An account of survival on Titanic

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Alex Doyle

Summer 2007

Shakespeare Coursework

        In act 5, Scene 1 of William Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ the Prince says “Some shall be pardon’d and some shall be punished.” If you agree with the Prince, what do you think should happen to; (a) the Nurse; (b) Benvolio; (c) the Friar; and (d) the Parents.

        In the play ‘Romeo and Juliet’, written by William Shakespeare in 1594-1596, the Prince of Verona condemns all who were involved in the plot of the two dead lovers. I will decide how far I agree with the Prince, and how their role affects the enmity caused by the feud.

        During the Medieval and Renaissance periods, the power of the Italian Princes in their states and cities was almost complete. They always had a say in state politics and the affairs of the head families in their dominion, and were the most powerful people in their domain. The increasing power of the Princes was first properly recognized and put into action during the reign of the Italian Emperor, Frederick Barbarossa (1152 – 1190), who wanted to restore the role of the Emperor into supreme power. This led to a series of battles and wars between states and cities; this is how the Lombard League was formed. The princes feared loosing power, so a group of cities in the northern peninsula became allied together and marched against Barbarossa at the Battle of Legnan1179. The victory was to the Princes, so the Emperor conceded to rule from afar, and only to intervene if it was of vital importance.

        “It is necessary for a Prince who wishes to hold his own to know how to do wrong, and make use of it or not according to necessity.”

From Niccolò Machiavelli’s book, ‘The Prince’. This is one of the best remaining sources that we have nowadays informing us about the power Princes held within Italy during his time. Machiavelli shows that it was necessary for a Prince of the state to be ruthless, vindictive and was not normally afflicted with despondent emotion. Machiavelli, a man of power and wealth himself, used all the evil necessities that helped with the well being of his followers, and was a patriotic man, he believed that the country needed a man learned in both state politics and warfare, was a just ruler and would unify the country, creating the ultimate power base.

        The Prince of Verona in the play was a peace keeper, and ruled on high in his city. Only he had the power to condemn the heads of the houses to death;

“If ever you disturb our streets again,

Your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace.”

After “three civil brawls”, the Prince lays down the charge to the heads to keep the younger, more mutinous generation in line. Once he has entered the piazzia where the third fight is happening, all parties separate and did not draw against the Prince due to his superiority over even Old Capulet and Montague. We see the power display when more members of the two houses are killed, and are laid down outside the Princes palace requesting him to bear judgment, and when it is delivered, no one dares question it.

        In Elizabethan England, the position of women was decidedly low, given that the monarch at the time was Elizabeth I, only the third Queen in England’s history. The traditional view of women then was one that had been echoed down the drafty corridors of history, and meant that a young woman was her fathers possession, and was given away into matrimony, and a husband was given a dowry to marry an eligible woman, almost like a bribe to persuade them to enter a married state. After that, they were expected to be like a submissive baby, an object changing owners.

        In a time before the state controlled everything, the Church provided and oversaw the educational system of the medieval epoch They taught the young boys to read and write as well as help them attain an in-depth knowledge of the Bible, and all its teachings. Therefore the Church found girls inferior to boys, and used the Bible to prove their point, while refusing to teach anyone of the female sex. The extent of a common girls education was what they learned from their mothers, such as cleaning, cooking and basic darning of clothes, as well as making new garments. Lower class women were not expected to work, but to stay home, produce babies, keep house and care for their lord and master. A woman of higher rank, who tended to have more prospects, was taught more intricate embroidery, and also a tutor or governess provided knowledge of foreign languages. Women of the highest rank, such as daughters of Lords and Dukes, were expected to be learned in reading, writing, embroidery, drawing and also elocution, languages and dance.

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If a man was to decide to beat his wife, there was no one and nothing to stop him from doing so, while in this day and age, there are laws in place to prevent this from happening. The Church explained the concept that men were superior to women, and used the Bible to explain why; the hypothesis became ingrained, and remained so until the late eighteenth century. Only the brave, wealthy, influential or down right nonsensical dare try to disagree, and most did not last long afterwards. Not even titled women like the Queen herself would have the temerity ...

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