Situations that deal with evil can often lead to the misjudgment of reality and cause a person to foolishly let their guard down. While famous for many other plays, Shakespeare’s tragedy, The Tragedy of Macbeth, is one of the most unique and supernatural based plays of his time. “Shakespeare wrote more than thirty-five histories, comedies, and tragedies, eighteen of which appeared in print during his lifetime” (“Rise” 78). Shakespeare’s varying genres of writing made for entertaining and astonishing shows that captivated even the most unintelligent of audiences. “Born in the age of Elizabeth, the playwright had a smooth transition into the Jacobeans age.
An Inspector calls is a play written in the 1940s, however it is still a very popular play. This is odd, as it was a play written for 1940s Britain, not the modern multi-cultural UK we know today. Many things have changed around the world, from women’s rights to politics, yet An Inspector Calls is still a very popular play. The theme of the younger generation rebelling against older people is a prominent theme right from the start of the book with Sheila’s use of new words like “squiffy” and “don’t be an ass, Eric”. To a 1940s audience, use of vocabulary like this was frowned upon, and Sheila and Eric being so rude to their parents by the end of the play, which was very much unheard of, especially in high-class home such as the Birlings.
Twain’s Obscure Revelation in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn In his essay ‘Twentieth-Century Fiction and the Black Mask of Humanity,” Ralph Ellison argues that Mark Twain was a very influential author because of his ability to combine his morals with his belief in democracy. When crediting Twain for his importance in literature, Ellison refers to the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as text that was way ahead of its time. His reverence for the novel can be attributed to Twain’s ability to show a young boy’s internal struggle when he refuses to conform to the expectations of society. The young boy- Huck Finn- lived during a time when there were high standards for young men and racial tensions were immense. Twain portrays Huck as an independent figure who refuses to be “sivilized” by the outside world.
Although many parts of the play could be interpreted as offensive in modern times, Elizabethan audiences found them comical. The majority of London’s population at the time was anti-Semitic because there were very few Jews living there. Shakespeare’s, The Merchant of Venice, supports anti-Semitism actions and thought. Although people from all kinds of nationalities and religious backgrounds did business in Venice, Shakespeare's setting is full of religious strife, especially between Christians and Jews. This culminates in a big legal showdown over whether or not Shylock should be able to collect his pound of flesh from Antonio.
At the time of Conan-Doyle’s writing’s the new and exciting genre of crime fiction was just blossoming. Another notable example of crime fiction from this time is Agatha Christie’s Poirot Like most of the literature of the time, it was full of formulaic plots and stereotypical characters. People were attracted to the “apparently” formulaic simplicity of crime fiction, while the twists and turns of the plot often confused and disorientated the most diligent reader. Much of the crime fiction that may have inspired Conan-Doyle were based in context. In the Victorian times there were much higher levels of crime and the police force was a lot more incompetent than now.
A key theme throughout is the struggle for power between Richard and the women of the play. The opening soliloquy of Act 1 gives an important insight into the reasons for Richards scathing attitude towards women. Initially the soliloquy seems to be joyful and he appears to be making very positive comments about his brother, King Edward. “Now is the winter of our discontent Made glorious summer by this sun of York” (1.1.1-2) However, it quickly becomes clear that Richard’s comments are heavily sardonic and sarcastic as he criticises his brother. It is obvious from this first soliloquy that Shakespeare has moulded Richard to look almost monstrous and noticeably deformed.
Jessica Tandy played Blanche, Kim Hunter played Stella and Marlon Brando played Stanley. In 1948, one year later, Tennessee Williams received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Donaldson Prize and New York theater critics Prize so it became the first drama that won these three awards at once and his work became wildly popular and it is still so today. The internet site of New York Times (times topics) suggests that Tennessee Williams: “had a profound effect on the American theater and on American playwrights and actors. He wrote with deep sympathy and expansive humor about outcasts in our society. Though his images were often violent, he was a poet of the human heart.”[2] Činoherní klub`s webpage about A Streetcar Named Desire uses a quote (from a letter to an agent, Andrea Wood, August 27, 1947) which described Tennessee`s intention about the main characters and how he wanted them to be perceived by the audience: “I do not intend to focus blame or accusation on one particular character, but I want it to be a tragedy of misunderstanding and indifference toward others.”[3] The play is set in the city of New Orleans.
(Hoffmann). Even though the novel became successful at first, the novel was practically outlawed in Germany. “The ten years distance from World War I allowed for objective assessment, but attitudes to the lost war had polarized: those who saw it as a bloody warning accepted Remarque's book; those who attributed Germany's defeat to a stab in the back, or viewed the war as a test by fire of German nationhood rejected it” (Murdoch). The Nazis were so appalled by Remarque's books; they were burned in 1933 for “betraying the German soldiers”. These
The movie made it easier for people to feel for Chris because he was friendly and gentle. It allowed people to admire him for pursuing, his dreams. However, the book made it seem like he was foolish and selfish, and was caught up in this illogical mindset. “Roman, Andrew, and I stay up well past midnight, trying to make sense of McCandless’s life and death, yet his essence remains slippery, vague, elusive.”(p. 186) This left people to think that he deserved to die for his arrogance. While portrayed as a harsh character in the book, Chris’ father Walt is seen as an even harder character in the movie, they pushed Walt’s character even more, adding more tension between Chris and himself.
Although anti-Semitism is totally unacceptable nowadays, it was quite normal in Shakespeare's time. However, as he has done with other villains, Shakespeare actually plays around with his audience's preconceptions and makes Shylock an interesting, intricate and sometimes admirable character. Being a Jew in Christian dominated Venice, Shylock is persecuted by society. He is the victim of popular Christian prejudice, which scorns his religion and restricts his means of employment. He is left with no choice but to be a moneylender and earn his money from collecting interest.