'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
Discuss the Role Played by the Witches in the Tragedy of Macbeth
Discuss the Role Played by the Witches in the Tragedy of Macbeth A classical tragedy tells the story of the downfall of a great man. The hero always has good qualities and usually a high status. His downfall is bought about by some weakness "tragic flaw" in his character. The tragic hero's downfall involves and affects those around him. The tragedy usually results in the audience's pity for the tragic hero. When the play is named after the hero, he is called an eponymous hero. All the above apply directly to Macbeth. He begins with the impressive title: Thane of Glamis, he is a cousin of King Duncan and he's a great War hero. He's physically a very strong man, very brave and a great general. He's very loving and affectionate towards his wife, he is loyal to the king at the beginning of the play and is naturally confident. The main flaw in his character is his ambition! This driving ambition is played upon by circumstances. The witches encourage his ambition. Macbeth becomes falsely confident and his killing gets out of control. Many innocent people suffer: Banquo, Macduff's wife and children and Kind Duncan to name a few. Once Macbeth becomes king he becomes a complete control freak and makes many, many enemies. Some of his subjects stay with him right through to his death but this is out of fear rather than loyalty. We pity Macbeth at the end of the play. He has lost
What is the significance of Iagos Soliloquies in Othello?
What is the significance of Iago's Soliloquies in 'Othello'? 'Othello' is a Shakespearian tragedy written in 1604. Othello is a black African prince who is a general in the Venetian army. He wrongly falls in love with Desdemona, who comes from a noble family, where it is unacceptable to marry a black man. After Othello gives a promotion to Cassio, Iago gets extremely jealous. His jealousy gets the better of him, and he plans to break Othello. Because of his manipulation, Othello, Desdemona, Emilia who is Iago's wife and Roderigo who is a friend, all die. One of the main characters in 'Othello' is Othello. Othello is black and this makes him a victim of racism. The earliest experience of racism is when Iago and Roderigo wake Brabantio to tell him "an old black ram is tupping your white ewe." By this, they mean that Othello is having sex with Brabantio's daughter Desdemona. This makes Othello seem like the perpetrator, and Desdemona as the victim. It puts Othello in the wrong straight away and makes him sound evil and horrible. Othello lives in a white society and this also contributes to the fact he is a haven for racism. He stands out in this society as a unique character. Othello falls in love with the very attractive Desdemona. Desdemona comes from a noble family and is extremely independent and faithful. Cassio is Othello's lieutenant and is used in Iago's plan to break
Explain the relationship between Dysart and normality in Equus.
Returning people to the 'normal' is somehow inappropriate in Martin Dysart's mind. As a professional psychiatrist, he sees himself stealing and virtually destroying the passion and worship of his daily patients, who according to the society need mental help. This is his fundamental crisis, to see patient after patient returned to the world bleaker and paler than they originally were. Alan's case somewhat brings out Dysart's agony as it relates to his own low-life i.e. his job and his home life. Surprisingly, he sees life as something in which people should be able to perceive beyond the surface and materialism of the modern society which has caused the downfall of passion and worship. Dysart through Alan's case clearly identifies what his own major problems are. He himself feels the need for going beyond the usual human knowledge and experience, into something perhaps more abstract and mystical. Dysart during the play finds his own admiration in Gods and spirits, something that he can turn to and follow in peace, rather than just being controlled by the 'normalism' of society which lacks spirituality, although he cannot reach it. Equus definitely expresses his conflict and need for the metaphysical and transcendence. Equus was a play that clearly questioned the old fashioned, traditional values of drama. The society of the 1960s was a more conservative one; it was polite and
Analysis of the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth
English Literature GCSE Essay Piece : Character analysis of Lady Macbeth and her relationship with Macbeth Lady Macbeth is a complex and intriguing character - she presents various elements in her character, often surprising us with sudden turns of personality. This reflects with Macbeth and her, causing various changes in their relationship - drawing them both closer together, and pushing them away from one another. When we first meet Lady Macbeth in Act One, Scene 5, she is reading Macbeths letter. This is the letter that openly tells word for word what happened and what the witches told Macbeth. He obviously had no hesitation in being so open with his wife, which is notable. Straight away, Lady Macbeth takes from the letter her own interpretation, saying that she knows that Macbeth must now kill Duncan so that he can be King as the witches have said, but she also analyses his nature from the letter, fearing that he will be too good natured to carry it out. This suggests that she knows at this point that she is going to have to persuade him. As the scene progresses, an Attendant comes in and tells Lady Macbeth that the King is on his way to the castle to stay with them. Once he leaves, Lady Macbeth is speaking as if she is ultimately sure that this murder will go ahead. But she is fully aware that it is going to be emotionally very difficult to go through with, and she
The apportioning of blame and responsibility are central themes in 'An Inspector Calls'. Each character plays a part in Eva Smiths downfall. Show how the playwright explores these themes during the course of the play.
The apportioning of blame and responsibility are central themes in 'An Inspector Calls'. Each character plays a part in Eva Smiths downfall. Show how the playwright explores these themes during the course of the play. This essay will explore the two main themes in the play 'An Inspector Calls' by J.B.Priestley. These themes that I am going to explore are the apportioning of blame and responsibility between each one of the characters for their part in Eva Smiths death. The play is set on a spring Evening in 1912, Just before World War 1 began. Throughout the play we are introduced to two very different types of class. Those who live in large houses and wear expensive clothes, usually who own factories or stocks and who are oblivious to anybody not in their class. We are also introduced to those who work for upper-class people. They have to wear hand-me-down clothes and make every last penny count, when they even get the chance to have a penny. J.B. Priestley uses the interaction between these two classes to make a very serious point, at the beginning of the play Mr Birling says, " a man has to ... look after himself" yet the upper class cannot survive without the low class workers and this works both ways. This means everybody actually does need to look after everybody else otherwise the world would have no cycle! Nothing would work! This play takes place in a
Is Iago The Perfect Villain?
Othello Essay 'Is Iago the perfect villain?' Few Shakespearian villains radiate evilness and jealously quite as much as Iago, the unbeknown nemesis of the play's title character, Othello. In other plays written by the bard of Avon the villains can come across as one-dimensional- weak, personified by a flaw in their genetic make-up or unattainable ambition yet Iago is a far more complex and compelling character. True, he has the power to both betray and murder those he once worked alongside, but Iago isn't the complete cold-blooded murderer in the same sense of Macbeth or King Claudius from Hamlet. True, he meticulously plans the death of Cassio but he plans it to be by hands of Rodrigo, his puppet. In the end opportunity presents itself to Iago and he seizes the moment to stab Cassio in the back but the blow fails to kill him. Iago also reveals a moral conscience through his three soliloquy's which I will explore in more detail later. In short Iago is like no other of Shakespeare's villains which makes him an utterly compelling and absorbing character. And like the other characters in the play, Iago delights in absorbing us, the viewer... The tragedy of Othello was believed to have been first performed in the early 1600's and is one of Shakespeare's more famous plays. The play is also rich in historical context and features the Moorish race heavily, leading many to believe
Compare and contrast the images of love in: Act I Scene V, Act II Scene II and Act V Scene III
Romeo & Juliet Coursework Compare and contrast the images of love in: Act I Scene V, Act II Scene II and Act V Scene III The play "Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare is a romantic tragedy set in Italy. It tells the story of two "star-crossed lovers" and how they fall in love, but then die as a result of this. The play is filled with various images of love to display the relationship between the two main characters, Romeo and Juliet. The complex images used by Shakespeare are a reflection of the play itself and the experiences of the characters. Shakespeare displays love through many different images. Throughout the play, religious imagery, the contrast between light and dark, nature, death and many other images are used to express the emotions between the characters. The reason for displaying love through images, and not just plainly, is that by using imagery, the love and the particular phrase becomes more memorable, and therefore powerful. The three scenes that will be compared are: Act I Scene V, Act II Scene II and Act V Scene III. Act I Scene V is where Romeo and Juliet first meet at Capulet's party. They talk to each other and share their first kiss. Act II Scene II is commonly referred to as the 'balcony scene' and is the setting for the second meeting between Romeo and Juliet. Here they decide that they will get married to each other the next day. Act V Scene
How does Shakespeare use language and stagecraft to show Othello's changing feelings towards Dedemona throughout Othello
How does Shakespeare use language and stagecraft to reflect Othello's feelings towards Desdemona throughout Othello? (Focussing on Act 2 Scene 1, Act 3, Scene3, and Act 5 Scene 2) Othello was written by Shakespeare in the year 1603. It was first performed in court, but not published until 1622. William Shakespeare took ideas from Giraldi Cinthio's Hecca Tommithi - an Italian collection of 100 stories which were popular at the time, and studied by many playwrights and scholars. The play is about love, jealousy, deceit, racism and lies, and is one of Shakespeare's tragedies. Othello is set in two places- the first act in Venice and the rest of the play at a sea port in Cypress. Venice was a powerful city, with a wealthy, law-abiding and formal society. In contrast, Cypress was rowdy, not law-abiding, and constantly fighting. It is an island, which was attacked in 1570 by the Turks, having belonged to Italy for more than 100 years. Women were thought of as stupid, silly, and objects only for having children, doing as they were told, and less intelligent. A wife was bought for a dowry, and parents would sell off their daughters to gain influence or money. Desdemona was Othello's wife - they have been secretly married before the beginning of the play. She is the daughter of Venetian senator Barbanzio, and typically pure and meek, while being determined and self possessed.
How does Shakespeare convey the theme of love and conflict in the Prologue, Act 1 Scene 5, Act 3 Scene 2 and Act 3 Scene 5 of 'Romeo and Juliet'?
HOW DOES SHAKESPEARE CONVEY THE THEME OF LOVE AND CONFLICT IN THE PROLOGUE, ACT 1 SCENE 5, ACT 3 SCENE 2 AND ACT 3 SCENE 5 OF 'ROMEO AND JULIET'? When writing about love and conflict in the play, I will focus on four parts of it; the Prologue, Act 1 Scene 5, Act 3 Scene 1 and Act 3 Scene 5. In each of them, I will look for love and conflict, and how is it related to many other things in the play, such us the development of characters or Shakespeare's dramatic style. The essay should help those who will read it understand what is hidden, or seems to be hidden, beyond Shakespeare's use of language, form and other things. All of my points are based on the different bits of the play and how I myself interpret them in relation to the theme. The whole play is introduced by the Prologue. In the 20th century film I saw with my class, the Prologue was given in the form of TV news, where a woman was introducing the story, as they usually do in the news, saying things like ''Three Italian soldiers died in Iraq in an explosion yesterday. Protests against the war rise.'' or ''Famous footballer X stopped playing football. Millions of fans wail.'', and then showing and speaking about the whole story. This quite well explains how the Prologue works. It tells us the destination of the story (''In fair Verona, where we lay our scene.''), explains who the story is about (''Two households, both
