What Does Love Do To You?

Think of someone you know or have read about who was in love. Did love make the person see the world clearly, or did it cloud his or her vision? Explain.

Love is the care of another person, the beloved one. Therefore, love clouds a person vision because once he has focus, he has blind spots as well. Although no one can really have a objective vision, love makes things even blur. Falling in love, he would think about his girl all the time. He would be more aware of where she is, what she is doing and how she feels. If he is a good lover, he would try to understand her. For him, spending time with her is the most wonderful things in the world. He could give up anything for her. He thinks about her so much that sometimes he does things as if she is looking at him. He would like to perform his best in front of her. However, he sometimes shies away from her when he doesn't have confident on her faith. He would worry and feel frustrated if she ignore him. Because of her, everything he does is insane. Yet, that's how sweet love is. Nothing in the world has ultimate reason anyway.

Poetry Recital Reflection

Almost everyone felt nervous to read a poem in front of the whole class, and it didn't exclude me. I was about the last person to read, so I had listened to many other students before I went on stage. I was struggling in a conflict to enjoy listening to my classmate but at the same time kept thinking about my own poem. I appreciated some of them with nice voice and accent, although they might not memorize the poem so well. It's hard and challenging. When people are nervous, their brains are sometimes blank. I knew it didn't matter wether I memorized the poem well nor not, I would eventually be "blank" in the front anyway. So, when I practiced, I paid attention on the mood and feeling of the poem, and tried to anticipate how the poet felt. Yet, my brain was totally blank when I went on, but I just followed the feelings and let the words through out my month. All of a sudden, I realized I have finished the poem. I have no idea how I did, but at least I survive and didn't stuck catch the memory.

The Fall of Satan - Beelzebub & Satan - Paraphrase

Beelzebub said:
"Satan, Chief of many Powers. You led the highest angels to a dreadful war, endangering God. This war proofs the omnipotent of God who cannot be defeated by strength, chance or fate. We have lost Heaven, and I wish this horrible destruction can be undone. We lost our glory in heaven and our happiness. Although gods and things in heaven can be destroyed, for the mind, the spirit remains invincible. But what if the god, who we want to defeat (I now have to believe his power since we lost the battle), have left us with some spirit and strength that are just enough for us to suffer and painfully support ourselves. Is he making us endure his vengeful anger or he want us to be slaves and servants to work in hell or wander in this gloomy place? What advantage do we get, even though we have undiminished strength and eternal being? To have this endless punishment?"

Satan replied quickly:
"Fallen Cherub [Beelzebub]. It's miserable to be weak. Whether active or passive, it's sure that whatever good is not our task, rather, doing evil and ill things is our delight. We will resist to his high will. If we accept the protective care of God and try to bring good from evil, we will against our goals. To always find means of evil from good is our approach to be successful. Perhaps we shall make God feel sorrow and mess up all his plans. See, the anger Victor [God] has already called back his ministers of vengeance and pursuit back to Heaven. The heavy and bitter storm, thunder and lightening that shot after us have gone. Perhaps they have used up their weapons and left us bellow the vest deep. Let us not loss this chance, whether they corn on us or satisfy with their violet anger. Do you see that dreary plain, forlorn and wild land? It's dark here, only with livid and dreadful flames. Let us go and have a rest there. We will restore our powers, and discuss how to attack our enemy, how to gain from our loss, and how to get help from hope or get resolution from despair."

Song: To Celia - Paraphrase

Drink to me with your eyes gazing, and I will make my promise too. Or else, leave a kiss on the edge of cup and I will not want the wine because your kiss is more than any alcohol.
The thirsts for love rise and only a drink of god can alleviate it. Even I can have Jupiter's nectar, I will not exchange it with your love.
I sent you a wreath of roses recently. It's not to honor your beauty as anyone hope with roses. It will not dry out nor shriveled because your breath will give it immortality. When it grows and smells, I swear that I only smell the pleasant scent of you.

How does Death die?

How does the sonnet resolve its paradoxes: that those who die do not die and that Death itself will die?

People who die do not die because their souls will go on another eternal life. However, Death itself will die because once the soul enters eternity, it lives; there will be no death anymore. No matter how a person dies, he is in rest and peace, away from the secular world and his soul will live eternally in the heaven. The sonnet personifies death as a person who should not be proud because, though he (Death) is "mighty and dreadful" to some people, he or the fear he causes will be disappear once the person dies.

How do our hearts and minds influence our actions?

How do our hearts and minds influence our actions?
When people have a close bond, can they ever really be separated­ even by death?


Our hearts and minds are composed of memory of different events we have experienced. Our actions are mainly based on intuition, which is the understanding of ourselves from the reactions and results in past experiences. We do what we thought has made us success or has had good results from similar experience. We sometimes don't remember what has happened exactly but we member how we felt, usually unconsciously. When people have a closed bond, they can never really be separated because their minds and hearts will have each other, although they are physically separated.  They love each other and will think about each other when they're not together. How they miss each other makes them linked together. Even though the memory of face, sound, and any physical apparent may fade away, the feeling of moment they have spent together can last forever in their minds and hearts. 

Allusion

A reference to something from literature, history, or other familiar cultural areas is an allusion. "Song" alludes to the mythological mermaid singing that lures sailors to crash their ships. What does this allusion signify in "Song"?

Activity 2: Writing a Paraphrase

“You missed to kill me. You thought that I was died and know nothing from the Zeus. Yet, you was sured you killed me! You try to deceive me to make my afraid of you and lose my strength. Well, I will never run away and let you stab your weapon into my back. If god gives you the chance to kill me, you will push your weapon into my chest in the front as I face you. But now you need to avoid my weapon and are scare to attack me. If you were dead and gone, the war for Trojans would then be much lighter."

Making Connections - Epic Hero

Think of a character from a book, television show, video game, or movie who is an example of the epic hero. What traits of the epic hero does he or she display?

Think About the Epic (pg.20)

Beowulf was originally an oral tale. What kinds of stories can be saved today by means other than books? How does telling a story out loud keep it alive?