Compare and contrast the two pairs of lovers in 'Much Ado about Nothing'. Consider their attitudes, actions, language, love and audience reaction to their stories.

West Anglia College GCSE English Assignment - Shakespeare Compare and contrast the two pairs of lovers in 'Much Ado About Nothing'. Consider their attitudes, actions, language, love and audience reaction to their stories By Stephanie Hoggett 'Much Ado About Nothing', written in 1598 and set in Messina (Sicily) is one of Shakespeare's comedies which addresses some very serious social and cultural issues inherent in Renaissance (Elizabethan) society. The play focuses on the relationships and attitudes to marriage of two couples; the mature Beatrice and Benedick and the much younger Hero and Claudio. The couples are of noble rank. Benedick and Claudio are brother officers and noblemen, Lords of Padua and Florence respectively. Benedick is a mature and experienced man in his thirties whilst Claudio is barely out of his teenage years. Hero is the young and innocent daughter of Leonato the Governor of Messina, in whose villa the play is set, whilst Beatrice, his ward and niece is much older. Both couples are in search of love, for Hero and Claudio Shakespeare makes this very explicit whilst that of Beatrice and Benedick is rather more implicit. Firstly, the relationship between Claudio and Hero, both young, naïve and impressionable individuals. Claudio is so infatuated with Hero at first sight that he immediately falls in love and wants to marry her. However he is shy and

  • Word count: 1799
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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By Analysing Chapter 2 consider the presentation of the friendship that exists with Stephen and Keith

By Analysing Chapter 2 consider the presentation of the friendship that exists with Stephen and Keith In the first chapter of Michael Frayn's novel 'Spies', amongst the limited amount of characters introduced, is Keith. The reader is given no background knowledge about him, only that "Does he ever think about the things that happened that summer?" meaning that Keith is a significant person as it is implied that he shared the narrator's (revealed as Stephen in chapter 2) experience that particular, somewhat haunting summer. However in Chapter 2 a lot more information is given about Keith and details about the depth of friendship between Keith and Stephen begin to emerge. In Chapter 2, one of the first memories Stephen comes to is that of his house. "...in spite of the fact that it's attached to No.3- the only semidetached pair in the Close," indicating that Stephen is somewhat the odd one out, when he says 'only,' and almost uncomfortable about admitting to this. He then goes on to describe his ghastly neighbours who were 'even more shameful' than his house, and how they 'brought us down with them.,' and he then goes on to expresses his distress about being attached to the 'undesirables'. Also that he was still somewhat 'faintly embarrassed about it' despite all the years that had past. Throughout this chapter, Stephen implies to the reader how his house was neglected, and

  • Word count: 1178
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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A Journey is a story written by Colm Tibn in 2006. The story is about Mary, her family and their problems.

A Journey A Journey is a story written by Colm Tóibín in 2006. The story is about Mary, her family and their problems. In this essay I will find out what could cause the problems. To support my claims I will make an analysis and interpret the short story "A journey" in which I will put my interpretation into perspective with this to other items. The story starts in media res where we get introduced to Mary the protagonist, and her son David. At the beginning of the story there is a flashback. The flashback is from David's childhood. Suddenly the story moves on to present time, where Mary picks her son up from the hospital and drives him home. Almost the whole story takes place in the car. Mary is an ordinary married woman and it seems like she has an unhappy and depressed family. She lives with her husband Seamus and her son David, in the house her father gave her at her weeding. David is suffering from a depression and Mary does not know why, neither can she figure it out. Mary seems to be a good and careful mother "She dreamed for a second that they had not sold it and thought that working there every day might help David" Even though if it seems like Mary has been a good mother, she still has not spend a enough of her time with David when he was child. "Mrs. Redmond, who lives in a nearby cottage and whose husband died just after David was born, came in every day to

  • Word count: 1050
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Discuss the techniques Gaskell uses to present Margaret, Thornton and workers in the riot scene. How is she commenting on Victorian society?

Discuss the techniques Gaskell uses to present Margaret, Thornton and workers in the riot scene. How is she commenting on Victorian society? North and South is set in the mid nineteenth century at the time of the industrial revolution. It is an industrial novel, which means that it portrays the difficult lives of the working class during the industrial revolution. This was a genre with few female writers; due to the "seriousness" of the work, it was not considered appropriate for women. The riot scene is a watershed, a turning point, much like the industrial revolution in the 19th century. The themes are ... It is a book of contrasts. Mr Thornton represents the business-minded north and is juxtaposed with Margaret Hale who represents the rich, delicate south. The violence of the riot scene causes understanding and what the characters have done wrong. It shows us that our impressions of the characters are wrong and their impressions of each other. Everyone has misjudged each other. Gaskell is challenging her Victorian readers' black and white stereotypes and asking them to revaluate their views. The North-South divide exists in Great Britain. It refers to both the economic and the cultural differences between South England and North. The North is usually seen as poorer and more left wing, and the South as richer and more right wing. The South can be seen as much more

  • Word count: 1943
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Prose Study - How important is setting in Gulliver's Travels?

Prose Study How Important is Setting in Gulliver's Travels? Gulliver's Travels was written in 1726 by Johnathan Swift. Swift was a very outspoken member of the Church of England. His previous book, The Tale of a Tub satirized the feuds between Catholics and Protestants, and ruined his chances of being a bishop with its unpopularity. Swift uses setting in Gulliver's Travels to reveal his own criticisms of humanity and his views on society. He presents several different societies, which each represent an exaggerated aspect of 18th century Europe. The eponymous 'hero' is Lemuel Gulliver, whose name indicates his nature: He starts off extremely gullible. As Gulliver travels through Lilliput, Brobdingnag, Laputa, Glubbdubdrib, Luggnugg, and the Land of the Houyhnhnms, he becomes disillusioned with his own humanity and ends up disgusted by other humans and spending his life talking to his horses. In Lilliput, Swift draws parallels with England, the nobility and parliament in particular. The emperor is small-minded and probably represents George I. George I was German and never learnt to speak English. He was reputed to be vain, like the emperor, who needs long introductions and fancy title to boost his ego. In Lilliput, Swift also introduces the idea that the stature of a human is proportional to the generosity, kindness, and wisdom of a human, contrary to Gulliver's

  • Word count: 1949
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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How does the character of Stanley Yelnats change in "Holes"?

How does the character of Stanley Yelnats develop within the novel? Throughout this essay I am going to show how Stanley's character develops within the novel. 'Holes' is about a boy called Stanley who is sent to a Young Offender's Institute, wrongly accused of stealing a pair of trainers. During his stay lots of things happen like making new friends, running away and even finding some treasure. Also digging lots of holes! At the beginning of the novel, we find out early on that Stanley is overweight, because it is mentioned that , "He was overweight and the kids at middle school often teased him about his size." Because of this, he is very sensitive and self-conscious. Later on in the book, however, the reader discovers that Stanley has lots a lot of weight by the time he has found Zero under the boat. We know this because Louis Sachar writes, "A couple of months ago, he would never have been able to fit through. He'd lost a lot of weight." This shows that his experiences digging holes and eating smaller meals from cans have made him thinner and fitter. His fitness has improved throughout the novel. Stanley and his father have always been very discouraged with luck, sometimes so much that they became, "so discouraged that they actually started to believe in the curse." Stanley relies on the curse as an explanation for all of his bad luck. The curse has

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  • Word count: 838
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Character analysis. David in the novel The Chrysalids is the main character. He learns at a very young age that he is different from most people his age.

Character Analysis in chrysalids David in the novel The Chrysalids is the main character. He learns at a very young age that he is different from most people his age. He has the ability of thought shapes, which allows him to take in shapes and interpret them into words and receive a message. It is like mind reading. The only difference is that he can receive them from the people who have the same ability but he cannot receive them form any random person. This ability causes many problems for David. David is able to overcome isolation form his family, face his enemies courageously and is willing to adapt to a new culture. David, the main character in the novel The Chrysalids, is isolated from his family because he is different from them. He overcomes this isolation by finding others like him. David is able to think in thought shapes and he finds 8 others from the Town of Waknuk who can do the same. This helps him feel that he is not alone and that he is like others. David has an uncle Axel, who knows about Davids thought shapes and about the other 8 people. David can talk to him and it helps him understand his difference and help him overcome it. Petra, David's sister, can also think in thought shapes. This helps David feel he his closer to someone in his family because she is like him. David feels isolated and threatened from the Waknuk community because of his differences

  • Word count: 713
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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In Anne Donovans short story All That Glisters, the main characters personality change is effectively shown, and a touching story is unveiled.

All That Glisters In Anne Donovan's short story "All That Glisters", the main character's personality change is effectively shown, and a touching story is unveiled. The author has used Glasgow dialect to create a better understanding of the main character and her conflict throughout the story. Donovan also used a first person narrative for the reader, to bring the reader in touch with the character. An effective change of character is shown within Clare, the main character, who eventually turns her into a mature person. Throughout the story, there is a strong relationship between Clare and her father as the main theme of the story is shown between them, which is love. Clare is in essential need of her father; however, after the turning point she becomes independent. Her perspective of life changes generally, and she realizes that her father's death was inevitable. Donovan introduces Clare as an innocent, young girl who is in denial of her father's irrevocable death. The glitter pens symbolizes a way of giving life to her father, and hope that nothing solemn will happen to her father. Clare's love for her father is seen all through the story, and how she is willing to find anything that will make her father feel better. However, when Clare comes to know that her father has died, and that she could not do anything about it, she feels a bit of regret that she was unable to

  • Word count: 1618
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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I believe the main theme in Flannery O'Connors's short story, Good Country People is approval; everyone wants to believe that they are beautiful and we seek approval from both our parents and friends.

Good Country People I believe the main theme in Flannery O'Connors's short story, " Good Country People" is approval; everyone wants to believe that they are beautiful and we seek approval from both our parents and friends. In this short story a girl, Joy, longs for her mothers approval. After she is unable to get her mothers approval Joy starts believing that she is unworthy of anyone's admiration. Joy is thirty-two years of age and has a wooden leg, which makes it even harder for her to be socially accepted. Joy's wooden leg represents the on going theme of approval in O'Connor's story. Joy changes her name to Hulga which Mrs.Hopewell feels is one of the ugliest names she could have chosen. This could be interpreted as a representation of how Joy "Hulga" feels about herself. I do not want to say that I do not have any beliefs, honestly I don't know what it is that I believe in. To me this story depicts the real meaning of life and how you can be happy with your own self, disability or not. By changing her name to Hulga I believe that Joy not only accepts herself but realizes that not everyone is meant to be made perfectly. Hulga's main accomplishment is her education, a Ph. D in Philosophy. Joy's mother, Mrs. Hopewell did not like the fact that her daughter had gotten a Ph. D in Philosophy. " My daughter is a schoolteacher, or even my daughter is a chemical engineer.

  • Word count: 876
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Explore the dramatic significance of Act 2 in 'The Crucible.' What might Arthur Miller have been suggesting to the original audience about society at that time?

Explore the dramatic significance of Act 2 in 'The Crucible.' What might Arthur Miller have been suggesting to the original audience about society at that time? At the end of the previous act several younger members of their puritan community had been caught dancing in the forest, instead of admitting their guilt they accused several older woman of being in league with the devil. These women had been arrested and were placed in court and then in prison for offences that they had not committed. Abigail was the main accuser and she has command over the other girls. She is a very charismatic leader and she can get the girls to do what she wants. The whole plot revolves around her and her affair with John Proctor. Act 2 is set in the farmhouse in which John Proctor lives with his wife Elizabeth. When he walks in she is still upstairs and he tastes the food that she has cooked for him. When she walks downstairs he starts talking to her, but he isn't how you would expect him to act, he is polite and refuses to do anything wrong because he is still trying to regain her trust. She is still untrusting to him still though it has been 7 months since his affair, this is shown when he kisses her because she merely 'receives it' they also talk in very short exchanges, thereby creating a very tense atmosphere. They make polite but uncomfortable talk between them until the

  • Word count: 1480
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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