Shakespeare's A Winters Tale Scene by Scene Analysis.
Shakespeare's A Winters Tale Scene by Scene Analysis Scene One establishes characters and situation. We learn that the kings of Sicilia and Bohemia have been good friends since childhood, and that Sicilia has a young prince who shows great promise. Although Archidamus is not particularly important as a character, Camillo is one of the play's most important characters. From his praise of his king and his prince, we see that he is a faithful and patriotic courtier, full of love for his position. He is an ideal advisor, happiest when he has a good ruler to serve. In Scene Two, Shakespeare gives us a deep psychological portrait of Leontes. Directors control the level of the flirtatiousness between Hermione and Polixenes in productions of The Winter's Tale, but an important part of the characterization of Leontes is that his fears are not grounded in any real impropriety. The less proof he has, the more crazed he becomes. Although people at court speak often of how much Mamillius resembles him, he persists in the delusion that the child's paternity is questionable. And when his most trusted advisor insists that Hermione is innocent, his rage shows unequivocally that he will not have his delusions questioned. He dwells obsessively on the idea of being a known cuckold, a man whose wife is an adulterer, although Camillo's responses indicate that no one at court views the king that
It has been said that in "The Winter's Tale" Shakespeare dramatises the contemporary struggle between masculine and feminine power. In light of this comment, examine the presentation of the relationships between men and women.
It has been said that in "The Winter's Tale" Shakespeare dramatises the contemporary struggle between masculine and feminine power. In light of this comment, examine the presentation of the relationships between men and women. Since the beginning of time a struggle for equality has been present between masculine and feminine powers. The biblical stories of creation have often been used as an excuse to mistreat women. The mythical story of "The Garden of Eden" has been used to display women being easily seduced into wrong doing "The woman saw how beautiful the tree was and how good the fruit would be to eat... so then she took some of the fruit and ate it"; how women corrupt men into wrong doing; "Then she gave some (fruit) to her husband, and he also ate it," this illustrates women's dependence on men, "made him cultivate the soil from which he had been formed". Also because the male was created first "God took some soil from the ground and formed man out of it" and is often thought of as being the perfection of creation, where as the female is a helper "he formed woman out of the rib (Adam's.)" Even after the Women's Social and Political Movement, the work that the women achieved during the World Wars and the feminist movement of the 1960's political, economical and social, inequality still exists. The search for equality began through the work of Chaucer in the "Canterbury
"The Winter's Tale" written by William Shakespeare.
Angela Lau Professor Emily Sherwood Eng 354: Shakespeare May 12, 2006 The book "The Winter's Tale" written by William Shakespeare in the years between 1608 and 1612 is a tragicomedy. It is an imaginary world where Bohemia has a seacoast and where Greek oracles and Renaissance sculptures coexist. It offers three acts of tragedy, followed by two acts of acts of comedy. In between, sixteen years pass hastily which serves to highlight the disparity of theme, setting and action between the two halves of the play. The first halve is set in winter, reflecting the destructive power that mistaken jealousy exercises over the family of Leontes, King of Sicilia. In the second half, flower- strewn spring intervenes, and all the damage that the king's folly accomplished is undone through a miracle, as a statue of his dead wife comes alive and embraces him. Scene one is about how Polixenes, King of Bohemia, visits his childhood friend, Leontes, King of Sicilia. Polixenes wants to return to his Kingdom and Leontes cannot convince him to stay. On Leontes´s behalf, Hermione, Leontes´s wife, finally convinces him to stay longer. Leontes becomes jealous. "My heart dances, but not for joy, not joy" [p, 58; ll. 110- 111] and suspects a romantic relationship between his best friend and his wife. Being sure that they have deceived him, Leontes orders me one of his Lords, an honest man named
Response - Status.
UNIT 1: RESPONSE Our first few lessons were based on "Status". We were placed into pairs, where one person was A, who would play the dominant role in the scene. We were given a different situation each time, where there was clearly one person there with more authority. We had to improvise a scene lasting about thirty seconds. Then we ended each scene, by marking the moment with a freeze-frame, so we could return back to the scene later. Then we changed partners and situation. One of the situations we were in was when I took on the role of a schoolteacher, who was questioning a pupil who had done something wrong. I was marching around the pupil, forcing her to admit the truth. My partner, Linzi, denied it all and was clearly upset that she had been accused. The scene came to a still and when we returned later, I revealed to Linzi what she had supposedly done, taken Mr Piggy off the shelf. This added a punch line to the scene and as it was a spontaneous improvisation, Linzi hadn't a clue what I was accusing her of. So when I told her, she and I both had to communicate with each other well so the scene would flow on. This activity enabled me to work with others more easily and with more confidence. We worked in three's and we were given a situation, where one person was being interrogated, about what was for us to decide. This activity allowed us to take on dominative roles.
"The Winters Tale is not so much about the triumph of time but the triumph of women" Examine Shakespeare's presentation of the female characters in the play and assess the significance of the play for a modern audience
"The Winters Tale is not so much about the triumph of time but the triumph of women" Examine Shakespeare's presentation of the female characters in the play and assess the significance of the play for a modern audience The Winter's Tale is a play that focuses on the strength of women; this is not unusual for Shakespeare as his plays often contained strong willed and strong-minded women, for example; Lady Macbeth and Katherine from Taming of the Shrew. What is unusual however is the success of these plays in a male dominated society, a society that saw women as inferior and had adopted a negative attitude towards females of strength, including their own queen, Elizabeth, whose 44 year reign had ended not long before The Winters Tale was written. Shakespeare admired Queen Elizabeth for her strength in such an oppressive society. She was single-handedly responsible for turning "the weakling of western Europe" into a strong and powerful nation, consequently defying the opinions of many who believed that as a female she would make an incompetent leader. Shakespeare mirrored Queen Elizabeth's strength in Hermione, Perdita and Paulina's actions. It has also been suggested that Shakespeare wrote The Winters Tale in honour of Queen Elizabeth so that it could be performed in celebration of her reign and her triumphs. This reinforces modern critical interpretations of the play that
How does Shakespeare present relationships between men and women in The Winter's Tale and how would these relationships be perceived by both a Shakespearian and a contemporary audience?
English Literature Coursework How does Shakespeare present relationships between men and women in The Winter's Tale and how would these relationships be perceived by both a Shakespearian and a contemporary audience? The Winter's Tale was written in 1611, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The play is one of Shakespeare's romance titles, though it could be more justly referred to as a 'tragi-comedy' due to the instances of accusation, death, repentance and reunion. To successfully study how Shakespeare presents relationships between men and women in The Winter's Tale there are four main relationships to examine - Hermione and Leontes, Paulina and Antigonus, Perdita and Florizel, and Leontes and Paulina. Shakespeare's view of women, and generally the Elizabethan view, suggested that women had less capability for evil - can only assist in a man's corruption or downfall, evidence for this can be found by examining particular types of literature from this period, such as T.E. (?)'s didactic 'The Law's Resolution of Women's Rights'. Likewise in The Winter's Tale, only to a lesser extent, women can be seen as temptresses. Hermione was the supposed adulteress in The Winter's Tale. Many would argue that Shakespeare depicted the condition of women within a patriarchal system and created female characters, which in their richness transcend the limitations of his time.
English Coursework Amy Tongue
English Coursework Amy Tongue 'The Winter's Tale' Title of coursework: Discuss Shakespeare's portrayal of women in Act 3 scene two of 'The Winter's Tale'. Shakespeare's play 'The Winter's Tale' was written in the Victorian era. At this period in time there were many etiquette laws that dictated a person's actions in every situation. These laws were mainly manners and morals, such as how a gentleman should treat a lady. Throughout the 1800's and even into the early 1900's upper-class citizens in both the United States and some parts of Europe followed such rules. They existed for things such as courting, weddings, business, visits to the home and every type of social engagement. Etiquette laws told people how to behave 'properly' and how to act when with other people. Women were expected to be weaker than men, having timid and very 'girly' characters. They had to be loyal and obey their husbands, treating them with great respect. On the other hand men had more power and were stronger than women. In 'The Winter's Tale' Shakespeare uses these ideas in his portrayal of women. He created contrasting females, showing one character to be a typical Victorian lady who followed the etiquette laws and another lady who is very different to the stereotypical 17th century woman. This can clearly be seen
Explore the role of women in 'The Winters Tale'
Explore the role of women in 'The Winters Tale' "Intelligence without power" Women play a very important part in the play, without being obvious they have control over the men. Women then, didn't have any power and so achieved their goals by being cunning. They were able to be superior by using their intelligence to outwit the men. Hermione is established as a confident and friendly character early in the play. When Polixenes says he must return to Bohemia, Leontes tries in vain to make him stay. He asks for Hermione's opinion. "Tongue-tied, our queen? Speak you?" He instinctively relies on her and trusts in her influence as a hostess. He values her opinion highly. Hermione feels happy and secure in her position and is able to speak her mind. She tells Leontes she was going to keep quiet until he "had drawn oaths from him not to stay". She speaks in a tone of warmth and friendliness and tells Polixenes he will stay whether it is as her 'prisoner' or 'guest'. "Your guest, then, madam" Hermione continues to joke with Polixenes about sexual "sin" "Th' offences we have made you do we'll answer, If you first sinned with us, and that with us You did continue fault, and that you slipped not With any but us." Hermione's use of "we" in "your queen and I" could be misinterpreted by Leontes as the royal we, and implying that she has sinned with Polixenes. This happens in
“A sad tale’s best for winter. What then is the value of the comic elements of The Winter’s Tale?”
Shakespeare: The Winter's Tale "A sad tale's best for winter. What then is the value of the comic elements of The Winter's Tale?" The Winter's Tale is a play of extremes of character, mood and genre, the play therefore cannot easily be categorised. As a result, in considering a question such as this we must be conscious of the fact that we are measuring the comic elements' relative value against, for example, the tragic or romantic sides of the play. The comedy must therefore be gauged in the context of the piece as a whole. Contextually, comedy was of course very important in contemporary live performance as it is today on stage. It is often easy to forget that a playwright can and will blend genres, a technique that modern critics will often explain away as a method to increase tension. For example, it has been said that the comedy of the drunken porter in Macbeth does not vitiate but rather increases the tragic momentum.1 These sorts of effect are undoubtedly achieved; this fact does not however diminish the spontaneous comic value of a moment in a live performance. The term 'tragicomedy' has been has been employed to describe The Winter's Tale and plays similar in genre-structure to, such as Pericles, Prince of Tyre. These plays tend to have more than just a glimpse of relieving comedy; the humour usually has a significant role in the development of the play and
How are women represented in "The Winter's Tale"? How might a modern audience react to this representation?
How are women represented in "The Winter's Tale"? How might a modern audience react to this representation? The Winter's Tale is a sixteenth-century comedy of William Shakespeare's containing many possibilities of a tragedy occurring throughout the play, such as when Hermione 'dies' and Perdita is left in an unpopulated area. The various female characters' representations are significant for the plot. More importantly, with the exception of Paulina, they are portrayed as being passive, obedient characters who are inferior to their male counterparts. A modern-day audience would perhaps disagree with the oppression of women evident within this play, but in the cultural context of Shakespeare's society, women were inferior to men and subsequently expected to obey them without question. The character of Paulina, however, is welcomed by the modern audience as being a more modern character who defends the rights of women, for example Hermione and the abandoning of Perdita. At the time Shakespeare wrote the play, women, more specifically Mary and Elizabeth I, had held the position of monarch in England and it is possible to suggest Paulina is the personification of a new contemporary idea of a female. Paulina, is portrayed as being very strong emotionally, as she is willing to stand up to Leontes and make him see his own faults, but she could also be considered extremely cruel for