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Music and Performing Arts, Renaissance to Today, 2007.
A discussion of music and drama, from the Renaissance era until today.
984 words (approx. 3.9 pages), 4 sources, MLA, $ 34.95
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Abstract
This paper examines the influence that music and performing arts have had on human culture and society, focusing on the Renaissance period. The paper explains that in the early part of the Renaissance, the role of music was tremendously important as polyphony became more simplified in the Renaissance, generally "smoother" and more harmonious overall. The paper notes that there is no doubt that the technological impact of recording technologies, beginning with the phonograph and leading up to today's CDs and DVDs, has had an impact upon the individual enjoyment and distribution of music and dramatic art forms (especially film), unprecedented since the invention of the printing press in the Renaissance. In conclusion, the paper shows that today, the Internet has hugely assisted in enabling individuals to share such work among themselves, though not to the point of alleviating the isolating influence of technology or to creating a new form of communal experience.
From the Paper
"In the early part of the Renaissance, the role of religion, that is to say, the church as an organization and social unifying force, was still prominent above all else. Nation-states had not yet arisen to assert their claim on peoples' loyalty. The church represented stability and social cohesion in a world of uncertainty and danger from many sources: feudal overlords, weak central governments, and unpredictable weather and harvests. The role of music was thus tremendously important too in this period. Polyphony became more simplified in the Renaissance, and generally "smoother" and more harmonious overall."
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The Meaning of Comedy, 2007.
A review of the films "Sherlock, Jr." directed by Buster Keaton and "Bringing up Baby" directed by Howard Hawks.
966 words (approx. 3.9 pages), 6 sources, MLA, $ 34.95
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Abstract
This paper examines Aristotle's definition of comedy using two classical cinema comedies - "Sherlock, Jr." and "Bringing up Baby" - to illustrate this definition. The paper explains that Aristotle believed that comedy shows people engaged in ridiculous activities, but this ridiculousness is not painful or destructive and the comic action must be without bad intent. The paper looks at how in each movie the lead character is ridiculous, but always portrayed without malice. The paper points out that in "Bringing up Baby", a longer film than "Sherlock Jr.", and one in which sound allows for the speedy development of more characters, the subordinate characters draw heavily on classical models such as Shakespearean figures like Dogberry and Verges in "Much Ado About Nothing". The paper notes that these characters too are ridiculous although not malicious, and clearly inferior in the nonsense they act out, but saved in the end through the resolution of the plot. In conclusion that paper shows that Aristotle's definition is general, even imprecise, but it is clearly a definition which is well illustrated in these two films.
From the Paper
"These people act without malice. Keaton wants to be a detective, but is outdone by the "sheik," who gets him blamed for the theft of a gold watch, and by his girlfriend, who shows his innocence. In his dream, he is a great, if bumbling detective. Grant tries mainly to avoid Hepburn, but cannot extricate himself from her. Hepburn means well, repeatedly offering to help him get the funding for his museum which is his main hope. Sherlock Jr. begins with scenes of Keaton sweeping the theatre, beset by people who claim to have lost money in his trash pile. The scenes are funny: they show an inferior person, an inept sweeper, being ridiculous. They do little, however, to advance the main plot."
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Power Relations in "Miss Julie" by August Strindberg, 2008.
A summary and analysis of August Strindberg's short play "Miss Julie".
963 words (approx. 3.9 pages), 0 sources, MLA, $ 34.95
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Abstract
This essay examines how August Strindberg's play, "Miss Julie", treats the issue of power, focusing on three elements: psychological domination and submission; the relative social status of the two principals; and the issue of gender-bending. The paper demonstrates how all of these elements relate to each other, with a common theme of changes in power balances.
From the Paper
"An element of psychological domination and submission is introduced early in this play. Nowadays we might use terms such as dominatrix, or SM (sadomasochism), but these terms are not explicitly used in the play. However, it is quite clear that these kinds of psycho-sexual power games are in fact occurring, as the two principals vie with each other for power."
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Love in "Twelfth Night", 2008.
An analysis of the relationships and love portrayed in William Shakespeare's play, "Twelfth Night."
700 words (approx. 2.8 pages), 1 source, MLA, $ 24.95
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Abstract
This paper discusses the theme of true love, as it is depicted in William Shakespeare's play, "Twelfth Night." It explores the idea of true love and its possibilities and then looks at how much of love is, in fact, an illusion. The paper discusses the plot of the play and the various relationships that exist and also briefly looks at the implications of that love.
From the Paper
"One of the ways this theme is often depicted is in terms of lovers who seem mismatched so that their faithlessness is almost expected. Duke Orsino in this play is a man who has a wandering eye when it comes to women, so it would seem that he is not likely to remain faithful, though he would become apoplectic if his wife were to stray as he does. He proposes to Viola in a less than convincing manner and claims that all women are unfaithful. At this stage, Orsino is doing no more than projecting his own character onto the women he meets, and he does learn a lesson in the course of the play."
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Lodovico as Moral Commentator, 2008.
This paper analyzes the character Lodovico's dramatic role of moral commentator in William Shakespeare's "Othello".
778 words (approx. 3.1 pages), 5 sources, MLA, $ 27.95
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Abstract
The paper illustrates how Lodovico defines the immorality and cruelty in Othello's behaviors that will eventually end in his tragic death. The paper explains that Lodovico as a marginal character is written into the play by Shakespeare to help the reader realize the gravity of Othello's actions and the inevitable tragedy that surrounds the deceptions of Iago.
From the Paper
"Lodovico's role as moral commentator on Othello's behaviors brings insights into the tragedy of the play, which many of the other characters are too self-involved to perceive. In latter parts of the play, Othello's increasingly violent behaviors are clearly noticed when he strikes Desdemona: "Is this the noble Moor whom our full Senate/Call all in all sufficient?" (IV, i., ll.2712-2713). This increasingly potent sense of volatility on the part of Othello is clearly defined by Lodovico, who can see the immorality of this action against a woman. Shakespeare portrays Lodovico as a moral gauge that allows the audience to realize the effects of Othello's behavior through an external source (Bloom 45)."
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Caroline Neuber, 2008.
An analysis of the contributions of German dramatist, Caroline Neuber, to German comedy and theater.
2,526 words (approx. 10.1 pages), 7 sources, MLA, $ 76.95
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Abstract
This paper looks at the life of eighteenth-century German dramatist and actor, Caroline Neuber. It describes the obstacles she and other women faced in German theater at the time, the dramatic reforms of the theater scene she championed and the inventive way in which she used dramaturgical conventions like the prologue to advance her agenda. The paper also discusses Neuber's commitment to re-shaping German comedy so that it would acquire the gravitas she felt it deserved. Finally, the paper examines Neuber's pivotal relationship with Johann Christoph Gottsched.
From the Paper
"Still, for all the troubles which attended her life-long foray into the German theatre, Neuber should be remembered for her many accomplishments. Not least of all, she was one of the very few theater troupe owners who happened to be female; Neuber was also a committed perfectionist who dedicated herself to raising the standards of the German theater. Not to be overlooked, it was Caroline Neuber, arguably more so than anyone else in German theater at the time, who transformed the improvised, traditional Haupt- und Staatsaktion performances into a genuine national theater which promoted rehearsed and memorized performances of the 'courtly' Alexandrinerdrama variety so much in vogue in France at that time (Eigler & Kord, 75 and 229)."
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"The Oresteia of Aeschylus", 2007.
This paper discuses the themes of objective and subjective justice in Aeschylus' "The Oresteia of Aeschylus" (Oresteia).
1,915 words (approx. 7.7 pages), 1 source, MLA, $ 61.95
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Abstract
This paper explains that the trilogy of the great classic dramas by Aeschylus, which comprise the "Oresteia", embodies the competing concepts of justice as administered by a stable and unified state versus justice as administered at an individual or family level that arise out of revenge. The author points out that these dramas show the intense and often brutal conflict that existed between these two very different views of law. The paper relates that, in the end, the dramas succeed not as much in depicting an existing social reality but rather in idealistically propagandizing in favor of the importance of an objective administration of justice. The author examines each of the three Aeschylus plays in order to keep an essentially linear presentation in respect to its dramatic unfoldment and resolution.
Table of Contents
"Agamemnon"
"Choephori"
"Eumenides"
From the Paper
"The core problem of subjective justice, or the rule of personal vengeance, is of course its unending cyclical nature ("Act for act, wound for wound!" cries Clytemnestra in the Agamemnon, l. 1555.) Crimes are punished, but the punishment itself becomes the seed of a future crime which itself requires further vengeance, with no obvious end. This has long been recognized as a universal situation with regard to this sort of justice, and the tragedies of the Greeks, most notably the trilogy herein examined, make it their theme to address this ancient cycle."
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Women as Objects, 2008.
This paper examines the social orders in Henrik Ibsen's "A Doll's House" and Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet".
1,636 words (approx. 6.5 pages), 4 sources, MLA, $ 53.95
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Abstract
The paper analyzes how in Henrik Ibsen's 20th century work, "A Doll's House" and in the Shakespearean play, "Romeo and Juliet" conflict and tragedy occur when women deviate from social expectations. The paper highlights the prices paid by the women who did not conform to what social rules dictated. The paper discusses the social orders where men are leading subjects and women are accompanying or supporting objects. The paper points out that even today women face what are new conventions in terms of how they are expected to participate in the waged economy and perform domestic duties. The paper concludes that "A Doll's House" and "Romeo and Juliet" remain stimulating in the present as they address human scenarios that can prove eternal.
Outline:
Introduction
A Doll's House (1879)
Romeo and Juliet
Reflection - Female Objects and Subjects
Last Remarks
From the Paper
"Western civilization has ascribed traits and virtues differently to men and women, as one would expect, however much in the 21st century we assume that reform has been achieved and men and women have absolute personal choice. The plays discussed in this paper refer to very different centuries but perhaps owe their longevity to themes that are quite timeless. Examining Henrik Ibsen's 20th century work, A Doll's House, and the very familiar Shakespearean play, Romeo and Juliet, one finds that conflict and tragedy occur when women deviate from social expectations. The idea of gender freedom or female individuality seem very threatening to those who witness deviation. In fact, women who depart from convention are prone to tragedy, or create tragedy for others. These phenomena are usually discussed in relation to women's unsatisfactory status under patriarchy. They are interesting in the light of ordinary social conventions and the prices paid by people who do not conform to what social rules dictate."
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"Burning Vision" and "The Unnatural and Accidental Women", 2008.
An analysis of the theme of "Aboriginality" in Marie Clements' plays "Burning Vision" and "The Unnatural and Accidental Women" .
1,015 words (approx. 4.1 pages), 3 sources, MLA, $ 35.95
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Abstract
This paper discusses how Marie Clements' two plays, "Burning Vision" and "The Unnatural and Accidental Women", both feature primarily Aboriginal characters, and foreground Aboriginal issues. The paper examines how the two plays approach these subject matters in very different ways and how Clements situates Aboriginals as people who have been oppressed by colonizers from over the seas. The paper also looks at how Clements depicts urban Aboriginals as living in poor socio-economic conditions, vulnerable to white psychopaths, and how she seems to imply that Aboriginal people belong where they were before the colonizers came - if not physically, then at least psychically.
From the Paper
"Burning Vision is set in many different locations, as it is about colonialism and the atomic bomb. However, with regard to Aboriginals, it features the Dene people who mined pitchblende near Great Bear Lake in the North West Territory in the 1930s. The Unnatural and Accidental Women focuses on an entirely different group of Aboriginals, i.e. poor women living in Vancouver's Eastside in the 1980s. The two plays thus feature geographically and chronologically different people. However, certain commonalities can be detected, primarily related to the fact that both groups are the victims of colonization in one way or another."
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Mixing in "Burning Vision", 2008.
This paper studies the aspects of identity and mixing in the play "Burning Vision" by Marie Clements.
1,190 words (approx. 4.8 pages), 1 source, MLA, $ 40.95
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Abstract
In this article, the writer discusses that the play 'Burning Vision' raises questions about race, nation, identity and belonging, particularly through the metaphor of mixing. The writer notes that "Burning Vision" is a complex play, in which many story-lines mix together simultaneously. This reflects the complexity of the subject matter, as the play deals with profoundly important issues, such as war, death, colonialism, grieving, loss, hope, racism and exploitation, etc. The writer maintains that the play highlights the interconnectedness of all of these geographically, racially and nationally divided people, in a huge cycle of death of destruction. In so doing, it highlights Canada's limited ability to be inclusive, and finally offers a possibility for overcoming those limitations. This essay examines what the play has to suggest about the nation's ability to be inclusive, and what it offers as a possibility for overcoming those limitations. The writer concludes that the play ends on an upbeat note of mixing in a positive sense.
From the Paper
"This is chilling in many ways. First of all, LITTLE BOY is a lost and lonely, pathetic character in the play. Second, LITTLE BOY was also the name of the bomb dropped on Nagasaki, so the character is associated with death and murder. Third, LITTLE BOY implied that identities are stolen when colonialists lay claim to a people - which, as we know, is very much the Canadian reality, with horrors such as the residential schools, which were explicitly designed to steal Aboriginal identity. Thus, the play speaks to the key theme of colonialism - the foundation upon which modern Canada was built - in a very negative way. It speaks not of mixing, but of smothering. It thus shows us the potentially catastrophic implications of people mixing in a way that is not inclusive, but rather divisive, exploitative and repressive."
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