As a playwright, actor, and manager, Shakespeare’s influences are still evident in Western theatre today. He wrote comedies, tragedies, and various combinations of the two; but, The Tragedy of King Lear is considered to be one of Shakespeare’s greatest plays (Wilson & Goldfarb, 2012). Over the years, there have been countless stage productions, as well as many films adaptations, of King Lear. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that Ronald Harwood would choose to use, as a performance piece, in The Dresser – a story about the highs and lows of life in the theatre, circa 1940. There are obvious comparisons that can be drawn between King Lear and The Dresser, for example: both are tragic stories about an egotistical protagonist, Lear/Sir, and his descent into madness.
Near the beginning of Book VI, we enter a temple dedicated to Apollo, and upon entering, our narrator reiterates the history that gave rise to this temple. It is significant that the history of a shire is described so meticulously, and in the beginning of the book—in a manner, interrupting the reader, and Aeneas (for he stops to admire the gates) from continuing on with the story. Not only does this bestow the notion of history with a sense of great importance in the poem, it insinuates that everyone must yield to history, even a great hero such as
He influenced many contemporary writers and created a new point of view in the poetry. He wrote 37 plays and 154 sonnets. In his work Julius Caesar Shakespeare shows us the change of power in Rome and the problems that Rome had there. Power is the ability to act with force. Shakespeare makes visible the abuse of power and the struggle to gain power in the biggest empire at the time.
James was a patron of Shakespeare acting company and he wrote under James reign. Macbeth focuses on a figure from Scottish history. The larger sense in a theme of bad versus of Macbeth and Duncan would have resonated at the royal court where James would have been busy developing his English version of the theory of divine right. Macbeth has shocked and fascinated the audience for nearly 400 hundred years. Shakespeare crafts the main roles characters Shylock and Macbeth and how their tone of voice changes as they approach towards their deed.
THE ORESTEIA by Aeschylus Nancy Patel Oresteia was Aeschylus one of the best work till date. This play has many interesting twists to it, brining out complexity in Greek plays and also showcasing facets of their identity. Oresteia is about cruses descended on the ruling family of Mycenae over generations after generations from the god Zeus. Pelos and Hippodamia have two sons, Atreus and Thyestes. Pelos’s sons fought because they both wished to rule to the city of Mycenae.
Of all the historians over time, Herodotus is considered to be the ‘Father or History’[1] who began recording the events surrounding the Persian wars between 499 BC and 449 BC in what is known as The Histories[2]. Herodotus’ Histories read very much like the epic poems of Homer’s The Illiad[3], in the way that they were oral accounts of events that involved the interactions between the Gods and mortals, which focused on the achievements of individuals. Herodotus states that “My business is to record what people say, but I am by no means bound to believe it”[4] enforcing the idea that these historical accounts have been recorded from what he has heard from other sources and has taken an objective view on the events. Thucydides makes similar statements saying that his writings of the Peloponnesian War between 431 BC and 404 BC will aim to provide an exact knowledge of the past, omitting any romance to his tales[5]. It is clear that these two historians differ in the way they approach their accounts of the history of war.
Hugo Valdez 12/09/11 Final Exam Essay HIS 3060-002 Prof. O’Bryan Aeneas Influence on Rome and Augustus Virgil’s the Aeneid serves as a great poem that is highly influential in Roman society, especially during Augustus rule over Rome. The Aeneid and Aeneas were an influence over Rome for many reasons, one of the most important is that it offered Romans a story/tale in which the people could believe in and look up to. Virgil mentions many gods who often commanded the Roman’s ancestors, the Trojans, and serves as a great story as to how Rome came to be and what Rome would be like. Aeneas’ struggles and long voyage towards the founding Rome is an inspirational story that shows us how the Roman gods had a plan for Aeneas and Rome. As
The History of Theatre Alanna Leon Effective Essay Writing/COM/150 May 27, 2012 Michael Macbride The History of Theatre Theatre is a fantastic, entertaining, and very old art form. An evolution of storytelling, theatre is an expression of life. The history of theatre can be traced all the way back to the time of Ancient Greece. The art of theatre has survived many years and has evolved greatly during those years. A performance you would have seen in Ancient Greece is not at all what you would see in a performance today.
The play “Oedipus Rex” by Sophocles is a wonderfully written Greek tradgedy based on folklore and mythology. There are almost as many interpretations of the meaning of this play as there are versions of it that have been rewritten by other authors. Francis Fergusson and David Wiles both comment on the political aspects of Oedipus Rex and spend some time commenting on the chorus in particular (183). I feel that although Fergusson and Wiles choose different words to describe was the chorus is trying to say, that if you get down to basics, they are both trying to say something extremely similar. Fergusson describes a Sophoclean chorus as an important character or group personality, like an old Parliament or a Prime Minister (237-238).
It is the combination of these key ingredients and mysteries that make Macbeth so compelling. Indeed, one of the most compelling things in the play is Macbeth himself. As the plays titular character, one would expect him to play a large part but the ways in which he compels the plot and reader go above and beyond expectation. Throughout the course of the play, we see Macbeth’s journey from a highly regarded battle hero to a despised tyrant, from a level headed army captain to a cold impulsive King. We witness this through the comments of the other characters in the play.