William Shakespeare and his life.
Question 1: William Shakespeare and his life Very little it known about William Shakespeare's early years. There is no record of this live birth, but all that is known is that he was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in April of 1564. But there is record of him being baptized on the 26th of April, and since he died on the 23rd of April, most historians say that he was born on April 23rd, the same day he was born. William's parents were John and Mary Shakespeare. His father held very high position in the little town. He was a whittawer and was a member of the city council, then constable, chamberlain, alderman, and the high bailiff (almost town mayor). A record of steep debt pulled John out of the high position and was kicked out of church for not paying his debts. Mary mothered 8 children, including William. William was the 3rd child and the first son. He would have attended Stratford's grammar school, of course, like all other records of the time, any documents proving his attendance have been lost. On November 28, 1582, a town bishop issued a wedding bond for William "Shagspeare" and Anne Hathaway. Anne was three months pregnant at the time of the wedding and 8 years his senior. On May 26, 1583, Susanna, their first child, was baptized. Two years later, Anne gave birth to twins, Hamnet and Judith, Hamnet wouldn't live past the age of 11. Their isn't any record known record
Imagine that you are the director of a production of Macbeth. Write a an imaginary transcript of the sort of conversations/advice you would give to your actors in preparing to stage act 2 scene 2.
Imagine that you are the director of a production of Macbeth. Write a an imaginary transcript of the sort of conversations/advice you would give to your actors in preparing to stage act 2 scene 2. - Now David and Kelly. This is a very important scene and there are a lot of things to consider. - "Kelly you are the key into building tension at the beginning of this scene. The words need to be spoken in anticipation, you are awaiting your husband and are unsure whether Macbeth, (David), has done the 'deed', perhaps you could pace up and down the room." "This needs to be good, because it shows the point at which both your characters change." "Macbeth after Lady Macbeth (Kelly) has spoken the first opening paragraph, - That which hath made them drunk hath made me bold; - What hath quench'd them hath given me fire. - Hark! Peace! - It was the awl that shriek'd, the fatal bellman, - Which gives the stern'st good-night. He is about it - The doors are open; and the surfited grooms - Do mock their charge with snores: I have drugg'd - Their possets, - That death and nature do contend about them, - Weather they live or die. The phrase you speak after this, 'who's there? What, ho' needs to be quick, but with a pause after 'who's there?' Ok Macbeth? "The audience already knows that you, (nods at Macbeth) have been persuaded by your wife to murder King Duncan, in only a
Why Oedipus is a Tragic Hero?
Why Oedipus is a Tragic Hero? The play Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles, combines many wonderful characters with dramatic ironies. One of the most interesting and important character of the play is Oedipus. People often debate whether he is a tragic hero or not. According to Aristotle's five steps of tragic hero, Oedipus is a true tragic hero. The first step of tragic hero is one must be noble stature and greatness. To become a tragic hero, Oedipus must be over the others. "Great Oedipus, O powerful King of Thebes!" (pg 4) Oedipus is the King-the King of Thebes. At the end of the play, he's not the King any more; however, he has the King's blood. "O Oedipus, most royal one!"(pg 66) No matter he is the King or not, he is the most royal one after all. Tragic heros are not perfect, and Oedipus is far away from perfect. "How can I believe you?"(pg 33) Oedipus does not listen to other people's advice and he does not believe what he could not see. That's the reason of Oedipus being rude. The falling of tragic hero is caused by himself/ herself. Oedipus killed his father and married to his mother. He may not realize he did that, but his sin is done by himself. "We heard her call upon Laios, dead so many years, And heard her wail for the double fruit of her marriage, A husband by her husband, children by her child."(pg 68) Her mother's death is indirectly caused by him. Of course,
Coalbrookdale Sources Question
History Coursework Coalbrookdale Question 4 Study Sources G, K and L. Use the evidence of these sources and your own knowledge, to explain the importance of good communications to the success of iron production in the Coalbrookdale area. It is clear from these sources that the importance of good communications was emense in Coalbrookdale and to the success of iron production. In source G, Abraham Darby II's wife Mrs Abiah Darby writes that Abraham Darby was the author of many improvements. This means that he improved the transport system in Coalbrookdale for the use of his production. He made roads with sleepers and rails as she says and this would have been very useful because the wagons could carry vast amounts of goods down the roads in an easy journey whereas before, he had just uses ordinary roads and ordinary horse and carriage. Another benefit of this is that the 3 horses that pulled the new wagons could carry as much as twenty horses could previously so the improvements were massive and this is why Abraham Darby was such a good innovator. Perhaps the most important factor was the discovery of Coke for smelting. As Abiah Darby says, the Coalbrookdale iron trade, or the Darby's iron trade in particular would have dwindled away if it weren't for this discovery as woods for charcoal would have been totally used up in no time. This is important to realise because the
Macbeth, Act 1 Scene 1
Robert Nixon GCSE media - Macbeth, Act 1 Scene 1 This scene of Polanski's film "Macbeth" features 3 witches. He has to try and convey this to the audience that they are real witches, and has to make them appear that they are not normal people, because people would not understand who or what these people are, but also not so they are stereotypically like a witch that the audience would find them comical. In Shakespeare's time, witches were believed to exist as real people that lived in communities in England and Scotland, so when it was performed on stage in those times, it was not hard to convince the audience they were witches. Then, witches were perceived by society as evildoers and were responsible for crops failing or other such things that they could not explain, so they used witches as scapegoats to blame it on. Many thousands of people were executed for such deeds, despite there not being any proof of them doing anything. Nowadays, witches are perceived very differently than the way they used to. They are now regarded as figures of a comical nature, often imagined to have pointy hats, broomsticks and pet cats, and appear in such things as fairy tales and pantomimes. This is why Polanski must be wary of these stereotypes, as he wants the audience to realise that these are people who are evil, and not something to be laughed at. Polanski had a lot of material from the
Shakespeare coursework - Macbeth. The supernatural is vital to the plot and the actions of the characters in Macbeth. As a director of a film version, how would you put across this influence to your chosen audience?
Shakespeare coursework - Macbeth. The supernatural is vital to the plot and the actions of the characters in Macbeth. As a director of a film version, how would you put across this influence to your chosen audience? In this essay I am going to explain how I would go about directing the first two witches' scenes in Macbeth. I will sum up why I am doing a certain action, for example the symbolism it has and what relevance it has to the witches. First of all I need to know some background about the impact of witches on peoples lives at the time in which it was written. Macbeth was written in 1606 in the time of the Elizabethans when the supernatural was in the forefront of many peoples' minds. Witches were the objects of morbid and fevered fascination. In each village of Elizabethan England the 'evil' goings on were blamed on the old spinster who owned a black cat and never came out of the house. The witch. They were punished or interrogated by being forces to sit on a stool and then 'ducked' in the river. If they floated then they were a witch and if they sank then they weren't a witch but most died of drowning anyway. There were many famous witch hunts at this time and everyone was scared of them. In 1604 an act of parliament decreed that anyone found guilty of witchcraft would be executed. Many people who watched Macbeth saw the witches as a sign of evil and hatred.
How do different productions of "Macbeth" convey the themes of the play and portray the witches?
James Gallimore How do different productions of "Macbeth" convey the themes of the play and portray the witches? In Shakespeare's "Macbeth" the opening scene conveys the themes of reality, illusion, fate, destiny, good and evil. These themes can be conveyed through the way the director, producer and editor produce the film. In Orson Welles' version of "Macbeth" is a horror. The mise-en-scene in the opening scene is the cauldron, the rocks and the witches. The cauldron connotes the themes of supernatural and evil. The witches connote evil and the supernatural. And is iconicity because of the way the witches are shown as old women with screeching voices suggests they are evil. The scene starts with mist which is slowly zooming out. This connotes the idea of mystery, which links with the theme of evil. This then dissolves into a shadowed set consisting of 3 figures (the witches) and some rocks. The dissolve links the two scenes because it merges them together and links the witches with mystery and evil. There is a zoom into the mist, which creates turmoil and confusion, and then this fades into the cauldron, which is bubbling. This connotes the idea of creating life from water, which would be supernatural. The cameraman keeps using zooms and jump shots to create confusion and this is put
Are we meant only to laugh at Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream, or does he express some more serious wisdom?
Terence Landman Drama Exercise Student Number: A Midsummer Night's Dream 605L2621 Friday 12 August Are we meant only to laugh at Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream, or does he express some more serious wisdom? In this exercise there will be an in depth analysis of Bottom the weaver and to what extent his folly may morph into wisdom of various sorts. This exercise will attempt to describe how Bottom is both foolish and wise (wise in his foolishness and foolish in his wisdom). The exercise will also analyse the parody found within the texts spoken by Bottom and that of Corinthians and the possible implications it might have on the level of wisdom to which Bottom can be judged. Bottom's monologue in act 4.1.211 line 205- 207 states the following: " The eye of man hath not heard, the ear of man hath not seen, man's hand is not able to taste, his tongue to conceive, nor his heart to report what my dream was!" If we compare this to the King James version (1611) of 1 Corinthians 2: 9-10 we can see, to a large extent, that they are extremely similar and is indeed a parody: "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his spirit: for the spirit searches all things, yea, the deep things of God" The Geneva Bible (1557) however
Discus, in detail, how you would play John in Dennis Potters, Blue Remembered Hills.
Discus, in detail, how you would play John in Dennis Potters, Blue Remembered Hills. I am going to discus how I would play John in scene 16 of Blue Remembered Hills. Firstly John is a seven year old boy so I would have to talk with a much higher voice. Also he is from the Forest of dean so I would have to talk with a West Country accent I can also see this from the colloquial language Potter has used to write the play. So I would try and maintain this throughout the scene. Young children find it hard to stay still they are almost always moving or fiddling with something. I would have to keep this up throughout the scene. Young children also loose focus easily and get distracted by little things that they might see so when John is not doing anything I would pick up something and play with it. John has the highest status in the play as he and Peter had a fight and John won. I would have John wearing grey school shorts, a white t-shirt and old scruffy black shoes to show they are the only pair he has and he cant afford a new pair. At the beginning of scene 16 John, Willie, Raymond, Audrey and Angela have heard the siren to show a prisoner of war has escaped and they have found a hollow and jumped into it to hide. They have been running so they are out of breath so I would have John gasping for air for the first few seconds of the scene. I would have the two girls
Shakespeare as a Real Man in Shakespeare in Love
Pavlína Tejcová - 6th year Independent Readings Doc. Milada Frankova, CSc., M.A. 30 August 2004 Shakespeare as a Real Man in Shakespeare in Love Shakespeare has been presented in myriad versions, from the traditional to the almost unrecognizable. Directors and actors have adapted him as long as his plays have been performed. Some feel that without Shakespeare´s original poetry, audiences are robbed of the opportunity to experience the cleverness, poetry, and majesty of the language - Shakespeare´s genius. Others feel that modern adaptations don´t challenge viewers and offer weaker plots and less complex characters. Shakespeare in Love combines in a way both. The film applauds the brilliance of Shakespearean writing through the lines directly taken from Shakespeare, while at the same time exploring a fictional depiction of his true love and life. When you deconstruct the script, Shakespeare in Love is built in perfect Shakespearian form. Virtually a Shakespearean plot in itself, it mixes a great story with bits and pieces of history (whether fact or not); lies and deception; mistaken identities; a couple of swordfights; and of course a passion that can only end badly. For hundreds of years we have been hunted by the question: "Who was the real Shakespeare?" Literally thousands of pages have been dedicated to uncovering the facts about Shakespeare´s identity, but