'How does Shakespeare present Shylock to the audience as both a stereotype and a complex character?'
'How does Shakespeare present Shylock to the audience as both a stereotype and a complex character?' The merchant of Venice is about a Christian merchant called Antonio; he is well respected and highly thought of. His friend Bassanio needs some ducats and Antonio being the caring friend that he is, lends money from Shylock, a Jewish usurer. Antonio makes it clear to Bassanio that if he can't afford to pay him back, then he doesn't have to. Shylock has had abuse from Antonio and the other Christians, just because he was a Jewish usurer. Shylock is abused throughout the play for example he was spat on and called names, both examples of physical and verbal abuse. So, when Antonio is in need of money he goes to Shylock, we would've thought Shylock would be reluctant to help Antonio, but Shylock has an ulterior motive. He knew that Antonio had ships at sea and that if those ships sunk, Antonio would have no matter to pay back the loan. Shylock decides that if Antonio doesn't pay back the 3,000 ducats that he lends him in three months, and then he is entitled to one pound for Antonio's flesh. This will obviously kill Antonio. Antonio hates having to lend this money, but he is desperate to help his friend and Shylock knows that he is in a strong position. An audience of the time would at this point perceive Shylock as a callous Jew. However, an audience of today would understand
'How is Love Presented in Romeo and Juliet in Acts - 1 Sc 5; 2 Sc 2 and 3 Sc 5.
"Romeo and Juliet" By -William Shakespeare In this essay I will concentrate on the love aspect in one of William Shakespeare's most popular tragedies, written during the 16th century - Romeo and Juliet. This essay will mainly concentrate on three key scenes and these are as follows - Act 1 Sc 5; Act 2 Sc 2 and Act 3 Sc 5. In these scenes I will show how Shakespeare portrays the love aspect in Romeo and Juliet - and in these scenes it is shown in a clear, clever and coherent way. Shakespeare shows this cleverly by the use of stage-craft and dramatic irony to show clear organisation of characters on stage when the play is being acted to a large number of audience. Even the structure in which the scenes are organised can be interpreted,noticed and referred to by the audience as the play graduates. Not only this; the ingenious linguistic features that Shakespeare uses can be used to show tension,timidness, love and even happiness. This essay will give a thorough analysis of the three ways in which Shakespeare portrays the love aspect. Structure, stage-craft, language and some cultural issues that might can show this. During Act 1 Sc 5, in terms of structure, Shakespeare has the audience waiting until this scene to introduce Juliet and the two lovers together. Shakespeare does this in order to inform us, the audience, about the history of both the Montagues and Capulets
In this essay I shall be discussing the differences and similarities between two film versions of Shakespeare's tragic play "Romeo and Juliet".
Romeo and Juliet essay In this essay I shall be discussing the differences and similarities between two film versions of Shakespeare's tragic play "Romeo and Juliet". Before hand I will have analyzed the text from three sonnets "The Prologue", "Lady Capulet's praise of Paris" and "The lovers first meeting". I will have given some information on the sonnet form and structure and also briefly explained the sonnet tradition. I will then move onto producing a film-based version of the three sonnets using my own ideas. Finally I will end my essay and conclude what I have learnt and enjoyed. A Sonnet is a 14-line verse with the rhyming scheme AB AB CD CD EF EF GG. Shakespeare had a style of verse called Iambic Pentameter, this is alternating stressed and un stressed syllables. These contain 10 beats in every line. Iambic is a Greek word and means pattern of stresses in each line and Pentameter is a Latin word mean 5 pairs of stresses to each line. They were very popular in the time under the rule of Elizabeth the first. The language in Romeo and Juliet shows strong influence of an Italian poet named Petrach who lived 1304 to 1374. He was very popular with English poets in Elizabethan times. The English poets drew on Petrach's themes and styles writing about courtly love such as in Romeo and Juliet, Romeo loves Rosaline an unattainable unrequited love; this shows very strongly
Analyse the Macbeth's marriage during the play, and explain why and how it changed
Analyse the Macbeth's marriage during the play, and explain why and how it changed Lady Macbeth and Macbeth act in partnership to benefit their own goals. They are locked together by destiny and both have the seed of foul ambition growing in their corrupt minds. Although we are made to believe Lady Macbeth is the only one willing to act underhandedly to gain power, Macbeth too would be willing to murder. They rely heavily on one and other, something, which is demonstrated whenever; the marriage slowly disintegrates after Duncan's murder. It is important to consider the audiences initial view of Macbeth and how this changes as we learn more about him. The first impression of Macbeth given to the audience is from the Captain. The Captain calls Macbeth "brave" and says, "well he deserves that name." This is the very first time that Macbeth is described in the play and we are given this impression of a strong, valiant and true man, all just from the word "brave." The Captain goes on to describe how Macbeth fought- "Disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel, Which smoked with bloody execution." The Captain goes into more detail here and we are given a vivid image of how Macbeth fights and how important he is to the Scottish army. The way his sword "smoked with bloody execution" gives this message across to the audience. The emotive word "smoked" gives the impression
Romeo & Juliet.
Romeo & Juliet I will go through my essay scene by scene as I think this is the most effective and more efficient way of comparing the two different versions of the story and thus answering the task question. I will start by giving an introduction of both stories. First of all, the Zefferelli version. His version of the Shakespear play is set around the time that the play was written by Shakespear around 1599a.d. Secondly, Baz Luhrman´ s version made in the 1990´s and set in the 1990´s. The key scenes I will be studying are: The Opening Act 1 Scene 1 The Ball Act 1 Scene 5 The Balcony Act 2 Scene 2 The Fight Act 3 Scene 1 Ending Act 5 Scene 3 The Opening - Act 1 Scene 1 The opening scene in the Luhrman version is set in a typical U.S gas station. It is a busy and open area, much like the market setting portrayed in the original script, which is also busy. This is very clever of Luhrman because he is trying to modernise the original setting without losing the feeling of an open and busy area. A market square in modern America would be very strange. In the Zefferelli version, the director has tried to replicate the setting and atmosphere of the original, using a typical market square from the time that the play was written, this might seem to the audience as a more 'realistic´ version of the play as the film is trying to be more identical to the original play. At
Examine the ways in which Shakespeare creates comedy for the audience in Act 3 Scene 4 of Twelfth Night
Examine the ways in which Shakespeare creates comedy for the audience in Act 3 Scene 4 Shakespeare creates comedy for the audience in a variety of ways during Act 3 Scene 4 of Twelfth Night, some techniques more subtle than others. These comic devices generate humour throughout the play through, in the eyes of the Elizabethans, outrageous puns based on the high or low status of the characters, play on words, dramatic irony and many other means. Shakespeare uses such comic devices in many of his famous Comedies, such as 'A Midsummer's Night's Dream', 'Measure for Measure' and 'As You Like It'. Shakespearean comedies often include a mix of tragedy and humour, although this tragic side could be seen as a modern interpretation of Elizabethan humour, or perhaps just an attempt on Shakespeare's part to experiment and blend together two contrasting genres of play. Either way, the mix of humour and tragedy is one of the factors that singles out Shakespeare's work as original and timeless. All Shakespearean comedies have five acts, of which the climax is the third act. This is certainly true for Twelfth Night, because this is the act in which the main plot, the sub-plot, and all of the confusion, comes to a head. Shakespearean heroes are often only introduced in the very early stages of the play through the conversation of other characters. Their personalities are nearly always
Character Analyses - King Lear
Character Analyses King Lear Lear is the protagonist, whose willingness to believe his older daughters' empty flattery leads to the deaths of many people. In relying on the test of his daughters' love, Lear demonstrates that he lacks common sense or the ability to detect his older daughters' falseness. Lear cannot recognize Cordelia's honesty amid the flattery, which he craves. The depth of Lear's anger toward Kent, his devoted follower, suggests excessive pride-Lear refuses to be wrong. Hubris leads Lear to make a serious mistake in judgment, while Lear's excessive anger toward Kent also suggests the fragility of his emotional state. Hubris is a Greek term referring to excessive and destructive pride. In the ancient Greek world, hubris often resulted in the death of the tragic, heroic figure. This is clearly the case with Lear, who allows his excessive pride to destroy his family. Throughout the play, the audience is permitted to see how Lear deals with problems. He is shocked when people do not obey as they have in the past, since Lear is king and he expects to be obeyed. However, instead of dealing with issues, Lear looks to the Fool to distract him with entertainment, to help him forget his problems. He has been insulted and demeaned as king, but he is not prepared to face those who are responsible. Instead, Lear often responds to problems with anger and outbursts of
Romeo + Juliet - The Opening - Act 1 Scene 1.
Romeo + Juliet By Rupert Pemberton The Opening - Act 1 Scene 1 The opening scene in the Luhrman version is set in a typical U.S pertol station. It is a busy and open area, much like the market setting portrayed in the original script, which is also busy. This is very clever of Luhrman because he is trying to modernise the original setting without losing the feeling of an open and busy area. A market square in modern America would be very strange. In the Zefferelli version, the director has tried to replicate the setting and atmosphere of the original, using a typical market square from the time that the play was written, this might seem to the audience as a more 'realistic version of the play as the film is trying to be more identical to the original play. At the start of the scene in the Luhrman version we see the first of our families, the Montagues. They seem like typical American youngsters having fun in their car with the music turned up. They pull into a gas station and all seems well until the second family arrives, the Capulets. They seem more suave, they are smart looking Latinos, and they seem serious compared to the fun loving colourful Montagues. This is a good way of showing the differences between the two families. However in the Zefferelli version we see the Montagues and Capulets enter a traditional market square similar to one in the original play, we don t
The exact date of the publication of 'Julius Caesar' is not absolutely certain. However, most critics agree that the play was written sometime between 1598 and 1608 - during, or just after, the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
The exact date of the publication of 'Julius Caesar' is not absolutely certain. However, most critics agree that the play was written sometime between 1598 and 1608 - during, or just after, the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. 'Julius Caesar' is the first of Shakespeare's three Roman Plays, the other two being 'Antony and Cleopatra' and 'Coriolanus'. As with his other Roman Plays, 'Julius Caesar' is based on Plutarch's 'Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans' from a translation by Sir Thomas North in 1579 from an earlier French version. The two texts have only minor differences - the majority of the plot is taken from Plutarch and most of the speeches, most significantly excepting Antony's famous oration, are North's words in verse. The play is also greatly influenced by the Elizabethan attitudes prevalent at the time for example, superstition. Several anachronisms are used in the Play - for instance, "...he plucked me ope his doublet". Elizabethans wore doublets; Romans wore togas fastened at the shoulder. The character of Julius Caesar particularly fascinated the Elizabethans. He was a soldier, scholar and politician and he was the first Roman to realise the benefits of a monarchical empire - like England was at the time of Elizabeth I - over a democratic state. To add to the intrigue surrounding him, he had also been killed by one of his closest friends. In the 6th
Are Romeo And Juliet Responsible For Their Own Demise
Are Romeo and Juliet responsible for their own demise? William Shakespeare, regarded widely as the greatest author in history is the man behind the famous love tragedy 'Romeo and Juliet', which is widely represented as an ideal for young lovers. It is one of his greatest works during his prime. Written in the 16th century, the story contains the sheer power of love, fate, time, society, and family conflicts. Two passionate lovers from opposing families try to achieve the impossible by striving to unite amongst the harsh surroundings. However, they fail so miserably that they end up killing themselves but leaving a deep mark on both families so as to unite them. In this essay, I will consider the variety of reasons why the two 'star-crossed lovers' Romeo and Juliet died. For one to judge how responsible the two are or the role of parents and parent substitutes are in this tragedy, other important characters and issues must also be taken into account. I will divide this essay into three main parts: Romeo, Juliet and fate (and the ones they were not responsible for) because these three were equally responsible for the catastrophic disaster. First, I shall analyse Romeo. He is definitely responsible for his own demise and in fact several others. He is as guilty as a thief. Nevertheless, there is pure evidence of his gentleness and kind heart for e.g. he fulfils Paris' wish by
