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40x40

Eilidh G Clark (177 KP) rated The Portrait of Mr W.H. in Books

May 14, 2017  
The Portrait of Mr W.H.
The Portrait of Mr W.H.
Oscar Wilde | 2014 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Quick read. Great insight into the Victorian fin de siecle . Great suspence. (0 more)
Too quick. I wanted more. (0 more)
. As a paradox to the realism and ethics of the period, decadent writers, artists, and poets challenged a society that strove for a standard in public discourse.
First published in 1889, Oscar Wilde’s The Portrait of Mr W.H., is a short story about the efforts of three characters trying to discover the identity of Shakespeare’s Mr W.H. ; the dedicatee of his many sonnets. Wilde’s novel is a prime example of decadent literature and aestheticism, which, as a result, challenges the Victorian ideals of moral decency and public rectitude. The author uses paradox in the novel to present a theory that contradicts the conservative critics of Shakespeare’s sonnets.

Wilde presents a subjective interpretation of Shakespeare’s sonnets that portrays homoerotic sexual desire as the force for creative inspiration. Foremost, through the character Cyril Graham, the author demonstrates that art is ‘an attempt to realise one’s own personality on some imaginative plane out of reach of the trammelling accidents and limitations of real life’, (Wilde, p.111).
Taking from a hypothesis in the previous century by Edmund Malone and Thomas Tyrwhitt, the character of Cyril forms a theory in which Mr W.H. is a young actor named Willie Hughes, employed by Shakespeare and who is the muse to which the sonnets are devoted. Cyril investigates each poem and pieces together a theory he believes to be true.

On the surface, Cyril’s theory derives from feeling and beauty rather than logic and instruction.
The withholding of facts in Shakespeare’s sonnets energises Cyril. He scours the poems to find a clue that harmonise with his own feelings. Cyril believes that Shakespeare influences his readers by guiding them to Willie Hughes.

Cyril, spurned by the moralistic interpretations of previous critics, becomes enthralled by Shakespeare’s muse.
  
40x40

Rodney Barnes (472 KP) rated The Cloverfield Paradox (2018) in Movies

Apr 4, 2019  
The Cloverfield Paradox (2018)
The Cloverfield Paradox (2018)
2018 | Sci-Fi
7
6.2 (53 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
Lends to the Cloververse (0 more)
Slow Story (0 more)
Hyped to be Letdown
Contains spoilers, click to show
I have enjoyed the Cloververse movies but Paradox seemed to be missing something. I thought the idea and story was great...but it moved really slow for me. The idea of there being multiple universes with people the same as you is a very good angle. This is what Paradox tackled and very well. The main characters were experimenting with particle acceleration for a power source because Earth was in the verge of collapse. They activated it and thought they had caused the disappearance of the Earht. Later they find out that they have left their Earth and found themselves on a parallel planet. They run into many challenges, including getting a fellow scientist out of the wall she got caught up in when they teleported. There were more tragic events that took place with most of the crew getting killed. Hamilton and Schmidt were the last two survivors. Hamilton and her husband had lost their kids in a house fire and she finds out the Hamilton in this parallel world still has her whole family. Before they leave she gives the parallel Hamilton a warning to help her keep her kids alive. They finally make it back to "our" Earth and they have a successful test of the accelerator. Schmidt and Hamilton leave the accelerator for Earth but when her husband is told he is livid. He told the base of operations to tell them to turn back. As they land...a huge Clover monster pops up through the clouds. I know that is telling a story over but it was agonizingly slow to get to a terrific ending. It's still worth a watch if you like the Cloververse.