Wordless Wednesdays- An Oxford Scholar goes for a Walk

 Taken from my Archives-  August 2009- Oxford

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Take a good look at this photo, this is an absolute serene day, a coterie of bikes are parked, by the local cafe, the Bodleian Library is just a stone's throw. It's a quiet street not to many people are walking about, which is perfect for daydreaming. Imagine you are in the 14th century, you are an Oxford don have a respite from your studies, perhaps, a gingerly walk in the refreshing crisp breeze and an idle cup of tea and a scone, and a chat with your professor about the meaning of life.

All blogs are written by Sabrina Rongstad-Bravo More Tales and Adventures in Sabrina's London Diaries

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Letter and Update to Readers of Sabrina's London Diaries

Dear Readers of Sabrina's London Diaries and once and awhile pop in people:


 I am wanted to inform of you of my latest intentions with this wonderful, modern outlet for self-expression, the blog. I wanted to let you know that in future, I will be writing more regular posts. There will be interesting and fun photos taken from my archives for Wordless Wednesdays, on Fridays there will be book reviews of books I have already read and am reading currently, which are mostly of the Classic Literature genre, there will be Shakespeare Sundays. I adore Shakespeare and will use my blog not only to learn more about this wonderful man but to write about the bard and share my knowledge. I'd like to write about his contribution to the English Language and Literature. Being and Austenite, I will be writing about Jane Austen, her life, her novels, characters in her novels, movies made about her books, balls ( in London and abroad) English dating in the 18th Century and now. And, of course, my blog won't be complete without adding  some juicy tid bits of my dating experiences both in London and abroad, which I know you are just dying to read. ( Lol!) After all is said in done, I hope that I will also have time to work, start my Phd, publish a book of poetry, get married, travel abroad and volunteer in UGANDA. Well, as John Lennon said, " Life is what happens when your busy making other plans." So, will just have to see what happens.


Thank you for your continued loyalty in reading my blog.


much love and affection,


Sabrina Grace~



All blogs are written by Sabrina Rongstad-Bravo More Tales and Adventures in Sabrina's London Diaries

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Blog has Gone Haywire- Not to Worry

Dear Readers,
Not sure what has happened but all of my side bar widgets and gadgets have dissappeared, including the Drop Card Box to drop your card, and the box to subscribe. I have tried to upgrade and upload new blog, to no avai. My blog has gone haywire so lease, be patient while I figure out how to solve this. I'm sure it's nothing major and will be up again soon.

Thank you for your support and readership.

Sabrina Grace~

All blogs are written by Sabrina Rongstad-Bravo More Tales and Adventures in Sabrina's London Diaries

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Shakespeare: Contribution to the English Language

This is my favorite of all the favorite quotes in the world.
"All the world's a stage"..

Meaning

Life is like a play - we merely go through the stages of our life acting it out.

Origin
From Shakespeare's As You Like It, 1600:

JAQUES:
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.
And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lined,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side,
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

MORE IN SABRINA'S LONDON DIARIES

• Dating in London-Finding Mr.Darcy
•  Book Reviews on Classic Literature
• Shakespeare's Contribution to the English Language

Book Review- Anne Bronte- Agnes Grey- The Private Life of a Governess

Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Bronte, Anne. Agnes Grey. London: Oxford University Press. 1845.

Agnes Grey written by Anne Bronte, the youngest of the Bronte sisters, is an autobiographical account of her life and experiences as a governess. Anne Bronte has set out in her own first personal narrative voice to describe the dark side of governesship. In Agnes Grey , Anne Bronte depicts her experiences with two families that employed her, the Murray’s and the Bloomfield’s. Within both families she has to tolerate vile, spoiled children, disrespectful parents, and jealous servants. Agnes Grey is not just governess novel, but a historical novel that depicts what daily life was for a young middle class governess in nineteenth century England. In this novel Anne Bronte was able to record for posterity, point out the specific obstacles and humiliations that many governesses herself included endured to ultimately elevate her status in society’s eyes and gain dignity. This novel Agnes Grey although a real depiction of governess life, is predictable and sometimes lacks sophistication of plot and story telling.

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Wordless Wednesdays-Love

                                         Taken from the Archives 2009

                                                           Hyde Park

                                                   Love  in Spring Time  

                                                From Wordless Wednesdays

Thackeray's Vanity Fair: Becky Sharp shallow citizen or conscious Victorian damsel?

Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Thackeray, William Makepeace. Vanity Fair. A Novel Without a Hero. London: Barnes and Noble Classics, 1999.
Thackeray´s Vanity Fair is a novel that portrays the life of a social climbing governess Becky Sharp, and ultimately her descent into “vanity fair.” “ Vanity Fair” is a term that Thackeray coins to describe the misaligned values of those obsessed with social status, peerage and the vulgar acquisition of money by any means. This novel is also an historical account of the status consciousness that was rife in Victorian England. Thackeray shows the vileness of human nature through his main protagonist, the exploitative, calculating and callous Becky Sharp, who ends up a shallow citizen of Vanity Fair. Becky manages to ruin tow men, both Rawdon Crawley and Jo Sedley,[ yet comes away with a fortune]. Thackeray juxtaposes Becky with her childhood friend Amelia Sedley from the Pinkerton´s school, and shows that an angelic Amelia may not be as witty and sharp as Becky yet, in the end, she is far more noble.
Thackeray is a superior raconteur in subtly exposing the self-delusion, ego, vanity and shallowness of human nature. He accomplishes this by many twists and truns of plots and sub-plots through which the story unravels. The plot, multiple themes and climax of the tale include the lives of the lovers of Vanity Fair. Rawdon and Becky Sharp, William Dobbin who is enamored of Amelia Sedley who is enamored of George Osborne who, like every man in the novel, is also enamored with Becky Sharp. Thackeray tells the tale of Vanity Fair through the prism of Victorian status conscious England. He writes his book through the dramatic lens of a country at war. The historical backdrop of the novel is one of war, as the main characters depart their lovers to fight in the famous battle of Waterloo. He describes each characters vain interactions with one another and shows the reader, in very specific details, how each, with his or her own vanity, have earned their membership in Vanity Fair. Thackeray´s novel Vanity Fair is rich with the study of human character, sin, vice, evolution, descent and then reflection.

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Wordless Wednesdays- Time

 


Taken from the Archives of 2008- Waterloo Station

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