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++++++++++++++ PART II 45 46 William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616) .When in eternal lines to time thou growest: So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee (Sonnet 18) 47 48 BIOGRAPHY William Shakespeare was born to John Shakespeare and mother Mary Arden some time in late April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon There is no record of his birth, but his baptism was recorded by the church, thus his birthday is assumed to be the 23 of April His father was a prominent and prosperous alderman in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon, and was later granted a coat of arms by the College of Heralds All that is known of Shakespeare's youth is that he presumably attended the Stratford Grammar School, and did not proceed to Oxford or Cambridge The next record we have of him is his marriage to Anne Hathaway in 1582 The next year she bore a daughter for him, Susanna, followed by the twins Judith and Hamnet two years later Seven years later Shakespeare was recognized as an actor, poet, and playwright, when a rival playwright, Robert Greene, referred to him as ‘an upstart crow’ in ‘A Groatsworth of Wit.’ A few years later he joined up with one of the most successful acting troupes in London: ‘The Lord Chamberlain's Men’ When, in 1599, the troupe lost the lease of the theatre where they performed (appropriately called ‘The Theatre’), they were wealthy enough to build their own theatre across the Thames, south of London, which they called ‘The Globe.’ The new theatre opened in July of 1599, built from the timbers of ‘The Theatre’, with the motto ‘Totus mundus agit histrionem’ (A whole world of players) When James I came to the throne (1603) the troupe was designated by the new king as the ‘King's Men’ (or ‘King's Company’) The Letters Patent of the company specifically charged Shakespeare and eight others ‘freely to use and exercise the art and faculty of playing Comedies, Tragedies, Histories, Interludes, Morals, Pastorals, stage plays as well for recreation of our loving subjects as for our solace and pleasure’ Shakespeare entertained the King and the people for another ten years until June 19, 1613, when a canon fired from the roof of the theatre for a gala performance of Henry VIII set fire to the thatch roof and burned the theatre to the ground The audience ignored the smoke from the roof at first, being too absorbed in the play, until the flames caught the walls and the fabric of the curtains Amazingly there were no casualties, and the next spring the company had the theatre ‘new builded in a far fairer manner than before’ Although Shakespeare invested in the rebuilding, he retired from the stage to the Great House of New Place in Sratford that he had purchased in 1597, and some considerable land holdings, where he continued to write until his death in 1616 on the day of his 52nd birthday 49 The complete works of WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE Comedy History All's Well That Ends Well As You Like It The Comedy of Errors Cymbeline Love's Labours Lost Measure for Measure The Merry Wives of Windsor The Merchant of Venice A Midsummer Night's Dream Much Ado About Nothing Pericles, Prince of Tyre Taming of the Shrew The Tempest Troilus and Cressida Twelfth Night Two Gentlemen of Verona Winter's Tale Henry IV, part Henry IV, part Henry V Henry VI, part Henry VI, part Henry VI, part Henry VIII King John Richard II Richard III 50 Tragedy Antony and Cleopatra Coriolanus Hamlet Julius Caesar King Lear Macbeth Othello Romeo and Juliet Timon of Athens Titus Andronicus Poetry The Sonnets A Lover's Complaint The Rape of Lucrece Venus and Adonis Funeral Elegy by W.S THE SONNET FORM A sonnet is a fourteen-line lyrical poem, traditionally written in iambic pentameter The sonnet form first became popular during the Italian Renaissance, when the poet Petrarch published a sequence of love sonnets addressed to an idealized woman named Laura The sonnet spread throughout Europe to England In Elizabethan England, the sonnet was the form of choice for lyric poets, particularly lyric poets seeking to engage with traditional themes of love and romance Two kinds of sonnets have been most common in English poetry, and they take their names from the greatest poets to utilize them: the Petrarchan sonnet and the Shakespearean sonnet The Petrarchan or Italian sonnet It was practiced extensively by the Italian poet Petrarch and the English poet Philip Sidney It consists of two parts: - Octave or Octet :a group of lines, using two rhymes arranged in the pattern of abbaabba - Sestet: a group of lines, using either or rhymes arranged in the pattern of cdcdcd or cdecde The division between the octet and sestet could be made by means of: • Rhyme scheme • A space in printing • Division in thought: When the octet presents a situation, the sestet gives a comment When the octet puts forward an idea, the sestet provides an example When the octet is a question, the sestet is the answer The English or Shakespearean Sonnet It was invented by the English poet Surrey, but was made famous by Shakespeare The English sonnet can be divided into quatrains and one ending couplet, following the pattern of abab cdcd efef gg There is a correspondence between the units marked off by the rhymes and the development of the thought as follows: When the quatrains are three examples, the couplet is the conclusion When the quatrains are three metaphorical statements of one idea, the couplet is the application 51 THE SONNETS OF SHAKESPEARE The collection of Shakespeare’s sonnets appeared in 1609, but it was not known whether the poet authorized the publication or not There are 154 sonnets in all and there are several clear signals of departure from convention The sequence falls into two sections, each of which pushes aspects of the convention beyond normal limits The first 126 poems are written to a man, ‘a fair youth’ Sonnets 127-152 celebrates the so-called ‘dark lady’, who is presented in a way that stands in marked contrast to idealized poetic mistresses, muses, and so on The ambiguous relationship the speaker, the young man, and the Dark Lady takes on the nature of an emotional triangle in which as sonnet 144 suggests the speaker is torn between the love for the young man and the love for the woman who appears to have seduced him Shakespeare’s young man remains as purely aesthetic as he is anonymous How the sonnets related to the real world is always problematic, elusive, mystifying It has been suggested that in the Sonnets, Shakespeare developed a novel way of representing human consciousness, of depicting an inner life ‘They throb with a new metrical energy, they explore a new emotional range, they wrestle with the implications of a new language, and they enact new dramas within their exact , fourteen-line structures Above all, they suggest that the faults which make and mar human buoyancy lie not in the stars, not in a particular unattainable star, but in ourselves’ (Andrew Sanders, p 144) 52 That time of year thou mayst in me behold When yellow leaves, or none, or few, hang Upon those boughs which shake against the cold, Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang In me thou seest the twilight of such day As after sunset fadeth in the west, Which by and by black night doth take away, Death's second self, that seals up all in rest In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire That on the ashes of his youth doth lie, As the death-bed whereon it must expire Consumed with that which it was nourish'd by This thou perceivest, which makes thy love more strong, To love that well which thou must leave ere long NOTES may’st: (archaic) may see’s: (archaic) see doth: (archaic) does thou: (archaic) you perceiv’st: (archaic) perceive thy: (archaic) your 53 QUESTIONS Part A How the images in the first stanza appeal to readers’ senses? What season is referred to? What is it compared to? Are there birds singing ‘upon these boughs’ at the moment? Why/why not? What part of the day is mentioned in the second stanza? What metaphor is used here? According to Shakespeare’s speaker what does ‘night’ take away? What is Death’s second self? Explain the phrase ‘seals up in rest’ What is the dual meaning of ‘rest’? What part of a man’s lifetime is referred to in the stanza? What is it compared to? What does ‘his’ refer to? 10 What is the fire lying on? 11 In what ways are the ashes compared to the deathbed of a man? 12 What is the implication of the verb ‘expire’? 13 What is the message the speaker wants to give in the final couplet? 14 What are the repeated words in the poem? 15 Scan the poem for the use of alliteration, assonance 16 Do the rhymes and organisation of thoughts in the stanzas satisfy the requirements of structure in a sonnet? 17 What are the metaphors and similes used in the sonnet? Part B In what ways is the poem a progression in imagery in terms of time? What is the counter movement in each stanza and in the whole poem in terms of duration? Is the poem utterly pessimistic or is there a lessening movement of optimism in each stanza? Sources: http://the-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/works.html http://shakespeare.about.com/library/weekly/aa092701a.htm#time http://charon.sfsu.edu/sh731.html http://stellar-one.com/poems/shakespeare_william_-sonnet_73.html http://www.shakespeare-online.com/biography/default.asp# http://the-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/ http://www.online-literature.com/shakespeare/ 54 -W W Jacobs‘Be careful what you wish for, you may receive it’ – Anonymous – Part I Without, the night was cold and wet, but in the small parlour of Laburnum villa the blinds were drawn and the fire burned brightly Father and son were at chess; the former, who possessed ideas about the game involving radical chances, putting his king into such sharp and unnecessary perils that it even provoked comment from the white-haired old lady knitting placidly by the fire ‘Hark at the wind’, said Mr White, who, having seen a fatal mistake after it was too late, was amiably desirous of preventing his son from seeing it ‘I'm listening’, said the latter grimly surveying the board as he stretched out his hand ‘Check’ ‘I should hardly think that he's come tonight,‘ said his father, with his hand poised over the board ‘Mate’, replied the son ‘That's the worst of living so far out’, bawled Mr White with sudden and unlooked-for violence; ‘Of all the beastly, slushy, out of the way places to live in, this is the worst Pathway's a bog, and the road's a torrent I don't know what people are thinking about I suppose because only two houses in the road are let, they think it doesn't matter’ ‘Never mind, dear’, said his wife soothingly; ‘perhaps you'll win the next one’ Mr White looked up sharply, just in time to intercept a knowing glance between mother and son The words died away on his lips, and he hid a guilty grin in his thin grey beard ‘There he is’, said Herbert White as the gate banged to loudly and heavy footsteps came toward the door 210 The old man rose with hospitable haste and opening the door, was heard condoling with the new arrival The new arrival also condoled with himself, so that Mrs White said, ‘Tut, tut!’ and coughed gently as her husband entered the room followed by a tall, burly man, beady of eye and rubicund of visage ‘Sergeant-Major Morris, ‘ he said, introducing him The sergeant-major shook hands and taking the proffered seat by the fire, watched contentedly as his host got out whiskey and tumblers and stood a small copper kettle on the fire At the third glass his eyes got brighter, and he began to talk, the little family circle regarding with eager interest this visitor from distant parts, as he squared his broad shoulders in the chair and spoke of wild scenes and doughty deeds; of wars and plagues and strange peoples ‘Twenty-one years of it’, said Mr White, nodding at his wife and son ‘When he went away he was a slip of a youth in the warehouse Now look at him’ ‘He don't look to have taken much harm’, said Mrs White politely ‘I'd like to go to India myself’, said the old man, just to look around a bit, you know’ ‘Better where you are’, said the sergeant-major, shaking his head He put down the empty glass and sighing softly, shook it again ‘I should like to see those old temples and fakirs and jugglers’, said the old man ‘What was that that you started telling me the other day about a monkey's paw or something, Morris?’ Nothing’ said the soldier hastily ‘Leastways, nothing worth hearing’ ‘Monkey's paw?’ said Mrs White curiously ‘Well, it's just a bit of what you might call magic, perhaps’ said the sergeant-major offhandedly His three listeners leaned forward eagerly The visitor absent-mindedly put his empty glass to his lips and then set it down again His host filled it for him again ‘To look at’, said the sergeant-major, fumbling in his pocket, ‘it's just an ordinary little paw, dried to a mummy’ He took something out of his pocket and proffered it Mrs White drew back with a grimace, but her son, taking it, examined it curiously ‘And what is there special about it?’ inquired Mr White as he took it from his son, and having examined it, placed it upon the table ‘It had a spell put on it by an old Fakir’, said the sargeant-major, ‘a very holy man He wanted to show that fate ruled people's lives, and that those who interfered with it did so to 211 their sorrow He put a spell on it so that three separate men could each have three wishes from it’ His manner was so impressive that his hearers were conscious that their light laughter jarred somewhat ‘Well, why don't you have three, sir?’ said Herbert White cleverly The soldier regarded him the way that middle age is wont to regard presumptuous youth ‘I have’, he said quietly, and his blotchy face whitened ‘And did you really have the three wishes granted?’ asked Mrs White ‘I did’, said the sergeant-major, and his glass tapped against his strong teeth ‘And has anybody else wished?’ persisted the old lady ‘The first man had his three wishes Yes, ‘ was the reply, ‘I don't know what the first two were, but the third was for death That's how I got the paw’ His tones were so grave that a hush fell upon the group ‘If you've had your three wishes it's no good to you now then Morris’, said the old man at last ‘What you keep it for?’ The soldier shook his head ‘Fancy I suppose’, he said slowly’ I did have some idea of selling it, but I don't think I will It has caused me enough mischief already Besides, people won't buy They think it's a fairy tale, some of them; and those who think anything of it want to try it first and pay me afterward’ ‘If you could have another three wishes’, said the old man, eyeing him keenly’, would you have them?’ ‘I don't know’, said the other ‘I don't know’ He took the paw, and dangling it between his forefinger and thumb, suddenly threw it upon the fire White, with a slight cry, stooped down and snatched it off ‘Better let it burn’, said the soldier solemnly ‘If you don't want it, Morris’, said the other, ‘give it to me’ ‘I won't’ said his friend doggedly ‘I threw it on the fire If you keep it, don't blame me for what happens Pitch it on the fire again like a sensible man’ The other shook his head and examined his possession closely ‘How you it?’ he inquired ‘Hold it up in your right hand, and wish aloud’, said the sergeant-major, ‘But I warn you of the consequences’ ‘Sounds like the 'Arabian Nights’, said Mrs White, as she rose and began to set the supper ‘Don't you think you might wish for four pairs of hands for me’ 212 Her husband drew the talisman from his pocket, and all three burst into laughter as the sergeant-major, with a look of alarm on his face, caught him by the arm ‘If you must wish’, he said gruffly, ‘wish for something sensible’ Mr White dropped it back in his pocket, and placing chairs, motioned his friend to the table In the business of supper the talisman was partly forgotten, and afterward the three sat listening in an enthralled fashion to a second installment of the soldier's adventures in India ‘If the tale about the monkey's paw is not more truthful than those he has been telling us’, said Herbert, as the door closed behind their guest, just in time to catch the last train, ‘we shan’t make much out of it’ ‘Did you give anything for it, father?’ inquired Mrs White, regarding her husband closely ‘A trifle’, said he, colouring slightly, ‘He didn't want it, but I made him take it And he pressed me again to throw it away’ ‘Likely’, said Herbert, with pretended horror ‘Why, we're going to be rich, and famous, and happy Wish to be an emperor, father, to begin with; then you can't be henpecked’ He darted around the table, pursued by the maligned Mrs White armed with an antimacassar Mr White took the paw from his pocket and eyed it dubiously ‘I don't know what to wish for, and that's a fact’, he said slowly It seems to me I've got all I want’ ‘If you only cleared the house, you'd be quite happy, wouldn't you!’ said Herbert, with his hand on his shoulder ‘Well, wish for two hundred pounds, then; that'll just it’ His father, smiling shamefacedly at his own credulity, held up the talisman, as his son, with a solemn face, somewhat marred by a wink at his mother, sat down and struck a few impressive chords ‘I wish for two hundred pounds’, said the old man distinctly A fine crash from the piano greeted his words, interrupted by a shuddering cry from the old man His wife and son ran toward him ‘It moved’, he cried, with a glance of disgust at the object as it lay on the floor ‘As I wished, it twisted in my hand like a snake’ ‘Well, I don't see the money’, said his son, as he picked it up and placed it on the table, ‘and I bet I never shall’ 213 ‘It must have been your fancy, father’, said his wife, regarding him anxiously He shook his head ‘Never mind, though; there's no harm done, but it gave me a shock all the same’ They sat down by the fire again while the two men finished their pipes Outside, the wind was higher than ever, and the old man started nervously at the sound of a door banging upstairs A silence unusual and depressing settled on all three, which lasted until the old couple rose to retire for the night ‘I expect you'll find the cash tied up in a big bag in the middle of your bed’, said Herbert, as he bade them goodnight, ‘and something horrible squatting on top of your wardrobe watching you as you pocket your ill-gotten gains’ He sat alone in the darkness, gazing at the dying fire, and seeing faces in it The last was so horrible and so simian that he gazed at it in amazement It got so vivid that, with a little uneasy laugh, he felt on the table for a glass containing a little water to throw over it His hand grasped the monkey's paw, and with a little shiver he wiped his hand on his coat and went up to bed Part II In the brightness of the wintry sun next morning as it streamed over the breakfast table he laughed at his fears There was an air of prosaic wholesomeness about the room which it had lacked on the previous night, and the dirty, shrivelled little paw was pitched on the sideboard with a carelessness which betokened no great belief in its virtues ‘I suppose all old soldiers are the same’, said Mrs White ‘The idea of our listening to such nonsense! How could wishes be granted in these days? And if they could, how could two hundred pounds hurt you, father?’ ‘Might drop on his head from the sky’, said the frivolous Herbert ‘Morris said the things happened so naturally’, said his father, ‘that you might if you so wished attribute it to coincidence’ ‘Well don't break into the money before I come back’, said Herbert as he rose from the table ‘I'm afraid it'll turn you into a mean, avaricious man, and we shall have to disown you’ His mother laughed, and following him to the door, watched him down the road; and returning to the breakfast table, was very happy at the expense of her husband's credulity All of which did not prevent her from scurrying to the door at the postman's knock, nor prevent her from referring somewhat shortly to retired sergeant-majors of bibulous habits when she found that the post brought a tailor’s bill ‘Herbert will have some more of his funny remarks, I expect, when he comes home’, she said as they sat at dinner 214 ‘I dare say’, said Mr White, pouring himself out some beer; ‘but for all that, the thing moved in my hand; that I'll swear to’ ‘ You thought it did’, said the old lady soothingly ‘I say it did’, replied the other ‘There was no thought about it; I had just - What's the matter?’ His wife made no reply She was watching the mysterious movements of a man outside, who, peering in an undecided fashion at the house, appeared to be trying to make up his mind to enter In mental connection with the two hundred pounds, she noticed that the stranger was well dressed, and wore a silk hat of glossy newness Three times he paused at the gate, and then walked on again The fourth time he stood with his hand upon it, and then with sudden resolution flung it open and walked up the path Mrs White at the same moment placed her hands behind her, and hurriedly unfastening the strings of her apron, put that useful article of apparel beneath the cushion of her chair She brought the stranger, who seemed ill at ease, into the room He gazed at her furtively, and listened in a preoccupied fashion as the old lady apologized for the appearance of the room, and her husband's coat, a garment which he usually reserved for the garden She then waited as patiently as her sex would permit, for him to broach his business, but he was at first strangely silent ‘I - was asked to call’, he said at last, and stooped and picked a piece of cotton from his trousers ‘I come from 'Maw and Meggins.'‘ The old lady started ‘Is anything the matter?’ she asked breathlessly ‘Has anything happened to Herbert? What is it? What is it? Her husband interposed ‘There, there, mother’, he said hastily ‘Sit down, and don't jump to conclusions You've not brought bad news, I'm sure sir’, and eyed the other wistfully ‘I'm sorry - ‘ began the visitor ‘Is he hurt?’ demanded the mother, wildly The visitor bowed in assent ‘Badly hurt’, he said, quietly, ‘but he is not in any pain’ ‘Oh, thank God!’ said the old woman, clasping her hands ‘Thank God for that! Thank- ‘ She broke off as the sinister meaning of the assurance dawned on her and she saw the awful confirmation of her fears in the other’s perverted face She caught her breath, and turning to her slower-witted husband, laid her trembling hand on his There was a long silence ‘He was caught in the machinery’, said the visitor at length in a low voice ‘Caught in the machinery’, repeated Mr White, in a dazed fashion, ‘yes’ He sat staring out the window, and taking his wife's hand between his own, pressed it as he had been wont to in their old courting days nearly forty years before ‘He was the only one left to us’, he said, turning gently to the visitor ‘It is hard’ 215 The other coughed, and rising, walked slowly to the window ‘ The firm wishes me to convey their sincere sympathy with you in your great loss’, he said, without looking round ‘I beg that you will understand I am only their servant and merely obeying orders’ There was no reply; the old woman’s face was white, her eyes staring, and her breath inaudible; on the husband's face was a look such as his friend the sergeant might have carried into his first action ‘I was to say that Maw and Meggins disclaim all responsibility’, continued the other ‘They admit no liability at all, but in consideration of your son's services, they wish to present you with a certain sum as compensation’ Mr White dropped his wife's hand, and rising to his feet, gazed with a look of horror at his visitor His dry lips shaped the words, ‘How much?’ ‘Two hundred pounds’, was the answer Unconscious of his wife's shriek, the old man smiled faintly, put out his hands like a sightless man, and dropped, a senseless heap, to the floor Part III In the huge new cemetery, some two miles distant, the old people buried their dead, and came back to the house steeped in shadows and silence It was all over so quickly that at first they could hardly realize it, and remained in a state of expectation as though of something else to happen - something else which was to lighten this load, too heavy for old hearts to bear But the days passed, and expectations gave way to resignation - the hopeless resignation of the old, sometimes miscalled, apathy Sometimes they hardly exchanged a word, for now they had nothing to talk about, and their days were long to weariness It was a about a week after that the old man, waking suddenly in the night, stretched out his hand and found himself alone The room was in darkness, and the sound of subdued weeping came from the window He raised himself in bed and listened ‘Come back’, he said tenderly ‘You will be cold’ ‘It is colder for my son’, said the old woman, and wept afresh The sounds of her sobs died away on his ears The bed was warm, and his eyes heavy with sleep He dozed fitfully, and then slept until a sudden wild cry from his wife awoke him with a start ‘The paw!’ she cried wildly ‘The monkey's paw!’ He started up in alarm ‘Where? Where is it? What's the matter?’ She came stumbling across the room toward him ‘I want it’, she said quietly ‘You've not destroyed it?’ ‘It's in the parlour, on the bracket, he replied, marveling ‘Why?’ 216 She cried and laughed together, and bending over, kissed his cheek ‘I only just thought of it’, she said hysterically ‘Why didn't I think of it before? Why didn't you think of it?’ ‘Think of what?’ he questioned The other two wishes’, she replied, rapidly ‘We've only had one’ ‘Was not that enough?’ he demanded, fiercely ‘No’, she cried, triumphantly; ‘We'll have one more Go down and get it quickly, and wish our boy alive again’ The man sat in bed and flung the bedclothes from his quaking limbs ‘Good, God, you are mad!’ he cried aghast ‘Get it’, she panted; ‘get it quickly, and wish - Oh my boy, my boy!’ Her husband struck a match and lit the candle ‘Get back to bed, he said, unsteadily ‘You don't know what you are saying’ ‘We had the first wish granted’, said the old woman, feverishly; ‘why not the second?’ ‘A coincidence’, stammered the old man ‘Go get it and wish’, cried his wife, quivering with excitement The old man turned and regarded her, and his voice shook ‘He has been dead ten days, and besides he - I would not tell you else, but - I could only recognize him by his clothing If he was too terrible for you to see then, how now?’ ‘Bring him back’, cried the old woman, and dragged him towards the door ‘Do you think I fear the child I have nursed?’ He went down in the darkness, and felt his way to the parlour, and then to the mantelpiece The talisman was in its place, and a horrible fear that the unspoken wish might bring his mutilated son before him ere he could escape from the room seized up - on him, and he caught his breath as he found that he had lost the direction of the door His brow cold with sweat, he felt his way round the table, and groped along the wall until he found himself in the small passage with the unwholesome thing in his hand Even his wife's face seemed changed as he entered the room It was white and expectant, and to his fears seemed to have an unnatural look upon it He was afraid of her ‘Wish!’ she cried in a strong voice ‘It is foolish and wicked’, he faltered ‘Wish!’ repeated his wife He raised his hand ‘I wish my son alive again’ The talisman fell to the floor, and he regarded it fearfully Then he sank trembling into a chair as the old woman, with burning eyes, walked to the window and raised the blind He sat until he was chilled with the cold, glancing occasionally at the figure of the old woman peering through the window The candle-end, which had burned below the rim of 217 the china candlestick, was throwing pulsating shadows on the ceiling and walls, until with a flicker larger than the rest, it expired The old man, with an unspeakable sense of relief at the failure of the talisman, crept back to his bed, and a minute afterward the old woman came silently and apathetically beside him Neither spoke, but lay silently listening to the ticking of the clock A stair creaked, and a squeaky mouse scurried noisily through the wall The darkness was oppressive, and after lying for some time screwing up his courage, he took the box of matches, and striking one, went downstairs for a candle At the foot of the stairs the match went out, and he paused to strike another; and at the same moment a knock came so quiet and stealthy as to be scarcely audible, sounded on the front door The matches fell from his hand and spilled in the passage He stood motionless, his breath suspended until the knock was repeated Then he turned and fled swiftly back to his room, and closed the door behind him A third knock sounded through the house ‘What’s that?’ cried the old woman, starting up ‘A rat’, said the old man in shaking tones - ‘a rat It passed me on the stairs’ His wife sat up in bed listening A loud knock resounded through the house ‘It's Herbert!’ she screamed ‘It’s Herbert!’ She ran to the door, but her husband was before her, and catching her by the arm, held her tightly ‘What are you going to do?’ he whispered hoarsely ‘It's my boy; it's Herbert!’ she cried, struggling mechanically ‘I forgot it was two miles away What are you holding me for? Let go I must open the door’ ‘For God's sake don't let it in, cried the old man, trembling ‘You're afraid of your own son’, she cried struggling ‘Let me go I'm coming, Herbert; I'm coming’ There was another knock, and another The old woman with a sudden wrench broke free and ran from the room Her husband followed to the landing, and called after her appealingly as she hurried downstairs He heard the chain rattle back and the bolt drawn slowly and stiffly from the socket Then the old woman’s voice, strained and panting ‘The bolt’, she cried loudly ‘Come down I can't reach it’ But her husband was on his hands and knees groping wildly on the floor in search of the paw If only he could find it before the thing outside got in A perfect fusillade of knocks reverberated through the house, and he heard the scraping of a chair as his wife put it down in the passage against the door He heard the creaking of the bolt as it came slowly back, and at the same moment he found the monkey's paw, and frantically breathed his third and last wish 218 The knocking ceased suddenly, although the echoes of it were still in the house He heard the chair drawn back, and the door opened A cold wind rushed up the staircase, and a long loud wail of disappointment and misery from his wife gave him the courage to run down to her side, and then to the gate beyond The street lamp flickering opposite shone on a quiet and deserted road QUESTIONS Part A How is weather at the time of the story? What are the people doing at the time? Who are they waiting for? What does the visitor show them? What is special about that thing? What happened to the first owner of that thing? Does the visitor want to give it to them? What does he want to with it? Do the Whites believe in the magic of the thing? What is their first wish? Is it granted? How? Who wants to make the second wish? What is it? Do they all agree on it? How is the weather that night when they make the second wish? 10 Why does the old man feel an unspeakable relief at the failure of the talisman? 11 What happens later that night? 12 What does the old woman think it is? What does she want to do? Does the man share his wife’s emotion? 13 What is the third wish? Why does the man make that wish? 14 What they see outside? Part B How does the setting contribute to the story? How much of the story can be explained by the psychology of the parents? Is there any real evidence that the second and third wishes are granted? Is the story simply a thrilling one? What is the moral of the story? Why does the writer use the monkey’s paw as the talisman, but not something else? What does it symbolize? Notice the inner conflict of the old man as he makes the second wish Doesn’t he love his son as much as his wife? Why does he decide to make the third wish in such a rush? What is the irony of the story? 219 The story begins with the two contrary sights: a family sitting together in the night which is ‘cold and wet’ Is it a bad sign that makes readers astonished and fill with melancholy because of the tragedy of the family when they read through the story till the end? What must be done cannot be undone Is it true that everything depends on fate? And any opposition is helpless? Or unpractical and unreasonable wishes cannot become true Sometimes people try to change their fate but they should not go against the law of nature They can only work in an acceptable limitation The monkey's paw, a mysterious thing from a mysterious country, is attached with vague dangers Everything which people cannot feel and understand - becomes dangerous However, that danger, at first, just affects the curiosity, then rouses the desire, the Greed which is trivial and reasonless People cannot realize that fact Therefore, 'the three wishes, which the monkey's paw has, are so wonderful The warning of Morris ‘wish for something sensible’ is ineffective Perhaps, few persons have sensible wishes At first, in my opinion, Mr White was not a greedy man when he wished for two hundred pounds Absolutely no He quite satisfied with the present life so that he said, ‘I don't know what to wish for, and that's a fact’, ‘It seems to me I've Got all I want’ Life is so easy Nothing needs to be added to it Nevertheless, some silly and extravagant thoughts unintentionally push people to an unhappy turning point Mr White got two hundred pounds but he lost his dearly son What is more valuable, the son or the sum of money? It is because of the effectiveness of the monkey's paw or it is just an accidental coincidence, we don't know However, I believe that when we get something that does not belong to us, we have to pay something else It is unavoidable Everything has its beginning and ending There is nothing falling from the sky It is a rule, a common rule At times, a person loses his control and he is not calm enough to consider the matter His common sense becomes something strange He begins to believe in miracle in order to be released from grief and unhappiness quickly Let consider the case of Mrs White At first, she did not believe that the monkey's paw could give them three wishes She considered it a joke She laughed when Mr White said the monkey's paw twisted his hand She thought it was just her husband's imagination But what happened then’ When she lost her son, she became wild 220 She hoped the monkey's paw could bring her son back to her Her wish is nonsense and unnatural But that is what she wished That poor mother because of her strong love for the son forced the husband- Mr White - to carry out that wish She could not distinguish what is right or wrong, what is sensible or nonsensical That poor mother who had lost her son now lost herself Mr White made the second wish not because he had the same thought with his wife but he was forced to so That is why he made the third wish, which was contrary to the second one What happened in his mind? Didn't he love his son? In my opinion, he loved his son very much When he was informed of the bad news, ‘the old man smiled faintly, put out his hands like a sightless man, and dropped, a senseless heap, to the floor’ This is a clear evidence that he was shocked by the news He must have had a strong emotion at that time So what can we explain for his last wish? Did he want his son come back? The answer is yes, I think However, on the other hand, he was still conscious enough to think about the problem He-could use his common sense to understand it was impossible to so Above all, he realized that the three wishes could not bring happiness to them, that the monkey's paw was just ‘the unwholesome thing’, and that the wish of his wife was ‘foolish and wicked’ He had been fool once when he made the first wish Now he could not accept another unnatural thing His fool had given him enough sorrow He did not want more He knew the fact was the fact Nothing could change it So let things be as they should be Any desire to be against nature makes it worse I think he had drawn a lesson for himself because the last wish is a sensible one The story has some unreal details Perhaps, readers not accept the things that only happen in fairy tales Nevertheless, who dare say they are alert and sensible in any circumstance? Everything can happen Besides the fabulous episodes, the story also consists of the philosophy of life Some conversations of the characters imply something that makes reader think and ponder on it The monkey's paw is made by a holy man who wants to prove that ‘fate ruled people's lives and that those who interfered with it did so to their sorrow’ Even how hard people try, their fates are decided Everything has been done Fate is still fate and no one can change it Practically, what happened to Mr White 's family helps to show that people cannot go against the law of nature However, this is not a negative point of view It does not mean that people have to give up and let them run their course, or depend completely on their fates The problem is how people should try and how they should change The changes are undoubtedly formed from one self s attempt and effort but not from the fortune of God The changes must be done by sensible actions rather than unreasonable wishes Effort is a process No one becomes better just after a night I not believe in the miracle of the monkey's paw but I agree for one thing that we can draw a valuable lesson above from it Whether life is a tragedy or not is up to each person I not agree with Morris that ‘fate ruled people's lives’ but I believe that sometimes happiness can change into disaster People live in the barrier of sense and nonsense Each step they make needs a lot of 221 carefulness and thinking; otherwise, what they will become terrible unexpectedly People should learn to respect the law of nature That is the way for them to survive Trieu Thi Thanh Tu - Class: 99A I wonder whether or not there are any guys reading The Monkey's Paw without feeling the chill slowly crawling along their spines as I did I was unlucky enough to rea d such full-of-horror story late at night and to be completely honest, I found it not an easy task to get through the night though my eyes were heavy with sleep What if I got a monkey's paw just like what The Whites had? I will, thanks God, throw it into the flame at the drop of a hat because I have already read the story But the Whites themselves, poor them, did not go the same way and therefore, in the story, where tragedy appears, moral lesson follows Just imagine how your heart dances when suddenly you get three wishes easily granted by 'a monkey's paw' Wise as you are, you may be tempted to 'have a try' let alone this poor family where money seemed not to be very interested in flooding their pocket All the wishes should have been wise enough since the family had been warned that the paw ‘had a spell put on it by an old fakir a very holy man He wanted to show that fate ruled people's lives, and that those who interfered with it did so to their sorrow’ The words failed to create the image of a ghost or a 'monster' which was visible and horrible enough to make a guy scream Yet, undeniably, the words proved their power in gradually sowing an air of mystery and a seed of psychological fear in the readers' mind The time when Mrs White rushed to answer the door to her dead son while the readers stayed still with her trembling husband upstairs proves Jacob's excellent skill of telling a tale of mystery Step by step, when curiosity fades into horror, the readers all know that 'This family is going to be doomed' but the family itself did not ever imagine that they would drag themselves from misery to nothing but misery right after they prayed the first wish First wish - two hundred pounds First wish - money It is understandable, though The need for money is itself not good or bad But what counts here is that this family was hunting for a chance to change their fate not by their own ability but by a 'magic' tool Tampering with fate seems to be not as easy as a-b-c but I am quite sure that nine out of 222 ten people will do, just the same thing' (I am among those nine guys, I guess) The point is we all have deepest crave and desire inside that need satisfying Once we cannot the job ourselves and the magical chopstick is within our reach, it is quite hard, to say the least, to resist being tempted Therefore, putting myself in the Whites' shoes, I am not going to blame this poor family on their very first wish But life is not that simple Life teaches man And it is so strict a teacher The family had to pay for the granted wish Money warmed their pocket Their son was cold under the ground Again, they could not control themselves Magic got the better of them and they conducted such an unimaginable thing-awakening the dead Again, they put themselves in a highly alerted situation- manipulating the hand of fate and defying laws of nature They were defeated by their own inner sins The reader expects them to get rid of the monkey's paw right after the son's death but they did not They were so powerless, so feeble and temptation yielded them and fate laughed cruelly and victoriously at their trying to God's business The couple was lying in bed, waiting for their second wish to come true, waiting for their son to return from hell At the same time, they were unconsciously waiting for another tragedy, which might be even more ghastly They were caught just in time The last wish-the wisest wish they ever made - ended series of tragedies and horror Nature has rules and laws It always has Fate can be changed, yet, not by magic We human, sometimes, are blind by things that can arouse our inner sins and fold our sensible mind and thus, jump from one mistake to another-bigger one The story ends The cold horrifying air remains The moral lesson, so impressively, remains too And I was trembling Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc - Class: 99A Sources: http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-3080.html http://english-zone.com/reading/index.html http://gaslight.mtroyal.ab.ca/gaslight http://www.castleofspirits.com/monkeyspaw1.html http://www.castleofspirits.com/monkeyspaw2.html http://www.violetbooks.com/ 223 BIBLIOGRAPHY Abrams, M H et al, ed., The Norton Anthology of English Literature (New York: W.W Orton & Company INC., 1962) Alexander, M., A History of English Literature (New York: Palgrave, 2000) Carter, R and John McRae, The Routledge History of Literature in English, 2nd ed.(Routledge, 2001) Gower, R., Past Into Present, An Anthology of British and American Literature, (Longman group UK Ltd., 1998) Judine, M., Modern English Writers (New York: The MacMillan Company, 1961) Knickerbocker, K L and H Willard Reninger, Interpreting Literature (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1965) Le, Van Diem, British Poetry and Fiction Introduction Reading, unpublished Marcus, S A World of Fiction, Twenty Timeless Short Stories (Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1995) Muller, G H and John A Williams, The McGraw-Hill Introduction to Literature (McGrawhill, 1995) Nguyen, Chi Trung, English Literature, Nxb Giao duc, 1998 Sanders, A , The Short Oxford History of English Literature, rvsd ed (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996) Stanford, J A., Responding to Literature( Mayfield Publishing Company, 1996) Thornley, G C and G Roberts, An Outline of English Literature (Longman Group Ltd, 1984) 224 ... Thủy Tiên, Kim Thảnh, Xuân Thùy, Anh Thư, Thiên Trang, Minh Trí Class 98C 79 Sắc hồng tình Tình anh cánh hoa hồng, Đỏ tươi tháng sáu sắc hồng vương mang Tình anh say tựa cung đàn, Du dương âm... trung tâm, tường bao bọc vũ trụ Translated by Bảo Giang, Hoàng Thy, Lệ Hằng, Mỹ Dung, Kim Hữu, Kim Phương, Quang Nhanh Class 98D Sources: http://the-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/works.html http://shakespeare.about.com/library/weekly/aa092701a.htm#time... tôi? Nào có cần mà đến? Ngươi, kẻ thông thái rởm, hỗn xược đáng ghét, mà qû trách Những cậu học trò thợ học nghề biếng nhác, Hãy mà nói với đội săn bắn hoàng cung Đức vua chuẩn bị săn, Hãy gọi bác