Madison's Commonplace Blog

 Something I have realized lately is that grief makes for really good poetry. Having someone to love is good, and we may want to occasionally express our feelings poetically, but it is when that love is taken away that we suddenly find ourselves needing an outlet for this love that does not know where to go. Perhaps this is why Hamlet has so many soliloquies throughout the play; his anguish over losing his father consumes him, and he has a real need to express it. One line from Hamlet that I found particularly poetic was, "But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue" ( Hamlet , 1.2.164). Hamlet serves as yet another demonstration of impossible love in Shakespeare's works. Although he is filled with love for his father, Hamlet is unable to do anything with this love,  because his father is dead, and so his heart breaks, like a dam that is destroyed by an overflow of water. This expression of having to hold his tongue stings as a stunning reminder of grief to those who h...

So many of Shakespeare's wonderful expressions center around love, and I think that's because love is something that every poet, writer, and regular human being is trying to understand. One such phrase that I came across was when Viola was describing her love for Orsino, though under the guise that she was describing a friend's love. Says Viola, "She sat like Patience on a monument/smiling at grief/Was not this love indeed?" (Twelfth Night, 2.4.127). Some might argue that no, this isn't love. Smiling at grief? Being happy despite experiencing unrequited love? That's not real love. But I stand by Shakespeare on this and say that yes, this is in fact real love. Viola's words describe the fact that yes, she is grieving at the fact that her love is unreturned, but  she is happy that she even gets the chance to love. Perhaps Shakespeare is trying to teach us that real love does not require anything in return. Real love gives everything it's got, and if ...

 As Orsino is conversing with Viola, some music begins playing, and Orsino asks Viola, "How dost thou like this tune?" to which she responds, "It gives a very echo to the seat/where love is throned" (Twelfth Night, 2.4.22-24). After using the Folger notes to help me understand what Viola's response meant, I fell in love with this exchange between Viola and Orsino. Here, Viola is saying that the music is like an echo of a lover's heart - as if someone had taken a lover's emotions and turned them into sound. I think this is an excellent way to describe music, and the reason humans are so passionate about music. Expressing ourselves is not always easy; how does one find the words to describe the pain of a heartbreak or the wonder of feeling on top of the world or the emptiness that comes from losing a loved one? This isn't always easy to put into words. But through music we are able to put these complicated emotions into a new form which enables us to s...

As Viola is describing Orsino's love to Olivia, she says something that I found very profound: "Make me a willow cabin at your gate" (Twelfth Night, 1.5.271). Viola goes on, describing how Orsino will do anything for Olivia, but the part that captivated me most about her speech was this first line. I often hear the phrase "guarded heart," and I think that to some extent, everybody has a guarded heart. We do not allow people to see everything that is in our hearts, especially upon first meeting others. It takes time for us to open up and allow people to see who we really are, what we treasure, what makes us tick, what makes us human; what is in our hearts. And here, Viola is telling Olivia that Orsino would like Olivia to make him a willow cabin at her gate. Of course, there are many possible interpretations of this phrase, but I like to think about it as the gate to one's heart, because I think that's an excellent way to describe love. Love is allowing s...