Tireseas' toga will be the color silver. Silver shows old age. It also means sadness, which he probably experienced since he knew the dark future, yet Oedipus wouldn't listen. Silver could also be like the gray fog of confusion that Tireseas can see through and find the truth, despite his blindness.
A blue toga will be worn by Creon. He stayed cool, calm, and collected as Oedipus accused him of a conspiracy. Creon was also laid back, refusing to be king due to numerous responsibilities. Blue also represents loyalty, which Creon showed many times. He obeyed Oedipus' orders to go to Delphi, to take care of his daughters, and to exile him.
Oedipus will wear a red toga. Red represents how Oedipus was a passionate king, caring for his people. It also shows his strength and violence, since he was able to take on and kill a 4 person party and Laius (excluding the lone survivor). Red also stands for blood, paying a reference to Oedipus' city (Thebes) dying, Laius' death, and to Oedipus blinding himself.
The Shepherd will wear a toga of yellow and black. He felt pity toward Oedipus as a baby, so he gave him over to the messenger. As a character, the Shepherd was caring and positive. He wanted to save a baby that was doomed from the start. The color yellow also represents how the light of realization finally shone on Oedipus when the shepherd revealed the truth. As a cast member in the end of the play, though, the shepherd will wear black also, foreshadowing Oedipus' dark, grim fate.
Messenger from Corinth will have a green toga. Green means good luck. The messenger tried to bring about luck by telling Oedipus that Polybus and his wife were not his real parents. He also tried to bring Oedipus luck by giving him to the king and queen of Corinth as a baby. And, since the messenger was a former herdsman, green can also mean nature. Ironically, green also means misfortune. The news that the messenger gave to relieve Oedipus actually brought him closer to finding the dark truth.
A purple toga will be worn by Jocasta. Purple is the color of royalty, corresponding with Jocasta being queen. It also means cruelty and arrogance. She helped commit the ruthless deed of leaving an innocent baby to die. By doing this, she also thought she could outsmart and cheat fate. Purple also represents mourning, which Jocasta does when she figures out Oedipus is his son.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Jocasta's Diary
Dear Diary,
Things aren't doing so well at home. Thebes is going to Hades! First, the Sphinx destroyed Thebes, and now Apollo strikes us with a plague! Everyone and everything is dying and no babies can be born. And I'm also worried about my baby, Oedipus. He had a big quarrel with Tiresias the other day. I don't know why Oedipus is wasting his time with that blind prophet. All prophecies are wrong and never come true. Besides, my husband is the best riddle solver around. If he can't solve: "brother and father both to the children he embraces, to his mother son and husband both––he sowed the loins his father sowed, he spilled his father's blood!" (520-523), then it mustn't be true. Things also seem tense between Oedipus and my brother, Creon. He thinks my brother is in some conspiracy with that prophet and they want to kill him. Ludicrous! The prophet can't see, let alone kill. And I doubt my brother would ever want the crown since, "there'd be many painful duties to perform" (662). My husband sure is going crazy! He's actually starting to think he murdered Laius! Hmmm. But then again, Oedipus does remind me of my old husband and he was at the crossroads. Could Oedipus really be........ no, impossible. It can't be true. "So much for prophecy. It's neither here nor there" (948). Maybe hearing the shepherd's account on the crime again will reassure me. But, I'll pray to Apollo too, just in case.
Things aren't doing so well at home. Thebes is going to Hades! First, the Sphinx destroyed Thebes, and now Apollo strikes us with a plague! Everyone and everything is dying and no babies can be born. And I'm also worried about my baby, Oedipus. He had a big quarrel with Tiresias the other day. I don't know why Oedipus is wasting his time with that blind prophet. All prophecies are wrong and never come true. Besides, my husband is the best riddle solver around. If he can't solve: "brother and father both to the children he embraces, to his mother son and husband both––he sowed the loins his father sowed, he spilled his father's blood!" (520-523), then it mustn't be true. Things also seem tense between Oedipus and my brother, Creon. He thinks my brother is in some conspiracy with that prophet and they want to kill him. Ludicrous! The prophet can't see, let alone kill. And I doubt my brother would ever want the crown since, "there'd be many painful duties to perform" (662). My husband sure is going crazy! He's actually starting to think he murdered Laius! Hmmm. But then again, Oedipus does remind me of my old husband and he was at the crossroads. Could Oedipus really be........ no, impossible. It can't be true. "So much for prophecy. It's neither here nor there" (948). Maybe hearing the shepherd's account on the crime again will reassure me. But, I'll pray to Apollo too, just in case.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Procrastination
All stanzas follow terza rima style
Though the torments of the gluttons still haunt, my Guide and I continue our descent.
An odd ticking noise resounds in the distance.
I feel a sense of hastiness, yet an urge to slow down rebounds.
Virgil spoke, "These souls of the damned have a conflicting existence.
They are forced to shift their arms around and around
the face of their clock with much resistance,
For they wasted time when on Earth they were bound.
Now they must be permanently productive
To keep time going with every tick and tock of that sound."
I did not even see the souls at first, for the setting was disruptive.
Blurs of blank white and numbers swirled and enveloped Circle three and a half.
I wanted it all to come to a halt, for I too felt like a captive.
Then, I saw the pitiful procrastinators, as they suffer like a slaughtered calf.
They are trapped in countless clocks that never cease to tick.
Pain courses through them all like an overworked staff.
The once lazy lingerers now twist their arms unnaturally, making me sick.
Their fingers point to numbers one through twelve, the black font seeping into their veins.
The souls tire, but keep going, staying rhythmic.
My Guide directed me to a specific clock, foreshadowing upcoming pain.
As the sinner pointed to three o'clock, the clock's twin bells boomed.
The hands' owner cried as his eardrums bled, and I too, wanted the shrill sound to wane.
After a whole minute, the racket had ceased. Then, the sinner's arms ticked and resumed.
Virgil, then, points out another poor soul, too tired to move on.
He paused when he needed to tick, then suddenly a ray of blue zoomed.
The source was Chronos, the keeper of time and beyond.
As I stared at the newly frozen soul, he explains: "They all wasted my gift of time.
They spare time, but I won't spare them. I freeze all whose energy is gone.
I then encase them in hourglasses for their crime,
Only to thaw in scorching sand, trapped in glass."
Chronos then smiled nefariously as the sinner painfully lost his rime.
I myself got chills as these frightening images were burned into my memory.
Yet, Virgil and I still pursued darker darkness, continuing to travel down far.
After listening to Ciacco's political prophecy, Dante and Virgil descend down to Circle 3 and a half. There's a rushed environment of blurs and numbers of a clock, for no time is wasted here. The souls of the procrastinators also wallow here, for they excessively indulged (Circle 3) in free time and greedily wasted it (Circle 4). They are trapped in clocks, their arms forcefully used as hands of a clock. The procrastinators must now work every second of their afterlives When a clock reaches an hour, twin bells sound loudly and painfully. This constantly reminds them that they can no longer rest, they have to stay alert. When a sinner tires and stops, he or she is blasted frozen by Chronos, the keeper of time. This represents how the sinners acted like they had all the time in the world, as if it was frozen. He then traps the soul in an hourglass of burning sand to defrost them. Each second the sinner wasted on earth comes back to punish him or her as grains of scorching sand. Dante keeps these horrifying images in mind and continues his descent with Virgil to the next Circle.
Though the torments of the gluttons still haunt, my Guide and I continue our descent.
An odd ticking noise resounds in the distance.
I feel a sense of hastiness, yet an urge to slow down rebounds.
Virgil spoke, "These souls of the damned have a conflicting existence.
They are forced to shift their arms around and around
the face of their clock with much resistance,
For they wasted time when on Earth they were bound.
Now they must be permanently productive
To keep time going with every tick and tock of that sound."
I did not even see the souls at first, for the setting was disruptive.
Blurs of blank white and numbers swirled and enveloped Circle three and a half.
I wanted it all to come to a halt, for I too felt like a captive.
Then, I saw the pitiful procrastinators, as they suffer like a slaughtered calf.
They are trapped in countless clocks that never cease to tick.
Pain courses through them all like an overworked staff.
The once lazy lingerers now twist their arms unnaturally, making me sick.
Their fingers point to numbers one through twelve, the black font seeping into their veins.
The souls tire, but keep going, staying rhythmic.
My Guide directed me to a specific clock, foreshadowing upcoming pain.
As the sinner pointed to three o'clock, the clock's twin bells boomed.
The hands' owner cried as his eardrums bled, and I too, wanted the shrill sound to wane.
After a whole minute, the racket had ceased. Then, the sinner's arms ticked and resumed.
Virgil, then, points out another poor soul, too tired to move on.
He paused when he needed to tick, then suddenly a ray of blue zoomed.
The source was Chronos, the keeper of time and beyond.
As I stared at the newly frozen soul, he explains: "They all wasted my gift of time.
They spare time, but I won't spare them. I freeze all whose energy is gone.
I then encase them in hourglasses for their crime,
Only to thaw in scorching sand, trapped in glass."
Chronos then smiled nefariously as the sinner painfully lost his rime.
I myself got chills as these frightening images were burned into my memory.
Yet, Virgil and I still pursued darker darkness, continuing to travel down far.
After listening to Ciacco's political prophecy, Dante and Virgil descend down to Circle 3 and a half. There's a rushed environment of blurs and numbers of a clock, for no time is wasted here. The souls of the procrastinators also wallow here, for they excessively indulged (Circle 3) in free time and greedily wasted it (Circle 4). They are trapped in clocks, their arms forcefully used as hands of a clock. The procrastinators must now work every second of their afterlives When a clock reaches an hour, twin bells sound loudly and painfully. This constantly reminds them that they can no longer rest, they have to stay alert. When a sinner tires and stops, he or she is blasted frozen by Chronos, the keeper of time. This represents how the sinners acted like they had all the time in the world, as if it was frozen. He then traps the soul in an hourglass of burning sand to defrost them. Each second the sinner wasted on earth comes back to punish him or her as grains of scorching sand. Dante keeps these horrifying images in mind and continues his descent with Virgil to the next Circle.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Interview with Aeneas
The Roman Review:
Aeneas' Thoughts on Fate and the Gods
Q: Salve (Latin for hello) Aeneas! How are you?
Q: Salve (Latin for hello) Aeneas! How are you?
A: Eh, I could be better. My beloved city of Troy was just burned to the ground, but hey, at least I was able to establish Rome!
Q: Ah, yes, that was a fateful night. Speaking of which, how does the role of fate play in your life?
A: I feel like it plays a major role. All of my comrades and I were disguised in Greek armor, yet all my companions were killed. I survived. It just wasn't my fate to die that night. My fate was to live and lead my family and other fellow Trojans to future Rome. Unfortunately it was my wife's, Creusa's, fate to die shortly after.
Q: Sorry about that. Fate is inescapable. The gods surely know how to make fate work in their favor. What is your attitude toward the gods?
A: Well, depends on which. Pallas helped those Greeks build that stupid wooden horse, allowing them to attack my city! She also sent sea serpents to kill Laocoön and his two sons. Yeah, that wasn't very nice.
Q: Not at all. Are there any gods you're on good terms with?
A: I'm lucky to say I'm on good terms with my mother. You know, Venus. I'm glad she talked me out of killing Helen. The whole war wasn't all of her fault, just mostly. I would've also lost my honor if I killed her. I wouldn't want to stoop down to Pyrrhus' level.
Q: If you could change anything fate or a god had done, what would it be?
A: Oh, let me count the ways. Maybe, make the gods invite Eris to that wedding so we could avoid all of this! [laughs.] But, I would only truly want Creusa to still be alive. Ulysses got to keep his wife! Those Greeks! [growls.]
Q: Fate and those gods sure are powerful. How do you feel about having little to no control over your own future?
A: Eh, I don't mind that much. Sure, it would be nice to control my own destiny, but the gods know best. Even though some of the gods don't favor me, I'll play along. As an epic hero [makes heroic pose], I need to represent Roman values, like loyalty. I'll always obey the will of the gods.
Q: Wow! You sure are devoted! But, if you did have control, what would you do?
A: I would've escaped from Troy a lot earlier! [laughs.] But, I feel even with control, I would still end up doing the gods' will, leading the Trojans to what would become Rome. It must be my natural good leadership.
Q: So, do you prefer free will or fate?
A: I'm more of a fate sort of guy. It's nice to know everything is part of a master plan, not just coincidence. I had to endure all this suffering for something, right?
Q: You have all this suffering, yet all this loyalty. You seem to have a godlike power of tolerance! If you could, what kind of god would you be?
A: The god of wine! I need a drink! [laughs.]
Q: Not at all. Are there any gods you're on good terms with?
A: I'm lucky to say I'm on good terms with my mother. You know, Venus. I'm glad she talked me out of killing Helen. The whole war wasn't all of her fault, just mostly. I would've also lost my honor if I killed her. I wouldn't want to stoop down to Pyrrhus' level.
Q: If you could change anything fate or a god had done, what would it be?
A: Oh, let me count the ways. Maybe, make the gods invite Eris to that wedding so we could avoid all of this! [laughs.] But, I would only truly want Creusa to still be alive. Ulysses got to keep his wife! Those Greeks! [growls.]
Q: Fate and those gods sure are powerful. How do you feel about having little to no control over your own future?
A: Eh, I don't mind that much. Sure, it would be nice to control my own destiny, but the gods know best. Even though some of the gods don't favor me, I'll play along. As an epic hero [makes heroic pose], I need to represent Roman values, like loyalty. I'll always obey the will of the gods.
Q: Wow! You sure are devoted! But, if you did have control, what would you do?
A: I would've escaped from Troy a lot earlier! [laughs.] But, I feel even with control, I would still end up doing the gods' will, leading the Trojans to what would become Rome. It must be my natural good leadership.
Q: So, do you prefer free will or fate?
A: I'm more of a fate sort of guy. It's nice to know everything is part of a master plan, not just coincidence. I had to endure all this suffering for something, right?
Q: You have all this suffering, yet all this loyalty. You seem to have a godlike power of tolerance! If you could, what kind of god would you be?
A: The god of wine! I need a drink! [laughs.]
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
POV Cassandra and Helen
Haiku
I see his corpse first.I foresaw this prophecy,
yet no one trusts me.
Hint Fiction
My face launched a thousand ships, now tear covered, with eyes upon Hector's corpse. Because he's Paris' brother or because I return to Menelaus?
POV is the vantage point or stance from which a story is told, the eye and mind through which action is percieved and filtered.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
I Am _________
Andromache
Wife of Hector (line 87)
Relative of gallant-hearted Eetion (line 6)
Resident of Troy
Who loves her family
Who fears Hector's death
Who needs Hector to live
Who wishes Hector would take his stand on the rampant here (line 50)
Who admires Hector
Wife of Hector (line 87)
Relative of gallant-hearted Eetion (line 6)
Resident of Troy
Who loves her family
Who fears Hector's death
Who needs Hector to live
Who wishes Hector would take his stand on the rampant here (line 50)
Who admires Hector
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