Things I Think About
Watching the sun rise.
And it’s so much softer than those blinding lights
Somehow it touches my closed eyes too
I can even feel its beauty
This moment can consume me
It seems I can feel peace naturally too
Whilst the play is entitled ‘Othello’, Iago is arguably the focus of the play- and thus his malignant influence could be interpreted as a pollutant that distorts ‘Othello’ from a romantic comedy into a tragedy. At the outset of the play, it seems as though ‘Othello’ may be a romantic comedy in the vein of ‘Much Ado About Nothing’, as the contemporary Jacobean audience would undoubtedly have found the hapless Roderigo an entertaining embodiment of Schadenfreude. However, the tone of the play is instantly soured by Iago’s use of prejudiced, offensive language with regards to the eponymous protagonist of the play – describing him as a “black ram” and his lovemaking with his wife as “making the beast with two backs”. This offensive episode is a microcosm for the way Iago ‘rewrites’ ‘Othello’ as a tragedy – influencing potentially harmless situations and warping them into life-shattering incidents. However, it is also possible that Iago is merely a catalyst for the inevitable tragedy that was destined to befall Othello, whose hamartia of pride ultimately consigned the play to end in tragedy.
You wrote me poetry
Although it didn’t go with me
And I thought for a minute that what we have isn’t right
But I suppose I can’t argue with what you see through your eyes
Most notably; the way you flow with me
You relate to my mind when others fail to notice me
You always know just what to say;
To push when I pull
And promise that I’ll be okay
Manic Street Preacher’s’ song ‘4st 7lb’ is a song which makes it onto my lyrical masterpieces list because you could never forget it after having heard it.
A gem from the welsh band’s third studio album – “often heralded as being one of the most miserable and emotionally intense albums ever released*-is an explicit narration of a severe eating disorder, and the mentality of its victim. Although I have seen people say that it romanticized anorexia, I think it was much more of a personal account of how one feels and thinks that they are improving by reaching their own irrational goals when they’ve reached this level of physical and mental deterioration. The fact that the narration is so anonymous, may suggest that it’s for the opinion of any woman suffering by this, and acknowledging how much of an issue it is and the number of people who have a similar story or struggle.
Angelou has been called “the black woman’s poet laureate”. This suggests a focus on femininity and black African American women’s struggle rather than the entire race in specific. Thus, whether the history of oppression faced by all Black African-American people is explored remains debatable. For something to be brought to light, information must be brought to the attention of the reader and encourage recognition of history and events perhaps otherwise concealed regarding the oppression of African-Americans. Maya Angelou’s poems are also described as the “anthems of African-Americans”, which explore the oppression faced by African-American people in Angelou’s lifetime. This suggests that they do in fact bring the oppression to light.
By definition, social anxiety is the fear of social situations that involve interaction with other people. It is a disorder which comes into the umbrella term of general anxiety disorder. Today mental health is a subject that’s being more rapidly acknowledged; especially in western countries and in the millennial (an onwards) generations -yet is still seen as ‘taboo’ by many cultures, communities, and people.
Some form of anxiety effects 1 in 6 young people at some part in their lives, and over 50% of all ill mental health has already started by the age of fourteen, with 75% of it having become developed by the age of 18. I have struggled with social situations in this way consciously since I started secondary school although I only became aware that it was a real disorder aged fourteen.
Seeing as a new year of university is upon us, I thought I may as well write this post now. I know it’s pretty common for blog posts to be written about university but there’s two things about my experience at university that are a little less common I guess. 1) I commute to university every day, 2) I’m a Pakistani with social anxiety.
Continue reading “My first year as an undergraduate law student”
New Band: Russo
Genre: Alternative
Type: Debut EP – House with a pool
Release date: July 13th 2018
Although nostalgic to listen to, this fresh, alternative pop rock band are a four piece who only got together this year so it’s refreshing that they’ve released an EP and gone on tour (as a supporting act) so soon. The band are fronted by the eponymous and former model, Cailin Russo -previously envied by beliebers all over the world for not only starring in TWO of Justin Bieber’s music videos*: but actually locking lips with the star in one of them.
This isn’t her only musical project, however. She previously released a few tracks under her own name which are available to stream on most platforms; most notably ‘September Rose’. As a frontwoman, she’s said to have found inspiration within her own family (her dad was the lead singer of rock band ‘Unwritten Law’) as well as other artists such as Amy Winehouse and Eryka Badu.
Continue reading “New talent: ‘Russo’ with “House with a Pool””
By the end of “revolutionary road” more questions are raised rather than a simple conclusion to the story. In reaching it, yet another woman is side-lined by a male for simply expressing herself when Mr. Givings, the most minimal character in the book, turns off his hearing aid because he doesn’t want to listen to his wife any longer. Questioning women, every female character is judged distastefully by a male narrator at some point in this novel. Earlier in the book, we even find out that Frank forced April to keep an unwanted child, and this similarly supports the idea that Yates captured the 1950s need for women’s liberation, at a time where women were described as facing a “problem with no name” by Betty Friedan in ‘The feminine mystique’. Several instances cause feminism to be a valid critic for this text, yet the narration from Frank Wheeler and his role in an unfulfilling day job also evoke pity. The male characters in the novel also experience dilemma, often seen as a result of the rigid roles and conformity of suburban life in 1950s America following the war.
Continue reading “Yates’ ‘Revolutionary Road’ and what it says about women”
I’ve had suggestions to start a blog for the past few years. Theres a few weeks left till uni starts up again after the summer so I thought “why not now?”
This is gonna be a bit of a mish-mash of a lot of things that interest or concern me. I’m an artist in many senses of the word and I have a business I will probably comment on, poetry that I share though social media, and other things such as music which I work on privately. Passions like music, television, pop and internet culture as well as linguistics, language, poetry and literature are also part of subject matter I will use to draw from and write about.
As a nineteen year old British muslim woman from a Pakistani background studying undergraduate law, certain blogposts are bound be written regarding my culture, stereotypes, immigration and policies regarding islamophobia, culture V religion, balancing cultures, and politics will also make an appearance.
I’m not expecting much of an audience with this, just somewhere to write professionally and express myself on a more intellectual platform.
Peace be with you,
M x
Mind of Mahyne 