Romeo and Juliet- Act 1 Scene 5 In Act 1 Scene 5 we witness the first encounter between Romeo and Juliet, and Shakespeare makes the entire scene interesting for the audience in several ways. As the audience had already seen Romeo with his friends, we know that he had been quite against coming to the party that they were gate-crashing, saying how he was too miserable because of Rosaline’s reproach towards him, and that the love he Romeo felt for her was stopping him from being with his friends. The audience would also learn at this point that Rosaline was actually a member of the Capulet family, and this creates another layer of irony because we know that inevitably Romeo and Juliet will meet and fall in love, meaning Romeo would once again encounter difficulties at ‘loving’ someone from the same, opposing family. However, as we have seen how pathetic Romeo acted previously with Mercutio and Benvolio, we would expect him to still be in the same morose state, but instead it would be of great interest and amusement to the audience that in fact Romeo’s miserable demeanour suddenly changed the moment he spots Juliet- another beautiful girl- and he suddenly perks up, and begins to shower Juliet in flowery words of devotion. As surprising as this is for someone who was supposedly ‘love-sick’ over another girl, it is even more amusing because of how it had taken him a few seconds of seeing Juliet before he began announcing his admiration of her.
It is important this is revealed before the scene as it creates dramatic irony because the audience knows such a significant detail of the play, yet Juliet doesn't, even though it's her getting married. Shakespeare uses the contrast between love and hate to add tension to the scene, like when Capulet clashes with a distraught Juliet after she refuses to marry Paris. Shakespeare structures this scene to create dramatic tension. Romeo, Capulet, Lady Capulet and the Nurse all make entrances or exits which leads to a chaotic and panicky sort of atmosphere. The audience emotions would be changing constantly because everyone who enters the scene has something important to say that could potentially change the course of the play.
I did not like how some of the actors played double roles because in an already confusing play trying to follow “who is who” is not an easy task. My favorite actor was probably Chris Young, who played Prince Myshkin, because in this role the actor had to portray a guy who would give you the clothes off his back, is too trusting, and is very likeable at first meet. I thought Chris did a great job of being all those. Overall, other than Prince, Rogoshin, and Nastasya most actors played both a tragic and comedic role, or at least in one of their many roles in the play. On a side note I did not like how one of the actresses yelled at the row behind me about not talking during the show.
. At the start of the play, Medea’s nurse has briefly introduced the plot, telling how Medea gave up everything for Jason and helped him achieve what he wanted, only for him to then go and leave her to marry a princess. She talks about how badly Medea has reacted to what he has done, and the bad state she is in. The tutor then enters with Medea and Jason’s two sons. The nurse informs him how distraught Medea is and warns the tutor to keep the boys away from her, as Medea seems to hate them and the nurse isn’t sure what Medea will do to them when she is in this state.
These romantic comedies all share a common element of the roles that women and men portray. The romantic comedies of that time attracted audiences because the male/female roles were often exaggerated and comedic to watch. The men and women may not share equivalence of social standing or money in a post war era, but in the romantic comedy realm, women are trying to make a change. The woman character is usually stronger and more likely to take initiative. She depicts the “madcap heiress” role; rich and spoiled like Irene in My Man Godfrey.
Here he is saying that is Desdemona claims that her fathers accusations are right then they may not only take his position buth is life included. Othello in the play is very respected as well as respectful toward others.This is seen when he takes control of the fight that occurred between Cassio and Rodrigo.He greets Montano saying “worthy Montano” and in return Montano greets Othello saying “worthy Othello”.This shows his good natured character and how highly he was thought of and how highly he thought of others. Even though Othello is clearly a good man we notice how naive he is.We see this when he arrives back from Turkey and Othello says “Iago is most honest”, we see Othello mention how honest he thinks Iago is throughout the play.This shows how gullible and naive Othello is and how this ultimately leads to his downfall. Iago started telling Othello lies about Desdemona and Cassio how he thought they were having an affair. He did this by changing the appearance of things and making them look opposite of the actual reality.For example telling Othello that Desdemona gave her hankerchief to him and how they have already slept together.Othelle responds to the hankerchief situation saying “ farewell tranquil mind farewell content..Farewell!Othellos occupation is gone”.
Although his sexual attraction through being mysterious is rather helpful, this sexual attraction often gets the hero into trouble (Wikipedia). In Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte had a character that fit this description very well in Mr. Rochester. But instead it was the influence of the culture surrounding the idea of the Byronic hero that made Rochester seem Byronic. Rochester seen through multiple examples is actually quite normal but it is the characters perceptions of him that make him seem so Byronic. Byron's example in Childe Harold's
In many of William Shakespeare’s plays, moments of tragedy and tension are lightened by the interruption of comical characters. These characters are referred to as the “Shakespearean fool”. The reoccurring presence of such personalities captivated the audience of the Elizabethan era as it made them laugh. Shakespeare employed the use of humor as means to avoid a dismal atmosphere. This was most effective when the storyline became too serious, as it provided comic relief.
Women are placed as central characters in these plays,however they face oppression and, like in 'Othello', often end up as victims due to men determining what they decide is right as they hold superiority over their women. On the other hand, the sole female character in 'The Tempest',Miranda, faces a different eventuality although occasionally encountering with disadvantages of social organisation. Despite the social strengths male characters hold, it is interesting to explore the petty behavior they display to their audience,proving them,in fact,weaker than those they oppress. Feminist audiences and critics may agree that the male character's strengths in society are heavily outweighed by their emotions and lack of control over them therefore making female characters seemingly more stable in these plays. Whereas an audience in Shakespeare's London may criticize the female characters and blame them for the male characters' downfall rather than seeing that the weaknesses lie with them themselves.
Not all of the literature during this time was challenging or demeaning. Much of it was soothing or calming in order to improve society’s morale. It allowed society to escape from the harsh conditions of the world and into the world of literature, where it can be interpreted as the reader desires. Two of the best selling novels of the decade were set in earlier eras, induced with a romantic setting: Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind (1936) and Hervey Allen’s Anthony Adverse (1933). These kinds of stories were highly upheld by the public because it had given them the opportunity to temporarily forget their own troubles and fantasize about the fortunes of others.