A Birthday

By Christina Rossetti

My heart is like a singing bird

                  Whose nest is in a water'd shoot;

My heart is like an apple-tree

                  Whose boughs are bent with thickset fruit;

My heart is like a rainbow shell

                  That paddles in a halcyon sea;

My heart is gladder than all these

                  Because my love is come to me.

Raise me a dais of silk and down;

                  Hang it with vair and purple dyes;

Carve it in doves and pomegranates,

                  And peacocks with a hundred eyes;

Work it in gold and silver grapes,

                  In leaves and silver fleurs-de-lys;

Because the birthday of my life

                  Is come, my love is come to me.

     I enjoyed this poem for a few reasons. When I first saw the title on poetry out loud I thought it sounded like it would be a fun and light-hearted poem. I found it pretty easy to read and understand the surface of. But I knew that it had a bigger meaning then what it seemed to have. So I  decided to do some additional research to better comprehend the poem. Another reason it was easy for me to read was becuase I could picture the images in my mind well, which helped me understand it a little bit. 

    

    As I previously stated, after doing some research I better understood the poem. I learned that she is writing about the joy and excitement someone gets when they see someone they love. In the second to last line Rossetti says, "Because the birthday of my life", meaning this was that day that she finally felt "alive". The first stanza is talking about the emotions she feels. One line I found interesting was when Rossetti wrote, "My heart is like an apple-tree, whose boughs are bent with thickset fruit". I really enjoyed this line because I think she did a good job of describing how she felt. I think she was trying to say that her heart was basically mush. She felt weak because of how in love she was.

Music Mash-Up

Speech with Olivia

“Shiver” by Coldplay

OLIVIA Hast thou forgot thyself? is it so long? Call forth the holy father. DUKE ORSINO Come, away! OLIVIA Whither, my lord? Cesario, husband, stay. DUKE ORSINO Husband! OLIVIA Ay, husband: can he that deny? DUKE ORSINO Her husband, sirrah! VIOLA No, my lord, not I. OLIVIA Alas, it is the baseness of thy fear That makes thee strangle thy propriety: Fear not, Cesario; take thy fortunes up; Be that thou know'st thou art, and then thou art As great as that thou fear'st.

So I look in your direction, But you pay me no attention, do you? I know you don't listen to me. 'cause you say you see straight through me, don't you? And on and on from the moment I wake, To the moment I sleep, I'll be there by your side, Just you try and stop me, I'll be waiting in line, Just to see if you care. Did you want me to change? Well I changed for good And I want you to know. That you'll always get your way I wanted to say, I'll always be waiting for you, So you know how much I need you, But you never even see me, do you? And is this my final chance of getting you? And on and on from the moment I wake, To the moment I sleep, I'll be there by your side, Just you try and stop me, I'll be waiting in line, Just to see if you care.

I chose this song because the lyrics matched up well with Olivia's life. The song talks about liking someone and them not paying any attention back to you. This is similar to Olivia's situation with Sebastian; She likes him but he doesn't give her any attention in return. 

So I look in your direction,

But you pay me no attention, do you?

Hast thou forgot thyself? is it so long?

I know you don't listen to me.

'cause you say you see straight through me, don't you?

Ay, husband: can he that deny?

I'll always be waiting for you,

So you know how much I need you,

Alas, it is the baseness of thy fear

That makes thee strangle thy propriety:

Fear not, Cesario; take thy fortunes up;

Be that thou know'st thou art, and then thou art

As great as that thou fear'st.

A Boat Beneath a Sunny Sky

By Lewis Carroll

A BOAT beneath a sunny sky,

Lingering onward dreamily

In an evening of July —

Children three that nestle near,

Eager eye and willing ear,

Pleased a simple tale to hear —

Long has paled that sunny sky:

Echoes fade and memories die:

Autumn frosts have slain July.

Still she haunts me, phantomwise,

Alice moving under skies

Never seen by waking eyes.

Children yet, the tale to hear,

Eager eye and willing ear,

Lovingly shall nestle near.

In a Wonderland they lie,

Dreaming as the days go by,

Dreaming as the summers die:

Ever drifting down the stream —

Lingering in the golden gleam —

Life, what is it but a dream?

I typically don’t enjoy reading poems very much. I find them hard to follow most of the time, and difficult to grasp the concept. “A Boat Beneath a Sunny Sky” by Lewis Carroll changed some of the mindset I had about poems. It was easy to understand, the rhyming helped it have more rhythm then some poems do. When I read the first few lines of this poem it reminded me of the summers I spent at my grandfather’s lake house in Georgia. When I go there over the summer, we usually take his boat out and travel around the different lakes and through the scenic landscape. Were always there for Fourth of July, which was also something in common with Carroll’s poem. Maybe that’s another reason I enjoyed the poem; because it was relatable and brought back good memories. It made me feel nostalgic.

I liked the line in the second stanza, “pleased a simple tale to hear”. It tells the reader that the author is telling a story to three children, and how they are happy to hear about it. Another line I enjoyed was in one of the last few stanzas, “In a Wonderland they lie, dreaming as the days go by, dreaming as the summers die”. I think here the author is writing about adult’s day dreaming back to when they were kids, and how they enjoyed the summers on the boat. Maybe she’s speaking about herself here. The very last line also caught my eye, “life, what is it but a dream?” Is this a famous quote? I feel like I have heard it before. I think what the Carroll is trying to say here is that we spend so much of our life day dreaming about our past, future or anything really.

Poet Bio

• 

  Lewis Carroll

  1832–1898

Olivia in Act 5 Scene 1

In this scene, Orsino and Viola arrive at Olivia’s house to tell Olivia the truth. This is where everything unfolds. Everyone learns the truth about one another and starts making connections. But before all this happens, Olivia is extremely confused and just wants to know the truth. Cesario ignores Olivia, but she doesn’t understand because she had just married Sebastian (thinking it was Cesario). She’s madly in-love with Cesario and just wants his attention – since they had got married. Olivia isn’t necessarily strong or weak. She was put in an extremely confusing situation so some of her reactions are understandable. When it comes to Cesario, she is extremely weak because of her “strong love” for him. Olivia also takes a lot of control during this scene, but mainly because she generally has a lot of power. She orders Malvolio and Feste to give her the letter that was given to Malvolio, she commands Cesario to stay where he is until things are resolved, and orders for Sir Andrew and Sir Toby to get medical attention after the fight. Overall, Olivia has very much control in this scene. The two best words that could be used to describe Olivia during this time are, “puzzled” and “frustrated”. She’s frustrated that so many things are happening at once and they’re all puzzling her.  One way to portray Olivia in this scene is by having her stand in the center of the room, as everything else is going on around her. This shows the control she has over everyone at this time. Strong hand gestures and body position could show her frustration and facial expressions showing her confusion.