The Legend of Sleepy Hollow - Washington Irwing

( The Headless Horseman Pursuing Ichabod Crane (1858) by John Quidor )

"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is a short story by Washington Irving contained in his collection The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., written while he was living in Birmingham, England, and first published in 1820. With Irving's companion piece "Rip Van Winkle", "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is among the earliest examples of American fiction still read today.

Plot summary

The story is set circa 1790 in the Dutch settlement of Tarry Town, in a secluded glen called Sleepy Hollow. It tells the story of Ichabod Crane, a sycophantic, lean, lanky, and extremely superstitious schoolmaster from Connecticut, who competes with Abraham "Brom Bones" Van Brunt, the town rowdy, for the hand of 18-year-old Katrina Van Tassel, the daughter and sole child of a wealthy farmer, Baltus Van Tassel.

As Crane leaves a party he attended at the Van Tassel home on an autumn night, he is pursued by the Headless Horseman, who is supposedly the ghost of a Hessian trooper who had his head shot off by a stray cannonball during "some nameless battle" of the American Revolutionary War, and who "rides forth to the scene of battle in nightly quest of his head". Ichabod mysteriously disappears from town, leaving Katrina to marry Brom Bones, who was "to look exceedingly knowing whenever the story of Ichabod was related".

Although the nature of the Headless Horseman is left open to interpretation, the story implies that the Horseman was really Brom Bones in disguise.


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Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat, Drowned in a Tub of Gold Fishes - Thomas Gray

'Twas on a lofty vase's side,
Where China's gayest art had dy'd
The azure flow'rs that blow;
Demurest of the tabby kind,
The pensive Selima, reclin'd,
Gazed on the lake below.


Her conscious tail her joy declar'd;
The fair round face, the snowy beard,
The velvet of her paws,
Her coat, that with the tortoise vies,
Her ears of jet, and emerald eyes,
She saw: and purr'd applause.


Still had she gaz'd; but 'midst the tide
Two angel forms were seen to glide,
The Genii of the stream;
Their scaly armour's Tyrian hue
Thro' richest purple to the view
Betray'd a golden gleam.


The hapless Nymph with wonder saw:
A whisker first and then a claw,
With many an ardent wish,
She stretch'd in vain to reach the prize.
What female heart can gold despise?
What cat's averse to fish?


Presumptuous Maid! with looks intent
Again she stretch'd, again she bent,
Nor knew the gulf between.
(Malignant Fate sat by, and smil'd)
The slipp'ry verge her feet beguil'd,
She tumbled headlong in.


Eight times emerging from the flood
She mew'd to ev'ry wat'ry god,
Some speedy aid to send.
No Dolphin came, no Nereid stirr'd;
Nor cruel Tom, nor Susan heard.
A Fav'rite has no friend!


From hence, ye Beauties, undeceiv'd,
Know, one false step is ne'er retriev'd,
And be with caution bold.
Not all that tempts your wand'ring eyes
And heedless hearts is lawful prize,
Nor all, that glisters, gold.

Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard - Thomas Gray

Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard is a poem by Thomas Gray, completed in 1750 and first published in 1751. The poem's origins are debated, but it was inspired by Gray's thoughts following the death of the poet Richard West in 1742. Originally titled "Stanza's Wrote in a Country Church-Yard", Gray was prompted to finish the poem after the death of his aunt and other tragic events occurring at the end of 1749. The poem was completed in June 1750 as Gray was near the Stoke Poges churchyard and it was sent to his friend Horace Walpole, who popularised the poem among London literary circles. Eventually, Gray was forced to publish the work on 15 February 1751 to pre-empt a magazine publisher from printing an unlicensed copy of the poem.

An elegy in name, the poem is not an elegy in the true sense; it employs a similar style to contemporary odes, but it does embody a meditation on death, and remembrance after death. The poem argues that the remembrance can be good and bad, and the narrator finds comfort in pondering the lives of the obscure rustics who are buried in the churchyard. The two versions of the poem approach death in a different manner; the first version contains a more stoic response to death, but the final version of the poem contains an epitaph which serves to repress the narrator's fear of dying. With its discussion of and focus on the obscure and the known, the poem has possible political ramifications, but it does not make any definite claims on politics to be more universal in its approach to life and death.

The poem quickly became popular. It was printed many times, and praised by critics even after Gray's other poetry had fallen out of favour. Later critics tended to praise the language and universal aspects of the poem, but some felt that the ending was unconvincing, in that it failed to resolve the questions raised by the poem, or that the poem did not do enough to present a political statement that would serve to help the obscure rustic poor who form a central image in the poem.

Poem

The poem begins in a churchyard with a narrator who is describing his surroundings in vivid detail. The narrator emphasizes both aural and visual sensations as he examines the area in relation to himself:

The curfew tolls the knell of parting day,
The lowing herd wind slowly o'er the lea
The plowman homeward plods his weary way,
And leaves the world to darkness and to me.
Now fades the glimm'ring landscape on the sight,
And all the air a solemn stillness holds,
Save where the beetle wheels his droning flight,
And drowsy tinklings lull the distant folds;
Save that from yonder ivy-mantled tow'r
The moping owl does to the moon complain
Of such, as wand'ring near her secret bow'r,
Molest her ancient solitary reign. (lines 1–12)

As the poem continues, the narrator begins to focus less on the countryside and more on his immediate surroundings. His descriptions begin to move from sensations to his own thoughts about the dead. As the poem changes, the narrator begins to emphasize what is not present in the scene as the narrator contrasts an obscure country life with a life that is remembered. This contemplation provokes the narrator's thoughts on waste that comes in nature:

Full many a gem of purest ray serene,
The dark unfathom'd caves of ocean bear:
Full many a flow'r is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert air.
Some village-Hampden, that with dauntless breast
The little tyrant of his fields withstood;
Some mute inglorious Milton here may rest,
Some Cromwell guiltless of his country's blood.
Th' applause of list'ning senates to command,
The threats of pain and ruin to despise,
To scatter plenty o'er a smiling land,
And read their hist'ry in a nation's eyes,
Their lot forbade: nor circumscrib'd alone
Their growing virtues, but their crimes confin'd;
Forbade to wade through slaughter to a throne,
And shut the gates of mercy on mankind,
The struggling pangs of conscious truth to hide,
To quench the blushes of ingenuous shame,
Or heap the shrine of Luxury and Pride
With incense kindled at the Muse's flame. (lines 53–72)

The narrator focuses on the inequities that come from death, obscuring individuals, while he begins to resign himself to his own inevitable fate. As the poem ends, the narrator begins to deal with death in a direct manner as he discusses how humans desire to be remembered. As the narrator does so, the poem shifts and the first narrator is replaced by a second who describes the first's death:

For thee, who mindful of th' unhonour'd Dead
Dost in these lines their artless tale relate;
If chance, by lonely contemplation led,
Some kindred spirit shall inquire thy fate,
Haply some hoary-headed swain may say,
"Oft have we seen him at the peep of dawn
Brushing with hasty steps the dews away
To meet the sun upon the upland lawn. (lines 93–100)

The poem concludes with a description of the poet's grave that the narrator is meditating over along with a description of the end of that poet's life:

"There at the foot of yonder nodding beech
That wreathes its old fantastic roots so high,
His listless length at noontide would he stretch,
And pore upon the brook that babbles by.
"Hard by yon wood, now smiling as in scorn,
Mutt'ring his wayward fancies he would rove,
Now drooping, woeful wan, like one forlorn,
Or craz'd with care, or cross'd in hopeless love.
"One morn I miss'd him on the custom'd hill,
Along the heath and near his fav'rite tree;
Another came; nor yet beside the rill,
Nor up the lawn, nor at the wood was he;
"The next with dirges due in sad array
Slow thro' the church-way path we saw him borne.
Approach and read (for thou canst read) the lay,
Grav'd on the stone beneath yon aged thorn." (lines 101–116)

An epitaph is included after the conclusion of the poem. The epitaph reveals that the poet whose grave is the focus of the poem was unknown and obscure. The poet was separated from the other common people because he was unable to join with the common affairs of life, and circumstance kept him from becoming something greater:

Here rests his head upon the lap of Earth
A youth to Fortune and to Fame unknown.
Fair Science frown'd not on his humble birth,
And Melancholy mark'd him for her own.
Large was his bounty, and his soul sincere,
Heav'n did a recompense as largely send:
He gave to Mis'ry all he had, a tear,
He gain'd from Heav'n ('twas all he wish'd) a friend.
No farther seek his merits to disclose,
Or draw his frailties from their dread abode,
(There they alike in trembling hope repose)
The bosom of his Father and his God. (lines 117–128)

The original conclusion from the earlier version of the poem promotes the view that humans should be resigned to the fact that we will die, which differs from the indirect, third person description in the final version:

The thoughtless World to majesty may bow
Exalt the brave, & idolize Success
But more to Innocence their Safety owe
Than Power & Genius e'er conspired to bless
And thou, who mindful of the unhonour'd Dead
Dost in these Notes thy artless Tale relate
By Night & lonely contemplation led
To linger in the gloomy Walks of Fate
Hark how the sacred Calm, that broods around
Bids ev'ry fierce tumultous Passion ease
In still small Accents whisp'ring from the Ground
A grateful Earnest of eternal Peace
No more with Reason & thyself at strife;
Give anxious Cares & endless Wishes room
But thro' the cool sequester'd Vale of Life
Pursue the silent Tenour of thy Doom.



en.wikipedia.org

The Witch - Thomas Middleton

The Witch is a Jacobean play, a tragicomedy written by Thomas Middleton. The play was acted by the King's Men at the Blackfriars Theatre. It is thought to have been written sometime between 1609 and 1616; it was not printed in its own era, and existed only in manuscript until it was published by Isaac Reed in 1778.

Synopsis


Act 1, Scene 1: Urbino, Italy; The grounds of the Lord Governor's house; the day of Antonio and Isabella's wedding; a banquet laid out

The play opens with the protagonist Sebastian conversing with his friend Fernando. Sebastian has been absent from Urbino, soldiering in the wars of Northern Italy for three years, and has falsely been reported killed. His fiancee Isabella has—this very day—married the powerful aristocrat Antonio. According to the Renaissance custom of handfast, Sebastian regards Isabella as his wife in the sight of Heaven.

Desperately worried that Isabella will consummate her marriage to Antonio that night, Sebastian tells Fernando that he is willing to go to any means in order to reclaim her. He exits. Fernando delivers a short speech sympathizing with his friend's predicament. Antonio's servant Gaspero enters with another servant. Fernando exits. Gaspero says that Fernando's behavior at the wedding banquet was very suspicious—he did not raise his glass to toast the new couple even once, and declined to drink any of the fine wine on offer. Antonio's courtesan (prostitute) Florida enters.

She is upset that Antonio has married another woman. Gaspero tries to console her by assuring her that Antonio will continue sleeping with her after he has grown tired of his new wife. He instructs her to retire to a private parlor and promises to bring her some delicacies from the wedding banquet soon. Florida exits. Almachildes ("a fantastical gentleman") enters with Amoretta (the Duchess's woman). Almachildes tries to get Amoretta to kiss him. Amoretta resists. Almachildes plans to go to "the witches" to procure a charm to make Amoretta fall in love with him. He exits. The wedding party enters with servants bearing a banquet.

The wedding party includes the Duke, the Duchess, the Lord Governor, Antonio, Isabella, and Francisca (Antonio's sister). The Duke has had a goblet made from the skull of his wife's father (a defeated enemy). He uses the skull goblet to pledge toasts, passing it around among the assembled guests. The Duchess is disgusted by the goblet, but she conceals her disdain. In an aside, she says that she has already decided upon her revenge.

Act 1, Scene 2: Hecate's cave

Hecate (the chief witch) enters carrying serpents and an "unbaptized brat." Her assistant Standlin enters bearing a brass dish. Hecate hands the baby over to Standlin and instructs her to boil it.

She notes that the baby's fat will be used to make a transvection ointment that enables the witches to fly at night, transform themselves into incubi and have sex with young men. Hecate and Stadlin also discuss a "heart of wax stuck full of magic needles"—a charm that will be used to lay a curse on the livestock of a farmer whom Hecate bears a grudge against. Stadlin exits with the baby. Hecate squeezes the snakes into the brass dish and lays their skins aside (to be used for Sebastian's charm later on).

Hecate's son Firestone enters. Hecate tells him that she only has three more years until her 120 years of life (allotted to her by the devil) will be up. She gives him the brass dish and tells him that it is filled with "dear syrup"—a single drop of the stuff is enough to "confound a family of nineteen." Firestone asks Hecate's permission to go out with the Nightmare (a monster that suffocates people in their sleep by sitting on their chests). He says that he wants to use the monster to "overlay a fat parson's daughter." Hecate gives him her permission. Firestone exits with the brass dish. Sebastian enters and asks Hecate to make Antonio impotent so he won't be able to have sex with Isabella.

Hecate gives him a charm made from the skins of lizards and snakes. Sebastian exits. Almachildes enters soon thereafter, very drunk. He gives Hecate a toad and asks her for a love charm (to be used on Amoretta). Pleased with the toad, Hecate invites Almachildes to dinner. A cat playing a fiddle (Malkin) enters, followed by spirits bearing plates of fine meat.

Act 2, Scene 1: Antonio's house; the morning after the wedding

Antonio is extremely glum because Hecate's charm made him impotent on his wedding night. Gaspero asks the cause of his sadness. Antonio avoids his questions and orders him to bring some chicken broth (a cure for impotence) and "half an ounce of pearl" (an aphrodisiac). Antonio exits. Gaspero mistakenly assumes that Antonio needs chicken broth and pearl because he has contracted a venereal disease from his new wife. Francisca (Antonio's younger sister, a maid) enters. She asks Gaspero about Antonio's sour mood. Gaspero exits quickly without telling her anything. Left alone on stage, Francisca delivers a soliloquy in which she reveals that she has been receiving secret nighttime visits from a "friend" (Aberzanes) who has got her pregnant.

She worries that Antonio will kill her if the pregnancy is discovered. Isabella enters. She encourages Francisca to get married so she can discuss matters of a marital nature with her (Antonio's impotency is obviously on her mind). Francisca says that Isabella is lucky to have found a husband like her brother—he doesn't gamble or chase women, and he has promised to give up tobacco for Isabella's sake. Isabella agrees that Antonio was a good catch. Antonio enters. Isabella tells him that she has been encouraging Francisca to get married.

Antonio says that Francisca is too young to get married. Isabella sings a song for Antonio. The lyrics of the song slyly allude to the plights of Isabella, Amoretta and Francisca. Aberzanes ("a gentleman, neither honest, wise nor valiant") enters. He is followed by servant carrying copious quantities of food and drink (an indication of his gluttonous nature). Speaking aside, Francisca asks Aberzanes what he plans to do about her pregnancy. She warns him that she might give birth that very night. Aberzanes tells her not to worry and assures her that he has already taken care of everything.

Sebastian enters disguised as a servant, "Celio." Isabella introduces "Celio" and says that she has just hired him that very morning. Antonio welcomes "Celio" to the household. "Celio" announces the arrival of a gentleman who has brought a letter from Antonio's mother in Northern Italy. Antonio reads the letter aloud. In the letter, "Antonio's mother" asks Antonio to send Francisca to Northern Italy immediately. (The letter is in fact a forgery by Aberzanes—this is his way of getting Francisca out of the house so she can give birth in secret.) Antonio orders Francisca to leave immediately. Francisca thanks Aberzanes in an aside.

Antonio, Isabella and the Gentleman exit. Aberzanes tells Francisca that he has made all of the necessary preparations for her journey. Aberzanes and Francisca exit. Left alone on stage, Sebastian deduces from Antonio's discontented demeanor that Hecate's charm has taken effect. He is pleased, but even more desperate than before to get Isabella back. At the end of the scene, Gaspero enters with the Lord Governor (Isabella's uncle), who has come to pay Antonio a visit.

Act 2, Scene 2: The Duke's palace

Almachildes regretfully recalls his drunken dinner with the witches. He discovers Hecate's charm in his pocket and decides to try it out. Amoretta enters. Almachildes embraces her and secretly slips the charm into the bodice of her dress. Amoretta pushes Almachildes away. Almachildes exits. As the charm begins to work, Amoretta has a sudden change of heart and declares that Almachildes is "the sweetest gentleman in court." In a short speech, she reveals that the Duchess has ordered her to get close to Almachildes so he can be used in an undisclosed "employment" (the Duchess wants to get Almachildes to help her kill the Duke).

Amoretta says she was initially averse to the idea of getting close to Almachildes, but she now looks forward to the task with great relish. The Duchess enters. In an aside, she complains once again about the Duke's morbid skull goblet. She asks Amoretta if she has managed to arrange a meeting with Almachildes yet. Amoretta says that she could never do anything to deceive Almachildes, but declares her willingness to become his honest wife. The Duchess wonders if Amoretta has lost her mind. The charm falls from Amoretta's dress to the floor, and the Duchess picks it up—thereby transferring the love spell from Amoretta to the Duchess. Amoretta immediately declares her complete hatred for Almachildes; the Duchess declares her love for him.

Amoretta agrees to deceive Almachildes as the Duchess had previously ordered. The Duchess looks forward to tasting the sweetness of revenge and love combined. She exits. Almachildes enters. Amoretta flirts with him and promises to meet him soon. Almachildes assumes that Hecate's charm has done its trick.

Act 2, Scene 3: A farmhouse

Francisca has had her baby. Aberzanes pays an old woman to raise the child in secrecy. Aberzanes and Francisca prepare to return to Urbino. Francisca examines her reflection in a mirror. She is surprised to see how pale and thin she has grown.

Act 3, Scene 1: The Duke's palace

The Duchess has tricked Almachildes into having sex with her by blindfolding him and pretending to be Amoretta. The scene begins as she removes the blindfold. She tells Almachildes that she will marry him if he helps her kill the Duke—but threatens to accuse him of rape if he refuses. Almachildes agrees to help her kill the Duke.

Act 3, Scene 2: The grounds of Antonio's house

Gaspero helps Florida sneak into the house for rendezvous with Antonio. Sebastian enters (posing as "Celio") as Florida heads off to Antonio's bedroom. "Celio" asks Gaspero who Florida is. Gaspero tells him that she is Antonio's mistress, and that she has visited the house three times in the past ten days (it seems that Hecate's impotency charm only impedes Antonio's ability to have sex with Isabella). Isabella enters. She scolds "Celio" and Gaspero for loitering around. "Celio" and Gaspero exit. Isabella soliloquizes about a letter she has found that reveals the details of Francisca's sexual dalliances. She is mad at Francisca for betraying Antonio's trust, but decides to keep the information a secret. Isabella enters with Aberzanes (supposedly returning from Northern Italy). Isabella notices that Francisca has lost a great deal of weight in a short amount of time. Aberzanes says that Francisca is merely tired after the long journey. He exits.

Isabella confronts Francisca with the letter and insists that she leave Antonio's house immediately. Isabella exits. In a soliloquy, Francisca decides to protect herself against exposure by spreading lies about Isabella. Antonio enters. Francisca tells him that Isabella has been having an affair with Gaspero. Antonio buys her story completely. Francisca exits. Isabella enters. Antonio tells Isabella that he has to go away on business for two weeks (in fact, he wants to create an opportunity for Isabella to cheat on him so he can catch her red-handed). Antonio exits. "Celio" enters.

He tells Isabella about Antonio's relationship with Florida. Isabella (who has become dissatisfied with her marriage as a result of Antonio's impotency) promises to reward "Celio" handsomely if he can prove that his allegations against Antonio are true. "Celio" says that he has made a plan to sneak Isabella out of the house so she can catch Antonio red-handed. Isabella agrees to go along with his plan.

Act 3, Scene 3: A forest glade

Hecate, Hoppo and Stadlin prepare for a nighttime flight. Hoppo and Stadlin take off. Hecate promises to catch up with them soon. Firestone brings Hecate a basket filled with lizards, snake's eggs and herbs cropped by moonlight. Voices from offstage bid Hecate to hurry up and join the nighttime flight.

The voices sing the song "Come Away, Come Away" (which also appears in Macbeth). A "Spirit like a cat" (Malkin) descends as the voices sing. Hecate ascends with the Cat, extolling the expected pleasures of her nighttime ride.

Act 4, Scene 1: The Duke's palace

Almachildes delivers a soliloquy in which he reveals that he has helped the Duchess kill the Duke. As a result, a popular uprising has broken out in opposition to the Duchess' ascent to power. Almachildes regrets his role in the Duke's murder and worries that he will become the Duchess' next victim. The Duchess enters. She tells Almachildes that she is afraid for his safety.

She advises him to lay low for a while and promises to marry him as soon as public sentiment cools down. Almachildes agrees to follow the Duchess' advice, but expresses skepticism of her intentions in an aside. Almachildes exits. In a short soliloquy, the Duchess says that Almachildes must die as soon as possible (she wants to kill him in order to conceal her complicity in the Duke's murder).

She makes plans to win the love of the Lord Governor, whom she hopes will intervene on her behalf to calm the insurrection. The Lord Governor enters. The Duchess promises to love him if he will help her win public favor. The Lord Governor promises to help her, kisses her hand, and exits. In a final soliloquy, the Duchess looks forward to marrying the Lord Governor and redoubles her resolve to get rid of Almachildes immediately.

Act 4, Scene 2: Fernando's house


Sebastian tells Florida and Fernando about his convoluted scheme to lure Isabella into bed and deflower her. The details of the scheme are as follows:

Posing as "Celio," Sebastian has told Isabella to go to Fernando's house, where, according to "Celio's" plan, she will pose as Antonio's mistress in an attempt to attain solid evidence of Antonio's adulterous affairs. Fernando's house is a sort-of brothel where Florida has a room. Sebastian expects Isabella to arrive at the house shortly. When she arrives, Fernando will send her to Florida's bed so she can pose as Florida and have sex with "Antonio," who will actually be Sebastian posing as Antonio. Florida has agreed to vacate her bedroom so she can sneak back to Antonio's house and have sex with Antonio while Isabella is gone (she also hopes to help disgrace Isabella so that she can have Antonio to herself). As she leaves Fernando's house, Florida is instructed to tell Isabella (who will be approaching the house as she leaves) that she knows Antonio well and that he visits the house quite often. Fernando is instructed to back up Florida's claims, thereby increasing Isabella's mistrust of Antonio.

Fernando and Florida agree to follow Sebastian's plan. Florida exits to meet Isabella. Isabella knocks at the door. Sebastian exits to an adjoining room to observe. Isabella enters. Fernando agrees to direct her to Antonio's room. Isabella curses Antonio and says that she would have never found herself in such a miserable situation if her first husband (Sebastian) had lived. Isabella and Fernando exit.

Sebastian enters. Moved by Isabella's remembrance of him, he decides that it would be wrong to deceive her. Isabella enters. She accuses Sebastian ("Celio") of deceiving her because Antonio was not in Florida's bedroom. "Celio" encourages Isabella to wait. He is reluctant to send her back home for fear she would discover Florida in her bed. Isabella agrees to wait for a while.

Act 4, Scene 3: Antonio's house

Francisca starts the scene off with a soliloquy. She expects Antonio to arrive home shortly, and has made plans to arrange things so he will catch Gaspero and Isabella in bed together. When she hears the sound of Antonio's arrival, she calls for Gaspero. Gaspero enters undressed. Francisca tells him that Isabella has been calling for help, but none of her maidens have gone to her aid (Francisca drugged all of Isabella's maidens to make sure they would stay asleep). She urges Gaspero to go to Isabella's room immediately.

Gaspero says that he has to get dressed first. Francisca tells him not to bother. Gaspero goes to Isabella's room. Antonio enters. Francisca encourages him to search Gaspero's room. Antonio does as she says and finds the room empty. Convinced that Gaspero must be sleeping with his wife, Antonio draws his sword and heads to the bedroom. He returns moments later with a bloody sword, claiming to have stabbed Gaspero and Isabella (in fact, he has stabbed Gaspero and Florida—Isabella is at Fernando's house with Sebastian).

He tells Francisca to come down from the balcony so he can kill her too. Raving, he explains that she must die as well because she was the one who brought him the news of Isabella's betrayal. Fearing for her life, Francisca admits that she made the entire story up to conceal the illegitimate child she had with Aberzanes. This revelation stuns Antonio and plunges him into an even deeper grief. He puts his sword down and sends a servant to summon Aberzanes.

Act 5, Scene 1: Antonio's house

Aberzanes arrives at Antonio's home. Antonio urges him to draw his sword and fight, but Aberzanes refuses. Francisca enters. Antonio forces Francisca and Aberzanes to kneel and perform a handfast (engagement) ceremony. To conclude the ceremony, he orders the couple to drink some poisoned wine. He also drinks the wine himself—a suicidal act that is not in fact suicidal because the servant, Hermio, disobeyed Antonio's orders and refrained from poisoning the wine. Antonio and Francisca exit after the handfast ceremony is completed.

In a soliloquy, Antonio wonders if his ruined marriage might be some sort of karmic retribution. He reveals that he falsified reports of Sebastian's death so he could marry Isabella. A servant enters and reports that Gaspero and "Isabella" (actually Florida) are merely wounded, not dead. Gaspero enters wounded. He tells Antonio that the woman in his room was Florida, not Isabella. Assuming that Isabella is out having sex with another man, Antonio prays aloud that the (actually not) poisoned wine will not take effect until he can find his wife and kill her. Hermio tells him that the wine wasn't actually poisoned. Antonio thanks Hermio. The Lord Governor enters. Antonio tells the Lord Governor that (his niece) Isabella is an "impudent adulteress."

The Lord Governor demands proof of Antonio's allegations. Florida enters, wounded, ans says that Isabella is sleeping with her servant "Celio" at Fernando's house. Antonio rushes off to Fernando's house in a rage. Gaspero and Florida exit to see a doctor. The Lord Governor follows them. The servant Hermio is left alone on stage. Isabella enters with "Celio" (Sebastian) and casually asks Hermio if Francisca is still sleeping. Hermio tells Isabella that there has been a great deal of commotion as a result of her absence and that Antonio has gone to Fernando's house to find her. Isabella blames "Celio" (Sebastian) for staining her reputation. Sebastian worries that his foolhardy scheme has caused Isabella's ruin.

Act 5, Scene 2: Hecate's cave, a cauldron set

The Duchess goes to Hecate to procure a "sudden, subtle" poison for Almachildes. Hecate offers her a voodoo portrait of Almachildes that will kill him slowly. The Duchess rejects the portrait because it would take too long. She also insists that the method of poisoning must be subtle. Hecate becomes impatient with the Duchess' impertinence and recites a charm in Latin (quoted from Ovid). The Duchess apologizes.

Hecate assures the Duchess that Almachildes will die that evening. The Duchess exits. Hecate orders Firestone to bring her some lizard's brain, bear breach and "three ounces of the red-haired girl I killed last midnight." These ingredients are stirred together in a pot with bat's blood, libbard's bane, the juice of a toad, and the oil of an adder. Hecate sings a charm song and the other witches perform a dance for the moon.

Act 5, Scene 3: Antonio's house

Back at Antonio's house, Isabella explains the story of her absence to the Lord Governor. The Lord Governor scolds "Celio" for providing Isabella with false intelligence and leading her into a compromising situation. Hermio enters and announces that Antonio fell through a trap door and fell to his death while searching through Fernando's house for Isabella. The Lord Governor says that Antonio got what he deserved. Isabella forgives Antonio for his marital transgressions. Florida faints. Some servants carry Florida away. The Lord Governor resumes pronouncing judgment on "Celio." "Celio" removes his disguise to reveal that he is actually Sebastian.

Isabella expresses joyous disbelief. The Lord Governor welcomes Sebastian happily. Gaspero admits that Antonio paid him to give false reports of Sebastian's death. The Duchess enters. The Lord Governor reveals the body of the Duke (it has presumably been concealed in a curtained-off space up to this point) and charges the Duchess with adultery and murder. The Duchess admits to the murder, but denies the charge of adultery. The Lord Governor calls for Almachildes. Almachildes enters (Hecate's poison is apparently either ineffective or has yet to take effect). Almachildes tells the Lord Governor that he had sex with the Duchess while blindfolded (see 3.1).

Amoretta enters and testifies that the woman Almachildes slept with while blindfolded was actually a hired prostitute—not the Duchess. The Duchess is thus cleared of the adultery charge, but the murder charge still stands. At that moment, to everyone's great surprise, the Duke sits up from his death bed, perfectly alive (it seems as though Almachildes was not cold-blooded enough to actually kill him). The Duchess is thus cleared of all charges. The Duke is in a very forgiving mood. He thanks Almachildes for sparing his life, pardons his wife's transgressions, and promises to refrain from drinking out of the skull goblet in the future. The play ends on a note of festivity and redemption.




Holy source: en.wikipedia.org

Aşk Sarhoşluğunda Küçük Bir Beyin Fırtınası

İstediğim şey sadece küçük bir şey.

Bu küçük şeyi büyük umutlarla dolu olan kalbimle istiyorum, o ayrı.

Belki hayatında karşısına bir daha asla benim gibi birisi çıkmayacak.

Bu benim mükemmel olduğum anlamına gelmiyor tabii. Fakat, eminim ki onu, belki ileride kimseden duyamayacağı, sözlerle mutlu edebilirim.

Ona sözlerimle yollar serebilirim.

İsterse de şımarsın kelimelerimin etkisiyle.

Ben onun şımarık halini de severim. Eminim şımarıklık da yakışacaktır o tatlı gülümsemesinin ardına.

Ah! Yine o kızarıklık yanaklarımda. Yine o ısı. Hissediyorum. Yanaklarımın yanında, kalbimde bir hız artışı; aklımda bir silüet; dudaklarımda bir kuruluk; kulak zarımla beynimin kaynaştığı noktada o güzel sesin çınlaması; karnımda bir sızı; çehresini görmemle tüylerimde bir diken diken olma hali...

Ah ben yine mi aşık oluyorum..?

Yoksa oldum da haberim mi yok?

‘Son bir oyun sonra kalkıp gidersin. Sen her zaman risk almayı seversin...’

Yüksek Sadakat yine yapacağını yaptı. Unutulmaz bir konser verdi. Gerçi ben onun değil de daha çok ‘onun’ sesini duydum kulaklarımda, ve o beni kendimden geçiren kokusunu saçlarının.

O günümü çok iyi kavradım. En güzel anlarımdandı.

Çünkü sevdiğim kişilerleydim. Sevdiğim grubun müziğini canlı dinliyordum. Etkilendiğim varlıkla yan yanaydım. O anda sadece oradaydım; hem kalbimle hem de aklımla. Çünkü istiyordum mutlu olmayı, hak ettiğimi düşündüğüm ruh halini yani.

Tabii bilmiyorum. İnsan mutlu olmayı hak mı eder? Yoksa mutlu mu olur?

Mutluluk emek harcanarak mı elde edilen bir şeydir? Sanmıyorum aslında.

Her şey kalbimizde ve arzumuzda gizlidir bence. Mutlu olmayı arzuladım, oldum.

‘Anı yaşamak’ budur. İçimden geldiği gibi hareket edip doğal halimi ortaya koyarsam neden anı yaşamayayım ki?

Her zaman bir umut vardır. Beyin fırtınasına yakalanan cümlelerim için beni bağışlayın.

Güzel bir gün değildi o gün. O gün, harikaydı.

The Fall of the House of Usher - Edgar Allan Poe

"The Fall of the House of Usher" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in September 1839 in Burton's Gentleman's Magazine. It was slightly revised in 1840 for the collection Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque. It contains within it the poem "The Haunted Palace", which had earlier been published separately in the April 1839 issue of the Baltimore Museum magazine.

Summary

The tale opens with the unnamed narrator arriving at the house of his boyhood friend, Roderick Usher, having received a letter from him in a distant part of the country complaining of an illness and asking for his comfort. Although Poe wrote this short story before the invention of modern psychological science, Roderick's symptoms can be described according to its terminology. They include hyperesthesia (hypersensitivity to light, sounds, smells, and tastes), hypochondria (an excessive preoccupation or worry about having a serious illness), and acute anxiety. It is revealed that Roderick's twin sister, Madeline, is also ill and falls into cataleptic, death-like trances. The narrator is impressed with Roderick's paintings, and attempts to cheer him by reading with him and listening to his improvised musical compositions on the guitar. Roderick sings "The Haunted Palace", then tells the narrator that he believes the house he lives in to be sentient, and that this sentience arises from the arrangement of the masonry and vegetation surrounding it.

Roderick later informs the narrator that his sister has died and insists that she be entombed for two weeks in a vault (family tomb) in the house before being permanently buried. The narrator helps Roderick put the body in the tomb, and he notes that Madeline has rosy cheeks, as some do after death. They inter her, but over the next week both Roderick and the narrator find themselves becoming increasingly agitated for no apparent reason. A storm begins. Roderick comes to the narrator's bedroom, which is situated directly above the vault, and throws open his window to the storm. He notices that the tarn surrounding the house seems to glow in the dark, as it glowed in Roderick Usher's paintings, although there is no lightning.

The narrator attempts to calm Roderick by reading aloud The Mad Trist, a novel involving a knight named Ethelred who breaks into a hermit's dwelling in an attempt to escape an approaching storm, only to find a palace of gold guarded by a dragon. He also finds hanging on the wall a shield of shining brass of which is written a legend: that the one who slays the dragon wins the shield. With a stroke of his mace, Ethelred kills the dragon, who dies with a piercing shriek, and proceeds to take the shield, which falls to the floor with an unnerving clatter.

As the narrator reads of the knight's forcible entry into the dwelling, cracking and ripping sounds are heard somewhere in the house. When the dragon is described as shrieking as it dies, a shriek is heard, again within the house. As he relates the shield falling from off the wall, a reverberation, metallic and hollow, can be heard. Roderick becomes increasingly hysterical, and eventually exclaims that these sounds are being made by his sister, who was in fact alive when she was entombed and that Roderick knew that she was alive. The bedroom door is then blown open to reveal Madeline standing there. She falls on her brother, and both land on the floor as corpses. The narrator then flees the house, and, as he does so, notices a flash of light causing him to look back upon the House of Usher, in time to watch it break in two, the fragments sinking into the tarn.


en.wikipedia.org

Young Goodman Brown - Nathaniel Hawthorne

"Young Goodman Brown" (1835) is a short story by American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne. The story takes place in Puritan New England, a common setting for Hawthorne's works, and addresses one of his common themes: the conflict between good and evil in human nature and, in particular, the problem of public goodness and private wickedness.

Plot summary

The story begins at sunset in the late 17th century Salem, Massachusetts, with the young Goodman Brown leaving his home and Faith, his wife of three months, to meet with a mysterious figure deep in the forest. As he and this mysterious figure meet and proceed further into the dark forest, it is broadly hinted that Goodman Brown's traveling companion is, in fact, the Devil, and that the purpose of their journey is to join in an unspecified but obviously unholy ritual. Goodman Brown wavers and expresses reluctance, not only once but several times, yet they continue. As their journey continues Brown discovers others also proceeding to the meeting, many of them his townsfolk whom he had considered exemplary Christians, including his minister and deacon and the woman who taught him his catechism. He is astonished and disheartened and determines, once again, to turn back. But then he hears his wife's voice and realizes that she is one of the ones who is to be initiated at the meeting. Recognizing that he has lost his Faith (in both senses), he now resolves to carry out his original intention and enthusiastically joins the procession.

At the ceremony, which is carried out at a crude, flame-lit rocky altar in a clearing deep in the forest, the new converts are called to come forth. He and Faith approach the altar and, as they are about to be anointed in blood to seal their alliance with wickedness, he cries out to Faith to look to heaven and resist. In the next instant he finds himself standing alone in the forest, next to the cold, wet rock.

Arriving back in Salem the next morning, Goodman Brown is uncertain whether his experience was real or only a dream, but he is nevertheless deeply shaken. His view of his neighbors is distorted by his memories of that night. He lives out his days an embittered and suspicious cynical man, wary of everyone around him, including his wife Faith. The story concludes with this dismal statement:

"And when he had lived long, and was borne to his grave...they carved no hopeful verse upon his tombstone, for his dying hour was gloom."


en.wikipedia.org