Level 3 15-22 Uses specific details, chosen appropriately, to address the question directly. Demonstrates a focused understanding of how the characters of Romeo and Juliet are affected by fate and destiny in the play. A clear, personal response will be evident. May offer a confident analysis of how fate and destiny are explored in this play. Spelling, punctuation and grammar used with considerable accuracy; there are few errors.
Both practitioners, Meyerhold and Craig developed ground breaking approaches to expressionism which is the direction that we chose to follow to interpret Antigone at its best. Expressionism encourages the freest possible handling of styles or tones or technical means and builds on the techniques of realistic acting, but then takes that reality and pushes it with emotion and physicality past naturalism and into an expressionistic style, enabling the actors to reveal the true character they play. Stanislavski is known as one of theatres most influential and significant practitioners to date. His approach to acting has influenced many, and changed the way we approach acting as an actor. Even though Stanislavski specialised in naturalism, the techniques he produced are very suitable for our expressionist production.
Main points include that this source of praise for the play by critics and readers comes from the parallelism between imagination and love, and the specific ways the author of the play, Shakespeare, constructs the plot. Expanding on Dent’s assertions, the author includes that imagination in itself is necessary for the functionality of most works and the idea of love has specific characteristics that act as reasons for the actions and decisions made by characters in the text. The author maintains the emphasis on the relationship between imagination and love. Their interaction in this play specifically causes confusion and folly which produces the comedic effect so praised by audiences. Imagination is used to describe the ambiguity of love itself, by having fairies implementing magic on the characters to cause them to fall in love with the “wrong” people.
Polanski’s film ‘Macbeth’ adapts Shakespeare’s play in order to comment on his own context and value. Demonstrate how he does this through a close reference to two scenes from the play and the film. A worldly saying is that ‘one’s thoughts turn into their words; these words turn into their actions, those actions turn into daily habits, which in turn develop one’s character’. However, it is also common knowledge that the context and values of one reflect in their activities, words and thoughts, regardless of whether they are beneficial to the individual’s health and mental wellbeing. This is demonstrated by Roman Polanski in his film adaptation of Shakespeare’s early 17th century novel Macbeth produced in 1971, especially in the first scene (Act 1 Scene 1 and 2 in play, 0:00 – 7:45 approximately in film) and also in Duncan’s murder scene (halfway in Act 2 Scene 1 beginning with Macbeth’s soliloquy to Act 2 Scene 2 Lady Macbeths exit in play, 37:40 – 46:40 in film).
The famous play, “Romeo and Juliet”, by Shakespeare, has been adapted into two movies. Franco Zeffirelli directed a historical portrayal of the film and Baz Luhrmann directed a modern interpretation of the film. Although, the two films were both very enjoyable, I believe that Zeffirelli’s adaptation of the film was more engaging and captured the intense emotions of “Romeo and Juliet” better than Luhrmann’s. Zeffirelli’s version of Romeo and Juliet was portrayed a vivid image of Shakespeare’s original text. Director Zeffirelli went against the regular practice of using well-known actors in the lead roles.
As well as updating Shakespeare’s play to the present decade through, Lurhmann’s film is more enjoyable because of the vibrant settings. The Zeffirelli “Romeo and Juliet” occurs in an ancient Italian city, with cobblestone streets and Roman mansions. Although the original play was meant to be performed in this setting, the modern viewer cannot relate to the environment, and therefor has a hard time understanding the plot and empathising the characters. Zeffirelli keeps the authenticity of dress by dressing his actors in hose and doublet. This helps us to understand the theme that Shakespeare
Throughout the play ‘Julius Caesar,‘ written by William Shakespeare, the author demonstrates the power of language, specific techniques and features. An example of implementation can be found within Brutus’s speech where several techniques are used to sway the reader, the audience and the mob. Language within Brutus’s speech is also taken advantage of to portray certain themes and ideas. The use of pathos and ethos arguments, parallel structure and rhetorical questions are highly effective. Pathos and ethos arguments are included within Brutus’s speech.
6) How do Shakespeare films engage with early modern ideologies of gender and sexuality? Early modern ideologies of sexuality and gender can be found throughout film adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays. Through examining Franco Zefferelli’s Romeo and Juliet and Kenneth Branagh’s Much Ado About Nothing, an understanding of early modern gender and sexuality can be attained. With regards to gender roles of this period, it can be assumed that the world of Shakespeare’s plays is predominantly male dominated where females have a lesser role. To an extent this is true, but with the arrival of Queen Elizabeth I to the throne of England an appreciation of female empowerment became more popular among writers and their audience.
"The perceiving eye absorbs the performance even as the mind's eye attends to text." (Crowl, p.3). Consequently, the question that now arises is to determine to what extent Titus's cinematic adaptation makes a difference to the understanding of the play. It goes without saying that the success of a movie depends on the way it is received by the audience. And, given that Titus was quite critically acclaimed, one could assert that Taymor made a judicious choice dealing with that particular play.
As tragedy is the oldest form of Dramatic performance, its continual subversion to suit the contemporary society makes it quite flexible as modern staging techniques and implications can benefit the reproduction of such classical plays. Rather than the deed itself, it is the foreshadowing and events that lead to the tragic heroes hamartia that ultimately make it a tragedy. Willy Loman, a pitiful frail man, reassures himself continually of his inflated sense of self value. His inability to cope and face reality deters him and pollutes his thinking and perception of truth, thus degrading sequentially. “They don’t need me in New York.