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What are the main themes to emerge from the first three acts of 'The Changeling'?
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What are the main themes to emerge from the first three acts of 'The Changeling'?
Middleton and Rowley's Jacobean tragedy portrays a world in which the characters are often caught between their reasons and their passions. It is a play of contrasts; between judgement and lust, measure and obsession, appearance and reality, combined with the theme of madness, provided obviously by the sub plot but also evident in the main plot through the 'love sickness' of characters such as Alsemero and Beatrice. The play also considers the position of Women in a patriarchal society, their stereotypical expected behaviour and the effects of women on the men around them. In addition there is also the theme of deception, between characters and perhaps characters deceiving themselves. This is often done, in particular in the sub-plot, to comic effect which heightens the tragedian themes evident else where in the play. There are many parallels and contrasts between the two plots and although seemingly unrelated they share key themes such as madness and appearance vs reality.
The theme of irrational passion is evident from the opening lines of Act 1 Scene 1, As Alsemero talks of his feelings for Beatrice and we
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