Dr.HEIDEGGER’S EXPERIMENT THEME OF FOOLISHNESS AND FOLLY "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment" is rooted in a rather pessimistic view of human nature. The story argues that people are, for the most part, fools. They don't learn from their mistakes, they're generally petty, and we can't expect anyone to change for the better. In this story, foolishness is particularly associated with youth, or at least a youthful state of mind. Hawthorne does provide a counter-example to his foolish characters in the form of Dr. Heidegger, but even this character has his sinister side.
In this essay, I will look at the role of Friar Lawrence in Romeo and Juliet – in particular, the eventual tragic deaths of the “star-crossed” lovers – and the manner in which Shakespeare uses Friar Lawrence as a means to challenge ideas of fate and light/darkness through his use of language, imagery and metaphor. From the first appearance of Friar Lawrence in Act 2 Scene 3, we can see that he uses a lot of contrasts which help to depict the dramatic contrasts in the entire play. His statements such as, “eastern clouds with streaks of light; and flecked darkness like a drunkard reels” and “baleful weeds and precious-juiced flowers” show that Friar Lawrence helps to set-up the contrasts within the entire play, and that he hints towards the eventual deaths of Romeo and Juliet. The contrasts between ‘tomb’ and ‘womb’ in the line “the earth that’s nature’s mother is her tomb; what is her burying grave, that is her womb”, also show for the audience that the fate of Romeo and Juliet is almost foretold and that despite the play resulting in their deaths, their families will begin a new ‘life’ as allies. Friar Lawrence
Re-read Act 2 Scene 5 from p.72 to p.78. Discuss how Stoppard presents the relationship between past and present in this extract and in at least one other point in the play. In his 1993 play of ideas Arcadia, Stoppard presents the relationship between past and present to the audience through the idea of the pursuit of knowledge, discussion of the chaos theory and the criticism of academics. Stoppard exploits his play’s constant shifting between the past and the present in order to express humanity’s constant pursuit of knowledge, using the passage as an opportunity to criticise academics, the academic in question being Bernard. The scene begins with him explaining his theory to Valentine, Chloë and Gus.
In contrast to this, Rosenblum’s article explores the perception of war from the view of the solider and the tension between “Romantic militarism” and liberalism. Talmon’s chapter makes connections to many romantic themes by relating events to the dominant forces or ideas at work in the era—such as the French and the Industrial Revolution. And finally, Coleridge’s poem reveals the influence of the French Revolution upon British Romanticism. Portraying nature as a spiritual gateway, he utilizes the natural world as an escape from his fears of a potential invasion in England. In each of these
(2011:97) Dramatic Monologue is a device whereby the poet invents a character to provide the voice and opinion represented in the text. Browning’s poem, “My Last Duchess”, addresses a rather complex character commonly found in the Victorian Era. The persona in this case, is the Duke of Ferrara. The poem, being a Dramatic Monologue, features a second character, the messenger, which the Duke addresses. Browning’s use of this Dramatic Monologue involves the reader in the process of assimilating and deconstructing the story of the Duke of Ferrara’s relationship with his ‘last duchess’ through his diction, style, structure and rhythmic pattern.
LaShanté Churchwell Theatre Heritage II 19th Century Romanticism ( Melodrama Elements of romantic theatre arose from a reaction against the rationalism of the enlightenment, which sparked sentiment in the emotions of the people. This was in stark contrast to the scientific methods of investigation in civilization and culture that the enlightenment of the late eighteenth and nineteenth century represented. The main idea of the enlightenment was to bring the light of reason to areas of darkness in human understanding (Arts and Humanities through the era, 2005, Philosophy of the enlightenment pg 304) and in relation to the enlightenment of theatre, it translated to the inner life and emotional aspects of its characters. As romanticism evolved, emotion became the core of theaters aesthetic experience in its reaction to the central focus of scientific reason and human will. The enlightenment seemed to disregard emotion- which is central to human life, and theatrical romanticism elevated folk art, language and emotion because emotion runs stronger and deeper than the intellect or will of a human being.
In the conversation between Dr. Stockman and his wife, as an example, Dr. Stockman says that ‘Yes, but I have right on mine!’ His Wife, Mrs. Stockman immediately reposes to his saying that ‘Right! Yes, of course. But what’s the use of right without might?’ The conversation suggests plainly that the ignorance can turn wrongness into righteousness. They change the might to the right and change the lie to the truth. Public opinion, in the play, decides all.
Upon his characterisation of the protagonist, Prospero, Shakespeare leaves various parallels between Prospero and himself through Prospero’s creation of the enigma that is the tempest. A parallel is also made apparent between Prospero and James the 1st in that they were both rulers by divine right and delved into peculiar philosophies. Shakespeare utilises the tempest as an allusion within an illusion. The political relevance of the tempest is very lucid; he addresses the political instability amongst the nobles of the play as a connotation to the current political problems in Jacobean England. The short terse sentences along various repetitions and imperatives serve to denote calamity in the ship.
A Doll’s House In Henrick Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, the main relationship we see is Nora Helmer and her husband Torvald Helmer’s. Their relationship is seemingly influenced by their era. When first reading the play, one may suggest that the women in this play are victims of this era. As the plot develops, we see that the relationship is also influenced by Nora’s lies, which suggest she was also a victimizer in her relationship, aside from her era. By the end of this play, we see how Nora’s secret changes the relationship between the couple, as she violates the stereotypical role-play as a wife and mother in her era, which generates her inspirational growth.
Hermia is in love with Lysander despite the Athenian rules. She cannot understand her own behavior since she has fallen in love and this is evident when she says to Theuses ‘I know not by what power I am made bold’ (act1 scene 1). This quote shows that Hermia does not usually act in this unpredictable way and that love is emotional rather than rational. Love is unpredictable and does not always make sense. This is shown through the conversation between Hermia and Lysander where Shakespeare uses repetition to compare different challenging situations where two people have fallen in love.