Sweeney Todd : The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

1. Define: Personification.

Dictionary.com defines personification as the attribution of human characteristics to things or abstract ideas.

2. Briefly explain how personification is used throughout the story. Include as part of your explanation the importance of the objects being personified. Another way to word that might be: how does the personification of said objects advance the story/plot?

Personification is used for Sweeney's blades the most. He refers to them as "his friends" and that they will do great things together. He treats them as if they are alive and can feel the pain that he does and that they need to seek the revenge as much as himself. The personification of the blades advances the plot by letting us know what their purpose will be. They will seek drops of rubies and complete Todd's revenge for him.

3. What to you is the major theme of Sweeney Todd? Explain why you feel that theme makes a difference to the story as a whole.

Vengeance is the main theme for Sweeney Todd. Benajmin Barker was imprisoned for a crime he never committed forcing him to leave his wife and daughter to Judge Turpin. He only wishes to take everything away from Judge Turpin as The Judge had done to him.

4. In your own words, describe each of the major characters—you should have at least You are welcome to use mostly adjectives, but be sure that whatever words/phrases you use that you are very clear and specific.

Benjamin Barker - Sweeney Todd - His life was ruined when he was falsely accused of crimes that forced him to be imprisoned for fifteen years away from his wife, Lucy, and daughter, Johanna. He seeks revenge against The Judge whom made it all happen. He is blinded by his blood-lust and inexplicable appetite for revenge. Murdering Judge Turpin is his greatest desire.

The Beadle - Beadle Bamford - Judge Turpin's greatest accomplice. His soul purpose in the play is to do the will of Judge Turpin. He's his faithful assistant so to speak. He is mean and vindictive, hateful even.

The Judge - Judge Turpin - The Judge is powerful and he knows it. People respect him, but only because they don't know how vindictive he really is. He saw a beautiful woman and he wanted her for his own and didn't care what he had to do to get that. Even after her husband's imprisonment and the fact that the woman wanted nothing to do with The Judge he took her daughter as his ward just so he could keep her.

Mrs. Lovett - Mrs. Lovett is desperate and lonely. She's always had a thing for Sweeney Todd and lies to him to try and get her way. She is a rather dirty person and despite her efforts, not much of a cook either. She becomes Todd's accomplice in disposing of the bodies and even sacrifices some of her happiness with Toby to accommodate Todd's efforts at revenge. She is a dreamer and dreams that Todd will love her one day after his revenge is completed.

Toby - Tobias Ragg - Toby is detrimental to the story. He starts out as Adolfo Pirelli's slave-boy. Taking beatings from his master and doing all of his bidding until his master decides to take a trip to see Todd where Todd murders him. He is taken in by Mrs. Lovett who treats him far better than Pirelli ever did and he grows affectionate towards her but more and more suspicious of Todd as the time goes by. In the end, it is Toby who ends Sweeney Todd's murderous rampage slitting his throat after witnessing Todd throwing Mrs. Lovett into the bake oven.

The Old Woman - Lucy Barker - She was married to Benjamin Barker and mother to Johanna before Judge Turpin set his eyes upon her. She wound up taking poison and it greatly diminished her mental capacity until she was just some old beggar woman on the street. She suspected the evil things that were going on inside the pie shop and tried to warn others about it. The only one who knew who she really was was Mrs. Lovett. When she was brave enough to investigate the barber shop, she was murdered unknowingly by her husband that she had lost so many years ago.

Johanna Barker - The daughter of Benjamin and Lucy Barker. She never knew either of them She only knew of Judge Turpin who had imprisoned her many years ago and wanted her for his wife. She was disgusted by this and grew sadder and continued to refuse him. She felt hope when she saw Anthony and tried her best to help him save her.

Anthony Hope - He was a sailor with whom encountered Todd on his way back to London. He talked about his hopes and dreams while Todd told him how vile and dirty London was. He still thought of Todd as a friend though. On his way through the streets of London he was completely taken by the vision of Johanna in the window and immediately fell in love with her. He took a beating for staring at her, but vowed to steal her and save her from her horrible prison anyway. He claims he can feel her presence even if he couldn't see her, which to me is some deep kind of love. He does save her in the end and their future is unknown after that.

Adolfo Pirelli - He was a fraud of a businessman claiming his elixirs could do things they really couldn't. He lost a bet to Barker only to come by Todd's place later to try to blackmail him. He had remembered who he really was and was the first victim Todd murdered so he would stay silent. He was a sly and mean man who deserved what he got.

5. The names of the individual characters play a major role in the story, especially for Sweeney Todd and the Beadle. Do a little research and explain, especially for these 2 characters, the importance/significance of their names, especially in regards to the story itself.

Benjamin Barker - Sweeney Todd - Sweeney means small hero. Todd means fox. I've not really been able to find any real meaning to his name, so I am just gonna go by what I think... Sweeney is more of a last name. It seems his name should be reversed to Todd Sweeney. I believe the meaning in this is because Todd is so set forth in his revenge that he doesn't even see himself as a person anymore, so why should he have a real name.

The Beadle - Beadle Bamford - Dictionary.com defines a beadle as a parish officer having various subordinate duties, as keeping order during services. This is what he actually does too. He follows The Judge around doing everything that Turpin asks of him without questions. He may also be referred to as a beetle which is the most populated species of bugs there is, even still today symbolizing how common a man like that is.

Anthony Hope - He is bright and cheery and expects the world to be great. He gives great hope to Johanna that he will save her.

6. Sweeney Todd is called a dark comedy. Define: dark comedy—in your own words.

A dark comedy to me is when everything is funny but that it's so ironic under the horrible circumstances of the story.

7. Name and briefly explain at least 3 examples of how Sweeney Todd is a dark comedy. The more specific you are, the better your grade will be.

When Todd is at the market challenging Pirelli and he sings about his elixir being piss. Todd is insulting him, but you can't help but to laugh they was they did the whole scene. It's hilarious!

The scene where Mrs. Lovett is imagining a future for herself, Todd, and Toby. The future she imagines is by far from perfect. She is so utterly happy throughout it, but Todd has the same glum, meaningless expression upon his face, like yeah, whatever.

When Pirelli is upstairs trying to blackmail Todd because he knows who he really is. Mrs. Lovett is downstairs with Toby gibing him gin and meat pies o distract him. Toby's affection towards gin is hilarious. He passes out from so much when in reality he shouldn't even have any gin to begin with!

When Todd is about to slit Judge Turpin's throat. They are singing together while The Judge has his eyes closed, Todd's face grows more and more in depth as he's imagining they way to complete his task. It's very dramatic and suspenseful but full of humor too.

8. Define: irony.

Dictionary.com defines irony as the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning.

9. Discuss at least 3 examples of irony in the play. Again, the more specific you are, the better your grade will be.

Irony is woven throughout this entire play.It was irony that caused Anthony to find Johanna and fall in love with her and then to ask her own father, Sweeney Todd, for help to steal her from the man he's seeking revenge upon. Of course he agreed after he learned who she actually was.

It was irony that caused the dramatic ending of Todd slitting the throat of his beloved Lucy only to later realize that she was the wife he had lost. He was so caught up in revenge that he didn't give her a second thought when she thought she knew him. If he had than the story might have gone differently.

It was also ironic that the boy, Toby, whom he reluctantly didn't murder because of Mrs. Lovett's affection towards him was the one to slit Todd's throat while he was holding his dead Lucy in his arms. Todd didn't even stop to think about fighting back. He just rose his head up so that Toby could murder him, more than likely out of shame of what he had done.

At the very beginning when Anthony and Todd are singing together. Anthony is all about how great London is while Todd sings about how horrible it is. It was ironic that Anthony didn't comprehend anything Todd was singing about or he did but just refused to hear it.

10. Consider carefully the direction of the movie. By that, I mean how Tim Burton directed it—what he did with lighting, colors, the actors themselves, etc. Take at least 3 different direction techniques and discuss/explain how they add to or take away from the overall story itself.

Tim Burton did a wonderful job in my opinion adding drama with the way he directed this movie. He used dark colors and lighting emphasized by the bright red blood to add intensity and meaning throughout. Not much of the story is bright and cheery except for the parts where Todd is remembering his past or when Mrs. Lovett is imagining the future. I believe the way that he brightened all the blood in this movie represents Todd's feelings as it is heavily shed, so dramatic like he is with his search for vengeance.

11. What is your favorite part of Sweeney Todd? Why is that part your favorite?

My favorite part is when Todd comes home for the first time to Mrs. Lovett's shop. I love the song she sings while making her pies and forcing him to try one of the worst pies in London. It's so very comical!

12. What didn’t you like about Sweeney Todd? Why didn’t you like that part?

The ending of course. When Todd slits the throat of his wife, Lucy, unknowingly and almost Johanna too in his quest to seek revenge against the great Judge Turpin. He ended up murdering the only woman he ever loved and now he'll never know his daughter which was the whole point of his revenge in the first place.

13. Even though you may not have actually seen a play like Sweeney Todd performed on stage, do you think you’d prefer the movie or the stage version? Explain your answer.

I would love to see it on stage, although I'm sure it wouldn't be as dramatic as Tim Burton made it with all the brightly colored blood, I think it would be an amazing experience.

14. What didn’t I ask about Sweeney Todd that you would like to talk about? (You MUST put something here…..I’m SURE I missed something that caught your attention that I didn’t ask about!!!!)

I would love to know more about what happened to Anthony and Johanna! Did they get away safely? Fall in love and live happily ever after? I would like to think so, especially for Johanna, whose family was torn apart at the seems by her evil keeper! What happened to Toby? I guess he would have been deemed the hero of the story since he was the one to end Todd, although Todd should be deemed a hero for ending The Beadle and The Judge. They both deserved their deaths.

Oedipus by Sophocles Part Two

I had to read this play more than once to fully understand it. You can tell by reading it that it was written a long time ago as the language Sophocles uses is harder to understand, at least by me. I would much rather read this whole play as a short story rather than a play. I believe that it would make more sense to me as a whole and I would enjoy it a whole lot more. Although, after reading this play, I wouldn't mind actually seeing this particular play in a theater. I believe that it would be well worth watching.

I had to look up many words throughout the entire play to see what they meant, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but more time consuming. Within the prologue itself, I had to look up the meaning of a multitude of words such as suppliant, emissaries, and pangs in order for me to fully understand the play.

Some questions...

Why did the King Laius bother binding a baby so small? It would take a baby months to develop any kind of movement therefore leaving them utterly defenseless left on a mountain in the first place, so the point in tying his feet together to me was complete nonsense.

I can understand why Jocasta committed suicide after learning that Oedipus was her son, but did she not think of her other children? What will they do for comfort now? Who shall help them get through this great tragedy?

Why did Jocasta allow the one person who witnessed the murder of King Laius to go into the fields. Was she already suspicious of Oedipus? Did she maybe have a feeling of what was to happen?

Oedipus by Sophocles

1. Who wrote the play? Sophocles wrote the play Oedipus the King between 430 and 425 BCE.

2. Briefly define the Oedipal Complex. This is when a boy prefers his mother over his father. He feels he must compete with his father to gain his mother's attention. When the role is reversed and it's a girl and her father, it is referred to as an Electra Complex.

3. What is the setting of the story, specifically, the where? In the front of the royal palace in Thebes. Villagers are standing there awaiting the arrival of King Oedipus so that they might question him about what is going on throughout the kingdom.

4. As the play opens, what horrible thing is going on? There is a plague afflicting the city of Thebes and the townspeople are asking King Oedipus what they shall do about it. Oedipus is ensuring the townspeople that he has sent his brother-in-law, Creon, to the Pythian halls of Phoebus to maybe learn an answer for his kingdom.

5. Whose death must be avenged in order for the horrible thing from number 4 to end? King Laius's death must be avenged to return order to the kingdom and stop the plague that is running throughout. His murderer must be either killed or exiled from Thebes.

6. Who is Oedipus’ wife? Jocasta, whom is also his mother, is Oedipus's wife.

7. Who is Oedipus’ mother? Jocasta, whom is also his wife, is his biological mother. Merope helped to raise Oedipus after his biological father had ordered him left to die.

8. Who is Oedipus’ father? King Laius is Oedipus's biological father. Polybus helped raise Oedipus after his biological father had ordered him to be left to die.

9. Who killed the King of Thebes (the answer for #5)? Oedipus murdered his own father, King Lauis, in self-defense not knowing whom he was, as his own father or the king of Thebes.

10. What is Oedipus’ tragic flaw? Oedipus is tortured over what he had done, even in not knowing from the beginning. He felt horrible guilt and knew that he had to do what he could to stop the plague from consuming the town and so he begged Creon to exile him from Thebes.

11. As you read through Oedipus, you'll note that sight/vision/seeing (including "second sight") is very important to the overall story--in the literal as well as the metaphorical/symbolical aspect. You don't have to do this in complete sentences if you don't want--- When they talk about blindness and darkness in this play, they are not only referring to actual blindness, they are referring to the mental state of the persons. The only actual person in the play who is blind is Tiresias, who is also the seer ironically. When they refer to the blind wrongs that Oedipus has done, they are referring to the acts that he has committed that he didn't know he had done yet, which were killing his father and marrying his mother.

12. Describe/discuss/explain/list how sight/vision/seeing/"second sight" is/are used in the play to advance the plot--to advance the story as a whole. Include an explanation of why it's important as well as how it helps you (the real audience) understand (get) what others on the stage and in the play don't understand. To see the guilt, pain, and anguish on one's face is not something that you can gully understand without seeing. Oedipus was truly disgusted with himself after learning the truth which you wouldn't be able to tell without visually seeing it. Oedipus blinded himself by using the pins from his dead mother/wife's dress to blind himself thinking that if he did this that himself and no one else might be able to see the evils that he had committed.

13. As a play, there's a lot that can and can not be done on the stage. Explain why you think some things within this play in particular are done on stage while others are done off stage. Some things are too visually disturbing to actually see. They are better left to the imagination than to the eyes.

14. Do you believe in fate? Explain fully your answer. This is a tough one. Sometimes I do believe in fate and others I don't. I guess I haven't really sat down and decided one way or another. It seems that sometimes that things are meant to happen... generally when they are good things. When something bad happens though, its like how can that have been meant to happen? Who is deciding our fates? Is it not supposed to be ourselves? This isn't merely a question for me to decide upon now. To me, it is like asking if a person believe in God. It's not a question that can be answered with a simple yes or no. There are many factors to consider and too many uncertainties to go along with those. I am undecided about this topic as I am about a lot of others.

15. Explain how fate plays a role in Oedipus. The prophecy foretold the events that would happen. King Lauis thought he was ending the prophecy by leaving his son to die on the mountain. Fate did not wish for this to happen and intervened by the servant showing pity on the baby and taking him elsewhere to live. When the oracle told him some of the prophecy, he thought it meant that he would kill whom he thought were his parents, Merope and Polybus, and so he left home, another measure of fate, and ended us going towards Thebes where his real parents actually were. One way or another, a prophecy is meant to be fulfilled.

16. Have you ever thought how ironic this play is? It's weird how the events come together and make everything happen the way it does. If things were to happen just a little bit different the story would be completely changed. It is rather ironic. It actually coincides with the story of Moses from The Bible. Babies abandoned at birth because a prophecy foretold that they would do something later in life if they were to live. If they had been murdered as there parents wished for them to be then the prophecies would not have been fulfilled.

Extra: Name either one of the other two plays in the Oedipus Trilogy—punctuation count. Oedipus at Colonus and Antigone are the other two plays written by Sophocles to go with the Oedipus trilogy.

"Madam and Her Madam by Langston Hughes pg. 1080-1081

I worked for a woman,
She wasn't mean--
But she had a twelve-room
House to clean.

Had to get breakfast,
Dinner, and supper too--
Then take care of her children
When I got through.

Wash, iron, and scrub,
Walk the dog around--
It was too much,
Nearly broke me down.

I said, Madam,
Can it be
You trying to make a
Pack-horse out of me?

She opened her mouth.
She cried, Oh No!
You know, Alberta,
I love you so!

I said, Madam,
That may be true--
But I'll be dogged
If I love you!
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As I was searching through all the poetry in the book, I came across a whole section of poems by Langston Hughes, whom I looked up and found out exactly who he was. I could tell by his poems that he was very passionate about his African-American heritage, but in this particular poem... I believe all mothers especially can relate tot his poem as we work so much and sometimes we aren't sure what its for. The poem tells of a servant with all of the chores she must do to keep her madam happy. It lets us know how she feels likes she's used and tries to ask her madam about it, only to be told that her madam loves her. Who wouldn't love someone who does so much for them?!
I thought this would be great to share because this poem is straight to the point and humorous as well. After searching through so many more detailed and meaningful poems, I thought this was a nice change! I think if you read it, you might find the humor in it as well!

"Fire and Ice" by Robert Frost pg. 1068

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction of ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

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I first read this poem when I read Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer for the first time. Many books will start a chapter by including an epigraph, which is an opening quote before the chapter begins. When I read this, I concluded that Bella would have to make a choice, because I took it to represent that she was choosing between Edward who represents ice and Jacob who represents fire.
I think this poem was written mostly to represent how the world might end and to which might be better to endure, fire or ice. Many people think that the world might end by the sun going supernova and burning us all to a crisp or by a nuclear winter which would freeze us to death. I'm not sure that I believe any of this, although I do agree that the earth, like everything will parish one day... just hopefully it is far, far away.
I think this poem is worth sharing because it represents a battle and/or a choice to be made that we should all be aware of eventually. If you had the choice, which one would you choose?

"Where's the Baby?" by Alice Williams Brotherton

Oh dear, where is the Baby gone?
I can't tell where I missed him;
Why only last night in his crib
I tucked him safe and kissed him!
This boy, with marbles, top and ball,
In knickerbockers dressed,
This cannot be the baby small
I cradled in my breast.

I wanted the weenty teenty thing
In dresses soft and white,
That I could cuddle, kiss, and sing
Soft by-lows to at night.
But stay--here are the self-same eyes,
His very dimpled chin,
These are his rosy pouting lips
With milk-white teeth within.

This is my Baby.--But how changed!
I hear his merry shout
As he goes sliding down the stair,
And dancing in and out;
Splashing and dashing through the brook,
With brow and check of tan.
Heigho! My baby's gone; instead
I see,--a little man.

Ah well, when evening comes again
With sleep and story-time,
A little white-gowned form will come
Into my lap to climb;
His wee head cradled on my heart
Will still this yearning pain.
O then I'll know that I have found
My baby-boy again!

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I found this poem online at a little website called Black Cat Poems. It's a rather large collection of all types of poems put together in one place and categorized by subject or poet.
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I found this poem to be exactly how I feel about my oldest son especially. How they used to be your little baby and then they are growing up to be so big and you wonder where all the time has gone and where your baby has gone. The realization that its only when they really need you that you can catch some small hint that they were your little baby. It makes you sad to realize that they soon will not need you and all you have left are your memories when they were small and relied upon you so much.
I know that this poem will touch any parent as we have all bee through this stage where we wish our children were small again. We seem to forget that they won't always need us and we don't cherish all the little moments as much as we should. Then we turn around one day, and our babies are gone, grown into bigger children or teens or even adults. We sit there and try to figure out how that happened and where did our sweet little baby went.

"Runaway Love" by Ludacris ft Mary J. Blige

Runaway love

Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love

Now little Lisa's only nine years old
She's trying to figure out why the world is so cold
Why she's all alone and ain't never met her family
Mama's always gone and she never met her daddy
Part of her is missing and nobody will listen
Mama's on drugs getting ****** up in the kitchen
Bringing home men at different hours of the night
Startin' with some laughs, usually ending in a fight
Sneakin' in her room while her mama's knocked out
Trying to have his way and little Lisa says 'ouch'
She tries to resist but then all he does is beat her
Tries to tell her mom but her mama don't believe her
Lisa is stuck up in the world on her own
Forced to think that hell is a place called home
Nothing else to do but get some clothes and pack
She says she's 'bout to run away and never come back

Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love

Little Nicole is only ten years old
She's steady trying to figure why the world is so cold
Why she's not pretty and nobody seems to like her
Alcoholic step-dad always wanna strike her
Yells and abuses, leaves her with some bruises
Teachers ask questions she makin' up excuses
Bleeding on the inside, cryin' on the out
It's only one girl really knows what she about
Her name is little Stacey and they become friends
Promise that they always be tight 'till the end
Until one day little Stacey gets shot
A drive by bullet went stray up on her block
Now Nicole stuck up in the world on her own
Forced to think that Hell is a place called home
Nothing else to do but get her clothes and pack
She says she's 'bout to run away and never come back

Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love

Little Erica is eleven years old
She's steady trying to figure why the world is so cold
So she pops 'X' to get rid of all the pain
Plus she's having sex with a boy who's sixteen
Emotions run deep and she thinks she's in love
So there's no protection he's using no glove
Never thinking about the consequences of her actions
Living for today and not tomorrow's satisfaction
The days go by and her belly gets big
The father bails out - he ain't ready for a kid
Knowing her mama will blow it all outta proportion
Plus she lives poor so no money for abortion
Erica is stuck up in the world on her own
Forced to think that Hell is a place called home
Nothing else to do but get her clothes and pack
She say she's 'bout to run away and never come back

Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love
Runaway love

Don't keep on running
I know how you feel
I've been there
I was runnin' away too
I will run away with you

Runaway
Runaway love
Don't keep running away
I'll run away with you
If you want me too

Yeah, I can only image what you're going through ladies
Sometimes I feel like running away myself
So do me a favor right now and close your eyes
And picture us running away together
when we come back everything is gonna be okay
Open your eyes...
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Lyrics taken from LinkstoLove.com.
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This song always makes me sad. It represents all the things wrong with children and our society these days. Its beyond saddening to hear of the things these little girls go through in this song, but what's even more depressing is to know that all the obstacles these young girls are experiencing happen every day, everywhere! It can make you realize how much help, guidance, and support that we need to offer and enforce on all children today. Adults shouldn't have to go through this kind of pain, let alone the little children, whom are supposed to be nothing but innocent. This song needs to be shared and to be heard so that it can educate more people into helping the children of our future.