Revised "Miniver Cheevy" Introduction

Original:

      Edwin Arlington Robinson uses the character Miniver Cheevy to show that people are always going to have challenges in their life, but the best way of handling these situations is to accept them, so we can receive positive results. He uses characterization to prove that issues in life should be embraced, and people should live in the present instead of dreaming about the past. Certain things cannot be controlled, and we should not try to change them. In the poem “Miniver Cheevy”, Edwin Arlington Robinson depicts Miniver Cheevy as a child reminiscing about life in a different time period, to send his readers a message about living in the present and adjusting to situations we have no control over.

Revised:

Edwin Arlington Robinson uses the character Miniver Cheevy to show that people always have challenges, but we should try to create our own happiness. Robinson depicts Miniver as child who wishes he were never born, then talks how Miniver wants to live in another time. To close the poem, Robinson portrays Miniver as someone who will continue to pity and make himself miserable. In the poem “Miniver Cheevy”, Robinson depicts Miniver Cheevy as a child who reminisces about another life, to show us that we should live in the present and adjust to the situations we have no control over.

Portrayals of Ophelia in Hamlet

While reading Act 1, Scene 3 of “Hamlet”, I made my first impression of Ophelia. My first impression of Ophelia is that she respects her brother, father, and their opinions, but at the same time, she has opinions of her own. Many people view Ophelia as a very mild character, who has no say and listens to the people above her. In my opinion, I think that Ophelia actually has some strong opinions, and despite how her father and brother are warning her about Hamlet, she respects their thoughts but keeps what she wants in mind. She is still listening to what they say, but she does not live her life and make all of her personal decisions solely based on what they think.  Portrayals of Ophelia in Hamlet

After watching the portrayal of Ophelia by Mariah Gale in the movie Hamlet, I was pleased, but also disappointed by the performance. I think that she did a great job showing that Ophelia is actually opinionated, especially when she discusses how Laertes is being somewhat hypocritical because he is being selfish and leaving to go to France. When she says “Do not, as some ungracious pastors do/Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven/Whiles, like a puffed and reckless libertine/Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads/And recks not his own rede (1.3.51-55), I think it was a little too over the top. Ophelia has her opinions about what to do, but based on my observations and impression of Ophelia, she would still listen and respect what her family is saying. Instead, the actress, from the very beginning of the scene, made it obvious that she did not care about what her family is saying, and she used a sarcastic tone throughout the whole scene.

I think that in Hamlet, directed by Franco Zeffirelli, Helena Bonham Carter did a great job of portraying Ophelia. Ophelia is a very hard character to portray because there is really no way to perfectly portray her; there is no right or wrong way. We do not have an exact understanding of her character, and everyone is going to have different opinions about how she should be played. I think that Carter did a great job of portraying Ophelia because she had a good balance of caring about what her family thinks and keeping in mind her own opinions. I could tell that she was still respecting their opinions about Hamlet, but at the same time, she also maintains her own thoughts about Hamlet. 

Claudius: King, Uncle, Father

            My initial impression of Claudius is that he is very self-centered, and he puts himself over anyone else. When he announces that he is marrying Gertrude, he makes it seem like he is doing it for Denmark, but the truth is that he is doing it for himself. He is not marrying her because he feels like it is the right thing to do for the people of Denmark. He is marrying her because he wants to marry her, and it is going to make him happier. Even though he does not always consider other people’s feelings and opinions before his, he does not strike me as a horrible leader. He is sending Cornelius and Voltimand to Norway with the intention of trying to solve a problem and create safety and protection for the people.

            Claudius is Hamlet’s uncle and father now because he has now married Hamlet’s mom, Gertrude. In my opinion, he does not genuinely care about the well-being and happiness of Hamlet, and he is more concerned about using Hamlet to help himself. He tells Hamlet “For your intent/In going back to school in Wittenberg/It is most retrograde to our desire/And we beseech you, bend you to remain/Here in the cheer and comfort of our eye” (1.2.116-120). He is disregarding what Hamlet wants to do because he is concerned about his opinions on what Hamlet should do. He wants Hamlet to stay at court because he is the closest to the throne, not because he wants Hamlet to be happy.

In addition, Claudius wants Hamlet to, in a way, try to forget about the death of his father, move on, and start thinking of him as his father. He is being inconsiderate of Hamlet’s feelings and tells Hamlet “to persever/In obstinate condolement is a course/Of impious stubbornness” (1.2.96-98). He thinks that Hamlet is being stubborn because he is not forgetting about his father’s death, but he is ignoring the fact that it has only been one month since his father passed away. One month is not enough time for Hamlet to recover from his father’s death, and Claudius is ignoring the sorrow that Hamlet feels towards his death. It has only been one month, and he expects Hamlet to somehow move on from the pain and sadness that he is experiencing. If Claudius genuinely cared about Hamlet, he would give him the time that he needs to move on and try to make it easy on him, but instead he pressures him to continue on with his life and makes it harder on him by marrying his mom. 

Characterization in “Miniver Cheevy”

Edwin Arlington Robinson uses the character Miniver Cheevy to show that people are always going to have challenges in their life, but the best way of handling these situations is to accept them, so we can receive positive results. He uses characterization to prove that issues in life should be embraced, and people should live in the present instead of dreaming about the past. Certain things cannot be controlled, and we should not try to change them. In the poem “Miniver Cheevy”, Edwin Arlington Robinson depicts Miniver Cheevy as a child reminiscing about life in a different time period, to send his readers a message about living in the present and adjusting to situations we have no control over.

Robinson depicts Miniver Cheevy as a character romanticizing about the past to prove that people should embrace their lives and challenges, as opposed to feeling sorry for themselves and trying to live in the past. “Miniver loved the Medici” (line 17). Instead of trying to make due with and accept the life that he has been given, he chooses to dream about the past and what it would be like to live during that time. He continues to think about people and events in the past, such as the Medici, and how he would like to be a part of something that, ideally, he cannot possibly ever be a part of. “He would have sin incessantly could he have been one” (line 19). Robinson uses this line of the poem to show to what extent Miniver would be willing to go to if he somehow had the opportunity to be a part of a different time period. Robinson uses the character Miniver Cheevy to show us that it is better to accept and take advantage of what we have been given, instead of pitying ourselves and living through the past.

Robinson uses Miniver Cheevy to show that life is not always going to go accordingly, and there is no reason to try to change the things that we have no control over, such as when and in what time period a person is born. Robinson writes that Miniver Cheevy was “born too late” (line 30). He depicts Miniver as someone trying to control things that cannot be controlled, no matter what people say or do. Miniver is making himself miserable when he could make himself happy if he just accepts the circumstances that he is currently in. Robinson depicts Miniver Cheevy, in this way, to send a message about accepting the lives that we are given, instead of trying to change the unchangeable. Robinson explains that we can either make ourselves miserable or try to adapt to the circumstances and create a happier life for ourselves.

Robinson characterizes Miniver Cheevy in this way, to illustrate that certain things in life cannot be controlled, but people can create their own happiness by accepting the circumstances and finding a way to turn a tragic situation into a positive one. Miniver Cheevy “wept that he was ever born” (line 3). Robinson uses this line to show how much Miniver Cheevy wants to live in another time period; however, wishing never to be born is exaggerated considering the circumstances. Miniver Cheevy is making himself unhappy and does not have a genuine reason to wish that he were not born.  At the end of the poem, “Miniver coughed, and called it fate, and kept on drinking” (line 31-32).  Robinson is characterizing Miniver Cheevy as someone who does not appreciate the hand that he has been dealt. He has not been given the perfect life, but he has not been given any reason to pity life as much as he does. He prefers to feel sorry for himself, as opposed to, trying to turn the situation around in his favor, and in the end, he makes the choice to continue living a miserable life. Robinson characterizes Miniver Cheevy this way to show that not everything is always going to be perfect, but people control their own happiness based on whether they are or are not willing to try to make the best out of the situation.

Robinson’s depiction of Miniver Cheevy shows that it is okay to feel disappointed when we are let down or things do not go the way that we want them to, but it is unreasonable to pity the things that cannot be controlled regardless of anything we do. People have the right to be upset when they make mistakes that negatively affect a situation, but it is hard to understand why someone would be so upset, to the extent of wishing that they were not born, about a situation that will never be the way that they want it to. When there is a solution to the problem and things are not working out, it is understandable to be upset, but when there is not and never going to be a solution, people have no choice but to try to acclimate to the circumstances. Robinson uses the character Miniver Cheevy to send us an important message about living with what we are given and trying to live with the things that cannot be changed.