The word powerful makes it clear to the reader that Atkinson was heavily impacted by the performance. Atkinson’s diction automatically creates the impression that the dramatization served a greater purpose than just to entertain. In many instances during the review, Atkinson used short, deliberate sentences. These changes in sentence structure were used to emphasize his emotion. When speaking of the differences between Arthur Miller’s works, Atkinson said “The literary style of “The Crucible” was cruder.” He said this abruptly because he wanted to assure that his point would be made.
It has been accepted for inclusion in JCCC Honors Journal by an authorized administrator of ScholarSpace @ JCCC. For more information, please contact bbaile14@jccc.edu. The Use of Satire in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World Abstract Satire is successful when the writer can make an audience believe the idea presented is not only logical, but practical; the most effective satirists can even convince the reader to consider the idea as a reasonable solution to a problem. Often, satire is used to bring to light certain social or moral issues or absurdities, and even more ridiculous resolutions to said problems. While certain satires are appealing in their obvious disgust of humanity, other works are not so blatant in their mockery, presenting more realistic situations.
The theme of deception in Shakespeare’s plays The typical themes of Shakespeare’s works, especially his plays, often reflect popular moods, problematic occurrences and typical traits of human nature from his time which are relevant even today. One such theme is deception. The idea of deception in Shakespeare’s plays has many different faces. In one instance, it is accidental, as in The Comedy of Errors. In another instance, it is used as defense against greater harm, as in Othello.
Uploaded 1/29/2013 Humor: Literature’s Rubber Sword “Humor is a rubber sword—it allows you to make a point without drawing blood.” In this quote by contemporary writer Mary Hirsch, Hirsch describes how, in literature, humor is used to show insight about humanity in a sophisticated and comical way to amuse the readers. In The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde uses humor to criticize the moral and respectable attitudes and values expected in Victorian society. Wilde incorporates humor through the literary devices of puns, irony and epigrams to satirize that duplicity is more important than the conventional reality in Victorian society. One of the ways Wilde’s humor is displayed is through his puns. Throughout the play, Wilde takes advantage of the double meaning of the word earnest through the functions of a man’s name and an adjective describing sincere.
lost and won,” (37) to be followed shortly by the famous “Fair is foul and foul is fair.” (37) Here, particularly in the latter oxymoronic example, we see acutely the power of the paradox, forcing us to seek a context in which the contradiction does not contradict. The repeated use of paradox throughout Macbeth suggests that there is something in the device itself which seemed wholly appropriate to the content of the play: the paradox presents something which is not, says something which it does not say, concealing the truth from the superficial glance. Accordingly the paradox in itself, aside from what it might 1This is a major rewrite. All sections have been either corrected, expanded or replaced in there entirety. K. Waddington 2 eventually render as the true meaning, underlines the deceptiveness of appearances.
This is used as a device to introduce the idea t of ‘knowledge for knowledge’s sake’, which is one of Stoppard’s key themes. It also demonstrates the contrast between Romanticism and Classicism, as each of the characters is representative of one of these ideals. From the beginning of Act 1 Scene 2 and within this extract, it is made obvious to the audience that as a character, one of Bernard’s major purposes is to create comedy through his unabashedly terrible personality. His deceitful nature is introduced when he asks Chloe to lie to Hannah about his name, due to the fact that he wrote a derogatory review of her book yet still wishes to use her intelligence. As an audience, we are already aware of this before Hannah makes the discovery, which increases our sense of disgust at his deceitfulness.
“How far would you agree that the characters’ susceptibility to deception is what drives the plot in this dramatic comedy?” Much Ado About Nothing is a dramatic comedy written by William Shakespeare. Its main themes include deception, social grace, honour, marriage and gender- with characters falling in love, falling out of love, being disgraced and being accepted once more; but what really drives the plot in this dramatic comedy? Many would argue that it is the characters’ susceptibility to deception as deceit is one of its main themes. I am going to argue for and against this and come to a conclusion of how far I’d agree that it is what drives the main plot. Much Ado is a play based around the theme of deliberate deception- sometimes this deception is malevolent and sometimes benevolent but much of the play hinges around them and their effect on the characters.
The issue of conservative and transgressive comedy in Shakespeare’s play, Much Ado About Nothing and the comedic genre in general applies to the themes of authority through gender and social authority. Authority within comedy is often similar, with social hierarchy considered vital, the higher a character in class, the more likely they will achieve a happy ending. The convention of social authority is mirrored within gender authority, with males generally having the upper hand, in spite of how outspoken a female character may have been prior to the ending, which usually is considered conservative. In Much Ado About Nothing, the convention of male authority is challenged through the interactions between Beatrice and Benedick, Beatrice managing to match Benedick in the exchanges of wit Beatrice’s manner is sharply contrasted by Hero who, as a character is conventional and demure, speaking only once in the first act to correct Beatrice as she mocks Benedick with a sexual joke, calling him ‘Signior Mountanto.’ Interestingly, though she is supposed to be the female lead in the play, Hero has the least amount of lines out of the principal characters, which shows her submissive nature, sharply contrasting with Beatrice. Throughout the play, Beatrice and Benedick’s exchanges provide obvious humour as they trade insults until Don Pedro, Hero and Claudio decide to ‘bring Signior Benedick and the Lady Beatrice into a mountain of affection.’ Her character’s freedom is a source of humour within the play as it is so far from the social orthodoxy of the time it becomes humorous, as, according to Dr Emma Smith, to be funny means being able to ‘push boundaries.’ Beatrice’s comments show her ideas on authority and her individuality as a female character being outspoken.
Context is extremely relevant in ‘The Importance of being Earnest’ and ‘Master Harold and the Boys’, particularly when it comes to the audiences overall understanding of the play INTRO: Without first understanding the context of the texts ‘The Importance of being Earnest’ by Oscar Wilde and ‘Master Harold and the Boys’ by Athol Fugard, the satirical yet critical nature of both plays would be insubstantial and overlooked, washed under the dramatic irony, exaggerated characters and animated dialogue. The historical, social, cultural and economic context is crucial in understanding the overall concept of the plays, as they are both written as sophisticated parodies of the values within past societies. ‘The Importance of being Earnest’ satirizes Victorian values in the late 1800s, criticizing social construct, morality, superficiality and the vast economic disparities between upper and lower classes. Fugards’ ‘Master Harold and the Boys’ explores the 1950 Apartheid, as well as the effect segregation had on social construct, the economy, education and close personal relationships. PARAGRAPH 1: Oscar Wildes’ ‘The Importance if being Earnest’ makes several references to contemporary historical events throughout the play, such as the threat of a revolution similar to the French Revolution.
Oscar Wilde’s purpose in writing this passage of the play “The Importance of Being Earnest” is to reveal the idiocy of the emphasis on appearance and rank in Victorian society, which in the case of this passage has led to a fabrication of identity in order to further the character’s interests and allow them to do what they want. Wilde is stating the importance of being true to yourself and to other people, because a lie meant to impress others or to get ahead in society is unsustainable. As illustrated by Oscar Wilde, there is a difference between being funny and being witty. Someone who is witty is “intelligently clever”, whereas someone who is funny is amusing or comical. Wilde uses his wit in order to expose the hypocrisy and artificial nature of his social environment.