Structure and Argument

It seems to me that this poem is addressing age and how we change as we grow older. In lines 120 and 121, the speaker says, "I grow old...I grow old, I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled." In other words, people's whole entire demeanor and actions can change, just like the seasons. I think that this poem is constructed in a way so that it makes a statement about life. It seems that he could almost be saying that life is somewhat structured due to the layout. The reason I say this is because he seems to break up the stanzas into different experiences within his life, unlike the first poem we read which was completely unstructured. In other words, he may be saying that there is some order to life.

What We Are and May Be

So, what does Ophelia mean when she says, "Lord, we know what we are, but know not what we may be," in lines 43 and 45 of Act 4, Scene 5? I interpret this line two different ways. When I first read the line, I interpreted it as saying that we may know what we are right now, in the present, but can never be sure what we will be in the future. This reminds me of the movie Reign Over Me, with Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle. In the movie, Adam Sandler loses his wife and three kids in the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and his life is turned upside down. Before he lost his family, he was a dentist as well as a happy father and husband, but after the traumatic event he becomes a hermit who pretends as if he never had a family. He knew what he was before 9/11, but had no idea what the future had in store for him. The second way I interpreted it was that, people may think they know what or who they are, but in reality they have no idea what they have become. I can think of many examples to illustrate my point. The first example that comes to mind is the movie Death Sentence, with Kevin Bacon, where his son is murdered by gang members while at a gas station. He then decides to get his own revenge after his son's killer is set free from jail. Kevin Bacon thought he was a grieving father, but in reality had turned into a killing machine.

Movie or Book?

I have reasons for and against both the movie and the book. I enjoy reading from the book because it leaves you free to imagine. Much of the time in class when we're reading, I think of how Denzel would act the part, and then I go from there. It gives you the freedom to make buildings and scenes look a certain way. I dislike reading from the book though because it can be rather complicated to understand. You can read over the line, but the way that you inflect can change how you interpret a sentence or whole entire conversation. I enjoy the movie because it helps to visualize what is going on. Hearing the characters actually speak helps to better understand what's being said and what's going on. When we read from the book, we may miss certains puns or jokes that are going on, but the movie helps to tie it all together. The only problem I have with the movie is that some of the acting is pretty crappy. Even though the director left certain parts of the movie out, I still enjoy it. The director seemed to assign different emotions to certain characters at different points in the movie that don't necessarily fit with the book, but I still think it's pretty good. I guess if I absolutely had to choose between the movie or the book, I'd have to go with the movie.