Lady Macbeth Now and Then

E.

“A little water clears us of this deed. How easy is it, then!” (2.2.86-87)
This is the situation when Macbeth decides that he will not proceed the plan of murdering King Duncan because he believes that he saw blood stains on his dagger. However, Lady Macbeth who is in a great desire for power and authority convinces Macbeth that the plan will go well and everything will be fine. Due to her strong persuasion, Macbeth decides to assassinate King Duncan and seize the throne again.
In this situation, Lady Macbeth is boiling with lust for her power. Therefore, if I was Lady Macbeth at that situation, I will be frustrated with Macbeth because it is not only chance for Macbeth to hold the throne but also for me to be in the position where so much control can fall upon me. However, Macbeth is trying to let go of the opportunity. Also, in this kind of situation, I believe that there is nothing else in Lady Macbeth’s mind other than the brilliant future and the great dream that she might accomplish. That is why she says “little water clears us of this deed. How easy is it, then!” , not even considering the consequences that may follow after the assassination.

“What, will these hands ne’er be clean?” (5.1.45)
This is the situation when a doctor comes to Dunsinane to have a look at Lady Macbeth’s strange illness of sleepwalking. As the doctor is talking to the gentlewoman, Lady Macbeth suddenly enters the scene as she is sleepwalking and subconsciously talks about the assassination of Macduffs and Banquo. She says that the smell of blood cannot be removed from her hands and nothing even the finest perfume from Arabia will not do so. Then everyone is sort of amazed at Lady Macbeth’s symptom and the story that she speak of.
The feeling that Lady Macbeth experiences at this situation is afraid and worried. As Macbeth finished another plan of murder other than that of Duncan and Banquo, Lady Macbeth is now in concern of her hands are also sanguinary and cannot erase the guilt that she and Macbeth has committed. Now she is feeling guilty to the greater degree than Macbeth and believes that nothing will be able to get rid of the blood that is spilled all over her hands. “What, will these hands ne’er be clean?” Psychologically Lady Macbeth is in a great suffering where she cannot endure the pain of guilt.

These two lines show a great comparison between the characterization of Lady Macbeth from the beginning of the play to the almost the end of the play. It is clear that Lady Macbeth is very ambitious person in the early stage because of her strong persuasion and the luring words that put Macbeth back on the track of killing Duncan. On the other hand, when the play is about to end, Lady Macbeth, has a such a transformation to a person who is now all concerned about the guilt that she has committed and ashamed of what she have done; making the readers to go “Huh? What happened to her?”

3 Poets: Most Identifying - Sylvia Plath

I find Sylvia Plath the most identifying with me as a person. As a young child, I did not lose my parents like Sylvia Plath but both my parents had to go out to work from daytime to late in the night. Therefore I had to live with my aunt from kindergarten till second grade in elementary; not able to receive love and care as much as I wanted to.
As Sylvia Plath experiences all kinds of tragedy during her childhood, she loses any kind of faith or belief about God. Once again, I, too, lost my paternal grandfather when I was five years old and one of my best friend in elementary was going through a very hard time because of he had diabetes. I did not know this friend had diabetes until the last day of second grade, the day when I had to move to China. So not even able to ask, “Are you okay?” for the last moment, I had to leave this friend alone. I felt guilty as a child which made me to wonder about existence about God.
During my end of sophomore year, I really had to struggle with myself academically and with my family. As my parents are Koreans and have the Korean culture background of living strong and to the fullest, they had high expectations on me. However, my grade continuously dropped from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. My parents who were very disappointed in me gave pressure which was unbearable for me; leading me to leave the house. At this moment, I strongly believed that there is no such thing as “love” in this world and no “God” exists. From this point, I became little pessimistic about the world and started to not expect much from others; even the people who are very close to me; similar to Plath.

TPCASTT: “In the Secular Night” by Margaret Atwood

"In the Secular Night"

Title - It makes the reader wonder what “secular night” means. There isn't much clue that
the title gives about the poem.

Paraphrase -
1st stanza: The story is a reminiscent that talks about the speaker’s sixteenth birthday. The setting is given in the first two lines. It is two thirty in the night and the speaker is alone in the house because everyone left, leaving her behind. Although it is her year of life, she has to babysit alone in the house. She then devours all kinds of sweets: grape juice, ice cream and ginger ale. She also lights a cigarette and dances by herself. These actions can be seen as her ways of getting rid of stress and loneliness.

2nd stanza: The speaker is now back into present and she says that “things have changed” however, only thing that changed from her is the food that she eats. She still feels lonely and there is no one around her. She now eats lima beans that are mixed with cream and pepper; then she takes big scoops. Although she is forty six years old, she cannot escape from solitude and she still search for a way to get rid of it. However, in the last sentence it seems as if she has lost her hope.

3rd stanza: The loneliness that the speaker is now unbearable that she blames God; a sign that tells she have thrown away all her expectations. However, by losing such hopes, she also realizes that probably she is not the only person who is in such situation.

Connotations:
1st stanza: A clear use of imagery to illustrate the situation of the speaker. Assonance of “circled” and “purple” to emphasize the loneliness of the speaker and alliterations on “glass with grape juice and ginger ale and, put on Glenn Miller” the continuous sound of “g” is to underscore her ways of releasing stress and loneliness.

2nd stanza: There is a shift from reminiscent to her present. The alliteration on “baby lima beans” with “b” sound, underlines the fact that only the food that she eats has changed from her life. Another clear imagery is described to emphasize the useless attempts for the speaker to get rid of her solitude.

Attitude:
The attitude of the speaker or Atwood in this poem can be described as regretful and somewhat angry that she cannot escape from the imprisonment of the strong loneliness.

Shift:
There is a shift in second stanza where the speaker is back to present and her reminiscent of past stops. The shift allows the readers to compare the speaker’s life of childhood and the life that she has right now.

Title:
Now the readers understand why the title is “In the Secular Night”. The speaker does not expect anything from God and her belief and trust has been lost.

Theme:
The theme of this poem, “In the Secular Night” by Margaret Atwood, states that people who are in a great depression or loneliness often lose their principles and beliefs; eventually pulling themselves further away from their faith.