Macbeth

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I have brought you another one of Shakespeare's great tragedies. Hope you enjoy it!!!

The Tragedy of Macbeth, often shortened to Macbeth, is one of Shakespeare’s most acclaimed tragedies. The strong, unconventional character of Lady Macbeth, in particular, has garnered praise. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. The play involves the titular character, Macbeth, murdering the king of Scotland, Duncan, in his lust for power following a dubious meeting with three witches, and his own gruesome death at the hands of a nobleman, Macduff.

The play opens amidst thunder and lightning, and three witches speculate upon who their next prey shall be. They eventually decide it shall be Lord Macbeth, who is the Thane of Glamis. He is returning to the capital after a grim battle against the Thane of Cawdor who was guilty of treason. He is accompanied by Banquo, another nobleman. They are accosted by the witches, who address Macbeth as “The Thane of Cawdor, Thane of Glamis” and “he shall be king hereafter.” Macbeth is both confused and delighted by these prophecies; while he is wondering about these prophecies, the witches vanish, and a pageboy arrives to  inform Macbeth that he is to be appointed Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth marvels at his good fortune. He now begins to plot to seize the throne for himself. The next night, King Duncan arrives at his castle, wishing to enjoy his hospitality.  Lady Macbeth, a strong willed, avaricious woman, persuades her husband to murder the king. Macbeth reluctantly does so while the king is sleeping. They plant the evidence on Duncan’s guards. The two princes, Duncan’s sons, flee the country and decide to bide their time. Macbeth now seizes the throne. This makes Banquo highly suspicious of him. Fearing Banquo’s suspicions, Macbeth has him brutally murdered, but his son, Fleance, escapes. Disturbed, and beginning to slip into insanity, he visits the witches once more. They warn him to “  beware of Macduff”. However, they also tell him that no child born of woman can kill him. Satisfied, Macbeth returns to his castle, only to find that his wife has killed herself because her guilt would give her no rest. Meanwhile, Macduff is forced to flee when his wife and children are savagely slaughtered by Macbeth’s forces. Determined to avenge his wife and children, he raises an army in England and returns to do battle with Macbeth, who boasts that he has nothing to fear as he cannot be killed by anyone born of woman. Macduff, however, was not born naturally; he was born through caesarean section, and is thus able to kill Macbeth. Once the battle is over, he places Duncan’s son, Malcolm on the throne, and Malcolm discusses how justice has been done.

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Hamlet

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I have brought you a new post today. Happy reading! 

The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, often shortened to Hamlet, is one of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies. It was penned by him at an uncertain date between 1599 and 1602. The play follows the titular character, Hamlet, as his quest for revenge following his father’s gruesome death brings misery and misfortune in the lives of many others, as well as his own.

The play opens with the news of the demise of the king of Denmark. His young son and heir, Prince Hamlet, is distraught; especially because of his mother, Queen Gertrude’s haste in marrying her brother in law, Claudius, who is strongly suspected of murdering the king by the unusually perceptive Hamlet. Now that Denmark is unstable, Prince Fortinbras of Norway is marching towards them. One dark, moonless night, Hamlet’s friends Horatio, Marcellus and Bernado encounter a ghost that strongly resembles Hamlet’s deceased father. Upon being informed of this, Hamlet determines to speak to his father himself. Ignoring his friends’ misgivings, he sets out for his father’s graveyard. His father’s spirit reveals that Claudius killed him by treachery, knowing that he could never win in a fair fight, and that he yearns for an opportunity to avenge himself. He asks Hamlet to kill Claudius. Despite the prince’s own misgivings and horror, he reluctantly agrees to do as his father wishes. He begins to lose his tenuous grip on reality, descending into complete insanity. Despite his physical proximity to his uncle/stepfather, he is unable to bring himself to kill him, and begins to find excuses to put off the difficult task. He is torn between loyalty towards his mother and love for his father, hence the famous “to be, or not to be?”. Wishing to test how true his father is being to him, he puts up a play, the theme of which is regicide. Upon seeing this Claudius begins to feel ill; proof enough for Hamlet.  He later confronts his mother, and insults and abuses her, causing her to faint. Soon after, the woman he loves, Ophelia, dies, and her brother Laertes, believing Hamlet to be responsible, challenges him to a duel. Hamlet reluctantly agrees. Claudius, desperate to get rid of Hamlet, hands Laertes a poisoned sword. Laertes and Hamlet end up stabbing each other at the same time, but, before dying, Hamlet grabs the poisoned sword and impales Claudius through the chest. Queen Gertrude also dies after consuming a glass of poison meant for Hamlet. With his last breath, Hamlet declares that the throne must be given to Fortinbras.

And thus, we learn that when one is consumed by vengeance, they destroy not only their own lives, but the lives of several others.

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Marxism in China

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You must be wondering why I write so many historical blog posts. The truth is, I am studying Humanities in A Levels and have opted for International History as my major. Presenting it in an interesting manner is my forte´. Happy reading!

Communism was undoubtedly extremely popular in the 20^th century. As several countries were left economically and militarily devastated, revolution broke out, governments were overthrown, and power was now in the hands of the common people. However, China was the country most unlikely to embrace communism; Marx’s vision of a godless society based on equality was poles apart from China’s hierarchical social structure. The Kuomintag was rapidly losing popularity; it had promised much but delivered little, and the laymen saw in communism the hope of a better life. The key figure in the growth of communism in China was Mao Zedong. Mao had been present at the meeting that established the Chinese Communist Party [CCP] in 1921. Within a decade, he gained an influential post in the CCP. However, despite having gained a number of followers, he controlled a very small region. Jiang Jieshi’s determination to “purge” the nation of communists gravely endangered Mao’s precarious position. He was forced to retreat to the mountains and carry out guerrilla warfare against the more efficient armies of the Kuomintag. His dream of a national revolution had not materialized. Realizing that he had to escape and seek a safer power base, Mao, along with 1,001,000 communists, broke through the KMT lines and embarked on the Long March. The poor communists faced several obstacles; they were forced to fight against the armies of the KMT, Tibetan tribals, and warlords; they had to pass through 24 rivers and 18 mountain ranges; they endured hunger and cold. These people had proved, by their dedication and fearlessness, that they were the true advocates of the common man. Support for them rapidly began to grow, though their control of China was far from complete. Ironically, the aggressive actions of Japan helped them gain complete control of China.

When the Japanese attacked, Jieshi adopted a policy of non resistance. This made him lose the complete support of the people. The communists, on the other hand, fought and won the battle against the Japanese. This made them heroes in the eyes of the laymen, and communism took china under its wing.

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The Birth of Fascism in Spain

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I have brought you a new post today. Happy reading!

Like Portugal, Greece and Italy, Spain entered the 20th century as a country whose past imperial glory seemed to be nothing more than a dream. It was a virtually isolated country and extremely underdeveloped in comparison to the major European powers of Britain, France and Germany. Still largely an agricultural country, the vast amount of cultivable land was managed inefficiently, and several Spaniards were forced to work as landless labourers. In addition to being a relatively poor country, Spain was also tearing itself apart; the people of the Catalan mountain regions were more concerned with preserving their regional identity than pledging allegiance to their country. The constitutional monarchy that had governed the country since 1885 had never been an effective system and the king’s life was now being threatened by communists, socialists, and anarchists. Confronted by this clear threat of revolution, and being unable to deal with the economic problems that hit Spain in 1929 following the Wall Street Crash, the king abdicated and the socialists became the dominant group.

However, things for the socialists were not peachy; they’d planned to reduce the power of wealthy landowners, the Church and the army. They took a number of measures to do so, but this inevitably angered these influential groups, bringing them closer. By 1933, the communists had lost the support of the people, and power was back in the hands of the Church. However, the new government proved to be inefficient and corrupt, and one of their leading politicians was murdered by anarchists in 1936. The Spanish Civil War had begun. A leading nationalist, General Francisco Franco, was flown in from the Canary Isles to assume leadership. Although his soldiers were far more disciplined than the communist fighters, Franco was unable to take control of Madrid and Barcelona, and this proved to be an obstacle. However due to the disunity of the communist soldiers, Franco was able to secure his victory by 1939, when Barcelona and Madrid finally fell to the nationalists.

Deeply influenced by Hitler and Mussolini’s fascist governments, Franco imitated them and appointed himself military dictator. However, unlike Hitler and Mussolini, Franco was an ardent supporter of the Church and restored its control over education. This aspect of his government did not make Spain a typical fascist state.

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An Introduction to the Kuomintag in China

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I have brought you a new article on Chinese history during post First World War period. Happy reading!

The Kuomintag is the leading political party in China. It literally translates as Chinese Nationalist Party or The People’s Party. But do you know how it started and what hurdles it faced? That is a little explored part of Chinese history. I wish to unlock this particular segment of history.

The Kuomintag was founded by Chinese nationalist Sun Yixian in 1917. Sun Yixian was the son of a peasant farmer and had been educated in England. He was, therefore, exposed to the liberal philosophies of the West. Upon returning to China, he grew disillusioned with the corruption and disunity in his country. By 1917 he had gained some power in a small region, Canton, but quickly gained power in larger regions. He and his friend Jiang Jieshi collaborated with the communist party in order to develop the party’s army into a more effective fighting force.

Sun Yixian was not a realistic man. Despite claiming to have the power to solve China’s issues, he had a rather idealistic perception of things. Jieshi, on the other hand was rather more pragmatic. By the time Sun died in 1925, little progress had been made in unifying China; Jieshi, who emerged as the new leader of the party, had, by 1928, succeeded in gaining control of half of China. However, things were not as easy as they seemed. Warlords incited violence in some rural areas, while communists were calling for a Russian style revolution. Jieshi, beginning to see the communists as an embarrassing ally, began a ‘Purification Movement’. Thousands of communists and peasant leaders were murdered. Yixian had advocated democracy and social reform; Jieshi had no interest in either of these, and the Kuomintag, which had promised much but delivered little, quickly lost support.

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The Beer Hall Pustch— Hitler’s Rise to Power

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After a long hiatus, I am back to writing my blog. I have come up with something new. Happy reading! 😃

Everyone has heard of Adolf Hitler, German military dictator whose blatantly violent actions resulted in the Second World War. But he has often been portrayed as nigh invincible. This, however, is not true as he faced a few hurdles before rising to power. One of the most significant ones is the Beer Hall Pustch.

After Germany’s humiliating defeat in the First World War, the common people were looking for an opportunity to avenge their country. These sentiments were exploited by Hitler, who was the leader of the National Socialist [Nazi] party by 1921. However, he only controlled a very small region, Baavaria, and determined to seize control in larger regions, organized a group known as the Stormtroopers. These renegades disrupted the opposition parties’ meetings. Influenced by Benito Mussolini’s March on Rome in 1922, Hitler declared a national revolution the following year. Stormtroopers carrying arms marched into Munich and entered a beer hall where the state commissioner Gustav von Kahr was giving a speech. Hitler had hoped to force von Kahr to encourage and embrace the revolution; he was bitterly disappointed as the Stormtroopers were quickly beaten back by the efficient national army, and the Beer Hall Pustch[as it became known] was an ignominious failure. Unlike Mussolini, Hitler had failed to secure the army’s support before embarking on the revolution.

Ironically, what turned out to be Hitler’s biggest mistake helped him rise to power. His trial and subsequent imprisonment had made him nationally famous, allowing him to gain power upon his release.

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The Story of Theseus and Ariadne

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This is the exciting story of Theseus and his beautiful Ariadne. Keep calm for a bit and I’ll tell you.

A long, long time ago, there lived a brave prince by the name of Theseus. He was the son of the king of Athens, but he never knew about this till he was eighteen years old. As soon as he knew,he set to meet his father  with certain tokens by which the old man would know that this was his son. It was a joyful reunion but soon after the young prince’s arrival he noticed that droves of weeping women were dressed in black and that all the men wore grave expressions. Shocked, Theseus rushed to his father

‘’Father! What ‘s going on? Why are the women weeping? Why are they dressed in black? I want to know!’’

The king turned to his son with grave eyes. ‘’Well , Theseus, if you must know, today is the day we send seven young men and women to Minos the king of  Crete. They are to be fed to a vicious half bull, half man brute. Cruel Minos demands them as a tribute’’. The king ended with a sigh.

Theseus was outraged , horrified and angry. "But why, Father," he demanded, "must this senseless tribute be paid ? We’re not under Minos’ rule!"

The king sighed. "Yes, but son, Crete is a more powerful kingdom than Athens and we are powerless to rebel."

Theseus at once made a bold, reckless decision. "Father , allow me to go as one of the tributes. I’ll rid the earth of this menace of a Minotaur,’’he vowed. The king was , as is well expected, horrified at the thought of sending his son knowingly to his doom. The Minotaur was a cruel monster who knew no mercy. He attempted to dissuade Theseus. ‘’What are you saying, son? Send my own boy to feed the monster? No! Never!’’ ‘’Father, compose yourself’’, said Theseus calmly, ‘’and let me do this. This is our only chance to rid our people of this menace. Also, it will help to prove my mettle’’.

When persuasion on the king’s part was in vain, the king gave in and ordered the ships to be prepared, though he had grave misgivings in his heart.Theseus, however, had no such misgivings and was completely confident about his success. The king said to him, "If you are victorious, there must be white sails put up on your ship, but if there are black sails on your ship, I shall consider you lost forever." Upon reaching the beautiful land of Crete, the laymen who had gathered to watch the tributes arrive gasped at the sight of tall, strong Theseus. King Minos himself looked upon the brave youth with awe. “Who are you, son?” he demanded. “Prince of Athens”, replied Theseus,” and I have come to destroy the Minotaur.” Minos snorted. “Very well”, he sneered. “I’ll just feed you to it first!” All this while, a beautiful woman with long dark hair and dark eyes had been watching Theseus. She was Princess Ariadne, daughter of Minos. Once Theseus had been led away to his cell, she visited him, bringing him a sword and a ball of thread for him to find his way out of the labyrinth. Once he had slain the monster, the two fled together. However, when they stopped at Naxos Isle to rest, the god Dionysus placed a spell upon Ariadne and she willingly married him. The devastated prince put up black sails, leading his father to think he was dead. He committed suicide. Theseus was crowned King and took another wife.

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The Night Gwen Stacy Died

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I hope you are doing well. I have brought you a new article today.

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The Night Gwen Stacy Died is a story arc published in Spiderman issues 121 and 122 by Marvel Comics in 1973. It features Peter Parker [Spiderman], his girlfriend, Gwen Stacy, and his nemesis the Green Goblin, father of his best friend, Harry Osborn.

Norman Osborn, the Green Goblin, has become amnesiac and lost all memories of his time as the villainous Goblin, as well as his knowledge of Spiderman’s secret identity. Upon learning of his son Harry’s drug addiction and subsequent hospitalisation, Norman’s parental grief leads to a breakdown, and his memories return. Again donning the mantle of the Green Goblin, he concocts a plan to wreak havoc in Peter’s life. He abducts Gwen and lures Peter to Brooklyn Bridge. The two clash, and he hurls Gwen off the bridge. Peter shoots his webbing at her leg, catching her just before she hits the water. As he hauls her up, he thinks he has saved her, but quickly realizes that she is dead. Unsure of whether her neck was broken by the whiplash from her sudden stop or had already been broken by the Green Goblin before he threw her, he blames himself for her death. The Green Goblin escapes, laughing hysterically.

In the next issue, Peter tracks him down to an old warehouse and viciously beats him but cannot bring himself to kill him. The Green Goblin sets his glider to impale him from behind, but Peter dodges, and the Green Goblin is impaled instead, and apparently dies.   At home, he encounters his neighbour, Mary Jane Watson, who is equally shocked and saddened as she has lost her close friend. The issue ends with the two comforting each other, and bonding over their shared loss.

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Batman: The Killing Joke

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Hope you are doing well!

I am bringing a new article. Happy reading....

Batman: The Killing Joke is a one shot graphic novel published by DC Comics in 1988. It features Batman, his arch enemy the Joker, and Police Commissioner James Gordon, father of the super heroine Batgirl. The ending is left ambiguous.

The story begins with the back story of the Joker. He is an unnamed engineer who leaves his job to become a comedian, only to fail. Running out of money and desperate to support his pregnant wife, he guides two criminals through the company where he worked earlier as they wish to rob the gambling den beside it. The police inform him that his wife died in a household accident. Grief stricken, but unable to back out, he goes through with the plan, donning the mantle of a criminal, “Red Hood”. There is a shootout at the gambling den and the two criminals are killed. Terrified at being confronted by Batman, he leaps into the chemical waste pound in order to escape. When he emerges, his hair is green, lips are red, skin is bleached white, and he has been driven insane. Blaming Batman, he names himself the “Joker.”

In the present day, Batman visits Arkham Asylum to speak to the Joker about their decades long feud, only to find that the Joker has escaped and put a decoy in his place. Realising that the Joker is going to wreak havoc in Gotham City, Batman rushes out of Arkham Asylum. The Joker barges into Gordon’s house and shoots his daughter, Barbara Gordon, secretly Batgirl, through the spine, paralyzing her. He then commands his goons to tie up and beat the commissioner, before dragging him to an amusement park where he binds him to a giant roller coaster. In his determination to prove that “one bad day” can turn an ordinary man insane, he forces Gordon to view giant photos of Barbara, lying on the floor naked and in pain. Batman arrives and begins to hit the Joker with the intention of beating him to death. Despite his torture, Gordon retains his sanity [proving the Joker’s theory wrong] and demands that Batman show him “our way works”. The Joker advises him not to get wrapped up in his duty of saving the world, saying that the world is “a black, awful joke”. Batman attempts to reach out to the Joker, offering him a final chance at redemption. He apologetically declines, stating that it is too late, and the situation reminds him of a joke: two loons climbed to the top of their asylum hoping to jump over to the next building. One safely got across but the other was scared. The first one promised to shine his flashlight, but the man rebuffed him, stating he would turn it off as soon as he was halfway across. The two old foes laugh, and the story ends as the laughter dies away abruptly.

The ending is left ambiguous to allow the reader to decide what happened. There is a theory that Batman breaks the Joker’s neck off- panel, hence “The Killing Joke”. I disagree as he appeared in subsequent stories. What do you think?

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The Dark Phoenix Saga

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I am a huge fan of Marvel Comics. Check out what I have shared today....

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The Dark Phoenix Saga is a limited comic book series published by Marvel comics in 1980. It is widely considered a classic, and has been declared one of the best works Marvel came up with. It concerns the story of Jean Grey, long time member of the X-men, who is influenced by the all powerful entity the Phoenix Force, and eventually kills herself as a final act of love, redemption, and sacrifice.

During a fatal space mission, Jean Grey is struck by a solar flare and briefly attains her full potential as a telepath and telekinetic. Her powers had been repressed during childhood by Xavier following a traumatic experience. She merges completely with the entity, adopts the codename of “Phoenix” and repairs the M’kraan Crystal, but struggles to keep her powers under control. Her virtually limitless potential makes her a target for the illusion casting villain Mastermind [Jason Wyngarde] who wishes to enter the inner circle of the Hellfire Club, a mutant supremacist society. With the help of the White Queen, Emma Frost, he seduces Jean with an illusion that makes her believe that her ancestor was the Black Queen of the society. He moulds her into the new Black Queen, but when her fiancé, Scott Summers, also known as Cyclops, engages Wyngarde in a psychic duel and is killed, she breaks free of her illusion and turns upon him. She lashes out at him, saying, “You did all this for power, didn’t you? I will give you power, Jason Wyngarde; power that no mortal has experienced before.” She uses a telepathic illusion to make him experience godhood, driving him insane. Embracing her malefic destiny as Phoenix, she vanquishes the X- Men and soars towards another galaxy. Meanwhile, her presence is detected by hypersensitive heroes across the galaxy, such as Spiderman, Dr Strange, the Silver Surfer, etc.

Her power is not as limitless as she thought; the intergalactic trip leaves her exhausted. To recharge, she casually consumes a star, causing a supernova that kills the population of the surrounding planets. Enraged at this genocide, the empress of the Shi’ar[ an alien race], Lilandra, threatens to destroy the entire galaxy if the X-Men do not stop Phoenix. Xavier engages Jean in a vicious psychic duel and manages to bring her under control, but not for long. Xavier demands Lilandra duel with him. After conferring with the other alien races, the Kree and the Skrull, she agrees. The two move into the Shi’ar arena to fight. Meanwhile, Cyclops is revealed to be alive; only his psychic self was killed. Jean’s strong emotions override Xavier’s psychic restraints. Intending to kill herself as she knows she cannot control herself, she activates a Kree weapon after an emotional farewell to Cyclops.

The story ends with a narration by an alien,” Jean Grey could have lived to become a god. But it was more important to her that she die... a human.”

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House of M: Mutant Catastrophe

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How have you been? I just returned from my short vacation. I hope you are also having a great time.

Today, I am bringing you a little different stuff. Read on...

Introduction:

Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch, is a mutant mage with the power of warping probability and hurling hex bolts. Her unique powers lead to her induction in the Avengers, where she befriends, and eventually falls in love with, lonely android Vision. The two marry. Wanda is aware that she will not be able to have kids with an android. However, her desperation to be a mother leads to her unknowingly summoning two pieces of the demon Mephisto’s soul. She discovers this when it is too late; the revelation drives her insane.

House of M is an eight-issue limited series published by Marvel Comics in 2005. It deals with the decimation of the Mutant population from millions to a few hundred, and the Scarlet Witch’s descent into insanity. She manages to wipe out the entire mutant population with just three words- No More Mutants. I wish to narrate this story that struck terror and awe in the hearts of everyone at the sound of the Scarlet Witch’s name.

On the island of Genosha, a distraught Wanda Maximoff [Scarlet Witch] is living under the care of Prof Xavier and her father, Magneto. Xavier informs Magneto that he can do nothing more to keep Wanda’s destructive magic in check. Magneto, distraught, leaves. Xavier summons a meeting of the Avengers, the X-men, and several lone heroes to decide Wanda’s fate. Emma Frost declares the only solution is to kill her. The X men agree, while the Avengers voice their dissatisfaction and argue that they should try to suppress her insanity and her powers. Xavier himself is unsure of what to do.

Quicksilver, learning of the decision to kill his sister, is appalled and flees to inform Magneto. Magneto is too upset to be able to think clearly; he asks, “what would you have me do?” Quicksilver falls to the floor sobbing and Magneto glances at his sleeping daughter. Meanwhile, Xavier summons Dr Strange to calm Wanda. Strange is unable to contain her destructive potential. There is a blinding white flash, and all that is left is Spider man. There seems to be an alternate reality created where everyone has what they want; Spider man is married to Gwen Stacy; Gambit is a criminal; the mutants rule humans, and Magneto rules the mutants [hence, House of M]. Captain America is a war veteran and national hero. Wolverine is an agent of SHIELD but has memories of the events before House Of M. It is eventually revealed Quicksilver convinced Wanda to create an alternate reality where everyone got what they wanted, insisting their father would be happy. On the contrary, Magneto is infuriated that Quicksilver did this in his name and lashes out at him, nearly killing him with large pieces of steel. Wanda arrives and heals her half dead brother. She then violently berates her father, saying, “We’re freaks, Mutants; you chose this over us and you ruined us....Daddy!” She decisively utters, “No more mutants.” Everything goes white once more.

Soon after, it is discovered that Wanda, in her grief at losing her twin sons Tommy and Billy [they were pieces of the demon Mephisto’s soul, and were reabsorbed into him], depowered almost the entire Mutant population, her brother and father included; the population has come down from millions to a few hundred. She and Quicksilver are to be found nowhere. Xavier fears the repercussions of her terrible but beautiful power. As if to echo his fears, a colossal red ribbon of energy begins to orbit earth, implying the return of the Phoenix Force, an all powerful entity. This sets the events for the Avengers vs X-Men story-line into motion.

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Myth of the Trojan War

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Everyone has heard of the abduction of Queen Helen of Sparta by the Trojan Prince, Paris. But few know how it really began. I wish to take the path less traveled, and explore the myth of The Trojan War.

How it began

It all started with the wedding of the Greek Hero Peleus to the lovely sea nymph, Thetis. All the gods of Olympus were in attendance that day, save one; Eris, the Goddess of Discord, who was disliked by everyone because of her vindictive nature. Furious at being snubbed thus, she stormed into the marriage hall. “Eris comes at last!” she cried triumphantly; “and she comes with a gift!” She threw a golden apple on the table, and stalked off laughing harshly. On the apple it was written, “For the fairest.”Now the three major Goddesses, Hera, Athena and Aphrodite, all laid claim to the apple, nearly coming to blows over its possession; unable to reach a conclusion, Hera demanded Zeus settle the matter. Unwilling to favor one Goddess and invite the wrath of the other two, Zeus suddenly had a brainwave.

The Judgement Of Paris And The Abduction

Paris, the youngest prince of Troy, was living as a shepherd, having been discarded by his father as a baby due to a prophecy by his sister that he would cause the downfall of Troy. Zeus, having heard of his fairness in judgement, decided to let him determine who was worthy of the apple. Paris agreed despite his own misgivings. Hera promised him all of Asia Minor and Greece to rule; Athena promised him everlasting wisdom and victory in battle; Aphrodite promised that she would give him the most beautiful woman on earth to be his wife. Taken by her offer, he gave the golden apple to her, inciting the wrath of Hera and Athena.

Shortly after, Paris was recognized by his siblings, Cassandra and Hector, and their father Priam, who planned to welcome his son back. Cassandra reiterated her prophecy, but was ignored. Paris was sent as his father’s international envoy to Sparta. Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world, was the wife of king Menelaus. Upon seeing her, Paris was instantly infatuated with her, and he made plans to betray his host and kidnap her. Aphrodite determined to help him seduce the faithful Helen. She gave him the voice and form of Menelaus, and the unsuspecting Helen readily went with him to his ship, leaving her daughter, Hermione. The queen of Sparta realized the deception when it was too late.

Trojan War

Upon realising the deception of Paris, the enraged Menelaus demanded that they get his wife back. His brother Agamemnon wanted to go to war immediately, but Odysseus, the wily king of Ithaca, advised that at first, they ask Priam to return Helen. When Priam insolently refused, it was unanimously agreed upon that war was required. Several warriors answered the call; Diomed; Ajax; Achilles; Teucer and later, Philoctetes and Achilles’ son, Neoptolemus.

The Greek fleet sailed to Troy following the sacrifice of Agamemnon’s daughter, Iphigenia. The battle began in full earnest. Even the gods participated; Hera, Athena, Poseidon and Hercules on The Greek side, Ares, Aphrodite, Apollo and Artemis on the Trojan side. There was more bloodshed in this battle than any other; Patroclus, cousin of Achilles was killed by Hector, resulting in his own death at the hands of Achilles, who dishonoured his body until Priam begged for it. Before dying, Hector told Achilles, “Remember me when Paris slays you in the Scaen Gate!” Paris killed Achilles in the Scaen Gate with an arrow to the heel. Achilles’ cruel son, Neoptolemus and a warrior Philoctetes entered the scene. Paris was killed by Philoctetes. In the tenth year, Oddyseus constructed a wooden horse which was large enough to hide thirty Greeks. They massacred the inhabitants of the city and Helen was happily reunited with Menelaus.

I hope that this article helped enhance your knowledge and hope you did not doze while reading it!

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The Immortal Works of William Shakespeare

Hello friends! This article is about the intriguing plays and poems of William Shakespeare. Hope you like it!

William Shakespeare was a peerless playwright and poet. His era was that of the Renaissance, a progressive movement in Europe wherein literature was at its peak. However, he was even more progressive than his contemporaries. He is widely renowned for his positive portrayal of women, at a time when women were widely discriminated against. His self assertive and witty Portia, in particular, has garnered critical acclaim. He was also known for his portrayal of “dark women”, that is morally ambiguous women such as Lady Macbeth from “Macbeth”, Cleopatra from “Antony and Cleopatra”, and Gertrude from “Hamlet”.  All of the quotes that several critics have praised and debated  have been coined by Shakespeare, for example Hamlet’s “To be, or not to be?” , Macbeth’s “ Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow”, and Julius Caesar’s “Et tu , Brute?” [You too, Brutus?” I now wish to give a brief summary of some of his best plays and poems.

“Hamlet” is one of the most acclaimed tragedies of Shakespeare. Hamlet, the prince of Denmark, is the anti heroic protagonist of the play. He descends into delusional insanity following his father’s death. He suspects his uncle, Claudius, of having caused his father’s death, which is later confirmed by the ghost of his father; he makes up his mind to avenge this. He is indirectly responsible for the deaths of his lover, Ophelia, her father Polonius and brother Laertes, as well as his mother, Queen Gertrude.  He is directly responsible for the death of his uncle, finally avenging his father’s murder. Sadly, he himself dies at the end of the play.

“Macbeth” is another highly praised tragedy. The character of Lady Macbeth [the dark woman of the play] has, in particular, garnered applause. The story is about Macbeth, a nobleman, who is manipulated into killing the king of Scotland, Duncan, by his avaricious wife, Lady Macbeth. However, after doing the deed, both Macbeth and his wife are consumed by guilt; Lady Macbeth starts seeing ghosts and this eventually leads her to commit suicide. Macbeth is eventually killed by Macduff, another nobleman.

Another equally beautiful, but much lesser known tragedy is “Titus Andronicus”. The story is about a Roman senator Titus Andronicus, who is involved in a bitter power struggle with the beautiful, seductive Goth Queen, Tamora [the vamp of the play] , who seeks vengeance for the death of her eldest son. Titus manages to kill her at the end, but is in turn killed by her husband, the emperor Saturninus.

Shakespeare’s comedies

“Twelfth Night” is one of Shakespeare’s best plays. A resourceful young woman, Viola is seperated from her twin brother Sebastian and forced to masquerade as a man. She plays her part well, but falls in love with the duke she is working for, who in turn is in love with a woman called Olivia. Viola finds herself becoming the object of Olivia’s affections. At the end, however, Viola gets the man she wants and is happily reunited with her twin brother, who marries Olivia.

Shakespeare’s poems

“The rape of Lucrece” is a little known poem by Shakespeare. It tells about the rape of a noblewoman, Lucretia, which eventually led to the establishment of the Roman Republic.

“Venus and Adonis” tells about the unrequited love of the goddess, Venus, for the most beautiful man on earth, Adonis, and her grief when he is killed by a boar.

There are several other plays of Shakespeare, such as Cymbeline, which tells about  a young woman, Imogen, who is falsely accused of infidelity and forced to cross dress as a man, “Fidele”. She proves her innocence later.

“Merchant of Venice”, which is a play about how an intelligent woman, Portia, saves Antonio, a merchant from the clutches of Shylock a greedy Jew who wants to kill him.

“Julius Caesar”, which is about the assassination of Julius Caesar by fifty or so senators. The famous quote “et tu, Brute?” is from this play. The Ghost of Caesar then avenges himself.

“Comedy of Errors” in which twin brothers, Antipholus and Antipholus get separated at birth and meet after thirty years, and are mistaken for each other. This play is weaved so beautifully that you get pulled into the vortex.

“Othello”, which tells about how a Moorish officer, Othello, blinded by jealousy due to the machinations of a man, Iago, kills his wife Desdemona and then himself.

“Romeo and Juliet”, a love story about two star crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet, who eventually die as a sign of their great love for each other.

“Troilus and Cressida”, this story is about how a Trojan prince, Troilus, was in love with Cressida. But the girl fell in love with the Greek Diomed.

There is much more to tell about Shakespeare; but that is a story for another day.

Thank you!

Some Interesting Facts About Alexander The Great

Hi Friend,

After a long hiatus, I am back to my blog writing. This is an interesting article on Alexander The Great.

Is there anyone who has not heard of Alexander The Great, king of almost the entire world? I don’t think so. The sound of his name alone raises mixed feelings of trepidation and awe in the hearts of people from almost every remote corner of the earth. Even Ozymandias, business tycoon from the 1986 DC comics’ miniseries “Watchmen”, idolized him until turning towards Ramses2, like a turncoat. Anyway, this digression is useless; we shall discuss more about Alexander below. I wish to raise the curtains of time and glorify the man who is an idol for many.

Alexander was an excellent orator, a shrewd leader, a liberal thinker, a puissant warrior and, most of all, a chivalric man who never harmed women captives. He could command the love and respect of his men even in his later years, when he had started showing signs of insanity. He was the son of Philip of Macedon and his wife, fiery princess Olympias of Epirus.  who had a great influence over Alexander.

Alexander’s relationship with his father was complicated. Philip was always too busy for his son, but Olympias was an excellent mother, instilling in him virtues of honesty, chivalry and fair play. Alexander once complained, “Father will conquer the entire world and leave nothing great for me to do.” On one occasion, a man brought a beautiful horse for Philip, who was crazy about horses. However, the horse was nervous and threw off all those who tried to mount him. Alexander said he could bring the horse under control. Philip was incredulous, but agreed to give it a try. Alexander noticed the horse was afraid of its shadow and gently led it into the sunshine, whispering to it to calm it. Once he was on its back, it was as gentle as a sheep. He named the horse Bucephalus and it became his faithful companion, accompanying him as far as India, where it died.

At age 18, he was appointed his father’s international envoy. He was sent to India, which he conquered after a lot of struggles. He clashed with the free spirited and freedom loving king Porus [Paurav] but eventually the two became friends. It was during this time that he scaled the inaccessible rock Varana, which was so high that not even the birds could fly over it.

Alexander’s dream of including the Indian subcontinent in his vast empire was never realized, as some lands like the Punjab were too far away to be governed efficiently. Whilst returning from India, he was shot by an arrow and suffered from a torn lung. He still insisted on riding his horse. However, his soldiers forced him to dismount and the cavalry carried him; the infantry got jealous and said they wanted to carry him too. Thus they took turns carrying him!

After a while, Philip died at his wedding to Cleopatra of Macedonia. This incident left an indelible stain on Alexander’s character. His complacence in bringing his father’s assassins to justice raised the whispers that he had killed his father, as the two had had a heated argument regarding Philip’s infidelity just before the incident. To quieten the rumors, Alexander executed the assassins [presumably sent by the despotic “god king” Persian Xerses] and also his stepmother Cleopatra, to please the vengeful Olympias.

Alexander re-embarked on his aggressive foreign policy, with the ultimatum of submit or die. He clashed with, and defeated, Darius of Persia. Unlike the other Macedonians, who considered the non Greek peoples barbaric, Alexander gave all the high posts to Persians and did not take even a single Greek wife.

Alexander considered himself to be a descendant of Hercules. When he heard about the Gordian knot, which could supposedly only be untied by a descendant of Zeus, he cut it with his sword.

Alexander’s mysterious demise has caused many great historians to speculate about it. He died at Babylonia, at the palace of The Hanging Gardens, only a few days away from his thirty third birthday. He had started displaying signs of insanity and paranoia, seeing enemies in every corner. Some say he was killed during an argument with one of his trusted friends. Others, that he was killed by drinking a huge beaker of unmixed wine in one gulp.

Even though Alexander is dead, he lives on in the minds of people he liberated, and those who idolize him, like me.

I hope you enjoyed reading my article and hope you look up to Alexander the way I do.

Thank you.