The Importance of Being Earnest - 'We live, as I hope you know, Mr Worthing, in an age of ideals' what are these ideals in the context of the play in Act One, and how does Wilde present them to the audience?

'We live, as I hope you know, Mr Worthing, in an age of ideals' what are these ideals in the context of the play in Act One, and how does Wilde present them to the audience? In 'The Importance of Being Earnest', ideals are a dominant theme, and to that end are critical in determining the actions of the characters. Wilde is typically subtle in his presentation of these ideals, and consequently many of them come to be used as a means for satirising the society depicted. It is important to establish from the outset that Wilde's presentation of ideals utilizes the different characters as bastions for the various ideals, and in doing that subjects them to scrutiny when ridiculing their respective characterizations. One of the most important ideals presented is fittingly one of the first to become apparent; that being the division of the classes and the social status that they entail. On line 1 of the play, Algernon asks Lane, after playing the piano in the adjoining room: 'Did you hear what I was playing. Lane?' Lane's response: 'I didn't think it polite to listen, sir' is indicative of various aspects of his position. Firstly, his butlership requires that he should abstain from partaking in any activity considered to be distracting to his duties, of which listening to the piano would be one. Secondly, his position in society, that of one of the lower classes, demands utter

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Tennessee Williams wrote in a letter that It (Streetcar) is a tragedy with the classic aim of producing a catharsis of pity and terror and in order to do that, Blanche must finally have the understanding and compass

Tennessee Williams wrote in a letter that "It ('Streetcar') is a tragedy with the classic aim of producing a catharsis of pity and terror and in order to do that, Blanche must finally have the understanding and compassion of the audience. This without creating a black-dyed villain in Stanley. It is a thing (misunderstanding) not a person (Stanley) that destroys her in the end." In your opinion, to what extent has Williams succeeded in his aims. Although there are many different viewpoints on a conventional tragic heroine, Aristotle made his views clear that a hero must fall from fortune and power, due to a tragic flaw, allowing an audience to feel catharsis at the end of the play. It can be argued that Stanley causes Blanche's downfall, however, it is clear that Blanche had brought this upon herself by creating a conflict between them and ensures her own downfall by other means such as her promiscuity and flux into fantasies. Williams makes it clear that a misunderstanding destroys Blanche in the end. This misjudgement can be seen in her aggressive teasing of Stanley and her uncomfortable belonging in multi-cultural New Orleans. From the beginning of the play, Williams makes it clear that 'the Kowalski and the DuBois have different notions' with Blanche withholding the Southern Belle attitude of 'Belle Reve'. However, it is clear that Blanche cannot cope with the stark

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To what extent is Willy Loman a tragic hero?

To What Extent Is Willy Loman A Tragic Hero? The play, "Death of a Salesman", written by Arthur Miller, is about the 'American Dream' and a man so disillusioned by it that he becomes a modern day 'tragic hero'. Tragic heroes derive from the Greeks, but Shakespeare adapted his own genre for tragedy. Most Shakespearean tragedies all fit the same pattern, which is that the protagonist is of noble birth and have a fatal character flaw which usually leads to their demise. Arthur Miller took Shakespeare's ideas for what a tragic hero should be and made them relevant to this time period. One particular critic thought, "a contemporary audience can no longer accept that a tragic hero is punished by comic force...A tragedy must be brought about by... recognisable social factors." 1This means that the factors of Shakespearean and Aristotelian tragedies are outdated for a modern day audience, audiences cannot accept that the protagonist falls due to a higher power, it must be something they can relate to or understand. Willy Loman is a struggling salesman around the age of sixty. He lives with his wife Linda and two sons Biff and Happy. Willy does not fit the usual criteria established by Shakespearean or Aristotelian tragedies. Firstly, he is not of noble birth, although in the play Miller makes a link known to the audience because Willy is made to appear of noble birth as he is in

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How does Tennessee Williams suggest that Stanley is an animalistic character in the play A streetcar named desire ?

How does Tennessee Williams suggest that Stanley is an animalistic character in the play "A streetcar named desire" ? Stanley Kowalski is Stella Kowalski nee Dubois' polish husband. He works as an engineer and has acquired many rowdy friends from his place of work. Stanley does not seem to function without Stella. When Stella's sister Blanche comes to stay all of Stanley's most horrible animalistic traits seem to come to the surface. The first act of animal like behaviour we see in the play is in the very first scene where Stanley chucks some meat which is still bloody at Stella who is up at the window. This symbolises Stanley to be the provider in the family just like in a wolf pack when the male wolf goes out and hunts for meat for his family. That fact that the meat is still bloody also brings Stanley bring meat Stella and a wolf bringing meat to his family closer. The second time we see Stanley is when Blanche has arrived and Stella has left the room because Blanche has upset her. Even though Stanley has never met Blanche before he doesn't care at all about taking his top off in front of her and making himself more comfortable. This could imply that Stanley is quite territorial and wants to show Blanche that it is his home and he can do whatever he likes and be dressed however he likes in his own home. Being territorial is a very animalistic trait. Furthermore

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TO WHAT EXTENT CAN A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE BE CALLED A TRAGEDY?

TO WHAT EXTENT CAN 'A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE' BE CALLED A TRAGEDY? 'A Streetcar Named Desire' was written by Tennessee Williams in 1947, eliciting the most critical commentary of any of his works, as well as being highly divisive: upon its release, one reviewer defined it as the product of an "almost desperately morbid turn of mind"1; George Jean Nathan criticised the "unpleasant"2 nature of the play, calling it "'The Glands Menagerie'"3. Williams' focus on realism, and the subsequent omission of clear-cut protagonists and antagonists in 'Streetcar', also drew glowing reviews, from the pre-eminent theatre critic Brook Atkinson, for example, who called Williams "a genuinely poetic playwright whose knowledge of people is honest and thorough"4. This difference in opinion does not stop at subjective criticism of the play, but even the specific genre which 'Streetcar' falls into. Many assume it to be a tragedy of some type, and there is indeed much to commend this view. However, the ambiguous nature of many aspects of the play and Williams' inclusion of alternate dramatic devices has led many to believe that 'Streetcar' should not be classified as a tragedy, but as a melodrama. In any tragedy, the tragic protagonist is of vital importance: everything is centred on the protagonist, their flaw and subsequent downfall. However, in 'Streetcar', there is large uncertainty as to who

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How does Williams use dramatic devices in A Streetcar Named Desire to heighten the tragic aspects of the play?

How does Williams use dramatic devices in A Streetcar Named Desire to heighten the tragic aspects of the play? Williams uses many dramatic devices to develop the play as a tragedy including: symbolism, stage directions and sounds. A Streetcar Named Desire can be seen as a modern domestic tragedy as the characters are not of noble birth and the play has specific focus on a female protagonist and anti-heroine, in this case Blanche. Blanche is often difficult to have an affinity with as she can come across as snobbish and over dramatising however, her fragility leads her to be a truly tragic figure much like that of Ophelia in Hamlet. Both characters are destroyed by the death of their loved ones and both suffer deaths themselves; albeit, in different ways. Williams uses symbolism to great effect within the play. In scene 1 the stage directions describe Blanche as “a moth”. William’s uses stage directions as a crucial dramatic device, making them highly detailed so when performed on stage it could be exactly as described; they became a signature of his. Instantly, a scene of tragedy is set as a moth is fragile however essentially a creature of self destruction, in its quest towards light it often ends up destroying itself. This sense of foreshadowing intensifies the tragedy from the very beginning, suggesting no matter what Blanche does, or how hopeful things are the

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Explore how Tennessee Williams uses symbols and expressionistic stage devices in the play.

Explore how Tennessee Williams uses symbols and expressionistic stage devices in the play. The play is rich in symbols, which serve as foreshadowing; hinting of things to come. These hints can be recognized from the beginning of the drama. The most obvious symbol used in A Streetcar Named Desire is its title and the actual reference, in the play, to the streetcars named Desire and Cemeteries. They are the means by which Blanche was brought to the home of Stanley and Stella and, as the play unfolds, we realize the names of the streetcars have a greater significance. Blanche's instructions were to "take a streetcar named Desire, and then transfer to one called Cemeteries." When Blanche first arrives she is possessed by a desire for love and understanding, but always in the background lurks the fear of death and destruction. If the one cannot be obtained, a transfer to the other will be the inevitable alternative. Blanche indicates this in her speech to Mitch in scene nine: "Death - I used to sit here and she used to sit over there and death was as close as you are ... We didn't dare even admit we had ever heard of it. The opposite is desire." A subtle use of this symbol makes scene six very poignant: Mitch and Blanche have just returned from the amusement park and she asks how he will get home - she says, "Is that streetcar named Desire still grinding along the tracks at this

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How Does Brian Friel convey a sense of cultural identity through the way his characters speak?

Task: How Does Brian Friel convey a sense of cultural identity through the way his characters speak? In the Play 'Translations' the characters are separated into the two groups the English colonists, Captain Lancey and Lieutenant Yolland, and the Gaelic speaking Irish population, Manus, Sarah, Jimmy Jack, Maire, Doalty, Bridget, Hugh and Owen. Coming from different backgrounds mean the two groups the characters speech has been carefully written by Friel to display different cultural identity within their speech, such as different syntax, dialectical lexis and colloquial language. The two English sappers, Lancey and Yolland, speak in standard English both being formal and correct although Yolland also includes politeness, he apprises negative face needs Lancey dose not although the translation by Owen is changed to do so, in his idiolect where as Lancey seems not to do so, for instance when the two are Hugh by his son Owen, Lancey says, "Good Evening", and then continues to use Minimal responses to address the questions posed to him where as Lancey greets Hugh by saying, "How do you do." which carries more polite connotations with it, although his responses are short to the questions he is asked are short they are not minimal responses, like Lanceys, and show he is more willing to engage in phatic communication. Lancey also conveys an authoritive attitude lacking

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Re-read Act 2 Scene 6 of Murmuring Judges. Discuss Hares presentation of the position of women in the police force and the legal profession in this extract and the play as a whole.

Re-read Act 2 Scene 6 of 'Murmuring Judges'. Discuss Hare's presentation of the position of women in the police force and the legal profession in this extract and the play as a whole. Throughout 'Murmuring Judges', women are portrayed in varying, often dichotomous ways, having either much or little power, and being either assertive or submissively coquettish. In Act 2 Scene 6, women are presented as having their own secret culture, running parallel to the dominant culture of the men pervading the police force. For example, after Sandra light-heartedly laments the fact that Irina has chosen to speak to a woman, the stage directions dictate that "For the first time they both smile." The fact that the first time they smile is inspired by Sandra's referring to a liaison exclusively between women evinces that the women have their own kind of female culture which they are aware of. In addition, the form of dialogue which is taken by the entire scene facilitates the presentation of a female secret culture as the only speakers in this scene are female, hence no males are involved, making this a purely female affair. Also, no other characters enter the scene as it progresses, so the conversation between Sandra and Irina, and the issues appertaining secrecy and injustice which it raises, are more well-received by the audience, who focus their attention totally on the speech and

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Consider the themes of language and naming in Act 1, and explore their relationship to culture and identity.

Consider the themes of language and naming in Act 1, and explore their relationship to culture and identity. 'Translations' is a play by Brian Friel, which is set in a town named Baile Beag, an Irish speaking community. Therefore it is not surprising that when British troops take over Ireland, there is great hostility amongst the Irish people, and this is reflected in the play, as all Irish place names must be changed to British sounding place names. Brian Friel has used this time in history to convey this hostility that the Irish people felt, and through his characters actions and emotions, we see the love hate relationship that the Irish and British felt for one another. He has done so by the use of language and naming in Act 1. Friels use of language and phrases in the play take a key role in the ability to transfer the thoughts of the Irish community, and the reflection that British troops taking over Ireland has had on their sense of belonging, and their identity and culture. The plays name is 'Translations', a word to which we tend to associate a foreign language with. The whole play in itself is a translation from Gaelic to English, so in this way is ironic as the situation that Brian Friel is dealing with in his play is that British troops, apparently unwelcome by most of Ireland, are translating Irish place names into English place names. Therefore, immediately at

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