How effective is the Prologue as an introduction to Romeo and Juliet?
In my opinion, the prologue is a striking and extremely effective introduction to one of the greatest tragedies ever written. One of the most unusual things about the Prologue is its structure; the fact that it is written in the sonnet form is very significant. The sonnet form of poetry is perhaps the most demanding and challenging poetic form that exists. For hundreds of years the sonnet (of which Shakespeare wrote 154) has been recognised as a structure that is only attempted by the greatest of poets such as Shakespeare or Wordsworth. It is often associated with love poetry and the fact that Shakespeare chooses the sonnet format to open Romeo and Juliet suggests his motive to prepare the audience with the love story to come. The sonnet is made up from 3 quatrains each consisting of 4 lines, with the rhyme scheme a,b,a,b, each quatrain telling us something different about the forthcoming play. The sonnet is finished by a rhyming couplet- a pair of lines that have the rhyming scheme c,c. Some might question why Shakespeare chose such a difficult poetic structure to open the play however it is clear to me that he chose the sonnet to grab the audience's attention but also to demonstrate his showcase of literary talent. The sonnet reveals to the audience the degree of Shakespeare's poetic genius to create a language - which in all its diversity can capture the most beautiful
Compare and contrast the images of love in: Act I Scene V, Act II Scene II and Act V Scene III
Romeo & Juliet Coursework Compare and contrast the images of love in: Act I Scene V, Act II Scene II and Act V Scene III The play "Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare is a romantic tragedy set in Italy. It tells the story of two "star-crossed lovers" and how they fall in love, but then die as a result of this. The play is filled with various images of love to display the relationship between the two main characters, Romeo and Juliet. The complex images used by Shakespeare are a reflection of the play itself and the experiences of the characters. Shakespeare displays love through many different images. Throughout the play, religious imagery, the contrast between light and dark, nature, death and many other images are used to express the emotions between the characters. The reason for displaying love through images, and not just plainly, is that by using imagery, the love and the particular phrase becomes more memorable, and therefore powerful. The three scenes that will be compared are: Act I Scene V, Act II Scene II and Act V Scene III. Act I Scene V is where Romeo and Juliet first meet at Capulet's party. They talk to each other and share their first kiss. Act II Scene II is commonly referred to as the 'balcony scene' and is the setting for the second meeting between Romeo and Juliet. Here they decide that they will get married to each other the next day. Act V Scene
In "Much Ado about Nothing", Shakespeare presents us with a conventional and unconventional heroine in Hero and Beatrice. Which do you prefer?
In "Much Ado about Nothing", Shakespeare presents us with a conventional and unconventional heroine in Hero and Beatrice. Which do you prefer? In "Much Ado About Nothing", Shakespeare presents us with both the (Elizabethan) conventional and (the more modern) unconventional heroine in Hero and Beatrice, using a variety of effective literary methods, to demonstrate the extreme differences in character. A central theme in "Much Ado about Nothing" is that of the literary tradition of a heroine within the social conventions surrounding women. The literary tradition of the time (and indeed, in many cases, up to the present day) bestows the conventional heroine with beauty, modesty and etiquette, submissive and obedient to men's will. Literary convention also presents the heroine with a variety of obstacles which, through no fault of her own, she is forced to overcome. Ultimately, she prevails and the Shakespearean tale typically ends with a joyful marriage ceremony, often an alliance between two families. However, modern literary tradition breeds the unconventional heroine, an independent, assertive and articulate young woman, overcoming prejudice and injustice. In "Much Ado About Nothing", Shakespeare presents us with both the Elizabethan conventional and (the more modern) unconventional heroine in Hero and Beatrice, using a variety of effective literary methods, to demonstrate
English Literature Coursework - Nostalgia
Compare and contrast three poems from the English Literature Anthology where the speakers of the poems display strong nostalgic thoughts through theme, structure, language, mood and tone of the poems. Three poems where the speakers show strong nostalgic thoughts for the past are Piano by D.H. Lawrence, Poem at Thirty-Nine by Alice Walker and Crabbit Old Woman by Phyllis McCormack. They all display the common theme of wanting to return to the past, away from the pain, loneliness and the trials and tribulations of adulthood. In this essay, I will analyse how the poets convey their feelings through their use of literary structure, theme, language, mood and tone. The theme of nostalgia is expressed through each of the three speakers' different experiences. In Piano, the speaker is taken "back down the vista of years" and re-calls happier memories from his childhood. This happens when he hears a piano being played which is the trigger so that his "manhood is cast/Down in the flood of remembrance". This indicates that the poet yearns for the past and he feels less of a man when he reminisces. It also suggests that when he remembers his childhood and his memories rush towards him, reducing him to tears. In Poem at Thirty-Nine, the speaker remembers how she "learned to see bits of paper as a way to escape the life he knew". This shows that she remembers lessons like the value of
Freud's theory of psycho-sexual development
According to Freud, sexual drive, along with aggression, is the central factor in determining the personalities of human beings and the main driving force that gives reason to, and influences what we do and who we become. He asserts that if each psycho- sexual-oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital - stage is not resolved, fixation at that particular stage, and thereafter personality and behavioural problems might occur in latter life. More importantly, infantile sexuality, which encompasses the first three stages, is said to play an imperative role in the shaping the personalities of adults. Freud believes that while boys and girls would progress similarly during the earlier oral and anal stages, it is at the phallic stage where complications in undergoing a two-fold change in sexual object and leading sexual organ might make it more difficult for girls to progress through this stage, if at all. His work experiences dealing with neurotic women has also led him to proclaim that, "Now will you have escaped worrying over this problem - those of you of are men; to those of you who are women this will not apply - you are yourselves the problem".1 He believes that women's constant need for attention and attention from their parents -and in later life, their husbands- leads them to have illnesses, which "are the result of intentions"2, albeit unconsciously. His cure for such
Outdoor and Adventurous Activities - risks, percieved and actual
Outdoor and Adventurous Activities Situation 1 . How would the children be feeling as the day progresses? At the beginning of the day my guess would be that the children would be feeling fairly anxious or nervous at the fact at what they were about to experience, but they would find comfort in the fact that their teacher is experienced in hiking and they will also be feeling excited. As the day progresses they will grow in confidence in both their hiking and knowing their surroundings, I think that their anxiety and nervousness will have dissolved and by the end of the day they will have full confidence that they can hike the walk again, knowing they'd be safe. 2. Would their pre-trip preparations have increased or decreased their feelings of fear, danger and apprehension? In my opinion the group's pre-trip preparations could have both increased or decreased their fear or apprehension. It may have increased or decrease it because it gives the group an insight of what they will be taking part in, this could frighten the group and because they don't know exactly what it may be like, they could perceive the risk and danger to be greater than the actual risk. It also could work the other way because when it gives an insight of the hike, they may get more excited and more confident in being able to do the hike which will decrease their perceived risk and will increase their
Outline and Evaluate research (theories/ and studies) into the relationship between stress and physical illness.
Outline and Evaluate research (theories/ and studies) into the relationship between stress and physical illness. 18 marks Stress is an example of a behavior and experience explained in physiological and psychological terms. Recently awareness has been highlighted concerning harmful effects of stress on our lives and how it can be managed and prevented. Stress is often associated with anxiety, strain, tension, distress and fatigue. The effects of stress include biochemical physiological and psychological changes, most show with ill health or unusual behavior. Therefore medical and psychological research findings in this area are crucial in aiding our understanding of the issue. Stress is usually the way we perceive stressors e.g. divorce, and the way we feel we are able to cope with things. If we cannot cope with the situation we are faced with, then we experience psychological and physiological responses to the stressor. In the short term, stress can be quite stimulating and motivating. In the long term stress can result in illness and even death. During a state of stress, the sympathetic area of the nervous system stimulates the adrenal medulla to release the hormones adrenaline and non-adrenaline into the bloodstream. These hormones stimulate heart rate and cause the body to use extra energy resources in the body. This enables the body to deal with the stressor by
Innocence and Experience in "Atonement" and "The Go-Between"
"Adam and Eve, on eating the apple, could not have been more upset than I was" (The Go-Between Ch. 10). Discuss the ways in which the movement from innocence to experience is portrayed in two novels. "A story of innocence betrayed, and not only betrayed but corrupted" - thus L.P. Hartley set out to write The Go-Between, a story of childhood, sexual awakening, social convention and class. Ian McEwan's Atonement, a postmodern novel heavily influenced by The Go-Between, shares all these themes and more as it explores the nature of innocence and experience. The Go-Between and Atonement are most notably Bildungsromans - novels which chronicle the "coming of age" of a child. While many novels of the genre feature a movement from innocence to experience in the protagonist, both Leo and Briony, the narrators of these two novels, undergo an exceptionally profound and disastrous loss of innocence. The dual narrative voices of the two novels are themselves both innocent and experienced: the naivety of the juvenile narrator is overlaid with the shrewd hindsight of their aged self. This is used to dramatic effect in Atonement, when the older Briony bluntly states the imminent disaster - "Within the half hour Briony would commit her crime" - creating an atmosphere of prolepsis, or narrative anticipation. The Go-Between similarly hints at the forthcoming tragedy, albeit through the
Compare and contrast the Functionalist and Marxist views of society.
Compare and contrast the Functionalist and Marxist views of society. Sociology has been classified as the last in a long line of emerging scientific disciplines which people have developed and explored in order to make sense of their world. Early theories such as the positivist approach of Comte, the functionalist views of Emile Durkheim and the conflict perspectives of Karl Marx have offered a view of why human beings behave as they do and how they fit together in society. Each theory has to some extent been shaped or influenced by the approach of others and many sociological explanations have comparisons or contrast that can be made. Browne once said "sociological perspectives centre on how much freedom or control the individual had to influence society" He goes on to comment on the two main approaches "structuralism is concerned with the overall structure of society and the way social institutions act as a constraint, or limit and control individual behaviour". Structuralism offers a view of the individual being controlled by the society they live in, Marx and Durkheim are similar in that they can both be described as structuralists, however their individual ideas are somewhat different. Functionalism was developed by Emile Durkheim, he believed like Comte that sociology should be viewed as a precise science and that society should be studied objectively. Durkheim
Thigpen and Cleckley
Thigpen and Cleckley (1954) - 'A case of multiple personality' • Case study of a 25-year-old married woman referred to two psychiatrists for severe headaches and blackouts but soon discovered to have a multiple personality. • The first few interviews of the woman, Eve White, only found her to have 'several important emotional difficulties' and 'set of marital conflicts and personal frustrations'. * The first indication of multiple personality came when the psychiatrist received a letter from Eve that she did not remember sending and which contained a note at the end written in a different and childish handwriting. • On her next visit, after a period of unusual agitation, she reported that she occasionally had the impression that she heard a voice in her head-and then suddenly and spontaneously showed a dramatic change in her behaviour, revealing the character (and answering to the name) of Eve Black. • Over a period of 14 months and around 100 hours of interview time, the two psychiatrists investigated the two Eves, first using hypnosis, but later without the need for it. • Eve White was found not to have access to the awareness and memories of Eve Black (experiencing blackouts when Eve Black took over control), although the reverse was true for Eve Black (who often used the ability to disrupt Eve White's life by taking over and getting her into trouble or by
