Bridget Ehmann

The Connections

Shakespeare is a man who is widely known for his love themed poems and sonnets. In My Mistress’ Eyes are Nothing Like the Sun, when I first read it I had to do a double check to make sure this is the William Shakespeare I knew. Then I went on to finish the poem and it hit me: this poem is not him telling us that he has a beast of a girlfriend, it is telling us that she is so perfect to him that there is no way to compare her to these classic love items. It’s funny because after reading this poem it made me think about my own relationship with my boyfriend, since our love is very similar to the one Shakespeare is talking about, in the fact that I don’t have to wear makeup and look like a runway model for him to hug and love me. Half the time my hair does look like wire and my cheeks are everything but rosy, but that has no effect on his affections toward me, since I know and he knows that our love goes deeper than looks.
When I first read the sonnet When I Consider How My Life Is Spent, by John Milton I did not think that the light and dark he was talking about was speaking of his blindness, since I had no idea of the fact until after I read the little excerpt under the poem. I took his light to mean his solution or the light of God and the darkness being his inability to reach God, though when I learned of his blindness the meaning still stayed with me in that his ability was still reached in the end, not because he overcame his blindness but because he realized that he is making the best of it. The tone throughout the sonnet was one of calmness and tranquility which by the end I think showed his acceptance and understanding in that he did reach his goal to show God his loyalty in his own way. This poem can be relatable to any person facing the idea that they are not good enough for something, or don’t fit the certain idea of what is expected.
I was happy to see that we were reading an excerpt from Eat, Pray, Love, since I am reading that book, and also happy with the chosen part. This story tells of her searching for what she wants out of life and who she wants to be seen as. It’s interesting how she used the words to describe and tell us of the parts in her life since to me is insane to be able to do, and the fact that she can do it so vividly and accurately made me admire her. Throughout this reading I kept seeing that she used personification of certain things such as her feet moving her, which was also present in Milton’s poem with Patience. This is such a useful thing to use to show that there are signs all around us which are there to help us find what we are looking for. The problem for some people is that they are so busy looking in the wrong direction.
All three readings are very different in their focus on who and what is being discussed in the fact that one is talking about a relationship with God, one is talking about the love for his girlfriend and the other is talking about her search for herself, though all three have so many similar characteristics. This showed that no matter who is being talked about, we are all people no matter if they are ugly, blind, confused, or whatever we all are in search for something and are all struggling in our own ways. They all seem to have a hopeful happy feel to them, and when I finished reading it made me think of my own life and made me happy and content that they found their callings and answered their own answers, but made me think about my own. I guess that’s what college can do for all of us, it is an opportunity for us to make our own questions and conquer our own fears and doubts.