Poem #2 - Brittany

I am Brittany,
Sister of Amy,
Who needs sleep, Netflix, time,
Who loves family, friends, memories,
Who sees people for who they really are, both sides,
Who hates devastation, hatred, ignorance,
Who fears failure, future and loss,
Who has dreams of something bigger, more exciting, travelling,
Resident of the small blue green planet third from the sun,
Boyce.

Poem #1 - Small Town, Big Dreams

Trapped,
trying to escape.
Living day by day,
suffocated by closeness.
No where to run to,
no where to hide.
Staring out the window,
squinting to seek out the lights of a city.
Instead there is an endless emptiness,
stretching for miles.

Thoughts of getting out,
yearning for a fast-paced life.
Something exciting,
something more.
Craving a bustling noise,
deafened by a constant silence.
Waiting for the day,
when I will run free.
I will leave this small town,
for bigger dreams.

Lady Macbeth Character Analysis

When we are first introduced to Lady Macbeth, she is a powerful and courageous woman. She is also strong-minded and fearless. She isn't your typical woman of this time era; she isn't afraid to fight for what she believes and doesn't always follow her husband's orders as she should. She was the mastermind behind planning the death of King Duncan, which later led to the downfall of her husband, Macbeth. This plan proves her to be a lot more intellectual than the other characters expect her to be. She is unable to kill Duncan herself, because she sees her father when she sees Duncan sleeping. This shows that she does in fact  have compassion and respect for human life. Lady Macbeth decides to challenge Macbeth's "manhood" in order to convince him to go through with her plans to murder the King. When Macbeth returns dazed and covered in blood, Lady Macbeth rushes off with the bloody daggers to frame the servants. Upon her return she states, “A little water cleans me of this deed.” These words show us that she is confident with her actions, and does not see herself or her husband being caught. At this point, she is the strongest character, but she soon begins to shatter. Her guilt that was once non-existent begins to emerge and consume her. She is becoming more and more strained as a result of her and her husband's actions and one day, she finally cracks. Her calm exterior after the death of Duncan slowly progressed as Banquo was killed and her demons came out as Macduff's family was murdered. The unbreakable character has fallen to pieces by Act V. Her famous words, “a little water cleans us of this deed” were now coming back to haunt her. The blood that the water cleansed her of was not washing off any longer and her hallucinations were becoming more vivid, driving her to the point of insanity. She starts to rant and mumble about the people who have been murdered. When she speaks of Lady Macduff, her words show signs of how her guilt had eventually led her to her death. After a few scenes without hearing of Lady Macbeth, we find out that she had died from suicide. Even the strongest walls can fall, and the same goes for Lady Macbeth. Once the strongest character, she became the weakest when she was consumed by her demons. Even the toughest, strongest, and most powerful people can succumb to guilt, which was exactly what happened in this case. A person can only regret and deteriorate for so long until they go mad and kill themselves to escape the feelings that were once eating them alive.

Macbeth Character Map

Macbeth Soliloquy: Act III Scene I

This soliloquy takes part after Macbeth finishes a conversation with Banquo where he tells him that Donalbain and Malcolm, the alleged murders of Duncan, have fled and are spreading lies. Banquo suspects that Macbeth caused the witches' predictions to come true through foul play.  He also discovers that Banquo is going for horseback ride through the forest and immediately calls the three murderers after Banquo departs. The soliloquy begins with Macbeth stating that to just be the king is not acceptable and that he would be better if he was safely king; meaning that he does not trust Banquo to continue acting as dormant as he has been and expects him to attack as Macbeth did to Duncan in order to force the witches prophecies to come true. He sees his former friend as an enemy that must be taken care of because he takes risks, is noble, his mind never stops working, he uses his wisdom to make courageously brave yet safe choices. Macbeth fears only him for these qualities in which he wishes that he had. He makes a reference, comparing himself to Mark Antony saying, "My genius is rebuked, as it is said Mark Antony’s was by Caesar" (Act 3, Scene 1, Lines 55-56) meaning that around Banquo, his guardian angel even feels frightened like Mark Antony's was in comparison to Octavius Caesar. He remembers that when the witches predicted that he would be king, Banquo wanted to know his own future, which the witches told him that he would be the father of many kings. This upset Macbeth because he knew that he doesn't have his own family to pass the crown to so that he would have to pass it to another family, most likely Banquo's son Fleance as would fit with the witches' predictions. What bothered Macbeth about this realization is that he had just finished all the hard work of killing the king, torturing his conscience, and basically handing over his soul to the devil without thinking that all of this work would benefit Banquo's sons with none of the harm to them that Macbeth had to endure which was fresh in his mind. Because he refuses to let this happen for his own selfish reasons, he challenges the fate that the witches predicted, hoping to keep the crown to himself opposed to later giving it to Banquo's descendants. He does this by calling on the murderers to find Banquo while he is riding in the forest with his son and to kill them both so that the prophecies cannot come true.

Macbeth Soliloquy: Act II Scene I

Prior to this soliloquy, Lady Macbeth convinces Macbeth to murder king Duncan. She has come up with a plan to get his servants drunk so they won't remember and Duncan will be unguarded. While he is unguarded they will kill him and blame it on the servants. Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth to be courageous which gives Macbeth the strength he needs to be able to kill Duncan. This soliloquy takes place after Banquo has informed Macbeth of his dream about the witches speaking the truth. Macbeth has just convinced himself to follow through in killing Duncan. He speaks of a dagger, which is most likely a symbol for the witches that are controlling the situation. It is likely that the witches aren't using magic to control, but instead are using the idea that they had previously put in Macbeth's head. The dagger points to his hand, which could mean that it is time for him to use the dagger to kill Duncan. Macbeth has become so obsessed with this murder that he is hallucinating to make himself feel better about the decision he's made. Macbeth says,  "I have thee not, and yet I see thee still" (Line 36, Act 2, Scene 1) suggesting that this is a hallucination or a sign from the witches who like to create chaos and negativity in the lives of others. Macbeth thinks about e fact that he cannot reach out and touch the dagger, because it is not real. He begins to tell the dagger that it looks as though it is as real as the news is pulling out now, sugggesting that the fake dagger directed him in a way he was already going. This action proves that he is set in his decision to kill the king and he is going mad with the idea of it. He realizes that there is no dagger there and that he is having the types of thoughts in preparation for the murder he is planning. He says that now the world is asleep and they seem dead in their sleep. This means that Duncan is asleep and the py can kill him, but he no longer seems to sleep as restful as before. He says that wicked dreams abuse sleep suggesting that he has been loosing sleep over the fact that he has an internal struggle between killing Duncan and allowing him to continue as king. These thoughts of sleep representing the dead may cause Macbeth to loose sleep due to his overwhelming guilt later.      
Macbeth mentions  Pale Hecate's, the goddess with three powers and possibly three different heads to accompany each side. These powers consisted of witches with magic, the darkness of the moon and the underworld and those who need her protection are granted the ability to move safely in the dark. In this act Shakespeare only addresses the magic side, saying that witchcraft celebrate's Pale Hecate's offerings. One of Pale's faces was a dog which represents the wolf in the line, "Alarum'd by his sentinel, the wolf, / whose howl's his watch, thus with his stealthy pace,/ moves like a ghost." (Lines 54 to 58, Act 2, Scene 1). As Macbeth uses this he is imagining offering murder to be able to move safely in the dark, watched by the wolf head of Pale Hecate so that everything goes according to Lady Macbeth's plan. He thinks that the wolf head will watch over him and alert him if something goes wrong, allowing him to complete his task safely without being seen, like a ghost.      
Macbeth also mentions Tarquin's strides as he tries to imagine moving as smoothly, as quickly and as quietly as the roman prince who sneaked into a roman wife's bedroom and raped her. The majority of his focus in this part of the soliloquy is on being stealthy and accomplishing the task quickly and with ease opposed to thinking about killing Duncan. He continues to focus on stealth as he asks the hard surface of the earth to not hear his steps or the direction of his steps because he knows that they will echo back when he breaks the silence with his act of murder. Macbeth then finishes the soliloquy saying, "Whiles I threat, he lives:/ Words to the heat of deeds too cold breath gives."(Lines 62 to 63, Act 2, Scene1) meaning that while he speaks, Duncan is living and the longer he stands talking the more the heat of the moment wears off and he will not have the courage. He then leaves to kill the king at the ring of a bell from Lady Macbeth, a signal that to a servant means that his drink is ready but to him it means that Duncan is represented by the drink and that Lady Macbeth is ready for him to die. He tells Duncan to not listen to the bell because it summons him to either heaven or hell and he mustn't wake. In conclusion this soliloquy is Macbeth preparing himself to kill the king so that he is not to be noticed while waiting for Lady Macbeth's signal.

William S. Burroughs - A Thanksgiving Prayer

Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28, 1986 William S. Burroughs For John Dillinger In hope he is still alive Thanks for the wild turkey and the Passenger Pigeons, destined to be shit out through wholesome American guts thanks for a Continent to despoil and poison thanks for Indians to provide a modicum of challenge and danger thanks for vast herds of bison to kill and skin, leaving the carcass to rot thanks for bounties on wolves and coyotes thanks for the AMERICAN DREAM to vulgarize and falsify until the bare lies shine through thanks for the KKK, for nigger-killing lawmen feeling their notches, for decent church-going women with their mean, pinched, bitter, evil faces thanks for Kill a Queer for Christ stickers thanks for laboratory AIDS thanks for Prohibition and the War Against Drugs thanks for a country where nobody is allowed to mind his own business thanks for a nation of finks — yes, thanks for all the memories all right, lets see your arms you always were a headache and you always were a bore thanks for the last and greatest betrayal of the last and greatest of human dreams.