English 126
Arcadia
Tom Stoppard
Life of Galileo
Bertolt Brecht
Medea
Euripides
M. Butterfly passage 7
3.1.1-76: Song testifies before the French court - Song was able to trick Gallimard - the judge is clouded by his own cultural background - Song is completely at ease within the French court
Spanish Tragedy passage 5
3.13.67-175
M. Butterfly passage 8
3.2: The climactic confrontation between Song and Gallimard - Gallimard is denial - Using the act of stripping as an act of dominance - It's all in Gallimard's head
M. Butterfly passage 9
3.3.1-35: Gallimard's transformation and sacrifice - Gallimard thinks of himself as a woman as well as Song - Gallimard becomes Madame butterfly - Gallimard then kills himself - He wants a sense of honor - Like Japanese and a better afterlife
Trifles passage 3
"...the duties and life of men and women should be different in the State, as in the home. Man's service to the State through government is counterbalanced by women's service in the home." "the woman suffrage movement is a backward step in the progress of civilization, in that it seeks to efface natural differentiation of function, and to produce identity instead of division of labor."
Trifles passage 2
"Attorney: And how did she—look? Hale: Well, she looked queer. Attorney: How do you mean—queer? Hale: Well, as if she didn't know what she was going to do next" (39-43). "She—laughed. Well, I guess you would call it a laugh" (50) "She stopped and looked at me—scared. I dunno, maybe it wasn't scared. I wouldn't like to say what it was" (85-86).
A raisin in the sun passage 1
"We must have a Negro drama...something may be done if some of our numerous poets will consent to rest from their usual labors for a while and lend a hand towards the writing of Negro plays...When I say Negro plays, I do not mean merely plays with Negro characters. Dramatizations of Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and Gustave Flaubert's "Salammbo" did not make Negro plays, though they had important Negro characters. Miss Grimke's "Rachel" is nearer the idea; still even this, with its Negro characters, is not exactly the thing I mean. It is called a propaganda play, and a great portion of it shows the manner in which Negroes are treated by white people in the United States. That such a work is of service will be acknowledged by anyone who will examine many of the plays of Shaw, Galsworthy and Brieux. Still there is another kind of play; the plays that shows the soul of a people; and the soul of this people is truly worth showing" (338).
Snow in Midsummer passage 1
1.1-31. WHO SAID THIS
A raisin in the sun passage 2
1.2.263-295 (The arrival of the insurance check)
A raisin in the sun passage 3
1.2.385-435 (Confrontation between Mama and Walter)
M. Butterfly Passage 1
1.4.22-32 Marc: In the morning, you're ready to talk some philosophy. So how 'bout it? Gallimard: Marc, I can't...I'm. afraid they'll say no- the girls. So I never ask. M: you don't have to ask! That's the beauty- don't you see? They don't have to say yes. It's perfect for a guy like you, really. G: You go ahead.. I may come later. M: Hey, Rene- it doesn't matter that you're clumsy and got zits- they're not looking! G: Thank you very much M:Wimp
M. Butterfly passage 2
1.6.1-54: Gallimard meets Song and falls in love with his performance. He begins to inhabit the role of Pinkerton.
A raisin in the sun passage 4
2.1.259-371 (Mama reveals that she has bought a house in Clybourne Park)
Ruined passage 5
2.6.118-130 (Salima's death scene) Osembenga, Josephine, Mama, Salima, Fortune talking
Ruined passage 4
2.6.23-37 (Mama's strategy for protecting herself) Mama and Mr. Harari talking
M. Butterfly passage 5
2.6.97-106: Gallimard's desire for emotional power over Song/Butterfly.
M. Butterfly passage 6
2.7.171-190: Evidence that the power dynamic is beginning to shift in Song/Butterfly's favor.
Ruined passage 6
2.7.98-122 (Mama reveals an important secret to Christian) Mama and Christian talking
Hamlet passage 2
Frailty, thy name is woman! A little month...[she]...married with my uncle, My father's brother, but no more like my father Than I to Hercules. Within a month, Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears Had left the flushing in her galled eyes, She married. O, most wicked speed, to post With such dexterity to incestuous sheets! It is not, nor it cannot come to good. (1.2.146-58).
The Witch of Edmonton passage 4
And why on me? Why should the envious world Throw all their scandalous malice upon me? 'Cause I am poor, deformed and ignorant, And like a bow buckled and bent together By some more strong in mischiefs than myself, Must I for that be made a common sink For all the filth and rubbish of men's tongues To fall and run into? Some call me witch, And, being ignorant of myself, they go About to teach me how to be one, urging That my bad tongue, by their bad usage made so, Forspeaks their cattle, doth bewitch their corn, Themselves, their servants and their babes at nurse. This they enforce upon me, and in part Make me to credit it. (2.1.1-15)
Life of Galileo passage 8
Andrea Science knows only one commandment: serve science. Galileo Which I've done...What is the purpose of your work Andrea? Surely the purpose of science is to ease human hardship. The movements of the stars have become clearer: but the people still don't understand the movements of their masters. If scientists follow the orders of those in power, if they store up knowledge for the sake of storing it up, then science will be crippled and your new machines will bring new forms of oppression. In time, you may discover everything that there is to discover, you will progress but you will progress away from humanity. The chasm between you and them will become so vast that one day you will shout for joy at some new achievement and you will be answered by a world shrieking in horror.
Hamlet passage 5
Angels and ministers of grace defend us! Be thou a spirit of health or goblin damn'd, Bring with thee airs from heaven or blasts from hell, Be thy intents wicked or charitable, Thou comest in such a questionable shape That I will speak to thee: I'll call thee Hamlet, King, father, royal Dane: O, answer me! Let me not burst in ignorance; but tell Why thy canonized bones, hearsed in death, Have burst their cerements; why the sepulchre, Wherein we saw thee quietly inurn'd, Hath oped his ponderous and marble jaws, To cast thee up again. What may this mean, That thou, dead corse, again in complete steel Revisit'st thus the glimpses of the moon, Making night hideous; and we fools of nature So horridly to shake our disposition With thoughts beyond the reaches of our souls? Say, why is this? wherefore? what should we do? (1.4.39-57).
Life of Galileo passage 9
As a scientist I was presented with a unique opportunity, astronomy had reached the market square. One man standing strong could have shaken the world. If I'd held out, scientists might have made a promise, an oath, to use their knowledge solely for the good of humanity! Now all we've got is a race of inventing pygmies who can be sold to the highest bidder. I was never in any real danger. For several years, I was as strong as those in power. And I gave up my knowledge for them to use, or not to use, or misuse, whatever suited them best. I have betrayed my vocation. A man who does what I have done cannot be counted amongst the scientists (77).
Spanish Tragedy passage 6
Baz. I am a grieved man, and not a ghost, That came for justice for my murder'd son. Hier. Ay, now I know thee, now thou nam'st thy son: Thou art the lively image of my grief; Within thy face, my sorrows I may see. Thy eyes are gumm'd with tears, thy cheeks are wan, Thy forehead troubled, and thy muttering lips Murmur sad words abruptly broken off; By force of windy sighs thy spirit breathes, And all this sorrow riseth for thy son: And selfsame sorrow feel I for my son. Come in, old man, them shalt to Isabel; Lean on my arm: I thee, thou me, shalt stay. And thou, and I, and she will sing a song, Three parts in one, but all of discords fram'd—: Talk not of chords, but let us now be gone, For with a cord Horatio was slain (3.13.159-175).
the witch of Edmonton passage 9
Frank. All life is but a wandering to find home. When we are gone, we are there. Happy were man Could here his voyage end; ... This were a fine reign, To do ill and not hear of it again. Yet then were man more wretched than a beast, For, sister, our dead pay is sure the best. (4.2.21-42)
Life of Galileo passage 2
Bursar: With your extraordinary reputation surely you must attract huge numbers of students willing to pay for private lessons? Galileo: I teach and teach and when am I supposed to learn? I'm not as stuffed with knowledge as the gentlemen of the philosophy faculty. I'm stupid. I understand nothing. I need to fill up these gaps in my knowledge. And when am I going to do that? Bursar: May I remind you that although our Republic does not pay as much as certain principalities, we do guarantee freedom of research. Everyone knows that in our Republic the Inquisition has no sway. That must be worth something to you, an astronomer working in a field which the church has for so long now regarded with less than respect (11).
Trifles passage 1
COUNTY ATTORNEY: (He goes to the sink, takes a dipperful of water from the pail and pouring it into a basin, washes his hands. Starts to wipe them on the roller-towel, turns it for a cleaner place) Dirty towels! (kicks his foot against the pans under the sink) Not much of a housekeeper, would you say, ladies? MRS HALE: (stiffly) There's a great deal of work to be done on a farm. COUNTY ATTORNEY: To be sure. And yet (with a little bow to her) I know there are some Dickson county farmhouses which do not have such roller towels. (He gives it a pull to expose its length again.) MRS HALE: Those towels get dirty awful quick. Men's hands aren't always as clean as they might be. COUNTY ATTORNEY: Ah, loyal to your sex, I see. ... MRS HALE: I'd hate to have men coming into my kitchen, snooping around and criticizing. [She arranges the pans under sink which the LAWYER had shoved out of place.] MRS PETERS: Of course it's no more than their duty. MRS HALE: Duty's all right, but I guess that deputy sheriff that came out to make the fire might have got a little of this on. (gives the roller towel a pull) Wish I'd thought of that sooner. (103-142).
Trifles passage 5
COUNTY ATTORNEY: (facetiously) Well, Henry, at least we found out that she was not going to quilt it. She was going to—what is it you call it, ladies? MRS HALE: (her hand against her pocket) We call it—knot it, Mr Henderson. (365-7)
The Witch of Edmonton passage 1
Frank. No man can hide his shame from heaven that views him. In vain he flees whose destiny pursues him (1.2.235-6).
Ruined passage 1
Christian: Salima is from a tiny village. No place really. She was captured by rebel soldiers, Mayi-mayi, the poor thing spent nearly five months in the bush as their concubine. Mama: And what of her people? Christian: She says he husband is a farmer. And from what I understand, her village won't have her back. Because...But she's a simple girl, she doesn't have much learning, I wouldn't worry about her. Mama: And the other? Christian: Sophie. Sophie is... Mama: Is what? Christian: ...is...ruined. [As Christian begs Mama to take Sophie in, Mama repeatedly refuses.] Christian: She's my sister's only daughter. Okay? I told my family I'd find a place for her...And here at least I know she'll be safe. Fed. As You know the village isn't a place for a girl who has been...ruined. It brings shame, dishonor to the family. Mama: But it's okay for her to be here, huh? I'm sorry, but I don't have room for another broken girl. (1.1.134-207)
M. Butterfly
David Henry Hwang
Snow in Midsummer passage 3
Dou E: The women today are different: you can neither tell their character from their speech, Nor judge them by their actions. they're all of them faithless, all run after new lovers; And before their husbands' graves are dry They set aside their mourning for new clothes. Where is the woman whose tears for her husband Caused the Great Wall to crumble? Where is she who left her washing And drowned in the stream? Where is she who changed into stone Through longing for her husband? How shameful that women today are so unfaithful, So few of them are chaste, so many wanton! All, all are gone, those virtuous women of old; For wives will not cleave to their husbands! (2.38-53)
Snow in Midsummer passage 2
Dou E: What has upset you, mother? Why are you crying? Mrs. Cai: When I asked Doctor Lu for the silver, he lured me outside ther town, then tried to strangle me; but an old man named Zhang and his son Donkey saved my life. Now Old Zhang is going to marry me: that's why I'm upset. Dou E: That would never do, mother! Please think again! We're not short of money. Besides, you are growing old--how can you take another husband? Mrs. Cai: Child, I couldn't do anything else!...Since it has come to this, I think you'd better take a husband too, and today can be the wedding day. Dou E: Take a husband if you must. I won't!
the witch of Edmonton passage 10
Frank. O, that my example Might teach the world hereafter what a curse Hangs on their heads who rather choose to marry A goodly portion than a dower of virtues!— Are you there, gentlemen? there is not one Amongst you whom I have not wronged; [to CARTER] you most: I robbed you of a daughter; but she is In Heaven; and I must suffer for it willingly. Carter. Ay, ay, she's in Heaven, and I am so glad to see thee so well prepared to follow her. I forgive thee with all my heart; if thou hadst not had ill counsel, thou wouldst not have done as thou didst; the more shame for them. (5.3.108-119).
Death and the King's Horseman passage 8
Elesin: What were warnings beside the moist contact of living earth between my fingers? What were warnings beside the renewal of famished embers lodged eternally in the heart of man? But even that, even if it overwhelmed one with a thousand temptations to linger a little while, a man could overcome it. It is when the alien hand pollutes the source of will, when a stranger force of violence shatters the mind's calm resolution, this is when a man is made to commit the awful treachery of relief, commit in his heart the unspeakable blasphemy of seeing the hand of the gods in this alien rupture of his world. I know it was this thought that killed me, sapped my powers and turned me into an infant in the hands of unnamable strangers. I made to utter my spells anew but my tongue merely rattled in my mouth. I fingered hidden charms and the contact was damp; there was no spark left to sever the life-strings that should stretch from every finger-tip. My will was squelched in the spittle of an alien race, and all because I had committed the blasphemy of thought—that there might be the hand of the gods in a stranger's intervention (5. 235-50).
The witch of Edmonton passage 7
Eliz. Sawyer. Why wilt thou not kill [Old Banks]? Dog. Fool, because I cannot. Though we have power, know it is circumscribed And tied in limits. Though he be curst to thee, Yet of himself he is loving to the world And charitable to the poor. Now men That, as he, love goodness, though in smallest measure, Live without compass of our reach. His cattle And corn I'll kill and mildew, but his life, Until I take him as I late found thee, Cursing and swearing, I have no power to reach (164-174).
The witch of Edmonton passage 6
Elizabeth Sawyer. Still vexed! Still tortured! That curmudgeon Banks Is ground of all my scandal. I am shunned And hated like a sickness, made a scorn To all degrees and sexes. I have heard old beldams Talk of familiars in the shape of mice, Rats, ferrets, weasels and I wot not what, That have appeared and sucked, some say, their blood. But by what means they came acquainted with them I'm now ignorant. Would some power, good or bad, Instruct me which way I might be revenged Upon this churl, I'd go out of myself And give this fury leave to dwell within This ruined cottage ready to fall with age, Abjure all goodness, be at hate with prayer, And study curses, imprecations, Blasphemous speeches, oaths, detested oaths, Or anything that's ill, so I might work Revenge upon this miser, this black cur That barks and bites, and sucks the very blood Of me and of my credit. 'Tis all one To be a witch as to be counted one. Vengeance, shame, ruin light upon that canker! Enter DOG. Dog. Ho! Have I found thee cursing? Now thou art mine own. (2.1.106-127).
The Witch of Edmonton passage 8
Elizabeth Sawyer. What would you have? Cannot a poor old woman Have your leave to die without vexation? Old Carter. Did you not bewitch Frank to kill his wife? He Could never have don't without the devil. Elizabeth Sawyer. Who doubts it? But is every devil mine? Would I had one now whom I might command To tear you all in pieces! Tom would have done't Before he left me (5.3.24-31).
Spanish Tragedy passage 4
Enter Heronimo, with a book [of Seneca's plays] in his hand. Vindicta mihi! [Vengeance is mine!] Ay, heav'n will be reveng'd of every ill; Nor will they suffer murder unrepaid. Then stay, Hieronimo, attend their will: For mortal men may not appoint their time!— [The safe way for crime is always through crime.] Strike, and strike home, where wrong is offer'd thee; For evils unto ills conductors be, And death's the worst of resolution. ... And to conclude, I will revenge his death! But how? not as the vulgar wits of men, With open, but inevitable ills, As by a secret, yet a certain mean, Which under kindship will be cloaked best. Wise men will take their opportunity Closely and safely, fitting things to time,— But in extremes advantage hath no time; And therefore all times fit not for revenge. Thus therefore will I rest me in unrest, Dissembling quiet in unquietness, Not seeming that I know their villainies, That my simplicity may make them think, That ignorantly I will let all slip. ... Hieronimo, thou must enjoin Thine eyes to observation, and thy tongue To milder speeches than thy spirit affords, Thy heart to patience, and thy hands to rest, They cap to curtsey, and thy knee to bow, Till to revenge thou know when, where, and how (3.13.1-44).
The Witch of Edmonton passage 2
Frank. To quit which fear at once, As by the ceremony late performed, I plighted thee a faith as free from challenge As any double thought, once more in hearing Of heaven and thee, I vow that never henceforth Disgrace, reproof, lawless affections, threats, Or what can be suggested 'gainst our marriage Shall cause me falsify that bridal oath That binds me thine. And, Winnifride, whenever The wanton heat of youth by subtle baits Of beauty, or what woman's art can practice, Draw me from only loving thee, let heaven Inflict upon my life some fearful ruin. I hope thou dost believe me." (1.1.56-68)
Spanish Tragedy passage 2
GENERAL: Where Spain and Portingale do jointly knit Their frontiers, leaning on each other's bound, There met our armies in their proud array: Both furnished well, both full of hope and fear, Both menacing alike with daring shows, Both vaunting sundry colors of device, Both cheerly sounding trumpets, drums, and fifes, Both raising dreadful clamors to the sky, That valleys, hills and rivers made rebound, And heaven itself was frightened with the sound. ... On every side drop Captains to the ground, And soldiers, some ill-maimed, some slain outright. Here falls a body sundered from his head, There legs and arms lie bleeding on the grass, Mingled with weapons and unbowelled steeds, That scattering overspread the purple plain. In all this turmoil, three long hours and more, The victory to neither part inclined Til Don Andrea, with his brave Lanciers, In their main battle made so great a breach That, half-dismayed, the multitude retired; But Balthazar, the Portingale's young Prince, Brought rescue and encouraged them to stay. Here hence the fight was eagerly renewed, And in that conflict was Andrea slain, Brave man-at-arms, but weak to Balthazar (1.2.22-72).
Life of Galileo passage 3
Galileo: Good for your balance sheet isn't it? Elsewhere the Inquisition is sticking people on the fire and you get excellent cut-price academics. Bursar: Unfair! Unfair! Galileo: What good is freedom of research without the free time to do the researching? Bursar: What's worth scudi is what brings in scudi. Your law of falling bodies have certainly been a sensation. They're singing your praises in Paris and Prague. But all that praise doesn't bring our university any income. Galileo: I get it. Freedom to research as long as it brings free trade, yes? (11).
Life of Galileo passage 7
Galileo: With some confidence we can prove the rotation of the sun. My aim is not to prove that I've been right all along but to test if I am. I say: abandon all hope, you who begin to observe. Perhaps they're clouds, perhaps they're spots but before we assume they are spots, which would suit us, let us rather assume that they are the tails of fish. We'll approach the observation of the sun with an unswerving determination to prove that the Earth stands still. And only when we've failed, totally broken, wounded and in deep despair, only then shall we begin to ask if we weren't right after all and maybe the Earth does move (56).
M. Butterfly passage 3
Gallimard: [Men] should be scratching at my door, begging to learn my secrets! For I, Rene Gallimard, you see, I have known, and been loved by...the Perfect Woman. Alone in this cell, I sit night after night, watching our story play through my head, always searching for a new ending, one which redeems my honor, where she returns at last to my arms. And I imagine you—my ideal audience—who come to understand and even, perhaps just a little, to envy me. (1.3.2-8).
Hamlet passage 7
Ghost: Ay, that incestuous, that adulterate beast, With witchcraft of his wit, with traitorous gifts,-- O wicked wit and gifts, that have the power So to seduce!--won to his shameful lust The will of my most seeming-virtuous queen: O Hamlet, what a falling-off was there! From me, whose love was of that dignity That it went hand in hand even with the vow I made to her in marriage, and to decline Upon a wretch whose natural gifts were poor To those of mine! ... Thus was I, sleeping, by a brother's hand Of life, of crown, of queen, at once dispatch'd: Cut off even in the blossoms of my sin, Unhousel'd, disappointed, unanel'd, No reckoning made, but sent to my account With all my imperfections on my head: O, horrible! O, horrible! most horrible! If thou hast nature in thee, bear it not; Let not the royal bed of Denmark be A couch for luxury and damned incest. But, howsoever thou pursuest this act, Taint not thy mind, nor let thy soul contrive Against thy mother aught: leave her to heaven And to those thorns that in her bosom lodge, To prick and sting her. Fare thee well at once! The glow-worm shows the matin to be near, And 'gins to pale his uneffectual fire: Adieu, adieu! Hamlet, remember me.
Hamlet passage 6
Ghost: I am thy father's spirit, Doom'd for a certain term to walk the night, And for the day confined to fast in fires, Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature Are burnt and purged away (1.5.9-13)
Death and the King's Horseman passage 4
Girl: [In an English accent] Well, well, its Mr. Amusa. Were you invited? [Play-acting to one another. The older women encourage them with their titters.] --Your invitation card please? --Who are you? Have we been introduced? --And who did you say you were? --Sorry, I didn't quite catch your name. --May I take your hat? --If you insist. May I take yours? --How very kind of you. --Not at all. Won't you sit down? --After you. --Oh no. --I insist. --You're most gracious. --And how do you find the place? --The natives are alright. --Friendly? --Tractable. --Not a teeny-weeny bit restless? --Well, a teeny-weeny bit restless. (3.87-107)
Snow in Midsummer
Guan Hanqing
Hamlet passage 9
Hamlet: Does it not, think'st thee, stand me now upon-- He that hath kill'd my king and whored my mother, Popp'd in between the election and my hopes, Thrown out his angle for my proper life, And with such cozenage--is't not perfect conscience, To quit him with this arm? and is't not to be damn'd, To let this canker of our nature come In further evil? (5.2.69-76) Claudius: We pray you, throw to earth This unprevailing woe, and think of us As of a father: for let the world take note, You are the most immediate to our throne; Claudius: Therefore our sometime sister, now our queen, The imperial jointress to this warlike state, Have we...Taken to wife: nor have we herein barr'd Your better wisdoms, which have freely gone With this affair along. For all, our thanks (1.2.8-12).
Spanish Tragedy passage 7
Hier. Haply you think—but bootless are your thoughts— That this is fabulously counterfeit, And that we do as all tragedians do: To die today, for fashioning our scene— The death of Ajax or some Roman peer— And in a minute starting up again, Revive to please tomorrow's audience (4.4.76-82). Rev. Then haste we down to meet thy friends and foes: To place thy friends in ease, the rest in woes; For here though death hath end their misery, I'll there begin their endless tragedy (4.4.45-9).
Spanish Tragedy passage 3
Hier. Thus must we toil in other men's extremes, That know not how to remedy our own; And do them justice, when unjustly we, For all our wrongs, can compass no redress. But shall I never live to see the day, That I may come, by justice of the heavens, To know the cause that may my cares allay? This toils my body, this consumeth age, That only I to all men just must be, And neither gods nor men be just to me. Dep. Worthy Hieronimo, your office asks A care to punish such as do transgress. Hier. So is't my duty to regard his death Who, when he liv'd, deserv'd my dearest blood. (3.6.1-14)
Hamlet passage 4
Horatio: But soft, behold! lo, where it comes again! I'll cross it, though it blast me. Stay, illusion! If thou hast any sound, or use of voice, Speak to me! If there be any good thing to be done, That may to thee do ease and grace to me, Speak to me! If thou art privy to thy country's fate, Which, happily, foreknowing may avoid, O, speak! Or if thou hast uphoarded in thy life Extorted treasure in the womb of earth, For which, they say, you spirits oft walk in death, Speak of it! (1.1.128-141).
Hamlet passage 8
Horatio: Propose the oath, my lord. Hamlet: Never to speak of this that you have seen, Swear by my sword. Ghost: [Beneath] Swear. Hamlet: Hic et ubique? then we'll shift our ground. [Move] Come hither, gentlemen, And lay your hands again upon my sword: Never to speak of this that you have heard, Swear by my sword. Ghost: [Beneath] Swear. Hamlet: Well said, old mole! canst work i' the earth so fast? A worthy pioneer! Once more remove, good friends. [Move]
Death and the King's Horseman passage 7
Iyaloja: I warned you, if you must leave a seed behind, be sure it is not tainted with the curses of the world. Who are you to open a new life when you dared not open the door to a new existence? ... Elesin: My powers deserted me. My charms, spells, even my voice lacked strength when I made to summon the powers that would lead me over the last measure of earth into the land of the fleshless. You saw it, Iyaloja. You saw me struggle to retrieve my will from the power of the stranger whose shadow fell across the doorway and left me floundering and blundering in a made I had never before encountered. My senses were numbed when the cold iron came upon my wrists. I could do nothing to save myself. Iyaloja: You have betrayed us. We fed you sweetmeats such as we hoped awaited you on the other side. But you said, No, I must eat the world's leftovers...I gave you a warning. The river which fills up before our eyes does not sweep us away in its flood (5.190-234).
Medea passage 2
Jason: If you weren't so irritated about your bed, you'd never say it was. But you're a woman—and you're all the same! If everything goes well between the sheets you think you have it all. But let there be some setback or disaster in the bedroom and suddenly you go to war against the things that you value most. I mean it— men should really have some other method for getting children. The whole female race should not exist. It's nothing but a nuisance. (585-95)
Antigone passage 1
LEADER: King, something has been bothering me: Suppose this business was inspired by the gods? KREON: Stop! Before your words fill me with rage. Now, besides sounding old, you sound senile. How could anyone possibly believe the gods protect this corpse? Did they cover His nakedness to reward him for loyal service—this man who came here to burn their colonnaded temples and treasuries, to wipe out their country and tear up its laws? Do you think that the gods honor rebels? They don't (309-20).
M. Butterfly passage 4
Lights up on Gallimard. He sits in his cell, reading from a leaflet. Gallimard: This, from a contemporary critic's commentary on Madame Butterfly: "Pinkerton suffers from...being an obnoxious bounder whom every man in the audience itches to kick." Bully for us men in the audience! Then, in the same note: "Butterfly is the most irresistibly appealing of Puccini's 'Little Women.' Watching the succession of her humiliations is like watching a child under torture." [He tosses the pamphlet over his shoulder.] I suggest that, while we men may all want to kick Pinkerton, very few of us would pass up the opportunity to be Pinkerton. (2.1.1-8).
Antigone passage 4
Lines 52-116 Antigone and Ismene
Life of Galileo passage 6
Little Monk: What would my family say if I told them they're on a little lump of rock, endlessly spinning in space around a star, one of many, unimportant! Now what would be the point of their patience, their acceptance of suffering—is there any need or worth in it? Now what would be the point of the scriptures, which have explained and justified everything, the struggle, the patience, the hunger, the servility, and which are now found to be stuffed with error? No, I see them look away, I see them lower their spoons, I see how they feel betrayed, abandoned. So there is no one watching us. Do we have to fend for ourselves as we are—ignorant, old, exhausted? Has no one imagined a part for us to play other than this one, wretched, earthly, here on this tiny planet? Is there no meaning in our suffering, is hunger just a lack of food and not a test of faith; is toil just bending and dragging, not a gift? Do you understand that in the decree I read a mother's noble pity, the soul's great charity? (43).
A Raisin in the Sun
Lorraine Hansberry
Life of Galileo passage 1
Ludovico: Be patient with me. Science always seems to be at odds with common sense. Like this funny tube that they're selling in Amsterdam. I've had a close look. A sleeve of green leather and two lenses one like this (indicates concave) and one like this (convex). I'm told one lens makes things bigger [convex], the other makes things smaller [concave]. A sensible person would say: they cancel each other out. Not so. Look through the thing and everything far away—spires, pigeons—five times bigger. Science (9).
Ruined
Lynn Nottage
Ruined passage 2
Mama: Good. [Mama lifts Sophie's chin with her fingers, enviously examining her face.] Yes, you're very pretty. I can see how that caused you problems. Do you know what kind of place this is? Sophie: Yes, Mama. I think so. Mama: Good. [Mama carefully applies red lipstick to Sophie's mouth.] Then we have no problems. I expect my girls to be well-behaved and clean. That's all. I provide a bed, food, and clothing. If things are good, everyone gets a little. If things are bad, then Mama eats first. Am I making myself clear?
Medea passage 1
Medea: My motive was the best: so we'd live well and not be poor. I know that everyone avoids a needy friend. I wanted to raise sons in a style that fits my family background, give brothers to the ones I had with you, and treat them all as equals. This would strengthen the family, and I'd be blessed with fortune. What do you need children for? For me, though, its good if I can use my future children to benefit my present ones. Is that bad planning? (575-585).
Medea (Justice)
NURSE: Rulers are fierce in their temperament; somehow, they will not be governed; they like to have power, always, over others. They're harsh, and they're stubborn. It's better to live as an equal with equals. I never would want to be grand and majestic—just let me grow old in simple security. Even the word "moderation" sounds good when you say it. For mortals the middle is safest, in word and in deed. Too much is too much, and there's always a danger a god may get angry and ruin your household (124-134).
Hamlet passage 1
O, that this too, too solid flesh would melt, Thaw and resolve itself into a dew! Or that the Everlasting had not fix'd His canon 'gainst self-slaughter! O God! God! How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable, Seem to me all the uses of this world! Fie on't! ah fie! 'tis an unweeded garden, That grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature Possess it merely. That it should come to this! But two months dead: nay, not so much, not two: So excellent a king; that was, to this, Hyperion to a satyr; so loving to my mother That he might not beteem the winds of heaven Visit her face too roughly. Heaven and earth! Must I remember? why, she would hang on him, As if increase of appetite had grown By what it fed on: and yet, within a month-- Let me not think on't! (1.2.129-146).
Death and the King's Horseman passage 5
Olunde: [Western civilization's] greatest art is the art of survival. At least have the humility to let others survive in their own way. Jane: Through ritual suicide? Olunde: Is that worse than mass suicide? Mrs Pilkings, what do you call what those young men are sent to do by their generals in this war? Of course you have also mastered the art of calling things by names which don't remotely describe them...whatever we do, we never suggest that a thing is the opposite of what it really is. In your newsreels I heard defeats, thorough, murderous defeats described as strategic victories. Don't forget I was attached to hospitals all the time. Hordes of your wounded passed through those wards. I spoke to them. I spent long evenings by their bedsides while they spoke terrible truths of the realities of that war. I know now how history is made. Jane: But surely, in a war of this nature, for the morale of the nation you must expect... Olunde: That a disaster beyond human reckoning be spoken of as a triumph? No. I mean, is there no mourning in the home of the bereaved that such blasphemy is permitted? (4.213-233).
Life of Galileo passage 5
Philosopher: And...may I, as a humble philosopher, pose the question: are such stars necessary?...The universe of the great Aristotle, its celestial musical spheres, crystalline vaults, the turning of its heavenly bodies, the inspired construction of the sphere of heaven, is a system of such order and beauty that we should hesitate to disturb its harmony. Galileo: Your Highness why don't you come and look at these impossible and unnecessary stars through the telescope? Mathematician: One is tempted to reply that your tube, in showing us what cannot be, must not—must it not?—be a very reliable tube? (26-7).
Death and the King's Horseman passage 6
Pilkings: I have spoken with [Olunde] and...if you want to know, he wishes he could cut out his tongue for uttering the words he did. Elesin: What he said must never be unsaid. The contempt of my own son rescued something of my shame at your hands. You have stopped me in my duty but I know now that I did give birth to a son. Once I mistrusted him for seeking the companionship of those my spirit knew as the enemies of our race. Now I understand. One should seek to obtain the secrets of his enemies. He will avenge my shame, white one. His spirit will destroy mine and yours. (5.60-9).
Death and the King's Horseman passage 1
Praise Singer: Elesin Oba! I say you are that man who Chanced upon the calabash of honour You thought it was palm wine and Drained its contents to the final drop. Elesin: Life has an end. A life that will outlive Fame and friendship begs another name. What elder takes his tongue to his plate, Licks it clean of every crumb? He will encounter Silence when he calls on children to fulfill The smallest errand! Life is honour. It ends when honour ends. (1.211-217).
Hamlet passage 3
Queen: Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted colour off, ... Thou know'st [death] is common; all that lives must die, Passing through nature to eternity. Hamlet: Ay, madam, it is common. Queen: If it be, Why seems it so particular with thee? Hamlet: 'Seems,' madam? nay it is; I know not 'seems.' 'Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother, Nor customary suits of solemn black, Nor windy suspiration of forced breath, No, nor the fruitful river in the eye, Nor the dejected 'havior of the visage, Together with all forms, moods, shapes of grief, That can denote me truly: these indeed seem, For they are actions that a man might play: But I have that within which passeth show; These but the trappings and the suits of woe.
Life of Galileo passage 4
Sagredo: Have you lost your mind? Don't you understand what's going to happen if what you see here is true? If you shout it out in the market square: the Earth is just a star and not the center of the universe! That there is nothing be stars. And where is God? Galileo: What do you mean? Sagredo: Where's God? Galileo: I'm a scientist. Sagredo: But above all else, you're a human being. And I ask you in your cosmology where is God? Galileo: In all of us or nowhere. Sagredo: That's why [Giordano Bruno] was burned. Less than ten years ago. Galileo: Because he had no proof. Only a hypothesis. Sarti! Sagredo, I believe in humanity which means I believe in reason. If I didn't believe in that I wouldn't be strong enough to get out of bed in the morning (20-21).
Ruined passage 3
Salima: He called me a filthy dog, and said I tempted them. Why else would it happen? Five months in the bush, passed between the soldiers like a wash rag. I was made poison by their fingers, that is what he said. He had no choice but to turn away from me, because I dishonored him. ... I walked into the family compound expecting wide open arms. An embrace. Five months, suffering. I suffered every single second of it. And my family gave me the back of their heads. And he, the man I loved since I was fourteen, chased me away with a green switch. He beat my ankles raw. And I dishonored him? I dishonored him?! Where was he? Buying a pot? He was too proud to bear my shame...but not proud enough to protect me from it. Let him sit in the rain. (57-126).
Antigone
Sophocles
The Witch of Edmonton passage 5
Strike, do, and withered may that hand and arm Whose blows have lamed me drop from the rotten trunk. Abuse me! Beat me! Call me hag and witch! What is the name? Where and by what art learned? What spells, what charms or invocations May the thing called Familiar be purchased? (2.1.31-36).
Trifles
Susan Glaspell
Antigone passage 3
TIRESIAS: Does any man grasp...does he realize... KREON: Realize...what? What point are you making? TIRESIAS: ...that no possession is worth more than good sense? KREON: Just as its absence is our worst disease. TIRESIAS: But hasn't that disease infected you? KREON: I won't trade insults with you, prophet. TIRESIAS: You do when you call my prophecies false. KREON: Your profession has always loved money. TIRESIAS: And tyrants have a penchant for corruption (1160-68).
The Spanish Tragedy
Thomas Kyd
Snow in Midsummer passage 4
WHO Says this?? I want to say three things, officer. If you will let me, I shall die content. I want a clean mat and white silk streamer twelve feet long to hang on the flagpole. When the sword strikes off my head, not a drop of my warm blood will stain the ground. It will all fly up instead to the white silk streamer. This is the hottest time of summer, sir. If injustice has indeed been done, three feet of snow will cover my dead body. Then this district will suffer drought for three whole years. 3.138-144
Antigone passage 2
WHO says this??? But for a good while now men who despise me have been muttering under their breaths—my edict bruised their necks. They were rebelling against a just yoke— unlike you good citizens who support me. I'm sure these malcontents bribed my sentries to do what they did. Mankind's most deadly invention is money—it plunders cities, encourages men to abandon their homes, tempts honest people to do shameful things. It instructs them in criminal practice, drives them to act on every godless impulse. By doing this for silver, these men have guaranteed that, sooner or later, they'll pay the price (320-34).
Death and the King's Horseman passage 3
WOMEN: But she is betrothed to your own son. Tell [Elesin]. IYALOJA: My son's wish is mine. I did the asking for him, the loss can be remedied. But who will remedy the blight of closed hands on the day when all should be openness and light? Tell him, you say! You wish that I burden him with the knowledge that will sour [Elesin's] wish and lay regrets on the last moments of [Elesin's] mind. You pray to him who is your intercessor to the world - don't set this world adrift in your own time; would you rather it was in my hand whose sacrilege wrenched it loose? (414-422).
The Witch of Edmonton passage 3
Warbeck. Canst thou be so unkind, Considering how dearly I affect thee, Nay, dote on thy perfections? Susan. You are studied Too scholar-like in words I understand not. I am too coarse for such a gallant's love As you are. Warbeck. By the honour of gentility— Susan. Good sir, no swearing. Yea and nay with us Prevails above all oaths you can invent. Warbeck. By this white hand of thine— Susan. Take a false oath? Fie, fie! Flatter the wise, fools not regard it, And one of these am I. Warbeck. Dost thou despise me? (1.2.47-57)
Spanish Tragedy passage 1
When I was slain, my soul descended straight To pass the flowing stream of Acheron; But churlish Charon, only boatman there, Said that, my rites of burial not performed, I might not sit amongst his passengers. Ere Sol had slept three nights in Thetis' lap, And slaked his smoking chariot in her flood, By Don Horatio, our Knight-Marshal's son, My funerals and obsequies were done. Then was the ferry-man of Hell content To pass me over to the slimy strond That leads to fell Avernus' ugly waves. (1.1.18-29).
The Witch of Edmonton
William Rowley, Thomas Dekker, John Ford
Hamlet
William Shakespeare
Death and the King's Horseman
Wole Soyinka
Death and the King's Horseman passage 2
Women: We shall all meet at the great market We shall all meet at the great market He who goes early takes the best bargains But we shall meet, and resume our banter. [Elesin stands resplendent in rich clothes, cap, shawl, etc. His sash is of a bright red alari cloth. The Women dance around him. Suddenly, his attention is caught be an object offstage.] Elesin: The world I know is good. ... [The earlier distraction, a beautiful Young Girl, comes along the passage through which Elesin first made his entry.] ... Elesin: Tell me who was that goddess through whose lips I saw the ivory pebbles of Oya's river-bed. Iyaloja, who is she?
Trifles passage 4
[The COUNTY ATTORNEY, after again looking around the kitchen, opens the door of a cupboard closet. He gets up on a chair and looks on a shelf. Pulls his hand away, sticky.] COUNTY ATTORNEY: Here's a nice mess. [The women draw nearer.] MRS PETERS: (to the other woman) Oh, her fruit; it did freeze, (to the LAWYER) She worried about that when it turned so cold. She said the fire'd go out and her jars would break. SHERIFF: Well, can you beat the women! Held for murder and worryin' about her preserves. COUNTY ATTORNEY: I guess before we're through she may have something more serious than preserves to worry about. HALE: Well, women are used to worrying over trifles. ... MRS HALE: (eyes fixed on a loaf of bread beside the bread-box, which is on a low shelf at the other side of the room. Moves slowly toward it) She was going to put this in there, (picks up loaf, then abruptly drops it. In a manner of returning to familiar things) It's a shame about her fruit. I wonder if it's all gone. (gets up on the chair and looks) I think there's some here that's all right, Mrs Peters. Yes—here; (holding it toward the window)this is cherries, too. (looking again) I declare I believe that's the only one. (gets down, bottle in her hand. Goes to the sink and wipes it off on the outside) She'll feel awful bad after all her hard work in the hot weather. I remember the afternoon I put up my cherries last summer (93-152).