Elizabethan Theater Essays (Examples)

Elizabethan Theater

Elizabethan theatre is a general concept embodying the plays written and performed openly in England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I from 1558 to 1603. The term can be applied more generally to also incorporate theatre of Elizabeth's immediate successors, James I and Charles I, till the end of public theatres in 1642 on the inception of Civil War. (Elizabethan theatre: Wikipedia) During the end of 16th century and inception of 17th century William Shakespeare dominated the theatrical environment, and at that time witnessing a play during afternoon was considered a great entertainment for many members of London society and acclaimed similar popular form of entertainment as that of going to movies and plays presently. A thorough look at the theatre of Shakespeare's time however, will entail many distinctions between the Elizabethan theatre and the movies and plays of today. (Welcome to the world of the Elizabethan…

He exemplifies the expansion of the middle class and commercialism during the era. The book is a kind of inventive biography -- little is known for certain of hakespeare's life but Greenblatt uses the skeleton of hakespeare's plays to fill in details of common concerns of many figures of the period.

Long, William J. "The Elizabethan Age: 1550 -- 1620." From Outlines of English and American

Literature. April 4, 2009. http://www.djmcadam.com/elizabethan-age.html

This is an excerpt from a survey book on literature that is well-reputed in the field, although somewhat out of date. It examines the philosophy and history of the Elizabethan age and how it affected the literature of the period. It suggests the patriotic zeal and cultural vigor that resulted from the defeat of the Armada, scientific discoveries, and foreign travel and exploration were the reasons for the substantial literary output of this period's authors. It covers pencer, hakespeare,…

But Shakespeare does not try to render Republican Rome in faithful and accurate historical detail. "Peace! count the clock," says Brutus (2.1) although the play is ostensibly set during ancient times, and the practice of bear-baiting is referred to when Octavius says "e are at the stake / And bayed about by many enemies" (4.1)The entertainment of bear-baiting, a reminder of the brutality of the Elizabethan age, was even enjoyed by the queen and often took place near the Globe theater where Julius Caesar was first performed: "The bear was tethered to a stake in the middle of the ring, able to move only a short distance before being drawn up sharply when it got to the end of its tether. That's where the phrase 'at the end of my tether' comes from - the frustration and agony of not being able to go any further. Dogs would be released…

Theatre:

English-speaking versions of Hamlet vs. European versions

The many contemporary interpretations of Shakespeare enacted on the modern stage underline the fact that Shakespeare was a playwright for the ages, not simply a man of his own time. However, in the ways in which Shakespeare has been adapted to modernity, it becomes apparent that modern directors are just as intent upon revealing their own personal preoccupations as well as revealing the nuances of Shakespeare's plays. This can be seen when comparing British interpretations with European and other non-English language stagings of Hamlet. Although the most obvious difference between these two categories is that British interpretations are in the original language of Shakespeare while European stagings are enacted in translation, the difference runs far deeper. English productions tend to emphasize the psychological, internal conflict of Hamlet and view the play in terms of its psychological drama. In contrast, European interpretations of…

The fear of "disorder" "had significant political ramifications. The proscription against trying to rise beyond one's place was of course useful to political rulers, for it helped to reinforce their authority. The implication was that civil rebellion caused the chain to be broken, and according to the doctrine of correspondences, this would have dire consequences in other realms," whether the king was good or bad ("The Great Chain of Being," CUNY Brooklyn, 2009). Because rebellion was a sin against God, the whole order of the universe would be thrown in disarray if people rebelled against a sovereign, and this disturbance would be reflected in disturbances in the animal world and the heavens. "The need for strong political rule was in fact very significant, for the Renaissance had brought an end for the most part to feudalism, the medieval form of political organization," and the era oversaw the establishment of effective…

William Shakespeare was born into a world of words that took him from cold, stone castles in Scotland to the bustling cities of Italy and the high seas of colonial change. An emblem of the Renaissance, the Bard of Avon was not only the conqueror of his own mind and pen, but also of the language of his own social, political, and religious reality. His theatre, the epic Globe, mirrors the stories of the early, bustling London and ever-morphing England in the duration of its own life, from plank and dirt to flame and fame.

By 1598, Richard Burbage was the practicing don of the London theatre world, extending his fingertips for production all over the lively center of British commerce and governance. His players, a collection of all-male actors, were widely recognized throughout the theatre world, one of the only sources of popular entertainment.

Burbage produced the works of…

Post: Music

I have been lucky enough to have attended dozens of different concerts, in many different genres. Most recently I have been interested in electronic music and have seen a few local DJs as well as a few international ones. I have also seen some avant-garde rock, underground hiphop, punk, and "electroclash," like Peaches. I have seen symphony orchestras and arena rock, such as Bruce Springsteen too. hen people ask me what my favorite music is, I usually have a difficult time answering because I enjoy so much music, especially when it is performed live. Live music is special because it is never the same performance twice. hen I see a band or artist live, I am taking part in a moment of history.

People have become accustomed to listening to music with their headphones, which is great, except that headphones offer a limiting sonic experience. Other ways of…

(Shakespeare V.ii.201-4)

In these scenes, the Chorus adds something significant to the play.

The Chorus encourages us to use our "imaginary forces" and create the "might monarchies./hose high upreared and abutting fronts/the perilous narrow oceans parts asunder" (Prologue.21-3). In addition, the Chorus tells us to "Think when we talk horses that you see them/Printing their proud hoofs i' the receiving earth;/for 'tis your thoughts that now must deck our kings" (Prologue. 27-9). Here, the Chorus has an extended role in many ways because it is telling the audience how to use their imaginations where the stage is limited. The Chorus also apologizes for the crowded constriction of time we find in the last act. Members of the audience told:

humbly pray them to admit the excuse

Of time, of numbers, and due course of things,

hich cannot in their huge and proper life

Be here presented. (V.0.4-7)

The Chorus serves…

hen the lease expired for the original location, the Burbages reassembled the theater on the South Bank of the Thames in 1599. This was considered to be one of the 'seedier' districts of London. As well as play-going (a disreputable practice in and of itself), bearbaiting, bull-baiting, and prostitution, were other popular spectator sports on the South Bank (Cummings 2003). hen the first Globe burnt down in 1613 "an auditor whose breaches were on fire" was "doused with ale," given that "liquid refreshments" at the tavern were always nearby at the Globe (Burgess 80).

Shakespeare had a financial interest in the theater, as well as acted with and wrote for the Burbage's company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men. Shakespeare and four other investors and actors, including John Heminges, Augustine Phillips, Thomas Pope and ill Kemp, owned the remaining 50% in equal shares and Shakespeare profited as much from owning the…

Shakespeare and the manner in which he wrote and the theatre of his times.

In this modern world that we live in today we still do not forget the one great playwright William Shakespeare, and this is because of the fact that his work is unique and unmatched to any other. His lifetime, as we are convinced, was full of activity regarding his literary works. ut the truth is that we know very little about how he grew up and how he got married. We do however know that it was from the 1597 that he started an active life in acting, in which he performed before the queen. It was in London that he learned how to manage the theatre. It was not long after this that he flourished into an expert playwright whose work would touch the hearts of all who read it (1).

Analysis:

William Shakespeare was…

Sir Francis Drake was a ritish explorer, slave-trader, privateer, a pirate working for a government, in the service of England, mayor of Plymouth, England, and naval officer. Driven by early conflict with Catholic Spaniards and later fueled by tensions between England and Spain, Drake is best known for his piracy of Spanish settlements and ships and his role in defeating the Spanish Armada. Often referred to as the El Draque meaning "the dragon" by the Spanish, Drake earned his reputation as a tireless warrior against the Spanish.

The Elizabethan era is a period of English history during most of the 16th century under the reign of Elizabeth 1 of England. It is considered the height of the Renaissance of England with the development of Elizabethan theatre and renowned plays, books and poetry from William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlow, en Jonson and Thomas Kyd. During the Elizabethan era, Francis acon formulated early…

Yes, the Oedipus complex aspect of Shakespeare it gives us and which in turn invites us to think about the issue of subjectivity, the myth and its relation to psychoanalytic theory. (Selfe, 1999, p292-322)

Hemlet and Postcolonial theory

Postcolonial theory was born as a result of the publication of the famous work of Edward Said, Orientalism (1978). This theory claim that some authors (Paul Gilroy, Achille Mbembe, Francoise Verges, etc.) and that seem so elegant in its formulation, in my opinion raises three fundamental problems: At a time when we are witnessing the emergence of new expressions of colonialism (colonialism, cultural, political and economic globalization, neo-colonialism nestled in the relationship between the hegemonic colonial past and their old colonies, colonialism in disguise that structure the relationship between international institutions and developing countries, institutions from the rest behest of the former colonial powers according to their interests), speak of post-colonial era…

These were comedies that appealed to the more conservative, middle-class, sentimental, moralistic, and upheld a newly optimistic view of human progress and political development. (ilson & Goldfarb, 1999)

The 18th century view generally held that people are good and that people could retain virtue by appealing to virtuous human feelings as expressed in Sheridan, Goldsmith, and Sir Richard Steele. Thus, this signaled the end of the aristocratic, brittle Restoration hero and heroine. Yet the return of the theater to the people also caused German theatrical aspirants such as Goethe to creator works such as "Faust," ambitious plays that addressed larger spiritual concerns of the people, and political ideologies that spanned far wider than the immediate social concerns of the court. "Faust," for all its pretensions, represents individuals within its characters, such as the heroine Gretchen, who come from ranks beyond the academic and social elites of the French and English…

Even physical relationships are prone to dissolution -- as ebster shows: the lovers are murdered one by one. ebster and the other Jacobeans appear to pine for an era of old world spirituality -- for the new modern world, while full of scientific inquiry and triumph (see Bacon), lacks that sensitivity of soul that could effect true and real humility.

3. For, however, a complete and masterful representation of the many facets of human nature in all its strengths and failings, one need look no further than to the works of Shakespeare, which span both Elizabethan and Jacobean eras. For the folly of kingly pride, there is Lear. For the bitterness of ambition on the murdered conscience, there is Macbeth. For the nature of love and the relationship between man and woman there are the marvelous sonnets 116, 129, and 138: all three of which tackle the subject from a…

n terms of the definition for prejudice being a preconceived idea, that was indeed the case. Men, in that day and age, were far more protective of their property, in this instance their brides, than U.S. citizens are today. That's exactly right; men considered their wives as property. Women more than willingly presumed the role. The occupants of the United States, as opposed to these has-been literary stars or playwrights, right along with any human alive advocating an activist pro-feminist stance, portray the odd-man-out or nonconformist in consideration to nearly every other nation in the world.

n regard to the females in Shakespeare's plays, however, in spite of the fact that Shakespeare sketched female characters into his plays (i.e., Lady Macbeth from Macbeth; Desdemona of Othello), male actors portrayed the female characters. Actresses were not in Shakespearean plays because they were protected by fathers or husbands. At this day and…

Since he himself cannot directly accuse the King, he will use the actors to do so silently.

Other critics argue that the King does not see the dumb-show. Because there is no text in the play which describes what Claudius is doing at the moment that the dumb-show is being enacted, it is impossible to say one way or the other. The "second tooth" theory is the more widely accepted theory, and it fits with the theme of silent representation of support being taken away. Just as Hamlet silently displays for Ophelia his loss of sense, structure and support; just as the ghost silently displays for the watchmen his loss of primacy in Elsinore by wandering without purpose along the battlements, so too does Claudius silently react to the dumb-show, attempting to swallow this sudden and startling depiction of the horrific claim he has been attempting to hide for the…

creen

hakespeare's rhetoric has always astounded his contemporary audiences through his almost supernatural ability to perceive and present the universality of human nature on stage, regardless of the time his characters lived in.

The three different types of techniques used in rendering the play to the public are different, but related art forms: literature, theater and film. They reflect their author's or directors' vision of the story originally presented by hakespeare on stage at the Globe, in London, at the beginning of the seventeenth century.

Kings of cotland, England, and later Great Britain, had always been challenged in keeping their place on the throne and hakespeare himself lived through times that were still full of intrigue and plotting against the sovereign. Mary tuart, accused of plotting against the queen of England, Elisabeth I, had been executed in 1587, still a vivid memory for many who attended the shows put on…

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"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…

“One is not born but rather becomes a woman.” This famous statement by the French existential feminist Simone de Beauvoir highlights the fact that gender, as opposed to physical sex, is something into which someone is socialized, not which exists as a universal construct (Butler, 1988, p. 519). The 20th century feminist theorist Judith Butler took De Beauvoir’s thesis one step further to argue that gender is a performance not connected to the physical body at all and both men and women can effectively perform the female role. This notion is not as radical and contemporary as it may seem. As the film Shakespeare in Love highlights, in Elizabethan times, women were considered to be inferior beings, incapable of acting on stage at all. The film is a highly fictionalized version of life on the Elizabethan stage, and its final, climatic scene is that of a young woman named Viola…

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…

" 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.…

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…

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…

permissive attitude towards London sailor-town exist during the 1850-1860, and how did it change during the 1900-1910?

The main Theories Fronted

Although the marine community came from diverse backgrounds, the seafarers ashore had acquired a debauched image long before the 16th Century. The seafarers have won the appraisal of researchers for their role since then. According to Lee[footnoteef:1], seafarers had delinked themselves from the usual expected bonds and roles in society as otherwise expected of all humans. They were believed to be vulnerable to being misled and were believed to be strangers to the civilized, polite norms of contemporary human decorum. Once seafarers went ashore, they were inclined to being irresponsible beings. They could engage in drunkenness as of habit. They practiced little restraint in general. The seafarers most likely committed many other ills while at sea. The lack of societal control that normally provides a steadying influence meant that…

Evidently these sorts of scenes were meant to silence the bored, common nut-crackers.

The text is not overtly ideological in its content, although many plays were: "In a period when journalism ran riot and the power of Parliament could not suppress hostile news-books and pamphlets, it was not necessary for royalists to restrict their attacks upon the party in control to allegorical plays and the oblique allusions of the drama. Nevertheless, the drama proved a useful medium for the expression of royalist ideals and for attacks upon the weaknesses of the Puritans as seen through Cavalier eyes" (right 86).

It is the play's arch style and its humorous and indulgent attitude towards drunkenness, religious irreverence, and other attitudes anathema to the Puritans mark it as a Cavalier-supporting play. Mayne may have professed to feel guilty writing a piece of "tinsel," but he did not see this as harmful either, as…

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,…

He feels guilty when he is copying the play and accidentally distracts the attention of the actor who is supposed to fire a cannon, causing the cannon to be misdirected and start a fire (Blackwood 64). idge takes acting seriously -- when he first appears on stage he is terrified of forgetting his lines, and wants to do a credible job. He becomes a valuable apprentice actor and stagehand. For the first time in his life, his verbal talents are appreciated. idge's story illustrates how sometimes the most truthful people are actors, who try to reveal unexplored aspects of the human mind through 'pretending.' Acting also gives idge the ability to find his true, moral identity through 'pretending.'

Despite his intelligence and curiosity, at the beginning of the novel idge is very naive. He understands little of London and acting, as he has grown up for most of his life…

One of the main differences between the two texts is that language has changed to reflect shifts in gender norms. Notably, the newer version omits the word "obey" for the woman's marriage vows. Likewise the phrase "Who geveth this woman to be maried unto this man?" is also removed in the current version.

In spite of key differences related to tone and gender, many features have changed little in the Book of Common Prayer marriage ceremony. The exchange of rings is a similar feature. Also, the purpose of marriage is outlined to mention procreation in both texts. Heterosexual language prevails.

Thus, the general structure of the two documents are remarkably similar and shows that the Anglican Church has attempted to remain true to the original document. For example, a pithy introduction is soon followed by the exchange of vows and the "declaration of consent." The main differences between the two…

This is why Shakespeare included a character and plot of such low comedy in a play with such far-reaching and complex themes; in the end, all of the complexity boils down to a few very simple facts bout humanity. As Valerie Traub notes, "early modern England was a culture of contradictions, with official ideology often challenged by actual social practice," and Midsummer makes this exceedingly clear (131). Such contradictions necessarily lead to complications, as the central plot of the play (that of the lovers) clearly illustrates, and though these complications are comedic in their own way it is also hysterical watching someone who is unabashedly human -- and quite asinine in several senses because of it. His transformation is yet one more piece of honesty that Shakespeare includes in his commentary on humanity.

This aspect of both the character and the pay is captured brilliantly in Michael Hoffman's 1999 film…

And while it may seem silly upon first reading or seeing the play, it is clear that a Midsummer Night's Dream also has quite serious ideas. Scholars have noted that the play includes a cultural critique of the Elizabethan era in which it is set (Lamb 93-124). Other critics have noted that the play may contain quite subversive ideas regarding the fluid nature of sexual identity (Green 369-370). Whatever way you choose to interpret a Midsummer Night's Dream, the play's goofy characters, outrageous situations, and rich language have ensured the play's status as a classic work of English literature.

ibliography

Casey, Charles. "Was Shakespeare Gay? Sonnet 20 and the Politics of Pedagogy."

College Literature, Fall 1998. 29 November 2007. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3709/is_199810/ai_n8827074.

Gibson, H.N. The Shakespeare Claimants: A Critical Survey of the Four Principal

Theories Concerning the Authorship of the Shakespearean Plays. New York: Routledge, 2005.

Green, Douglas E. "Preposterous Pleasures: Queer…

Blacks in Blues Music

Biographer Lawrence Jackson wrote that author Ralph Ellison was exposed to the blues and classical music from an early age, eventually playing the trumpet and pursuing a degree in music at Tuskegee (McLaren Pp). hen he moved to New York to pursue his writing career, Ellison was exposed to the musical developments in jazz and often attended the Apollo Theater, the Savoy Ballroom, and Cafe Society Downtown, and although he admired such figures as pianist Teddy ilson, Count Basie and Duke Ellington, he did not particularly admired Dizzy Gillespie's Bebop, considering its use of Afro-Cuban influences as a "strategic mistake" (McLaren Pp). Ellison, writes Jackson, was more concerned with the "homegrown idiom" (McLaren Pp). That homegrown idiom that Ellison referred to was the blues, a music born in the fields of the South by black workers who used their African musical heritage to give birth to…

Faustus' Acceptance to Eternal Damnation

Many traditions and legends have been created all the way through the long history of western culture. Among which one of the most outstanding and well-known as well long lasting traditions of western culture is of the Faustus legend, where in this legend, a man called Faust or Faustus, sells his soul to the devil for almost twenty-four years for the purpose of worldly power. This makes it a very prominent story that has been narrated many times over by writers such as Goethe, Lessing, and Mann. However, most probably the famous telling is Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe.

The social upheaval during the time period is the most prominent influence on Marlowe's version of Doctor Faustus. This novel has been suspected of being first performed in 1594, which was a time of great change in Europe. During this period the Medieval Times were over…

Disguise, Costume, And Role Playing in Ben Jonson's Volpone

Ben Jonson's Volpone, first performed in London in 1605, was a highly successful play centering on the theme of greed. Volpone is particularly notable for Jonson's characters' use of disguise, costume and role playing both to advance the action of the story and to visually express Jonson's ethical beliefs to educate his audience. By writing in the satiric comedic style, the author offered a classic example of his own philosophy that the poet should fulfill a moral function in society. The delightful satire of Volpone clearly exhibits the traits common in all of Jonson's drama: the style and setting are simple and clean; the verse is fast-paced and full of life and humor; the writer's point-of-view is expressed without being either didactic or overly lyrical. In addition to the words the characters speak, the physical garb and personalities they don at…

alker Evans

The emergence of non-commercial still photography, in the form of an art is comparatively recent that may probably be dated from the 1930s. Just as poets use similar language as journalists, lawyers and curators, in the same manner, the ordinary realism of photography, including the medium of mug shots and real-estate ads, can be the material of visual poetry. In this context, the American photographer alker Evans was among the first to identify this potential (Masters of Photography).

In the 1930s, alker Evans contribution in the development of American documentary photography was significant. His each succeeding generation of photographers was greatly influenced by his precisely & comprehensive, frontal portrayal of people and artifacts of American life (Masters of Photography).

He abandoned his early ambitions of writing and painting and turned to photography, and as a result he reached at a dry, reasonable and modest style of photography that…

Shakespeare's Sister," and Maxine Hong Kingston's story, "No Name oman," reveal the theme of silencing women within literature, resurrection by the female author, while the lives of the authors' provide a dramatic contrast to the suppression of women depicted in their works. Ultimately, female writers like Hong Kingston are the fulfillment of oolf's dream for Shakespeare's sister, and represent the death of the tradition of silencing women's voices within the estern world.

The Silencing of omen Depicted in oolf and Hong Kingston

oolf's essay, "Shakespeare's Sister" is a clear portrait of the silencing of women by larger society. ithin "Shakespeare's Sister," Virginia oolf describes the fictional life of Judith, the sister of Shakespeare. She begins this analysis by noting the lack of women's presence in either history books or within literature. rites oolf, "what I find deplorable, I continued, looking about the bookshelves again, is that nothing is known about…

Othello: The Moor of Venice

Did Shakespeare intend for the character Othello to be a dark-skinned African or did he intend for Othello to actually be a Moor, with swarthy skin color? It is clear from the title of the play that the Bard intended Othello to indeed be a Moor, but what do scholars say about Shakespeare and race -- and who were the Moors? How is the character Othello portrayed today? These are points that has been debated and discussed for as long as the play has been seen on stage -- and read in print format. The question that is not asked often is -- does it really matter what the skin color Othello has on stage? Thesis: racism has no doubt played a role in the many Othello characters that have appeared on stage, but the play is so brilliantly composed that if indeed bigoted attitudes…

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;…

The rhyme scheme of this sonnet follows Shakespeare's usual structure, wherein the quatrains all have an independent alternating rhyme (ABAB CDCD EFEF), and the final two lines form an heroic couplet (GG). This adds to the feeling of receiving discrete steps of an argument, and enhances the divisions of the versification. There is also a noticeable prevalence of "l's and "s's in the poem, particularly in the first and third quatrains. these sounds make up the basics of the word "lies," which is itself used as a rhyme and is repeated in the poem, and which forms one of the major themes of the sonnet. In this way, the alliteration subconsciously reinforces the meaning and feel of the poem. There are also instances of repeated words, such as "love" in the lines "O love's best habit is in seeming trust, / and age in love, loves not to have..." (lines…