Drama Essays (Examples)

Drama Poetry

How is the more direct performative aspect of drama and/or poetry reflected in these forms? (Consider for example, each genre's uses of literary structure, language, technique, and style.)

In upert Goold's Macbeth, the language and literary structure are following the same lines from the Shakespearian play. Yet, the way the characters are speaking and performing their roles helps the individual to understand the setting and background of what is occurring. This technique and style is used to provide a better comprehension of the key ideas and to help everyone directly relate to the events that are unfolding. Once this takes place, is the point the audience is connecting with the themes from the original play and the different events that are occurring. This makes it more entertaining and allows them to apply these images, scenes and words with their own lives. ("Macbeth," 2013)

These ideas are different from…

However, behavioral skills training that incorporated active learning approaches, such as role playing, were found to result in children that were significantly more likely to demonstrate the proper safety skills in role playing and in situ assessments than children who did not receive this behavior skills training. Furthermore, in situ, role playing training was found to enhance the safety skill development of both the educational and behavior skills training groups (Gatheridge et al., 2004).

Another context where role playing has been effectively used in interventions with children is bullying prevention programs. Salmivalli (1999) suggested that bullying could be considered essentially a group phenomenon, where children who are members of a class take on various roles in bullying participation. Some of these roles may include assistants to the bully, reinforcers to the bully, or outside bystanders. Salmivalli (1999) described this phenomenon as a form of "peer group power (p.453)" where peer…

He left her in her pain. I wanted to be there for her. She wouldn't let me. (Sits down next to SILENT GIRL)

SILENT GIRL (Smiles, shakes her head, sighs a little, looks at MARK)

MARK (Smiling amidst the tears): I remember the trip. I was glad she came; I finally found the courage to tell her. (Turns to SILENT GIRL) I took her for a walk near the field of flowers. She loves flowers, especially tulips. I jokingly told her I'd have taken her to the Netherlands for our honeymoon, if it was me she married. She laughed and I kissed her. For the first and last time, our lips met. I wish the kiss never ended. I loved her. I love her still. (Puts hands in head)

Stage lights off (MARK exits Stage Right, IAN and KAREN enters Stage LEFT)

Act 2, Scene 1

Stage lights on IAN…

According to Flynn (2004), rehearsals and performances of CBT scripts can help increase students' abilities to read the text fluently. "Fluent readers read aloud smoothly and with expression. They recognize words and understand them at the same time. eading educators emphasize the importance of fluency -- the ability to read a text accurately and with the appropriate speed. Because there is a close relationship between fluency and comprehension, fluent readers tend to be higher achieving students" (p. 361).

Future Areas for esearch.

A what further research might need to be done any arguments against the use of drama to promote literacy and rebuttals

eferences

Clyde, J.A. (2003). Stepping inside the story world: The subtext strategy - A tool for connecting and comprehending. The eading Teacher, 57(2), 150-60.

Crumpler, T., & Schneider, J.J. (2002). Writing with their whole being: a cross study analysis of children's writing from five classrooms using process…

Still, the thwarted desires of Emily have more of a sense of inevitability, and thus seem less tragic than the willed and possibly preventable actions of the heroines of the "Doll's House" and "Trifles."

However, perhaps the least functional and most distorted family is the family without a father at the helm at all, that of "The Glass Menagerie," where Tom functions as the breadwinner and quasi-husband to this mother Amanda and quasi-father figure to his sister Laura. As strange as the surreal drama of this family may seem, it suggests that without any conventional family dynamics even more chaos ensues than in the aforementioned nuclear families. Like all of the family plays, "The Glass Menagerie" ends with the main protagonist's flight from the family -- with the slamming of the home's door, the only way he can break away. But he leaves not for death or prison, or even…

For instance, Constance's supervisor, Professor Claude Knight, frequently plagiarizes her carefully researched and written work. Later, after stealing from her, Knight runs off with a more attractive graduate student, very unlike the Shakespearean heroes Constance is so enamored of, such as Romeo. But because of the heightened absurdity of the pun-ridden scholarship of Constance, and the ugly nature of Knight, the audience does not necessarily see these events as tragic, like Romeo and Juliet's separation.

Also, when Ledbelly enters the world of Shakespeare's dramas and makes them 'right,' such as when she exposes Iago's treachery, although she interrupts delicate causal chain of events that make up the plot of the play, she does not create a perfect world. In "Othello," rather than a tragedy of two good spouses subject to misunderstandings, the two characters must now understand one another on a deeper level, after the first flush of first love.…

Drama

Death of a Salesman -- comparison between the play and a 1985 TV rendering of the play, starring Dustin Hoffman

The tragedy of illie Loman in the play by Arthur Miller seems like a man who wants to be great, yet falls to a tragic and small end. However, the televised version of the play makes illie seem like a little or 'low' man throughout. Thus, although the Arthur Miller 1950's play "The Death of a Salesman" is often defined as a modern-day tragedy, whereby the central father and patriarch of the Loman family, illie, is a kind of modern-day tragic hero who sacrifices his life to the folly living according to the rules of cutthroat, American capitalist 'salesman' society, in the television version illie Loman ultimately strikes viewer of the Arthur Miller debacle as merely a man of small ambitions -- to make money, to be liked, and…

Drama

Arthur Miller's Death of a salesman and Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House appear to contain no common themes on first reading. But upon close analysis of the two plays, readers are likely to discover that there is indeed the one major theme that is common in both stories however it has been discussed and exploited differently. Both plays highlight the importance of 'identity' and the consequences of not having one.

Death of a salesman revolves around the disillusioned and delusional world of Willy Loman, a nature salesman who is sadly confused about his identity that leads to a tragic end. Similarly A Doll's House focuses on the life of a naive housewife, Nora, who again has no identity of her own and lives in a world defined and dictated by her husband. Both Willy and Nora are confused about their own identity but the causes of this and consequences…

Wilson settled into nibbling on French fries, but when he took the first big bite of burger, he spit it out, making a mess on the table. Lisa realized the burger had a pickle on it, and Wilson absolutely hated pickles. Even though she scraped every bit of the pickle off the bun, he refused to eat another bite, and began to cry again. Lisa fed him French fries, hoping to distract him. Finally, he ate a few, munched on the tomatoes on the side of the plate, and his eyes began to droop. By the time Lisa really got to taste her salad, she discovered she wasn't that hungry any more. She picked listlessly at the greens while Wilson curled up on the seat beside her, sucking his thumb. Finally, Lisa had enough, and asked for the check. It seemed the entire restaurant breathed a sigh of relief when…

The tension of the opening is never fully dissipated even as Achilleus shows his hospitality and makes certain promises to Priam about holding off the fighting for twelve days while the Trojans bury the son of their ruler. However, just as it appears that the situation is concluded, the god Hermes comes to Priam and warns him to leave now because if the Greeks find him asleep in the morning, they may decide he is worth more as a ransom and will not allow him to leave as Achilleus has promised.

The drama is characterized by language that often involves or approaches poetry, but the presentation differs greatly. An oral tradition of epic poetry places one "actor," the speaker before an audience as he recites the epic poem and so tells the story. Any dramatic element emerges from the characters and the story, carried by the poetry and involving images…

He responds just like a man when he tries to bargain with Dave, claiming things are going to be okay and that he feels much better. The intensity of this scene is gripping because of the hissing air in the spacecraft's background and Dave's exasperated breathing. The drama intensifies when Dave begins to deprogram HAL. He tells Dave that he is afraid and all the while, Dave is deprogramming him. HAL tells Dave that he "can feel it" (2001) and that his "mind is going" (2001). The drama between these two characters is powerful because Kubrick has successfully made HAL a computer that we like. Even as HAL dies, the scene is sad because his voice changes radically and, for all intents and purposes, we witness HAL's almost human death.

This scene in 2001: A Space Odyssey is one of the most dramatic scenes in cinema history. The intensity of…

He actually credited his use of pot as helping his thought processes and considered himself intellectually inspired by it (Davidson 1999). His previous writings on the subject appeared much earlier, but under a fictitious pseudonym. In his words:

I am convinced that there are genuine and valid levels of perception available with cannabis (and probably with other drugs) which are, through the defects of our society and our educational system, unavailable to us without such drugs. Such a remark applies not only to self-awareness and to intellectual pursuits, but also to perceptions of real people, a vastly enhanced sensitivity to facial expression, intonations, and choice of words which sometimes yields a rapport so close it's as if two people are reading each other's minds" (Davidson 1999). Even some former federal law enforcement agents have changed their minds about recreational drug use, maintaining that the government's anti-drug laws cause more societal…

Unfortunately, he is afraid to leave the home, even though he has only been there a few months. Henri is the down-to-earth member of the group, who finally decides he does not want to take part in the expedition, which sours the others on him. Finally, Philippe is the funniest of the three, due to an unfortunate war wound. He has shrapnel in his brain that causes him to pass out at the most inopportune moments. The three actors all have wonderful comedic timing, and the script itself is full of quick, witty responses and great use of the language make the play's hour and a half seem to pass much more quickly, even though all the men do is talk. In some hands, that could be extremely boring, but this production moves quickly, and the scenes just seem to get funnier as the play progresses.

The audience cannot help…

drama "Oedipus the King," by Sophocles. Specifically, it will identify and apply terminology used in the play, and identify the term "irony."

OEDIPUS

These literary devices are important parts of drama.

exposition - Exposition is the beginning of the play which sets the tone, theme, mood, and setting of the play. In "Oedipus the King," the exposition lists who is on stage, who is speaking, and describes the royal palace in Thebes.

rising action - Rising action is the part of the play which brings the action to a climax, and is usually the most exiting or suspenseful moment in the play. In "Oedipus," the climax comes when Oedipus discovers he killed his father, married his mother, and fathered children by Jacosta. He then blinds himself, and this is the climax, which the discoveries, and the continued action of the play, lead up to. The rising action makes the climax…

A play like this could be extremely depressing, but it is rarely sad or maudlin. The men are funny, and their characters are so bizarre that the audience is always waiting to see what they think of next. The comedy is broad and slapstick, which draws the audience in and makes the characters extremely sympathetic. They are not afraid to act outrageously or laugh at themselves, but they want to be taken seriously just the same. Even though the audience does not know much about their backgrounds, they are still extremely likeable, and the audience finds themselves hoping they will make good on their attempt to escape and enjoy just one more adventure in life.

Perhaps the most interesting image in the play is the row of poplars that edges the garden where they carry out most of their imagined escapes. The poplars come up often in the play -…

Drama [...] how drama can capture the emotions of an audience and engage participants and audience to such an extent that they may experience feelings they forgot they had and thoughts they had not yet discovered. Drama can capture an audience and make us want to know more about the playwright, but what is drama, really? Everyone has drama in their own lives, so watching dramatic presentations makes us feel closer to our own problems, and perhaps find some solutions. Drama captivates us, which is why it has been such a popular form of entertainment for so many eras.

What is drama, and what purpose does it serve in our fast-paced society, anyway? Drama is entertaining, obviously, but the best dramas contain much more than entertainment value. They have compelling characters, situations that strike a chord with the viewers, and offer solutions that very well may apply to the drama…

Australian Aboriginal drama. Please mention books, articles critics commented aboriginal

Iva Polak's "A Development of Australian Aboriginal Drama: the Journey Towards Kullark (Home)" provides a comprehensive overview of the scope and focus of Aboriginal drama from the 1960's to the early 1990's, alluding to its impact in contemporary times. The author discusses the fact that this literature and theater movement in the 1960's initiated as a way to address social and historical deficiencies that mainstream Australian culture had provided (or rather failed to provide) for this group of people. In the 1970's, plays became a viable medium with which to actually rewrite the history of Aborigines, largely due to the efforts of a number of playwrights including Gerald Bostock, Kevin Gilbert, and Robert Merrit. The genre was somewhat revolutionized by the appearance and subsequent works of Jack Davis. Davis attempted to outright contest the historical records of Australian society regarding…

Drama

Is the Importance of Being Earnest a serious examination of the idea that people wear masks and have multiple identities, or is it just a farce with no serious content?

The idea that people wear masks is the central metaphor in the play "The Importance of Being Earnest," but ultimately, the play is a farce that author Wilde uses to poke fun at the general tolerance for hypocrisy in conventional society. Two of the play's characters, both Jack Working and Algernon create alter-egos, or "masks" that allow them to live seemingly double lives. In London, Jack is known as "Earnest," and gets into all sorts of trouble, while at home; Jack is respectable and quite conservative. While these dual identities do show that people often wear masks and are not what they seem, the underlying theme of the play is a society that is far too conservative, stodgy, and…

That is, Aristotle did not reject the notion of falsehood that Plato sees in mimesis and therefore in all poetry -- epic and tragic -- but instead accepts this falsehood and asserts that is not necessarily detrimental in and of itself.

This is accomplished precisely by Aristotle's removal of poetics from the realm of philosophy. This move is not necessarily noticed in an explicit manner by modern scholars, many of whom still perceive his Poetics as an outright rejection of Plato's condemnation of mimesis (Nichols; Bartky). The emphasis on the revolutionary nature of Aristotle's interpretation of mimesis is more commonly put forth in the literature, and does in some ways appear to be more apparent in a reading of Aristotle's Poetics than a deeper schism with his teacher and mentor. A more careful reading and interpretation of Aristotle's poetics, however, suggests that his work is at once more in agreement…

fiction in comparison to poetry and drama by drawing upon specific examples from the poem- "Summer Solstice in New York" by Sharon Olds and of drama from a aisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry. In this essay, we will discuss what are features that define the different genres. Also, we will examine their different strengths and weaknesses.

Poetry and drama share much in common. The main difference is in the length and depth of the examination of the dramatic elements. However, due to the shortness of poetry, much is left to the imagination of the reader via metaphor. Even the title is used to set up the scenery for the reader to interpret. In the opinion of the author, this leaves a staccato effect that can leave the reader grasping for the details that can be gotten more easily in a more developed plot line that is featured in…

As to Walter's decision to use the money as he saw fit, we find a man who's suffering and discontent had blinded him to the real sustenance and value in his family. ruly, for the unhappiness which he had bore, and for the racial abuse shown to the family through such archetypal figures as Mr. Lindner, Walter might have seen himself as fortunate for the presence of all the family members here mentioned. Indeed, his did appear to be a family with a strong moral fiber and a genuine closeness often unseen in the types of contexts which Hansberry depicted.

his is to say that Walter clearly chose poorly. But in the resolution, he comes to take a very active role wherein he reaffirms his appreciation for the importance of this familial strength. hough it would in some regard be true and be left to our own consideration to assess…

Betrayal in Fiction and Drama

Betrayal

Throughout the conflicts of fiction and the dramatic undertones of plays, the notion of betrayal always remains a common and tragic theme. Betrayal itself has mostly been the causation of motives such as love, jealousy, anger, and hatred. As one further delves into the depths of the word within literature, one finds that betrayal itself leads to an alarming number of characters seeking justice, retribution, peace from the traumatic events, and detachment from one's betrayers. The word has become such a heavy burden amongst betrayers, and such a drastic occurrence on the victims that it even has its own quaint little circle in the depths of Dante's Inferno (Jackson, 2000). William Shakespeare's Othello and Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo depict the motives and results of betrayal: as the betrayers, Iago and Danglars have become catalysts for the actions of their victims; namely…

Absurdity of Life in Modernist Drama

Although not prolific, the contemporary American playwright Peter Morris demonstrates very readily the way in which the absurdist strain in modernist drama has carried through into the early twenty-first century. hat is most interesting about Morris's work in this light is the way that earlier theatrical movements -- most particularly the theater of the absurd -- are being incorporated and effectively used as one rhetorical tactic among others in the playwright's repertoire. I hope through an examination of four plays by Morris -- the verse play "The Death of Tintagel," the two politically-themed monologue plays The Age of Consent and Guardians, and the satirical comedy Gaudeamus -- to demonstrate that the central tenets of the earlier absurdist drama, the notion that life is meaningless and yet the human instinct to search for meaning in life is unending, are still being kept alive in the…

Origin and Appeal of Drama

A generally accepted theory is that drama's origins lie in prehistoric human beings and their rituals which contained music, dance, masks, costumes, a specific performance area, and a division between audience and performance. Later, in Egypt about 4,000 C texts were written on tomb walls with plot, characters, and stage directions for enacting the body's resurrection. etween 3,000 and 2,000 C other plays developed which were performed at the coronation of the pharaoh (coronation plays), celebrated pharaoh's 30th year on the throne (jubilee plays), and which were part of religious festivals (passion plays).

Western drama as we know it today started about 600 C in the ancient city-state of Athens when a Greek poet named Thespis got the idea for an innovation to music. At that time a Greek chorus, with a leader, sang songs about legendary heroes. Thespis, who was probably the leader of…

Inner strength lies in following the values and old traditions, as compared to the false powers that are bestowed by freedom of no values and traditions (Kelly 44).

Conclusion

The play described in the sections above has a stronger meaning that needs increased comprehension and understanding. Here the main aim of the author is to highlight the fact that order, rather than rebellious bohemian behavior, traditions and values are the strengths that can help in surviving through life. There is no grace in freedom that is itself free of all values. This represents the political situation of Poland in the Second orld ar as well as the modern day as brutality and power is the main order rather than justice and values.

orks Cited

Kelly, E. Katherine. The Cambridge companion to Tom Stoppard, Cambridge companions to literature. Cambridge University Press, 2001.

Mro-ek, S-awomir., and Gerould, Charles, Daniel. The Mro-ek reader.…

The author also makes it clear to his audiences that he is not afraid to rock the social boat and portray women's lives as women themselves would like them to be - even if this level of enlightenment was not yet a federal mandate. In one of her responses to Praed's initial line of questioning, Vivie advises (and shocks) him by saying: "Oh yes I do. I like working and getting paid for it. When I'm tired of working, I like a comfortable chair, a cigar, a little whisky, and a novel with a good detective story in it." In this regard, Shaw was suggesting that not only did women have many of the same types of wants and needs and their male counterparts (gasp!), they were also capable of accomplishing great things when they were presented with the opportunity. In the final analysis, Shaw was not only trying to…

Butterfly

David Henry Hwang's Pulitzer-prize-winning drama M. Butterfly is almost single-minded in its examination of the role played by preconceptions in the establishment of cultural expectations and stereotypes. Based on a true story, the drama to some extent lays out in clear precise terms the ways in which estern prejudices toward China can lead to results that would seem wildly implausible in a brief factual summary, but are nonetheless the foreordained results of taking such estern prejudices to their logical conclusion. It is crucial to note, however, that Hwang's ideas are couched largely in terms of gender: this is a play in which the difference between men and women is engaged intellectually for the reader or viewer as a way of complicating or underscoring certain preconceptions about the difference between East and est. It is worth conducting a deeper examination of the ways whereby Hwang constructs his story and to…

Post-Colonial Drama

Approaching the complexities of the colonial or post-colonial situation has been a major theme in drama for as long as colonialism has existed: Shakespeare wrote his Tempest on the heels of the very first English efforts to establish overseas colonies in the Americas and in Ireland. If we expand our definition of the colonial situation to comprise any ideologically-tinged cross-cultural encounter, we can even trace the roots of the theme all the way back to the earliest extant "estern" drama, the Persae of Aeschylus. To a certain extent, these well-established canonical examples may only represent a desire to place "otherness" onstage for the sake of spectacle -- the elements of masque and pageantry in each of those examples are most likely what spoke to their initial audiences, rather than any kind of analytical or critical stance regarding the colonial situation itself. But contemporary writers cannot approach the issue…

structure of ancient and modern dramas to highlight their differences and similarities. The paper also shows how drama evolved over the centuries with references to Greek, Elizabethan and Modern plays.

MODEN AND ANCIENT DAMA: A COMPAISON

Drama has an inherent ability to adapt itself to the thinking and wishes of the society in which it takes birth. Therefore modern drama with all its intensity, relevance and eloquence is certainly more popular among modern audiences than its ancient counterpart. Still we cannot deny the importance of ancient dramatic concepts, models and devices in the development and evolution of modern drama. While ancient plays are mostly remembered for their grandeur and myths, close analysis reveals that there is more to them than meets the eye. All ancient Greek tragedies contain some similar elements, which set them apart from tragedies of later eras. While they basically concentrated on highlighting the significance of myths,…

Restoration Drama: the Rake as a Symbol of Social Disorder

One of the distinctive features of Restoration comedy is the figure of the rake as romantic hero. The image of the rake-hero is of a witty, cynical, calculating, and self-serving man who pursues his own pleasure above all other considerations. Antagonistic to established rules and mores, the rake rejects conventional ideas of virtue, integrity, fidelity, restraint; above all he adopts a rhetorical position of opposition to the institution of marriage. However, it is significant that in most plays which feature a rake-hero in a prominent role, he becomes reconciled to the concept of marriage and ends up either actually married or firmly committed to marriage. It is the contention of this paper that first, it is overly simplistic to see the rake as irredeemably opposed to marriage, and that the relationship between such figures and the institution of wedlock is…

The book has had a huge impact on society, helping the post 1950s world deal more clearly with the subject of civil rights, racial injustice, and the eradication of childhood innocence. "In the 20th century, To Kill a Mockingbird is probably the most widely read book dealing with race in America, and its protagonist, Atticus Finch, the most enduring fictional image of racial heroism" (Crespino, 2000, 9).

There are numerous themes that also make this novel an enduring classic -- gender roles, compassion, truth, and while most scholars and librarians believe this is a book that everyone should read while alive, there are numerous critics who object to the novel's treatment of black roles and racial epithets. Fortunately, reason has prevailed, for it is just exactly those stereotypical characterizations and use of language that Lee wants the reader to become incensed with rage and disbelief that just a few short…

Crash

Paul Haggis's 2005 drama Crash is a vehicle for exploring social tensions in the United States. Although a huge portion of the film is devoted to race relations, prejudices, and stereotypes, an important meta-narrative also permeates Crash. That is, the film subverts the traditional Hollywood norm to "present working people not only as unlettered and uncouth but also as less desirable and less moral than other people," as Parenti puts it (1). Instead of depicting the members of the middle, upper-middle, and upper classes as being morally, intellectually, and socially superior to those of lower classes, Haggis presents a world in which all people are equally as culpable of creating a dystopian society in America. Each of the characters in Crash is besieged by stereotypes and prejudices that prevent a genuine encounter with others in the multicultural landscape of Los Angeles. Moreover, race is a tag for underclass, and…

Doll House -- Henrik Ibsen

The play by Henrik Ibsen brings to the mind of the reader and the audience that many men in the past and in the present too, see themselves as superior to women, and women in fact should be happy to carry out the wishes of men. Nora Helmer becomes a kind of plaything for her husband Torvald, and in fact he admits to having fantasies about Nora to give him sensual incentive to engage in intimacy with her. But in time Nora has had enough of Torvald's condescending behaviors and she rebels. This story can be seen as a reflection of the fact that women in the late 19th century were beginning to demand fairness and equality in relationships and in society. hile Ibsen later discounted that he wrote a play about women's rights, the play can be seen as a search for freedom and…

Climate of Creativity: Teaching English to Young Learners Through the Art of Drama

Several learning and involving learning experiences emerge for the early childhood students when both drama and movement are incorporated in the daily syllabus (Chauhan, 2004). Apart from being "fun" for majority of the kids, kinesthetic activities are capable of assisting the young students, particularly those learning the English language, improve interpretation skills, vocabulary, fluency, speech knowledge, syntactic knowledge, and meta-cognitive judgment (Sun, 2003). When drama and movement are employed in the teaching of language skills, the learners are provided with a framework for listening and significant language production, offers chances for writing and reading improvements (Chauhan, 2004), and engages learners in writing and reading as significant communication procedures. Other than the improvement of resourceful judgment and expression, fine and gross motor organization skills, problem tackling, social dealings, cooperative performance, rhyming, and rhythm skills can be developed (ieg…

Mother-in-Law

The Roman play Hecyra is a comedy of errors that did bomb in its first two showings and could easily bomb again if it does not have the right mix of stage direction and acting. The actors must be able to have a very subtle comedic style, not playing any role with too much zaniness or spoof. There is a fine line between being credible and too hard to believe.

There are four main characters: The newly weds, Pamphilus and Philumena, the mother (mother-in-law) Myrrina, and mistress Bacchio. In addition to being a little young, naive and ditzy, Pamphilus, Philumena and Bacchis have to look (the part) as if they could have a Latin background. The mother-in-law must be pleasant yet proud. She is not a dislikable character -- after all, she is not really the reason for the split of the newly weds. All four characters (even the…

Love Got to Do With it: A Critical Analysis of Hippolytus and Lysistrata.

If one reads Hippolytus and Lysistrata, one may immediately conclude that love has 'nothing' to do with anything. Many Greek plays discuss the subject of love in obtuse ways. Love is often the driving force of Greek tragedies, thought to inspire, incite and even enrage in many cases. While love is an important concept and theme, it is not always presented in a positive light in many plays. This is certainly the case in Hippolytus and Lysistrata, which at best suggest that love is unnecessary or tragic.

Hippolytus written by Euripides does so remarkably well, suggesting that love is something that can not only be manipulated by the Gods, but also something that is less tangible in some cases than passion and lust.

Lysistrata, written by Aristophanes, puts sex and power on a pedestal above love suggesting…

records court transcripts from "The Trials of Oscar ilde," when the opposing council at the trial asks the defendant, Oscar ilde, if he kissed one of the boys whom ilde was supposed to have engaged in homosexual practices, ilde appears unfazed. hen asked if he kissed the boy, ilde, with customary wit, responded that he did not, because "he was a very ugly boy." This kind of exchange forces the reader to ask the question not so much why ilde was found guilty of gross indecency, but why ilde ever believed he could be found innocent of the love that "dare not speak its name." (Longman Anthology 2125)

Throughout both of his trials, ilde adopts a kind of insouciant, provocative pose that seems, to the modern eyes, to be a 'typical' portrait of a flamboyant male homosexual. Because Oscar ilde's artistic medium has become synonymous with such a posture it…

Fred is also affected with an issue of not fully supporting as well as, providing his wife with enough money for the lifestyle she used to, finding himself in a marriage that declines.

The second victim of the Second World War is Al Stephenson. Of the three men characters, Al is the only man who is married with two children. However, he is very happy when he joins his family back in the society; unfortunately it becomes so awkward for him finding it hard to communicate with them. He gets a hard time to socialize with the children hence immediately turns to taking alcohol. This is seen when he gets home and realizes how little he can talk to his children on the very first night and, instead start seeking the company of his fellow soldiers in the bar. This affects his whole family given that he heavily drinks all…

Othello by William Shakespeare and the film version of the play directed by Oliver Parker. Specifically it will analyze play from a dramatic and design point-of-view. The film, released in 1995, stars Laurence Fishburne, Irene Jacob, and Oliver Parker. This film is an excellent rendition of Shakespeare's classic play, made even more appealing by the exceptional acting by Laurence Fishburne, who brings a sensual side to the role that is quite effective.

There have been many performances of Shakespeare's play "Othello" on the stage and in film. One of the best is the 1995 version that starred Laurence Fishburne as Othello. His performance made this dramatic play even more memorable and understandable, and truly brought the character of Othello to life. He gave Othello a sensual quality that helped explain Desdemona's attraction to him, and added another dimension to the character. The film also highlighted the racial tension at the…

DOLL'S HOUSE: FILM AND TEXT

The one play that seriously endured criticism and lasted much longer than anticipated was Henrik Ibsen's Doll's house. For some strange reason, people continue to read this play and directors/producers enjoy enthralling the viewers with cinematic versions of this play. And if that is not enough, the play is regularly played on Broadway. There indeed is an enduring quality about the play that gives it a universal meaning and every woman especially married ones feel they can relate to the central character Nora. But as with all cinematic adaptations of play, Doll's house's various versions have shown inconsistencies in the depiction of the central character. The husband's character has remained more or less static primarily because it doesn't undergo a transformation in the play and basically doesn't evolve. On the other hand, Nora's character takes a 360-degree turn at the end and we see a…

Fences (Wilson, 1986) August Wilson, one of America's preeminent black playwrights presents the mercurial nature of one, Troy Maxson. Not much effort is needed before the real and metaphorical fences become evident. Delving deeper into Troy's character unearths the fence that distinguishes his "makeup": vacillation between a sober, responsible person from one that is self-destructive.

Troy Maxson, a son of a share-cropper, leaves the deep-south, escaping from his father's brutality. He reaches Pittsburgh where a black man does not find a place among a burgeoning, blue-collar, middle class. He lives on the streets. He steals. In this part of his life he finds a woman, gets married and has a son -- Lyons. He then spends fifteen years in jail for stealing. eing rehabilitated, he plays baseball and becomes a star in the Negro Leagues -- though no note-worthy financial compensations are forthcoming; he considers himself better than "Jackie Robinson."…

drama is tragic not only because of Willy Loman's suicide, but because he has left his family with nothing, and his sons with no hopes and abilities of their own.

Brief overview of the play

Miller's work

Story

Characters

Obstacles

Argument for tragedy

Aristotle's definition

Pro argument for tragedy

Con argument against tragedy

Own conclusions

What the critics say

Death of a Salesman as Tragedy

This paper analyzes the play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller. Specifically, it discusses the definition of tragedy by Aristotle, and research if it is correct to label the play as a tragedy.

Death of a Salesman is indeed a tragedy of epic proportions. The drama is tragic not only because of Willy Loman's suicide, but because he has left his family with nothing, and his sons with no hopes and abilities of their own.

Arthur Miller wrote Death of a Salesman in 1948,…

Remotely-Based Sales Managers More Motivated and Effective Than Branch-Based Sales Managers?

In the debate over telecommuting, it would be useful to know whether remotely-based or branch-based sales managers were more motivated and effective in their jobs. The information would be useful for corporations considering implementing telecommuting programs, and for workers contemplating undertaking a telecommuting position.

Responses were collected from a group of GE Capital sales managers to determine their basic attitudes about their jobs and their interactions within the company and their perceptions of what was useful to their performance and what was not. Some respondents were branch-based; others were telecommuters. That their responses appeared to be similar lends credence to the idea that telecommuter are at least as motivated and effective as their branch-based counterparts,

However, these responses were evaluated within the framework provided by abundant previous studies in order to develop a basis for understanding the motivational factors…

ole of Women in Othello

The Conflicting Female ole in Shakespeare's Othello

In Shakespeare's Othello, women are in a state of turmoil. On the one hand, the women in the play have to remain obedient to the subservient standards of life as a female in the 15th and 16th centuries in Europe. Yet, on the other hand, there are signs of a new, strong and independent female emerging within Shakespeare's characters. In Othello, Shakespeare juxtaposes the characteristics of the traditional, obedient woman with a new, more independent one. Desdemona's willing death at the hand of her husband illustrates Shakespeare's suggestion that strictly following these outdated gender norms will only lead to individual destruction; while Emilia, and her more independent ways stands up against her husband's ill will.

To understand the role of women in the play, it is first important to see how they are viewed by the men in…

Greco-oman Tradition

How does the ideal of heroic citizenship change from the Greek mythopoetic tradition through the emergence of Greek tragic drama to the late Stoicism of oman imperialism?

Mythopoeic thought holds that the occurrences of events are the result of an act of will on the part of gods and spirits. A thread of anthropomorphism runs through this mythopoeic thinking as impersonal laws of nature and the deductive generalizations of logic are not a part of the mythopoeic framework: instead, every event is an aspect of some personal being. A mythopoeic orientation is one of the most primitive lenses used by humans to explain and attribute meaning to phenomena. Sensemaking in naive cultures typically involves attribution of human motivation to the inanimate and to otherwise inexplicable events. Indeed, the term mythopoeic means myth-making, from the Greek muthos or myth and poiein which means to make. From the anthropomorphic position…

Heroic Ideal Greece, ome

An Analysis of the Heroic Ideal from Ancient Greece to oman Empire

The mythopoetic tradition in Greece begins with Homer's Iliad, which balances the heroic figures of Achilles and Hector, two opposing warriors and men of honor, amidst a war on which not even the gods are in agreement. Hector and Achilles mirror one another in nobility and strength and both represent an ideal heroic archetype of citizenry -- men who do battle to honor both their countries and their names. To illustrate, however, the way the ideal of heroic citizenship changes from the Greek mythopoetic tradition through to the late Stoicism of oman imperialism, it is necessary to leap ahead several centuries and survey the several different bodies of work.

The mythopoetic tradition in Greece somewhat continually dwells on the same themes with regard to heroic citizenship, whether in Homer or in the Golden Age…

ar at Home in Ellison, ar Abroad in O'Brien

The inhumanity of war is a common theme in literature, as brilliantly illustrated in Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried," a tale that functions as a short story but is actually an excerpt from his great novel about the Vietnam ar Going after Cacciato. In O'Brien's story, several soldiers fighting in Vietnam are defined by the objects they carry in their pockets, such as photographs of loved ones, as well as their military gear and outfits. Yet the battles of individuals oppressed by society, such as African-Americans, may be equally, if not more, soul destroying, when conducted on the home front of America, on daily basis. This fact is evidenced by the evisceration of the spirit of the young African-American men in an excerpt from Ralph Ellison's seminal novel Invisible Man, entitled, "Battle Royal."

In "Battle Royal," the best and brightest…

Mr. Kapasi and the Dases are all Indian, but in the interpreter's eyes, Mr. And Mrs. Das are foreigners because they dress and speak like Americans. Mina Das sees Kapasi not as a romantic partner, as he desires her to see him as, but as a kind of romantic confessor, who will wash her clean of her sins, much as the citizens of Thebes see their king.

Eventually, when Oedipus' unintentional sin of marrying the queen of Thebes and killing the former king is revealed to the city, the citizens realize that Oedipus is not the great man they hoped he would become, and their illusions are shattered. Oedipus' own illusions about himself as a wise and saving figure of the city are shattered, as he must obey the banishment he laid down for the person who brought the plague upon the city. Mrs. Das must also come to terms…

Mr. Alving's many affairs on the other hand, including with their maid (resulting in Regina's birth), though not exactly condoned by society are not frowned upon as much as Mrs. Alving's leaving. This hypocrisy forms one of the central conflicts of the play, and is also one of the major sources of controversy.

Another issue that is raised in the play is inheritance. Mrs. Alving is building the orphanage at least in part so that no one, especially her son, can benefit from the fortune that her husband made. She considers everything that Mr. Alving ever touched to be corrupt, and therefore corruptive for others. She sent her son to live abroad so that he would not be exposed to his father's debauchery, but he seems to exhibit many of the same negative qualities that Mrs. Alving hated so much in her husband. The inheritance would have been yet one…

In short, I wish to become a teacher. That will be my new role. For no matter how awesome and inspiring the characters of drama, to help others find themselves through the dramatic art form, to see children gain in self-confidence as they express themselves by proudly proclaiming the words and song of a playwright, is the greatest inspiration and challenge for any theatrical practitioner's heart.

The ideal teacher is a performer, a director, and a facilitator of other's light and talent. The ideal teacher uses drama to excite students about writing, language, and teaches students the vale of practical, hands-on, hard work and the reward that labor can produce. Drama teaches students to empathize with the life of the individual they portray and the audiences they minister to. Yet being a part of a drama also encourages them to communicate with the world, to come outside of their own…

In addition, Lett (1987) emphasizes that, "Cultural materialists maintain that a society's modes of production and reproduction determine its social structure and ideological superstructure, but cultural materialists reject the metaphysical notion of Hegelian dialectics that is part of dialectical materialism" (80). Indeed, according to Bradshaw (1993), "the British cultural materialist knows that the 'radical,' 'subversive,' 'marginal,' or 'dissident' perspective is always superior (9). This author maintains that British cultural materialist readings of Shakespeare tend to assign particular characters or speeches a privileged, supra-dramatic significance that may override meaningful analysis if care is not taken (Bradshaw 9).

According to Bate (1994), it has become increasingly common in recent years for scholars to adopt either the new historicism or cultural materialist perspective alone when considering these literary works, particularly as they apply to Shakespeare. In this regard, MacDonald (1994) suggests that the New Historicist camp enjoys a clear advantage because they "define…

Victor Hugo

Romantic ritings of Victor Hugo

The romantic period was partly in reaction to the impact that the industrial revolution had on the psyches of artists of all stripes. The move toward an industrial culture had moved many people from the pastoral scenes of the country into the grungy hearts of the cities. Many of the people worked in the factories six days a week for many hours a day, or they worked in mines and other industries to support the industry in the cities. The response from the artistic community was to remind the public of two things. They wanted people to remember where they came from and they wanted to help people see the true emotion of life.

One of the most influential writers of the period was a young Frenchman who was known for his poetry early in his career (Halsall x), but who gained international…

Supernatural in Renaissance Drama

There are things in heaven and earth, not dreamt of in the philosophy of Horatio, not simply in "Hamlet" but also in the "Midsummer's Night Dream" of Shakespeare, and the "Dr. Faustus" of Christopher Marlowe. But while all of these plays deal with the theme of human aspirations in a world with a permeable, rather than an impermeable wall between humanity and the supernatural, "Dr. Faustus" suggests that breaking down this wall is initially fun and playful, although it has dire consequences at the end for the play's protagonist. Marlowe's cartoon characters and images of conventional morality, combined with heightened language convey humor rather than horror, until Faustus is condemned to hell for all eternity. The even lighter "Midsummer's Night Dream" also suggests in its early language an initial playfulness for the human and supernatural lovers who engage in transgressing sensual activities. But this comedy set…

GOLDBEGE'S WA"

Early 20th century saw the outbreak of a deadly mysterious disease, pellagra that could cause anything from fever to dementia to death. The disease that had killed over 100,000 people by the end of 1914 was shrouded in deep mystery because of the fact that the epidemic was largely limited to the South and was exclusively affecting the peasant class. It was indeed a poor man's disease and conventional wisdom suggested it had something to do with sanitary conditions.

"Pellagra, a classic dietary deficiency disease caused by insufficient niacin, was noted in the South after the Civil War. Then considered infectious, it was known as the disease of the four Ds: diarrhea, dermatitis, dementia, and death. The first outbreak was reported in 1907. In 1909, more than 1000 cases were estimated based on reports from 13 states. One year later, approximately 3000 cases were suspected nationwide based on…

Gucci too moved immediately, and along with PP, purchased from Francois Pinault, the Sanofi Beaute Division, and also the Yves St. Laurent's couture and fragrance businesses. Ford agreed to stay on for another four years, and the PP investment was formally approved by 80% of Gucci shareholders. However, Gucci now had a new problem, in which PP could control Gucci with Gucci's management, and LMVH also had a stake, with 20.7% interest. (Moffett; amaswamy, 163)

How could Gucci uphold the promise that stockholders would get a premium if the ownership changed? In the meanwhile, LMVH wanted to free $1.4 billion of its investment in Gucci, and in November 2000, all the involved parties were back in Court. Gucci finally agreed to distribute a special dividend of $7 per share to all shareholders, except those held by PP, but this act annoyed quite a few analysts and experts, because the premium…

Conflict in the First Scene of Dialogue in Miller's The Crucible

The piece of dialogue at the beginning of The Crucible in which Abigail and Parris reveal their respective characters through snippets and snatches of admissions is an important scene that sets the tone and initial conflict of the drama. The tone is serious but chaotic: a child is in danger; the doctor has no cure; foul play in the form of "possession" is suspected by the community, many members of which are talking in the parlor where the "rumor of witchcraft is all about" (Miller 9). Parris, who is a Reverend in the community, and who himself is at odds with his parish, is afraid because such talk will put him in a very bad light: "There is a faction that is sworn to drive me from my pulpit. Do you understand that?" Parris cries to Abigail. He is…

And an owner could set his slave free as a reward for that slave's noble service, transforming this piece of property into a human being with a touch of the hands and a few words.

Plautus depicts the absurdity of this legal reality with a humorous edge, but his humor has a great deal of societal bite. Plautus' most famous play, which provides the plot of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," is entitled "Pseudolous." The main character and incidentally the main character in Stephen Sondhiem's musical. Pseudolous means false or "trickster" and Pseudolous is indeed a mendacious individual. However, Pseudolous is also part of a mendacious Roman society, a society which denies him rewards equal with his intelligence and his cunning and rewards the falsely pious can't of the young man's father he is attempting to help.

Plautus deals with this issue even more explicitly…

in "Piaf," Pam Gems provides a view into the life of the great French singer and arguably the greatest singer of her generation -- Edith Piaf. (Fildier and Primack, 1981), the slices that the playwright provides, more than adequately trace her life. Edith was born a waif on the streets of Paris (literally under a lamp-post). Abandoned by her parents -- a drunken street singer for a mother and a circus acrobat father -- Edith learns to fend for herself from the very beginning. As a natural consequence of her surroundings, she makes the acquaintance of several ne'er do wells. She rises above the lifestyles of the girls she grows up with who prostitute themselves for a living in the hope that they will eventually meet a benefactor with whom they can settle. Edith has a talent for singing and she indulges this interest by singing loudly in the streets.…

HENY V

Using Barthes theory myth- a type speech defined presenting a transforming, order meaning- analyze comment important myth themes found Henry V. Cite Barthes essay points.

Barthes theory of myth: Henry V

Shakespeare's history play Henry V functions as a drama of nation-building as well as a drama of a king's self-mythologizing. In the play, the formerly profligate hero Henry V shows himself to be an upstanding leader as he emerges victorious over the effete French. The play establishes an image of the English as hardy, rough-hewn souls. The army unites Britons of all different nationalities and ethnicities under the banner of Henry, who is able to lead, because of his history, with a common touch. This underlines the greatness of the English monarchy. Henry's inclusive spirit and his victory come to symbolize the greatness of England and English values. Over the course of the play, there is also…

Todd Quintard: Civil War Doctor, Preacher, Soldier and Friend

Personal Chronology (Todd Quintard was born in Stamford, Connecticut, 22 December, 1824. His father, Isaac, was born in the same house, and died there in the ninetieth year of his age. Todd was a pupil of Trinity school, New York, and he studied medicine with Dr. James . Wood and Dr. Valentine Molt. He graduated at the University of the City of New York in 1847. He afterward removed to Georgia, where he began to practice medicine in Athens. Elliot, 2003) in 1851 he accepted the chair of physiology and pathological anatomy in the medical college at Memphis, Tennessee, and became co-editor with Dr. Ayres P. Merrill, of the Memphis "Medical ecorder."

In 1855 he took orders as a deacon in the Protestant Episcopal Church. He was advanced to the priesthood in the following year, and in January, 1857, became rector…