...Shakespearean tragedy Hamlet at the top of the rating chart, or is it just near the top? This essay intends to examine various aspects of this subject, along with critical opinion. Could the enduring reputation of Hamlet be attributed to the “ultimate form” in which the Bard of Avon expressed his ideas? Robert B. Heilman says so in “The Role We Give Shakespeare”: It is the way of venerable texts whose authenticity has impressed itself on the human imagination: he has said many things in what seems an ultimate form, and he is a fountainhead of quotation and universal center of allusion. “A rose by any other name” comes to the mouth as readily as “Pride goeth before a fall,” and seems no less wise. [. . .] The Ophelia-Laertes relationship is strongly felt near the end of Goethe’s Faust, Part I, and the Hamlet-Gertrude-Claudius triangle echoes throughout Chekhov’s Sea Gull (24-25). This play is ranked by many as the very greatest ever written. Cumberland Clark in “The Supernatural in Hamlet” gives the consensus regarding Hamlet that exists among literary critics of today: At least six or seven years pass after the writing of Midsummer Night’s Dream before we find Shakespeare engaged on Hamlet, the second of the great plays with an important Supernatural element, and, in the opinion of many, the greatest tragedy ever penned. (99) There is no more exalted ranking than the above. Richard A. Lanham in the essay “Superposed Plays” maintains that no other English tragedy has generated the literary...
Words: 982 - Pages: 4
...Synthesis Essay H.P. Lovecraft said, “Classics are a story of the past but shall live longer than any man as ever seen.” When you read the classics, such as: Dr. Seuss’ stories, The Pit and The Pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe, and the Raven by Edgar Allen Poe, you get an insight to history. A classic is only a classic if it talks about, or tackles, the problem of the day that it was written or the problems of the future. Classics are historical books that have an outstanding meaning to them and they all relate to life and they are relevant today because the meaning portrayed by them, transcend over time. Classics are classics if they consist of one of these topics: love, death, and wishes. The first theme you’ll see most commonly used in a classic is love. In the stories, “Sonnet 18” and “Sonnet 130” by W. Shakespeare, and “Annabel Lee” by Edgar Allen Poe, they all portray that love is a wonderful thing. In Sonnet 18, lines 1-4, it states, “So long as man can breathe or eyes can see so long lives this, and gives life to thee.” The meaning of this is that your beauty and love for one another is never failing as you continue to live. In sonnet 130,lines 9-11, Shakespeare wrote, “I love to hear her speak, yet well I know that music hath a far more pleasing sound. I grant I never saw a goddess go.” As you can see, love can be a good or bad thing. In this case, love is a hideous thing and Shakespeare wrote about how love is funny. In a change to the meaning of love we move to the light...
Words: 1250 - Pages: 5
...Hamlet is among the best ever written, and perhaps the very best. Why do the literary critics say this? In this essay let’s examine the play to see what makes it a prizewinner. Phyllis Abrahms and Alan Brody in “Hamlet and the Elizabethan Revenge Tragedy Formula” give some detail about the reasons for the undying popularity of this play: No play demonstrates the power and glory of Shakespeare’s tragic vision more than Hamlet, which for over 350 years has excited us with its action, its insight, its brilliant language. Hamlet is an unparalleled adventure story, complete with suspense, intrigue, murder – even a battle at sea with pirates. It is a play of intense emotional and physical violence. Yet underlying all of this are some of the most profound explorations of the mysteries of human existence. (43) This play is ranked by many as the very greatest ever written. Cumberland Clark in “The Supernatural in Hamlet” gives the consensus regarding Hamlet that exists among literary critics of today: At least six or seven years pass after the writing of Midsummer Night’s Dream before we find Shakespeare engaged on Hamlet, the second of the great plays with an important Supernatural element, and, in the opinion of many, the greatest tragedy ever penned. (99) There is no more exalted ranking than the above. Richard A. Lanham in the essay “Superposed Plays” maintains that no other English tragedy has generated the literary comment which this play...
Words: 1789 - Pages: 8
...Individuals may find peace and happiness throughout their lifetime, viewing it as a complete fulfillment and endless enjoyment. Sometimes, however, peace and happiness does not last forever and comes hardships. These hardships are something that the characters in Hamlet have to deal with, and it is also something the audience can relate to. This way of life is very relevant in Shakespeare's play Hamlet, which covers the competency of love, hate and power struggles found within the characters which later leads to an unfortunate ending. Hamlet, the main character of William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, is one of the most complex characters ever created. His intricacy can be seen in the amount of soliloquies he speaks throughout the play. Each one of Hamlet’s soliloquies reveals his innermost thoughts and gives the reader or audience insight as to what he is feeling at that time. The audience cannot help but to show some feeling towards the characters such as Hamlet, Fortinbras and King Claudius. All throughout the play, Shakespeare uses various characters to represent the social, economical, and cultural effects that are shown in Hamlet that may also correspond to the Elizabethan audience. Some characters that represent these effects include Hamlet, Fortinbras, Claudius, and Rosencrantz. It is through these characters’’ speeches and actions that really target the audience. The numerous soliloquy presented by Hamlet is one of the speeches in the play that captivates the audience...
Words: 2124 - Pages: 9
...that make studying literature seem daunting, we find that literary works can be entertaining, beautiful, funny, or tragic. They can convey profundity of thought, richness of emotion, and insight into character. They take us beyond our limited experience of life to show us the lives of other people at other times. They stir us intellectually and emotionally, and deepen our understanding of our history, our society, and our own individual lives. In great writing from the past we find the England of our ancestors, and we not only see the country and the people as they were, but we also soak up the climate of the times through the language itself, its vocabulary, grammar, and tone. We would only have to consider the writing of Chaucer, Shakespeare, Boswell, Dickens, and Samuel Beckett side by side to see how the way writers use language embodies the cultural atmosphere of their time. Literature can also give us glimpses of much earlier ages. Glimpses of Celtic Ireland in the poetry of W. B. Yeats, or of the Romans in Shakespeare’s plays, for example, can take us in our imaginations back to the roots of our culture, and the sense of continuity and change we get from surveying our history enhances our understanding of our modern world. Literature can enrich our experience in other ways too. London, for example, is all the more interesting a city when behind...
Words: 966 - Pages: 4
...overview of “O” A. Comparison to original VI. Conclusion THESIS STATEMENT: Othello is a tragic hero because he mostly satisfies Aristotle’s four requirements for a tragic hero: peripeteia, hamartia, anagnorsis, and catharsis. Othello: Tragic Hero? The tragic play Othello, written by William Shakespeare has caused constant dispute on whether the main character Othello can be considered as a tragic hero or not. Othello is a tragic hero because he mostly satisfies Aristotle’s four requirements for a tragic hero: peripeteia, hamartia, anagnorsis, and catharsis. The exploration of different aspects of the Othello character will give the readers of this essay insight regarding whether Othello is a tragic hero. Also the recent remake of the story, O, gives a more modern insight into how the character can be classified as a tragic hero. Othello, one of many tragedies of William Shakespeare, was written in the 1600s and based on an Italian short story called “Un Capitano Moro” according to Kennedy & Gioia (2010). The play consists of four different characters: Othello,...
Words: 2018 - Pages: 9
...Chapter 1. How to Write an A+ Research Paper This Chapter outlines the logical steps to writing a good research paper. To achieve supreme excellence or perfection in anything you do, you need more than just the knowledge. Like the Olympic athlete aiming for the gold medal, you must have a positive attitude and the belief that you have the ability to achieve it. That is the real start to writing an A+ research paper. CONTENTS: STEP 1. CHOOSE A TOPIC STEP 2. FIND INFORMATION STEP 3. STATE YOUR THESIS STEP 4. MAKE A TENTATIVE OUTLINE STEP 5. ORGANIZE YOUR NOTES STEP 6. WRITE YOUR FIRST DRAFT STEP 7. REVISE YOUR OUTLINE AND DRAFT Checklist One Checklist Two STEP 8. TYPE FINAL PAPER STEP 1. CHOOSE A TOPIC Choose a topic which interests and challenges you. Your attitude towards the topic may well determine the amount of effort and enthusiasm you put into your research. Focus on a limited aspect, e.g. narrow it down from "Religion" to "World Religion" to "Buddhism". Obtain teacher approval for your topic before embarking on a full-scale research. If you are uncertain as to what is expected of you in completing the assignment or project, re-read your assignment sheet carefully or ASK your teacher. Select a subject you can manage. Avoid subjects that are too technical, learned, or specialized. Avoid topics that have only a very narrow range of source materials. STEP 2. FIND INFORMATION Surf the Net. For general or background information...
Words: 2333 - Pages: 10
...all loved Tolkien's adventure and we all enjoyed reading more. But I left with one extra passion: learning more about the world's great stories, and sharing my love of stories with whoever would listen. This passion followed me to college. It did not matter if I was in British Literature class studying the courtship novel, a graphic novel class with Professor Wheelock discussing the relationship between Batman and the Joker, or Advanced Fiction Writing Workshop with Professor Miller tailoring my own stories. Across many different areas and genres, across different mediums of fiction and nonfiction, I have grown to love the written word. Even more than that, I love to discuss and debate what makes a story work, what makes it relevant to the lives we lead today, and what deeper meaning it holds to the human experience. Literature is alive and breathing, and whether we read them, write them, tell or listen to them, stories are essential to our social existence. Becoming a secondary English teacher will allow me to continue spreading the passion that began in that 10th grade classroom. I was fortunate to have middle and high school instructors who cared immensely for reading and language arts, enough to get me and my classmates excited, despite the constant lure of virtual life that is ever more present in today's youth. I want to be the kind of instructor that respects students enough to challenge and encourage individual thought and creativity, while discovering exciting texts. As...
Words: 995 - Pages: 4
...Comparative analysis: Hamlet and The Lion King Hamlet is a 1990 drama film based on a tragic play with the same name, written by William Shakespeare. On the other side The Lion King is an animated musical movie. Walt Disney Pictures released the movie in 1994. As the movie Hamlet, The Lion King was also influenced by Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet. Both the movies are about revenging the death of a cherished family member but in different ways. Since a long time the idea of revenge has existed in our human nature. It has been our instinct to take back for a person that has been hurt. Today we find that many literary works uses revenge as a theme for the plot but how it is shown depends from a character to another. Hamlet and The Lion King are two superb examples. In the castle of Elsinore in Denmark, prince Hamlet sees his father’s ghost. Through the ghost Hamlet learns that his own brother, Claudius, who wants the thrown to Denmark had murdered his father and married his dead brothers wife, the queen Gertrude. The spirit tells Hamlet to, “revenge his foul and most unnatural murder” (1.5.25 Shakespeare) and Hamlet obeys the spirit’s wishes. He then begins to seek more evidence on Claudius and his betrayal towards his brother. Hamlet enters into a deep melancholy and appears to be in madness, which makes Claudius and Gertrude worry about his erratic behavior. They employ Hamlet’s friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to watch over him and to discover the cause of his...
Words: 1813 - Pages: 8
...How to Make Term Papers Outline ? A good term paper outline should have the following sequence and contents to write a term paper. Introduction Introduce the topic of your term paper about which you have to write the term paper and proceed to write thesis statement. Thesis statement Thesis statement is an essential part of any term paper. Develop a thesis statement which clearly states the point you are discussing. Body of the Term Paper The body of the term paper has all the points to discuss and support with favorable evidences, experiments or examples. Present the collected data in a way that supports the thesis statement. Conclusions It is the final part where you have to present all the results you got from the research and make suggestions for further development in the field. Bibliography It is the list of references of the sources of information. There are different formats of referencing the information resources such as APA, MLA, Harvard, etc. So use the one instructed by your supervisor. CONTENTS: STEP 1. CHOOSE A TOPIC STEP 2. FIND INFORMATION STEP 3. STATE YOUR THESIS STEP 4. MAKE A TENTATIVE OUTLINE STEP 5. ORGANIZE YOUR NOTES STEP 6. WRITE YOUR FIRST DRAFT STEP 7. REVISE YOUR OUTLINE AND DRAFT Checklist One Checklist Two STEP 8. TYPE FINAL PAPER STEP 1. CHOOSE A TOPIC Choose a topic which interests and challenges you. Your attitude towards the topic may well determine the amount of effort and...
Words: 2167 - Pages: 9
... Grammar + syntax | | | | | Structure | | | | | Overall presentation | | | | | Referencing | | | | | Particular areas of strength | Particular areas for development (relating to the assessment criteria) | | | You are advised to see an Academic Peer Mentor edu.academicpeermentors@ntu.ac.uk | Yes (tick) | | No (tick) | | Marker’s signature | | Module learning outcomes | Assessment Criteria | Success Criteria | Knowledge and Understanding | | Exceptional First | First | Upper Second | Lower Second | Third | Marginal Fail | Fail | Zero | 1 | Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of key issues affecting the lives of disable people | Critically discuss key issues that affect disabled people’s livesWhere relevant, identify connections between different issues. Show awareness of the views and perspectives of disabled people. (WA; OP) | Discussion shows exceptional understandings of issues that affect the lives of disabled people and there is an exceptional level of criticality evident throughout The work draws on an extensive range of literature to support points (EF) | Discussion shows excellent understanding of issues that affect the lives of disabled people and there is a high level of criticality evident throughout The work draws on a wide range of literature to support points(H/M/L) | Discussion shows very good understanding of issues that...
Words: 3725 - Pages: 15
...Throughout the history of literature there have been countless names that have been forever etched onto the book cover of writing—William Shakespeare, Mark Twain, Sylvia Plath. But perhaps one of the more controversial and disputatious of them all would be the Irish writer, Oscar Wilde. Born in October, 1854, Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde1 was and is feasibly one of the most revered Irish novelist, playwright, essayist and poet in the Irish literature and culture renaissance. With his rather comfortable beginnings—being the son of a revered oto-ophthalmologic surgeon who was knighted—Wilde seemed to have the whole world laid out before him. And in his adventures he carved out a name for himself, remembered today for his peculiar writing...
Words: 2057 - Pages: 9
...Personal Responsibility & College Success Gordon Wilson University of Phoenix GEN 200 William Feltt March 4th, 2013 Personal Responsibility “There’s not a chance we’ll reach our full potential until we stop blaming each other and start practicing personal accountability.” Miller, J. G. (2004). Personal responsibility is the idea of people living responsible for their own actions and the choices they make. When people make mistakes we tend to point fingers or blame someone else for our mishaps. However, it is our responsibility to take responsibility for the consequences of our actions. Personal responsibility is the key to college success. When every student focuses <subject-verb agreement|| on doing his or her assignments, handing in homework on time, showing up to class on time, and studying for examinations in advance they stand a better chance of being successful in college. Personal responsibility is the understanding that one is responsible for themselves through words, thoughts, deeds and, actions. Personal responsibility is being in control of your life. Developing personal responsibility can be beneficial. By developing personal responsibility one can take charge of their life and define their own purpose. It is very important that everyone practice personal responsibility in their...
Words: 1402 - Pages: 6
...some student get failing grade and some get passing grade? The student’s performance or academic achievement plays an important role in producing the best quality graduates who will become great leader and manpower for the country’s economic and social development. (Ali et.al, 2009) This research will be conducted to find out what affects student’s academic performance. The focus of this research is how student’s performance is affected by factors. Student’s performance is affected due to social, psychological, economic, environmental and personal factors. These factors strongly influence on the student performance, but these factors vary from person to person and country to country. Theoretical Framework This chapter presents the relevant theories about Factors Affecting Academic Performance of Bachelor of Science in Immaculate Conception International College of Arts and Technology in Sta. Maria, Bulacan. The factors affecting academic performance of a student has many reason why it is happening. Thinking skills will affect student’s learning facilities if they will not learn what they need to learn. If teachers do not know how to catch attention of a student, the more the student cannot make themselves be attended to that subject. The student gets lazy because it has a subject that they think that it has no relevance to their course but yet they study it. Conceptual Framework Figure I INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT •...
Words: 1232 - Pages: 5
...Title: Author(s): Publication Details: Source: Document Type: The Carnivalesque in A Midsummer Night's Dream David Wiles Shakespeare and Carnival after Bakhtin. New York: St. Martin's Press, Inc., 1998. Shakespearean Criticism. Ed. Michelle Lee. Vol. 82. Detroit: Gale, 2004. From Literature Resource Center. Critical essay Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale, COPYRIGHT 2007 Gale, Cengage Learning [(essay date 1998) In the following essay, Wiles examines the festive and carnivalesque elements in A Midsummer Night's Dream. According to the critic, the play was historically part of an "aristocratic carnival" used to celebrate weddings in upper-class society.] Carnival theory did not begin with Bakhtin, and we shall understand Bakhtin's position more clearly if we set it against classical theories of carnival.1 From the Greek world the most important theoretical statement is to be found in Plato: The gods took pity on the human race, born to suffer as it was, and gave it relief in the form of religious festivals to serve as periods of rest from its labours. They gave us as fellow revellers the Muses, with Apollo their leader, and Dionysus, so that men might restore their way of life by sharing feasts with gods.2 This is first a utopian theory, maintaining that carnival restores human beings to an earlier state of being when humans were closer to the divine. And second, it associates carnival with communal order. Plato argues that festive dancing creates bodily order, and thus bodily and...
Words: 8623 - Pages: 35
