My speech, is 7 minutes, it's supposed to be 5, kill me (not edited)

/ 15 Mar 2014 /

Identity 
[To this day, All the world's a stage, Woman of the future]

Good morning/afternoon and thank you for having me today to talk to all of you about the ways in which texts support and assist us in understanding the concept of identity. Some of you may ask, what influences your identity? Your identity is impacted by a diverse anthology of experiences that you've accumulated through out your life. One of the major aspects influencing your identity is cultural classifications, this refers to your nationality, race, religion and gender. Another focus of your identity is your societal characterizations, these include family, career, position or title.

Identity is prone to develop over time as we grow and thrive, expand our relationships, conjure new personalities and encounter new escapades. Although we are the representation of our identities, in no way, shape or form can we obtain knowledge as to what will occur to us in the near future. Texts from the Elizabethan Era like William Shakespeare's “All the world's a stage”, and others from the Post-modern era such as Cathy Warry’s “Woman of the future” and Shane Koyczan's “To this day”, support the concept of identity by providing an informative and precise judgement on what being human is all about.

In the text “All the world's a stage”,  Shakespeare supports this theory by emphasising that we live a destined life, in which we are actors, merely playing a role. “They have their exits and their entrances”, what this is referring to is the abundance of appearances a man make in his life, followed by an unforeseen departure. This quote is comprised of a wide range of techniques, its use of diction and connotation exempts the peculiarity that the poem is trying to exude.

Shakespeare convinces us to feel inclined to stray away from the assumption that we're living an independent and unique life. Just because we possess a peculiar identity, it doesn’t mean that we live an individual life, there are many others out there doing the same things we do. “And all the men and women merely players;”, the explicit utilization of symbolism and euphemism helps convey his message to always act humble, regardless of your social hierarchy.  This quote's strict impartiality, implies that men and women are in fact of equal standard.

What Shakespeare is trying to imply is that our endeavours, pleasures and pains may just be a form of entertainment to an audience, rather than a tornado of emotion. The audience is everyone around us, the people who are capable to judge, laugh and watch us humiliate ourselves. Shakespeare states, '”And one man in his time plays many parts”, this suggests that people have no objection of the stages they go through, only the way they choose to act while a part of the particular scene of their life. Shakespeare uses allusion along side word play in this quote, to teach us that we don't choose what we do in our lives, instead we rely on a script written by those who possess much greater power. 

Shakespeare's intended audience must have been all the men of varying ages, since this defines a man in every portion of his life. Understanding that this poem was written in the Elizabethan era we know that literature was all-pervasive, and the authors were me of almost every class, which shows why this poem reflects mainly upon men. 

Upon reading Shane Koyczan's “To this day”, it is obvious that he insists at an early age, we are exposed to a diversity of social factors that influence our perception of identity and who we really are. The author points out that while adults ask us to assume our future self, others our age destroy and sabotage our hopes and aspirations by derogating us with name calling. “They asked me what I wanted to be, then told me what not to be”, in this part of the poem, an instructive language technique is situated to define the emptiness of a child's intention for the future. Shane Koyczan answers the adults question, telling them he aspires to be a writer, then he gets highly advised not to do so. 


These social and external incentives restrict our psychological capacity to establish our identities by manipulating what we think society treats as admissible. He takes a turn to the past and explains how he got his first nickname, “Pork-Chop”. The impact that this had on his childhood is immense, it gave kids a reason to degrade him, humiliate him and make him feel as though he didn't matter. Shane Koyczan says,    “But the school halls were a battleground”, this metaphor illustrates the visual techniques intended, and shows that at a young age, children aren't aware of the amount of cruelness and wicked behaviour they exhibit towards their fellow peers. Actions like these have a great impression on one's childhood and world view while growing up.

In the last stanza, Shane Koyczan explains that “our lives will only ever always continue to be a balancing act”, what he is suggesting is similar to Shakespeare's “All the world's a stage”, in which life is a collection of acts, portrayed by the characters we play. Regardless of the post-modern literary devices used in Shane Koyczan's “To this day”, the morals and motifs still remain the same, proposing similar ideas and representations to contemporary society. Shane Koyczan metaphorically symbolises life as a balancing act, and conveys that no matter what part we play, our final stage is wholly dependent on the other actors' influence towards our self hood. 

This poem is intended towards an audience of all ages. For the adults, to remind the that they weren't they only ones, and not to let their brutal experiences define who they are, while also being for the children, to tell them that there is always someone out there that will accept them regardless of their external factors. This poem's intentions compare congruently with Cathy Warry's “Woman of the future”, since she also reflects upon identity as a concept made up of previous experiences.

Cathy Warry's “Woman of the future, is written around a post-modern context, implicating that she is made up of all she experiences. “I am all the things of my past”, this supports the previous statement, and highlights the author's understanding of the concept of identity. The quote illustrates a metaphorical point of view, while also using a hyperbole to exaggerate the extent to what your identity comprises of. Her focus on identity explicitly resembles that of William Shakespeare and Shane Koyczan.

The author is wrapped in a cocoon of endeavours constructed of the good and evil of the past and present, hoping to one day break out of the shell, and evolve as a woman of the future. This poet makes us think back to our childhood with ease, due to their terminology and word play. The repetition of “I am” is an easy way to obligate the reader to think back and put themselves in the shoes of the poet, generating a more intricate relationship with the poem it self. “Deep down inside me, I am all those things”, what this emotionally driven quote is deducing is all that she is, depends on what she did and what she sees herself as, whether it be the mere representation of what her parents wanted her to be, or the woman she aspires to become.

With the simple language integrated within this poem, it is obvious that it is targeted at an audience of all age groups. Its calm, yet complicated theory of identity opens many doors to whether identity is who we choose to be, or who we were chosen to behove. In the second-last stanza, Cathy Warry states, “I am like a caterpillar, and these things are my cocoon, but one day I'll bite my way out, and be free.” This simile aids the author in advocating that everyone is a caterpillar. It proposes that things we experience as children make up our cocoon, and by “free”, the author is referring to becoming a woman and possessing the power necessary of being able to choose whether or not certain aspects of her life influence her identity.

All these texts represent the concept of identity similarly, and have distinct motifs, yet convey homogeneous ideas. The meaning has been communicated in the texts to the reader by stating that one's peculiar self-hood represents a medley of experience, along side the decisions we choose to make or not to make. All these authors understand what it means to be an individual, and yet be no different than the rest of humanity, since we are all living to find the reason to live.                                               -Samir Chahine 
 
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