Confessional Poetry

1. Confess means to admit that they did something shameful, embarrassing, or that they would not like to have attributed to them.
2. Personal issues, where the writer is projecting themselves as the speaker, writing about issues that previously wouldn't be subject matter for poetry often, and are considered somewhat socially taboo.  So sensitive things.
3. It's similar in that it's still poetry and talks about how the author feels and what they think about things, using literary and auditory features.  It's different in that the subject matter it covers is more personally deep, and darker.
4. Confessional is darker, and more admiting things about themselves, rather than focusing possibly on something outside their person.

Othello Marriage Quotes

Quote 1

O thou foul thief, where hast thou stow'd my daughter. (1.2.2)

-    -When Brabantio confronts Othello for eloping with Desdemona (without his permission), he accuses his new son-in-law of being a "foul thief," as if Desdemona is piece of property that has been unlawfully taken away from him. We see this same attitude earlier in the play when Iago awakens Brabantio in the middle of the night proclaiming loudly "Awake! what, ho, Brabantio! thieves! thieves! thieves! / Look to your house, your daughter and your bags! / Thieves! thieves!" (1.1.7). What's up with that?

History Snack: It turns out that it's pretty common in Shakespeare's plays (and sixteenth-to-seventeenth-century England in general) for daughters to be considered their father's property – unmarried women are often portrayed as something to be stolen, bartered for and/or traded by men. In Taming of the Shrew, for example, when Baptista Minola bargains with his daughter's suitor, he treats Bianca like a possession and even refers to himself as a "merchant" who is undertaking a risky business deal (Taming of the Shrew, 2.1.22).

Quote 2

Damn'd as thou art, thou hast enchanted her;
For I'll refer me to all things of sense,
If she in chains of magic were not bound,
Whether a maid so tender, fair and happy,
So opposite to marriage that she shunned
The wealthy curled darlings of our nation,
Would ever have, to incur a general mock,
Run from her guardage to the sooty bosom
Of such a thing as thou, to fear, not to delight.
Judge me the world, if 'tis not gross in sense
That thou hast practised on her with foul charms,
Abused her delicate youth with drugs or minerals
That weaken motion: (1.2.2)

-  -Brabantio insists that Othello must have "enchanted" Desdemona – why else, asks Brabantio, would she run away from all the (white) eligible bachelors in Venice into the "sooty bosom" of the "Moor"? (Pretty obnoxious, wouldn't you say?) Brabantio's objection to his daughter's marriage to a black man gives voice to fears of miscegenation (when interracial couples marry/have sex, etc., resulting in "mixed race" children).

Quote 3

IAGO 
I hate the Moor:
And it is thought abroad, that 'twixt my sheets
He has done my office: I know not if't be true;
But I, for mere suspicion in that kind,
Will do as if for surety. (1.3.12)

-We discuss this passage in "Jealousy," but it's important to the theme of "Marriage" as well. Here, Iago suggests that his wife, Emilia, has cheated on him with Othello. Now, we know this is completely untrue. What we don't know is whether or not Iago actually believes that Othello has slept with Emilia. As we know, Iago lists multiple (and incompatible) motives for seeking to destroy Othello (elsewhere, he says he hates Othello because he was passed up for a promotion), so it's entirely possible that Iago's the one who makes up the rumor about Othello and Emilia. On the other hand, most men in the play assume that all women are promiscuous and unfaithful in general, so it's not so surprising that Iago would believe Emilia has been untrue.

Quote 4

IAGO
She did deceive her father, marrying you;
[…]
OTHELLO
And so she did. (3.3.18)

-When Iago wants to make Othello suspect Desdemona's been unfaithful, he suggests a woman who disobeys and "deceive[s] her father is likely to screw around on her husband. Othello's response implies that he feels the same way. Instead of seeing Desdemona's decision to elope with Othello (despite her father's disapproval) as a sign of his wife's loyalty to him, Othello sees Desdemona's willingness to elope as a prelude to her infidelity. It seems that Othello's sexist assumptions leave him pretty vulnerable to Iago's plotting.

Why you shouldn't copy things

In a case of somebody hearing something that went along with a case they wanted to make, and repeating it without taking time to look at where it came from, Iranian news site, Fars News Agency, recently published an article talking about how rural white American prefer President Ahmadinejad to President Obama as a serious story.  Which they got from The Onion.

Link

Brabantio-Othello

 Sara, Shayan, Dahlia

In act 1 scene, Brabantio represented himself as a very tough man with high standards and with high social standing "My house is not a grange" (Pg.9-107). Everyone respected him and knew better than to disobey him. However, when he found out that his daughter was lost, he caved in and offered Roderigo whatever he wanted to help him find Desdemona. Shakespeare did so, in order for the readers to see how much Brabantio cared about his daughter and that he was prepared to set his dignity aside just to find her. At the same time Brabantio is in a position where he is in denial as the man he trusted (Othello) betrayed him and married his daughter. At this point, Brabantio was feeling guilty that he had not allowed Iago to marry Roderigo "...O that you had had her! Some one way some another..." (pg.13- 174).

Iago Characterization - Matt and Paul

Iago is characterized as a somewhat bitter and selfish man, who hates his boss Othello, and Cassio as he thinks that he deserved the promotion that Othello gave Cassio(8-33).  He's decided to serve himself and his own purposes, rather than do his duty and serve Othello.  He despises , 'Many a duteous and knee-crooking knave,/That doting on his own obsequious bondage, .... Whip me such honest knaves.  Others there are/Who, trimmed in forms and visates of duty,/Keep yet their hearts attending on themselves, ... These fellows have some soul,/And such a one do I provess myself.' (45-55)  He's also very cunning and uses others to acomplish his own goals, like Roderigo, 'Tush, never tell me, I take it much unkindly/That thou, Iago, who hast had my purse/As if hte strings were thine shouldst know of this.' (1-3).  Iago sees himself as his own person, serving to fufil his own purposes and wants rather than someone who just does things that others tell him to do, more so if he doesn't like them.
Through the was the speeches Iago gives are formed, being eloquent and articulate rather than goofy or unorganized, along with the malcontent shown throughout them, it's clear that rather than a comedic buffon, he will be a serious villan and threat to the hero of the play.
Iago talks to Roderigo in a cajoling manner, acting as his friend and sympathising with his dislike for Othello, as shown by quotes like, 'Despise me if I do not... (8)'  However, there are also times there it's that he really doesn't think of Roderigo as his equal as he gives him orders, like, 'Call up her father:/Rouse him, make after him, poison his delight, (68-69)'.  His not really caring for Roderigo that much compared to his concern for himself is shown further in how he took his leave from the scene they'd created, 'Farewell, for I must leave you./It seems not meet nor wholesome to my place/To be produced, as if I stay I shall,/Against the Moor.(143-6)'

Literature: Critical Study

1) They are both apologies for eating plums that were supposed to be used soon for something other than being eaten. There is a feeling of guilt and a felling of surrender as well, to the delicious flavour of the plums.
2) While one says that their was nothing else to eat except for the plums, the other states that they were too good and very tempting. Also, one is much more formally written, probably because it dates back to much longer. One describes the plums, while the other doesn't tend to really mind their flavour and is just happy about the fact that they're full.
3) Yes, the differences are related to intention. Although both aim to apologise for eating the plums, one is just an apology, while the other is more of an apology that would come with expecting a reproachful reaction to eating the plums. This is because it justifies the stance of the speaker in a detailed manner, asking for the person being apologies to to forgive them for eating the plums.
4) Pragmatic intention is related to the social historical context, which is important in both of the texts and is one of the main differences between them.
5) The language used is completely different, one is much more formal than the other. The poem has a much more tranquil atmosphere, due to its nature while the note has a causual atmosphere, especially with the bit about the facewash, since it diverts the attention of the readers away from the plums.

Plums, Words, and Broken Things

1. Both have the idea of an apology for eating another person's plums, which the speaker knew they were saving for a specific purpose.
2. Text 1 is a note, while Text 2 is a poem which uses a large amount of enjambment.  Text 1 gives the reason that they were eaten, and also asks the speaker's mother for some other items to eat, whicle Text 2 does neither.  Text 2 also states that the peaches were good, while Text 1 doesn't.
3. They possibly could be related to intention.  Text 1 just seems to be someone who leaves notes for their mother normally letting them know they ate the plums, there isn't that much food, and asking for her to buy some items.  Text 2 on the other hand seems like the speaker may've written the poem as something of an apology gift, and seems somewhat remorseful for eating them, but admits they did taste good.  While Text 1 seems to just be transferring information, Text 2 is transferring the information while giving something of how the speaker feels about what happened, and they the reader to feel or understand other than just that some events happened.
4. Both display a pragmatic intention in how they plainly state the facts about the plums in words.  However, by shaping it into a poem, with a sort of delay that builds up tension while the reader reads through the different stanzas, though they really form only two sentences, and the way they seperated the 3rd stanza by itself, seems to indicate some more about what the speaker feels or thinks about what happened.
5. The way it was written was shaped to carry more ideas and feeling than can be expressed directly in most prosaic texts, without using many more words.