How does Shakespeare make the Balcony Scene and the Death Scene in Romeo & Juliet Dramatically Effective?
How does Shakespeare make the Balcony Scene and the Death Scene in Romeo & Juliet Dramatically Effective? Shakespeare's famous play begins with a Prologue which establishes that this play will be a tragic one, and that the children of two families in constant quarrel ("ancient grudge"), Romeo of the Montague family and Juliet of the Capulet family, will both fall in love and die in the course of this play. The Prologue does not merely set the scene of Romeo and Juliet, it tells the audience exactly what is going to happen. The prologue lines 6 - 10: "A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life; Whole misadventured piteous overthrows Do with their death bury their parents' strife. The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love, And the continuance of their parents' rage," The audience therefore watches the play with the expectation that it must fulfill the terms set in the Prologue. The structure of the play itself is the fate from which Romeo and Juliet cannot escape. There are certain eternal themes that will always still be relevant in any old play, things like love/hate/death/romance/jealousy and pain, there are still families who dislike and argue over each other. Families who often argue teach their younger generation to dislike the other family causing them to altercate and kill each other out of spite and hatred, and people still make stupid choices in
Is Prospero a power obsessed tyrant or an egalitarian?
Is Prospero a power obsessed tyrant or an egalitarian? The play 'The Tempest' portrays one mans fight to bring justice to those who have betrayed him in life. This character, Prospero, once the rightful duke of Milan, was overthrown by his brother, Antonio, and is now hell bent on seeking revenge. Throughout the play, there are elements of tyranny, egalitarianism and autocracy. Although these three elements are present, it is my opinion that Prospero is overall an autocrat. I will now explore the character of Prospero and show why I believe this. Prospero and his daughter Miranda where set adrift into the Mediterranean Sea after he was overthrown. Once Prospero arrived on the island, he immediately imprisoned two people, Ariel, an airy spirit, and Caliban, a monstrous creature. Ariel her self had already been imprisoned by Sycorax, an evil witch, when Prospero reached the island. When he found her, Prospero freed her but in return made her his magical slave. Although Prospero has imprisoned Ariel he is not tyrannical in his nature. He has not used force or death to manipulate her and cannot therefore be branded a tyrant. Prospero also says 'I will discharge thee', when his work has finished. If he is willing to free Ariel after her purpose is served then he is not being tyrannical in imprisoning her as a tyrant would not free one of his captives. He cannot be an egalitarian
Prospero is a powerful character. What impression does the audience get of Prospero in Act 1, Scene 2?
Prospero is a powerful character. What impression does the audience get of Prospero in Act 1, Scene 2? Prospero throughout the entire play has the power over everyone on the island. He maintains this power through the use of his magic and thus gains supremacy over the natural world. He also has a parental authority over his daughter, and this is illustrated in Act 1, Scene 2 when he tells her about how they came to be on the island. Prospero also has control over Ariel, due to his magical powers and also due to the fact that Ariel feels indebted to him for rescuing him. Prospero's authority could lead the audience to see him as a dictator. However, it is important to analyse Prospero's power to gain a balanced view of what the audience would conclude. At the beginning of Act 1, Scene 2 we find Miranda and Prospero on the shore of their island, looking out to sea at the recent shipwreck. Miranda asks her father to do anything he can to help the poor souls in the ship. Prospero speaks gently saying, "tell your piteous heart there's no harm done", and then assures her that everything is all right and that he has done "nothing but in care of thee". He goes on to tell her that it is time she learned more about herself and her past, saying "'Tis time I should inform thee further". He reveals to her that he orchestrated the shipwreck and tells her the lengthy story of her past.
What are your first impressions on Hamlet in Act I scene II?
What are your first impressions on Hamlet in Act I scene II? The first impressions on Hamlet vary with the audience, as some people see him as a misanthropic character, whereas others see him as a character of dignity, intelligence and sensitivity, also someone beyond his time. The atmosphere he provides though is very distressing, not only towards the audience but towards the characters, especially his rival Claudius. He can be seen as someone who separates the idea of reality and appearance. Everyone sets the allegiance towards Claudius their king, except Hamlet, when everyone has removed their mourning clothes except Hamlet, who is still wearing his "nighted colour," and Gertrude asks "Why seems it so particular with thee?" Hamlet responds to her question by using the word "seems", which Shakespeare used to represent appearances, and Hamlet says it twice in a single sentence, and he says he cannot pretend, but rather, must be what he is. Shakespeare might have intended to use "seems", because the idea of appearances is important, as I mentioned, but to show how Claudius might be the antagonist. His mood shows how misanthropic he can be, but also can be seen as sensitive by other people, as he has taken the 'forms, moods, shapes of grief' which are true for him. Though his emotions may seem to be those of an actor due to Gertrude's viewpoint, he is not acting at all,
How do Hamlet's Soliloquies reveal his Changing thoughts and Moods throughout the play?
How do Hamlet's Soliloquies reveal his Changing thoughts and Moods throughout the play? The play Hamlet is basically about life and death. We see this through the character Hamlet. Hamlet's character is not one dimensional, their are many sides to his personality. We can tell this by the way his mood varies throughout the play. Only in the soliloquies does Hamlet reveal his true self, and we 'the audience' begin to develop a better understanding of his complex character. A soliloquy is a speech in which a character (in this case Hamlet) reveals to the audience his thoughts and feelings which he is unable to express to other characters in the play. So in other words, soliloquies give a voice to Hamlet's thoughts. This is why soliloquies are so important, because a character can express his most inner thoughts with out judgement from fellow characters in the play. The three soliloquies I have studies are like signposts in the play. They guide us through Hamlet's mind at different points in the play. The main focus of my analysis will be on different actor's interpretations of this play, as well as the actual content and language of these three different soliloquies. The first soliloquy I am studying is in act one scene two. In this first soliloquy Hamlet talks about how if it wasn't for god's laws (sixth commandment, a religious law), he would committee suicide. This is due to
Discussing dramatic devices in Hamlet.
Hamlet In Shakespeare's play "Hamlet" there is a lot of dramatic devices. This causes tension because the guards of the Norwegian royal family are very jumpy as they think there might be another attack. However young Hamlet is going to avenge the death of his farther. Then tragedy strikes when everyone dies. A heavy dark atmosphere is established at the start of act one, scene one. By using, questions such as "Who's there?" Gives the impression that the guards are cautious, and scared. Also, "You come most carefully upon your hour." This implies that Bernardo came quite quietly and discreetly, and that Francisco is scared. This makes you wonder why they are scared, is there going to be another war? Why are they being careful? This draws in the audience and makes them ask questions. Elizabethan audiences strongly believed in ghosts, so by taking advantage of this, Shakespeare has used certain techniques to introduce a ghost. This would engage the audience because they would strongly believe. Also the use of the word "thing" in act one, scene one gives the impression that they don't know what the ghost is. For example when Marcellus says "what has this thing appear'd again to-night?" This tells us that he is scared; however he isn't aware of what he is scared of. Marcellus also refers to the "dreaded sight" this is a form of emotive language because the sight he is seeing is
How does Shakespeare in Act One create an atmosphere of uncertainty & duplicity
How does Shakespeare in Act One create an atmosphere of uncertainty & duplicity? "Tush! Never tell me...thou, Iago, who hast had my purse/ As if the strings were thine, shouldst know of this." Ingeniously Shakespeare captivates the audience's attention immediately. The audience are propelled into a conversation exposing one man's disbelief regarding news he has received, that is yet to be divulged to the audience. Tension is aroused from the very start, stimulating an atmosphere of uncertainty, spawning a hungry desire for the audience to uncover Roderigo's misfortune. Roderigo asserts that Iago has had a free reign with his money, his unsettled manner is directed at Iago. Thus, Shakespeare has contrived the introductory scene to foreshadow Iago's character as a treacherous swindler. Moreover, Roderigo must have had a generous amount of faith in Iago to confide and trust him with his money. It remains ambiguous at the beginning of Act One as to whether or not Iago and Roderigo are close companions or business associates discussing a deal, or a mutual arrangement of some sort involving money. Subsequently, the audience learns of Iago's passionate loathing for a character who is talked about in sarcastic and bitter undertones. Throughout Iago's speech he makes reference to him: 'make me his lieutenant,' 'Off-capped to him,' and 'But
Discuss the Role of the Witches in Macbeth
Discuss the Role of the Witches in Macbeth 04/05/10 Introduction The witches are used to make an evil genre to the play. The witches represent chaos, conflict and darkness, which are features of tragedy also the witches are called the 'Wyrd Sister'. They are also witness and agents to Macbeth's downfall, if Macbeth hadn't believe them, he might not have killed Duncan. The witches had supernatural powers like controlling the weather, due to the fact every time the witches are present in the scene there is always thunder or lightening which creates a spooky atmosphere. The 'Wyrd Sisters' can see the future, like when they tell Macbeth that he will be "Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor and The king." The play begins with three witches meeting in a 'desolate place'. They agree to gather again when the battle is over and meet Macbeth. They seem to know the future and chant strange words, creating a very spooky atmosphere. Their presence in the first scene creates an evil atmosphere there is thunder and lightening. Shakespeare use pathetic phallacy to enhance the sense of evil, the witches create. Shakespeare uses rhyming couplets like, "hurly and burly". They use rhyming couplets in this giving a rhyming effect. In Act 1 Scene 3, Shakespeare once again presents the witches as 'instrument of darkness' by having them discuss the mischief and evil they have created, which tells the
Shylock - Victim or Villain?
Shylock Victim or Villain? By Pritesh Dave 10M The Merchant of Venice is a very racially controversial play. This is because the plays main story is about racism towards Jews. In the days of Shakespeare, many of the people were anti-Semitic. The Jews were just starting to migrate to England and the racism towards them was motivated by their success. The Christians believed that the Jews were "aliens" and they shouldn't be involved in the Christian was of life. Also, the Jews in Britain were extremely successful, some more than the Christians. They were allowed to lend money and charge interest, as it was not forbidden by the Jewish religion like it is for Christianity. During the 16th Century, many plays were written which involved Jews. The Jews played a "stock character". They were normally villains or a comic character. The Christians who would play the Jews in the play would dress up in traditional Jewish costume and would speak in an exaggerated accent. This would instantly indicate that this character was the villain or the comic character. The audience would boo and jeer at this character. At the end of his play this character would be made a fool out of and would lose most or everything important to him/her. For example, the Jew would die, the Jew would lose his daughter or wife, he would have his money and land taken or he would be forced to change religion. They
romeo and juliet coursework
EXPLORE THE WAYS THAT SHAKESPEARE MAKES ACT1 SCENE 5 OF ROMEO AND JULIET DRAMATICALLY EFFECTIVE. Romeo and Juliet is probably one the most famous tragic and romantic plays ever to be written. It is set in Verona, Italy, whose ruler is Prince Escalus. He is the law as well as the judge. His main objective is to stop the ancient feud between the Montagues and the Capulets, the two families of Verona from which Romeo and Juliet come from. We can learn from this that any type of marriage between the two families was very unlikely and so the love between Romeo and Juliet would be a secretive and tragic affair. We also know that there is tragedy in the play from the prologue: "From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life; Whose misadventur'd piteous overthrows Doth with their death bury their parents' strife." Before Romeo and Juliet meet in Act 1 Scene 5 the audience already has a rough idea about their characters. They know that Romeo is a love struck youth that is bowled over by Rosaline, a young Capulet girl. His youthfulness has been shown to the audience through his state of confusion through love when he is talking about Rosaline to Benvolio, his cousin. Juliet is portrayed to the audience as an obedient young girl who obeys her parents fully and is not prepared to argue. She will do whatever they say as long as
