Madison's Commonplace Blog

 My favorite character in Twelfth Night  is Antonio. We could go really deep into who Antonio really is or what he adds to the play, but when it comes down to it, what I really love is that Antonio is kind . His actions throughout the play are motivated purely out of love, and he performs them so selflessly. At one point, Antonio gives Sebastian his money, and Sebastian is blown away by his kindness. "My kind Antonio," he says, "I can no other answer make but thanks/And thanks, and ever thanks; and oft good turns/are shuffled off with such uncurrent pay" ( Twelfth Night, 3.3.14-18). I was recently shown a tremendous act of kindness by a friend who painted me a picture because she knows I've been struggling with some things. As I cried over this painting and the love that was put into it, I thought of this moment between Antonio and Sebastian, and I realized that I had nothing to give my friend but thanks. Such an act of kindness is truly invaluable, and as much...

 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...

It's always the stars that get me in poetry. Poets talk of the ocean and the mountains and forests with endless green, but the stars  always hit a little bit different. So of course, when Orsino told Viola, "I know thy constellation is right apt/For this affair," I was immediately drawn to this phrase. Substituting the definition for "thy constellation" found in the Folger edition of Twelfth Night, this phrase reads something like, "I know that the stars that govern your success have shaped you for this task." I love the imagery that this phrase brings, the idea that there is something greater watching over us. This reminded me of a quote from Joseph Smith that I love: "If you live up to your privileges, the angels cannot be restrained from being your associates." This world that we live in is so often filled with confusion and heartache and wondering why  things are so hard and  how  they could get better and when life will finally slow down...

 When Othello arrives safely at Cyprus, his joy at seeing Desdemona, and her joy at him in return is quite a happy scene. As they call out and run to each other, Othello cheerfully says, "If after every tempest come such calms, may the winds blow till they have wakened death" (2.1.201-02). The contrast between Othello's fear during his dangerous travel to Cyprus and the joy he feels at seeing Desdemona once again is one that makes Othello appreciate his wife more than he would have if his journey had been perfectly smooth. This idea of valuing something more when it is lost (or almost lost) is found in both Othello  and Much Ado About Nothing , and yet these plays conclude with completely opposite endings. It seems almost like they demonstrate this idea in reversed ways from one another: in Much Ado About Nothing , Cassio does not appreciate his love for Hero until he thinks she is dead, but then is joyful when he finds out she is no. In Othello , Othello knows his love f...