"In relation to other factors, how far was Henry's desire for divorce the main cause of the Reformation in England in the 1530's?"

"In relation to other factors, how far was Henry's desire for divorce the main cause of the Reformation in England in the 1530's?" During the 16th Century, we see the beginnings of what turned out to be perhaps the greatest shift in religious doctrine from Catholicism to Protestantism England has ever experienced; The Reformation. Henry VIII's break from Rome in the 1530's certainly helped cause this. Nevertheless great historical debate has raged for many years over the reasoning behind severing the link with the Papacy. The most popular argument is that it was Henry's strong desire for divorce from Catherine of Aragon -- in an attempt to re-marry to ensure the succession with a male heir -- that bought about the break, where as others dispute this, campaigning for the case that it was mass social discontent with the existing church that was the cause. Some have even taken the stance that the exclusive reason for the break was based on Henry VIII's greed; his further want for greater power, control and wealth, while others suggesting that he was taken advantage of by ambitious members of the Church and the Inner Circle. Soon after his accession in 1509 Henry married Catherine of Aragon, nevertheless this was not a straightforward marriage, it required Papal dispensation based on the fact that Catherine had previously been married to Henry's brother Arthur, who had died

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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Contrast an Elizabethan and a modern audience's understanding of Hamlet's views".

Danièle Evans 29.12.01 'Hamlet thou hast cleft my heart in twain' "Most productions present Gertrude and Ophelia as sympathetic victims of Hamlet's cruelty. As your starting point, refer to either the closet or the nunnery scene, and, paying close attention to the language, show how it reveals the interaction between Hamlet and the women characters here and throughout the play. Contrast an Elizabethan and a modern audience's understanding of Hamlet's views". As the main female characters in the play, Ophelia and Gertrude are subjected to the worst of Hamlet's madness. 'Hamlet' depicts the popular Elizabethan viewpoint and treatment of women which is palpably clear from Hamlet's contemptuous and disrespectful behaviour. This is especially obvious in both the nunnery and the closet scenes, primarily from the language and exchanges between the characters. The 'nunnery' scene, mainly focusing on the exchange between Hamlet and Ophelia, is structurally similar to the later 'closet scene' of Act 3 Scene 4. 'Soft you now', says Hamlet as he catches a glimpse of his former love, 'The fair Ophelia', a comment which is instinctively tender. Notably, it also echoes his description of Ophelia at her grave, in Act 5 Scene 1, where he openly declares his love for her, admitting that 'forty thousand brothers/Could not with all their quantity of love/Make up my sum'. It is also at

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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'The Birthday Party' by Harold Pinter is a study of power- where it comes from and how it is wielded.' Discuss with particular reference to Act One.

English Coursework Harold Pinter and Power By Jodie Gloster 'The Birthday Party' by Harold Pinter is a study of power- where it comes from and how it is wielded.' Discuss with particular reference to Act One. The Birthday Party is a play right written by Harold Pinter. The play is based on power. The dictionary definition of power is' The ability to act or produce an effect' or 'possession of control, authority, or influence over others' In the play there are several characters. These include Petey, a man in his sixties and his wife Meg, who is also in her sixties. Stanley is a man in his late thirties and a guest at Petey's and Meg's hotel. Goldberg and McCann then later become guests. Goldberg is a man in his fifties and McCann is a man of thirty. Lulu occasionally visits in the play; she is a young lady in her twenties. In the play right everyone seems to have power over everyone at some point apart from Meg and Lulu. From the start of Act One Petey pays no attention to Meg. He reads his newspaper and acts really disinterested towards her. An example of this is on page 10. Meg says "What does it say" and Petey simply replies "Nothing much." He makes her feel like she has to make conversation with her. This type of power is used without any effort. It is gained by silence towards the other person. You can imagine this one stage with Meg being very enthusiastic and

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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"Evacuation was a great success" Do you agree or disagree with this interpretation? Explain your answer using the sources and knowledge from your own studies.

"Evacuation was a great success" Do you agree or disagree with this interpretation? Explain your answer using the sources and knowledge from your own studies. Evacuation was seen as both a success and a failure. It succeeded by saving many peoples lives but it failed because it was badly organised with many children arriving in the wrong places. I agree with the statement that evacuation was a success as it provided safe homes for Britain's wartime children. Source B gives evidence as to why it was a success. It shows how the children were happy, they saw evacuation as an exciting adventure and majority of them enjoyed it. The source also shows a lot of children making there way to the station; the Government were able to evacuate around 1.5 million people, saving many lives. The source is a photograph taken at the time; it is a primary source which means we can trust it. However, all the people in the photo are looking at the camera so it looks as if it has been posed and possibly used as propaganda. Furthermore, source D shows how evacuation was a success. It shows some evacuees taking a bath; they all look happy which is a sign to show that the children enjoyed themselves. The children also look very clean and healthy; this was very common for evacuees as it was a result of the clean country life. The source is a photo so it is dependable however it was used by the

  • Word count: 1050
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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In both plays love is insanity, taking over the rational and lucid mind by delusion and self-destruction, which can only be cured when the insane are stripped of what they love the most and honesty, not deceit, take precedence.

Plot Outline Thesis: In both plays love is insanity, taking over the rational and lucid mind by delusion and self-destruction, which can only be cured when the insane are stripped of what they love the most and honesty, not deceit, take precedence. Point 1: The realization of the truth opens the eyes of the characters and finally allows them to see, and not be blinded. Shakespeare uses sight as a tool to cure the characters from their insanity. Proof: King Lear is insane at the beginning of the play and not near the end like one might think. It takes a series of rejections and scrutiny from his daughters for King Lear to understand that they made a fool of him for his land and riches, and that their devotion of love was a hoax. Only later when King Lear realizes this does he become sane. The love in idleness flower in A Midsummers Night Dream has a number of effects on the characters that have it used upon them. It makes all the characters a little insane or at the very least not their normal selves. Firstly it impairs both Lysander and Demetrious to love Helena and not Hermia, and also the insanity of Titantia, the Queen of Fairies, who has fallen in love with Bottom, an ass. Point 2: both plays use location to establish the mood and the location also goes hand in hand with the state that the characters are in. Proof: In A Midsummers Night dream the lovers Hermia

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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Arthur Miller’s Death Of A Salesman

Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman At the beginning of the play, Arthur Miller establishes Willy Loman as a troubled and misguided man, at heart a salesman and a dreamer with a preoccupation with success. However, Miller makes equally apparent that Willy Loman is no successful man. Although in his sixties, he is still a travelling salesman bereft of any stable location or occupation, and clings only to his dreams and ideals. There is a strong core of resentment within Willy Loman, whose actions assumes a more glorious and idealised past. Willy sentimentalises the neighbourhood as it was years ago, and mourns the days working for Frank Wagner, while his son Howard Wagner fails to appreciate him. Miller presents Willy as a strong and boisterous man with great audacity but little energy to support that impression of vitality. He is perpetually weary and exhibits signs of dementia, contradicting himself within his conversations and showing some memory loss. Linda, in contrast, displays little of the boisterous intensity of Willy. Rather, she is dependable and kind, perpetually attempting to smooth out conflicts that Willy might encounter. Linda has a similar longing for an idealised past, but has learned to suppress her dreams and her dissatisfaction with her husband and sons. Miller indicates that she is a woman with deep regrets about her life; she must continually reconcile

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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Romeo and Juliet: Character Study of Romeo

Romeo and Juliet: Character Study of Romeo We are introduced to Romeo at the beginning of the play in a conversation between Montague and Benvolio. Even from this early stage, it is apparent to us that Romeo is a romantic, having been seen "an hour before the worshipped sun" had risen, walking beneath "the grove of sycamore" in a sickened state, sighing deeply with "tears augmenting the fresh morning's dew." We also learn from this brief discussion that he has been hiding himself away in his room, shutting up his windows and locking out the daylight, in an attempt to create an "artificial night." When Romeo finally does appear, he comes across as a sad, melancholic, apathetic youth and declares that he's in love with a girl who doesn't return his affections, saying he is 'out of her favour where I am I love.' He talks to Benvolio about how he feels inside, but talks in rhyming couplets which make his words seem like a well rehearsed speech rather than a true expression of emotional torture and anguish. This artificiality of his speech makes it seem forced rather than from the heart and conveys the idea that he is more in love with the concept of love itself, rather than actually experiencing the feeling of love. Also, throughout that scene he uses oxymoron (e.g. "brawling love," and "loving hate") which conveys a rather melodramatic quality in his personality. When he

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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Compare and contrast the two love stories ("Peleus and Thetis"; "Ariadne and Theseus") in Catullus' Poem 64.

Compare and contrast the two love stories ("Peleus and Thetis"; "Ariadne and Theseus") in Catullus' Poem 64. Catullus' Poem 64 recounts the blissful marriage of Peleus and Thetis, the narration of which is interrupted by the recounting of another myth. This 'tale-within-a-tale' is the ekphrasis of a tapestry depicting Theseus' abandonment of Ariadne and telling of the ruinous consequences of this act for Theseus. It is this story of betrayed love that is woven into the coverlet of the matrimonial bed of Peleus and Thetis. Although it portends no such betrayal by either Peleus or Thetis, this vivid narrative tapestry dominates the poem and gives mythic idiom to a theme with which Catullus seems to have had much concern throughout his poetry of Lesbia.1 The lament of Ariadne is undoubtedly the centrepiece of the poem, and perhaps "puts into a woman's mouth the grief expressed elsewhere [in the poetry of] Catullus at his own abandonment by Lesbia."2 Theseus' lackadaisical absent-mindedness (made worse by the curse of Ariadne) causes his father's erroneous suicide, and may be indicative of the fecklessness of Lesbia.3 Perhaps then, the Peleus and Thetis narrative is merely a frame for the story of Ariadne.4 Yet, the extravagant wedding of Peleus and Thetis can be seen to represent an apex in the age of heroes - when the gods mingled with mankind. The disturbing

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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Antony and Cleopatra Question: Explore Shakespeare's presentation of Domitius Enobarbus

Antony and Cleopatra Question: Explore Shakespeare's presentation of Domitius Enobarbus. Traditionally Shakespeare's use of the role of a chorus is seen to have been used as an insight for the audience into the prophesy of future events and what to expect throughout the play, usually by a secondary character. In 'Antony and Cleopatra', Shakespeare expands the role of the chorus within his presentation of Enobarbus. Enobarbus does not merely illustrate what consequences Antony and Cleopatra's actions will have, but plays a significant and vital character whose actions earn the admiration of the audience. Amid Antony's entourage is Enobarbus. Enobarbus is a high ranking officer who within the play is one of Antony's closest aficionados. Among the audience Enobarbus is seen as the thematic and moral centre of the play. Through the admired Enobarbus the power of love and loyalty are seen to overshadow the logical reason and common sense of the mind. For example his emotional break down and reaction to his betrayal and desertion of Antony and of Antony's munificent response creates a sense of desolation behind his death. "I am alone the villain of the earth, My better service when my turpitude Thou dost so crown with gold!" At times, Enobarbus is very much a chorus figure observing the behaviour of those around him. His interpretation of certain situations brings

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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For never was a story of such woe than that of Juliet and her Romeo - What is it that make s the play so "woeful" or tragic? Discuss this by closely referring to characters and events in the play

For never was a story of such woe than that of Juliet and her Romeo What is it that make s the play so "woeful" or tragic? Discuss this by closely referring to characters adn events in the play 'For never was a story of more woe Than this of Juliet and her Romeo' Romeo and Juliet is a tragic tale of two lovers whose lasting appeal can be attributed to the play's unforgettable characters, its gripping plot, its universal themes and its lyrical poetry. The play closely follows Shakespeare's 'Formula for Tragedy', where there is a Great man or woman with a tragic flaw in personality, which is accompanied with ill-fate and an ultimate flaw from greatness. This eventually equates to a tragedy in the play. In Romeo and Juliet, tragic flaws within the characters and the ill fate of the lovers makes the play a tragedy. Romeo and Juliet is the tragic tale of two young lovers whose love couldn't survive their turbulent world. A tragedy is a dramatic representation of human conflict conventionally ending with the defeat or death of the major characters. Shakespeare's "formula" for tragedy comprises of a great man or woman with a tragic flaw in their personality. Fate intervenes in the events and this combination leads to a fall from greatness. Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet closely follows this formula where characters and their ill-fate plays a critical role in leading up

  • Word count: 1821
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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