...Analysis of the Function of Speed in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Romeo and Juliet is an avalanche. As a loose pebble in the snowcapped mountain wobbles in the wind, Romeo yodels to Juliet in the cliffs just to send it tumbling, lightly, down a vertical abyss. It does not end there, of course, for this pebble held back the rocks and boulders constituting the height of the peak, and the reaction now begins as each individual stone rolls with momentum. They pick up speed and snow, growing in velocity and size until the inevitable occurs and Romeo and Juliet are engulfed in the upheaval and finished forever. William Shakespeare’s version of the play Romeo and Juliet, taken from Arthur Brooke’s play similarly titled Romeus and Juliet, is a fast paced tragedy in which a boy and girl from two feuding families meet, fall in love, bond in matrimony, and commit suicide in a matter of four days. Compared to the nine-month romance that takes place in Brooke’s play, Shakespeare’s version is a consciously hastened piece of work during which the most significant parts of a young couple’s lives begin and end in less than one week. Speed, a well-utilized literary tool in Shakespeare’s play, serves to emphasize emotion, as opposed to reason, in the characters’ decisions. Through this device, Shakespeare demonstrates his skills as a playwright by showing control of time in the play. Perhaps the most well known episode in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the balcony scene is a prime example...
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...eternal and universal. William Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is one such text that uses the play form to address the impact of emotions overruling people’s thoughts and decisions. Shakespeare, demonstrating how their love is destroyed by the irrational hatred created by society, explores the impetuous and romantic love of Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare examines the complexity of love and the inevitability of fate through the ingenious use of literary and dramatic techniques. Love is a convoluted emotion that sparks intense feelings of passion. The understanding of the emotion, its causes and consequences is timelessly relevant. The obsessive nature of love is...
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...Post-modernism in Baz Luhrmann’s film adaptation of William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet: a comparison of two creative works from two different periods. In 1996, Baz Luhrmann directed “Romeo + Juliet”, a modern twist on the famous tragedy play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare in 1597, in which the main characters Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet where portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. While some praise the strange interpretation of the old tale, there are also those who condemn the rendition as destructive and disrespectful to the great work of Shakespeare. There will always be two sides to every story and this study will take that into consideration as well as comparing the two different yet similar works to see how post modernism has played a role in Luhrmann’s version of Romeo and Juliet. Postmodernism has been given many definitions. Some say it’s simply the outlook that the generation of late twenty first century has on life which entails the mistrust and dismissal of theories that existed before such as religion, ethics and law. According to these youths, the difference between right and wrong or what the meaning of life is based solely on that individual’s perspective. In film, the idea of postmodernism is somewhat similar as it’s an artist medium in which to undermine social norms and present one’s individual belief. The difference lies in that postmodernism in film concerns bringing in many aspects of popular culture to produce something...
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...Santiago De La Torre P4 Romeo and Juliet “I find no peace, and all my war is done, I fear and hope, I burn and freeze like ice, I flee above the wind, yet can I not arise;” Edgar Allan Poe wrote in of his many great works of literature, depicting the opposing forces in nature, showing one cannot be without the other. An American writer, poet, and literary critic, Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most renowned writers in American history. His mastery of literary devices in his writing, such as oxymorons, gives readers a mysterious feeling as well as a deeper understanding to what he is trying to relay. Lines like these make the audience fully believe and understand the emotions of the contradicting sides. Because of the tragic, forbidden love that occurs in Romeo and Juliet, parts are needed to become more dramatic than others, and this use of figurative language gives the play that effect. Much like Edgar Allen Poe , Shakespeare’s use of oxymorons grants insight to the conflicting thoughts of the...
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...Romeo and Juliet William Shakespeare Pre-reading 1. Vocabulary: Match word and definition. Words that may come in handy. Match the words in the left column with the explanations in the right column, and write the word over the definition. imagery | Word: Simile a comparison using “like” or “as” | soliloquy | Word: Run-on lines which the sense runs from one line to the next; lines which are not end-stopped. | blank verse | Word: Assonance the repetition of vowel sounds | tragic flaw | Word: Imagery language that produces pictures in the imaginations of people reading or listening | scene | Word: Blank verse unrhymed verse written in iambic pentameter | personification | Word: Dramatic irony difference between the situation as known to the audience and as supposed by some or all the characters of the play | stage | Word: Rhyming couplet two lines of verse of equal length that rhyme one after the other | assonance | Word: Dialogue verbal exchange between two or more characters on the stage | antithesis | Word: Iambic Pentameter a ten syllable line of verse with five stresses: di dum, di dum, di dum, di dum, di dum | metaphor | ...
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...In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare employs poetic language such as similes and metaphors to convey the newly formed, passionate, and emotional connection between Romeo and Juliet. Romeo reveals his lust for Juliet through the use of a metaphor. When Romeo catches sight of Juliet on her balcony he whispers to himself, “It is the East, and Juliet is the sun” (69). By comparing Juliet to the sun, a glowing orb of light, the audience is able to recognize Romeo’s passion towards Juliet. Through the comparison of Juliet and the sun, the audience sees that Juliet lights up Romeo’s life, that was once filled with grief as a result of love. The two lovers have already developed a relationship and Shakespeare was able to express the blossoming love through...
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...This story of star-crossed lovers is one of William Shakespeare’s tenderest dramas. Shakespeare is sympathetic toward Romeo and Juliet, and in attributing their tragedy to fate, rather than to a flaw in their characters, he raises them to heights near perfection, as well as running the risk of creating pathos, not tragedy. They are both sincere, kind, brave, loyal, virtuous, and desperately in love, and their tragedy is greater because of their innocence. The feud between the lovers’ families represents the fate that Romeo and Juliet are powerless to overcome. The lines capture in poetry the youthful and simple passion that characterizes the play. One of the most popular plays of all time, Romeo and Juliet was Shakespeare’s second tragedy (after Titus Andronicus of 1594, a failure). Consequently, the play shows the sometimes artificial lyricism of early comedies such as Love’s Labour’s Lost 1594-1595, . 1598) and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (. 1595-1596, . 1600), while its character development predicts the direction of the playwright’s artistic maturity. In Shakespeare’s usual fashion, he based his story on sources that were well known in his day: Masuccio Salernitano’s Novellino (1475), William Painter’s The Palace of Pleasure (1566-1567), and, especially, Arthur Brooke’s poetic The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet (1562). Shakespeare reduces the time of the action from the months it takes in Brooke’s work to a few compact days. In addition to following the conventional...
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...Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet features two main characters from feuding families who fall in love but feel adversely about their developing romance despite their mutual attraction. Romeo wants to be in a relationship with Juliet and acts rashly because he believes it will help him to do so. Adversely, Juliet acts with caution and thinks more about possible long-term consequences of a relationship with Romeo. Their differing approaches to their relationship reflect restrictive social standards for women, and ultimately prove that women must act more carefully when it comes to love because a woman would face greater consequences than a man if they were to break social codes. Juliet proceeds more with more discretion than Romeo when...
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...Literature Explore the Different Attitudes to Love Are Presented by the Characters in Romeo and Juliet and the Speakers in the Sonnets You Have Studied In: English and Literature Explore the Different Attitudes to Love Are Presented by the Characters in Romeo and Juliet and the Speakers in the Sonnets You Have Studied Explore the different attitudes to love are presented by the characters in Romeo and Juliet and the speakers in the sonnets you have studied. Love is presented through the use of characters, themes, linguistic, structural and contextual references. That pieces are ‘Romeo and Juliet’ written by William Shakespeare, ‘Sonnet 116’ by William Shakespeare again, ‘Sonnet 43’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, ‘Sonnet 130’ by Shakespeare and also ‘Sonnet 18’ again by Shakespeare. They were all written in the time that was considered the Elizabethan Era. A religious theme is set in both Romeo and Juliet and sonnet 43 to convey the attitudes to love. In Romeo and Juliet the theme of religion is used to express their love between each other and suggesting it is similar to religion can impose that it is a life-long commitment and will always be there even if they lose faith. At that time their attitude towards religion was very strong and it was their integral, which links to the love between Romeo and Juliet that now they have found it fully they will be part of each other’s’ lives for eternity. In Act 2, scene 2 Romeo states that Juliet’s eyes were “Two of the fairest...
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...time period’s societal expectations. Romeo and Juliet are blinded by their newfound feelings and their false sense of freedom in which they, without the proper guidance of an elder's advice, are left unknowingly desperate and inescapably doomed. The two lovers live in a time period with societal expectations of the upper class, and William Shakespeare’s constant allusion to this aspect within his iconic play, Romeo and Juliet, contributes to the development of the social class motif. Many problems originate from the wealthy background...
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...to a person’s resolution to conform to what society expects of them. However, more frequently it is linked to the idea of love and relationships; and in Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” that is certainly the translation that is examined. Act 2, Scene 2 of the play in question is where the famous “balcony” scene takes place. It is the location where both lovers declare their mutual love for eachother and their desire to commit to eachother. Very quickly Juliet commits to “… follow thee my lord throughout the world”. In short she falls in love with him so entirely that the instantly commits to conforming to the role of a woman that was expected by society in Verona during the Shakespearian era – to become her husband’s “servant”. Of course by 2015 standards that would seem awful to most people, however, in the 15th century this was very much the accepted view. Juliet refers to Romeo as her “lord” for his duty to her once married was to provide for her, and offer her the security that her father’s wealth did not as women were unable to inherit their father’s estate. In return married women were expected to be grateful for the opportunity of marriage and were required to show this by baring her husband’s children (heirs), maintaining the home her husband provided her with, and to obey her husband’s every decision or request. Up until this point however, Juliet seemed to reject this convention. Earlier on in the play when her mother had asked her if she had ever thought of marriage...
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...Translator’s Coming of Age by Omaya Ibrahim Khalifa Through studying the three translations of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet done by Mohammed Enani in 1965, 1986 and 1993 respectively, this study adopts a diachronic approach. In addition to examining the historical dimension, this study attempts to address itself to crucial questions related to the process of translating a literary text. A few of these are: how a translator can approach a given text in three different ways and how each translation changes according to the approach and the methods chosen by the translator. More importantly, the study proposes to discuss the pragmatic conditions governing the act of translation and how far these result in prominent modifications in the relationship between the source and target texts. The first part of this study discusses the problem or problems which confront a translator attempting to transpose Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet into Arabic, and the second analyses the three translations and how each deals with the problems discussed. Mohammed Enani, in his introduction to his third translation of Romeo and Juliet, singles out tone as the main difficulty that faces any translator attempting a rendering of the play. In the Elizabethan era romance was regarded as a subject for comedy and as such allowed playful treatment. Harry Levin explains that Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet was an innovation at the time. He reveals the effect of the play on contemporary audiences as follows:...
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...In Act 3 Scene 1 of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet the consequences of conflict and violence at very apparent. It is a huge turning point in this play as the Prince swore at the start of the play that if there was any more fighting then that person who caused that duel would die. But due to the circumstances, Romeo has only been banished as the death of Tybalt was revenge for Tybalt killing Mercutio, Romeo’s best friend. Romeo’s reaction to this is that he thinks that is the end of the world as he will never be able to see Juliet, his one true love, and the recently married couple will have a very distant relationship. So throughout this essay I will discuss what the consequences of conflict are in Act 3 Scene 1. The atmosphere at the beginning of the scene is quite happy and jolly but Benvolio is worried that there may be a meeting of Capulet’s and Montague’s following the challenge sent by Tybalt to Romeo. ‘By my heel, I care not.’ This shows us that Mercutio doesn’t care if the Capulet’s are hear or not as he is ready to and in a happy mood which is expressed through the use of the word ‘care’. Making us as an audience feel protected and appreciated because Tybalt has challenged Romeo to a duel but due to Mercutio’s arrogance we know that Romeo and us will be protected and care for by Mercutio if Tybalt is beating and nearly killing Romeo in this fight. How does Tybalt react to Romeo’s offer of peace? Describe Tybalt’s mood as the scene develops. How does Mercutio react...
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...Romeo and Mercutio Opposing Opinions of Love In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the views of love believed by Romeo contrast sharply with the views of Mercutio. Romeo's character seems to suffer from a type of agitated misery. He is in love with his own sorrow, quickly captivated and easily crushed again on a passionate roller coaster of emotion. Mercutio, is much more real-world and level headed. His perceptions are clear and quick, characterized by exact thought and careful evaluation. Romeo, true to his character begins his entrance in the play by wallowing in his depression over Rosaline who does not love him back: ROMEO (Act I Scene I Lines 185-193) Why, such is love's transgression. Griefs of mine own lie heavy in my breast, Which thou wilt propagate, to have it prest With more of thine: this love that thou hast shown Doth add more grief to too much of mine own. Love is a smoke raised with the fume of sighs; Being purged, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes; Being vex'd a sea nourish'd with lovers' tears: What is it else? a madness most discreet, A choking gall and a preserving sweet. (R & J) The references to "fire" and "sea" are signs that these are lines of passion rather than love. Romeo sees himself as subjective to his situation, "Doth add more grief to too much of mine own." and is swallowed up in his self-pity as well. Romeo is only forgiven these faults because he is young, immature...
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...Type your name and the date at the top of this page. Type or paste your draft into this document. Be sure that your draft is double-spaced and in 12 point, Times New Roman font. Save the file as: ENG402A_S1_5.1_Research Paper First Draft_FirstInitial_LastName.docx Example: ENG402A_S1_5.1_Research Paper First Draft_M_Smith.docx Total score: ____ of 200 points (Score for Question 1: ___ of 200 points) Answer: In his poem, 'Scorn not the Sonnet' (Poetical Works, 1827), Wordsworth famously said that the sonnets were the 'key' with which 'Shakespeare unlocked his heart' and whilst this can certainly be seen to be the case, the sonnets do much more than that. Writing of various forms of love, and indeed of love itself, using the contemporary sonnet form, Shakespeare develops the aspects of love which the sonnets reflect into an all-encompassing discussion on the major themes of life itself that continue to inform and direct the human condition, a fact which is perhaps partly responsible for their continuing popularity with both public and critics alike. This dissertation sets out to discover, through close reading of carefully selected representative sonnets and critical context, the way Shakespeare accomplishes this. The sonnet form as Shakespeare, whose 154 sonnets were first published in 1609, and his contemporaries used it was introduced into England in the sixteenth century by Sir Thomas Wyatt who translated sonnets in the Petrarchan form from the original Italian (Whitaker...
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