...‘Romeo and Juliet’ is a tragic love story written by William Shakespeare about two young star crossed lovers who live in Verona, Italy in the Middle Ages. One of the most important issues that these young loves come across quite often is that of choice. The real question is whether the characters have the ability to choose what they do or is it fate that decides it for them. The chorus introduces in the opening prologue that Romeo and Juliet are “star-crossed” and “death-marked”, and by stating this, Shakespeare gives us the climax of the play right away. In Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’, it is not fate, but desperate and impulsive actions that bring about the downfall and the unfortunate ending of both Romeo and Juliet. In the Victorian Era, fate was known as the continuance of events that are out of human control, and determined by a supernatural power. By no means was the demise of Romeo and Juliet out their control. It happened because of the choices they themselves make....
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...1500 when the Renaissance was in its initiation. The entire world was going through this moment where the rebirth of cultural ideas such as the study of literature and ancient values brought interest to the people living in this era. William Shakespeare became one of the most respected playwrights for his famous plays such as Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth among other respected and famous works. (www.britannica.com/ebc/article-9376718, www.britannica.com/shakespeare) Born the 23rd of April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, Shakespeare has captivated reader’s hearts by his romantic, humerous, and historic plays. During the 1500s, the Renaissance was a massive curiosity for everyone. Renaissance era was a period where everyone was interested in the affairs of the Greek and Roman cultures and when William Shakespeare was born. Being the middle brother of the Shakespeare’s, William son of John Shakespeare and Mary Arden was interested in writing since he was a child. Baptized in the Holy Trinity Church, William was raised in a family of seven children in the town of Stratford. Shakespeare attended the Local Grammar School, a free school located in a town in where Shakespeare and his brothers and sisters learned Latin and Greek until he was thirteen. Shakespeare did not go to the university, and it was certainly unlikely that the scholarly round of logic, rhetoric, and other studies there would have interested him. (http://www.britannica.com/shakespeare)...
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...A TEACHER’S GUIDE TO THE SIGNET CLASSIC EDITION OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S ROMEO AND JULIET By ARTHEA J.S. REED, PH.D. S E R I E S W. GEIGER ELLIS, ED.D., E D I T O R S : UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA, EMERITUS and ARTHEA J. S. REED, PH.D., UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, RETIRED A Teacher’s Guide to the Signet Classic Edition of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet 2 INTRODUCTION William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is an excellent introduction to Shakespearean drama; teenagers can relate to its plot, characters, and themes. The play’s action is easily understood, the character’s motives are clear, and many of the themes are as current today as they were in Shakespeare’s time. Therefore, it can be read on a variety of levels, allowing all students to enjoy it. Less able readers can experience the swash-buckling action and investigate the themes of parent-child conflict, sexuality, friendship, and suicide. Because of the play’s accessibility to teenagers, able readers can view the play from a more literary perspective, examining the themes of hostility ad its effect on the innocent, the use of deception and its consequences, and the effects of faulty decision making. They can study how the characters function within the drama and how Shakespeare uses language to develop plot, characters, and themes. The most able students can develop skills involved in literary criticism by delving into the play’s comic and tragic elements and its classically...
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...presence of Carnivalesque is an important factor for understanding the production “Romeo + Juliet” by Baz Luhrmann. The Carnivalism concept was devised by Mikhail Bakhtin, who said it embodied life taking form of a typical carnival. It is essentially the way things can be obscured in life, or rather what is normal in life being turned inside out (Welsh, 152), which can easily be applied to Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. Without the elements of Carnival, it is likely this love story would have never been possible. Due to the overwhelming amount of Carnivalism in this film, many perceive it as though the true nature of Shakespeare’s tragedy has been lost in its exuberant elements and that “the film’s spectacle constantly overpowers and overwhelms the poetry” (Welsh, 152). Despite this common belief, Luhrmann was brilliant to use Bakhtin’s ideas to enhance the hidden undertones that were present in Shakespeare’s play. Carnivalism makes “the world of this film perverse and confused... The lines are often right, but the context is most peculiar” (Welsh, 153) so that we are no longer able to...
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...William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, there are two feuding families. One of the families is The Capulet’s, with their daughter Juliet, and the other family is Montague's, their son being Romeo. Juliet and Romeo fall deeply in love, get married, and end up dying all in the course of five days. Fate, accident, and free will influence the outcome of the play, and maybe the course of the play could have been changed it if wasn’t for these things. Timing was a key part in the Romeo and Juliet play. Without timing, Romeo and Juliet would not have been dead at the end. Romeo fed from Verona on Tuesday, after with sleeping with Juliet that night. Juliet lets her father, Lord Capulet knows that she...
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...Shakespeare’s portrayal of actions and their consequences “Sooner or later everyone sits down to a banquet of consequences.” -Robert Louis Stevenson. Stevenson, a novelist and poet, explains that everyone commits regrettable actions and eventually always have to face the consequences that comes along with it. This belief is portrayed in William Shakespeare’s work, Romeo and Juliet, a tragic play that presents two youths, Juliet Capulet and Romeo Montague, that met and fell in love at first sight. However, they are forced to keep their relationship a secret for their families, the Capulets and Montagues are bitter enemies. Because of this secrecy, misunderstandings arise and reckless decisions, along with their irreversible consequences, are...
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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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...In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet Friar Laurence is a very important character when it comes to the people who influence Romeo and Juliet. Romeo and Juliet make decisions based on advice received from Friar. He helps them with their plans to be together and ultimately leads them to their death. Friar was only trying to help them and was only looking out for their best interests. Friar Laurence proved great feats of loyalty to Romeo and Juliet, and even after he failed, he still was deemed an honorable man. Through Friar, Romeo and Juliet got married and had a chance to live together peacefully and keep it a secret from their parents. At first, Romeo comes to Friar with the idea that he is going to marry Juliet in secret. Friar warns Romeo...
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...TermPaperWarehouse.com - Free Term Papers, Essays and Research Documents The Research Paper Factory JoinSearchBrowseSaved Papers Search over 100,000 Essays Home Page » 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 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...
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...Public Speaking, Fate and Free Will Tegan Whichello For centuries there has been a universal debate about if fate or free will makes our life the way it is. In Elizabethan times humans believed in a greater or higher power. They believed that their life had been planned out long before they lived, that no matter what choices they made in the end they would end up in the same place. In William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, Shakespeare challenges us to think about if fate or the choices that we make is what is running our lives. Is Macbeth merely playing the part of a man destined to die a gruesome death or is he a man who chose the path that lead him to be killed by Macduff. At the start of the play Macbeth we are already shown that Macbeth is a fearless and ruthless personality. He is shown as a powerful leader in times of great worry. After the battle in Act 1 Scene 2 seargent says to the king “For brave Macbeth – well he deserves that name – disdaining fortune, with his brandish’d steel, which smoked with bloody execution, like valour’s minion carved out his passage, till he faced the slave; which ne’er shook hands, nor blade farewell to him, till he unseam’d him from the nave to the chaps.” In this statement to the king, seargent has highlighted that Macbeth when his mind is set on a goal would not let any man stand in his way, even if that means killing men along the way. This technique of foreshadowing tells us that just like in the battle, Macbeth will go to any length...
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...Adapting Plays Into Movies “In theatre, you can change things ever so slightly; it’s an organic thing. Whereas in film, you only have that chance on the day, and you have no control over it at all,” These insightful words were once spoken by actress (Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace) and Oscar winner Judi Dench, and they very clearly illustrate one of the biggest differences between theatre and film. However, a small hint of bias seems to be depicted in this point of view. The quote (and many others) seem to suggest that one form of acting is more difficult than the other. It seems the opposite is true; that when taking one of these art forms (i.e. theatre) and transforming it into the other, one would come across a wide array of differences, as well as similarities. When researching a topic such as this, one must go beyond reading. One must not only dive into a script or a periodical or academic journal, one must immerse themselves into the films that have come about as a result of the transformation of turning a play into a cinematic experience. When going about researching this topic, I watched the movie Chicago (Dir. Rob Marshall, 2002) as well as looked over the original Broadway script (By Jon Kander, Fredd Ebb, and Bob Fosse 1975). The original Broadway production opened June 3, 1975, at the 46th Street Theatre and ran for 936 performances. Chicago's 1996 Broadway revival holds the record for the longest-running musical revival and the longest-running American musical...
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...Friar Laurence. In William Shakespeare’s drama “Romeo and Juliet,” Romeo and Juliet met at the Capulet’s party and fall deeply in love with each other. Friar Laurence marries them and not only Friar knows about the marriage, the Nurse knows also. Neither Romeo nor Juliet can reveal their marriage because it may or may not cause more fighting with the Capulet and Montague’s. I ultimately think that the Nurse and Friar Laurence are a big part of Romeo and Juliet’s deaths. Friar has a part in their deaths because he came up with a lot of ideas and put them into Juliet’s head. People might think fate and character flaws are to blame for Romeo and Juliet’s...
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...Find out what the Communist Manifesto is. Learn the main ideas of each chapter of the Manifesto, and the points of communism's political platform. Read the lesson, then take a quiz to test your new knowledge. We also recommend watching Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels: The Communist Manifesto and Balcony Scene in Romeo and Juliet: Summary, Analysis & Quiz The Communist Manifesto The Communist Manifesto is a brief publication that declares the arguments and platform of the communist party. It was was written in 1847 by political theorists Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, and was commissioned by the Communist League, a political party based in England. Summary The Communist Manifesto was published in 1848, and consists of a preamble and four chapters, which are summarized below: Bourgeois and Proletarians In this chapter, Marx famously states 'The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles'. The chapter lays out the position that the bourgeois, through competition and private ownership of land, are forever exploiting and oppressing the proletariat (working class). Marx then states that the system always results in class conflict and revolution, and should be replaced by communism -- a society without class distinctions. Proletarians and Communists This chapter explains the relationship between the communist party and other working parties, stating that the communist parties would not organize against them. The chapter also declares the...
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...William Shakespeare is considered one of the greatest writers of all times. One of his most famous tragic plays is Romeo and Juliet. Within this play Shakespeare takes characters, events and themes to model human behaviours. Within Act III, Scene I it displays both characters and events that demonstrate human behaviour. When Tybalt and Romeo quarrel and Romeo refuses to fight Tybalt, it all ends tragically with Tybalt slaying Mercutio. Within Act III, Scene I this is revealed by the way the characters are portrayed within the scene with the different personality types for each of the characters. Human behaviour is also modelled with the events that occur and who the characters react to the situations that occur within the scene. The themes of death and haste also occur within the Act III, Scene I and these themes which relate back to human behaviour in through the events and the way the characters react. Looking at characters, events and themes in depth the audience can see how within this tragic scene human behaviours are explored within the text. The characters within Romeo and Juliet all have completely different personality types. Mercutio is a believable character as he represents a care free character that is not afraid to do or say what he likes, in a way he just does not care what people think of him. In Act III, Scene I Benvolio warns that the Capulet’s are coming and that they should move off the street. Mercutio replies with “By my heel, I care not”, which means...
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...wrote tragedies from the beginning of his career. One of his earliest plays was the Roman tragedy Titus Andronicus, which he followed a few years later with Romeo and Juliet. However, his most admired tragedies were written in a seven-year period between 1601 and 1608. These include his four major tragedies Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth, along withAntony & Cleopatra, Coriolanus, Cymbeline, Julius Caesar and the lesser-known Timon of Athens and Troilus and Cressida. ------------------------------------------------- Tragedies[edit] Many have linked these plays to Aristotle's precept about tragedy: that the protagonist must be an admirable but flawed character, with the audience able to understand and sympathize with the character. Certainly, all of Shakespeare's tragic protagonists are capable of both good and evil. As one of the most influential Shakespearean critics of the 19th century, A. C. Bradley argues, "the playwright always insists on the operation of the doctrine of free will; the (anti) hero is always able to back out, to redeem himself. But, the author dictates, they must move unheedingly to their doom." Some, including drama historian Brian Arkins in his "Heavy Seneca: his Influence on Shakespeare's Tragedies," have also pointed out their Senecan nature, as differentiated from Aristotle's principles and Greek tragedy. In one of a few exceptions to the rule that Black Roman literature was essentially superficial imitation of Greek works, the Roman Stoic philosopher...
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