The Many Faces of Shahrazad

Since she is not physically described in Arabian Nights here are some artists renditions of her.

Sexism in the Wife of Bath's Prologue

Here bigynneth the book of the tales of the wyf of Bath.

In the prologue to her story, Alisoun, the wife of Bath, tells us about her fifth husband, a clerk named Jenkin, and his dastardly book of women's failures in history. Finally, she loses it, tears three pages (or "leaves" in the narrative) out and punches him in the face. Here they are:

Eve brings about the fall of Man in Genesis.

Delilah cuts off Samson's hair, robbing him of his strength (Judges).

Dejanira causes Hercules to set himself on fire (Greek mythology, I guess)

Socrates' wife Xantippe "cast piss up-on his heed." (yes, she threw pee on him)

Phasiphae lusts over a bull, and gives birth to a minotaur.

Clytemnestra's "lecherhye" causes the death of her husband.

Eriphyle causes Amphiorax to die by revealing his hiding place.

Livia and Lucilia both cause their husbands to die, one for love and the other for hate.

The wives of Latumius hang themselves (as told to Arrius).

Alisoun makes a point to her audience that she doesn't listen to such sexist bull, even saying "If women wrote more fiction, there'd be more wicked men." Later during her tale, however, she reminds us of King Midas' queen revealing the secret of his donkey ears, citing that women cannot keep a secret. For once she agrees with the stereotypes. Plenty of things about her are stereotypes, but as the good wife herself says "I hate it when people point out my vices."

Lady Mary Wroth

Lady Mary Wroth was one of the first "successful" female poets to turn the table on the idea of the lover and the beloved. She modified an existing story, I believe written by her brother, and switched the protagonist to a female character in "The Countess of Montgomery's Urania." In contrast to most Petrarchan sonnets which showed the males point of view as a lover, this tale tells the female's point of view as the lover and how they differ.
Lady Wroth's works can be found here:
http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/wroth/wrothbib.htm#urania

Gone with the Wind Blog

Finally got my blog set up! It is going to follow the studying I am doing for the character panel discussion.

Also I planned ahead and set one up for the final project as well....

Comments welcome and helpful!

Terrorist in love

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCU2PqSq1co I couldn't get the embed code so heres a link. This vid is pretty funny.

weird and funny love shorts

Kind of weird but interesting. (explicit Content)

Resignation by Nikki Giovanni

I love you
because the Earth turns round the sun
because the North wind blows north
sometimes
because the Pope is Catholic
and most Rabbis Jewish
because winters flow into spring
and the air clears after a storm
because only my love for you
despite the charms of gravity
keeps me from falling off the Earth
into another dimension
I love you
because it is the natural order of things
I love you
like the habit I picked up in college
of sleeping through lectures
or saying I'm sorry
when I get stopped for speeding
because I drink a glass of water
in the morning
and chain-smoke cigarettes
all through the day
because I take my coffee Black
and my milk with chocolate
because you keep my feet warm
through my life a mess
I love you
because I don't want it
any other way
I am helpless
in my love for you
It makes me so happy
to hear you call my name
I am amazed you can resist
locking me in an echo chamber
where your voice reverberates
through the four walls
sending me into spasmatic ecstasy
I love you
because it's been so good
for so long
that if I didn't love you
I'd have to be born again
and that is not a theological statement
I am pitiful in my love for you
The Dells tell me Love
is so simple
the thought though of you
sends indescribably delicious multitudinous
thrills throughout and through-in my body
I love you
because no two snowflakes are alike
and it is possible if you stand tippy-toe
to walk between the raindrops
I love you
because I am afraid of the dark
and can't sleep in the light
because I rub my eyes
when I wake up in the morning
and find you there
because you with all your magic powers were
determined that
I should love you
because there was nothing for you but that
I would love you
I love you
because you made me
want to love you
more than I love my privacy
my freedom my commitments
and responsibilities
I love you `cause I changed my life
to love you
because you saw me one friday
afternoon and decided that I would
love you
I love you I love you I love you

Love in Progress...?

The Encounter by Ezra Pound

All the while they were talking the new morality
Her eyes explored me.
And when I arose to go
Her fingers were like the tissue
Of a Japanese paper napkin.

What does this short little poem tell us about love? There's really no "love" to speak of here...but there's something else: potential. Whatever snobbish gathering the narrator was taking part in (and if you know Ezra Pound, it had to be just that), he is distracted by a woman whom he apparently does not know. Now, I have never touched a Japanese paper napkin so I dunno how they are different from any other paper napkin, but it seems to have to significance that he found worth pointing out. I think we have a nice example of lover/beloved about to grow here...

Tune in next post....I'll be presenting one of my favorite love poems ever...if I can remember what the title is.

Aubrey's Star Wars Blog

Here is the url to my blog about love in Star Wars.
http://loveinstarwars.blogspot.com/

Could-Have-Been Love Story

Thought it was cute!