Personal Responce to Hamlet
Essay One - Question 1 Personal response to Hamlet and its enduring power of Shakespeare's Characterization Shakespeare's characterization of the characters allows the exploration of ideals that are relevant to all human beings regards of context. In "Hamlet" Shakespeare uses the characterization of Hamlet to examine the human quest for answers about death, duty and the opposing forces of moral integrity and the need to avenge his father. This essay will bring characterization to the forefront in response to how it has shaped the play of "Hamlet". A great deal of characterization of Hamlet is presented through the use of soliloquies. In his soliloquies, Hamlet shows his true feelings of dejection and disillusionment. The soliloquy starts with a supposition, "O that this too too sullied flesh would melt, thaw, and resolve itself into a dew". Hamlet is clearly seen as an escapist as he wants to run away from his duties and responsibilities. Here, he again gives the audience the impression that he is aware of his flaw. His wish to commit suicide is expressed clearly, but he knows he can't do so as it goes against the laws of God. "That the Everlasting had not fixed his cannon 'gainst self-slaughter." Life has become a very futile exercise for him, where nothing seems to be holding his interest anymore. It has becomes very colorless and meaningless. We notice all this when he
Why does Hamlet still matter?
Why does Hamlet still matter? Rebecca Glover ________________ The play Hamlet composed by William Shakespeare approximately 400 years ago, remains relevant to the contemporary world due to its philosophical contemplations of the human condition, and what it is to be human. Hamlet explores the transience of life, and the consequences madness has in regard to suicidal tendencies and whether it is best “to be or not to be”. Further, Shakespeare integrates the concept of the revenge, tragedy, a factor Hamlet is renowned for; and the physical and psychological obstacles such a deceit one must conquer in their ultimate search for the truth, elements which remain pertinent to society today. Shakespeare’s exploration of the complexity of the human condition is explored through his main character Hamlet’s divided consciousness, and the perpetual calculations of how he sees himself, or how others perceived him to be; all of which are notions present in the adolescent members of society today. It is through the exploration of themes such as filial relationships, Hamlet’s self-perception in regards to his inaction of revenge, Shakespeare’s soliloquies and various literary and drama techniques which demonstrate this to the contemporary audience. Hamlet is contacted by his associates; Bernardo, Marcellus
Death of a Salesman: Is Willy Loman a tragic hero or a tragic victim?
Lara Jackman 2AA. Mr. Roberts Is Willy Loman a tragic hero or a tragic victim? Centre No:49005 Candidate No:7244 The "quintessential American tragic hero"1 or "a passive victim of corrupted propagandist society"2; this is just one example of the conflicting views surrounding Arthur Miller's Willy Loman in "Death of a Salesman". Consumed with a flawed vision of the American Dream, this character is certainly a contemporary figure and his life remains symbolic and relevant to this day with regards to the pitfalls of capitalist values, as it was fifty years ago. Indeed, Willy Loman is unique in the sense that it is difficult to categorise him as one particular character stereotype; it depends on the individual's point of view. Some critics argue that he is neither a tragic hero or victim, but rather a "victimizer of himself and others"3 and "a coward"4. Certainly, there are numerous interpretations that have been explored over the years and it is due to the wide scope for analysis Willy offers that "Death of a Salesman" remains a favourite to discuss amongst critics to the present day. The idea of Willy Loman as a "tragic hero" has been the subject of heated debate for decades. Some of the classic features of a tragic hero, as determined by Aristotle, can undoubtedly be applied to Willy Loman and therefore support the idea of a heroic
Theodore Adorno's notions of 'standardisation' and 'pseudo-individualism' might be applied to contemporary pop music - Do you see any problems or shortcomings from this approach?
Basing your discussion on an analysis of at least 2 contemporary artists or bands, consider the ways that Theodore Adorno's notions of 'standardisation' and 'pseudo-individualism' might be applied to contemporary pop music. Do you see any problems or shortcomings from this approach? Popular Culture has enticed much research; with the increase of media studies there are a number of minds picking apart what they see. With icons filing up and saturating mediums such as television, magazines, radio stations to name a few, the celebrity filled industry is undoubtedly causing a stir amongst the masses. Theodore Adorno (1903-69) emigrated to England in 1934 to escape Nazism. He lived in the United States of America for 10 years, (1938-48) before returning to Frankfurt, where he was a member at the 'Frankfurt Institute of Social Research'. Theodore Adorno was a key figure in the study of popular music and had intrinsic Marxist view on the capital nature of society. Adorno believed that the culture industry "is the central agency in contemporary capitalism for the production and satisfaction of false needs". (Adorno, T and Horkheimer, M. 1977, p349). He argues that popular music is a mass-produced and shallow standardised part of the culture industry. This would suggest that all aspects of popular music including types of songs, song lyrics and parts of songs e.g. chorus,
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
The World of words in Wilfred Owens Anthem For Doomed Youth and Dulce Et Decorum Est
The World of words in Wilfred Owen's 'Anthem For Doomed Youth' and 'Dulce Et Decorum Est' Good morning everyone/teacher. Today im going to talk about the world of words in Wilfred owen's anthem for doomed youth and ducle et decorum est. Words are nothing but the voice of human feelings and emotions. They depict anger, love, despise, acceptance, optimism, pessimism and the list goes on but for a poet, a writer, it is an outpour of his sensitivity. The poet under consideration here has his own special way with words and he expresses an entire galaxy of emotion through well chosen and with arranged words Wilfred Owen was a poet who was widely regarded as one of the best poets of the World War one period. The war poetry, written between 1793 and 1815, was idealistic and also patriotic. Owen started writing anti-war poetry but later he too became a firm supporter of war. The two poems which I am going to be comparing and contrasting are all inspired by war. The poems are Anthem for Doomed Youth and Dulce et Decorum est. Wilfred Owen's poetry has expressed his outrage of war and the sheer pity of the sacrifices of young soldiers made in battle. The patriotic view of war and religion are questioned repeatedly in his poems. He also ponders the purpose for the existence of the human race. Techniques such as juxtaposition, similes and metaphors are also employed into the poems to
Assess the view that religion is a conservative force within society (40).
Assess the view that religion is a conservative force within society (40). A number of sociologists argue that religion is a conservative force in society, that is, it produces stability not change within society and it reinforces the shared needs and values of society. For some sociologists this is a positive effect - the view of consensus theorists, for others it is a negative one - the view endorsed by conflict theorists. Durkheim is a consensus theorist, sometimes referred to as the father of functionalism, he supports the view that religion is a conservative force in society, reinforcing the existing society of society. He argued that religion should not be explained in terms of human ignorance, but as a result of shared social needs. He adopted a broad definition of religion throughout his analysis and defined it as a unified belief system of beliefs about the nature of sacred things. For Durkheim, shared religious belief systems were central to societal consensus as they set rules for social interaction and offered social solidarity and value consensus. In his book, "Elementary Forms of Religious Life", he examined the sources of order and stability in society and highlighted the part that religion played in sustaining this order. Durkheim viewed religion as being a major source of social integration - all religious activity has one main function - the
Hardware and Software -IT
Hardware The system requires certain pieces of hardware in order to run properly. These include the following areas of hardware: I have used Excel to create the project. For the actual system for the party planners I would specify the use of a more up-to-date PC system such as a dell vostro 1525 with an Intel core i5 processor system running Windows 7 as the quality of the output will be better and the planner may need to run several versions at the same time. A monitor is required for the system as an output device to display images. CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) monitors are big but have strong screens with glass screens that don't get damaged easily. However, they make quite a lot of heat and noise. They also take up a lot of space due to their size. The more common monitors are the thin TFT (Thin Film Transistors) monitors that take up less space as they are smaller than CRT monitors. They also make less heat and noise than them, but these monitors are more sensitive and a sharp object can permanently damage the screen. Even the colour and contrast isn't as good, which has dull pictures. For JJ party Planners, the best monitor would be a TFT because it takes up less space and makes less noise. The sales assistants won't damage the screens or need high quality pictures so a TFT monitor would be fine as it doesn't cost too much now. The system is more than fast enough,
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
Is Iago The Perfect Villain?
Othello Essay 'Is Iago the perfect villain?' Few Shakespearian villains radiate evilness and jealously quite as much as Iago, the unbeknown nemesis of the play's title character, Othello. In other plays written by the bard of Avon the villains can come across as one-dimensional- weak, personified by a flaw in their genetic make-up or unattainable ambition yet Iago is a far more complex and compelling character. True, he has the power to both betray and murder those he once worked alongside, but Iago isn't the complete cold-blooded murderer in the same sense of Macbeth or King Claudius from Hamlet. True, he meticulously plans the death of Cassio but he plans it to be by hands of Rodrigo, his puppet. In the end opportunity presents itself to Iago and he seizes the moment to stab Cassio in the back but the blow fails to kill him. Iago also reveals a moral conscience through his three soliloquy's which I will explore in more detail later. In short Iago is like no other of Shakespeare's villains which makes him an utterly compelling and absorbing character. And like the other characters in the play, Iago delights in absorbing us, the viewer... The tragedy of Othello was believed to have been first performed in the early 1600's and is one of Shakespeare's more famous plays. The play is also rich in historical context and features the Moorish race heavily, leading many to believe
