Reflection

There are many common themes in the works that we have studied this semester. One theme is love; this theme is shown in Madame Butterfly, the Marriage of Figaro, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Vanessa. We see the difference between a 'culture of shame' (Madame Butterfly) and a 'culture of guilt' (The Iliad). The Greeks and the Romans would rather live one glorious day then a life of mediocre work, and this is seen in The Iliad and the Oresteia. Dramatic irony played a big role in many of the works we studied. It was in Vanessa, when she was confessing her love to the wrong man. It was in Madame Butterfly, when the audience was able to Pinkerton for a fool who was only using Butterfly and Butterfly, who was in love with him, couldn't see his intentions and waited for him.
I prefer the blog postings when compared to daily quizzes. The postings help me better because I have to read the whole work and then answer questions and/or summarize that work. It's also helpful when we have to compare two works, it gives different views on the works.
I prefer the blog postings to formal essays. The blog postings act as informal essays, being on the internet gives students access to many different sources of information. This allows students to get many different views and versions of a piece of work, and be able to compare the difference.
I like that the blog is portable. I like being able to show my friends and family all that I have done for my humanities class. It is also posted on my personal webpage in case anyone wanted to look or follow my blogs. It will be a good tool for the future, I could use it as a reference for another class or show an employer of some of my work done during college.

Aristotle's Theory of Tragedy in the Poetics

Tragedy- an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of certain magnitude that includes arousing pity and fear. There are six parts to a tragedy: Plot, Characters, Diction, Thought, Spectacle, and Melody.
Simple Plot- have only a change in fortune (catastrophe).
Complex Plot-(Preferred by Aristotle) have reversal of intention (peripeteia) and recognition (anagnorisis) with the catastrophe.
Hamartia- tragic mistake
Katharsis- purging. Aristotle uses the term in a medical way, referring to purging of the emotions pity and fear.
Deus ex machine- an unsolvable problem is suddenly solved by an unexpected intervention.

Sir Francis Bacon, "Of Fortune"/St. Augustine of Hippo, "On Fate"

Fate's Warning- Iron Maiden
why is it some of us are destined to stay alive
and some of us are here just so that we'll die
how come the bullet hits the other guy
do we have to try and reason why

be it the devil or be it him
you can count on just one thing
when the time is up you'll know
not just one power runs the show

are we the lucky ones saved for another day
or they the lucky ones who are taken away
is it a hand on your shoulder from the lord above
or the devil himself come to give you a shove

a volcano erupts and sweeps a town away
a hurricane devastates the cities in its way
the grief and misery for the ones that are left behind
the worst is yet to come a hell to face mankind
Lyrics provided by www.sing365.com


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jr_2Kl6KF-4

St. Augustine would agree with the song because the song talks about fate being controlled by God, and sometimes by the devil. If it is the will of God for you to live or to die, then that is your fate already set in stone by a higher power.

The Iliad, books 22, 23, 24

After the death of Patroclus, Achilles has lost his humanity. He no longer spares and sells captured Trojans, he kills them without regret. He kills without compassion and is filled with hate, he goes in to a 'killing frenzy'. ". . .Like a spirit from hell bent on slaughter. He struck over and over, in a widening spiral. Hideous groans rose from the wounded, and the river turned crimson with blood." (page 404, the Iliad, translated by Stanley Lombardo). Achilles becomes crazy with the thought of killing Trojans, it becomes an obsession for him. "All of you Trojans will die like that. . .No, you'll all die, die ugly deaths, until you have paid for the Greeks' loss, for Patroclus dead, killed by the ships while I was away." (page 407). Zeus sends Achilles mother, Thetis, to reason with her son. She tells him to give the body of Hector back to Priam for ransom and to not be so grieved stricken. Iris goes to Priam and she to give ransom for his son, and to appeal to Achilles noble father and beautiful mother to soften his heart. Achilles knows it is the will of Zeus to give back the body of Hector because Priam would not have been able to make it into the Greek camp with the help of an immortal. Achilles' humanity is restored when he decides to take the ransom and prepare Hector's body for Priam.

The Iliad, books 1, 9, 16 and 17

The Iliad begins in medias res, which means in the middle. Taking place during the Trojan War, it tells of the events during the weeks of an arguement between Agamemnon and Achilles. Achilles was born to the nymph Thetis and Peleus, the king of the Myrmidons. Thetis is the daughter of the sea-god Nereus. Briseis, mistress of Achilles, a woman captured Lyrnessos, a small town in the territory of Troy, and awarded to Achilles as a prize; Agamemnon takes Briseis from Achilles after Agamemnon's mistress is giving back to her father in Book 1 and Achilles withdraws from battle as a result. Kleos is the concept of glory earned in heroic battle. Time is the concept denoting the respectability an honourable man accrues with accomplishment, per his station in life. Kleos apthiton is an undying fame, usually earned after death. A paradox is a logical statement or group of statements that lead to a contradiction or a situation which (if true) defies logic or reason, similar to circular reasoning. To achieve immortal glory a warrior had to kill or die, heroically, often doing both. The paradox is that undying fame could only be gained by dying - or inflicting death on others. This paradox raises issues that were vividly illustrated by the case of Achilles. Achilles and Patroclus are portrayed as more than friends. Patroclus, wearing Achilles' armor, is killed in battle by Hector, who thought it was Achilles. Hector takes Achilles' armor that Patroclus is wearing; this leaves Achilles armor less.
.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ux3-a9RE1Q
The Cover of the Rolling Stone- Dr. Hook

Brief history of the Trojan War

The war originated from a quarrel between the goddesses Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite, after Eris, the goddess of discord, gave them a golden apple, sometimes known as the Apple of Discord, marked for the fairest. Zeus sent the goddesses to Paris, who judged that Aphrodite was the fairest (who promised him the most beautiful woman), should receive the apple. In exchange, Aphrodite made Helen, the most beautiful of all women and wife of Menelaus, fall in love with Paris, who took her to Troy. Gods and goddesses are self-centered, selfish and corrupt. They are self-centered because each goddess believes she deserves the golden apple. They are selfish because they will do anything to be chosen and they're corrupt because they try to bribe Paris. If these were my gods and goddesses, I would be rather disappointed. They should be the ones to set the moral and ethical code and conduct. I think Gerard Butler would have played a good Achilles because is buff, can kick butt, and looks like he is from the Mediterranean.
Helen of Troy
  






























Gerard Butler

Story of Joseph King James Verison/Koran

 Israel's favoritism toward Joseph caused his half brothers to hate him, and when Joseph was seventeen years old he had two dreams that made his brothers plot his demise. In the first dream, Joseph and his brothers gathered bundles of grain. Then, all of the grain bundles that had been prepared by the brothers gathered around Joseph's bundle and bowed down to it. In the second dream, the sun (father), the moon (mother) and eleven stars (brothers) bowed down to Joseph himself. When he told these two dreams to his brothers, they despised him for the implications that the family would be bowing down to Joseph. They became jealous that their father would even ponder over Joseph's words concerning these dreams. While serving in Potiphar's household Yahweh was with Joseph so that he prospered in everything he did. Joseph found favor in the sight of Potiphar and so he became his personal servant. Then Joseph was promoted to oversee Potiphar's entire household as a superintendent. After some time, Potiphar's wife began to desire Joseph and sought to have an affair with him. Despite her persistence, he refused to have sex with her for fear of sinning against God. After some days of begging for him, she grabbed him by his cloak, but he escaped from her leaving his garment behind. Angered by his running away from her, she took his garment and made a false claim against him by charging that he tried have sex with her. This resulted in Joseph being thrown into prison. Joseph is an epic hero because he over comes all kinds of trials and, through Yahweh, is able to predict the future through the Pharoh's dreams. Joseph said to store grain for seven years while crops were plentiful and this would let the people of Egypt to survive for the seven years of famine to follow. All the people of Egypt and all the people of the surrounding areas are affected by Joseph's decision. People from the surrounding areas are coming to Egypt to buy grain because they're in famine too. Jacob sends his sons to Egypt to buy grain and they are unaware of who they are talking to you until Joseph tells them. They are shocked to see their brother doing so well in Egypt and that he is to see over all the land of Egypt.

The King James Verison of the Story of Joseph is 340 or so versus and approximately 8000 words. The Koran verison is 100 versus and has less than 1200 words. The Koran does not leave anything important out but it doesn't use any formal names except for Joseph and Jacob.

Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics books VIII & IX

There are three kinds of friendship. The first is friendship based on utility, where both people derive some benefit from each other. The second is friendship based on pleasure, where both people are drawn to the other’s wit, good looks, or other pleasant qualities. The third is friendship based on goodness, where both people admire the other’s goodness and help one another strive for goodness. The first two kinds of friendship are accidental because these friends are motivated by their own utility and pleasure, not by anything essential to the nature of the friend. Both of these friendships are short-lived because one’s needs and pleasures are apt to change over time. Goodness is an enduring quality, so friendships based on goodness tend to be long lasting. This friendship encompasses the other two, as good friends are useful to one another and please one another. The song Crash and Burn by Savage Garden can be compared to the first type of friendship where both people derive some benefit from each other. It talks about two people who are lonely and use each other for company. "Let me be the one you call/If you jump I'll break your fall/Lift you up and fly away with you into the night/If you need to fall apart/I can mend a broken heart/If you need to crash then crash and burn/You're not alone" Aristotle says "Between friends there is no need for justice, but people who are just still need the quality of friendship; and indeed friendliness is considered to be justice in the fullest sense. It is not only a necessary thing but a splendid one."

"Crash And Burn"

When you feel all alone
And the world has turned its back on you
Give me a moment please to tame your wild wild heart
I know you feel like the walls are closing in on you
It's hard to find relief and people can be so cold
When darkness is upon your door and you feel like you can't take anymore

Let me be the one you call
If you jump I'll break your fall
Lift you up and fly away with you into the night
If you need to fall apart
I can mend a broken heart
If you need to crash then crash and burn
You're not alone

When you feel all alone
And a loyal friend is hard to find
You're caught in a one way street
With the monsters in your head
When hopes and dreams are far away and
You feel like you can't face the day

Let me be the one you call
If you jump I'll break your fall
Lift you up and fly away with you into the night
If you need to fall apart
I can mend a broken heart
If you need to crash then crash and burn
You're not alone

'Cause there has always been heartache and pain
And when it's over you'll breathe again
You'll breath again

When you feel all alone
And the world has turned its back on you
Give me a moment please
To tame your wild wild heart

Let me be the one you call
If you jump I'll break your fall
Lift you up and fly away with you into the night
If you need to fall apart
I can mend a broken heart
If you need to crash then crash and burn
You're not alone

www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjGSXGCi4Fc

Socrates Apology by Plato

The Apology is Plato's version of the speech given by Socrates as he unsuccessfully defended himself against the charges of "corrupting the young, and by not believing in the gods in whom the city believes". He did believe in the gods but questioned their abilities. “I am that gadfly which God has attached to the state, and all day long …arousing and persuading and reproaching…You will not easily find another like me.” A gadfly is a person who upsets the status quo by posing upsetting or novel questions, or just being an irritant. The term has been used to describe many politicians and social commentators. It describes Socrates'' relationship of uncomfortable goad to the Athenian political scene, which he compared to a slow and dimwitted horse. During his defense when on trial for his life, Socrates, according to Plato's writings, pointed out that dissent, like the gadfly, was easy to swat, but the cost to society of silencing individuals who were irritating could be very high. "If you kill a man like me, you will injure yourselves more than you will injure me."  Socrates interpreted his life's mission as proof that true wisdom belongs to the gods and that human wisdom and achievements have little or no value. Socrates states clearly that a lawful superior, whether human or divine, should be obeyed. If there is a clash between the two, however, divine authority should take precedence. "Gentlemen, I am your grateful and devoted servant, but I owe a greater obedience to God than to you; and as long as I draw breath and have my faculties I shall never stop practicing philosophy". Since Socrates has interpreted the Delphic Oracle as singling him out to spur his fellow Athenians to a greater awareness of moral goodness and truth, he will not stop questioning and arguing should the people forbid him to do so. He is not afraid of death, because he is more concerned about whether he is acting rightly or wrongly. Socrates argues that those who fear death are showing their ignorance: death may be a great blessing, but many people fear it as an evil when they cannot possibly know it to be such. He will not break down in tears, nor will he produce his three sons in the hope of swaying the judges. He does not fear death; nor will he act in a way contrary to his religious duty.

The Canterbury Tales, The Pardoner's Prologue and Tale/Chaucer's Retraction

Pardoner: 1) one who pardons. 2) (during the middle ages) an ecclesiastical official authorized to sell indulgences.
Indulgence: the act or practice of indulging; gratification of desire.
Relic: a surviving memorial of something past.


The Pardoner's Tale is an exemplum, a moral anecdote, brief or extended, real or fictitious, used to illustrate a point. The tale is about three men, who after a night of drinking, decide to kill Death for taking their friend and all the good people away. An old man tells them that he has asked Death to take him but has failed. He then says they can find Death at the foot of an oak tree. When the men arrive at the tree, they find a large number of gold coins and forget about their quest to kill Death. They decide that they would sleep at the oak tree over night, so they can take the coins in the morning. The three men draw straws to see who among them should fetch wine and food while the other two wait under the tree. The youngest of the three men drew the shortest straw. The older two plot to stab the other one when he returns, while the one who leaves for the town plots to lace the wine with rat poison. When he returns with the food and drink, the other two kill him and drink the poisoned wine, dying painful deaths. All three have found death under the oak tree.
Radix malorum est cupiditas means covetousness is the root of evil. In the prologue, the Pardoner acknowledges that he is full of sin "My mind is fixed on what I stand to win and not at all upon correcting sin. I do not care, when they are in the grave, if souls go berry-picking that I could save. . .For by this text I can denounce, indeed, the very vice I practice, which is greed." He tells the host and the other people that he is greedy, doesn't care about the people he pardons, and sells fake relics. At the end of his tale, the Pardoner tells the host and the people to come forward with their pennies and he will pardon them. The Pardoner mentioned "a draughte of corny strong ale", which could mean he is drunk. If drunk, it explains why he tells about his faulty sin and in the end asks everyone to come be pardon; everyone already knows that the pardons would be lies and he would keep the money out of greed.
Jeweled Cross and Pigs bones, relics of the Pardoner.

Chaucer's Retraction is the final section of The Canterbury Tales. It is written as an apology, where Geoffrey Chaucer asks for forgiveness for the vulgar parts of this and other works, and seeks absolution for his sins. It is not clear whether these are sincere declarations of remorse on Chaucer's part, a continuation of the theme of penitence from the Parson's Tale, or simply a way to advertise the rest of his works. It is also unclear if the retraction was an integral part of the Canterbury Tales or if it was the equivalent of a death bed confession which became attached to this, his most popular work.

The Merchants Tale

Fabliaux is a short metrical tale, usually ribald and humorous, popular in medieval France. The Merchants Tale and Lyin' Eyes are the same. Both talk about a young woman with an older man. Both talk about a young woman who ends up having an affair with a young man. In the Merchants Tale, May tells her husband, January, that she did to get his eye sight back. This story is a didactic. It instructs older men to be aware of young brides, for they may go astray.

Imperatrix/Introduction to Geoffrey Chaucer

According to Aelfric, the three medieval estates are the laboratores (those who labor for our living), the oratores (those who plead for our peace with God), and the bellatores (those who battle to protect our towns and defend our land against an invading army).
In the Frame tale, Chaucer doesn't describe the stories but describes the people who tells their tales. The frame tale is an estates satire because it's a genre that satirizes the corruption that happens within the three medieval social estates (clergy, nobility, and peasantry). However, the general prologue provides an ideal member of each estate as a model with which the others can be compared and contrasted, giving examples of their faults and virtues.

Bisclavret/Metamorphoses

Pictures from top to bottom: Werewolf, Racer fans, The Ramones, and Billy Idol
I find it odd that a woman wrote about a treacherous woman in medieval times. Usually a woman was to look pretty and have some knowledge of the arts, other didn't write about the betrayal of their own gender. I do like Bisclavret, it is a different kind of fairytale of the time and was written by a woman.

Hubris is excessive pride. We, as Americans, take create pride in many things. I think people are more accepting of hubris today because more people are showing hubris. Hubris could be shown for basketball teams, such as the Racers. The city of Murray, Murray State University, and the surrounding areas are showing a great amount of hubris for the basketball team hy wearing t-shirts, face painting, putting up banners and flags, and copying a mainstream pop song for the Murray State Anthem. Another example of hubris is Punk and punk music. Punks take a lot of pride in their music, style, lifestyle, attitude, and every day living.

A Midsummer Night's Dream/ Act 4 and 5

Different variations of Puck (Robin Goodfellow)

The biggest gender role being overturned is by Hermia. She refuses to marry the man her father has chosen for her and plans to run away with her lover, Lysander. Helena also overturned her gender role; when she took off after Demetrius and pleaded for him to love her. The Fairy Queen, Titania, wouldn’t give up the indian boy when asked by the Fairy King, Oberon. In the end, Hippolyta, complains of the play and says to her new husband that his imagination must be bad. Puck explains the title on page 171-172, Act 5, scene 1. “. . .That you have but slumbered here Whilest these vision did appear. And this weak and idle-theme, No more yielding but a dream, Gentles, do not reprehend.”

Medelssohn's wedding March for the play

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDr8Q7lDW8o

A Midsummer Night's Dream/Act 1-3

The Globe Theatre

 The Rude Mechanicals

Peter Quince, the carpenter-The Prolong
Snug, the joiner-Lion
Nick Bottom, the weaver- Pyramus
Tom Snut, the tinker- Wall
Robin Starveling, the tailor- Moonshine

Theseus, the Duke of Athens, is going to marry Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, in four days. As the two discuss arrangements, Egeus walks in his daughter, Hermia, and her two suitors, Lysander and Demetrius. Egeus complains to the Duke that his daughter won't marry the man he has chosen for, Demetrius. Hermia is in love with Lysander, and he is in love with her. The Duke tell Hermia she must listen to her father, become a nun, or be out to death; he has given her four days to decide. Theseus and Hippolyta leave, and Egeus and Demetrius are pulled aside to be spoken to with the Duke. Hermia and Lysander make a plan to meet at midnight in the forest to run away together to his aunt's, where the can be married. Helena walks in and Hermia tells her about the plan she made with Lysander. Helena, who is in love with Demetrius, runs off to tell him the plan and hopes to regain his love. Meanwhile, the rude mechanicals are putting together a plan in hopes of being to chosen to perform at the wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta. They decide to meet in the forest that night for practice in secrecy.

Later that night, Oberon, the King of Fairies, is mad and jealous that the Queen of Fairies, Titinia, won't give up the little Indian boy to him. Oberon has Robin Goodfellow, a mischievous spirit, go fetch a flower whose nectar can act a love potion when placed in the eye of a sleeping person. Oberon wants to use the nectar on Titinia, in hopes that she will see a beast when she wakes and fells madly in love with it. At this point, Lysnader and Hermia have met in the forest and are too tired to travel for the night, the lay separate on the ground and sleep. Demetrius, followed by Helena, is going through the forest to find Hermia and Lysander. Demetrius keeps telling Helena to go away for he does not and can't not love her. Oberon sees what is going on and tell Robin to put some nectar on the gentleman with Athenian armor, for he needs to love Helena. Robin mistakes Lysander for Demetrius and puts some on him. Lysander is awoken when Helena comes towards him. Lysander is now in love with Helena, and Helena thinks he is playing to trick on her to be cruel. She runs off and Lysander chases after her. Oberon notices the mistake and tells Robin to use the nectar on the right guy. Demetrius has grown tired while wandering in the woods and lays down to sleep. Robin finds him and puts some of the nectar on him. He is awoken by Helena, who is being followed by Lysander. Now both of the men are in love with Helena and both are proclaiming their love for her. Hermia wakes to find Lysander is not there and goes off to find him. The Rude Mechanicals have met and are going over their lines. Many ideas and phrases are being thrown around so everyone walks off in a different direction.

Hermia finds the three and runs up to Lysander. He tells her he no longer loves her and tells her to go away. Helena thinks Hermia put both of the men up to this cruel trick and Hermia is confused about what is going on. Bottom, rude mechanical, walks upon the Queen of Fairies and awakens her. The Queen is now in love with Bottom. Oberon has made a mess of things and tries to fix it. He has Robin cloud the sky. Lysander and Demetrius run off to fight but with the night so dark, they grow tired and they go to sleep. Helena and Hermia also have run off and gone to sleep.


.

Introduction to William Shakespeare

 
William Shakespeare                             Elizabeth I


James I
William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England in April 1564. He married Anne Hathaway in 1582, he was 18 at the time of the marriage. Shakespeare wrote his plays in sonnet form, consisting of fourteen lines using any formal rhyme schemes in English usually having ten syllables per line. His acting company would perform in the court, for Elizabeth I and James I, at the Inns of Court (which was the residences of London's legal societies), at other towns, universities, and at great houses (when the King's Men were on tour). Under Queen Elizabeth I, Shakespeare's acting company was the Lord Chamberlain's Men. Under King James I, Shakespeare's acting company was the King's Men.

The Declaration of Independence/The Marriage of Figaro

 Thomas Jefferson is part of the Enlightenment era. In The Declaration of Independence he states "A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people." He believes that people are free beings who be able to separate from the Monarch in England. He said all men are created equal and every one has God given rights that no one can take away. A Monarch would set laws as he sees fit and everyone had to follow. . .or else. A free man should be able to choose who he wants as leader.
The Declaration of Independence and The Marriage of Figaro both revolve around a Monarch who is sneaky and conniving, and will go to the extremes of getting what they want. Jefferson and Mozart wrote about a free man who can vote for law, who can have privacy in his marriage, and has a leader who knows what is best for the people. Jefferson writes of a Monarch who still rules land over sea and uses to make extra money by taxes and quartering soldiers. Mozart writes of a selfish Count who likes to have private meetings with other ladies. Both rulers are making arrangements that suit there wants and needs.

The Communist Manifesto/Millworker/Mercedes Benz

The two groups Karl Marx is talking about are the Bourgeoisie and the Proletariats. Karl Marx believes the Bourgeoisie will win over the Proletariats. He writes "The development of Modern Industry, therefore, cuts from under its feet the very foundation on which the bourgeoisie produces and appropriates products. What the bourgeoisie, therefore, produces above all, is its own grave-diggers. Its fall and the victory of the proletariat are equally inevitable." The bourgeoise act as capitalist, making money by making the proletariats (wage labourers) work long hours for low pay. The bourgeoisie know how to make a business run and how to keep it going. The bourgeoise have power because they have the money. There might be more proletariats but they do not have the power to rise above the bourgeoisie just yet.


To let this manufacturer use my body for a tool.


This line is in reference to the Communist Manifesto because Marx and James Taylor both describes humans being used as a tool/machine by someone who is in power/wealthy/owner of a business.

Mercedes Benz by Janis Joplin is not meant to be a serious song.

Madame Butterfly

Pinkerton is a selfish man, who is basing this marriage with Butterfly (Cio-Cio-San) on pure infatuation. He is thinking in the now and of his happiness, and not of the feelings and emotions of Butterfly and for the future. Butterfly is willing to risk the loss of her ancestors' religion in the name of love, she is a true romantic. She believes in love and that it is what you need to be happy, even if the cost could be great. Sharpless is a wise man but also a foolish one. Sharpless knew of the intentions of Pinkerton and the effects it would have on Butterfly, and, yet, he didn't try very hard to keep it from happening. Goro reminds me of a nervous, flitty bird. He doesn't like to disappoint people and it almost makes him a nuisance. Butterfly's friends are supportive and happy for Butterfly to marry Pinkerton; they think it will be a happy marriage. Pinkerton's "real" wife must be confused by the situation, or, at least, finds it to be sad. The "real" wife isn't described well and I am unaware if she had been informed of the situation at hand.

Japanese women, or geisha's, are used for entertainment. They are meant to portray a fragile being, who are beautiful and knowledgeable of the arts, such as singing and dancing. They are meant to be the perfect little lady. Cio-Cio-San is a geisha, and this is the cause for Pinkerton's infatuation with her.

The Western world's view on East cultures in the 20th century is ignorant. It is willing to participate in the events but doesn't take the rituals seriously.

As Butterfly is walking up the hill in Act I, she sings 'Ancor un passo or via', which means 'one more step'. Butterfly is 'the happiest girl in Japan' at this moment, for she is about to marry an American lieutenant. The reader or audience is a witness to the drama in this scene. Butterfly is joyous and in love, believing Pinkerton truly loves her, and Pinkerton only wants to be married to her for a short while because divorce tax is low in Japan. This creates a sadness felt for Butterfly because we know that she will have her heart broken.

Must the Winter Come So Soon?

This aria for Erika really matches the situation she is in. She is pregnant, unmarried but in love, and her aunt is engaged with her lover. This piece is slow, cold, and sad. Erika is depressed because she can't have the child and she is going to lose her lover. Erika flees out in to cold to have the child aborted. The forest is neither sunset or dawn, it is time standing still for her, weeping for her. 

Do Not Utter a Word

The dramatic irony in Vanessa is beautifully done. An aunt, who refuses to look at her aging self, has covered all the mirrors in the house and is awaiting for the man who once was her lover. Upon his arrival, Vanessa finds out that her lover, Anatol, is dead and that it is his son, also called Anatol, who has arrived. Heart-broken, Vanessa stays in her chambers for the night; Erika, Vanessa's niece, and Anatol eat the meat and drink the wine that was meant for Vanessa and Anatol Sr. Erika confides in the Baroness that she was seduced by Anatol the night before and refuses his proposal in belief that he doesn't really mean it. Vanessa has become delusionary and believes Anatol is her lover! Vanessa and Anatol get engaged and throw a party. Erika finds out she is pregnant and faints at the party; when recovered, she flees in to cold to have the baby aborted. When Erika returns, Vanessa and Anatol are leaving for Paris. Erika covers all the mirrors and locks up the house, knowing that it is her turn to wit for her lover to return.