Death in Venice in Thomas Mann's Novella

Death in Venice

In Thomas Mann's novella Death in Venice, a writer goes to the title city in order to find inspiration and to ease his writer's block. During his time there, he discovers and then becomes obsessed with a young boy who he sees as incomparably beautiful. Instead of physically expressing his emotions for the boy, he forces the emotions to remain internal, something which eventually leads to his destruction. Although Gustov von Aschenbach, the protagonist of the novella, actually dies of cholera which is widespread in the area, it can be seen that it is actually the internal struggle to possess and also repulse the youth that is really the reason for his death. In this conflict, Gustov represents the perspective of duality theorized by Nietzsche wherein people possess antagonistic characteristics which force the individual to be constantly at war with him or herself. The gods of Greek…… [Read More]

Death in Venice Thomas Mann's

This depiction of Aschenbach's state of mind can be interpreted as being one way in which Mann suggests his character's definite detachment from the real world. Psychology studies can easily motivate the role a state of crisis plays in taking abrupt and drastic decisions. It most often leads the individual to engage in desperate gestures and irrational actions. Similarly, Aschenbach can no longer control his urges to see Tadzio and to be around him, even if there would be no actual contact.

The double side of his nature, that which had been denied for so long under the pressures of his German social environment cannot be repressed and the sight of an imminent death makes his actions to be even more uncalculated. Thus, "his head and his heart were drunk, and his steps followed the dictates of that dark god whose pleasure it is to trample man's reason and dignity…… [Read More]

Thomas Mann's Death in Venice

Thomas Mann- Death in Venice

Thomas Mann's Death in Venice is often regard as the first major Gay novel but to categorize this fascinating story in such a manner significantly limits its merits. The novel may contain homosexual love affair but it is certainly a lot larger than that. It explores the psychological influences of a magical city on a person who is running away from himself-of how forbidden love can transform the entire personality and soul and how despite being wise and sensible, we deliberately become a victim of false enticement.

Death in Venice was originally written in German but it has been widely translated into different languages, which says a great deal about the popularity of this work. It is only wise then to study the deeper messages of this novel and not label it as a gay work. Homosexuality may be one of the elements but it…… [Read More]

Freudian Analysis of Thomas Mann Death in Venice

Thomas Mann’s Death in Venice is an easy subject for psychoanalytic criticism. Given that Freud’s theory of unheimlich (the uncanny) has been construed as a “latter-day theory of the sublime, of the imagination overwhelmed in a moment of bafflement but also exhilaration,” Aschenbach’s various obsessions make more sense (Sandner, 2004, p. 74). Of course, other aspects of Freudian discourse can be used as lenses through which to read Death in Venice, but unheimlich offers the broadest insight into Aschenbach’s overall character. The entire novella unfolds as a series of cascading coincidences, and if it were not set in the dreamy world of the Venetian archipelago, Mann’s novella would be less believable and even more surreal than it already is. Yet Venice offers the perfect landscape within which to explore the resurfacing of unconscious thoughts, dreams, desires, and fears that occupy the unconscious mind. The reader becomes trapped inside of Aschenbach’s…… [Read More]

Venice Dear Veranico Franco This

The Carnevale and Sensa festivals were outlawed and the Book of Gold, which had recorded the names of patrician families of Venice for more than four centuries, was burned.

Before leaving Venice Napoleon instructed his men to take twenty paintings along with five hundred manuscripts of rarity including the 'Wedding Feast at Cana' by Veronese. Napoleon additionally took the four bronze horses of San Marco to be taken from the facade of the building. As well, the ancient winged lion that was atop the column in the Piazetta was removed. The Aresenale is reported to have been "systematically stripped down to the bare walls. A regiment of French soldiers took axes to the lavish busintoro…" (Madden, 2012, p.449) in addition, "dozens of priceless works of medieval art, including Golden oses bestowed o Venice for centuries of faithful service to popes were broken apart for their diamonds, pearls, and precious metals."…… [Read More]

Luchino Visconti Is a Well-Known

The naked man causes Ludwig to feel odd and in his desperation, pleads to the heavens to help him signifying his other rebellion, his dormant homosexuality. The wedding follows and Elisabeth steals the show with Sophie falling to the background. What happens later is a failed rendezvous with a prostitute and other failed attempts of Ludwig to behave like a heterosexual. His desires to be around Wagner vs. Sophie and the subsequent scene with the valet demonstrate more and more Ludwig increasing desire to seek the company of men. This leads then to a deteriorating condition in which a bandage is over his eyes. He is fooling around in a Bavarian inn implying he yet again gives in to his homosexual tendencies much like the SA revelry in the previous movie, The Damned. The film ends with the government planning to depose him much like what happened in reality and…… [Read More]

Benjamin Britten

Benjamin Britten

Today, Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) is best known for his instrumental, choral, and operatic compositions as well as being the co-founder of the English Opera Group and the Aldeburgh Festival (Radloff 426). Although Britten's music is likely familiar to many modern observers, his name is probably unfamiliar to most and facts about his early life even less well-known. To determine these facts and the impact of his work, this paper provides a review of the relevant peer-reviewed and scholarly literature concerning the composer, Benjamin Britten, including an in-depth analysis of one of his compositions. A summary of the research and important findings concerning Britten and his work are provided in the conclusion.

Review and Discussion

On November 22, 1913 (St. Cecilia's Day), Edward Benjamin Britten was born in Lowestoft, Suffolk, England (Craggs 3). Benjamin was the youngest child of five sons and two daughters (Brann 2) born to Robert…… [Read More]

Morality Plays

Death in Everyman

The concept of death is a very complicated and often morose subject when it is covered and analyzed through the interpretations and scenarios depicted in a play, let alone a play as prominent and chilling as Everyman. However, there is usually a point and moral to these sorts of plays and Everyman is no different. While the mood of the play is somber and perhaps instills or otherwise causes feelings that are uncomfortable to think about, Everyman drives home the point that no matter one's wealth, prestige and power upon death, about the only thing that can be taken with you to the other side are one's deeds, both good and bad.

Lack of importance of Five Wits

Lack of importance of physical traits

c. Lessons for believers and non-believers

Moral of the play

Conclusion

Death in Everyman

Death and leading a "good life" are two subjects…… [Read More]

Role Playing vs Reality in

All along, Miller's salesman was creating a tableau vivant, in his work and in his family. If you put the right characters on stage, you create the right image.

In illy Loman's mind, Dave Singleman, that "single" salesman, no doubt created the proper image. Even Singleman's death was that of a salesman, "hen he died -- and by the way he died the death of a salesman, in his green velvet slippers in the smoker of the New York, New Haven and Hartford, going into Boston -- when he died, hundreds of salesmen and buyers were at his funeral." A traveling salesman should die on the road, as Dave Singleman obviously did. hat greater tribute to a way of life than to die in the course of one's duty? Appropriately, as well, Loman's hero received the adulation of his peers - the ultimate complement in the eyes of a man…… [Read More]

Printing Press and the Internet

)

"Sonnet 130" by Shakespeare and "Sonnet 23" by Louis Labe both talk about love, as so many sonnets do. Their respective techniques however, differentiate them from each other. Shakespeare uses a rhyme scheme that became known as Shakespearean rhyme scheme or English rhyme. He writes about love in a sarcastic manner though. He is mocking the traditional love poems and the usual expressive manner in which women are often compared to. It is ironic in a way because Shakespeare himself also uses the very techniques in his previous writing when he is writing from a man's point-of-view and describing a woman. But in this sonnet he uses the technique of mocking this exaggerated comparison. Usually women are compared to having skin as white as snow, however, in reality, Shakespeare points out, women don't really fit this description, "If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun."

Louis Labe…… [Read More]

Merchant Parents Child Parent Models in

The parallels between these situations and Frye's basic assessment of the plot of New Comedies are not, perhaps, immediately apparent, but they have the same effect by the end of the play, where "the audience witnesses the birth of a renewed sense of social integration" (Frye 94). The parent/child relationships have been largely done away with in favor of te romantic ties that seem to be favored by the play. It is disingenuous, however, to dismiss the issue of class in this play outright. In many ways, the relationships between the various fathers and their children can be een to be indicative of class lines. Launcelot's position and its possible implications in his treatment of his father have already been discussed, but both his and Jessica's treatment of Shylock still deserved comment. Jessica is somewhat exonerated for her actions towards her father (again, the degree depends on the particular choices…… [Read More]

Othello the Play Takes Place

They will go to far to hire a mercenary like Iago to pursue their goal for them. There are Othellos today as there was a shining one in Shakespeare's fiction or time. Military heroes like him have secret vulnerabilities, which reveal themselves in unguarded or trying moments. As a self-claimed victim of a foreign culture, Othello's cry of discrimination resounds in contemporary society despite his accomplishments.

Contentment in life is everyone's universal pursuit. That pursuit takes on what the present culture makes available and is most suitable at the moment. Othello perceives that his contentment goes beyond acclaim and military power. It includes having a dutiful and beautiful wife in Desdemona. He pours his weakest on him and on a scheming subordinate, Iago. Othello's credulousness is not confined to Shakespeare's time. Credulousness is universal. People living and thriving in a country with a different culture must invest in trust or…… [Read More]

Tragic Truth the Search for

It recounts the travails of Antigone, daughter of Oedipus the former king of Thebes, who disobeys King Creon in burying the body of her slain brother. She knows that she faces death for doing this, but insists that she does not care, saying "For whoso lives, as I, in many woes,

/ How can it be but death shall bring him gain? / And so for me to bear this doom of thine / Has nothing painful" (Arrowsmith, lines 508-12). Antigone does not see meaninglessness in death, but rather is willing to face death for the symbolic gesture of burying her brother. This illustrates her own tragic quest for truth; like Gilgamesh (and Creon), she is frustrated by the rules and order imposed by a mortal government, and feels that it pales in comparison to the divine moral laws such as those regarding the treatment of the dead and the…… [Read More]

Henry V And the Merchant

The interaction between father and son takes place in Act II, Scene ii, with a teasing display of affection where Lancelot fools his father into thinking he is dead, and then asks for his help in leaving Shylock's employment. His father, an old blind servant, supports his son and urges Bassanio to hire his son. The unconditional love between father and son is quite clear in this funny yet touching scene. This is in direct contrast to the relationship between Jessica and Shylock. Jessica despises living in her father's house and hopes to elope with her love, Lorenzo. She finds her father stingy and live in her home is "hell." She despairs when Lancelot leaves, and determines to leave as well. Both she and Lancelot chafe at Shylock's ways, but her relationship with her father is strained at best. The healthy relationship between Lancelot and his father only serves to…… [Read More]

19th and 20th Century Literature

Balzac and Kafka: From Realism to Magical Realism

French author Honore de Balzac defined the genre of realism in the early 19th century with his novel Old Man Goriot, which served as a cornerstone for his more ambitious project, The Human Comedy. Old Man Goriot also served as a prototype for realistic novels, with its setting of narrative parameters which included plot, structure, characterization, and point-of-view. The 20th century, however, digressed considerably from the genre of realism. Franz Kafka, for example, has been considered as one of the forerunners of the genre known as Magical Realism. endy B. Faris defines the genre of Magical Realism as the combination of "realism and the fantastic so that the marvelous seems to grow organically within the ordinary, blurring the distinction between them… [including] different cultural traditions" (1). Faris finds magical realism to exist at the crossroads of modernism and post-modernism, as a kind…… [Read More]

Modernism God the World and Literature The

Modernism)

God, the World, and Literature: The Concept of Social Morality in Modern Literature

Literature, as the primary source of information of people in witnessing and experiencing realities interpreted by the author/writer, is more than a medium that extends messages of reality and experience. Literature is, first and foremost, an expression of thoughts and ideologies that may or may not be agreed upon by the author or his/her characters in the said work. The concept of social morality is such example of these ideologies extended thru literary works. Through literature, writers are able to provide people with varying themes related to the discussion of social morality, offering people avenues wherein morality can be created and developed by the society, and adapted by the individual.

Modern literature boasts itself of this kinds of art -- literary works that depict the life of individuals who were directly affected by their own or…… [Read More]

Beowulf as a Hero Lesson

Your answer should be at least five sentences long.

The Legend of Arthur

Lesson 1 Journal Entry # 9 of 16

Journal Exercise 1.7A: Honor and Loyalty

1. Consider how Arthur's actions and personality agree with or challenge your definition of honor. Write a few sentences comparing your definition (from Journal 1.6A) with Arthur's actions and personality.

2. Write a brief paragraph explaining the importance or unimportance of loyalty in being honorable.

Lesson 1 Journal Entry # 10 of 16

Journal Exercise 1.7B: Combining Sentences

Complete the Practice Activity on page 202 of your text. After completing this activity, read over your Essay Assessment or another journal activity you've completed.

* Identify three passages that could be improved by combining two or more sentences with coordinating or subordinating conjunctions. Below the practice activity in your journal, write the original passages and the revised sentences you've created.

* Be sure to…… [Read More]

Beowulf as a Hero Lesson

Those with issues to overcome are always more heroic. Hector also becomes a hero when, after at first running from Achilles, he eventually stands up to him and dies a heroic death.

The Iliad is primarily a war epic. In your opinion, is the Iliad condemnation of the it could easily be argued that the Illiad glorifies war, as much of the poem is spent portraying the warriors as brave and courageous, even as they go on killing rampages. Warriors are describes as "masters of the battle cry" and "warlike" in glowing epithets. When Achilles originally refused to fight, he is roundly condemned for it by all of the other Greek characters. Even the weapons of war, such as Achilles impenetrable shield, are glorified. But homer is more complicated than simple -- war also brings death, which he describes in great detail. Hector's death is perhaps the most graphic of…… [Read More]

Hero The Definition of Hero

Madam Eglantyne the Nun, is also an ironic charater. She eats in a very refined manner and attempts other fine characteristics such as speaking French, although she fares poorly at this. Ironically, not all her language is pure, as she swears cosntantly by "St. Loy," a saint renowned for not swearing. Unlike the general conception of the Nun, she is very concerned with outward appearances and did not much care for human beings. Indeed, she cared much more for her three dogs than the human beings around her. Another irony is that she has a coral trinket to fight worldly temptations, which is clearly failing badly.

A second character is the Friar, Hubert. While he is jolly, merry, and festive, his actions are nevertheless evil and cunning. He impregnates girls, for example, and marries them off. He deceived the faithful by hearing confessions for a fee, and even begged from…… [Read More]

Othello the Tragedy of Othello

Simultaneously, he forces a man long upheld as honest in the highest Venetian circles into scheming and manipulations; these are roles which Iago takes on too readily, suggesting a certain familiarity, but it must be preserved that no earlier instance is ever presented to suggest that the notables of Venice were in any way wrong to uphold Iago as honest and true. In fact, those same notables are those that appealed to Othello on Iago's behalf in the question of the promotion. Allowing passion to rule what should be societal decisions is Othello's barbarism cracking through the veneer of his civility. Othello, though a great soldier, is no Caesar nor even a Roman at all. His nature is of the wild, and -- like many tamed, wild beasts -- he retains the inner potential to one day bite the hand that feeds him.

And, even after Othello's barbarian passion has…… [Read More]

Pippa Passes Robert Browning's Lengthy

What many of these other people have to say about themselves and their situation an about the change of hear they may have now that they have heard Pippa sing could be fodder for a dramatic monologue in the way Browning would later shape that form.

The poem covers an entire day, New Year's Day, a day of remembrance and renewal, a day of change from one year to the next and from one state of mind to another. Significantly, then, Pippa's songs serve as a form of forced New Year's resolution for many of these people, making them rethink their lives and make a decision where before they could not. This story contrasts in some ways with that of Sebold and Ottima. The lovers now are Jules and Phene. Jules is the butt of a cruel joke by his fellow art students. He is inclined to leave Phene and…… [Read More]

Southern & Northern Renaissance the

Even in Catholic France, the Protestant sentiment that God's grace alone can save His fallen, human creation was evident in the humanist king, Francis I's sister, Margaret, Queen of Navarre's novel when she wrote: "We must humble ourselves, for God does not bestow his graces on men because they are noble or rich; but, according as it pleases his goodness, which regards not the appearance of persons, he chooses whom he will."

Shakespeare's Hamlet is haunted by the ghost of his father from Purgatory. Purgatory was a Catholic concept. But rather than trusting the vision of the divine on earth, Hamlet is suspicious about the ability of fallen human beings to enact justice. Rather than finding good in the face of women, Hamlet sees only evil. "In considering the cultural conditions that allow tragedy to revive, we may also want to consider that the plays occurred in Christian Northern Europe;…… [Read More]

St Mark's Basilica - An

We know now that more than one knight who went to the Holy Lands ostensibly to "rout out the infidel" actually had a more pragmatic agenda: they brought home loot, everything they could physically handle plus anything more they could load on pack animals and/or enlist the aid of a squire or a fellow traveler to help them haul away.
In that context, therefore, it's neither very surprising nor out of the realm of possibility that one particular group of mercenaries saw a chance for a real gold mine to come their way-if not the Holy Grail, then a pretty good second choice!
Thus it was in 829, the story goes, that two merchants smuggled the body of St. Mark from its original burial place in Alexandria, Egypt, to Venice, upon which point the Doge promptly declared the church as the apostle's official burial place and appropriated him as the…… [Read More]

19th Century British Literature

medieval romance has inspired literature for generations. The magic of the Arthurian romance can be traced to Celtic origins, which adds to it appeal when we look at it through the prism of post-medieval literature. The revival of the medieval romance can be viewed as an opposition against modern and intellectual movement that became vogue in modern Europe. These romances often emphasized the human emotions rather than the human intellect and a return to more classical traditions. Poets and writers in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries did not want to feel the oppression from the constraints of their time. Instead, they looked beyond the intellectual to a more mystical and emotional realm. They wanted to achieve another level in their writing -- one that allowed them to stretch their imaginations and their knowledge. The medieval aspects that we find in literature from this era accentuates a different type of thinking…… [Read More]

Warrior Hero A Stranger in a Strange

arrior Hero: A Stranger in a Strange Land

The figure of the hero is set apart from the common herd of ordinary men by virtue of his special qualities and abilities; in some works, this separateness is literal - he is in a strange land apart from his own kin. To see how this alienation enhances the tale of the hero's conflict, The Odyssey, Beowulf and The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice will be considered.

Odysseus, Beowulf and Othello are all warrior heroes. Odysseus, in The Odyssey, has been instrumental in the victory at Troy, and now fights to return to Ithaca and bring his men safely home; more struggles await him there. Beowulf, a great fighter who has proven his mettle in many conflicts, hears about the depredations of Grendel on Heorot Hall and journeys there to rescue Hrothgar's people. His role in the conflicts against the…… [Read More]

Tolstoy and Shakespeare How Much Land Does

Tolstoy and Shakespeare

"How Much Land Does a Man Need?"

The short story "How Much Land Does a Man Need?" By Tolstoy serves to teach a lesson to the reader. It is a morality play explaining the sin of greed and how it leads to trouble. The story begins with a peasant complaining that he does not have enough land. "If I had plenty of land, I shouldn't fear the Devil himself!" (Tolstoy 140) Land is thereby equated with lack of fear. In the end, greed is what causes the peasant Pahom's death. He believes that he can outwit his neighbors and get their land at a fraction of its value. His cockiness leads him to have a heart attack at sunset and be buried in a six foot grave. "Six feet from his head to his heels was all he needed" (140). The title of the story becomes ironic…… [Read More]

Aristotle's Tragedy and Shakespeare's Othello

Shakespeare's Othello

A lot of genres throughout history have been tested over time among which 'tragedy' has been the most favorite one. Tragedy reveals a debacle tale of a good or valuable person through misinterpretation and fatal mistakes along with the production of misfortune and awareness on the protagonist's part and arousal of fear and sympathy on the audience's part. Aristotle, an ancient Greek thinker, is considered to have been the key ruling forces of tragedy. 'Poetics,' a masterpiece literature is considered to be the key authority that defines a true misfortune (Aristotle, 1968, pgs 33-35).

A character filled with tragedy must lift the story plot in every tragedy and that hero has to accomplish particular rules to be called a tragic hero. Aristotle presents some rules of a tragic hero which state that the character should not be displayed fleeting through an excellent fortune to a bad one; while…… [Read More]

Shakespeare and Blake a Prevalent Issue in

Shakespeare and Blake

A prevalent issue in English literature is how social status affects individuals. Two writers that are able to explore the negative aspects of social status are William Shakespeare and William Blake. In Shakespeare's Othello, the Moor of Venice, social status plays a major role in determining who does or does not get promoted within the military; this determination, in turn, leads to rebellion on the part of Iago who is both angry and jealous after being passed up for promotion. On the other hand, Blake's poems of the same title, "The Chimney Sweeper" from Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience, highlight what children of lower social classes must endure for the benefit of their families. Through their respective works of literature, Shakespeare and Blake demonstrate the lasting impact that social striation has on individuals.

Othello, the Moor of Venice is a dramatic play that focuses on…… [Read More]

Antonio Canova Was an Italian Sculptor From

Antonio Canova was an Italian sculptor from Venice who lived from 1757 to 1822. He primarily worked in marble and believed that he could use that medium to render an artistic view of human flesh. He is most famous as someone who rejected the excesses and filigree of the Baroque to return to classical style, making him one of the foremost artists of the neoclassical style. For a number of years, Canova's work was considered to be the greatest example of European sculpture -- to the point that in 1802, Canova was invited to Paris to carve marble portraits of the emperor Napoleon and family. Most art critics find that the combination of returning to mythology and discreet eroticism that flowed out of the enaissance and into the modern era, without all the unnecessary frills of the Baroque, to be his greatest contribution to art.

Biography

Canova was born in…… [Read More]

Othello and the Great Commission

Spreading the Word of God

Othello, a Brief Analysis

Anyone who has read Othello understands what Shakespeare was attempting to portray as it relates to Christianity. His audience, Christians, desired stories that they could relate to, but also had some form of lesson or message in them as it relates to their faith. Shakespeare himself was raised Christian. Therefore the setting of his stories, like that of Othello, has a Christian setting to help better portray the Christian acts and symbols. The play has many instances and speeches that symbolize and signify something related to Christianity. A good instance of this is when Othello tells Desdemona to pray and Iago when he discusses how he views himself. The Great Commission as expressed in the Bible, deals with the work of disciples and believers of Christianity to spread the faith the message of God. In Othello the word of God is…… [Read More]

Shakespeare Othello the Character Emilia

She states, "I nothing but to please his fantasy," and she does not speculate that her "wayward husband" might have any malicious intent with one of Desdemonda's most precious items. Emila's unfailing trust in her husband is frustrating in light of Iago's deceit, and makes her seem even more remarkable of a character. Even when Desdemonda asks "here should I lose that handkerchief, Emilia?" Emilia does not mention how badly Iago wanted his hands on the item. In the closest thing to a lie that Emilia tells, she replies, "I know not, madam," (III, iv).

Ultimately, Othello's jealous rage startles Emilia and helps her grow as a character. In one of her boldest moments in the play, Emilia states, "They are all but stomachs, and we all but food; To eat us hungrily, and when they are full, they belch us. Look you, Cassio and my husband!" (III, iv). However,…… [Read More]

Disagreement That The Downfall of Oedipus Is

disagreement that "The downfall of Oedipus is the work of the gods; the downfall of Othello is self-inflicted."

Othello and Oedipus were both considered to be heroic and honorable men that turned out to be the victims of two tragic downfalls

Both stories carry on a legacy even till this day.

In spite of their 2,000-year difference, Othello and Oedipus are still sad.

This essay will discuss the researcher's disagreement that "The downfall of Oedipus is the work of the gods; the downfall of Othello is self-inflicted."

Support

Oedipus downfall was clearly not the work of God.

Supporting Ideas

Disastrous fall of Oedipus in Sophocles play "Oedipus ex" was very much self-inflicted

b. They were events drawn from his own purpose

His first lethal mistake was the murder of his father.

Clearly Oedipus was his own worse enemy.

B. Support

Othello fall had something to do with relationships

Supporting Ideas…… [Read More]

Comparing Characters in Shakespearian Plays

OEDIPUS VS. OTHELLO

Oedipus and Othello

Oedipus and Othello are both productions where the namesake of the story or play experiences a downfall before the end of the play.

Oedipus and Othello each experience a downfall

Oedipus was a victim of the actions of the gods

Othello was responsible for his own downfall

Othello had opportunity to change his fate

Othello was deceived by Iago

Othello maims Iago

Iago never explains his motivations iii. Othello's jealousy leads him to murder Desdemona

Othello learns that he was wrong about Desdemona

Some ancillary actions played a part in each of the tragic circumstances

Oedipus' behavior is clearly outside the bounds of morality

a. Oedipus ignores the warnings of his father, Laius

Oedipus has sexual relations with his mother

c. Oedipus kills his father

d. Oedipus had free will and could have stopped himself

Thesis

Oedipus and Othello are both productions where the…… [Read More]

Link With Cyprus's Independence

tragedy of Othello by Shakespeare was written in the sixteenth century around 1603-1604. This play covers the destruction of the marriage of a young Venetian known as Desdemona and a Moor, Othello. Even though the title of this tragedy shows that it took place in Venice, it occurred in both Venice and Cyprus. Even though that area is predominantly occupied with actions of love and Venus, it leads to events that cause the negative or the violent side of the characters to come out. For instance, the malicious Lago prompts Othello into jealousy. Due to this reason, he strangles his innocent wife on their marital bed and kills himself when the deception of Lago is exposed.

This short synopsis of the play was necessary to go deep into the thesis that will be discussed in the paper. Many different studies and deductions made of the play focus on the gender…… [Read More]

Jealousy and Ignorance in Othello the Moor

Jealousy and Ignorance in Othello, The Moor of Venice

In Shakespeare's Othello, the Moor of Venice, the concepts of love and friendship are explored through the manipulation of Othello by Iago. In this play, Iago is able to destroy the relationship between Othello and Desdemona, his wife, by convincing Othello that his wife has been disloyal to him and the sanctity of their marriage. An argument may be made that Othello's jealousy clouded his judgment and that his ignorance of what romantic love was contributed to his demise.

Othello, the Moor of Venice is the tragic story of the war hero, Othello, and the great lengths that his supposed friend and compatriot, Iago, went to in order to take away Othello's political power. Iago's quest begins when he is passed over for promotion and Michael Cassio, who he believes to be less qualified than him, is promoted to the position…… [Read More]

Incongruous to Try to Compare the Artists

incongruous to try to compare the artists illiam Shakespeare and Bob Marley. These two men, separated by centuries and embodying two very different forms of art, both make up part of the history of popular culture. One man is considered the premiere playwright in the history of the English language, a man whose name is synonymous with high culture. The other man is known for his success in a musical genre and a culture that uses a different meaning for the word high. hat could these men possible have in common one might ask? Examining the history and writings of both Renaissance writer illiam Shakespeare and reggae musician Bob Marley it becomes evident that they both use emotional appeals and heavy symbolism to prove points about the human condition and to promote understanding between people from different stations of life, all of which are used to persuade others that the…… [Read More]

Ethics Shakespeare's Othello A Tragedy

On one hand, Iago's racism and spite seal Othello's fate -- but on the other hand, there is a suggestion that his nature may predispose him to such violence and credulousness.

hen realizing his folly, Othello, who told about his enslavement as a young man while wooing Desdemona, says he is enslaved once again, this time to the devil: "O cursed slave!/hip me, ye devils,/From the possession of this heavenly sight!" (5.2). Othello also uses blackness to characterize evil, and goodness is portrayed as fair and light. But this does not necessarily support a racist reading of the play, the reading that Othello's true nature is coming forth. Rather, it shows that Othello is affected by racism, just as much as the other characters -- just like Brabantio who will accept a Moor as a guest, not a son-in-law, and just like Iago who can cunningly use Othello's race against…… [Read More]

Fantastic Literature Todorov Revised Fantastic Literature in

Fantastic Literature

Todorov revised

FANTASTIC LITEATUE IN "THE DEAD LOVE"

The hesitation of characters when confronted with questions of reality is clearly depicted in The Dead Lover and becomes the driving force of the plot through the experiences of the protagonist omuald as recounted by him at the age of sixty-six. The hesitation of omuald to confront the question of which of his experiences -- the ones as the priest or the one as Seignior omuald of Venice -- are real forms the basis of much of the plot. This hesitation is built into the constitution and personality of the protagonist as he is a young priest recently ordained and is not mature enough to deal with the temptations of the world that he comes across for the first time since his education in a cloistered environment is complete.

omuald's Hesitation to Accept the eality of his Vocation

The plot…… [Read More]

City State of Genoa 900-1550

The goods from Asia were shipped to Venice and Genoa from where they were carried over the Alps to France and Germany, or through the strait of Gibraltar to Britain and the Scandinavian countries. The Black Sea port of Caffa, controlled by the Genoese during the 14th century, was an important terminal point on the silk route. Apart from the fur and slaves that it normally imported, Caffa is also reputed to have introduced the dreaded "Black Death" epidemic to Europe through fleas on rats that traveled on Genoese ships to Constantinople. (Ibid)

Genoese Trade with the Ottomans

Until the rise of the Ottoman Empire in the 14th century, the Genoese had prospered in trading through their relations with the Byzantines, the Christian principalities of the East, and even their sworn enemies -- the Arabs, while fighting for domination of trade with Venice. Thereafter, most of their trading activities depended…… [Read More]

Role of Free Will and Fate in

Role of Free ill and Fate in Oedipus Rex and Othello, the Moor of Venice

Free will and fate play a major role in determining the outcome the hero experiences in Sophocles' Oedipus Rex and illiam Shakespeare's Othello, the Moor of Venice. In Oedipus Rex, Oedipus's destiny has been predetermined and despite his many efforts, he cannot escape the future the gods have planned for him. Oedipus Rex's form relies on a chorus to serve as an emissary between the gods and the audience and ultimately aims at allowing the audience to achieve catharsis. On the contrary, in Othello, the Moor of Venice, Othello's future is determined through a series of actions that were not influenced by the gods, but rather through free will. Othello, the Moor of Venice's form breaks up the action into separate "vignettes" that ultimately highlight the depravity of man and aims to serve as a…… [Read More]

Henry James Is a Plot That Is

Henry James is a plot that is replete with symbolism both in its overarching theme and in its subcomponents.

The Aspern Papers devolves around the plot of a man who would stoop at almost nothing to procure and publish the papers of Jeffery Aspern a famous poet. The character, this nameless narrator, goes to Venice to locate Juliana Bordereau, former lover of a famous, now dead, American poet. He erreoneously believes that Juliana has papers written by this poet and is prepared to court her niece Miss Tita, an unappealing and simple woman, in order to catch a glimpse of these 'Aspern papers'. Miss Tita agrees to help him. Juliana later offers to sell a miniature portrait of Aspern to the narrator for an exorbitant price, but shortly after catches the narrator rifling through her room searching for the alleged papers. Juliana calls the narrator a "publishing scoundrel," collapses, the…… [Read More]

Antonio Vivaldi Is One of

While in Mantua, Vivaldi met Anna Giraud, which is supposed to have been his life companion, although the two never married. Anna Giraud followed Vivaldi in all his residences as she was introduced as a good friend and a housekeeper, but she remained by his side until his death.

Vivaldi began to be known as a composer and he was even solicited to compose for certain personalities, such as the French king Louis XV. As Vivaldi himself was saying, he was even asked by the Pope to play the violin for him at a private audience. In fact, Vivaldi had very rewarding experiences while staying in Rome, the city being deeply inclined towards culture. Despite his long stays in Mantua or Rome, Vivaldi continued his collaboration with Pieta and with Teatro Sant' Angelo and the fact that he was only required to sent his works to these institutions shows how…… [Read More]

Thin Line Between Love and Hate

cause of Othello's tragedy: a fine line, not between love and hate, but too heavy a line between men and women

Othello: "It is the cause, oh my soul"

Act 5, Scene II

hat is the cause of the bloody end of "Othello?" Othello has one of the most horrifying ends of all of Shakespeare's tragedies -- a man smothers a woman he apparently loves, who gave up everything to marry him, and then kills himself when he discovers that she was chaste. Is it the cause of this terrible rooted in Othello's soul? The protagonists himself suggests that the cause is the thin line that exists between love and hate, as he looms over what will become his bride's death-bed at the end of the tragedy that bears his name, and his dying words are that he is a man who loved too much rather than too little. In…… [Read More]

Shakespeare's Women There Is a

ork Cited

Antony and Cleopatra. Retrieved September 30, 2005 from:

http://www-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/cleopatra/full.html

Brown, Lenora Inez. "Enter the Body: omen and Representation on Shakespeare's Stage." American Theatre. May 01, 2001. Retrieved September 30, 2005 from HighBeam Research Library eb site.

Desmet, Christy. "omen's Matters: Politics, Gender, and Nation in Shakespeare's Early History Plays." Comparative Drama. September 22, 2000. Retrieved September 30, 2005 from HighBeam Research Library eb site.

Hunt, Maurice. "Shakespeare's Venetian paradigm: stereotyping and Sadism in The Merchant of Venice and Othello." Papers on Language & Literature. March 22, 2003. Retrieved September 30, 2005 from HighBeam Research Library eb site.

Julius Caesar, The Life and Death of. Retrieved September 30, 2005 from:

http://www-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/julius_caesar/full.html

Othello, The Moore of Venice. Retrieved September 30, 2005 from:

http://www-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/othello/full.html

Starks, Lisa S. "Like the lover's pinch, which hurts and is desired: The Narrative

of Male Masochism and Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra." Literature and Psychology. December 22,…… [Read More]

Shakespeare Tragedies

Shakespeare Never Read Aristotle?

Or, the dynamic forms of catharsis and tragic flaws in Shakespeare's plays

Shakespeare's most beloved plays are his tragedies. If one were to list his best and most popular plays: Othello, Romeo & Juliet, Hamlet, King Lear, and so forth, one would find the list comprised almost entirely of tragedies. So it would not be amiss to say that much of the modern literary conception of theatrical tragedy is shaped and influenced by Shakespeare. At the same time, the definitions of the tragic form as understood at the roots of theatrical history (in Greco-Roman times) continue to be part and parcel of the official comprehension of tragedy. Many critics have sought to fore Shakespeare into the mold of tragedy defined in Aristotle's Poetica, and many others have rightfully protested that he was not cast from that mold, and that in fact he owes little to it.…… [Read More]

Othello the Villain Iago Is

Moreover, when Desdemona's handkerchief goes missing, and Othello approaches her about it, clearly thinking that she has given it to Cassio, Desdemona does not suspect that Emilia has taken the handkerchief from her.

Unfortunately for Desdemona, her trusting nature ends up being her fatal flaw. Othello becomes increasingly cruel to Desdemona throughout the course of the play. Although the audience is not aware of their entire romantic history, it appears that they have been involved in a platonic friendship for a substantial period of time, but only involved in an intimate relationship for a short period of time. The audience is certain that the marriage has been of a relatively short duration. However, despite the fact that there cannot be a long history of Othello treating Desdemona appropriately, Desdemona plays the role of obedient wife. At the end of the play, Othello orders Desdemona to stay in her bed. In…… [Read More]

Diasporic Identities In Othello and Heart of

Diasporic Identities: In Othello and Heart of Darkness

The issue of Diaspora is often associated with only a single culture, that of the Jews who were challenged by the secular and Islamic leaders of their "homeland" to flee for their lives and believe that they are in constant wandering upon the earth. Yet the concept of Diaspora is much broader than that, as individuals and groups often feel disconnected from their homeland both figuratively and really in literature and life. In the two works, Shakespeare's Othello and Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness one can clearly see the literary expression of diasporic identities. This work will argue that each of these works, Othello and Heart of Darkness demonstrates the reality of the challenges one faces when one uproots him or herself from the origin culture and begins to wander the earth without a home and the feeling of security that the…… [Read More]

China and the Mongol Conquest China and

China and the Mongol Conquest

China and Mongol Conquest

The 13th century saw the influence of the Mongol Empire which Genghis Khan established stretching from the borders of Poland in the west to the East around Yellow Sea. Grandson of Genghis named Kublai Khan was the ruler of this empire in 1260 after which he went a head to consolidate his power when he relinquish the Mongol conquests outside China and established his capital where modern-day Beijing is now located.

As Venetian merchants, Nicolo Polo and his brother traveled overland in 1260 to the Mongol capital where they remained within the court of Khan until when they reached Venice in 1269. The two merchant once again traveled (though dangerous trip) to Kublai Khan's court in 1271 accompanied by their seventeen-year-old son Marco. They had to take three and a half years before their adventure came to an end. After staying…… [Read More]

Titan's Charles V

Titian is a unique painter in the canon of estern art: according to Vasari, he was the most popular painter of his day and excelled more than any other at capturing the hearts of all the great nobles and leading figures not only in Venice but across all Europe. Titian's Equestrian Portrait of Charles V is a perfect example, not only of Titian's extraordinary talent but also of his ability to befriend his subjects and portray them as they were. In his portrait of Charles, Titian depicts the Holy Roman Emperor poised like the legendary St. George, spear in hand, ready to do battle with the enemy. Charles sits upon his steed and faces an unseen threat, symbolized by the darkening sky behind him. The magnificence of the sky in the portrait prompted people to proclaim it one of the best ever, as it reflected the inner turmoil of the…… [Read More]

Shakespeare's Insistant Theme Imagery Use

he's gone forever! / I know when one is dead, and when one lives; / he's dead as earth." (King Lear V.iii.256-260)

Titus Andronicus is the central figure and tragic hero of the homonymous play by William hakespeare. He is a General of Rome and father to Lavinia and Lucius. He is a brave solider of Rome who has spent the last ten years of his life fighting Rome's enemies. Although very successful and praised for his heroic acts, Titus Andronicus now feels incapable of assuming the role his country had envisioned for him. Moreover, despite the fact that in the beginning he is seen as a model of piety, and praised for his adherence to tradition and custom, it is precisely this inflexibility - "For now I stand as one upon a rock / Environed with a wilderness of sea, / Who marks the waxing tide grow wave by…… [Read More]

Women Are Portrayed in Late

(269)

It would seem that the artists and the press of the era both recognized a hot commodity when they saw one, and in this pre-Internet/Cable/Hustler era, beautiful women portrayed in a lascivious fashion would naturally appeal to the prurient interests of the men of the day who might well have been personally fed up with the Victorian morals that controlled and dominated their lives otherwise. In this regard, Pyne (2006) reports that, "hen scandalized critics attacked Rodin's nudes, Camera ork defended the drawings by a strategy of veiling the body with the soul, praising them as 'the perception of the mystery of surfaces.... The adventure of the mind in matter... The divinizing of the sensual and the materializing of the sensuous.' Stieglitz thus used a histlerian gloss of shadows and music to mystify the eroticism of Rodin's 'pagan' figures" (44).

The portrayal of women was even regarded as a…… [Read More]

Identity in Shakespeare Clearly One

Most Elizabethans believed their self-identity was wrapped up in a cosmic paradigm of fate and destiny, and were somehow controlled by the stars and planets and had a power over the baser side of man -- tools of God, but with certain amounts of free will. Thus, a very central idea in Shakespeare is this central view that an individual's identity is set by God, the Planets, the Universe, the Gods, and Nature. But in contrast, the idea of free will for the individual -- or even a single utterance or decision, can change forever the destiny of the individual. A superb example of this is in Romeo and Juliet.

Fate and chance surround the identities of the major and minor characters in RJ almost from the opening scene. Because the audience already believed that their destiny was predetermined, they saw the characters as having very little choice in their…… [Read More]

Irishman Colin Toibin's Novel the

(In his master's voice)

But, since this is totally a novel regarding memory and return, the narrative keeps recoiling, as if going after James's thought processes, into the vital episodes of his bygone life. In this astute manner we are able to inch into James's strange family life which gives an account of his father's horrendous pursuit of spiritual perfection, his mother's shielding care of her writer son, the ailment and demise of his scathing, talented, neurotic handicapped sister Alice, his disagreement with his haughty elder brother William. Henry's avoidance of the American Civil War radically was at divergence with his brother Wilkie's injuries; his love for his alluring and destined young cousin Minnie Temple; his proximal, jittery friendship with the novelist Constance Fenimore Woolson, her suicide in Venice and James's vacating of her belongings. However, they are assorted with the scenes which Toibin has made-up or drawn up from…… [Read More]

Shakespeare's Othello

Othello's final speech in Act five of the play, paying close attention to poetic elements as well as imagery within the passage.

The analysis should be clearly focused and based on evidence found within the text. The essay should reflect a clear understanding of the play based on in-depth reading of the play for broader issues and intent by the author.

Othello's final speech redeems him even after he murders his wife and is duped by Iago. His eloquence and his ability to use words to his advantage make him a persuasive character in this tragic play.

To understand the final speech by Othello within the content of the play, first one needs to understand Shakespeare's writing style within this play and his development of his character, Othello. The play, Othello is considered a tragedy play. In particular, this type of play usually uses prose that can measure a collapse…… [Read More]

Analzying Woman S Role in Society

room in the castle.

Enter OTHELLO, LODOVCO, DESDEMONA, EMLA and Attendants

LODOVCO

do beseech you, sir, trouble yourself no further.

OTHELLO

O, pardon me: 'twill do me good to walk.

LODOVCO

Madam, good night; humbly thank your ladyship.

DESDEMONA

Your honour is most welcome.

OTHELLO

Will you walk, sir?

O, -- Desdemona,

DESDEMONA

My lord?

OTHELLO

Get you to bed on the instant; will be returned forthwith: dismiss your attendant there: look it be done.

DESDEMONA

will, my lord.

Exeunt OTHELLO, LODOVCO, and Attendants

EMLA

How goes it now? he looks gentler than he did.

DESDEMONA

He says he will return incontinent:

He hath commanded me to go to bed,

And bade me to dismiss you.

EMLA

Dismiss me!

DESDEMONA

t was his bidding: therefore, good Emilia,.

Give me my nightly wearing, and adieu:

We must not now displease him.

EMLA

would you had never seen him!

DESDEMONA

So would…… [Read More]

Ben Jonson Intertextualities The Influence

" James a.S. McPeek

further blames Jonson for this corruption: "No one can read this dainty song to Celia without feeling that Jonson is indecorous in putting it in the mouth of such a thoroughgoing scoundrel as Volpone."

Shelburne

asserts that the usual view of Jonson's use of the Catullan poem is distorted by an insufficient understanding of Catullus' carmina, which comes from critics' willingness to adhere to a conventional -- yet incorrect and incomplete -- reading of the love poem. hen Jonson created his adaptation of carmina 5, there was only one other complete translation in English of a poem by Catullus. That translation is believed to have been Sir Philip Sidney's rendering of poem 70 in Certain Sonnets, however, it was not published until 1598.

This means that Jonson's knowledge of the poem must have come from the Latin text printed in C. Val. Catulli, Albii, Tibulli, Sex.…… [Read More]

Life of Actress Eleanora Duse

In fact, this was the beginning of what became known as Method Acting, and this form of acting became one of the most popular in the world. Thus, Duse created a new form of acting that still endures long after her death.

Of course, this style of acting did not develop overnight. Writer Sobel continues, "Duse's powerful stage presence may have made her work look like an effortless, natural gift, but as with any great artist, this seeming ease was entirely built on her early years of arduous and at times grueling, unrelenting study of technique and craft" (Sobel). She had to appear more mature and older than her years when she acted as a child, and she continued to develop her techniques throughout her life.

In her personal life, Duse was the long-time lover of Gabriele d'Annunzio, an Italian poet and dramatist, who wrote some of her best parts.…… [Read More]

Satiric Themes in Voltaire's Candide

arfare was obviously distasteful for Voltaire as he showed with 'Te deum' or the Christian hymn of thanksgiving. The soldiers of both the parties sing the song even though neither side was in a position to have won the battle. Voltaire showed that the atrocities of war would never be prevented even with international laws. As Voltaire depicted two armies present as a glorious spectacle, he was showing the terrible atmosphere that was created in the music and gunfire. Candide saw that on the battlefield that guns and bayonets would lead to more thirty thousand rogues death and Candide trembled in terror. So when the both kings and their armies sing 'Te Deum' only Candide seems to understand that both sides of the village are ruined. In summary, Voltaire is quite clear when he describes all that Candide saw from the shocking massacre of the community was the soldiers' lust…… [Read More]

Othello's Downfall From Iago and His Race

Othello, race and difference: Othello as the black 'other'

The tragedy of the Moor Othello is that he becomes the man racist white society says he is by the end of the play. At the beginning of the story, the malicious Iago, who hates Othello for a variety of vague reasons (spanning from his failure to be promoted to his false contention that Othello cuckolded him), spurs Desdemona's father Brabantio into a rage by saying that "an old black ram/Is topping your white ewe" (1.1). This language stresses a crude racist stereotype that the figure of Othello immediately undercuts. Othello explains how he wooed Desdemona with his stories. Desdemona defies her father, who cuts her off for her disobedience. Far from the crude man Iago portrays, Othello seems calm and measured. In his first scenes In fact, the Duke of Venice says: "If virtue no delighted beauty lack/, Your son-in-law…… [Read More]

The Influence of William Shakespeare and Robert Burns

Introduction

William Shakespeare and Robert Burns are both iconic figures in the UK. Also known as the Bard of Avon, Shakespeare is often regarded as England’s national poet. Shakespeare is also considered the world’s greatest English writer and dramatist. During his time, Shakespeare authored tens of plays, over a hundred sonnets, and several narrative poems and verses (Marche, 2012). Shakespeare’s work has been translated into virtually all major languages of the world. Also, his work is performed more regularly than any other work. Robert Burns, born close to one and a half centuries after the death of Shakespeare, was also a prominent poet. Similar to Shakespeare, Burns is regarded as Scotland’s national poet (Hogg, 2008). Referred to as the Bard of Ayrshire, Burns is also recognised worldwide for his work (Cairney, 2000). As poets and playwrights, both Shakespeare and Burns have substantially influenced English literature and language as well as…… [Read More]