Twelfth Night

Twelfth Night William Shakespeare was baptised on the 26th April 1564, and as it was the tradition for children to be taken to the church for this only a few days after birth, April 23rd has been traditionally held as his actual birthday. It also fits relatively nicely for English person to be born on St. George's Day as this represents England. He was born in Stratford upon Avon. In 1601, near the middle of Shakespeare's career, it is assumed he wrote the play Twelfth Night. Generally critics measured it to be one of Shakespeare's greatest comedies alongside with plays for instance as you like it, much ado about nothing, and a midsummer nights dream. Twelfth Night is mainly about five things, the first four are illusion, deception, disguises, madness and the fifth is the astonishing actions that love will cause us to do. This humorous play was also well acknowledged as one of his 'transvestite' comedies, as the play has a female protagonist. The females who are firstly played by men have to disguise themselves as a woman then from that woman once again disguise themselves into a man (features female protagonist who for one reason or another have to disguise themselves as men). Shakespeare had an alternative title for his play but this was the only play that had this. The play is called Twelfth Night or what you will. Critics are shared into two halves when discussing what

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Twelfth Night.

Twelfth Night .... is about all kinds of Main and sub plots ---... and sadness, laughter and cruelty. It has essentially two plots: a main plot, typical of a romantic comedy in the Renaissance; and a subplot, which is essentially comic. The main plot -- the story of Orsino and Viola and Olivia and Sebastian -- features lost siblings united and lovers joined in marriage; it throws in some mistaken identities and women disguised as boys, which were also typical of a romantic play during this time (Shakespeare used the motif several times in other plays). It has a happy ending, with all four lovers marrying their own true love (and a person of the correct sex), and all of them poised to live happily ever after. The play is set on Twelfth Night, a holiday which derives from the medieval practice of celebrating Christmas for the entire period between Christmas Eve and Epiphany, January 6. Everything was deliberately turned upside down; activities that were generally regarded as bad taste were encouraged during that short period. In this spirit, Shakespeare introduces a jester, Feste, who is often called "the Fool." Feste is not foolish at all, but around him revolves some of the most significant issues of this extremely complex play. Feste is the character who sets the stage for the Twelfth Night festivities. Olivia is supposed to be in mourning for her dead

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The Tempest.

The Tempest Long Essay Magic was a notion firmly embedded in the Elizabethan culture. It explained many things. Discuss the importance of magic in the play The Tempest. "The Isle is full of noises, sounds, and sweet ones, that give delight and hurt not. Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments will hum about mine ears: and sometimes voices..." states Caliban (Act III, pg 109) Within Shakespeare's text, The Tempest, set in Elizabethan times, magic is indeed of great importance. Shakespeare gives Prospero the ability to perform magic which allows him to carry out alterations to the world around him. His magic will eventually lead to the restoration of order following the disruption caused, or symbolized, by the tempest; the most obvious and important magical achievement in the play. From the start of the play, Shakespeare uses magic to captivate his Elizabethan audience and move his characters from one scene to another, for example, we are introduced to our first characters during the tempest itself, and it is through this created event that they are transferred to the safety of the island. Magic is frequently used by the main character Prospero, sometimes for compassionate reasons to prevent the suffering of his daughter, but often to make others remorseful and change their ways. Initially, one must examine the importance of magic, which was firmly embedded in the

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The tempest

Examine act 2, scene 2 closely. How does the scene affect Your understanding of the characters Caliban and prospero. Prospero plays an important role within "The Tempest" Shakespeare uses his character to portray sympathy and convey empathy to both the viewer and reader. He does this by the by using such a misleading plot "wronged by his step brother", and misleading first impression of characters and use of language, clearly portraying his character as one which Shakespeare feels misfortune upon. Prospero's presence in "The Tempest" is important, and brutal amongst other characters, therefore has a general overpowering characteristic. Prospero's character has a great desire for knowledge; however this kind of desire for magical knowledge eventually causes Prospero to get into trouble. Causing him to no longer be aware of all the issues and important matters that concern him as a duke of Milan , thus allowing his brother to compete for his title. Although Shakespeare tries to show concern and uses sympathetic language towards this character, through his unfair loss of the "Duke of Milan" which creates an unbalance within the plays good and bad. Shakespeare also portrays a different side to the character, as the audience also sees his greed for magical knowledge. This gives a contrast between feeling sympathy and feeling as if he his character deserved it. This causes the

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The Tempest

The Tempest 'The Tempest' was Shakespeare's last major play and is partly based on a true story about a ship called 'The Seaventure' which set sail for America in 1609. However, the ship was blown off course by a storm and ended up in Bermuda. This was the time when people were just beginning to explore the world and Bermuda was thought to be inhabited by spirits, demons and monsters. Shakespeare used the disaster of 'The Seaventure' as a starting point for his play and incorporated the beliefs of the people in his play. 'The Tempest' explores the 17th Century myths and colonisation. Caliban is a character in the play and resembles both of these ideas, he represents the new ethnic groups, with his mother being a witch and worshipping a Patagonian God, which also resembles new religion. Caliban also represents the way natives were treated; he is treated badly throughout the play. This represents the way natives were treated by the conquering. Westerners. This essay will explore how Shakespeare presents Caliban and whether he is merely just a savage or whether he is a noble savage. One way in which Caliban shows he may be just a savage is through his poor response to education. He tells Miranda that his only "profit" from his learning is that he "know(s) how to curse." Caliban sees no useful point in an education. This contrasts to the 'civilised' idea that an education is an

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Women have been perceived differently by different people at different times. Using Shakespeare's Hamlet,consider his representation of women.

English Literature coursework Women have been perceived differently by different people at different times. Using Shakespeare's Hamlet, consider his representation of women. In Hamlet, Shakespeare carefully represents Getrude and Ophelia. Individually, Gertrude is essentially seen as weak and immoral whilst Ophelia is seen as meek and a victim of society. Collectively, they are seen to fulfil a conventional 16th century role, and it is as our beliefs and views of women change that we are able to perceive the characters in a different angle. At the beginning of the play, we get a very biased insight into the character of Gertrude and how those around her perceive her. This is because Hamlet and the ghost of Hamlet are both very biased as they feel a sense of injustice at Gertrude's marriage to Claudius, her brother-in-law. For example, Gertrude is chiefly seen as very uncaring and "unrighteous," as the "incestuous" marriage, according to Hamlet, was carried out with "dexterity" and scarcely a month after King Hamlet's death. This depiction makes the audience form a very strong opinion of Gertrude from the outset. It creates an ominous feeling about Gertrude as the first insight we get into her character is given by people who have been hurt by her in some way. This suggests that she is someone to watch out for and that Gertrude is weak and unable to live without a man who

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Why is Act One Scene V of 'Romeo and Juliet' an effective piece of drama?

Why is Act One Scene V of 'Romeo and Juliet' an effective piece of drama? 'Romeo and Juliet' is a play, telling the tragic story of two lovers kept apart by their family's hate for one another. It was written by William Shakespeare. First published in 1597, the play is set in the Italian city of Verona and is themed on the love between Juliet, the daughter of the Capulet household, and Romeo, the son of the Montague household. Together they are forced to hide their love for one another due to the Capulet and Montague's bitter rivalry. Juliet, of the Capulet household, is being primed for a marriage to Paris, while Romeo is apparently in love with a woman called Rosaline, whom we never actually see in the play. The play, as agreed by many critics, is one of Shakespeare's earlier works, and, unusually for his earlier stories is one of tragedy. The play, not unusually for Shakespeare, is full of contrasts, comparisons and dramatic moments, which all add to the full amount of variety of events that occur. As well as contrast, there are also many coincidences, as in Act One Scene V where Romeo temporarily forgets about the true love of his life, Rosaline. This, moments after he sets his eyes on Juliet, a suggestion of love at first sight. In reference to Juliet: "Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight; for I ne'er saw true beauty till this night" The play also moves on

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Why is Bottom such a well-loved character? Explain with reference to 'A Midsummer Nights Dream'

Why is Bottom such a well-loved character? Explain with reference to 'A Midsummer Nights Dream' 'A Midsummer Nights Dream' is one of Shakespeare's most popular plays. It was written in 1595 so was one of his earlier plays. Nick Bottom is one of the main characters in the play and is easily the funniest and most well loved. By well loved, I mean that he is well liked my other characters in the play and especially by the audience. He figures in many of the scenes in the play and crosses into the different 'worlds' within the play. He wanders into the world of the fairies during the play and also into the Royal World! Both of these worlds give Bottom a chance to show a bit more of his comical character. The play itself was aimed at an audience of Kings and Queens. It was written just after the plague had swept through the country killing thousands of people so this may have influenced Shakespeare into writing a play with a touch of humour in it. Shakespeare is undoubtedly the best play write that has ever lived and 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' has always been one of his most popular plays. There are many main characters in the play that all have an important role within the play. Bottom may not be the main character, however he is the character that the audience will remember the most about once the play has finished. Bottom gets his slightly comical name from being a working

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Why Does Hamlet Delay?

WHY DOES HAMLET DELAY? Is it possible to take reasonable, effective and purposeful action? In Hamlet, the question of how to act is affected not only by logical considerations, such as the need for certainty, but also by emotional, ethical, and psychological factors. This in turn affects how the revenge is carried out. If we view Hamlet as a 'real' person in the context of Elsinore then one of the reasons why Hamlet delays taking revenge on Claudius may be because he needs to test the veracity of the Ghost. The Ghost tells Hamlet of his murder and demands revenge when he says "Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder" in Act I scene iv. Hamlet's initial reaction is to act quickly, "Haste me to know't, that I, with wings as swift As meditation or the thoughts of love, May sweep to my revenge" (I.4.33-35) whether it may be because he disapproves of Claudius marrying his mother or through a sense of duty and obligation. However by Act II scene i he expresses his feelings of doubt about the Ghost: "the spirit I may have seen may be a devil". This concern leads to Hamlet adopting his 'antic disposition' and using the players in 'The Mousetrap' to confirm Claudius' guilt. Therefore only in Act III scene ii is Hamlet convinced and comments to Horatio "I'll take the Ghost's word for a thousand pound". While a modern audience might find Hamlet's motivation for this

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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