Poetry

    
     Both Out Beyond Ideas and Where The Sidewalk Ends are compelling pieces of poetry that creates a strong relationship with the words written. Both have numerous attributes that earns recommendation,  but both earn it for very different reasons.
     Out Beyond Ideas by Rumi is a poem grasping the idea that we are always trying but can never fully wrap our heads around the world. I related to this because often my mind wanders to this place of absolute, where the world is just too big and too full to even be able to imagine or know. This poem excited me because Rumi completely caught that feeling and emotion into  words.
     Where The Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein was a whole separate piece of beautiful. This poem was written about the magical quality oneself connects with the untamed outdoors. Silverstein describes the magnetic pull children seem to have to it, they always know where to find the magic.
     Both these poems are very different because one connects to the deep conscience that can't quite reach the full grasp on life, while the other plays on the innocent relation a child has with the outdoors; one an adult would long for. Though they are written on ultimately different subjects, both poems call to the nagging feeling you've forgotten you hid in the back of your mind.

Hamlet Essay: "To be or not to be"

          "To be or not to be"; probably the most recognizable quote from Hamlet, perhaps even of Shakespeare entirely. This quote is as credible to the central message of Hamlet as it is recognizable. The entire play thrives off of conflict, whether it be internal or external, and this quote defines conflict.

 

            "To be or not to be" is begging the question whether a plan should be executed or not. Should Hamlet avenge his father's death by killing Claudius? Should Claudius risk suffering from guilt by killing Hamlet and not being able to fully enjoy his gain? Should Queen Gertrude stand by her own son or flatter her new, unconventional husband? This quote outlines the theme of every major point in the plot because every major point in the plot is clear cut conflict.

 

             Many readers seem to come to the conclusion that Hamlet can't make up his mind, that he's suicidal, that he's a dramatic teenager; however, this is not so. As described in Deboer's paper, Hamlet initially lacks the perlocutionary force (following through) to actually send his locutionary force (understanding he has to kill Claudius) into action; he understand his locutionary force because of the illocutionary force (his father's ghost telling him to kill Claudius). "To be or not to be" represents this development of Hamlet's character throughout the play because the reader is invited to forever wonder whether Hamlet will enact his perlocutionary force, Hamlet himself is left to wonder if he has the mind to do it.

 

 

           In conclusion, each "To be or not to be" had a consequence which results in yet another "To be or not to be". This quote fell hand in hand with every conflict of the play, which were abundant. In regard to Hamlet's shaky perlocutionary force, the answer is "to be".