Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
Madame Sarah' by Cornelia Otis Skinner
Life engenders life, energy creates energy. It is by spending oneself that one becomes rich." Sarah Bernhardt in 'Madame Sarah' p. 14.
Madame Sarah' occupies a significant place in the incessant flood of biographies that hit the world of literature every year. This genre has been given the most attention because of the fact that we all find lives of rich and famous rather intriguing and thus worth exploring. This is the very reason Madame Sarah was warmly received when it was first published in 1967. Apart from being a witty account of the life of one of the greatest French theatre actresses of all time, the book sold well because of the credentials of the author, Cornelia Otis Skinner, who herself was a fine actress.
Since the subject belonged to the same field as the author, we get an in depth first hand account of Bernhardt's life. Sarah Bernhardt was popularly known as the Divine Sarah for her truly amazing theatre performances....
Written in a straightforward witty fashion, the author takes the reader along on a wild journey while she explores different facets of Bernhardt's life.
In the introduction of the book, the author tries to establish the credibility of her work by stating that she "has tried to sort out from a mass of conflicting research what seems most likely to ring true." This was done because Sarah Bernhardt's life and her biographies especially the one written by her granddaughter were full of contradictions. She blames the "starry-eyed... chronic admiration" of Bernhardt's granddaughter for several biographical inaccuracies. For this reason, she tries to view her subject's life objectively though we see her becoming partial on some occasions. However for most part of the book, the author has hung on her healthy…
Reference:
Cornelia Otis Skinner, Madame Sarah, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1967
Also, the role of the Duke would not be as prominent if the city of Venice would not have been selected for the majority of the activity of the play. The city in itself ensures a certain aura that traditional cultural life as well as the fame of a modern, yet traditional in many instances cities, that provides the story a special twist, embedded in culture, yet modern in
Shylock is also perceived and portrayed as an enemy of the Christian faith and as the nemesis of the play's protagonist, Antonio. He therefore serves a distinct literary purpose by contrasting the depth of friendship exhibited by Antonio's group. Because he is not viewed as a friend, he cannot truly betray any of them. Thus, when Shylock does not back down from his bond with Antonio he is merely
Bassanio chooses lead, when asked to select from the three caskets that Portia offers to test her suitors. She is happy that he wins, and the lead is supposed to be the correct choice, for the person who chooses lead is supposed to be a man who has hazarded all he has, to win Portia. But in truth, Bassanio has hazarded nothing and desires Portia's gold. It is Antonio
Merchant of Venice: Queen Elizabeth vs. Portia There are a number of similarities that exist between Queen Elizabeth of England and William Shakespeare's character Portia in his play The Merchant of Venice. Both women had a good amount of money and power; although Portia was not royalty, she was still a wealthy heiress in the city of Belmont. Because of the money and power associated with these women, they each had
Merchant of Venice In William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, the playwright uses certain symbolic items to illustrate points about human characteristics. Shakespeare's plays are usually full of symbols which feature in to the major themes of the piece. In The Merchant of Venice, much of the plot consists of the desire for wealth and riches and the things that people are willing to do to acquire more. To mirror
Merchant of Venice is an anti-Semitic play. Rather, what I see in the play is Shakespeare cleverly mocking stereotyped views of both Jews and Christians. Shylock, the Jew, is cruel and inhumane in his demand of a pound of flesh from Antonio for his unpaid debt. On the other hand, the Jew, who is definitely not a nice guy, and who was the subject of laughter in early scenes,