be blogging more. That said here are a few things.
1. I was going to rank my first 13 books but could not do it so that will have to wait until week 26, halfway point.
2. My book for week 14 was Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare and week 15, this week, is Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman.
3. Review of Merchant of Venice will be up tomorrow.
Now here is my week 13 book review
Book: Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Grade: B-
For starters this is a good book. Not great but good. I thourougly enjoyed it but it was long winded. This was to the extremity of the term. The story is about life in both France and England during the French Revolution. The cast of characters is large but not completely overwhelming at most points. The intricate details that the author puts in are good but I think it would work better if it was broken up. In fact it at first was orginally published as a weekly serial for 32 weeks. This is a lost art form as people do not read serials any more except in comics and watching them on TV. I think however this format could still work in today's society especially with the rise in eBooks. This is in fact starting to happen and I would love to see more of it.
Keep Reading!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)