Many of the plays revolve around the central question of 'killing the King.' What are the political
Many of the plays revolve around the central question of 'killing the King.' What are the political Kings are everywhere in Shakespeare, from Hamlet to Richard the Second, from Henry the Eighth to Macbeth; many of the plays contain a central element of a king or autocratic head of state such as Julius Caesar, for example. They focus more specifically on the nature of that person's power, especially on the question of removing it; what it means on both a political and psychological level, how it can be achieved, and what will happen afterwards. This is not surprising, considering the times Shakespeare was living in: with the question of who ruled and where their authority came from being ever more increasingly asked in Elizabethan and Jacobean times the observations he makes are especially pertinent. Kings and kingship also lend themselves well to drama; the king is a symbol of the order (or disorder) of the day and a man who possesses (almost) absolute authority and the status that accompanies that, whilst in contrast he is also a human being with the ordinary weaknesses of that condition. Shakespeare is also said to have loved the drama of killing; according to legend he would "make a speech when he killed a calf" in his father's abattoir (Richard Wilson: 'A Brute Part'.) The dramatic image of sacrifice is particularly prevalent in Julius Caesar; Brutus says: " Let us be
The Portrayal of Shakespeare's Hamlet in Cinema
Chapter One Introduction This dissertation is an exploration of William Shakespeare's play, Hamlet, on film, looking into the beginnings and history of Shakespeare on film and studying three famous and very different films of Hamlet; Laurence Olivier's Hamlet made in 1948, Franco Zeffirelli's Hamlet made in 1990 starring Mel Gibson in the title role and Kenneth Branagh's full text Hamlet made in 1996. I have decided to look at Hamlet on film because I believe film is relatively new medium and is interesting to see Shakespeare that was originally written for the stage to be brought to a mass audience in different and innovative ways. It is also important to discuss the different interpretations of Hamlet by different directors. I have chosen my three focus films because Olivier's was the first big cinematic work of Hamlet, Zeffirelli's was the first all-star Hollywood Hamlet and Branagh's was the first full text Hamlet. This therefore shows the various original ways in which Hamlet has been exposed to the film world. I also intend to illustrate why film is an appropriate medium for modern day Shakespeare fans and critics. My first chapter will outline and explore the dawn of cinema, the transition from theatre to cinema and the role of Shakespeare's plays in early cinema referring specifically to Hamlet. I will look at the earliest films of Hamlet and how they were
Consider the significance of death and disease in 'The Duchess of Malfi' and 'The White Devil'.
Consider the significance of death and disease in 'The Duchess of Malfi' and 'The White Devil'. T.S. Eliot claimed that 'Webster was much possessed by death'. This statement seems to be correct, but unsurprisingly so as Webster had already lived through several years of plague and had, one assumes, seen much of death and disease. It does seem, however, that Webster expresses ideas within his plays using the images of disease more often and more effectively than many of his contemporaries. It is perhaps this imagery and the poetry driving through to the final death scenes of his characters that gives Webster's tragedy an extra pain and paradoxically a special appeal. Webster uses very graphic imagery both as description and as metaphor. It was noted by Ralph Berry of The White Devil that '66 images out of a total of about 500 in the play (some 13 per cent) are concerned with disease or corruption'1. The use of this imagery affects our feelings about the action of the play as it influences our reading or viewing by putting suggestions and pictures in our minds that the plot development and action alone would not necessarily evoke. It seems that the imagery in The White Devil is more important and more involved than in The Duchess of Malfi. Although in the latter play there are many obvious examples of the images of death and disease they seem to be used less frequently
The parable of the Prodigal Son is a story about a father's love and sibling rivalry. It is possibly better named the parable of the lost son because it is intended to go along with both the parable of the lost sheep and the lost coin
Emily Olson McConnell Theo 180 Paper #2: The Prodigal Son Jesus often taught in parables. These parables often involved fictional characters and were told in a purely allegorical way. His idea was that by telling the people a story, they would be able to relate and understand his teachings better. In this way, a parable can be defined as a fictional story bearing a concealed significance. One of these parables is the parable of the Prodigal Son. The parable of the Prodigal Son is a story about a father's love and sibling rivalry. It is possibly better named the parable of the lost son because it is intended to go along with both the parable of the lost sheep and the lost coin. It begins with the youngest son asking his father for his share of the estate. The father splits up the property between his two sons. The youngest one continues to sell and squander all of his wealth. Famine spread and the boy was forced to become a slave feeding pigs in a field. Eventually the boy realizes that being a slave for his father would be better that the life he was living. He decides to go home and ask for a job from his father. When his father sees him, however, he rejoices and warmly welcomes his son back. He calls his servants to bring him a robe, ring, and sandals. He also called for the fattened calf to be killed and a feast prepared. The older son, upon hearing this, became very
Thomas Kyd - Bring out the significance of play within the play in Kyd's 'The Spanish Tragedy'.
The Spanish Tragedy --- Thomas Kyd Bring out the significance of play within the play in Kyd's 'The Spanish Tragedy'. The Spanish Tragedy by Thomas Kyd is the first successful revenge tragedy in the Senecan model, before Shakespeare's Hamlet. In The Spanish Tragedy in the Spanish Tragedy, Kyd transforms revenge into a convention and justifies it. The principal motive behind the action of the play is revenge. Another feature of the revenge tragedy in Senecan plays was a villainous character and in The Spanish Tragedy we a have a remarkable villain in the person of Lorenjo. But the most interesting feature of the play is the 'Dumb-show' or the play within the play. It is an excellent device by which Heironimo takes revenge. There could not have been more spectacular and shocking method by which Heironimo might have achieved his revenge. In Act IV scene I, in the drama, Balthazar has requested Heironimo to arrange some kind of entertainment for hid father, the Portuguese viceroy, who is on a visit to the Spanish court. Heironimo says that a long time back he had written a tragic drama about Persada and Soliman and that he would gladly present the tragic drama on the stage for Balthazar's father. Heironimo wants that both Balthazar and Lorenjo agree to act certain parts in his drama and that Belimperia should also be prevailed upon to accept a role. At first Belathazar does
Do you find Aristotle's notion of the tragic error or flaw helpful in understanding dramatic tragedy?
Do you find Aristotle's notion of the tragic error or flaw helpful in understanding dramatic tragedy? To say that Aristotle's Poetics were influential in the genre of dramatic tragedy would be an understatement. As an account and definition of tragedy it could be described as quintessential. The notion of hamartia is useful in explaining the motivations and fates of many a tragic hero. It does not, however, always prove helpful. On the contrary it can sometimes present a problem when the tragic flaw is barely visible or unascertainable. It is necessary to remember that there have been other definitions of tragedy and that since Aristotle's time it has evolved, spread well beyond the boundaries of Greece and spawned sub-genres. Shakespeare introduces us to a problematic tragic hero in Hamlet who, it almost seems, escapes Aristotle's reach with his complexity of character. The hubris encountered in Sophocles's Oedipus Rex, however, adheres very well to the notion of tragic flaw. When studying the origins of dramatic tragedy, Aristotle's ideas always prove helpful. The word tragedy barely had a definition before he came along. Dramatic tragedy originated in Greece, somehow out of ritual sacrifices in honour of Dionysus. Its vague nature was possibly what prompted Aristotle to set about defining it. He wrote his account based on his knowledge of Greek tragedies such as those by
Shakespeare's Hamlet as a Tragedy.
Shakespeare's Hamlet as a Tragedy Hamlet, the story of a young prince who seeks to revenge his father's death by killing his uncle, Claudius, is one of the most favorite and complex Shakespearean tragedies. Hamlet is unsettled by Claudius taking over the throne and his mother's hasty remarriage but does nothing except verbalize this discontent. Encountering the ghost of his dead father, who tells Hamlet that he was murdered by Claudius, gives reason to Hamlet to seek revenge; however, Hamlet continually postpones his actions and, this being his tragic flaw, leads to his downfall. Shakespeare's Hamlet is the classic example of a tragedy as defined by A.C. Bradley. Bradley says that a Shakespearean tragedy is the story of a hero who encounters significant suffering. The hero, a man of high status and an "exceptional being" who inspires "fear or calamity" in others, often compares himself or his situation to happier times and struggles with an internal dilemma. The tragic hero brings about his own downfall through his actions, or his tragic flaw, and his destruction affects those around him. Shakespeare also occasionally uses abnormal conditions of the mind, such as insanity, and includes the supernatural, such as ghosts. The supernatural elements are always placed in close relation to the hero and only confirm existing movement. Hamlet's character is disturbed and unsettled