Don't forget to write your full name and class period on the first line of your comment.
Bad translation aside, I think you will agree that the play is pretty good. Choose a quotation from the play and then write 15 sentences explaining the importance of the quotation to the main action of the play, to character development, or to one of the major themes in the play. This is the link to a translation of the play: http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.31951001049242c;view=1up;seq=45 The play begins on page 35 of the online text.
Please don't use a quotation that someone else has used. Be original. For example there were 48 comments posted on our blog on Oedipus Rex. The word interesting was used 55 times, confusing 32 times, and strange 21 times. Please, Please, Please, BE ORIGINAL.
Madison Sutton
ReplyDelete5th period
"Changeful woman, constant never, he's a fool who trusts her ever, for her love the wind doth blow, like a feather to and fro" (239).
This is a quote from the King in Act Fourth. The King is singing this classic tune in a tavern. He drinks with one of his prostitutes, a young Gipsy girl, who dances around him. The words to this song are rather ironic. The King is talking about women being untrustworthy when he rapes women all the time. "He's a fool who trusts her ever". The King is hypocritical about the fact that he is truly the one who's not right in the head, not women. He talks about about how women change. "Changeful, woman, constant never". When he, himself, is the one who is inconsistent. The King picks and chooses who he wants to take advantage of. He is the one who decides who he gets to rape. The King is the real one who switches around all the time with different victims. What he sings about in this song, it’s the actual opposite of reality. Women are the victims of his cruel and twisted ways and are not the untrustworthy, crazy ones. The King's words do not add up to make any sense in that he is the inconsistent one who should not be trusted with his filthy ways. The King takes advantage of his power and his lyrics to his song are really more about him.
Arthur Gulledge
ReplyDeleteP 4
Triboulet: “I’ve killed my child! I’ve killed my child!” Act V Scene V. This line was very important to the play, as it was the last to be said, and important to the plot. Triboulet thought he had a sack with the dead king in it, but Saltabadil had tricked him. He killed Blanche, and put her in a sack, to have Triboulet put her in the Seine River. Blanche was not killed by the gang that put her in the sack, but did get stabbed by her father. This and being suffocated, killed her, and Triboulet weeps for her. Triboulet has a character development, as we lean that even though he may be ugly, he also has a huge heart, for those he loves. He wanted to conspire against the king, as he was happy to dump his dead body in the river. He also was very happy when he heard Blanche speak, and wasn’t dead. This quote also plays with the theme of the play, of fate and curses. Earlier, Triboulet said to Blanche when weeping for her dying child, “Inexorable fate! Caught in the snare I laid for him! It is God’s hand that overwhelms me thus!” Act V Scene IV. Triboulet thought killing his daughter was an unchanging fate, and how he was tricked to do the terrible deed. Could this be a curse that all the characters seem to have?
Gracie Legg
ReplyDeletePeriod 3
"Yes, mystery's the only envelope wherein so frail a matter as love can rest in full security." (38)
This quote is from Triboulet in Act 1. He is talking about how the mystery is such a tender matter. And he is also saying that love is the only thing that can make things right. It is the only thing that can bring people to rest. He is talking to the king when he says this. Because the king won't feel happy or at rest until a girl loves him. Its a really powerful quote in my opinion. Because any time the word love is used it is usually very meaningful, especially in these types of things. The quote that the king says before this is talking about he is in love with a woman of the people. At this point in the story we are not aware of who the king is talking about but we find out later in the story. Triboulet is my favorite character because he is much more thoughtful than the king and he actually cares about people. He has the kindest heart out of anyone in this whole play. And that's why I chose a quote by him.
Jessica Bruce
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"Betrayed! Ungrateful!-Oh my heart will break! He hath no soul, no pity, kindness-none! Even to that girl, who loves him not, he says the same fond words that once he said to me. And oh that shameless creature!" (243)
This quote is the climax of the plot. Blanche finally realizes the true nature of the king. She has stuck by him and loved him even after he kidnaped her and then she sees how unfaithful he really is. This is also the worst moment that the king is caught in. He is sleeping with a prostitute and has seemingly totally abandoned love and faithfulness.
Andrew Park
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"Inexorable fate! Caught in the snare I laid for him! It is God's hand that overwhelms me thus! But what do they to thee? Explain to me my child!"(Triboulet).
This quote shows the nearing of a tragic fate of Triboulet when Blanche is nearing death and Triboulet is suffering dearly from the dreaded curse. It also refers to the effect of the curse put on him. The curse was spread in order to bring ease for the Duke's chances to victimize Blanche. It forced Triboulet to support the king's continuous acts of victimizing innocent women. Throughout the play, the king had a mission to deflect Triboulet's attempts to cripple the king's abuse of power and authority. According to the quote, Triboulet's plans backfired from the curse. It looked as if "God's hand that overwhelms" was what allowed the king to survive and force the "Inexorable Fate" of Triboulet and Blanche. This was depressing moment of the play. To me, the part "God's Hand" was visualized as the demon's powering of the curse of Triboulet and Blanche with courtesy of the Duke. According to the "snare" Triboulet laid out for the Duke, it also refers to Triboulet facing the fate he had hoped the King would face. The curse's effects allowed the snare to trap Triboulet and Blanche. After that point, the curse had worn off and it was too late for Triboulet to do anything. Blanche was in grave state after the damage was done. The king was able to maintain such demonic power. The expected hero Triboulet and innocent Blanche leave the world in extreme melancholy.
Ashley Barnett
ReplyDeleteP.3
Triboulet: And thou dost love him!
Blanche: Still.
This quotation is important because it shows that even though the King is a horrible person and did horrible things the Blanche, she still loves him. This shows the character of Blanche as a very naïve and unsuspecting girl. But it also alludes to the future when Blanche sacrifices herself for the king. Even though she had to disobey her father to do it. This really shows the character of Blanche who is both innocent and brave at the same time. This quote also shows the character of Triboulet who is very unlike Blanche, Triboulet has been corrupted by the king’s world and all the bad things that happened in his kingdom and so he wants to get his revenge. But Blanche who has been guarded and protected by Triboulet doesn’t understand how bad the King is so she still loves the fake part that pretended to be to her. Since Blanche doesn’t know the true character of the king she chooses to believe what he told her the night in her yard. This shows that Blanche looks for the good in people. And also that she decides her own opinion of people and doesn’t want others to tell her what to think of them. So in the end she still loves the king and that is why she decided to sacrifice herself for the king so that he could live.
Mallori Lindberg
ReplyDeletePeriod 4
Saint-Vallier: "My curse upon you both! It is not well, my leige! You set your cur upon the dying lion! Whoever thou mayest be, thou varlet with the viper's tongue, who makest sport thus of a father's grief, my curse on thee! " (75).
This line is very significant and sets up the climax of the play. St. Vallier marches in and sets a curse upon Triboulet which allows the rest of the play to develop. After setting this curse, St. Vallier doesn't appear again until the very end of the play. The anger is originated after the King is involved in raping woman repeatedly. Althought Triboulet is the one who is cursed upon. Victor Hugo depicts Triboulet as a grotesque character. He is a hunchback and is seen as unhealthy and evil on the outside, although in the inside he is loving and gentle. Especially towards his daughter he shows love since she is the only one he has left. The curse that was put on him alludes to the outcome of the play. Towards the end Triboulet is tricked when he has a sack with a dead person in it, at first he was filled with satisfaction thinking the dead person was the King. Although it was his daughter Blanche instead. His loving and empathetic character side showed when he grieved and hoped for the truth about his daughter's death to be false. The curse that St. Vallier put on him earlier suggests that the death of his daughter was a direct outcome of the curse. The fact that the King continually rapes woman and acts sinfully and still ends up alive while Triboulet is seen as the evil one, adds to the grotesque and tragic aspects of this play. The reader hopes for a better outcome, although the curse follows through with the death of Blanche. Triboulet is seen as evil regardless of his loving side.
Madison Ferris
ReplyDeletePeriod: 4
"Tis most true! But, tempter, 'twas your beauty lured me here, with most adventurous patience to endure. A dinner of the vilest:- and such wine! Your brother's hang-dog looks have soured it: An ugly wretch! How dares he shew his face. So near those witching eyes and lips of bliss! It matters not. I stir not hence to-night" (240-241).
This quote is very important, because it really sheds a light on the King's true self, in my opinion. In this quote, the King is talking to Maguelonne, whose a prostitute. The King wants to caress Maguelonne. Maguelonne isn't having it. She talks to the King about how he sleeps with so many woman. She refers to him as a "rake". The King before this quote, is professing his "love" for Maguelonne. He says that she'll be the only one, and she's the only one for him. When she calls him a rake (a hoe), meaning he sleeps around, she says "And twenty more besides; to me, a most accomplished rake you seem" (241). She is saying that the King just says what woman want to hear sometimes& he sleeps with dozens of woman. The King said "It was your beauty that lured me here", but the King doesn't have the best reputation from his past. He was involved in raping woman before, as well. This quote is just really significant, because Maguelonne had to decide if she wanted to be with the King or not, after evaluating his reputation and it shows a little of the real side of the King.
Kathryn Matthews P3
ReplyDeleteSALTABADIL: Be rational my child, and let me do my work in peace.
MAGUELONNE: No, I will save him [the king]! (189)
That Maguelonne wanted to save the king is either characteristic of her love for him, or her compassion. Maguelonne is a complex character. On the one hand she feels loyalty toward her brother, the assassin. On the other, a loyalty to her heart and/or conscience. That's a recurring theme in the play; Rigoletto has such loyalty to his daughter, and his will to sacrifice is apparent. The human struggle for goodness and love is portrayed in the play.
Elena Wagar
ReplyDelete3 per.
" The youth is most attractive, proud as apollo,handsome, tall with all the rest a famous lover and he loves me dearly. He is sleeping like an infant jesus. Do not kill him" (185).
Maguelonne is talking to Saltabadil about not killing a young youth. Saltabadil wants to kill the youth and toss his body in the river. Saltabadil wants to do this because he wants to receive 10 gold crowns for delivering the dead body. Maguelonne is very against this and is determined to save the youn youth.
Isabelle Carson
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"There ‘s not a man who does not seek to humble him” (88). Triboulet says this quote after an old man had cursed him. He is terrified of being cursed and reflects back onto it. In this quote he is speaking specifically about the king. Even though Triboulet goes along with the schemes of the king and the nobleman, he does not agree with them and knows that what they are doing is horrible. This one quote is taken from a much longer speech, which shows how Triboulet views the world and the people around him. His job is to make the king laugh but you almost have to feel bad for him because of his sadistic outlook on life.
I think that this quote foreshadows what is to come later in the play. This quote implies that Triboulet will later become one of those men. At the point that Triboulet says this nothing has happened to his daughter who he loves very much, so he is not yet a man who wishes to humble the king. After Triboulet discovers that his daughter has been taken advantage of by the king, he is determined to have him killed. He becomes like every other man who wishes to seek revenge on the king.
Lily Kristjanson
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“ Oh! Do not die! My child, my spotless dove, my treasure, Blanche! If thou dost go from me, I shall have nothing! Do not die, I pray thee!” (Triboulet, pg. 211)
This quote has great importance to the character development of Triboulet. Prior to this quote, Triboulet discovers that Saltabadil placed him under the impression that in the sack was the dead king. To discover that in actuality, in the sack was his dead daughter, was truly devastating. From this realization, Triboulet experience the ultimate form of heartbreak. Wrapping his mind around the fact that he participated in the murder of his own innocent daughter was a challenge for him to comprehend. This quote supports the devastation we see Triboulet encounter. We learn his daughter Blanche is the center of his world. The fact that she is now gone and that Triboulet himself had a role in her passing, provide him with such a sense of grief and guilt he may never overcome it. Triboulet gives all his effort to save his precious daughter. Sadly it is too late and his mistake has cost his daughter her life, and himself his happiness.
Julia McMichael
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“O treachery! Ingratitude! Great God, my heart is breaking! Oh! How false he’s been to me! It must be that he has no heart! Why, it is past belief – he says things to this woman that he had already said to me! (Hiding her face against her fathers breast) And oh! The woman! What a brazen creature! Oh!...”. –Blanche “Be silent! No more tears! Let me avenge thee”. – Triboulet “Woe is me! Do what you will”. –Blanche. (171-172). At this point in the story Blanche has just horribly discovered who the king really is. All of this time she has been loving him throughout thick and thin. Once she realizes how un-true he is to her, it breaks her heart. She has had to stand by and love him even after she was kidnapped by him. This point makes her realize that the king really has no heart. Once she tells her father Triboulet this. He is upset and said he will do anything to help get her out of this situation. Having Blanche find out the true meaning of the king gave her the chance to leave. Triboulet then comes up with a plan to dress her up as a boy and run away where he will then meet with her in a few days. This is a very important scene to the story.
"Here, oh god, in this safe shelter I beseech thee bring to full maturity this beauteous virgin rose; preserve her from all grief and from the stormy blast that withers other blossoms; guard her from every impure breath, even in her dreams, so that a wretched father, in his leisure hours, may breath her perfume uncontaminated" -Triboulet
ReplyDeleteThis quote sums up the protective nature Triboulet has over Blanche, but he loves her even more than just that quote describes. This is the part of the play right before she gets kidnapped and Triboulet is telling her to be careful of the evil and dangerous men in paris at night. The irony is hard to miss, because Triboulet is one of those men, and even while he warns her she still gets kidnapped that night (with him unknowingly helping) to be raped by the king. At first i was dissapointed that the kings gets away in the end and innocent blanche dies, but thinking about it, her only role in the play is to be Triboulets one weakness, shes the one thing that can be used to hurt him most, so instead of seeing the play as a depressing tragedy, I looked at it as karma kicking triboulets butt for being a hypocritical villain.
Arezu Abdollmohammadi, Period 4
ReplyDelete"Inexorable fate! Caught in the snare I laid for him!" said by Triboulet on page 210.This is when Triboulet realizes it was Blanche who was killed and put in the sack instead of the King. At first Triboulet thinks that she is dead but then sees she is alive, but greatly injured. In the quote, he says how what happened was unstoppable fate. And he thinks what happens is his fault because Blanche was the one who got tricked by his own trap that was set up for the king. This is important because Triboulet realizes that he has lost his daughter just because he wanted to get revenge on the king. Not only has the King hurt Blanche but also her fathers own trap. The father keeps repeating how much he loves Blanche and he keep trying to comfort her. I don't think he wanted to accept the fact that his daughter, who he tried to protect for so long, was dying because he wanted someone else dead. His daughter had done nothing to deserve this fate, and the king got away. In the last part of the scene, you truly see the love that Triboulet had for his daughter. He also realizes that the revenge he had set up, wasn't so sweet in the end.
Abbey Folsom
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Triboulet: "My eyes are bandaged! Malediction!" (121)
Triboulet helped the dukes kidnap his own daughter Blanche. The dukes blindfolded him so he wouldn't see them climbing Triboulet's wall. Triboulet thinks that this is having to do with the curse that the old man cursed him and the king with. The curse is brought up many times by just Triboulet. He blames all the bad things happening to him on the curse. Triboulet is in denial about the actions he has done. He doesn't see the correlation between his previous actions to the dukes to what has happened to him now. By putting all the blame on the curse it exempt him from taking any responsibilities and working out the issues himself. The dukes are almost getting back at him for suggesting the other dukes rape each others' wives. Blanche being kidnapped describes what Triboulet most fears, his daughter leaving or being kidnapped. You can tell how worried he is for his daughters safety. He knows that the dukes will bring Blanche to the king and the king is not a good man when it comes to women. As a father he was always worried for his daughter and her well-being but as a court-jester he thinks it is okay to suggests inappropriate conduct between the dukes and their wives.
Claire Kennedy
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"'T was pitiless of Heaven to give thee to me! Would that it had taken thee away once more before I knew the beauty of thy soul! Why did it leave me time to learn to know my treasure? Woe is me that thou didst not die in thy childhood on the day when other children injured thee in play! My child! My child!" (Act V, Scene IV)
This is soon after Triboulet discovers that he holds his daughter, dying in his arms. He is blaming god and heaven for the inevitable death of his own daughter. He seems to believe that he had no part in the murder of Blanche. Triboulet explains in this quote that he wishes her death had come before he got to know "the beauty of thy soul". As if he wouldn't have been as upset if he didn't really know her. That it would have been better if she died as a child. He asks why the heavens let him become so close to Blanche only to take her away. He is very ignorant to the fact that he actually killed his daughter himself. It is quite ironic that he went to all this trouble to protect his daughter, when he was the one who was responsible for her death. This is important to the plot line because it shows the fatherly love he holds in his heart. It shows that he obviously cares deeply for Blanche and that he believes god is punishing him. This is also important because it shows how unwilling he is to take responsibility for his own actions that ultimately lead to Blanche's death. He blames everything on heaven and fate and not on the real reason why she is dead. Triboulet is very selfish in this scene, only thinking about his own feelings rather than the death of his daughter. He only explains how the effects of her death will affect his own self. I believe this shows the love he has for his daughter, but also his very narcissistic reaction to her death.
Joey Keating
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"Speaking of Monsieur de saint-vallier, what prompted the absurd old man to toss his fair Daine, his daughter, a rare and lustrous pearl of loveliness, a very angel sent to earth from heaven, pell-mell into the marriage-bed with an old hunch-backed seneschal (Troulet, 40-41)".
When he says "tosses his fair daine (trioulet,39)." It makes it clear for him that it doesn't make sense that he had basically given up his daughter for something. And he feels as if it isn't right that he did this. What would he think he is giving his daughter up for? Maybe giving him power or he wants everybody to know who he is? I believed that at one point he was in fact looking for power, but I don't think that he is. It is also weird how he describes him as an old hunched back man and is having her forced into this marriage. Also the daughters father was noted as an absurd old man and this gives many the idea that he may be crazy. This makes the marriage seem incorrect and he is trying to stop it or figure out at-least why it is happening.
Jace Brandmeier
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“Be Silent! No more tears! Let me avenge thee!” (Triboulet P. 172)
This quote is important for a variety of reasons. For off it shows how Triboulet realizes what he has done and what the king’s men have done. Earlier in the play Triboulet helped steal his daughter because he thought it was someone else’s wife. He didn't realize how bad the crime he was committing really was. For years the King’s men have been stealing women for the use of the king. Now Triboulet has allowed a terrible thing to happen. He has even helped in the act. His daughter that he has loved every second she has been alive. Is now a victim of what he does on a regular basis. Triboulet can’t believe what he has done. He is almost in shock, it’s so terrible. Now, his daughter lie on the ground dying, right in front of his very own eyes. When Triboulet says “Be Silent! No more tears! Let me avenge thee! He is talking to his daughter. He is saying that he doesn't want her to struggle anymore. That he will get revenge for what the King has done to her.
Laney McFarland
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"To be beloved by none but dazzled hearts, is not to be beloved.
But art thou sure that there is not one women in this world who would love me for myself?" (62)
Duke is a womanizer and he is used to pursuing all the women he wants, but to the women he is just a fantasy. But when he meets Gilda, she proclaims forever love to him. Duke has 2 problems. One problem is that he is seen as a bad man by fathers everywhere, including Rigoletto and Monterone. There's some irony in the curse set by Monterone, when Rigoletto finds his daughter loves Duke. The second problem is hes a womanizer who doesn't understand he needs to but a halt on seducing other woman. Especially after he tells Gilda he loves her. In the end the quote seems to claim itself true, maybe Rigoletto is destined to be alone forever.
Sophea Thach
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Triboulet: "My child! O! throw thine arms around my neck. Come to my heart! When I am by thy side the world's a laughing world, and nothing vexes me. I breathe again and I am happy, child!" page 90.
Triboulet is talking about Blanche. And this just shows how much he really loves her. This goes with like the major themes in the play because in the end, Blanche is the one who got stabbed and dies. And this quote I chose, shows just how Triboulet loves his daughter and so the ending was very heartbreaking. Because she died but he thought she had just passed out and when help came, they declared her dead.
Chris Root
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"It is my purpose, count, to follow this adventure to the end. A woman of the people, if you will, and of ignoble birth, but charming none the less" (the king). This is an important line cause it establishes the kings personality. Right off the bat we can tell how he treats women. We know how he likes to have sex with prostitutes and all that. For years the King’s men have been stealing women for the use of the king. The kings speaks his word on life, how he chooses to live it. This is the first quote the king speaks in the opera. It is important due to the fact that it shows us how he is represented as a king.
Austin Stenberg
ReplyDeleteP.4
“O God! Thou temptest me; it is thy will that I should die! O must I take this step for him, the ingrate? No! oh! No, I am too young! –Oh! God, pray do not force me to it!” (Blanche, 190)
This is explaining Blanche’s regret for this murder. Blanche is praying for something to happen to prevent the murder. Also is regretting committing to this. This is the main focus point and turning point of this play do to the fact that it’s the climax of it. This is also a major point in the character development in Blanche expressing the regret and dismay of this action. And is also willing to sacrifice himself to do this deed. Doing this and agreeing to it means there is no turning back for Blanche. By randomly killing the next person that comes in search of lodging is a hopeful way of faking the actual death. By faking it he is trying to save himself from the dreadful truth of murder.
Katie Daniels
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" By my Royal faith, whether it be design or accident, i am enraptured by the trick. Vive dieu! My Blanche, my beauty, my dear love; come to my arms! " Act III, Scene II, (127)
This scene involves the King and Blanche. Blanche's identity is revealed to the king as he lifted a veil off of her face, and discovers who was behind it. He is brought to great joy to see that it is indeed Blanche as he laughed heavily. However the scene picks up when Blanche pushes the king saying " Nay, leave me, wretched creature that i am!." The king follows up with the fact of how respected he is and that he would like Blanche to be his wife, and the queen. Blanche, belonging to her father, considering it a degradation, as the king calls her father a fool and Triboulet. This quote is very significant because it shows the connection between the king and Blanche. Blanche shows her love for her father, as she sobs at the kings feet with her face in her hands. All Blanche wants is to be sent back to her father, as she dearly loves him. Not only is Blanche weeping in this scene, but the king states how respected her is as well, and the power he has over Blanche.
Spencer Read
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Triboulet: "What is this great, pot-bellied, jealous witling doing here?" page 45.
This quote is significant, because it is a pretty accurate description of the King. When he says 'witless' he is saying that the King is stupid. We see these attributes of the King all throughout the book. The way Triboulet describes him makes him seem like a great, big idiot. To see the King in action being an idiot, one just has to crack open to any page of the book. "I! by my faith, i care as little for them as fish care for Apples." page 60. Here, one can see how much of a pig the King is. He speaks of women not as people, but as possessions that require no respect. "What do I hear? One kiss to say i am forgiven!" page 132. Here the King is trying to get a kiss from Blanche, who is trying to get away from him. The King has nothing on his mind but women and sex. Later in the scene, Blanche is trying to escape him, but he insists on her staying. He is very creepy and has no shame. Examples of this can be found all throughout the book. The Kings terrible personality basically sets the scene for the entire book.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteJoshua Scheck
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In my opinion the most significant passage in the play is when Blanche is explaining to her father that she still loves the king after he had raped her: “I cannot say. But he does love me, and he says that he adores me. He said so yesterday” (pg 163). This passage really sets the tone/mood for the whole play and sets up as a tragedy. Blanche falls for the king and even through her father’s ranting she still declares her love for him. Triboulet attempts to show his daughter how horrible the king is by showing her that he sleeps with any woman he can. She is horrified with what she has seen and Triboulet then plans for his assassination as revenge for taking away his daughter’s purity. All seemed to go according to plan but Blanche sacrifices her life for him still believing that he had loved her. Her father weeps after he discovers her body. This play is really depressing because of the fact that Triboulet plans the snatching of his own daughter without knowing it. And his attempt in getting revenge is thwarted when his daughter was actually the one being murdered. This concept of “false love” really illuminates the play’s tone and really helps make it negative as it is. Although I wanted to see justice being served, I still liked the emotion the play evoked.
Desirae Lopes
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"I've killed my child! I've killed my child!" Act v Scene v
Tribulet is saying this about his daughter. Through actions of his own he has commited a murder. Not just any murder, the murder of the only one he loves. This is important to the play because Tribulet has realized how awful he is. He finally has to accept his fowlness. Throughout the play he displays that he is grotesque. He consistently mistakenly hurts his own daughter by trying to protect her. The irony of this is obvious and makes the play more enjoyable. The king is the one who should have been killed. Tribulet wanted the king to die. Instead, out of love, his daughter comited suicide. A father killed his own daughter.
Byron Murray
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"Whoever thou mayest be, thou varlet with the viper's tongue, who makest sport thus of a father's grief, my curse on thee!" (pg 75). In this line St Vallier is cursing Triboulet for making fun of his case against the king for raping his daughter. This curse soon becomes the main theme of the play because the curse of a father is supposed to be a very bad and powerful thing. In the beginning Triboulet laughs off the curse and believes that he is safe and nothing bad will happen to him. The curse is the biggest motif during the play because Triboulet soon has the same problem that St Vallier had because his daughter has fallen madly in love with the king. Eventually his daughters love for the king becomes her downfall and tears apart Triboulet. Throughout the play there is reference to the curse that has been laid upon Triboulet and almost everything that happens in the play revolves around the curse. Without there being a curse the play wouldn’t be the same and would carry as much power as it does. The play begins with the curse and eventually ends with the curse upon Triboulet. The curse also affects character development because originally Triboulet is portrayed a harsh and cruel man that makes fun of others and helps the king seduce and rape other peoples daughters and wives. Then as the play progresses you see that despite the fact that Triboulet is a horrible person he has a love for his daughter that is unequaled and he would do anything for her.
Riley Schroeder
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I feel that this quote from Blanche at the end of the play accurately describes a theme of innocence and being naive: "Forgive him, father. Adieu!". In this scene Triboulet is realizing the truth and that he has unintentionally killed his daughter and these are her dying words, to forgive the man that had caused all of this. This might not be the longest quote, it is only a few words but it still captures a lot of Blanches character and how she acted. The play was based around her being naive and falling for the king, despite being told how he is a womanizer. Somehow she managed to hold faith in the Kings "love" for her until she saw him for who he truly was, and even then she had trouble believing it. Then after all of this she spends her dying breath asking her father to forgive this man. While it does add to a general idea that i picked up on the play, it also raises another question to me. It makes me wonder if the king was really in the wrong. Even though everything had pointed to him being a womanizing creep that had no self control, it makes me wonder if there was something more that Blanche saw in him. Some people do have the ability to see through the flaws of a person and see them for who they really are, and this last quote from Blanche makes me wonder if she had seen that in the king. What if this man who was made out to be a "villain" actually had been trying to find love, and he had just been looking in the wrong places. When she had seen him flirting with other women it was when he was drunk, and maybe it could be accounted into him being an alcoholic. It would still be shocking for her to see this, but obviously she still had some glimpse of seeing a good man in there if her dying words were asking forgiveness of him. This can be accounted for her being naive, or for her actual seeing more in the king.
Grace Nelson
ReplyDeletePer. 3
“I have killed my child!”
This is the line said by Triboulet when he is in shock by killing his own daughter. This is the last line of the play. I chose this line because I felt that it was a very powerful and dramatic end to the play. Also, it proves to be a very significant line because he had said it three times before the last. Triboulet refused to believe that Blanche had died until the doctor had showed up. Losing Blanch was a huge travesty for Triboulet because she meant everything in the world to him. She was his innocent and beautiful daughter and he never wanted any harm for her. His greatest fear was that she would fall into evil. Because of this, Triboulet wanted to kill the King, and so avenge his daughter, however his daughter was the one whom he ended up killing.
Mimi Gerhardt, Period 4
ReplyDelete"Saltabadil: Not so loud! I tell thee he must die! So hold thy peace!
Maguelonne (with irritation): I will not! I'll awake him, and assist him to escape." (Act IV, Scene V).
This scene is a large turning point in the opera. Instead of originally assassinating the King, Maguelonne decides against it. This changes the whole outcome, by having Saltabadil ending up killing Blanche. Not only is this a plot twist, but also quite the character change for Maguelonne. As the play portrays her, she's nothing more than a prostitute who's assisting her brother in various murders. However, she shows emotion by asking her sibling to kill another man, otherwise she would wake up the King and ruin the whole plan. In a way, I somewhat found Maguelonne similar to Blanche and her emotions towards the King. Blanche was raped by him, and yet she still loved him. Even in her final moments, Blanche asked her father, Triboulet, to forgive the King for what he's done. Maguelonne would rather have another man killed than murder him. She even threatened ruining the whole plan by waking the King. Perhaps it was a certain "trance" the King put the girls he abused that made them feel obligated to love him, even to the point of dying for him or killing another person.
Sarah Porter
ReplyDeletePer 3
“ ’T is most deplorable! A king who seeks diversion is a dang’rous king” –De Cossé, page 49. At the beginning of Act I Scene III, several of the courtiers at the party are observing how the king goes around talking to all of the courtiers’ wives. De Gordes mentions that the king seeks “diversion” or distraction. This quote sets up the main idea of this play. The king is known for sleeping around and constantly looking for someone new because he is never satisfied. And because he is the king, he always gets what he wants, regardless of what his actions may cost others. He seems to just get bored of what he has, and seeks diversion to try and make himself happy, though he will never truly be happy with what he has. The courtiers are typically known to help the king find new women to sleep with at whatever cost, but De Cossé seems to already know the consequences of the king’s actions to get what he wants. De Gordes dismisses De Cossé’s comment because he is so loyal to the king: “Poor, fat old Cossé makes me sick at heart”. De Gordes refuses to believe that the king’s actions will lead to trouble. This part of the play is so significant because De Cossé is seemingly the first of the courtiers to question the king and to realize how dangerous the king’s actions could be.
Hannah Hunt
ReplyDelete12-15-13
per. 3
“ Oh! Do not die! My child, my spotless dove, my treasure, Blanche! If thou dost go from me, I shall have nothing! Do not die, I pray thee!” (Triboulet, pg. 211)
In the play, it seems as if Blanche is Triboulet's sole source of happiness and that is clearly seen from this quote. Right before this quote took place, he had just found out that Saltabadil tricked him into thinking that it was the king and not his daughter that was in the sack. I can't imagine the intense grief that you would feel upon learning this truth. It was very difficult for him to get a grip on. On one hand, he didn't want to think that it was his daughter, and on the other it was such a deep sadness that he felt. His attempts at finding happiness will now surely not be successful because his daughter has passed.
Ashley Glinn
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"Mark this; that when revenge is stirring in us, in the dullest heart there's naught that slumbers then; the weakest man grows strong, the vilest is transformed, the slave draws forth his hatred from its sheath, the cat becomes a tiger, and the fool an executioner!"(205,Triboulet). Tribuloulet had said this after the, "king's" body had been delivered to him. I found this quote to be quite profound because he had been one of the king's men who would help him steal women from other men and had participated in various "unethical" situations and had said nothing or thought nothing of it, until his own daughter became involved. Had his daughter never met the king, I am sure that Triboulet would have continued to work for him. It's a bit disappointing to know how close-minded he really was and only when his daughter was taken did he finally have sympathy for the other people that they had messed with. But with this quote, Victor Hugo was able to display another side of Triboulet as he finally gathered his courage to stand up to the king and finally decided to put an end to his mischievious ways. Unfortunately for Triboulet, he had paid a man to kill his daughter instead, as Blanche had willingly sacrificed herself at the last minute for the king's life. Personally, I think Blanche was blinded by love and had convinced herself that he was in love with her and ONLY her, despite the fact that almost everyone told her that he had various lovers AND she had seen him with another woman with her very own eyes as well. So although Triboulet had tried to make a very bold statement with killing the king in order to protect his daughter, he miserably failed instead, but the fact that he had at least tried to kill him showed that Triboulet's love and care for Blanche was above anything else in Triboulet's life.
John Ross
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"It is my purpose, count, to follow this adventure to the end. A woman of the people, if you will, and of ignoble birth, but charming none the less" (the king). This is an important line cause it establishes the kings personality. Right off the bat we can tell how he treats women. We know how he likes to have sex with prostitutes and all that. For years the King’s men have been stealing women for the use of the king. The kings speaks his word on life, how he chooses to live it. This is the first quote the king speaks in the opera. It is important due to the fact that it shows us how he is represented as a king.
Michael Stiles
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The women are unsettled As feathers in the wind, Each moment change their mind. In tears, or even smiles Yes, woman’s lovely face, For ever us beguiles! The man that is so mad To trust a woman’s heart For ever must be sad. But still there is no bliss, Upon this earth compared To that of a sweet kiss! (Act 4 Scene 1)
In this quote we see the duke speak to a gypsy in a flirty way and she seems not interested. He rushes towards her but she turns away and heads down the stairs.
Evyn Anderson
ReplyDeleteP4
"A woman is a devil made more perfect." (Act 1, p45)
This line is important to the play because it is a good demonstration of the king's true nature. This line is said by Triboulet to the King and also Madame de Cossé. The King is flirting with Madame de Cossé even though she is married and Triboulet is witnessing this. After this Monsieur de Cossé enters the room to see his wife and the king sharing this moment. When Madame de Cossé sees that her husband has entered she immediately wants to part. The husband is suspicious and curious about the encounter.
Payton Tirrell
ReplyDeletePeriod. 4
"What! This woman weeps! And I stand idle here, who have it in my power to save him! Since he no longer loves me, there is naught but death for me. I die for him." This line is significant and pretty much describes the whole play in one line. Blanche is exhibiting Stockholm syndrome. Stockholm syndrome is when someone who has been kidnapped or held hostage starts to fall in love with their captor and start to think of them as family and want to protect them. This is called Stockholm syndrome because there were bank robbers robbing a bank in stockholm and they had hostages and by the end the hostages were helping the bank robbers rob the bank. This is a significant quote because this is the biggest thing that happens in the play and it is the climax of the play. This affects all of the characters not just one or two of them. I also think this is significant because the King did unthinkable things to her and she still wanted to save his life. This is something that makes me really mad because she doesn't think about what this will do her father considering he payed for the assassin so in a way he killed his own daughter and that is gonna eat away at him for the rest of his life. It was really selfish of her in my opinion but I don't think she knew what she was doing because of the Stockholm syndrome. I also didn't like how the King got away with what he did to young women. He didn't get in trouble because he was the king. He abused his power. It does make sense that she would die though considering it is a tragedy. It was a crazy plot twist but one that I did not like. But other than this part I enjoyed this play a lot.