Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Dramatic Techniques In Hamlet Essay

In your view, how have dramatic techniques been used to reveal memorable ideas in ‘Hamlet’? Support your view with detailed reference to text. Shakespeare’s intensely theatrical revenge tragedy ‘Hamlet’ utilises dramatic techniques to explore memorable issues, which transcend through today’s context due to their universality. The morality of vengeance, inevitability of death and the detrimental consequences of illusions and corruption are issues developed through linguistic diversity and construction. Hamlet’s contemplative and scholarly nature amongst the social and religious hierarchy enforced by the Middle Ages results in his ethical and metaphysical uncertainty of these ideas and subsequent downfall as a Shakespearean hero. ‘Hamlet’ explores how the resonating conflict between appearance and reality inevitably causes disorder within society through dramatic techniques. A.C. Bradley wrote that ‘Hamlet is called upon to assert a moral order in a world of moral confusion and obscurity.’ Hamlet’s metaphoric depiction of Denmark as ‘an unweeded garden’ juxtaposed against the ceremonious kingdom portrays this illusive nature of his society. The symbolic portrayal of a mirrored room within the Castle of Elsinore in Kenneth Branagh’s 1996 film production of ‘Hamlet’ further reflects the transparency of the kingdom and how its conflicting illusions result in the inevitable disorder of society. The dramatic irony of Claudius, the murderer, appearing to grieve over his brother’s death, highlights his misleading character, reinforced through Hamlet’s shock of this ‘villain, villain, smiling damned villain!’ murdering his father, the exclamation mark and repetition increasing dramatic force and atmosphere. The conflict between appearance and reality of Claudius’ guilt thus leads to Hamlet’s confusion and ambiguity, whilst the instability of the political leaders reverberates down the structural h ierarchy. Hamlet’s acknowledgement of his Machiavellian ‘antic disposition’ foreshadows his metamorphosing passions of composure and paroxysms of fury. His lucidity and the austerity of blank verse deteriorate into fragmentary prose, portraying his apparent madness. Through his syntactic variation and language, Hamlet’s illusive persona contributes further to the moral confusion of his world and its chaotic downfall, contrary to A.C. Bradley’s comment. Thus, through dramatic techniques, Shakespeare illustrates the inevitable consequences due to the conflict between illusions versus reality, a universal issue that still transcends through today’s society. Through dramatic techniques, Shakespeare explores the inevitability of death in his tragedy ‘Hamlet’. Hamlet’s beliefs parallel with the Renaissance, an era of the rebirth of learning and contemplation over the timeless philosophical ideas of existence. The antithesis ‘to be or not to be’ in Hamlet’s soliloquy intensifies his sense of conflict on the meaning of life. His divergence and uncertainty is reinforced in his metaphoric and rhetorical questions on whether ‘to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune’ or ‘to die: to sleep- no more’. Personification of ‘this fell sergeant Death is swift in his arrest’ characterises death and highlights its inevitability. The skulls in the graveyard scene symbolise mortality, emphasising the inescapable fate for all humans. Hamlet’s anaphora ‘Alexander died, Alexander was buried, Alexander returneth to dust’ reflects on the cycle of life, the repetition lengthening his soliloquy on mortality. The following rhyming couplets ‘Imperious Caesar, dead and turned to clay, might stop a hole to keep the wind away’ loses the seriousness of the issue, his language indicating procrastination to delay the plot further. The additional placement of the graveyard scene before the final catastrophic downfall foreshadows the destined death of Hamlet, intensifying the ultimate climatic tension. Thus, through construction and language, Shakespeare explores the universal issue of mortality and the inevitability of death. The morality of vengeance is explored through various dramatic techniques in ‘Hamlet’, and resonates through time as a universal issue, allowing it to be memorable. J. Kerrigan’s interpretation ‘Hamlet knows that revenge would gratify the stern militaristic father whom he loves, and he appears to want to please him; but he cannot overcome his radical sense of its pointlessness’. Hamlet’s hyperbolic comparisons and juxtaposed imagery comparing Claudius to his father as a ‘hyperion to a satyr’ signify his intense devotion to his father, who embodies an older medieval feudal world. However, Elizabethan and Protestant views opposed revenge, causing his scholarly nature to diverge between his repressive feminine side and aggressive male side and debate the moral complexities of vengeance. Shakespeare portrays the dramatic irony of Hamlet’s inaction since he originally claims to ‘sweep to my revenge’ with metaphorical ‘wings as swift as meditation’. This reaction parallels with Laertes’ blind anger through destructive imagery and vengeful language ‘to hell allegiance, vows to the blackest devil, conscience and grace to the profoundest pit!’ However, Hamlet’s indecision is strongly juxtaposed against the impulsive characterisation of Laertes and Fortinbras, lengthening the play further and adding to a sense of delay and dramatic suspense. Through Shakespeare’s use of dramatic techniques, the universal concept on the morality of vengeance is explored in ‘Hamlet’. Shakespeare’s use of dramatic techniques in his exploration of the detrimental effects of corruption and deception allow it to be a memorable issue, which resonates within our modern world. Derek Marsh states ‘Hamlet is a noble figure, shocked by corruption yet holding beliefs in responsibility and justice which stop him yielding to despair or acquiescing in the evil.’ Repeated imagery of poison and disease reveal this ‘rank corruption, mining all within’ the ‘rotten’ state of Denmark, a rigidly structured hierarchy of the seventeenth century. The dramatic irony of Rosencrantz’s and Guildenstern’s corruption and betrayal to Hamlet increases the audience’s suspense, however the inevitable consequences of deception result in their ironic deaths and Hamlet’s decent into evil, contrary to Marsh’s comment. Hamlet’s juxtaposed imagery in his uncertainty of the ghost’s loyalty, being ‘a spirit of health’ or a ‘goblin damn’d’ reflects in his moral conflict between trust and deception, causing his detrimental inaction. Ophelia’s references to ‘rosemary’, ‘pansies’, and ‘violets’ metaphorically depict her feminine and vulnerable qualities of ‘remembrance’, ‘thoughts’, springtime and love, susceptible to the corruptive dominance of her father and brother. These strong patriarchal influences result in her ultimate madness and death, signifying the subsequent victimisation of women due to men’s power games. Thus, the universal issue of corruptive and deceptive relationships and their detrimental consequences are explored through the use of dramatic techniques. [Rhyming in the Play-within-a-play displays Hamlet’s machiavellian need to ‘catch the conscience of the king’ ( allows audience to observe both characters inside and outside this set play ( adds to suspense and intrigue of action. mounting tension + Claudius’s sudden exit] ‘Hamlet’ ultimately explores the universal ideas on the morality of vengeance, inevitability of death and the detrimental consequences of illusions and corruption. Hamlet’s conflict between these difficult ethical and metaphysical issues, results in the weakness of his mind, his hamartia, causing his ultimate downfall. Through dramatic techniques, a new dimension amplifies meaning and atmosphere, allowing the audience to experience an overall cathartic effect.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Sociology and Bathing Suits

April 02, 2013 2. Why are the three girls out of place in the A&P? How do the different persons in the shop react to them? The three girls are out of place in the A&P because they are wearing bathing suits in a town that is five miles away from a beach. The A&P is located in the center of a small town near two banks, a congregational church, the newspaper store, three real-estate offices, and dozen freeloaders tearing up one of the town streets. Many people in the town have never even been to the beach so it is very uncommon to see people walking around in bathing suits.Most women in the town usually wear shirts and shorts when walking outside. The girls are put extremely out of place when choosing to wear the bathing suits. The people at the shop reacted differently when viewing the girls in their bathing suits. The most popular reaction the girls got were from guys. Many of the workers and guys kept staring at the girls since they were young, provocative, and in bathing suits. The other type of reaction the girls got were from â€Å"sheep† and â€Å"houseslaves†. They quickly glanced at the girls and got back to their shopping with shock. They didn’t know if what they saw was real.The girls surprised many of the people at the shop. 3. How does Updike inform us of the difference in social class between the clerk and the girls? What role does this difference play in the events and the meaning of the story? Throughout the story Updike informs us of the difference in social class between the clerk and the girls. Updike illustrates the girls to be confident, independent as well as sexually powerful. On the other hand Updike illustrates the clerk to be immature, and disrespectful. Sammy is viewed to be stuck in the world of A&P, which is filled with rules and regulations.The girls are viewed to be stuck in a world of freedom and choice. At the end of the story the clerk sees how different the girls and him are in social class. He imagines Queen ie with her family drinking cocktail, eating herring snacks with white jackets, and he sees his family drinking lemonade and cheap beer. The difference in social class helps the clerk to realize that there is more to life than being stuck in a shop all his life. Viewing the girls and the type of social class they are in helps the clerk to push forward and do more with his life. His first step in succeeding his new goal is quitting A&P.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Did women have a Renaissance in Early Modern Europe Essay - 1

Did women have a Renaissance in Early Modern Europe - Essay Example The early modern period saw many rapid changes in the way that society interacted with itself. Whereas the middle-aged should have been defined by dogmatic religious interpretation, the early modern period saw something of a relaxation of the means by which society and the laws that constrained it operated. Moreover, trade began to flourish and created the first exhibitions of what we might now term the middle class. Arts and literature came to be in greater and greater prevalence within this particular era due to the fact that the daily struggle to provide food, security, and basic human needs was simplified. Political theory and the means by which society was structured became less chaotic and more orderly. However, even though it might be tempting to state that each of these progressions somehow invariably impacted upon the plight of women, it is the assumption and understanding of this brief analysis that even though a great many societal changes were occurring during this time, the majority of these did not impact upon the rights and/or freedoms that women would otherwise experience. Instead, the benefits of this â€Å"early modern era†, as it was dumb, were almost invariably concentric upon the males within society. However, even though a low level of benefit was able to be derived by women during this period in time, the reduction in power that the church was able to exert over societal shareholders was necessarily a net in a fit with regard to the overall level of rights and privileges that women could exercise and experience within their respective societies. Naturally, this reduction in the church’s power existed to varying degrees based upon geography and/or ethnic/cultural determinants. Secondarily, as a direct result of the level of economic growth and the rise in the existence of the middle class, women of this particular class experienced a different type of lifestyle than those which had traditionally been confined to and constrain ed by abject poverty and/or the differential between the extraordinarily wealthy and carefree and those who struggled under varying forms of servitude to provide for the needs of themselves and for their families. Firstly, any study or examination of human rights and the progression of feminism denotes the fact that religion, by very definition, has traditionally negatively impacted upon the way and manner that these freedoms were experienced. Whether one considers the case of Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, or any of the other world’s great religions, each of these has at its core a patriarchal respect which necessarily places women and their rights in a position of lesser importance (Andrea 275). In much the same way, medieval Europe was defined and structured along religious lines. This was so much the case that cultural differences between the French and the Italians, between the Germans and the Danes, and/or between the Swiss and the Poles were more concerned wit h whether or not a particular religion defined this interaction than they were with regard to the differential and cultures that necessarily existed between the two. For a large part of the dark/Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church had near unchallenged sway with regard to how people thought and believed in Europe. However, as a result of the challenge that Protestantism posed, the role and power of the Roman Catholic Church, and indeed the overall power that religion itself was able to project within this system were necessarily reduced. This is not say that Europe experienced anything like a miniature enlightenment during this period. Rather, the challenge of an alternate point of view led many individuals to challenge, at least on a personal level, whether or not the religion that they had so long clung to was effective in determining the mores and norms by which they would live. It is important to note at this juncture that even though Protestantism allowed for a deviation and distraction from the rigid constructs of Roman Catholicism, it was not necessarily any more friendly or

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Using the Word Humility Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Using the Word Humility - Essay Example Applying this term can assume different articulation with the same effect of being modest and lowly. The word often has a positive connotation because it meant being non-offensive and is neither rash nor arrogant. Humility also has the religious connotation that it is considered a virtue. Taking on its religious meaning, humility meant the acknowledgment of his or her defect and shortcomings being a mere creature of a Supreme Being. Being such, humility is the acceptance of a divine grace for assistance, guide, wisdom, etch of a deity of an organized and hierarchal religion. Humility is often a precursor of any divine grace because it makes one a loyal servant deserving of God’s grace of any religious affiliation. Humility can also be taken as deference to a god or Supreme Being that our talents, capabilities and whatever we have come from Him. The philosophical meaning of humility can take in the form of ethics. Philosophically, being humble or modest meant being non-offensive to those who do not possess exemplary characteristic or those who do not have much in life. It is the modest estimation of one’s capability or worth so as not to intimidate or make others uncomfortable. In short, humility is also taken as a way to level down to others so as to make them feel welcome or not to intimidate them with one’s stature or bearing. Humility can be taken as a way to subordinate to oneself to authority. This is the realization that the act of submission to a higher authority will be good to everybody and thus humble enough to submit. This can be observed in government, organizations, and associations of people. For example, we can cite the government and its subjects on how humility assumes a different meaning. The people must humbly submit before the law that governs society to establish order. This is to subordinate the individual’s caprices to the greater good of society.

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Code-switching Among Students in the UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Code-switching Among Students in the UK - Essay Example This paper has been a pilot study to investigate the code-switching between English and Arabic among the Kuwaiti students in the utterances and construction level in the speech.The respondents of this study were undergraduate and postgraduate Kuwaiti students, studying in one of the UK universities programmes of both genders in different ages. The target population were from different universities, majors, and social status. The graph shows the results of the analysis. Most of the respondents do not find it a reason to code switch from Arabic to English because they want to raise audience and interest of what they are talking about with about 40 per cent said they slightly agree. There was about 25 per cent of those who disagree slightly with this fact while about 15 per cent strongly disagree. The first language of the target and sample population is Arabic, and second language is English where most of them have learned it as a compulsory subject at the age of six in the state schoo ls or earlier if they were in private schools. The quantitative method was used in this research. This was aimed at providing data for meeting the objectives of the study. This report makes a conclusion that this was a pilot study and it was aimed at finding out how the actual research will be conducted. The main aim was to find out the structure of the questions and how well they were understood by the respondents. Based on the results analyzed, most of the research questions were well understood. This is because there was no missing question that the respondents did not answer.

Friday, July 26, 2019

Theories of the Atonement Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Theories of the Atonement - Thesis Example Secondly, man is sinful because Adam and Eve sinned. This unique position as federal head brought offspring where that sin was imputed. And, thirdly, no sinful person can atone for another person's sins; but only a sinless person can do it. The subjective assumption of the punishment of God in the New Testament seemingly under stresses the fact that there is room for clemency or forgiveness. However, if we look at both the Old and the New Testaments, God's justice and His forgiveness would seem two contradicting aspects of His person. In other words, it is quite inconceivable that God's justice and forgiveness can be reconciled or can exist hand in hand. This was depicted in the Old Testament where people saw the justice of God every time they fell into sin and were punished severely for it even at the very act of performing the blood sacrifice to appease God's anger. Part of God's creation, which, although perfect at one time, was yet disposed to be developed by man, for Adam was to care and till the garden. Here, too, the man Adam was to commence his own spiritual development which is why God endowed him with a free will. This unique position as the federal head, however, made it possible for Adam to make his preference. One choice to reach spiritual maturity was to train or develop his spirit through the exercise of obedience to the word of God, while his other choice was to lead man to reach spiritual maturity through the knowledge of good and evil. Adam would have still developed his spirit by recognizing the fact that all that is opposed to the will of God is an evil to be avoided and through voluntary resistance to such evil, to the full spiritual development or a godlike knowledge of good and evil. But by his eating of the forbidden fruit, Adam had to learn the difference between good and evil from his own guilty experience.