Sorting Laundry by Elisavietta Ritche

Elisavietta Ritche's poem Sorting Laundry is a poem about a woman comparing her relationship to folding laundry. While going through this laundry she comes across an article of clothing from an old lover, which causes her to think of worse possible cases. Before she doubts her relationship, she thinks about how strong her relationship is and compares problems to,  "All those wrinkles | to be smoothed, or else | ignored; they're in style" (lines 19-21). She is claiming that even though her and her current lover have deputes  they are able to fix them or ignore them. The relationship they have is strong enough to move past arguments and disagreements. This metaphor helps emphasize that there is not a single overpowering issue in her relationship. By establishing this fact about her relationship, the reader is able to observe how distressed she becomes when she considers her current lover leaving her. She worries later on about this almost perfect relationship when she considers her past relationships.

The Convergence of the Twain by Thomas Hardy

The poem The Convergence of the Twain by Thomas Hardy is a poem about the fatal event of the Titanic sinking. The speaker covers a variety of topics ranging from the ship before sinking, after it has sunk, and society's view on the Titanic. According to the speaker, society believes the ship to be unsinkable, "And the Pride of Life that planned her, stilly couches she... Of her salamandrine fires" (lines 3-5). Having a negative view on society, the speaker has a tone in which he blames society for the tragic event. Society viewed the ship as unsinkable and able to survive any situation the ship faced. Furthermore, rather than worrying about the safety of the passengers, the lavishness and luxury of the ship was taken into consideration. As a result of this mindset, the ship endures an accident contrary to the accepted beliefs of society. This tone complements the meaning of the work because it shows the speaker lacks pity for the passengers of the ship. The speaker the population was foolishly focused on less important aspects of the ship. Establishing the views of society in a negative tone, the speaker was able to explain that the sinking of the Titanic was destined to occur.

My Misstress' Eyes by William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare's My Misstress' Eyes is a beautiful poem that is easy to understand. The entire poem is explaining how this man's mistress lacks perfection. The man almost completely degrades the woman, but at the end there is a twist that brings the theme of opposing gender stereotypes. Rather than being the shallow, materialistic speaker of To His Coy Mistress, this speaker states, "And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare" (Shakespeare, 13). This speaker shows that even though his mistress lacks being the ideal woman, he still loves her regardless. This goes against the gender stereotypes for men because society views that men look for looks, but this speaker states otherwise. By looking past these imperfection, the speaker truly feels a rare love for this woman. I think when he says rare love he is referring to the fact that most men would not have feelings for a woman like this. This poem challenges people to observe what what truly attracts a person of the opposite gender to them.

To His Coy Mistress by Andrew Marvell

The poem To His Coy Mistress is about a man adoring a woman for her beauty and other material reasons. He uses a few Biblical references and vivid imagery to explain this woman's beauty. The speaker the uses a metaphor when he states, "Time's winged chariot hurrying near" (Marvell, 22). At this point there is a shift in the poem and the speaker begins discussing how the woman's beauty will only last a short amount of time. The speaker is explaining that time moves swiftly, and with time her beauty will fade, too. This poem shows that the stereotype of men being focused on the appearance of women out weighs their feelings for a woman. He states that once the woman ages, her beauty will escape her. He is warning the woman to enjoy life while she still possesses her beauty. Later he states that there is no human way to freeze time, or in other words to have everlasting beauty.

A Jury of Her Peers by Susan Glaspell

A Jury of Her Peers by Susan Glaspell is the story of two women making observations of a woman's house who is being accused of murder. The husbands of these two women make it clear that Mrs. Wright had killed her husband, but they lacked the reason for her motivation. Through ironic measures, these two women are able to figure out the motivation of Mrs. Wright's murderous deeds. After finding the dead bird, Mrs. Hale observes, "'His neck. Chocked the life out of him'" (Glaspell, 423). The women first establish that the husband was quite hard on Mrs. Wright. Not only did she completely change her lifestyle to a more unhappy lifestyle, Mr. Wright was very controlling. Mrs. Wright greatly enjoyed her bird, and I believe once her husband killed the bird she finally snapped. This quote shows a direct correlation between the the means by which both the bird and Mr. Wright were killed. I think that Mrs. Wright finally became tired of her husband, and along with resent from the bird, murdered her husband in a similar manner.

Hunters in the Snow by Tobias Wolff

The short story Hunters in the Snow by Tobias Wolff is the story of three good friends going hunting. Each of these friends makes cruel comments to one another, which causes a great deal of tension between the three. At first when Kenny is shot, I did not feel sorry for him, but at the end of the story there is symbolism that evoked sympathy for Kenny. As Kenny is desperately awaiting the hospital, it is observed that, "Hanging between Kenny's toes in the direction of the hospital, was the North Star, Pole Star, Help to Sailors" (Wolff, 201). This image of the star that helps give direction is a symbol that Kenny will never make it to the hospital in time. Even though he had a sick sense of humor, Kenny is still human and experienced an event no human would want to experience. This symbol of realizing Kenny was doomed caused me to feel sympathy because of how helpless and weak Kenny was at that point. His life was in the hands of two men who lacked care for Kenny's well being. From this symbol it can be inferred that Kenny will either bleed to death or freeze to death before Frank and Tub realize their mistake.

Othello: Act V

Othello by William Shakespeare was an intriguing play with a solid plot. I found this play to never have a dull moment due to the characterization of Iago. I thought he would be more on the "awesome" side as a villain. His intelligence allowed him to manipulate every other character in the play, which I found to be humorous. Even after being caught on his lies, Iago still has the nerve to say, "Demand me nothing. What you know, you know. From this time forth I never will speak word" (V,ii,302-303). Iago has been completely revealed, and he still does not share his side of the story. I think Iago is the best villain out there because after reaping havoc on all these character's lives, he chooses to remain silent. Talk about not caring about authority. Other than Iago's character, I found this story to be entertaining. The story was well crafted and thought out. I also found the Shakespeare style easy to read because the story is easy to piece together with the words I already know.