The Good-Morrow Commentary

Pearl S. Buck once stated, "Love dies only when growth stops". To many, love grows and develops as it progresses. To others, love may be captured and maintained in one moment. John Donne uses the structure of his poem "The Good-Morrow" in order to convey the development and progression of love. Consisting of three stanzas, "The Good-Morrow" chronicles the maturity of love and its advancement in three stages. 

The first stanza begins questioning, what was it that humored the narrator before he found love? Words such as "weaned" and "childishly" suggest an immature lust and one involving two inexperienced lovers. This is further demonstrated in the line "But sucked on country pleasures, childishly?", which tells of a sexual past in which he or both of the lovers pleasures themselves childishly.

The second stanza begins, "And now good-morrow to our waking souls", implying that it is a new beginning and that the souls are "waking" or rather the lovers are having their eyes opened to a new understanding of love. "And makes one little room an everywhere", here the narrator feels as if his love is infinite and that it is universal as well as omnipresent. In this stanza the narrator compares his love to that of sea-wanderers and geographers who must search far for their desires as long as they "let us possess one world, each hath one, and is one". 

The third and final stanza of the poem begins with the image of the two lovers admiring their reflections in each other's eyes. "And true plain hearts do in the faces rest". The lovers are now truly and simply in love. They realize that they are perfect for each other; the narrator hopes and truly believes that their love together will balance perfectly and live together everlastingly. "Whatever dies was not mixed equally; If our two loves be one, or, thou and...none can die". The narrator does not believe their love is mixed unequally or is imbalanced, but rather their love is one; a love that "none do slacken, none can die".

Overall, John Donne successfully portrays a development of love through each stanza. Beginning with the underdeveloped lustful feelings, the narrator is experiencing pleasures and recognizes there is more to what he is feeling. Donne then uses the second stanza as a transitional phase within which his love spreads. And lastly, the third stanza acts as a full-realization and celebration of their love. 

Act of Resistance

When I first discovered that the smoking rate in the U.S. had dramatically decreased I was extremely surprised. I personally feel that smoking has always been an ongoing problem in this nation alone, with its devastating effect on consumers. It was on November 17th that I first heard the news that the smoking rate in the U.S. may be at its lowest level since mass consumer marketing of tobacco products began in the 1920’s. The news not only served as inspiration for a possible act of resistance project, but it provided a catalyst, causing me to begin a project advocating the non-use of drugs. It was with this disposition that I first began my fight back.
I decided that the best way to influence others was to start small. For an English assignment, I felt it satisfactory that I focus on a small group of individuals. My younger sister attends Carve Academy of Mathematics and Science. For my project, I would be frequently visiting the classes in this K through eighth school in order to address the issues regarding smokers and non-smokers today. I felt it important that I speak to both issues as it is valuable to be cognizant of the effects of smoking on smokers and non-smokers alike. Starting with first and ending with eighth graders, I began to present to each of the classes my opinions on smoking and tobacco use in the U.S. today. Along with my personal opinion, I presented gathered facts and statistics which put things into a more literal perspective for the students. Through this presentation I felt I provided valuable information for the students and a reason to avoid tobacco use as well as encourage others to do the same.
Personally I felt this experience helped me to grow as it allowed me to recognize my own capabilities and, when applied, the effect I have on the decisions of others. I believe that not only did the students appreciate the fifteen minute break from class, but also the information being provided and a person who took the time to thoroughly explain the basics. One student mentioned that he appreciated details rather than the usual, "don't smoke". I'm glad that I could provide more insight on the issue and hopefully effectively enlighten the students to the risks of smoking.
Upon reflection however, there are a few things that I would like to expand upon. Given the time restraint and that I didn't want to interrupt the class for too long, I didn't feel that I had enough time to provide all of the information that I would've wanted to. However, if I were to have more time I would definitely improve upon a few aspects. For one, I would provide more information and give real life examples. Also, I would want to do some sort of crafts project with the students so that the experience would have more of a lasting effect on them. One thing in particular which I would like to do is to create T-shirts for the students with some sort of witty slogan.
When I find the time, I will most definitely continue to do such acts. I have agreed to speak at a T.A.T.U. (Teens Against Tobacco Use) Program that my sister will attend. I will also participate as a volunteer on various workshops where we demonstrate different lungs: those affected by smoking and those not, etc.
Overall, I'm glad that I've accomplished this project and I can truly see it's connection to Lysistrata. With a plan and commitment, anything is possible.

Act of Advocation

Tenuous Oath?

At one point I was skeptical about whether or not all of the women would keep to their promise. For one,the women were extremely reluctant to partake in Lysistrata's plan in the first place, and made it apparent that sex meant a great deal to them. Kleonike states: "Try something else. Try anything. If you say so, I'm willing to walk through fire barefoot. But not to give up SEX-there's nothing like it, Lysistrata!" (26). It is obvious that the women treasure sex, not only the men. Also, I felt that the way the oath was sworn was doubtful as it was altered at the last minute from a shield to a recommendation of wine, which I felt made the oath more tenuous.

Peace

The ending of Lysistrata was extremely interesting to me although I was confused by some parts. I enjoyed the way Lysistrata used Peace the woman as a map for the men to divide land upon. I found it humorous and creative on Lysistrata's part. I don't understand, however, the men's ability to divide up the land as easily as they did with so much built up sexual tension/lust. Because of this I believe that Peace was simply used to keep the men amused while Lysistrata further convinced them to sign the treaty. After this however, the men became more serious because land was at stake...something possibly more important to them than their current sexual desires. Also, I found Talor's comment that Peace was turned into an object interesting.

Applying Lysistrata to Modern Affairs

Lysistrata was obviously accomplished in the pursuit of her ultimate goal of peace through abstinence. When applied to the current war in Iraq however, I do not believe the plan would have been successful. The war in Iraq covers a broad spectrum of men from various parts of the country. Whereas in Lysistrata, the Peloponnesian War is situated in Greece and the men at war are much fewer. Lysistrata is the dominant woman in control and does a superb job at leading the women. However, in our time, it would be difficult to control so many women many of which would most likely be unwilling to participate. Also, in today's war, it would be easy for a man to obtain sex from another source. The entire idea I believe would only serve to promote violence and more of a class between men and women rather than bring about any sort of peace whatsoever.

Diction

The diction of the characters is an important aspect of the play. However, I find it difficult to fully assess the diction seeing as we are reading the play and unable to actually hear the voices. Despite this drawback though, we can assume certain dialects from the way the character's speech is written. Lampito's dialogue for example, is written as if it is spoken in a stereotypical Southern accent. Although it may seen unimportant, this dialect contributes greatly to Lampito's character. As representative of the Spartan women, Lampito's accent depicts these women as dim-witted and ignorant. On the other hand, Lysistrata has a diction which seems to demand respect. Her lexicon combined with her enunciation and perfect delivery place her in a position of authority and one which involves the careful consideration of the men, something seemingly incapable of women during this time. Overall the diction is fundamental to the development of characters and, although we cannot actually hear the language, we can work with what we know from what is presented in the text.