Is Puck a Knavish Sprite or a Malign Spirit?

Is Puck a Knavish Sprite or a Malign Spirit? This question is asked since, throughout the play Puck partakes in a variety of different situations that display his personality and character; he plays a main role and features significantly in the view of the audience. The issue may be debated because there is sufficient evidence indicating that he is both a knavish sprite and a malign spirit. The mystery of Puck begins to tease our brains in Act 2 Scene 1 where his conversation uncovers primary details of him being a 'knavish sprite'. 2:1 L33 states exactly that. Also the fairy continues to regurgitate the knavish tricks Puck often inflicts: Are not you he That frights the maidens of the villagery (2:1 L35) The fairy then proceeds to reveal that he is known to, Mislead night-wanderers, laughing at their harm (2:1 L39) These activities may seem immature but, as the fairy acknowledges the fact that he laughs at their harm, the audience may now believe that he bears no respect for his innocent victims. This cruelty may hint at an abuse of his powers but, more drastically, the hint of a malign spirit. Puck then resists the attempt to deny these allegations although he unleashes more confusion as to what sort of person he really is by assuring us, I am that merry wanderer of the night. I jest to Oberon, and make him smile (2:1 L43-44) This statement may now make us review

  • Word count: 1635
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Drama
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Concentrating on The Presentation of Character Setting and Sound Examine What Seems to You to be Significant Features of Baz Luhrmann's Style of The Opening Scene of Romeo + Juliet Baz Luhrmann has a reputation of making excellent films

Concentrating on The Presentation of Character Setting and Sound Examine What Seems to You to be Significant Features of Baz Luhrmann's Style of The Opening Scene of Romeo + Juliet Baz Luhrmann has a reputation of making excellent films and is known for his camera always moving. He likes doing close-ups, zooms and slow motion shots . As he has grown more secure of his position as a director, and has got a higher budget, his camera and editing have merged into a sort of helter skelter style that blends the emotional and poetic in ways that appear new and revolutionary. Luhrmann says that there are three basic things about his films: the story line is simple, the world created in his films is one of a heightened reality, there is always a specific device driving the story whether it be song or dance etc. Luhrmann did the prologue so he could show the audience the current story of what's going on and what the story is about. He needed to have strong images because at that point most of the audiences ears' won't be in tune with the Shakespearian text. He repeated just so anyone who missed it the first time would hear it this time and people that heard it before would understand it more thouroughly. The prologue is probably one of the most important parts of the film as it is a summary of what is happening and what happens throughout the film. Luhrmann manages to juggle

  • Word count: 1497
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Drama
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The opening scenes of Shakespeare’s plays

In order for us to look closely at the opening scenes of Shakespeare's plays, it is first necessary to look at the period in which they were written. The theatres and audiences that Shakespeare wrote his plays for also have to be taken into account. Even to modern audiences, with access to new age technology, Shakespeare's plays are still extraordinarily effective and have stood the test of time remarkably well, but to 16th century audiences they were the best form of entertainment around. The theatre of the 16th century had developed from the courtyards of inns. Prior to the time of William Shakespeare, theatres, in the modern sense of the word simply did not exist in England, travelling players would go from town to town performing in castles, mansions and stately homes, but more often than not they would perform in inn courtyards. The Globe, Shakespeare's theatre was modelled on these inn courtyards. Just like a courtyard it had three levels, the main stage, and the first and second balcony. There were doors on the stage for entrances and exits and a trap door. The trap door symbolically represented Hell and characters that were thought to be evil or associated with Satan would come onto the stage through the trap door. Similarly the higher the level the more it would be associated with Heaven. The purpose built theatres allowed the stage to become the focus of the whole

  • Word count: 1486
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Drama
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Performing "Snow White"

Nicole Daniel 1 Clitherow Written Examination Drama Essay- Part 1 This coursework is going to be based on an extract from the play "More Grimm Tales" which was formerly written by "Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm" and "Wilhelm Carl Grimm" but later on adapted by Carol Ann Duffy. My group and me are performing "Snow White" which is an extract from "More Grimm Tales", In the play I perform two parts they are the part of the prince and three different dwarfs, as the prince my character is bold and courageous it is my duty as the prince to rescue Snow White and make her my bride. My role as dwarfs is to perform them in with different personalities. The personalities I have to I have to be performing are sleepy, happy, and doc. In my coursework am going to be describing the similarities and differences between the text and performance of "Snow White" and "The complete works of William Shakespeare", I am going to pay great detail to the social, historical, and cultural aspects of the texts, I will also be making comparisons with the designs, styles, characterisations and ideas within the plays. The play "More Grimm Tales" is a European folklore tale, which was written in the 19th century it incorporates the fairytales of the "Grimm Brothers". The story was developed and adapted by Carol Ann Duffy who rewrote the story in 1953 and turned them into play form, the play I am performing

  • Word count: 1444
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Drama
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Discuss the role of the Mechanicals and the significance of their play in this text

Discuss the role of Nick Bottom and the significance of his portrayal in this text The significance and role of Nick Bottom is made prominent by Shakespeare. This is due to the fact that the play he is in is relevant not just to the text, but also to Shakespeare in terms of his personal life and in historical context. Nick Bottom is part of the mechanicals who are a group of six men who meet to rehearse and later perform a play. Five of the mechanicals are performers and one is a narrator. Nick Bottom plays Pyramus in this play. It is based around two characters that fall in love; however circumstances prevent them from seeing each other. The play is to be performed for Theseus and Hippolyta at their wedding. The Mechanicals are a group of six men who would have been examples of ordinary men in Shakespeare's day. People's reaction to the play in Shakespeare's day is important in the analysis of this play. The mechanicals are significant to the overall play in their resemblance to amateur actors of the Shakespeare's time. Shakespeare depicts the mechanicals as stereotypes of amateur actors of his day who were usually extremely poor. This is illustrated in the play through the unprofessional portrayal of Bottom. This is highlighted by the point in the play when Nick Bottom talks to the audience: 'No, in truth sir, he should not. 'Deceiving me' is Thisbe's cue. She is to enter

  • Word count: 1400
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Drama
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What similarities are there between Friar Laurence and the Nurse and the functions they perform in Romeo and Juliet?

What similarities are there between Friar Laurence and the Nurse and the functions they perform in "Romeo and Juliet"? There are many similarities between the vital roles played by the Friar and the Nurse that become increasingly apparent during the play "Romeo and Juliet". These similarities mainly revolve around the very parental figures of the characters, in the way that they look after and are treated by both Romeo and Juliet. The Nurse is a wet nurse, who was brought into the Capulet household by Juliet's mother to feed Juliet. In the 16th century a wet nurse was a mother who had recently lost her own child and is still able to feed a baby; this enables the true mother to prepare for another child and to make life easier for herself. The Nurse behaves as more of a motherly figure to Juliet throughout Juliet's life than her true mother does; she calls her, "Prettiest babe" This helps to show how fond of Juliet she truly is; she then also goes on to say; "And I might live to see thee married once, I have my wish." Seeing their child get married is usually something that a mother looks forward to in life, seeing that their own daughter has grown up. The fact that the Nurse has this dream, not her mother, truly does show how much of a mother the Nurse is to her, it also shows how the Nurse does truly think of Juliet like her own daughter, this means that Juliet is a lot

  • Word count: 1274
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Drama
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William Shakespeare was an English playwright and poet who lived in the late 1500's and early 1600's.

Introduction William Shakespeare was an English playwright and poet who lived in the late 1500's and early 1600's. His plays are now performed all over the world in hundred of languages, and he is known as one of the greatest writers of all time. The reason his work is so popular is, Shakespeare wrote about human nature and how people behave. Although his words can be hard to understand, his ideas are as relevant now as they were four centuries ago. Shakespeare's Childhood William Shakespeare is generally accepted as the cleverest user of words in the world. He was born at a particularly fortunate moment in the history of English. William Shakespeare was born on 23 April 1564, in Stratford, which is 100 miles northwest from London. William Shakespeare was the eldest son, and third child of eight, because his elder brothers were dead in few years after their birth. (You can see it in Romeo and Juliet too). His father John Shakespeare was a glove maker. His mother, Mary Arden, had some land and money of her own. Even though they weren't rich, they were quite comfortable in their life. Stratford was a small market town surrounded by green fields. William went o Stratford Grammar School, when he was seven. A school day was 11 hours long and he had to go six days a week. Later on he revealed this, as he hated it. Shakespeare's childhood name was Will. In that time his

  • Word count: 1230
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Drama
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As a director of a production of "Three Sisters" outline your ideas for an effective performance of Irena & Toozenbach's final scene together (Act IV). Explain in detail what you would want your actors to do.

As a director of a production of "Three Sisters" outline your ideas for an effective performance of Irena & Toozenbach's final scene together (Act IV) Explain in detail what you would want your actors to do Caroline Bruce In Irena and Toozenbach's final scene together, Toozenbach is saying goodbye and telling Irena how much he loves her, after being interrogated by her as to where he was leaving to. He starts to describe everything around him as if it were the last time he was to see it and as he leaves, as if trying to put Irena's mind at rest after she tries to come with him, he asks her to tell the servant to make him some coffee for when he returns. In this scene Irena and Toozenbach would have a lot of awkward silences, as especially Irena seems to be quite uncomfortable with the relationship between them, whereas Toozenbach would be quite jumpy and stutter a lot as he is about to go into a duel against a very experienced duellist and has to come up with a lot of explanations as to where he is running off to. As Irena and Toozenbach enter, the actor would be speaking at a moderate pace, and at an average volume, between themselves, but not so that nobody else can make out what they are saying. When Irena pauses, in her first line, I would ask the actor to turn and look around, as though looking for something to make conversation about. Then, when she continues with

  • Word count: 1219
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Drama
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Shakespeare - Globe Theatre.

Shakespeare - Globe Theatre THE MOST INFLUENTIAL WRITER in all of English literature, William Shakespeare was born in 1564 to a successful middle-class glove-maker in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. Shakespeare attended grammar school, but his formal education proceeded no further. In 1582 he married an older woman, Anne Hathaway, and had three children with her. Around 1590 he left his family behind and traveled to London to work as an actor and playwright. Public and critical acclaim quickly followed, and Shakespeare eventually became the most popular playwright in England and a part-owner of the Globe Theater. His career bridged the reigns of Elizabeth I (ruled 1558€"1603) and James I (ruled 1603€"1625), and he was a favorite of both monarchs. The Globe was the most important structure to Shakespeare's drama because most of his plays were to be performed on the stage of the Globe. Shakespeare was with this company for 20 years. The formation of the Lord Chamberlains men led to the building of the first playhouse, The Theatre. James Burbage built the "The Theatre," and it prospered for nearly twenty-one years. In 1597, James Burbage died, leaving the Theatre to his two sons Richard and Cuthbert who became managers. Things began to get rough for the Theatre after James died. The landowner Giles Allen caused an unexpected problem. Giles raised the rent and refused to renew

  • Word count: 1206
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Drama
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Shakesphere and The Renaissance

"....And since you know you cannot see yourself, so well as by reflection, I, your glass, will modestly discover to yourself, that of yourself which you yet know not of. " - William Shakespeare In 1564, the world gave birth to a bouncing baby boy, one of the most brilliant talents we have ever experienced. This newborn would bring us tears and laughs, blood and death, even suicide and incest. William Shakespeare was that bouncing baby boy, and did he give us so much to write about. The quote above, from Mr. Shakespeare, best explains the reason for this paper. It is about self discovery and wanting to learn more. Not just from a textbook, but from ourselves. Relating to material from the student's point of view is most important. Anybody can re-write the history of a person, but examining their true inner self is what makes Historical Character's so fascinating. William Shakespeare's early life is a mystery. Books and articles publicly state "Nothing definite is known about his boyhood. From the content of his plays, he must have learned early about the people he later portrayed with such good humor. As good writers do, he must have collected information both from books and from daily observation of the world around him." (Renaissance-faire.com/Renfaires) Just a small amount of information has been found by historians of many sources. Mr. Shakespeare attended

  • Word count: 1095
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Drama
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