Shylock - villian or victim?
Shylock has been very badly treated by certain Christians and he yearns for revenge. He goes too far when he seeks the life of his main persecutor, but he is essentially, an intelligent, dignified man who can no longer bear to be humiliated. Long before Shylock plotted against him, Antonio seemed to take a pride in spurning Shylock, treating him in public with rudeness and contempt. This type of behaviour appears to contradict with the rest of his character. You would imagine that such a man would instinctively shrink from insulting anybody so grossly, but Antonio seems proud of it and tells Shylock that he will probably abuse him again, 'spit on him again and spurn him, too'. In 'The Merchant of Venice', Shakespeare does not treat Shylock as simply evil for evil's sake. He makes him human. Shylock has good reason to resent Antonio. He says: 'You call me misbeliever, cut-throat dog, and spit upon my Jewish gabardine, and all for use of that which is mine own,' When Shylock shows a seeming kindness to Antonio he takes it as a sign that 'The Hebrew will turn Christian: he grows kind'. Kindness in a Jew is beyond Antonio's conception. Christians alienate Shylock simply because he is a Jew. In ancient, medieval, and Renaissance times, Jews almost always encountered prejudice from non-Jews around them. Scholars are divided on whether Shakespeare, in The Merchant of
Although centuries old Romeo and Juliet is still relevant today. Do you agree or disagree with this statement?
Although centuries old Romeo and Juliet is still relevant today. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? I strongly agree with this statement the reason being, the story of Romeo and Juliet shows arange of emotions and issues that people from any age, gender or background are able to relate to. This is one of many reasons why the story is such a big success in today's culture. Shakespeare's story is focused on the two young lovers that can't be together and all the anguish that surrounds them, this is true as it follows on in to day's society. At the beginning of the play Shakespeare lets the audience have an insight to what the play may be about, he does that in such a way through the prologue which is featured in the beginning of the play. "From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, where civil blood makes civil hands unclean" this quote shows how Shakespeare intrigues the audience interest by letting the audience question themselves on What the grudge is about. In every young age people have fallen in love against their parent's wishes. Shakespeare has shown this when Romeo sneaks his way into Capulet party, his great enemy, once there he set his eyes upon on Juliet and says ("Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night") and he fall's head over heels for her as she does for him, once Romeo and Juliet found out about
Romeo and Juliet : Development of Juliet's Character
DISCUSS THE DEVELOPMENT OF JULIET'S CHARACTER This essay is about Juliet's character and I am going to talk about how her behaviour develops towards Romeo, her Nurse, and on her own respectively. In the prologue we are informed that, 'a pair of star crossed lovers take their life,' [line 6, prologue]. This is to make us feel sympathy towards Romeo and Juliet. We also have to remember Juliet is only 13 at the start of the play and little more than a child; but she has potential to mature during the course of the play. Act 1 Scene 5 is the first encounter between the lovers. In this scene I think Juliet is clever just doing enough to keep Romeo interested, 'Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much,' [line 99 act 1 scene 5]. She is obviously infatuated with Romeo and behaves coquettishly towards him, 'for saints have hands that pilgrims' hand do touch,' [line 101 act 1 scene 5]. Romeo and Juliet use religious imagery towards one another because in an Elizabethan times religion was their most important thing, 'This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this,' [line 96 act 1 scene 5]. In this scene the religious imagery is used to woo each other and is formed into a sonnet emphasising their love. Act 2 Scene 2 is the famous balcony scene of the lovers. In this scene I feel Juliet appears immature although she is in a difficult situation. 'Romeo, Romeo, wherefore
How is conflict presented in Macbeth and Dulce et Decorum Est and make comparisons
Conflict is extremely influential every day all over the world. It can be from the smallest contrast of opinion to the wars in Afghanistan and Syria. Conflict is a key theme in William Shakespeare's Macbeth. It is evident throughout the play from the initial dialogue which is an example of nature in disharmony 'thunder, lightning and rain' to the end of the play where Macduff is jubilant about his execution of Macbeth 'Hail, king! For so thou art: behold, where stands the usurper's cursed head: the time is free' The witches are the source on the majority of the conflict throughout Macbeth. They are unnatural creatures who are constantly associated with negative imagery 'upon the heath' 'thunder, lighting and rain'. They introduce the physical aspect of conflict in the play by saying 'When the hurly-burly's done, When the battle's lost and won'. When Macbeth and Banquo meet the witches in Act One, Scene Three, Banquo describes them as 'So wither'd and so wild in their attire' and that they 'look not like the inhabitants o' the earth' they deceive the stereotypical women as again Banquo says 'Upon her skinny lips: you should be women, And yet your beards forbid me to interpret, That you are so.' As well has looking extraordinary these women speak of extraordinary prophesies for both Macbeth and Banquo. Macbeth is a character that is accustom to war and violence. We learn of
How might a Jacobean audience see certain events in MACBETH differently to a modern one?
How might a Jacobean audience see certain events in MACBETH differently to a modern one? Four hundred years ago in the time of the Jacobeans, beliefs then were very different from what they are today and this had impacts on the way Jacobean audiences interpreted certain events in Shakespeare's plays. This essay sets out how some events might be interpreted differently in Macbeth. Bad things that happened to people were blamed on the supernatural like curses, witches and ghosts e.t.c. First of all was the whole idea of witches. For everything bad that happened to people, witches were blamed for them. Witches were seen as real people who had magical powers and could do almost anything. In Macbeth the witches appear at the very start of the play and accompanying them was thunder and lightning. The Jacobeans see that type of weather to be a bad omen and meant forces of evil or bad things were coming, whereas nice weather meant good things were going on. Today we see bad weather as being caused by scientific reasons; to do with air pressure for example. It has nothing to do with any events happening in the world. In Act 1 scene 2, the witches go on to create a massive thunderstorm. A Jacobean audience would believe this really happened because they thought witches did actually have the power to do that. Nowadays, a modern audience would see that as simply just made up, because we
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
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
Compare the ways in which Franco Zeffirelli and Baz Luhrmann present key scenes in Romeo and Juliet and say which one you preferred and why.
ROMEO AND JULIET Assignment: Compare the ways in which Franco Zeffirelli and Baz Luhrmann present key scenes in Romeo and Juliet and say which one you preferred and why. -- The scenes that I am going to compare and focus on are: The starting of both versions - Act 1 sc I The main fight scene with Romeo, Tybalt and Mercutio - Act 3 sc I The ending of both versions - Act 5 sc III We have watched two versions of 'Romeo and Juliet'. One was made in 1968 by a man called Franco Zeffirelli and was set in Verona, in the middle Ages. The other by Baz Luhrmann made in 1996. This version was set in America and is very modern and has more visual and graphical effects. The stars in the Zeffirelli version were Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting. The Luhrmann version starred Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. One of the main differences between the two versions of 'Romeo and Juliet' was the opening. The Zeffirelli movie had quite a slow opening, in contrast to fast and furious opening of Luhrmann's version. Both films used Shakespeare's play properly, but their outcomes were very, very different. Zeffirelli's version of the opening was set in a market square, whereas Luhrmann's opening was in a petrol station. When the Montagues and Capulets have a confrontation in Zeffirelli's film, the argument is quite courteous, in a mocking way. But in Luhrmann's
Interpretations of Hamlet
Write about the many different interpretations of Hamlet. Over the years many differing interpretations of hamlet have come to the forefront. The audiences over time have experienced immense themes with deep internal and external meaning. It is apparent that over time all relevance has remained the same and thus allowed the creation and recreation of 'Hamlet' to remain as relevant as it was in the Elizabethan era. The different interpretations have allowed 'Hamlet' to survive the test of time with differing perspectives forming new ideas that are prevalent in the tragedy of 'Hamlet'. There are many different 'Hamlet's' all with there own personal meanings and interpretations. In this entry I will be outlining the main interpretations that have thrust interest upon me and thus the reason I will be outlining them with contrast to the original play of 'Hamlet'. The easiest and most widespread interpretation of the play is to view the character of Hamlet as a victim of external pressures, faltering to his own internal desires. Hamlet's tragedy is not a result of his believed weakness or flaw or even his mistakes in regards to judgment and action but ultimately the intolerable situation which has been thrust upon him - the situation of a murderous uncle. With the murder of his father apparent and the hasty re-marriage of his mother to his enemy, Hamlet is unable to turn to
Much Ado is a play of wit, deception and slander. Although the play consists of many other themes, nature is probably
The contradictions of Human nature "Much Ado about nothing" is all about nature. The word nothing is derived from noting, the Elizabethan pronunciation. The central importance of noting, eavesdropping has been remarked. Much Ado is a play of wit, deception and slander. Although the play consists of many other themes, nature is probably the most significant topic. Shakespeare has explained nature exploring a variety of different techniques. Much Ado is a romantic comedy and also a probable sharp attack on superficial society. At the beginning of the play Benedick imposes the dullness of marriage, which is quite ironic as he inevitably becomes "Benedick the married man." Beatrice however occupies an obsession with death because of her entrapment within a court she cannot respect. She has no patience with all the military hyperbole and the dominion of men thus she has segregated herself from all the courtly ceremony and custom. The play is claustrophobic as spies are hidden in its many rooms. Scenes of togetherness in one room are followed by those of conspiracy in another, which emphasises human isolation and vulnerability. In other words actions mean consequences. Claudio's conventional lover's exaggeration to Hero indicates his estrangement from his natural desires. The denunciation scene takes place at the altar of a chapel, which exaggerates the huge power of
