Reading journal act 2

Scene 1

1. They are having a masked ball, throughout the scene they each steal each others identity - Claudio becomes Benedick and Don Pedro becomes Claudio.
2. Beatrice does try and encourage Hero to not bow down to her fathers whim.
3. Don John tells Claudio that Don Pedro is stealing Hero for himself.
4. Both Claudio and Benedick go to Don Pedro for help.

• Does the flippant nature of Claudio have a more serious subtext then just for a comedic purpose?
• The fact that both Claudio and Benedick go to the prince for help could show their bond, friendship, the hierarchy the group.
• Masks are a hidden identity. Could this have a more sinister or foreshadowing side to the story?
• Don John does not wear a mask - Is this significant? could this be to show that he is who he is and does not feel the need to hide it? Or could it mean that he was simply not invited to this party?
• the fact that Beatrice tries to encourage her cousin not to obey her father could be Beatrice showing her hatred of the male dominance and how she thinks women have just the same rights as men? 
• Why does Beatrice have more power over Hero and why does her father and uncle let her say the things that she does?

Many of Benedick's and Beatrice's are in jest however Don Johns are evil.
Don Johns scenes are quite slow paced (like a tragedy) but the rest are read quite quickly
Benedick and Beatrice were a couple beforehand (DRAMATIC SIGNIFICANCE)
the piece begins with Beatrice saying that Don John gives her heart burn this shows the groups feelings on Don John and I do not believe that they are good.

Scene 2

1. in this scene Don John and Borachio hatch the plan that Borachio should woe Margret outside Hero's window.

• Why does Borachio feel the need to help Don John in this plan?
• If Marget knew of this plan would she take part in it? Would she still love Borachio?

this scene again shows the evilness of Don John and again this scene to is quite slow paced.

Scene 3

1. In this scene Benedick wonders how love can have such a strange effect on a man.
2. Don Pedro, Claudio and Leonato place the bait that Beatrice loves Benedick
3. Benedick falls in love with these words and the fact the Beatrice loves him.

• Is their significance in the fact that straight after Benedick questions love he falls in love with Beatrice?
• Benedick falls in love with Beatrice very quickly after he hears what Don Pedro and co say. Could this show that Benedick already had feelings for Beatrice?
• Why do the three men feel the need to make Beatrice and Benedick a couple.

This scene is very fast and very funny however their is seriousness there to, the group is munipulating Benedicks mind just like Don John is about to do.

Reading journal act 1

scene 1

1. Their is the introduction of main characters
2. The setting is made clear and the context is developed - the context being that their has been a war and the men are returning home.
3. Hierarchy is developed ('lord' and an anonymous messenger)
4. banter between Beatrice and Benedick
5. we are introduced to Claudio's love for hero

• don Pedro and Claudio speak in verse together. Could this be to show their friendship?

scene 2

1. We are introduced to Antonio who is the brother of Leonato.
2. learn that Antonio over heard Claudio confessing his love for Hero. The two are happy and plan to tell Hero.

scene 3

1. We are introduced to Don John, Conrade and Borachio.
2. Borachio tells Don John that he too has overheard Claudio confessing his love for Hero but apart from being happy Don John decides to try and break up the couple.
3. Don john is the typical stereotype of a villain.

• Is Don John making up the fact that nobody likes him and just makes himself think that?
• Does Don John like the feeling of power? is that why he enlists Borachio and Conrade into helping him or are they just good friends?

The fact that the war has ended could be a paradox for the war has just started

eg - the war of wit has begun with Benedick and Beatrice 

eg - Don John's war on love and his brother (spiteful)

Act 2 and 3 are juxta positions - both have the same information but the way the two groups plan to use the information are different.
Don John speeches are written in blank verse

Could this show seriousness and comedy or evil and good ?

Don Pedro's speeches are written in verse

The Pied Piper of Hamelin.

The Pied Piper of Hamelin is about the classic children's fairytale portrayed in verse by Robert Browning. The poem is written in third person, this is uncommon in Browning poems however it does make the poem seem more like a story, another point that makes you believe the piece is meant to be a child's story is the subtitle which happens to be 'A child's story'. Browning uses a lot of rhyming, this I believe is to make the poem seem very child friendly this also creates an almost song like rhythm to the poem. Browning also writes the poem in clear stanzas and notably numbering them, this could be to show the different levels of the poem because it is a linear poem however I believe that the stanzas are meant to represent different chapters in the story which again links back to the subtitle of the poem. 

The poem although written in third person does have a gendered voice, I believe that the narrator of this story is male however their is no clue as to why this is as nowhere in the poem does Browning hint at the gender of the speaker, in this section of the play however Browning does use the voice of the crowd in stanza two and the voice of the council in stanza three. The introduction of the multiple voices creates the feeling that the narrator is omniscient, another point about the narrator is the lack of discourse markers used, this could be to symbolise the fact that the narrator has told this story over and over again.  

The imagery in the poem is very strong and powerful, Browning uses words such as 'fought, bite and shrieking' in stanza two to show the terror of the rats. The clear imagery of the rats instantly makes you sympathies with the town folk this therefore makes there acts later on in the poem even more unmoral. The rats are seen to be the terror of the town however in stanza three it becomes apparent that the main terrors could be the council.

In stanza three Browning introduces us to the council, they are described as being 'old' and 'fat' which shows that they are greedy but Browning also describes the fact that they were wearing 'coats lined with ermine' and also refers to the 'furry civic robe' in line 29 this I think is there so you have the direct connection to the rats. I think what Browning is trying to personify the council as the rats, this does not only foreshadow their fates but you also take pity on the rats. Browning also uses primary color's a lot in this poem however they are mainly used to describe the pied piper who we are introduced to in line 56 ' And in did come the strangest figure! His queer long coat from heel to head, Was half of yellow and half of red' I think the fact that the pied piper is described using these bright color's and is seen as quite an out of this world character because he is seen as a very child friendly figure. Browning also uses a lot of sound imagery as well as visual imagery the use of rhyme in the poem as I said earlier makes the poem sound almost like a song and in line 20 their is a direct musical quotation. Stanza two also creates an illusion of thousands of rats. in line 10 there is just one word 'rats!' however the use of the exclamation mark shows that the amount is just so great that the narrator is just so overwhelmed by the amount.  The very first stanza is written as though it is setting the scene for you, the description is very vivid, allowing the reader to almost picture this magical town of Hamelin.      


This poem at first seems to be a child's story however as the poem continues the older generation may begin to pick up on a subtext, many of Robert Browning's poems seem to be a direct dig at the present period in which Robert is writing in, and i do not think that this poem is any exception.    

 Overall I think the Browning tells the story in The Pied Piper of Hamelin through vivid imagery and through the use of structure and rhyming helps create the feeling of a child's story.

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Similarities between Browning's poems.

There are many similarities between all of Browning’s poems the main one in my view is probably the many references to god in his poems for example the last stanza of the patriot and the last sentence of Porphyria’s lover. I think there is a significance in the mention of god at the very end of each poem as it could mean that in the end – god is the end.

Another similarity between Browning’s poems could be the fact that they are all dramatic monologues except for the Pied Piper of Hamelin, also many of his poems also use a traditional rhyming scheme and rhythm this I think shows that he writes about things that are relevant to his time and is not an uncommon site in his day and age, this can then be related to the idea that Browning may of written his poems to make a jab at society without doing it in a way that would cause offense.  

The final similarity that I’ve found is that all of his poems seems to have a hidden meaning to them which is normally most symbolic in the title.

The Asian nerd

The Asian nerd. 

Today i've had English, Art and Maths

And the only thing i get are laughs,

The kids at school they don't understand, 

What its like to be in a foreign land. 

They laugh and tease, 

At my quiet unease, 

And when I get home, its all the same

And I still have to face the shame. 

The life I lead, 

Is hard indeed. 

They look no further then their street creed, 

They do not care about what I need.

I always try and that's no lie

So why do people always pass me by. 

All I want is a couple of friends 

In two's and three's and nine's and ten's. 

So that is me, 

I'm not what everyone wants me to be, 

I want to be free like a bird, 

But instead I am the Asian nerd.

The Asian nerd 

By Courtney Chapman, Ann Young and Aaron Murphy.