An Inspector Calls - What is the style of the play? How would the audience's interest and attention be sustained during a performance?

An Inspector Calls- What is the style of the play? How would the audience's interest and attention be sustained during a performance? J.B Priestley wrote 'An Inspector Calls' in 1945. It was performed in front of an audience for the first time in 1946. However, the play is set in 1912 and so the audience would know of events mentioned in the play, such as World War One and Two and the sinking of the Titanic. The play opens at a dinner party at the house of the Birlings. The party is soon interrupted by the arrival of an inspector, who informs the family of the suicide of Eva Smith. He then goes on to slowly reveal how each member of the family has a part in her death. In Act One Arthur Birling makes a speech to the dinner party in which he dismisses the possibility of war '... you'll hear some people say that war's inevitable. And to that I say- fiddlesticks!' He also says that Titanic is 'unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable.' A 1946 audience would of course know that he was wrong about both these things- there was a war, and the Titanic did sink. Later on in the speech he also goes on to say to Eric '...in 1940- you may be giving a little party like this', which of course he would not be doing because of World War Two. The audience knows he was wrong about these things, and so later on in the play, they will wonder what else he will be wrong about. The stage directions

  • Word count: 1071
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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To what extent can "The Merchant of Venice" be viewed as a tragedy rather than a comedy?

To what extent can "The Merchant of Venice" be viewed as a tragedy rather than a comedy? The Merchant of Venice can be viewed as a tragedy to a certain extent. Shakespeare's audience would have no difficulty in accepting "The Merchant of Venice" as a comedy however, it is likely that a modern audience nowadays, would view that play as a tragedy. However, I feel that the majority of the play consists of comic elements. Typical Shakespearean tragedies have common features. A tragedy has a hero of noble birth, which has a fatal flaw and comes close to death. This is what happens in "The Merchant of Venice". We can consider Antonio as the "hero", as he is the "merchant " in the title of the play and he is very nearly killed by Shylock. The tragedy is also based on the antagonism between Jews and Christians and the bong between Shylock and Antonio. Shylock is a money- lending Jew and is depicted as a villain who adds a serious and dark tome to the play. When Antonio cannot pay Shylock back, it becomes apparent the Shylock is determined to get his pound of flesh and not show mercy. "If it will feed nothing else, it will feed my revenge" This quotation shows that Shylock intends to carry out his bond purely for justice and does not show sympathy towards Antonio's life. As a modern audience. We would find this shocking, gruesome and tragic. However, as a modern audience, we can

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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The Crucible

The Crucible After reading The Crucible by Arthur Miller, one cannot help but wonder why when given the chance to confess to the accusations and live, did the characters choose to stay firm and die? For people today that question is not easily answered. In the past however, this was not a question at all. The answer was found within the strong religious background that most of the accused were raised on, and the feeling of pride and honor they felt in their hearts. John Proctor exemplifies the importance of a strong name through his actions and choices throughout the play; most significantly the fourth act when he chose death over disgracing his name. Giles Corey's refusal to reveal the name of the informant who accused Putnam of conspiracy also shows the role of justice in these individuals' lives, letting God be the judge of their actions in life and not their peers. Sometimes you have to stand for more. Throughout the play one of the central themes continues to be John Proctor's, Giles Corey's, and Rebecca Nurse's refusal to degrade their souls with lies of confession only to save themselves from the unjust accusations of witchcraft. In this time and era the people living in and around Salem, Massachusetts were from Puritan faith and lived very strict lives. At this point in history there was still no separation between church and state, so the church had a major role in

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Considering the evidence from the play I believe that Lady Macbeth had the qualities of a fiend-like Queen until the death of Duncan.

Macbeth In the final act of play Malcolm states that Lady Macbeth is a "fiend like" Queen. Considering the evidence from the play I believe that Lady Macbeth had the qualities of a "fiend-like" Queen until the death of Duncan. At this point she begun to show guilt and felt disconnected from everyone around her. If Lady Macbeth was truly "fiend-like" she would not feel any remorse, so therefore I maintain that she is not a "fiend-like" Queen. We first met Lady Macbeth in Act1, Scene 5 in a room in her castle. At this point Lady Macbeth is a woman who is full of love for her husband. She wants her husband to be great and wants him to succeed in life. Once she reads the letter from her husband and learns about the three witches and their predictions we see a drastic change in her personality. Some critics say that that at the beginning of the play Lady Macbeth was like a fourth witch. We see her lust for power. This is the first time in the play we see one of her "fiend-like" qualities. After Lady Macbeth reads the letter, a messenger calls and tells her the news that the king Duncan is coming to night. When she hears this news she quickly devises a plan to kill Duncan. She asks the spirits to, "Unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty: make thick my blood stop all access and passage to remorse." She asks the spirits to this

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Film Version of Romeo and Juliet

Media Coursework Hollywood has developed many Shakespeare plays into motion pictures, but this does not always reach success. Hollywood does this to increases their cultural standing reputation, and also making more money in the process, with the already made script provided by Shakespeare. Two individual directors directed the two motion pictures, Australian director Baz Luhrmann, who had success in the early 90's "Strictly Ballroom", a kitsch domestic drama, which achieved landmark critical and commercial success. Kenneth Branagh a British actor, director and producer who is internationally recognised as one of the leading actor-director of his generation. Despite the fact this preview trailer of "Rome + Juliet" is a Shakespeare play produced into a motion picture, we see the "+" sign in between the Romeo and Juliet, this indicates that the title is a fashionable adoption of its definition, a slang recognition, which teens use a lot, in language as well as writing. So by looking at the title we know this is more of a radical version of the play, aimed at teens in particular. I think that the music used in this trailer works on two levels, one that suggests that the film is for both sex's/audiences, the clips back this up. In the trailer we get fast and furious action scenes with rock music, this targets the male audiences in particular, a typical male would be more

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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'A View from the Bridge' by Arthur Miller

GCSE English Literature Coursework 20th Century Drama- 'A View from the Bridge' by Arthur Miller Alfieri: Who can ever know what will be discovered? Eddie Carbone had never expected to have a destiny. A man works, raises his family, there was a future, there was a trouble that would not go away. In what ways does 'A View from the Bridge' refer to the tradition of Greek Drama? In what ways can Eddie be seen as a tragic hero? The play 'A View from the Bridge' is about Eddie Carbone and his family. He lives in his house with his wife and his neice, then Marco and Rudolfo come over from italy to work. Marco and Rudolfo are cousins of Eddies wife, Beatrice, but when his neice Catherine falls in love with the younger cousin, Rudolfo, Eddie finds it hard to handle. 'A View from the Bridge' was originally written entirely as a Greek Drama in verse by Arthur Miller but as he drew his play to an end, to him it didn't seem right. By 1955 when it was first published it had been re-writen into regular dialogue form but it still carried some attributes as a traditional Greek Drama. The plays first similarity to the old greek plays is that of a continuous single plot, as most books now-a-days carry many sub-plots. Another way it resembles the Greek Drama is that the finish has its share of blood, as the ancient greeks accepted violence. This play has a great feel

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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What dramatic effect does Shakespeare aim for in act 2 scene 2 and how does he achieve it?

What Dramatic Effect Does Shakespeare Aim For In Act 2 Scene 2 And How Does He Achieve It? 'Macbeth' was written around 1606 for King James. It begins with Macbeth, a valiant warrior, meeting with three witches who in turn, give a prophesy that he will become 'Thane of Cawdor' and then King of Scotland. "All hail Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane Of Cawdor" "All hail Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter". He sends a letter to his wife, telling her about this meeting and then returns home, after being made Thane Of Cawdor by King Duncan, the current King of Scotland. On hearing this news, Lady Macbeth begins to make plans for the death of King Duncan who is coming to stay at Macbeth's castle. She persuades Macbeth to kill the king in cold blood in order to fulfil the prophesy. In Act 2 Scene 2, the murder of the king takes place. This is the climax of the play and the rest of the plot centres around this scene. Here, we begin to see the development of the two main characters, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth. Shakespeare gives the audience insight into the characters by using soliquoy and changes of viewpoint. We can begin to observe Lady Macbeth's true character and Macbeth's path to becoming a cold-blooded murderer and the tyrant of Scotland. I will be focusing on Act 2 Scene 2, particularly the dramatic effect created by Shakespeare and how he achieves it. This includes

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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How Does Friel Represent Childhood In The Play The Potato Gatherers?

Laura Charlton How Does Friel Represent Childhood In The Play The Potato Gatherers? This is a short play written by a man named Brian Friel. The theme is that of two young boys who have been sent out by their mother to work on a potato harvest. This means skipping off school in order to carry out this work. Obviously the family is very poor or the mother is unable to work for herself. It is set in Ireland, the home country of Brian Friel (the author), around the time of the start of the "troubles". The boys are very young to be working to support their families needs, Joe was thirteen and Philly was twelve. This was not Joe's first time of working for the mentioned Mr.Kelly so he was not very excited at the prospect of working so early in the morning. However this was Philly's first time at real "mans" work and due to his young age he was very excitable and enthusiastic. The play is set mainly in the potato field which is closely situated to their school. The play is set in Tyrone in North Ireland the play is set. It is a cold November morning and there is frost on the ground. Not exactly ideal situation for gathering potatoes but Philly is still wide-awake this early and rearing to go. It was six o'clock in the morning. The boys were chatting away without a care for whoever they could wake. To see his younger brother so excited actually woke Joe up and he started to get

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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A film review of the opening sequences of Baz Luhrmann's

A film review of the opening sequences of Baz Luhrmann's "Romeo and Juliet". Baz Luhrmann's film "Romeo and Juliet" is a modern version of William Shakespeare's famous play. The whole film is fascinating and entertaining. It really attracts the audiences' attention by the fast moving of cameras angles and thrilling actions of the actors. I particularly like the opening sequence of the film. The director Baz Luhrmann sets the scene in a modern city "fair Verona", which suits the romantic love story of Romeo and Juliet well. The reason why Luhrmann did not cast this film in Italy Verona but cast in a modern city of America is because the old town Verona does not seem appeal to the up-to-date people of the contemporary love story. The film starts with a television slowly zooms in and a woman newscaster in the television is announcing the news that Romeo and Juliet both died because their families are "two households both alike in dignity". Television is used in here because television media is an important modern technology in the world today. It has the effect of drawing the audiences' attention. Luhrmann uses the prologue cleverly in here to introduce the general story line to the audience, so the audience will have an idea of what is this film about. While the woman is still speaking, the camera zooms in gradually. The television screen then fades in, and there are cuts of

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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In the beginning of Act 3 Scene 5 Shakespeare creates a peaceful mood, he does this by showing us Romeo and Juliet in bed after their first night together. All is calm and romantic

How does Shakespeare create dramatic impact in either act 3 scene 1 or act 3 scene5 "Romeo and Juliet". The story is, of course, about a pair of star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet. Two teenagers pursue their love for each other despite the fact that their families have been at odds with each other for decades. The story consists of sword fighting, disguise, misunderstanding, tragedy, humour, and some of the most romantic language found in English literature, all in the name of true love. Leading up to act 3 scene 5 Two of Romeo's friends, Benvolio and Mercutio, are walking through the streets of Verona when they are confronted by Juliet's cousin, Tybalt. Tybalt is out to get Romeo for crashing the Capulet's party so he starts a fight with his friends. Romeo shows up, but does not want to fight Tybalt because he no longer holds a grudge against Juliet's family. Romeo's friends can't understand why he won't stand up for himself so Mercutio steps in to do it for him. A swordfight with Tybalt follows. Mercutio is killed. To avenge the death of his friend, Romeo kills Tybalt, an act that will award him even more hatred from the Capulet family. The Prince of Verona banishes Romeo and he is forced to leave Juliet, who is devastated by the loss of her love. Juliet's father, not knowing of his daughter's marriage, decides to marry her to another young man named Paris. Shakespeare

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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