Sonnet Sunday: Shakespeare

Today I have chosen one of my favorite Shakespearean sonnets that I think doesn't get enough attention.

SONNET 142
Love is my sin and thy dear virtue hate,
Hate of my sin, grounded on sinful loving:
O, but with mine compare thou thine own state,
And thou shalt find it merits not reproving;
Or, if it do, not from those lips of thine,
That have profaned their scarlet ornaments
And seal'd false bonds of love as oft as mine,
Robb'd others' beds' revenues of their rents.
Be it lawful I love thee, as thou lovest those
Whom thine eyes woo as mine importune thee:
Root pity in thy heart, that when it grows
Thy pity may deserve to pitied be.
If thou dost seek to have what thou dost hide,
By self-example mayst thou be denied.

Anyone care to share their favorite Shakespearean sonnet?

RIP J.D. Salinger

Author of the famous and infamous Catcher in the Rye died Wednesday in his home at the age of 91. Reclusive and revolutionary he will be remembered as the creater of a landmark text in American literature.

Emma Part 1

Last night PBS showed the first half of the new Emma miniseries. From what I've heard, viewers better make this one sate them for a while, the BBC is moving away from the production of "bonnet dramas" (not to be confused with "bodice rippers"). First impressions of the program:
The beginning struck me as very Dickensian. They began with the death of Emma's mother and showed the intersecting and diverging lives of little Emma, Jane, and Frank; these characters are introduced later in the original story and their background filled in. The whole style of the way the story was structured seemed very appropriate for a Dickens adaptation more than an Austen. I do think that the narrative quality works better than I expected and the fact that Knightley does the narration is better, I think, than having Emma narrate. He seems like he would be a more reliable narrator, and it moves more of the focus on his journey. However, thus far I see very little chemistry between Knightley and Emma, they seem very sibling like.
The sets are beautiful and there are many scenes showcasing the high windows and sweeping views, unfortunately many character wave rather obnoxiously out of these beautiful windows. There is quite a lot of waving in this production, some of it I doubt is appropriate given the time and given Emma's airs regarding social stature.
Some of the characterization was very well done. One of my favorite scenelets showed Mr. Elton arriving at Emma's home and giving the property a greedy once over before going down to the house. This may be nit-picky, but I do think that some opportunities to mine rich and witty dialogue from the text were missed.
I am looking forward to seeing how this production develops in the next part.

Sonnet Sunday: Keats

I just thought that Sonnet Sunday sounded very nice; Saturdays aren't as disposed to sonnetry and I do so love a little alliteration. This Sunday I'm starting out with Keats in honor of the copy of Bright Star I have on pre-order that should be here next week. I'll be doing a review of it in the paper of the institution of higher education I am currently taking some classes at (purposely ambiguous), that I will also print here.

Bright star, would I were steadfast as thou art--
Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night
And watching, with eternal lids apart,
Like nature's patient, sleepless Eremite,
The moving waters at their priestlike task
Of pure ablution round earth's human shores,
Or gazing on the new soft-fallen mask
Of snow upon the mountains and the moors--
No--yet still steadfast, still unchangeable,
Pillow'd upon my fair love's ripening breast,
To feel for ever its soft fall and swell,
Awake for ever in a sweet unrest,
Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath,
And so live ever--or else swoon to death.

What can I say? I am a sucker for a good sonnet.

Review: Here on Earth by Alice Hoffman

"Maybe she'll regret coming back, but right now there is nowhere on earth that could feel more familiar." In this modern re-imagining of Emily Brönte's classic Wuthering Heights, the Cathy character, March, returns home years after marrying the right man, having his child, and resisting the temptation to return to her first love, Hollis, once. Can she resist it again?
Though based off of Brönte's novel, it diverges nicely, and becomes its own story, a story of the destructive quality love has and how much choice we have in the direction our lives take. Written with immediacy, Hoffman doesn't limit herself to the characters and events of the original novel, she introduces her readers to a town full of distinctive and realistic characters. Her landscape is incredibly detailed and stories about all these characters are woven through making the audience feel like they grew up in this town, they are up on all the gossip. She also plays with setting, she uses the marshes and back woods of the town as characters themselves, much the way Brönte painted her scene with the wild moors of England. The mystical qualities of the original have also been incorporated without being copied. Small town superstition comes together with the style known as magical realism (seen in works by Gabriel García Márquez, Laura Esquivel, etc.) where things happen that aren't possible, but yet feel possible. Hoffman often plays on the sense of scent; characters are able to smell feelings like rage and desire.
Hoffman also plays with language. Certain descriptions deteriorate throughout the book, she allows vulgarity and profane colloquialism to invade situations, but that only reinforces the actions of the characters. Also, by putting the story in a modern setting I think it personalizes the main characters. Sometimes when reading a text written in an era that was over long before you were born I think people have a tendency to romanticize the characters and situations. One of my pet peeves about film adaptations of Wuthering Heights is that Cathy and Heathcliff come across as too nice. Too loving and cruelly trapped by fate that is out their hands, too justified in the way they treat people. Putting it in a context that is closer to modern readers, I think, assists in creating a more even-handed view of the characters. Some might argue that they aren't the same characters from the original novel, and that's true, but this adaptation did give me a new perspective on Cathy and Heathcliff.
Even if you weren't a fan of Wuthering Heights or have never read it, you will be able to enjoy this as an independent story that is well told. If you are a fan of the original, you'll enjoy seeing the way the characters are adapted to a modern setting, but appreciate that it doesn't chain itself to Brönte's text.

This book is book #2 for my All About the Bröntes Challenge
This is "Book with a place in the title" (Earth) for What's in a Name? Challenge

What Would Emma Tweet About?

This Sunday the new adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma premieres on PBS at nine pm. Since Masterpiece's "The Complete Jane Austen" was wildly popular only a few years back, they have decided to have a special event in honor of this Austen broadcast. They are having a Twitter party. Call me old fashioned, but I want to have a real viewing party with local PBS audiences. Also, as much as I appreciate online channels of communincation, I don't understand the format of Twitter. I comprehend the point of Myspace, Facebook, and (obviously) blogs, but not Twitter. I must forgo the pleasure of joining "PBS and Masterpiece insiders, as well as Austen experts" in discussing the program as it's broadcast.
It got me thinking; Emma actually seems like a heroine that might have enjoyed the world of Twitter. Elinor Dashwood, Elizabeth Bennet, Fanny Price probably not so much. However, I think Emma would have enjoyed the idea of "social networking". How would she use it in her matchmaking schemes?
Photo courtesy of Masterpiece PBS.

The Dramatic Conclusion of... Return to Cranford: Review

This is perhaps, a few days late, but if you missed the finale and are contemplating a DVD purchase it may be of interest to you.
This Sunday past, Return to Cranford concluded. In the previous episode we were introduced to an abundance of new characters and their problems while many previous characters were shuffled off with barely a mention. Although this was certainly bothersome to those that so loved the original series, the comments of those that had never seen the first were very positive. Dare I say that some of us (or just me) became a bit jaded toward the quaint charms of Cranford when we spent more time with characters and their day to day? Possible.
In the second part, however, things do pick up. The major plot is the love story between Peggy Bell and William Buxton, separated by William's stubborn father. The two of them, though initially a bit rushed, finally get interesting in this episode. Though it is hard to believe that after so little interaction between the two (as far as we've seen) they are so very in love and willing to make such sacrifices. Still, Peggy is very sympathetic and William proves himself an extremely worthy man. There is also the ever present railroad making progress as the story does, as well as a subplot about Mrs. Jameison's sister-in-law visiting and the small social uproar it causes among the ladies for varying reasons. The only plot that carries a truly visible hole is that of Harry Gregson and Miss Galindo. Last episode we met the dastardly Septimus Ludlow who posed a threat to Harry and his inheritance. Though we do see quite a bit of Harry and some of the effects of cruelty that was common in the schools at that time, we never really hear how his dealings with the Ludlow estate are sorted out. If they were, I missed it.
The action does pick up in this episode and new characters become more familiar, it is worth the watching, though not as exemplary as the first series. Will I buy it? Depends on the coupons I get from Barnes and Noble.