The differences in the statures of Adam and Eve are indicative of Adam’s strident insult, words that bring light and thought to the obvious physical differences between their bodies. The silhouettes of Adam and Eve are a testament to the line in Paradise Lost in which Adam refers to Eve as a “fair defect.” However, the importance of this line in the artwork is undermined by the more prominent eyes superimposed over the figures of the picture. The eyes are representative of reconnection, adapted from Eve’s “augmented, opened eyes, new hopes, new joys” from her compassionate conversation with Adam. Eve’s words symbolize a domestic partnership in which harsh words or difficulty is addressed through mutual love and respect. My adaptation provides new insight into the original characters of Adam and Eve because it forces the audience to reconsider the characters' differences- the drawing removes the space between Adam and Eve and resuscitates their relationship with a newfound focus on their similarities. The eyes in my artwork signify a hope of renewal and beauty in the form of Eve’s eventual apology; the allusion to the “defect” quote is implicit in the obvious differences between the man and woman’s body, but the eyes are at the forefront, suggesting that they are more significant than said differences with their promise of reconciliation.
The lines I chose to adapt in my artwork are those in which Adam labels Eve a “fair defect” (Milton 10.891), questioning God’s choice not to “fill the World at once / With Men” (10.892). My artwork also, and more importantly, refers to the loving and passionate conversation shared between Adam and Eve in Book 9— specifically, the lines uttered by Eve, "This happy trial of thy love which else / So eminently never had been known…So faithful love unequaled. But I feel / Far otherwise th’ event: not death but life / Augmented, opened eyes, new hopes, new joys, / Taste so divine that what of sweet before / Hath touched my sense flat seems to this and harsh" (9.975-987). The left side of the illustration represents Eve: it features an outline of her figure and a more strongly outlined female eye in front of it. The right half of the illustration bears the likeness of Adam, and similarly, a clearly defined male eye drawn over it.
The differences in the statures of Adam and Eve are indicative of Adam’s strident insult, words that bring light and thought to the obvious physical differences between their bodies. The silhouettes of Adam and Eve are a testament to the line in Paradise Lost in which Adam refers to Eve as a “fair defect.” However, the importance of this line in the artwork is undermined by the more prominent eyes superimposed over the figures of the picture. The eyes are representative of reconnection, adapted from Eve’s “augmented, opened eyes, new hopes, new joys” from her compassionate conversation with Adam. Eve’s words symbolize a domestic partnership in which harsh words or difficulty is addressed through mutual love and respect. My adaptation provides new insight into the original characters of Adam and Eve because it forces the audience to reconsider the characters' differences- the drawing removes the space between Adam and Eve and resuscitates their relationship with a newfound focus on their similarities. The eyes in my artwork signify a hope of renewal and beauty in the form of Eve’s eventual apology; the allusion to the “defect” quote is implicit in the obvious differences between the man and woman’s body, but the eyes are at the forefront, suggesting that they are more significant than said differences with their promise of reconciliation.
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Caliban… ‘Ban ‘Ban ‘Ban ‘Ban ‘Ban Ca’ Caliban… Condemned to die a slave o’Caliban… No fight to free himself o’Caliban… These words you hear, o downtrodden Take them with you far…and Rise ye up in number ‘gainst All Faceless, Curséd Hardship! For… The isle of Prosper Is finally free, But Caliban never A sovereign shall be… For once the old master Has couped the d’état A new dominator Regime will’ve begot So rise ye up all gentlemen, Take heart of this sound verse, Pray for our good fortunes And to all: fight un-dispersed! Liberty… Lady Libertas, o Liberty! The island’s ours now, right? o’Liberty… But Prospero’s too strong, o’Liberty! It never was to be, For Caliban was made as slave It never could have come to pass For magic proved too strong, Sycorax… Mother mother mother Sycorax… Sorry I won’t see you Sycorax… Miss you every day, o Sycorax… The power to beat Prosper, Even her dark magic always lacked, So doomed her son was always, his Bonds, though broken, proved not escape. Caliban… ‘Ban ‘Ban ‘Ban ‘Ban ‘Ban Ca’ Caliban… Slave to all he met, o Caliban… Not free though Prosper gone o’Caliban… O freedom, high-day, high-day! So dearly yearned for, not to be, For master needed not be man, And isle still was Ariel’s… … The isle for Ariel Is finally free, But Calibanana Croupier his shall be… Lines referenced:
Shakespeare: “Has a new master, get a new man / Freedom, high-day; high-day, freedom; freedom high-day, freedom” (Shakespeare 2.2.180-181). Brathwaite ("Caliban"): “And Ban Ban Cal- iban” (Brathwaite, "Caliban" 33-37). “and now I see that these modern palaces have grown / out of the soil, out of the bad habits of their crippled owners” (5-6). “salute blackjack, salute backgammon, salute the one-armed bandit” (21). Analysis: My points of departure for this emphatically lyrical post-The Tempest (and in the end post-Brathwaite) poetic song of Caliban are lines 180-181 from Act 2 Scene 2 of The Tempest and Brathwaite’s characterization of Caliban in “Caliban.” Shakespeare’s Caliban seems to be in a permanent state of servitude; when he throws off one master, he finds another. I took this Caliban, while considering what would happen after Prospero left the island, and transformed his setting to one more like that of Brathwaite’s Caliban in the first part of poem to see how he would fare. The ending of this scenario as I see it is inevitably one of being able to triumph over neither subjugation nor his inherent slave-mentality. The final stanza of my verse reveals the ultimate irony of the psychology of subjugation. Ariel, formerly ruled by Prospero, now takes on his ruler’s mantle, continuing to subjugate Caliban, but now for himself in his rule set now in Brathwaite’s Caribbean, with its casinos and other dens of iniquity. Instead of carrying wood, he is now a croupier in one of Ariel’s casinos, reminiscent of line 21 of Brathwaite’s “Caliban.” Much like in Brathwaite’s world, once the formerly enslaved is empowered, things will not necessarily translate into benefit for the fellow slaves. Overall, my poem is a more negative take than Brathwaite’s on the fate of Shakespeare’s Caliban, lacking the hope and sense of rebirth present in “Caliban.” My poem is an ode to failed revolution and a fatalistic take on the psychological depth of the impact of enslavement in the face of power vacuum or regime change. The rhythm (and tone(s)) of the poem are above the poem's text: The poem has three different meters, which demonstrate the initial plight of subjugation and enslavement, a hope that might be had for freedom and successful self-rule, and the final sense of despair, despairing of empowerment for benefit and succumbing to the powerful mentality of subservience. |
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