"Is this a BLOG POST which I see before me..."

I like to think everyone is a little evil. Just to make myself feel better about my life choices. However, if someone were to not consider themselves evil, then they're probably going to be the most evil. The first step to achieve this level of evil is temptation. Temptation plays a huge role in converting to the dark side.

Temptation is defined as, a desire to do something, especially something wrong or unwise. This could be seen as anything, however a common form of temptation is, "do not..." The minute someone says you can't do something, it's all of a sudden the only thing you want to do. A great example of this is from popular american sitcom series, How I Met Your Mother. In their episode Lobster Crawl, Robin is told that she can no longer have lobster due to her allergies. Now, Robin has a sudden huge desire to consume Lobster. The temptation was too real.

Temptation is seen with in all throughout Shakespeare's play, Macbeth. It starts in Act 1, scene 3 when the witches first tell Macbeth and Banquo the prophecy. The pair listen to the tantalizing words of the witches, foretelling of the success of themselves and their descendants, "Thou shalt get kings, through though be none: So all hail Macbeth and Banquo!" (Macbeth 1.3). Seeing as this is only a prophecy, that doesn't mean it has to necessarily come true. That's why Banquo makes nothing of it. Macbeth on the other hand is fixated on their words. 

The witches' prophecy is a great example of temptation in Macbeth. As stated before, they told a prophecy, a mere prediction of the future. This doesn't mean that their fortunes are set in stone. However, the idea of a royal crown sparks something within Macbeth. The idea of one day being ruler being a future possibility is very alluring to him. This is what begins his drive on the highway to hell. 

There are many consequences for a person who decides to turn evil. For example, they're no longer good. Along with their, they trade in their sanity and morals for their dark desires. In no way shape or form do the witches tell Macbeth to kill for the throne, he does that on this own accord (with the help of some serious Lady Macbeth-thing). The temptation for the crown and power for caused Macbeth to throw away his moral compass and murder (the now) late King Duncan and his guards (Macbeth 2.3). Later on in the story, Macbeth makes no hesitation in killing his bff Banquo to secure his power (Macbeth 3.3). It's okay, who really needs a moral compass when you can be a tyrant anyways? 

Along with a loss of morals, Macbeth is slowly driven to insanity. After the impulsive murder of his friend, Macbeth sees his ghost appear before him at his house! The estranged ghost of Banquo decides to pop into Macbeth's dinner party (as any good friend would), but the thing is only Macbeth can see him (Macbeth 3.4). If that's not insanity, then I don't know what is. The temptation of power has slowly decayed Macbeth's sanity to the point where he's seeing ghosts. 

p.s. HAPPY BIRTHDAY (for real this time) LAUREN MARIE GENESKY!

"No, she's a full-on Monet. From far away, it's OK, but up close, it's a big old mess."

I know, you're probably struggling to figure out which one is the real thing and which one is my personal sketch. It's okay, I'll clear it up for you. The top one is my sketch and the bottom one is the actual artwork. I know, it's really hard to tell. 

VISUAL ANALYSIS:

This chess piece was made by Georges Hoentschel, but gifted to J. Pierpont Morgan. The piece was created approximately in 1250, with no specific date to it's name. The piece is 7.8 x 6.5 x 3.5 centimeters. The chess piece has no name, but is recorded as: "Chess Piece in the Form of a Knight." 

The knight piece was said to have been created in London, England in 1250 A.D.. That means this piece was created right before the cultural Renaissance movement. This means that the chess piece has no influence by the age of humanism or any type of Greek mythology. That could be inferred, because it chooses to portray a knight with no detailed human features. What I mean by that is the artist, Hoentschel, chooses not to put a face to the Knight. This makes the knight less like a human, because a person's face is one of the most distinguishable features of our species. 

As stated before, this work is a chess piece, more specifically, the knight piece. The subject of the piece is the knight fighting a dragon. This is important, because Chess was used as a training mechanism to help knight think up battle strategies. The purpose of the knight fighting the dragon is to remind whoever is playing what a knight stands for and the purpose of this game. They play to figure their best strategies for attack, to take down the enemy at all costs. 

For the style of this work, it's arranged in an interesting way. Hoentschel obviously meant for the knight to be the stronger figure in this equation. This can be implied due to the fact that the knight's horse is stepping all over. By structuring the sculpture this way, Hoentschel implies that the knight is the more dominant one in the fight. However, the missing arm reminds the knight playing that sacrifices will be made in battle. 

The functional purpose of the piece is to be sturdy so it doesn't break when someone plays chess with it. However, there is a lot of significance to this piece as well. There was a lot about this stated before, but I want to reiterate what I said. This work is a chess piece, more specifically the knight piece. During this time period most soldiers and captains would play chess to help them come up with better battle plans. The overall purpose of this piece is to encourage the knights who were playing that they do have the strength to succeed that their title as a knight embodies something bigger than themselves. It embodies a hero, someone who can slay any beast or enemy, and they have to honor this title given to them. 

P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MRS. GENESKEY