Beowulf & Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Beowulf is considered to be the greatest composition of the Old English verses. It is a heroic poem written by an anonymous author, in Anglo-Saxon. The date of its creation is uncertain since there is only one manuscript left, however it is estimated to have been written somewhere between the middle of the seventh and the end of the tenth century. Although it was written in this period, the events which it deals with go back as far as around the fifth century. The poem consists of roughly 3000 lines and it is divided into forty-three sections.
Shakespeare has achieved a masterful blend of complex characters and themes, intense emotions and an equally intricate plot and sub-plotline. The profound depth of these features allows the audience to respond in unique and intense ways, and can be attributed to the varying interpretations of King Lear in performance that have appeared throughout time. It is debateable whether or not Shakespeare purposely created characters that whilst holding a large degree of complexity, were still rather vague in detail. Although critics such as A.C. Bradley saw this feature of King Lear as being one of its many structural weaknesses, it has proven to be quite a cunning tool. This vagueness is seen most prominently within the character of Cordelia.
(Shakespeare. Palomar.edu) From 1594, Shakespeare’s play were performed only by the Lord Chamberlain’s men. The Lord Chamberlain’s men was a company owned by Shakespeare and a group of players, that soon became the leading playing company in London. (wikepedia.org) Shakespeare done the most of his work between 1589 and 1613. He started writing tragedies, and during his last phase, he wrote romances.
Intro to Sonnet Sequence Composed by Philip Sidney, Astrophel and Stella became the first famous English sonnet sequences in the 1580s. It contains 108 sonnets and even 11 songs. Also for his sonnets, he adopted the Petrarchan rhyme scheme (abba abba cdecde). Unlike Sir Thomas Wyatt, and others who wrote excellent poetry, Sidney was the only one who linked his poems to a certain subject and theme. Each of his sonnets addresses to Astophel’s love for Stella.
Explore the ways the speakers are presented in Browning’s dramatic Monologues, My last Duchess, The Laboratory and Porphyria’s Lover The Laboratory 1845 The Laboratory is a dramatic monologue written by Robert Browning. A dramatic monologue is a poem, with a single speaker, who is speaking aloud their thoughts or emotions on a particular subject. The language used can help you understand the personality of the character and their state of mind. This particular monologue is written in twelve stanzas, all of which are four lines long. At the opening of this monologue the words Ancien Regime are used, this refers to an older form of rule or government, meaning the speaker comes from a past age.
Everybody uses techniques and ideas which can be traced back to Shakespeare. Whatever dramatist in whatever language you are required to study, familiarity with Shakespeare can only be an advantage. The Success that Shakespeare had in his writing career can be related to many accomplishments that he had. Two of the many reasons why Shakespeare was a successful writer are because Shakespeare was one of the few British playwrights to have success in comedies, histories, and tragedies. Throughout Shakespeare's career he wrote or co-wrote sixteen comedies and ten histories, while adding twelve tragedies to his name (Goldberg 23).
It is most probably a later addition, similar to the title of Toccata, Adagio and Fugue, BWV 564, because in the Baroque era such organ pieces would most commonly be called simply Prelude (Praeludium, etc.) or Prelude and Fugue. [2][3] Ringk's copy abounds in Italian tempo markings, fermatas (a characteristic feature of Ringk's copies) and staccato dots, all very unusual features for pre–1740 German music. All later manuscript copies that are known today originate directly or indirectly with Ringk's. [1] BWV 565 exhibits a typical simplified north German structure with a free opening (Toccata), a fugal section (Fugue), and a short free closing section.
For example, a Shakespearean sonnet: - Consists of 14 lines 1 - It contains 3 quatrains (4 line stanzas each), and an ending couplet - The rhyming scheme is ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GG - Each line is written in iambic pentameter. A meter is a sequence of foot each of which is a sequence of syllables. Iambic pentameter, is a sequence of five iambic feet or iambs, each 2 consists of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one. That means each line consists of ten syllables. - Each stanza can be introduced in a different idea and the couplet serves as interpreting all three quatrains.
What success Keat’s enjoyed was limited and one could say his ‘productive’ years came between the years 1817-1821 (Keats.com). It was during this time, 1820, that his poem, “La Belle Dame Sans Merci”, was first published. In translation the title is “The Beautiful Lady without Mercy” and is commonly known in that form, though it was altered slightly from its first version written in 1819 (Reisman). ‘La Belle’ for short, is a poem in ballad form, with only 12 quatrains total in the ABCB rhyme scheme. The ABCB pattern simply means that the ending of the 2nd line rhymes with the ending of the 4th line, such as loitering and sing, found in the first stanza.
They can be that his stories are amazing, dark and deep. That he shaped the English language we know today, and also that his writing style itself was so beautiful that other writers can recognize that as well. The question I think needs to be answered is: Why is Shakespeare so important, and why is he still relevant today? Shakespeare genuinely tried to write for his audiences. He wanted the plot to strike them even if it didn’t sit well with them.