| Papers [1-10] of 1862 :: [Page 1 of 187] | | Go to page : 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 —> | |
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"A Midsummer Night's Dream", 2008.
A discussion on various subject themes in the play "A Midsummer Night's Dream " by William Shakespeare.
914 words (approx. 3.7 pages), 1 source, APA, $ 32.95
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Abstract
The paper discusses "A Midsummer Night's Dream" by William Shakespeare. The paper notes that the play weaves together the three subject themes: a reality in Athens, a dream-state in the woods, and the play-within-the play. The paper discusses that it is a tale of three romances, of love triangles, of jealousy and hilarity. The paper also states that Shakespeare's play is therefore structured to ask its readers and viewing audiences to contemplate the meaning of fiction and its impact on human consciousness.
From the Paper
"They share characters and situations. For example, all four of the play's central human characters fall asleep in the woods and enter its dreamlike world. Hermia, Helena, Demetrius and Lysander all appear in the city and in the woods and have equally significant roles in both worlds. Likewise, Bottom and the rest of the craftsmen troop practice "Pyramus and Thisbe" in the woods but perform it to the king and queen-to-be in Athens. The woods therefore serves as the place in which dreams are created, crafted, and nurtured. Those dreams then impact the daily lives of those living in the concrete world of the city, just as Shakespeare's play impacts the daily lives of those who read and watch them."
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Tragedy, Comedy and Human Nature, 2008.
This paper analyzes how human nature is reflected in the three theater genres of comedy, tragedy and drama.
1,401 words (approx. 5.6 pages), 3 sources, MLA, $ 46.95
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Abstract
This paper discusses the three theater genres that reconstruct human experience: comedy, tragedy and drama. The paper first discusses the theater genre of tragedy using Shakespeare's "Hamlet" as an example and then describes the genre of comedy using Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" as an illustration. The paper also discusses the origins of drama genre and points out how it differs from the tragedy genre. Furthermore, the paper then points out that despite notable difference in characters, plot, outcome and tone, these three genres all reflect human nature. The paper concludes that whether comical or tragic, the main function of the theater is to stir emotions by portraying the frailties of the human condition.
From the Paper
"The theater can be considered as a reproduction of the fundamental conditions of human existence. The theater can be seen as a set of symbols reconstructing the conditio humana as a basic theater representation contains all the trials and tribulations of life. Acting can be deciphered as the attempt to assume a different identity. In this sense, the theater is a continuous creation and changing of identities. Irrespective of cultural and epochal differences, this has remained a constant as far as theatrical performance. There are three theater genres each reconstructing human experience: comedy, tragedy and drama. Nonetheless, despite notable difference in characters, plot, outcome, tone etc. these three genres have one thing in common, i.e. they reflect human nature."
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| Term Paper # 108413 |
temporarily unavailable
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Sophocles' "Oedipus Tyrannus", 2008.
Reviews the play Sophocles' "Oedipus Tyrannus", especially the theme of fate and free will.
1,320 words (approx. 5.3 pages), 1 source, MLA, $ 44.95
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Abstract
This paper explains that Sophocles' play "Oedipus Tyrannus" asks the question whether Oedipus could have used free will to stop the fulfillment of the prophesy concerning his life and, if not, whether he deserved his self-imposed fate at the end of the play. The paper points out that one of the central flaws in Oedipus' character is his confidence, stubbornness and pride in himself, which led to his fate in the end. The paper concludes that Oedipus cannot be regarded as guilty but rather a victim of forces outside of his control.
Table of Content:
Character
Fate vs. Free Will
Oedipus' Guilt
From the Paper
"The audience is not presented with the impression that Oedipus' fate is the direct result of any flaw in his character. Indeed, the people of Thebes love and respect him. He also shows his integrity in dealing with those seeking his downfall. Creon for example seeks a private audience with Oedipus, but Oedipus refuses this in the interest of disclosure in matters regarding his people. He also shows himself to be a good king, in placing the interests of his people before his own."
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"Othello", 2008.
A discussion on Iago's soliloquies in "Othello" by William Shakespeare in Act I.3.375-396.
1,151 words (approx. 4.6 pages), 1 source, MLA, $ 39.95
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Abstract
The paper states that throughout the play "Othello" by William Shakespeare, the only character to speak to the audience directly and intimately, is the character of Iago. He speaks to the audience and discloses his true motivations for his treacherous actions in the world of the play. The paper comments that Shakespeare uses this literary device specifically to show the audience the true colors of Iago. In the last passage of Act 1, Act 1.3.375-396, Iago's soliloquy is a glance at his manipulative psyche, where he believes himself to be the master of the other characters. His excessive pride and deception later result in the tragic end of the play. The paper notes that the audience develops a strange, but special, relationship with Iago through his manic ridden soliloquies. In the end, however, Shakespeare chooses to end Iago's term as master of the play and reclaims his position as playwright from the arrogant Iago.
From the Paper
"He uses his role as confidant to the other characters to manipulate them into believing he has their best interest in mind, when really he plays them pawns against each other for his own goals. Iago shows the audience his dislike for Roderigo, which therefore allows the audience special access into the real world of Cypress where Iago pulls the strings, and not Othello. This passage also shows the depth of Iago's deception. As seen when he discusses Othello later in his soliloquy, Iago takes great pains to make himself the innocent confidant, when his true purpose is to destroy those who trust in him."
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"The City Match" and British Drama, 2008.
This paper examines the relationship of Jasper Mayne's play "The City Match" (1639) to the British Commonwealth and the Restoration.
1,203 words (approx. 4.8 pages), 4 sources, MLA, $ 41.95
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Abstract
The paper focuses on the work of Jasper Mayne, a popular playwright before and immediately after the Restoration, and the author of "The City Match". The paper explains that "The City Match," is not a tragedy, but it does reflect the political concerns of the day, and its dialogue shows why the Puritan Parliament was so eager to silence the theaters for political reasons. The paper highlights how "The City Match" was written during a critical juncture between two very different styles and eras of British drama.
From the Paper
"One of the most important events in British literature was the closing of the British theater during the period of history known as the Commonwealth, when the monarchy was abolished and the Puritan Parliament was officially in control of the nation. Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell ordered that stage plays were forbidden because such "lascivious Mirth and Levity" did not "comport with public calamities and seasons of humiliation," in other words, because play-going did not conform to the appropriate respect that citizens should feel for the sinfulness of the world and their own fallen nature (Wright 75)."
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Family Betrayal in Myth, Modernist and Post-Modernist Drama, 2008.
A comparison of Susan Hazen Hammond's short story "The Kidnapped Wife and the Dream Helper," Arthur Miller's drama "All My Sons" and P.J. Gibson's play "Long Time Since Yesterday".
1,316 words (approx. 5.3 pages), 3 sources, MLA, $ 44.95
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Abstract
The paper examines Susan Hazen Hammond's short story "The Kidnapped Wife and the Dream Helper," Arthur Miller's drama "All My Sons" and P.J. Gibson's play "Long Time Since Yesterday" that all dramatize the struggles of individuals trapped in uncomfortable family relationships. The paper shows how the three works contain vastly different conceptions of what constitutes the human character and how a character should be dramatized over the course of a story. The paper highlights, however, the consistent themes in these works, such as the family relationships that are based on lies and the lesson that true fulfillment cannot be found in material success or in the esteem of the world.
From the Paper
"Hammond's tale is a retelling of a Native American myth. The character, even the most dynamic character of the piece that of the male warrior, father, and husband, is not what a modern reader would call a well-rounded character. He is compltetly 'bad' at the beginning of the piece, ignoring his wife, then suddenly shifts to being a 'good' character, in the quest to recover her. In the Miller piece, Joe Keller and his son Christ are depicted as far more complex, psychologically rounded characters. Joe Keller wants to do good things, and help his family prosper, but he commits evil actions in his quest. Unlike the Native American fable, character, and the failures of character drive the plot of the tale. Finally, the Gibson work, takes a post-modernist view of the characters of Janeen and Layer. The play is a 'memory play,' dramatizing the differences between how we remember the past and the reality of the past."
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81124r14277.doc, 2008.
Explores the theme of interpersonal conflict in Jean-Baptiste Moliere's play "Tartuffe".
1,000 words (approx. 4.0 pages), 4 sources, APA, $ 35.95
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Abstract
This paper explains that the driving force behind Jean-Baptiste Moliere's play "Tartuffe", about the religious hypocrite Tartuffe, is the interpersonal conflicts, which spark the sense of revenge. The paper points out that that this general theme of conflict is portrayed through the characters, who present themselves as devotes, or those characters, who claim to be religious but who are in fact religious hypocrites. The paper relates that, eventually, all of Tartuffe's machinations and hypocrisies are exposed but not before the entire family is thrown into a comedic chaos of eviction, prison and scandal.
From the Paper
"Perhaps one of the most secondary characters in the play who carries on this general theme of the corruption of the pious through conflict is Orgon's wife, Elmire. Elmire is portrayed as a truly pious individual who, unlike her husband, is not ignorant of reality. Despite the constant attempts of seduction brought on by Tartuffe, Elmire remains committed to her somewhat of a buffoon of a husband. Yet one has to wonder if Elmire herself is not the cause of the conflict that corrupted the otherwise pious house of Orgon."
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Ben Johnson's "Volpone", 2008.
This paper provides a deconstructive perspective on Ben Jonson's "Volpone".
2,637 words (approx. 10.5 pages), 7 sources, MLA, $ 79.95
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Abstract
This paper presents a literary analysis of the character of "Volpone" in Ben Jonson's comedy "Volpone". It reviews Ben Jonson's message by discussing Volpone's marital relationship, acquisition of wealth and the corruption of society as reflected in this literary work.
From the Paper
"Volpone's unique form of writing throughout his own comedy sees him donning many different disguises as a means of othering himself. He takes great pleasure in fooling his fellow citizens with this gag, this disruptionary tactic that manages to deceive so many. In the notorious Mountebank episodes, Volpone poses as an outsider - affecting the disguise of a traveling peddler of a miracle drug - in order to gain the attention of Corvino's attractive wife Celia. When Corvino witnesses the scene, he castigates his wife, feeling that she has participated in the "death of mine honor" (39). There is no doubt that Corvino's reaction is absurd, an overreaction to what was effectively a non-event; Celia heard a ruckus below her window, so she merely responded as any person would - through turning her gaze towards the disruptionary presence that interfered with her day to day life."
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Oedipus the Arrogant, 2008.
This paper analyzes Sophocles' "Oedipus the King" as the quintessential model of a tragedy of hubris.
1,014 words (approx. 4.1 pages), 0 sources, $ 35.95
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Abstract
The paper defines hubris as human arrogance in the face of the superior strength of the gods. The paper shows how, although Oedipus is a paradigmatic tragic hero because he is given a bad fate he does not deserve from birth, he is also arrogant enough to try to resist the destiny given to him by the gods. The paper therefore explains how Oedipus is guilty of hubris.
From the Paper
"Classical tragedy is usually defined as the story of a great man or hero who loses his status (and very often his life) because of a single, but damning character flaw. This flaw is usually hubris, defined as human arrogance or pride in the face of the superior strength of the gods. But how is Sophocles' "Oedipus the King" the quintessential model of tragedy, the tragedy on which all other tragic plots are based? On the surface, it seems like the story of Oedipus is a tragedy not of hubris, but of an innocent man condemned from birth by the gods to a horrible fate. "
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