Edit, Then Edit, And Then Edit Again!!!!

The Original

Chudleigh begins the poem with a tone of frustration over how women are shown to be nothing more than housemaids but, being a women herself and having no say in the matter, she carries a voice of obedience, simply stating her thoughts on marriage. She quickly makes her thoughts on a wife’s role evident in the first line of the poem when she says, “wife and servant are the same” (Chudleigh 1). Almost instantaneously, she is acknowledging women to be lesser than their male counterparts. Through her tone we can see that it is clearly upsetting to the speaker that men have such an overwhelming power over women. The speaker says nothing to negate this statement demonstrating a tone of frustration over the matter, but still a voice of obedience. Later in the poem her dissatisfied attitude is again brought to light:  “when she the word obey has said/and man by law supreme has made” (Chudleigh 5-6). The speaker again recognizes the statement but does nothing to address it, once again representing the speaker’s obedient tone. At this point in the poem the speaker has only demonstrated her anger with the status of wives. She has remained obedient and has said nothing more that what is expected of her. As the voice of frustration and obedience continues, the tone ultimately evolves and begins to question men as well as marriage.

The Revision

Chudleigh begins the poem with a tone of frustration over how women are shown to be nothing more than housemaids but, as powerless women, she obediently states her thoughts on marriage. She quickly makes her thoughts on a wife’s role evident, when she says, “wife and servant are the same” (Chudleigh 1). Instantaneously, she acknowledges women to be lesser than their male counterparts. Through her tone we can see the speaker’s frustration over the command men have over women. The speaker fails to negate the statement, which demonstrates frustration and helplessness over the matter. Later in the poem her dissatisfied attitude again comes to light:  “when she the word obey has said/and man by law supreme has made” (Chudleigh 5-6). The speaker again recognizes the statement but does not address her anger over a women’s role, which further displays the sparker’s frustration. By now the speaker has only demonstrated her anger with the status of wives. She has remained silent and has said no more than what is expected. As the voice of frustration continues, the tone slowly evolves and begins to question men and further marriage.

Acting is not Always Easy

After reading Act 1 Scene 5 in the book and developing my own thoughts and ideas of how Hamlet would react to seeing his dead father as a ghost, it was time to watch some clips of this scene in recent movies. After watching Kenneth Branagh’s discussion of this scene and watching the clip from the movie itself, I found several things to be odd in the way the actor portrayed Hamlet.

I imaged Hamlet to be scared and overcome with emotions when first seeing his late father. I had expected a great deal of emotions to overcome Hamlet. I thought that he would begin to cry and be overwhelmed with emotions after being told the truth of his father death. But, the movie does not display this well, at all. I feel that in the movie, the actor that plays Hamlet does not properly depict the character in the way, I think, Shakespeare intended.  The actor does not really have much screen time to properly show all of the emotions, I believe, the character would have. I feel that the only time the actor truly shows Hamlet’s emotions is when he says, “My uncle!” (1.5.48) in response to finding who is responsible for the king’s death. Hamlet and the scene as an entirety seemed almost fake to me.

Branagh’s discussion and opinion on the scene provides yet another perspective. I agree with many of his views and find them to be incredibly helpful in forming my own opinions on how Hamlet was portrayed. One point Branagh makes that I did not take into consideration was how difficult it would be to portray Hamlet and all the emotions that would overcome him, without the actor have gone though a similar experience. With that in mind, the character’s actions still did not convince me of Hamlet’s shock and fear, but do cause me to sympathize with the actor and acknowledge that this is a difficult role to play. Later in the discussion, Branagh does agree with me, saying that the actor does portray Hamlet well when finding that his uncle is responsible for his father’s death. Overall, Branagh does provide many helpful points and opinions on this scene. Had his thoughts been incorporated into the movie they may have possibly helped in portraying Shakespeare’s intentions more clearly.

Branagh's discussion
Movie Clip

The First Glance at Hamlet

Hamlet is yet another play written by the renown, William Shakespeare.  The play begins with the sighting of a ghostly figure resembling the recently deceased king. This story continues by introducing the people who will later become the main characters of the play. By the end of Act 1 Scene 2, Shakespeare has introduced Claudius, the new king, Gertrude, the queen, and of course, the prince of Denmark, Hamlet himself.
As I just stated, Hamlet’s father, also known as King Hamlet has recently passed away.  His now widowed mother, Gertrude, has remarried less than a month after her husband’s death. Not only has she been quick to betray her late husband by remarrying, but she also continues to insult his legacy by being pledged to the king’s own brother, Claudius.

My first impression of Hamlet was that of a man lost and in pain. Hamlet seems to be furious with the world and more importantly his family. As Hamlet morns his father’s death, his mother continues to celebrate her marriage to Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle. His mother questions him for wearing such dark clothing, or as Shakespeare says a “knighted color” (1.2.70).  Hamlet responds by saying that it is customary to wear “suits of solemn black” (1.2.81) when in mourning. Saying that she too should be continuing to mourn the death of her husband. Shakespeare emphasizes this dark clothing to show Hamlet’s depression and sadness over his father’s death while his mother celebrates her marriage by wearing “inky cloth” (1.2.80). Gertrude has betrayed both the late king and Hamlet.  Hamlet is clearly suffering from his mother’s marriages and feels abandoned but he does not display this to his mother or the king. Once Hamlet is alone and his inner thoughts are revealed, we can finally see his true reaction to this unusual circumstance. Hamlet is in shock that his mother can so easily disregard his father’s death and their marriage. He wishes that she had never remarried, let alone married another member of their family. Although Hamlet is going through such great pain and suffering he does not express this frustration with his mother. He says that he must “hold [his] tongue” (1.2.164) to avoid any further heartache which may be revealed as the play progresses.

"To the Ladies" Tone Analysis Essay

The Change and Evolution of the Author’s Tone in “To the Ladies”
Lady Mary Chudleigh, the author of the poem “To the Ladies”, is able to use tones including sarcasm, obedience, and pride to create a more charismatic poem while simultaneously displaying the stages the speaker takes to ultimately question marriage. While the poem introduces women as submissive, essentially only existing to serve men, the speaker later provides a tone of experience from what could possibly be her own marriage. Her knowledge allows her to administer advise to women on their own marriages. As the poem progresses the speaker’s tone evolves, ultimately mocking men of their so-called power. By the end of the poem the speaker’s voice encourages women to take control and be confidant in who they are by avoiding marriage. Chudleigh uses tones such as frustration, obedience, sarcasm and confidence, to empower wives to question the necessity of marriage and convince women to grasp their own independence.  
Chudleigh begins the poem with a tone of frustration over how women are shown to be nothing more than a housemaid but, being a women herself and having no say in the matter, she carries a voice of obedience, simply stating her thoughts on marriage. She quickly makes her thoughts on a wife’s role evident, when in the first line of the poem she says, “wife and servant are the same” (Chudleigh 1). Almost instantaneously, she is acknowledging women to be lesser than their male counterparts. Through her tone we can see that it is clearly upsetting to the speaker that men have such an overwhelming power over women. The speaker says nothing to negate this statement demonstrating a tone of frustration over the matter, but still a voice of obedience. Later in the poem her dissatisfied attitude is again brought to light when it says “when she the word obey has said/and man by law supreme has made” (Chudleigh 5-6). The speaker again recognizes the statement but does nothing to address it, once again representing the speaker’s obedient tone. At this point in the poem the speaker has only demonstrated her anger with the status of wives. She has remained obedient and has said nothing more that what is expected of her. As the voice of frustration and obedience continues, the tone ultimately evolves and begins to question men as well as marriage.  
As the poem continues, a tone of sarcasm, a voice somewhat insulting men, begins to unfold.  This new attitude towards men and marriage is first exhibited when the speaker says, “him still must serve, him still obey/and nothing act, and nothing say/but what her haughty lord sees fit” (Chudleigh 17-19). The use of the word “haughty” is an underlying remark towards men, ridiculing them and their so-called power. Through her tone the speaker is able to discreetly belittle a man’s superiority to women. She is able to insult overly controlling husbands, tarnish a man’s pride and encourage women to question the authority their husbands have over them.  Once more the speaker’s sarcastic voice is shown when she says,” who with the pow’r, has all the wit” (Chudleigh 20). Chudleigh again questions a husband’s authority, essentially saying that a husband would never posses such satire if he did not have all the control. The speaker’s scornful tone towards men and their power, allows women to question the power their husbands have over them. Through her sarcastic voice the speaker possess the ability to empower women to continue questioning their husbands’ authority and ultimately raises questions on their marriage as an entirety.
 Ultimately, Chudleigh is able to use the speaker’s confident and empowering voice to advise women to abstain from marriage and the control of men. The speaker now begins to clearly demonstrate her prior experience through the confidence we can see in her voice. In the poem she blatantly says, “ and all the fawning flatt’rers hate” (Chudleigh 22). The speaker is so confident in herself and her outlook on marriage that she feels comfortable encouraging women to avoid possible suitors. The confidence in her voice clearly comes to play when she says, “value your selves, and men despise” (Chudleigh 23). Once more the speaker is talking directly to women, voicing her opinion and showing women that they are entitled to their independence. The speaker uses her confident tone to force women to question the necessity of marriage and ultimately says, “you must be proud, if you’ll be wise” (Chudleigh 24). The tone of experience and confidence is clearly depicted in this line. The speaker uses her confident voice to empower women to question marriage and find their own independence.
In the poem “To the Ladies” Chudleigh uses tones of frustration, submission, sarcasm and confidence to voice her opinions on the independence of women as well as marriage. Her approach towards her audience and the changes in her tone, walk women through the stages of taking hold of their independence. Chudleigh is able to use the speaker’s voice to instill a hope of freedom in a woman’s life. Chudleigh teaches us to question the things we might not agree with in life, either marriage or anything else we may encounter. Ultimately, the author’s tone in the poem, “To the Ladies” empowers us to be proud, confident and independent people.