Belonging is inevitable, and everywhere we go whether we notice it or not it is a prominent feature. Authors will exploit this core human attribute to create interest in the readers, evoke emotions and to explore the basics of human life. What does belonging mean to you? An example of this belonging is found in both Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and William Shakespeare’s Othello. In both of these plays, the playwrights have manipulated the concept of belonging and explored the belonging of humans to create strong characters in their texts.
They can be that his stories are amazing, dark and deep. That he shaped the English language we know today, and also that his writing style itself was so beautiful that other writers can recognize that as well. The question I think needs to be answered is: Why is Shakespeare so important, and why is he still relevant today? Shakespeare genuinely tried to write for his audiences. He wanted the plot to strike them even if it didn’t sit well with them.
‘Twelve Angry Men’ is a naturalistic play, written by Reginald Rose who shows that conflict can impact on all people, and its factors are what make the issue of prejudice, justice and the case of personal experience. Prejudice is one of many factors that contribute on conflict, how it is gone about, and the way it prevents people from acting towards others. Along with the inhabitants of prejudice, justice and personal experience are also major factors which are involved in the outcome of conflict. Throughout the play, a main focus which Rose explores is prejudice, and the way he links it to a major factor of conflict. While Rose showcases the effect of prejudice and its impact on conflict, he endures using his jury, the major influence personal experience has on people, and each other, making the decision from come personally.
He was writing about ideals and ideas that were still developing in the time in which he was living. It was as though Shakespeare could defy stereotypes of the era and address problems that were common and constant throughout society. Also his use of language, the rich and full words, some of which he created himself, are somewhat a measure of his own ability and work together in the creation of a new way of communicating ideas. 4. How did he enrich Elizabethan theatre?
In the first two acts base human emotions such as anger and envy as well as crucial areas of human behaviour (deceit, for example) are used to encapsulate the interpersonal rapports and conflicts between the principal roles. The relationships between Iago and Michael Cassio as well as between Roderigo and Othello are characterised by jealousy displayed as Iago bitterly recounts how much more qualified and suited he is to the post ultimately rewarded to Cassio and Roderigo dotes on his love for Desdemona whom he has lost repeatedly to Othello. Rage and hatred encapsulate the sentiments towards Othello maintained by Iago and also reveals by far the ugliest side of Iago’s personality; his unfounded adoration of other’s suffering and his insatiable yet baseless desire to make others miserable. This abhorrence is best captured by his clear prioritisation in stimulating tensions between Othello and his soon to be father-in-law rather than physically making an effort to help Roderigo. As the play opens in media res we gain an immediate and frankly unflattering introduction to Iago and Roderigo.
William Shakespeare’s Hamlet (1599-1601) has successfully continued to engage audiences through its dramatic treatments of soliloquies and asides. It has retained value as being worth critical study in both an Elizabethan and modern context – this may be said due to its mirroring of human nature in society, thereby depicting the thematic concepts of struggle and disillusionment. Shakespeare’s use of dramatic and language techniques, consisting of much great symbolism and metaphorical language, illustrates the dramatic irony and action of textual integrity in Hamlet. Thus these salient notions are achieved through Hamlet’s speech directed towards a society that reflects both an Elizabethan and modern contemporary context, whereby audiences reflect upon the depiction of humanity’s struggle in a disillusioned reality. In Hamlet’s third soliloquy, there are echoes of struggle and disillusionment which are illustrated as important concepts in dealing with Shakespearean language throughout the play of HAMLET.
Consequently as these dramatic and literary techniques are structured they do in fact impose a recognizable order on human behaviour and events however this is an unavoidable part of theatre as plays are a story and a story must have structure to give it meaning and make it entertaining. Ariel Dorfman’s ‘Death and the Maiden’ is a brilliant example of modern literary which demonstrates the many ways in which dramatic and literary structure impose order on the human events and behaviour of the play and the purpose the playwright has in imposing this order. All play’s are essentially a dramatic performance of a series of events that link together to tell a story to the audience in a manner that is entertaining, therefore all plays follow one of the many formats of a story. Ariel Dorfman’s ‘Death and the Maiden’ follows the most commonly know story structure of introduction, complication, climax and conclusion which consequently imposes order on the human events and behavior within the text. This order is clearly visible within the dialogue of the novel with all main events and human behavior following the above structure and thus imposing order on the characters and events, removing the chaotic and random factors of human life.
The revelation is in itself a dramatic effect as the audience becomes more intrigued and excited on how Hamlet has managed to get them killed. The language used by Hamlet when explaining how he had managed to get them killed depict his anger towards treachery ‘Tis dangerous when the baser nature comes/between the pass and fell incensed points/of mighty opposites’ (5.2.61-63). This could also depict the notion of Hamlet’s attitude towards the lower rank; it is most likely that Hamlet and Claudius that belong to the upper rank regard Guildenstern and Rosencrantz as inferior breeding. On the other hand ‘mighty opposites’ could also suggest Hamlet referring to the two forces of evil and good. Moreover the dramatic effect that Shakespeare outlines when Hamlet narrates to Horatio his plan to save himself that he has realised that ‘There's a divinity that shapes our ends, /Rough-hew them how we
Authors often use vivid descriptions and sensory enriched words to attract one of the five major senses (hearing, touch, taste, smell and sight) to convey an action, image or event; the lure of the imagery is what keeps the reader attuned. The sensory enriched technique of imagery also arouses the reader’s emotion creating a deeper connection between the world of the reader and the literary work. Threatening images, unnerving scenes, evil and death will prompt the reader to become attuned since these images provoke unsetting emotions. In Hamlet, Shakespeare uses imagery
Macbeth Discuss the role of imagery in the tragedy Macbeth. How important is imagery to the play and in what ways is it depicted? Imagery is an essential technique in the evolving of the plot and characters in Macbeth. The importance of imagery to Macbeth is extremely valuable, as the technique is employed strongly throughout the play by Shakespeare. Through imagery, Shakespeare is also able to reveal Macbeth’s true character, most dominantly through clothing imagery, light and darkness imagery, and blood imagery.