Shakespeare's Play Reading Course.
Course Title: Shakespeare's Play Reading Course convener: Maxim Parr Name: Dawn (Lily Zhao) Student Number: 410107056 Year: 2nd Major: English If by your art, my dearest father, you have(1) Put the wild waters in this roar, allay them.(2) The sky, it seems, would pour down stinking pitch,(3) But that the sea, mounting to the welkin's cheek,(4) Dashes the fire out. O, I have suffered(5) With those that I saw suffer: a brave vessel,(6) Who had, no doubt, some noble creature in her,(7) Dash'd all to pieces. O, the cry did knock (8) Against my very heart. Poor souls, they perish'd.(9) Had I been any god of power, I would(10) Have sunk the sea within the earth or ere(11) It should the good ship so have swallow'd and(12) The fraughting souls within her.(13) This is from Act 1, Scene 2 in Shakespeare's comedy The Tempest that is set in the island before Prospero's cell. It is the first time two of the main characters in this play, Prospero and Miranda, are introduced to the audience. In this speech by Miranda, she expresses her strong piteous concern for the people suffered from the sea storm created by her father and her affliction caused by this, which gives us a general idea of this girl's personality. Meanwhile, it indirectly puts forward the information that the storm is terribly
Romeo and Juliet - In this essay I am going to describe how I want characters to dress and act in Act 2 Scene 5, I will also describe the setting e.g. lighting, stage, objects, etc.
Romeo and Juliet essay In this essay I am going to describe how I want characters to dress and act in Act 2 Scene 5, I will also describe the setting e.g. lighting, stage, objects, etc. I will also briefly go over the story up to Act 2 Scene 5 then I will explain how I want Act 2 Scene 5 to be acted out and what I want the actors to wear. The origin of the feud is not made clear but has no relevance to the events in the play Romeo and Juliet are a pair of star crossed lovers, they are victims of circumstances effected by things beyond their control. Unfortunately the ancient grudge, accidents and misunderstandings lead to their tragedy. This play begins with a confrontation between the servants of the two families. Shakespeare introduces love, anger, vulgarity, crudeness and violence all in Act 1. Shakespeare brings in the prince, who represents the role of justice, and in his speech says it is pointless fighting, it is disrupting social life of the city and he threatens death to anyone who fights again. All the characters appear and the scene is set for the two main characters Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet. Benvolio speaks of sunlight; secrets and silence, these ideas and images accompany Romeo and Juliet in the play, which Shakespeare uses to create a deliberate mood of love around the lovers. "The shady curtains from Aurora's bed, locks fair daylight out, and
Compare and contrast the ways in which the writers of The Tempest and Translations have dramatically presented the links between language and power
A2 English Literature Holiday Homework Assignment: for Mr Majewski: The Tempest by William Shakespeare and Translations by Brian Friel "Compare and contrast the ways in which the writers of The Tempest and Translations have dramatically presented the links between language and power." The modern linguist Norman Fairclough said, "Language is power", implying that if you want to control a person or people, an event or series of events, or indeed the entire world, and have power over it or them, you must first control language. Controlling language is the key to both the initial act of gaining power, and then maintaining that power. We find examples of this throughout The Tempest and Translations, which share common themes and elements. To tackle a question which requires suggesting how the writers link language and power, it is necessary to look at the plays in just such a thematic way. The first and most obvious area in The Tempest where language is linked with power is the way in which prose and verse is used by different characters to different effect. Most notably, and especially for it's irony, Caliban's use of verse when Stephano and Trinculo talk in prose reverts the old ideas of rank, whereby people of higher status, (here supposedly the King's butler and the jester) spoke in verse, and lower classes (the uncivilised Caliban) spoke in prose. Style shift refers to
The ways in which Shakespeare portrays the themes of love in Twelfth Night
The ways in which Shakespeare portrays the themes of love in Twelfth Night Twelfth Night is a comedy set in 'Illyria,' a Mediterranean country. However, amongst the well-timed comical scenes, Shakespeare has other emotional predicaments intertwined with a variety of characters. Such predicaments are due to misleading identities and different love themes throughout the play; including love between grieving siblings, and the counts and countess' of Illyria. The main plot of the Twelfth Night revolves round the three main characters, Viola, Orsino and Olivia who speak in rhyming couplets. Each of the main characters form a 'love triangle' which expresses the main love themes in the play including Elizabethan courtly love, real selfless love and overwhelming love. The love between each character that form the love triangle is such that the love and affection is directed one way around the triangle; Viola loves Orsino who believes he loves Olivia who also impetuously believes she loves Viola. Outside the love triangle are the minor characters who speak in pros and show a further variety of different love themes but expressed in a light-heartened manner. These include self love and love based on a mutual agreement. All the characters in the play are all connected through different love themes. Orsino's love for Olivia is also known as 'Elizabethan courtly love' familiar to
HAMLET: The Assignment
Tan Wei Jie Joel (31) 3.11 HAMLET: The Assignment TNT Britain's Theatrical version and Ethan Hawke's movie version of the play 'Hamlet' were vastly different in virtually all aspects. From the portrayal of characters in performances, the sets, paraphernalia and especially the fact that one is based in our modern world, (New York, 2000) both differ to large extents. Hamlet in the TNT's version does not dwell on about his Father's death in contrast to the Hamlet played by Ethan Hawke, who is constantly watching videos to reminisce about times he had with his Father. The two actors portray Hamlet, the main character, in a different way. In the play version, he is very vocal and blunt. Hamlet's interaction with the ghost however, is more dramatic in the theater version, with ear-splitting shrieks and squeals. This reflected the influence of the supernatural and unworldly during Shakespeare's time in the Renaissance Period. The movie version had a very different influence on me compared to TNT's play version. For example, in TNT's version, Hamlet is a Prince with zero influence; however, he illustrated as a photographer who instantaneously shows his peripheral nature towards the King. A great deal of the sound effects used was very apt and imaginative in TNT's play. The ghost in TNT's play was interesting and original. I feel, in general, that TNT's version was easier to
What do you think is the importance of Shakespeare(TM)s presentation of the theme revenge in Hamlet for the audiences then and now?
What do you think is the importance of Shakespeare's presentation of the theme revenge in Hamlet for the audiences then and now? Well, we can begin by acknowledging that Hamlet is a revenge play. It is also important to consider the audience today and how they felt about revenge. The story is based upon the need to revenge a murder in the family. In a typical revenge plot, there are no authorities to appeal to, either because the original criminal is too powerful (e.g., has become King) or those in a position to act don't know about or believe in the criminality of the original villain. Hence, the central character has to act on his own, if any justice is to occur. However, although it seems like Hamlet follows the traditional revenge plot at first after a short period of time the audience will realise that there is something that differentiates Hamlet from other conventional Elizabethan plays of the same plot and theme. Today's audience may understand why Hamlet is resulting to revenge but may not consider it to be the right thing to do. The Elizabethan audience who would have first paid to view this play would have been very used to the format of revenge plays; they were exceedingly popular during the 16th and early 17th centuries. There were also two views in the time of Shakespeare. One view is the protestant and the other is catholic view. Today's audience would think
Othello is a play of violent contrasts.
'Othello is a play of violent contrasts, of language, character and mood.' Discuss the presentation of these issues in relation to the opening act of Othello. Knight comments that 'in Othello we are faced with the vividly particular rather than the vague and universal1.' Here, he immediately sets up Othello as being a play that, instead of focusing on a broad and more general level, all of the various themes and motifs that it contains converge on this 'particular' focal point - a centre that, particularly in the initial act, breathes with so much literal and symbolic contrast that not only exists between characters, their language and mood, but too within every character, within the mood that the playwright paints. Right from the onset, Shakespeare creates opposition between the characters; he creates such 'unkind' emotion. Roderigo fears that his 'purse' has been taken by Iago, 'as if the strings were thine' - Iago's role as a manipulator, an overriding force whom himself claims to be 'not what' he is, enforcing this concept of negativity, of disillusionment at the heart of the play that, in turn, forebodes the dramatic conflict that is to tear its way into the lives of all. Iago declares that 'our bodies are gardens, to the which our wills are gardeners,' powerfully embodying this emblematic representation of him being a 'gardener', one who is in charge of his own fate,
'Macbeth is full of highly dramatic scenes. Choose two scenes and explore how Shakespeare creates dramatic effects through his dialogue, setting, character and plot development.
English coursework MACBETH. Hayley Pearcy 11Gio 'Macbeth is full of highly dramatic scenes. Choose two scenes and explore how Shakespeare creates dramatic effects through his dialogue, setting, character and plot development. I have chosen the two scenes, Act 1 scene 3 and Act 3 scene 4 to demonstrate how dramatic effects are used by Shakespeare, as I believe these scenes are the most dramatic and versatile for theatre production as they can be interpreted in spectacular ways. They are also focal scenes of the play. When William Shakespeare wrote Macbeth, in the early 17th century, England was under the reign of King James ?. This had a great effect on the content of the play. Shakespeare used certain elements that King James would have approved of such as the divine right of kings and the supernatural. These are just a few. So Macbeth has been particularly influenced by its era. During my research into the play I watched one film version produced by Roman Polanski and also a Harrogate Theatre production of the play. In Act 1 scene 3, Macbeth and Banquo are returning from battle. The weird sisters have congregated on a heath near Forres in wait of them. This is where they planned to meet earlier in the first scene of the play. Upon meeting, the witch's make prophesies as to the futures of both Macbeth and Banquo. Both characters
Nurse's Role
Adarsha Karki 3/4/05 English Pd.4 Nurse's Role Romeo and Juliet a play by William Shakespeare is one of the most famous and loved romantic stories ever. It is a story about two lovers, Romeo and Juliet, whose love was never meant to be. Readers disagree about the characters that are contributors towards the suffering of Romeo and Juliet. One of the most overlooked characters responsible for Romeo and Juliet's suffering is the Nurse. In William Shakespeare's book Romeo and Juliet, The Nurse contributes to the suffering because she acts like a messenger between the two, she keeps their marriage a secret and she advises Juliet to marry Paris, after previously helping her marry Romeo. The Nurse contributes to Romeo and Juliet's suffering because she is a messenger between the two. In Act 2, when the Nurse and Romeo meet in Friar Lawrence's cell and talk about marriage, she tells Romeo," I will tell her, sir, that you do protest. Which, as I take it, is a gentleman like offer." (2.4.174-175). The Nurse is getting the marriage plans from Romeo and tells them to Juliet. If she never acted as their messenger, the two would not have any communication and would not have been able to discuss their marriage plans. The Nurse acting like a messenger, contributed to Romeo and Juliet's death. Another reason the Nurse contributes to Romeo and Juliet's suffering is by keeping Romeo and
Examine the techniques used by Baz Luhrmann in “Romeo + Juliet” to engage, interest and excite the audience.
Examine the techniques used by Baz Luhrmann in "Romeo + Juliet" to engage, interest and excite the audience. The 1996 Baz Luhrmann film, "Romeo and Juliet" begins in complete silence and uses a black establishing shot. This is to grab the attention of the audience in a subtle, yet effective way. The silence intrigues the viewer, as it is unusual in a film to have such pauses, It is a great for atmosphere or tension. A television is then shown in the centre of the screen. The television is relatively old and has disruption. The television produces the impression that the film is in a new or in a modern style and therefore interests the viewer. This contradiction of old and new is interesting and tends to allow the film to be interesting for both young and old. After a matter of seconds the television is as if by magic switched on and a woman appears on the screen. The woman on the television screen is in a news report; this television broadcast is used to engage a modern audience. The woman is reading the prologue of the original play. The camera gradually zooms toward the television to create dramatic tension or a climax. When the woman is drawing to the close of her broadcast the camera zooms at an incredible speed as if going through the television screen and into the city of Verona, it then zooms through Verona to finish with a mid shot of a large skyscraper in the
