Modern translation of Shakespearean language

FRIAR LAURENCE 
Original Text:
Holy Saint Francis, what a change is here!
Is Rosaline, whom thou didst love so dear,
So soon forsaken? young men's love then lies
Not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes.
Jesu Maria, what a deal of brine
Hath wash'd thy sallow cheeks for Rosaline!
How much salt water thrown away in waste,
To season love, that of it doth not taste!
The sun not yet thy sighs from heaven clears,
Thy old groans ring yet in my ancient ears;
Lo, here upon thy cheek the stain doth sit
Of an old tear that is not wash'd off yet:
If e'er thou wast thyself and these woes thine,
Thou and these woes were all for Rosaline:
And art thou changed? pronounce this sentence then,
Women may fall, when there's no strength in men.

Modified Version:

Oh my god, this changes everything!
Is Rosaline, who you loved so dearly
Already forgotten?  Young men must then love
Not based on true feelings, but by attractiveness.
My god, was that a lot of tears
That you used to cry over Rosaline!
How much tears have you wasted,
To distasteful temporary love.
Your sighs are still echoing in the sky,
I can still hear your groans.
See, here on your cheek is a tear stain
That you haven’t washed off yet.
If it was really you and your problems,
You and your problems are for Rosaline.
Have you changed? Say this then:
Women fall when men are weak.

Shakespearean Era

 This picture sums up two very important people from the 16^th century; Shakespeare and Queen Elizabeth I.  They both contributed to England in such a remarkable way, that long after they are gone the differences they made in the world are still discussed today.  Shakespeare is often thought of as the greatest writer in the English language and the world’s first prominent dramatist.  Queen Elizabeth I set out to rule by good counsel, and she turned out to be more moderate in government than her father and half-siblings had been.

This is a part of the sonnet “The Dark Lady” written by Shakespeare.  Over the centuries some readers believed that Shakespeare’s sonnets are autobiographical and point to them as evidence of him being homosexual.  The so-called “Dark Lady” sonnets are considered evidence that he is heterosexual due to how it’s a sexually passionate sonnet about a married woman with black hair and dark skin.   

Vegetables were food for the poor, since the rich considered food from the ground to be of lesser value.  Meat, fish, venison, beef, pork, eel, and shellfish were considered luxuries reserved for the rich.  Though meat was the main component of the upper-class diet, they occasionally ate turnips, carrots, radishes, apples, woodland strawberries, and certain other fruits and vegetables.  Desserts included pastries, cakes, crystallized fruit, and syrup.  Bread was a staple for everyone, and the quality depended on the status.  Upper classes ate white bread called manchet while the poor ate coarse bread of barley or rye.  The imbalanced diet of the poor and the rich caused a deficiency in vitamin C, sometimes resulting in scurvy.

This image depicts a typical theater during the 16^th century.  Young boys and men played the women and plays were only performed in the daytime since there was no electricity. In regards to architecture, theaters then were much smaller in comparison to today since we possess building materials that were unavailable at that time; the audiences can now be larger.  Also, there have been accidents during theater history which have claimed the lives of actors and the audience in the past due to the unavailability of proper exits.

In 1570, Sir Francis Drake started on an excursion against the Spaniards.  From 1573 to a little past 1577 he crossed the Isthmus and attacked the Spanish settlements on the Pacific shores. He then sailed southward along the Brazilian coast, entered the Rio de la Plata, and passed through the Straits of Magellan. Then he followed the coasts of Chili and Peru, attacking the Spanish ships and settlements as he advanced, and explored the shores of western America in the hope of discovering a passage to the Atlantic. He returned home by way of the Cape of Good Hope, accomplishing the first circumnavigation of the globe by an Englishman. 

One/several of these are pictures of Shakespeare’s restored 16^th-century half-timbered house.  It is situated in Henley Street, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England, where it is believed that William Shakespeare was born in 1564 and spent his childhood years.  It is now a small museum open to the public and a popular visitor attraction, owned and managed by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. 

I visited it in 2009! 

Corn Flakes Re-branding

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Logo: Perry the Platypus

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Personal Reflection- Vulgar language, relevance, and preferred method of studying history (based on Book of Negroes)

I don’t think hurtful or derogatory words in the novel should be removed or replaced with less offensive words since in reality, hardly anyone would just ask you that before they offend you or say something hurtful.  Keeping these words would make the novel as authentic as possible since it’s an account on what slavery was like, so taking out some important words would be like lying to the reader on the realism of the experience.  The message would also be quite diluted overall, seeing as making the whole slavery experience seem more pleasant than it actually was defeats the whole purpose of the novel.  Something else that should also be taken into consideration is the comparison between the accuracy of the historical events versus the language being used.  Shouldn't they both be truthful, in order to ensure the reader has a clear viewpoint on slavery and how it affects others?

This novel is relevant to today’s society in the sense that in some areas of the world, things like this still happen.  People are not always treated like a human being, or called words that they like.  Racism still exists, and derogatory words are still being used frequently.  Women and men are still not even paid the same amount of money, for the same work!  Slavery, racism, and gender equality are both reoccurring themes in the novel, as well as in the modern world.  Though this novel is based from the 1700’s- 1800’s, it still has a lot of qualities that make it comparable to present day life.

I believe it is partially possible to learn about history through reading literature and fiction.  If the alternative was studying history textbooks, than the majority of students would have no interest.  I've become exposed to the history of slave trade through The Book of Negroes, and would not have been otherwise.  Textbooks are just compressed facts page after page.  Reading history through fictional literature allows readers to capture the emotions and problems the character goes through on a more empathetic level.  Also, the attractiveness of the plot will keep the readers reading whether their main purpose is the history or not.  This way, they will be effectively exposed to our unfortunate past. This proves literature and fictional reading materials more valuable than studying from a history textbook, from a student’s perspective.  Although, this novel cannot entirely replace a textbook since it’s not entirely factual, but textbooks display no personality in comparison.  A novel should never really be used in place of a history textbook, but rather as a means of depicting a more passionate insight into the realm of time that is being “witnessed” through the novel.  Overall, it depends on your opinion when comparing the usefulness of a novel versus that of a history textbook, since both get the point across in their own ways, and with their own sets of strengths and flaws.

The Book of Negroes Similes & Metaphors

Simile #1

"People assume that just because you don't stand as straight as a sapling, you're deaf." -pg.1

Simile #2

"In my early childhood, my ba was like a river, flowing on and on and on with me through the days, and keeping me safe at night." -pg.3

Simile #3

"Out I came, sliding from my mother like an otter from a riverbank." -pg.13

Metaphor #1 

"I long to hold my own children, and their children if they exist, and I miss them the way I'd miss limbs from my own body." -pg.2

Metaphor #2

"Every time I have sailed the seas, I have had the sense of gliding over the unburied." -pg.7

Metaphor #3

"Honey, I said, my life is a ghost story." -pg.4

Blogging Topic 2: The Book of Negroes Photo Essay

When Aminata was first taken away from her family and village, thoughts of her mother and father drinking mint tea stuck with her and reminded her of what her life once was like.  Even after years of travelling, slavery, and freedom, Aminata will always remember her childhood through the scent of mint tea, which she and her family drank from a calabash.  In other instances throughout her journey, seeing a calabash always reminded her of her homeland and childhood.  Other slaves probably also had objects that represented something memorable to them, before they were enslaved.

After being captured, the three month walk towards the coast tested Aminata’s physical strength.  Slaves typically had to walk for miles and days to reach destinations that had no better living condition than the walk itself.  Being naked and forced to walk chained to one another showed humiliation, which Aminata found to be a con of going back to her village, if she ever managed to escape.

During the walk to the ships that would depart slaves from their homeland, they also experienced mental downfall.  People turned crazy, or gave up on life itself.  Aminata witnessed a father jump of a tree after his daughter’s death, so as to join her.  Many others would have probably killed themselves too, if given the chance.  The anguish experienced by being alive was enough to remember, even forty or more years later.

On top of enduring physical and mental pain, spirituality was stripped from slaves and any feeble attempts would be punished.  Aminata tried multiple times to phrase Allah out of habit and in times of need, but was told she would be beaten or even killed.  She ended up not believing in Allah due to the persistence of others for her to stop praying.  This made her feel even more alone and helpless than ever before.

Although the captors were cruel for enslaving people, they’re never look a slave in the eyes. Aminata noticed that they lacked light in their eyes; she had never met a person doing terrible things who would peacefully meet her gaze.  She reasoned that to look into another person’s face is to do two things: recognize their humanity and assert your own.

When Aminata was brought down into the medicine man’s room, he sexually advanced on her and she hissed in protest.  An eleven year old girl hissing at this grown man was enough to stop him; he had weak, blue, watering irises which is quite contrary to men whose eyes burn with the intention to hurt.

Blogging Topic 1: The Book of Negroes Diary Entry

Dear Diary,

My fa and ba have been killed, in front of my very own eyes.  How was this possible? My father was the strongest man in Bayo, and he married Mama for her strength too.  I don’t know what to do.  Part of me just wants to wake up from this bad dream. If not, then at least lie down and give up on life.  But I’ve been taught better than this; I’ve been raised with dignity, and as a freeborn Muslim I have the right to live freely!

 Sometimes during our never ending walk, I wonder what fa and ba would say to me…if they were still here. “Keep walking!” my father would say, “Don’t fall!” adds Mama.  I try to keep their voices in my head.  It is the only sense of comfort I have left, without clothes or food.  Or their very presence.  I imagine drinking mint tea with them, and the sound of Mama’s laughter as my father would tell captivating stories weaved together with his charm.  But I cannot do it.  Each time they are overtaken by visions of Mama being beaten with that thick, heavy club. I keep wondering what I could have done, to save her.  I feel helpless, and weak at the knees.  Father keeps drifting through my thoughts too, as the memory of life gushing out of his chest replays over and over in my head.  How do I escape from these captors? Where will they take me? Will I survive whatever they do to me?  These are the questions I keep willing myself to answer.

 If I want to make it through the long and painful journey I sense beginning, I must trust no one but myself.  That’s what my father would have said.  I cannot trust these toubabu men, with their strange whiskery hair and colorful eyes. I do not trust those eyes.  Not once have I looked into them, and seen them staring back.  Have they any mercy, pity or shame? No, they do not.  I know this by what they have already done to me.  They’ve killed my parents, and taken me away from my home land.  I keep wondering why no one from Bayo or anyone of my color is doing anything to stop them.

This stupid boy keeps walking beside me, as gleeful as though he’s making any money out of this. Does he not sense how wrong this is? Does he not see the irony in helping white men trap his own people? Whether he does or does not, I at least hope he realizes at some point that he is in danger too, and that he escapes before harm comes his way. 

While we walked through the night, other captives joined us.  In the moonlight, I noticed Fomba’s tilted head.  Then I saw Fanta.  Her eyes looked panicked but at the sight of me, it was replaced with loathing.  I wanted to call out to her, and see if she knew anything about this coming journey, but she had a cloth stuck in her mouth, and she too was bound by the wrists.  I tried to meet her eyes, but she would not greet my stare.  My gaze fell on her swollen belly.  I guessed that she was halfway through her pregnancy. 

We walked as the sun rose, and finally reached a river.  I willed myself one last time, with the last bit of hope left in me, to wake up.  But there was only an unbearable nightmare that would not end.