Explore the conflicting responses, which the character of Shylock provokes in the audience. How does Shakespeare achieve this effect? Do you think Shylock is a victim or a villain?
Explore the conflicting responses, which the character of Shylock provokes in the audience. How does Shakespeare achieve this effect? Do you think Shylock is a victim or a villain? Written sometime between 1596 and 1598, The Merchant of Venice is classified as both an early Shakespearean comedy and as a problem play; it is a work in which good triumphs over evil, but serious themes are examined and some issues remain unresolved. In the play, Shakespeare wove together two classic folk tales, one involving a vengeful, greedy creditor trying to take a pound of flesh, the other involving a fight for the hand of a rich princess with a correct choice among three chests and thereby winning his companion. Shakespeare's writing of the first tale centres on the Jewish moneylender Shylock who seeks a literal pound of flesh from his Christian opponent, the generous, faithful Antonio. In Shakespeare's A Merchant of Venice, the character Shylock provokes conflicting responses in the audience. Throughout the play, Shylock is portrayed as being a greedy, malicious and bitter man, who is hated for his religion and his money lending. However, the audience is still able to recognise an injustice in the way he is treated. Shylock is shunned from society, principally because of his Jewish background. Therefore, the audience have conflicting feelings towards the character. Shakespeare achieves
How is Macbeth persuaded to kill Duncan: Is his wife entirely to blame?
How is Macbeth persuaded to kill Duncan: Is his wife entirely to blame? Macbeth begins by launching us into a meeting with the three witches. In terms of pure storytelling, this scene is unnecessary - it is only until scene three that we discover the true nature and role of the witches in this play. If one were to miss the first scene, one could follow the narrative still, without any difficulty. I felt that the logic behind the placement of the scene is twofold; to draw the crowd (especially James) in from the outset, and it also underlines the importance of the witches and the theme of darkness to the audience, as the first thing that the crowd see on stage will often be the most memorable. Witches were very much the scapegoat of the time, and much of the problems were blamed on them, and even in this play, all the problems can be traced back to the witches. The following scene is where the story truly commences. It is the first time that the audience have the opportunity to learn about the man who shares his name with the play, Macbeth, as the captain gives his report to the King Duncan. The Captain's words paint a very positive picture of Macbeth. After Macbeth single handily saved the Scots by killing the enemy Macdonwald by "unseaming him from the nave to the chaps" a fresh assault came. Note that in the Captain's speech, he calls Macbeth
The concept of fate - Romeo and Juliet
The concept of fate functions as a central theme in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. In the opening prologue of the play, the Chorus informs the audience that Romeo and Juliet are "Star ñ cross'd Lovers" (Prologue l.6). In other words, the Chorus states that Romeo and Juliet are governed by fate, a force often linked to the movements of the stars. Fate manifests itself in all the events surrounding the young lovers: the ancient and inexplicable feud between their families, the catastrophic series of mishaps which ruin Friar Lawrence's plans, and the tragic timing of Romeo's suicide and Juliet's awakening. The structure of the play itself rests upon the fate from which the two lovers cannot escape. The play opens with a brawl which erupts between servants of the Montague and Capulet families. This initial quarrel illustrates that the "ancient Grudge" between the two families runs so deep that it extends to the servants (Prologue l. 3). Upon their first encounter, Romeo and Juliet remain ignorant to the fact that they are the children of feuding families. Actually, the lovers meet by coincidence. Romeo agrees to attend the Capulet ball because he hopes to see Rosaline, and he consistently claims that no other woman can impress him. On the other hand, Juliet attends the ball to meet Count Paris and to see if she can love him. Before entering the ball, Romeo experiences a sense
Discuss the different types of love shown in romeo and juliet.
Discuss the different types of love shown in the play Romeo and Juliet In the play Romeo and Juliet many different types of love are shown. Love is displayed in many ways through friendship family and the love you have for a girlfriend or boyfriend. The first and probably most well known type of love is the passionate sexual and romantic love that is shown by the characters Romeo and Juliet. This type of love is unconditional and lasts forever as Romeo and Juliet would rather die than be without each other. Ironically Romeo and Juliet's love is everlasting as they have not had enough time to find faults with each other or to start to dislike one another's qualities in any way. They are still very much in love with each other on the day they die and so there was no time for their love to fade. Throughout the whole play, there are constant reminders to the audience how very much in love Romeo and Juliet are with each other. They are reminded how very much Romeo values Juliet as he is constantly referring to her as the light in darkness, that she stands out from everyone else. He sees her as the guiding light, her beauty standing out from everything else in his life. 'Oh she doth teach the torches to burn bright!' Here Romeo is describing Juliet as light in darkness. It makes her sound more beautiful than anyone else in the play. It gives the impression that when he sees her
'In his depiction of Richard III Shakespeare has created much more than a simple theatrical villain' Discuss
'In his depiction of Richard III Shakespeare has created much more than a simple theatrical villain' Discuss In Shakespeare's Richard III, Richard is undoubtedly a monstrous villain set out to seize the throne of England for himself in any way possible. He does this by ruthlessly killing people in line for, or even anything to do with, the throne. Shakespeare, however, albeit historically inaccurate, has created a man much more than what meets the eye. Behind his physical deformities lies a man of extreme intelligence and wit, who is very shrewd and crafty. He is a villain, but much more than an average villain. He is a deeply malicious monster yet significantly wise and perceptive. He gains the throne not simply by butchery but by intelligence and exploiting the weaknesses of those around him. The play tells us lots more about him. The opening speech made by Richard, probably one of the most famous speeches, informs us initially of the background to the play and sets the scene. It is a soliloquy - a speech delivered by a character alone on the stage to the audience. The opening four lines, containing at the start one of the two most well known lines in plays, tell us that the War of Roses between the House of Lancaster and the House of York is now over, and that Richard's house (the House of York) has prevailed and triumphed as the ruling house of England: Now is the
"The Merchant of Venice" was offered to Shakespeare's audience as a comedy. What problems does presenting the play to a modern audience present in portraying the character of Shylock?
English Coursework Gerhard Ruspi 7098 The Merchant of Venice "The Merchant of Venice" was offered to Shakespeare's audience as a comedy. What problems does presenting the play to a modern audience present in portraying the character of Shylock? "The Merchant of Venice" is a story of love and hate, power, control and inequality. It evolves around Shylock, a rich Jew moneylender who lives in Venice and Venetian Christians, which have constantly abused and humiliated Shylock. The moneylender tricks Antonio, one of his abusers, to sign a bond that will entitle him to one pound of his flesh if he doesn't pay back the money he borrowed in three months. Antonio borrowed this money to lend it to his friend Bassanio who needs it to try for the hand of Portia, a rich and beautiful heiress. After Shylocks daughter, Jessica runs away with a Christian and Bassanio wins Portia's hand, news come that Antonio's ships have been destroyed and he isn't able to pay Shylock in time. The spiritually wounded Shylock wants revenge and demands a pound of Antonio's flesh but Portia turns the tables on him during the court hearing. He not only doesn't get a pound of Antonio's flesh but half his wealth is confiscated by the venetian state and he's forced to become a Christian, the very thing that humiliated and reduced him. The reason Shakespeare's work is so popular today is that he
I intend to analyse and describe how Baz Luhrmann has converted William Shakespeare's written play of 'Romeo & Juliet' into a modern play.
INTRODUCTION In this essay I intend to analyse and describe how Baz Luhrmann has converted William Shakespeare's written play of 'Romeo & Juliet' into a modern play, I will show proof and understanding of how he has succeeded in bringing the play into the modern world. The play 'Romeo & Juliet' is known as a legendary romantic play written by a well-known writer named 'William Shakespeare'. This writer reformed the interest in poetry and plays, by experimenting with words and making his own technique of back-to-front words to mystify and play with the reader's mind and thoughts, which made his plays interesting for readers, this is how he changed English history and people appreciate his plays. William Shakespeare was born in 1564, the time when the famous scientist named 'Galileo' was experimenting with modernism. At the time of this famous writers birth, after a few years the 'Battle of Lepanto' started. During the birth of the writer in China the Ming Dynasty's pottery work was taking place. Shakespeare's birth was at a famous time as this was the time when the 'Renaissance' was occurring. The Renaissance was the rebirth of ancient culture and the period of when the European history had a renewed interest in arts. Literally the term renaissance means 'the rebirth', and this rebirth started in the 14th century and started spreading till the 17th century. From all
How do the Witches in Macbeth Reflect contemporary ideas of witchcraft? Are the Witches solely responsible for Macbeth's Downfall, or can you suggest some other Influence?
Nicholas Marshall 11A How do the Witches in Macbeth Reflect contemporary ideas of witchcraft? Are the Witches solely responsible for Macbeth's Downfall, or can you suggest some other Influence? When comparing the witches from the play 'Macbeth' to their image of the time we must first make clear what that image is. During Macbeth's time, the 17th century, there was a universal belief of witches. This belief was in the fact that witches were powerful and fearful, unlike their pantomime figures of today, and that they had extraordinary powers which the public couldn't understand. Using their power they would do evil things and so as a result the witches were hated. In the play, 'Macbeth', I will analyse in detail how the witches reflect this image and then with my accurate answer I will decide if the witches are solely responsible for Macbeth's downfall or if there were other factors involved. To get an image of the witches in Shakespeare's time we must first look at a contemporary source. 'The anatomy of melancholy' by Robert Burton is a good text source where a very specific image of witches is given. I will compare this to 'Macbeth's' witches to see whether they reflect Burton's ideas and consequently contemporary ideas. Within the text he mentions that witches can; "...cause tempests...make friends enemies, and enemies friends...enforce love, tell any man where his
How can blame be apportioned in “Macbeth”?
How can blame be apportioned in "Macbeth" The title of the play is "Macbeth". It was written by William Shakespeare around 1606 for King James I. This is a play of many opposites, especially good versus evil. Meaning that through this play there is always good opposing evil. In the period that Shakespere lived and King James reigned, there were people (Jacobeans) who believed in the existence of witches. Witch craft was very important in the days the play was witten because people strongly belived in witches and believed in their "powers". These people hated witches and could accuse anybody of being one just because they were different or had a mark on their body: this mark was seen as the devil's mark. When Lady Macbeth receives the letter at the beginning of the play her reaction when she reads her husband's letter is powerful and dramatic. As soon as she's finished reading, she has decided she will make sure Macbeth is king "Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be What thou art promised." It's as if she and her husband are thinking exactly the same thing. She does not hesitate for a moment. Lady Macbeth does for her husband what he cannot do for himself: she encourages him to take chances, to further his ambitions at any cost, to do things no other man would dare. And he follows, spurred on by her sheer enthusiasm and daring. In the early scenes we see her in
What different types of love are represented in the play, and how is Shakespeare and drawing on historical, social and cultural features of Medieval and Elizabethan England in the ways that he represents these types of love?
James Clark December 22, 2001 GCSE English / English Literature Band Z set 1 2001-2003 Pre-1914 Drama Coursework: Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare What different types of love are represented in the play, and how is Shakespeare and drawing on historical, social and cultural features of Medieval and Elizabethan England in the ways that he represents these types of love? The theme of Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet is love. The main love in the play is between Romeo and Juliet who belong to families that are feuding. There are many different types of love in the play including unrequited love, love in friendship, parental love and tragic love. At the beginning of the play the most obvious love is unrequited love. This is Romeo's unreturned infatuation for Rosaline. He is suffering from depression and is cutting himself off from friends and family. Benvolio records: "So early walking did I see your son /towards him I made, but he was ware of me, / and stole into the covert of the wood" (Act 1 scene 1) and Romeo's father agrees that Romeo is reclusive: "Away from light steals home my heavy son, / shuts up his windows locks fair daylight out" (Act 1 scene 1). When he makes Romeo behave like this Shakespeare is using a popular convention where love was thought to be an
