Beaumont's failed comedy, 'The Knight of the Burning Pestle', is a unique play that seeks to satirise and burlesque the theatrical and social domain. Crucial to this satire is the collision of two concurrent plots that vie for the audience’s attention. These collisions allow the audience to see opposing ideologies in contrast through the dramatic effect of the breakdown in the boundaries of theatre. It is arguable that this play encourages one to question hierarchy and tradition through exploration of ideology, disputed genres, and Rafe's potential rebellion. In act two, the central characters of each narrative are forced into combat by the demands of the wife, who with her husband, have hijacked the stage to demand a play of their own desire. The battle between Rafe and Jasper is can be seen as a comical attempt for control over the stage but also an ideological dispute born out of the character differing identities. For example, this scene can be taken quite literally as an attempt by the players to regain power over their performance: Jasper: Come, knight, I am ready for you. Now Your pestle Snatches away his pestle. Shall try what temper, sir your mortar's of. [recites] "With that he stood upright in his stirrups, And gave the knight of the calfskin such A knock [Knocks Rafe down] […] Wife: Run, Rafe; run, Rafe; run for thy life, boy; Jasper comes, Jasper comes In this small excerpt, Jasper overpowers the improvising Rafe in an attempt to reclaim the stage and continue with the narrative of 'The London merchant'. A performance of this could see Jasper as a strong actor dominating the stage, taking Rafe's pestle and once more rendering it a simple prop. Rafe's Pestle has phallic connotat... ... middle of paper ... ...bodies Hotspur who he earlier quoted. Thus this shows us that the collisions in the narrative have created a character free to challenge the social boundaries. In , one can see that the dramatic effect of the narrative collisions is the creation of contrasts which microcosm society and allows Beaumont to satirise. The principal feature of his Satire is the boundaries of society and theatre which he fragments to reflect there artificiality. The collision of Rafe and Jasper highlights the changes of ideology within society and the hidden agendas of different genres. The collision of George and Prologue questions the boundaries of the theatre, reflecting society at large. The collisions also serve to mould Rafe from a grocers apprentice to the harbinger of a social revolution. Thus showing us Beaumont’s desire to challenge societal boundaries.
Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is a comedy that has been interpreted in different ways, enabling one to receive multiple experiences of the same story. Due to the content and themes of the play, it can be creatively challenging to producers and their casting strategies. Instead of being a hindrance, I find the ability for one to experiment exciting as people try to discover strategies that best represent entertainment for the audience, as well as the best ways to interpret Shakespeare’s work.
Hamlet makes use of the idea of theatrical performance through characters presenting themselves falsely to others – from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern spying on Hamlet to gain favor with the King, to Hamlet himself playing the part of a madman – and through the play within the play, The Mousetrap. This essay will discuss the ways in which Hamlet explores the idea of theatrical performance, ‘acting’, through analysis of the characters and the ‘roles’ they adopt, specifically that of Hamlet and Claudius. The idea, or the theme of theatrical performance is not an uncommon literary element of Shakespearean works, the most famous of which to encompass this idea being As You Like It. This essay will also briefly explore the ways in which Hamlet reminds its audience of the stark difference between daily life and dramatization of life in the theatre.
"Elizabethan Theatre Audiences." Elizabethan Theatre Audiences. Strayer University, 16 May 2012. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.
In I Henry IV and II Henry IV, William Shakespeare brings together drama and comedy to create two of the most compelling history plays ever written. Many of Shakespeare's other works are nearly absolute in their adherence to either the comic or tragic traditions, but in the two Henry IV plays Shakespeare combines comedy and drama in ways that seem to bring a certain realism to his characters, and thus the plays. The present essay is an examination of the various and significant effects that Shakespeare's comedic scenes have on I Henry IV and II Henry IV. The Diversity of Society
The Lead characters in plays are often thrown into conflict while pursuing that which they desire. A common way of setting up a character’s conflict is to make their unorthodox desires the focus of the narrative. In both Edward II and ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore we come into contact with characters whose desires end up their downfall, whose downfalls are invariably caused by their own desires coming into conflict. While these desires are generally considered taboo in their narratives, there are various reactions concerning the controversial subjects brought up in these plays. The characters all meet tragic ends; however, both plays demonstrate that there is more focus on the regulation of their desire by the authorities, rather than the prosecution of the taboo they committed.
Throughout Act III Scene II, many conflicts arise. However, the main conflict within the scene is the confusion the lovers face when their perceptions are altered. This confusion enhances the central theme of true love versus false love. There are many aspects of the play that deal with this central theme, but it is most prevalent within this scene. The chaos reaches a climax causing great disruption among the lovers. However, the turmoil is eventually resolved by the character who is originally responsible for the confusion, Puck.
Written during a time of peace immediately following the conclusion of the War of the Roses between the Yorks and the Lancasters, William Shakespeare’s play Richard III showcases a multi-faceted master of linguistic eloquence, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, a character who simultaneously manages to be droll, revolting, deadly, yet fascinating. Richard's villainy works in a keen, detestable manner, manifesting itself in his specific use or, rather, abuse of rhetoric. He spends a substantial amount of time directly interacting and therefore breaking the fourth wall and orating to the audience in order to forge a relationship with them, to make members not only his confidants of murderous intentions, but also his accomplices and powerless, unwilling cohorts to his wrongdoings. Through the reader’s exploration of stylistic and rhetorical stratagem in the opening and final soliloquies delivered by Richard, readers are able to identify numerous devices which provide for a dramatic effect that make evident the psychological deterioration and progression of Richard as a character and villain.
...your heads”. The theatrical references of the “play within plays” device; implicitly raises questions over truth as ultimately inexplicable. The conventions of the traditional Shakespearean stage are repeatedly parodied, with the Player’s recognition of his role, “We’re actors. We’ve pledged our identities…that someone would be watching”. In a time of obscurity and political censorship, this urges the Stoppardian audience to question their very own realities. “I could jump over the side. That will put a spoke in their wheel”.
These two plays show dramatically the struggle for authoritative power over the characters lives, families, and societies pressures. The overall tragedy that befalls them as they are swept up in these conflicts distinctly portrays the thematic plot of their common misconception for power and control over their lives.
[8] Brown, Frederick. Theater and Revolution: The Culture of the French Stage. New York: Viking, 1980. Print.
On stage, these points were, looking at the opinions of a majority of both the audiences and the critics, presented successfully by Brook and the cast he worked with. From the prison guards who loomed in the background, clothed in butcher aprons and armed with clubs, to the half-naked Marat, slouched in a tub and covered in wet rags, forever scratching and writing, to the small group of singers, dressed and painted up as clowns, to the narcoleptic but murderous Charlotte Corday, Weiss and Brook offered a stage production that both engaged and amazed the audience, while at the same time forced them to question their role as the audience; no better exemplified than at the very end of the play, where the inmates, standing menacingly at the edge of the stage, actually begin to applaud the very people who applaud their performance, aggravating and confusing some, but forcing most t...
The ‘Twelfth Night’ or ‘What You Will’ by Shakespeare is seen as a comedy for various reasons. However, on many occasions, this play is almost categorised as a tragedy because of the different situations that the killjoy figure has to endure, through the use of mockery. Because of this, critics find that there is a very thin line between the categorisation of the novel and therefore see ‘Twelfth Night’ as both comedy and tragedy, despite the fact that the audience and Shakespeare call this play a comedy. Furthermore, Mel Brooks says ‘Tragedy is when I cut my finger’. Comedy is when you fall down an open sewer and die’.
The name most associated with excellence in theatre is William Shakespeare. His plays, more than any other playwright, resonate through the ages. It may be safe to say that he has influenced more actors, directors, and playwrights than any thespian in the history of the stage. But what were his influences? During the Middle Ages theatre was dominated by morality, miracle, and mystery plays that were often staged by the church as a means to teach the illiterate masses about Christianity. It wasn’t until the early sixteenth century that Greek tragedy experienced a revival, in turn, inspiring a generation of renaissance playwrights.
Mistaken identity and disguise are important aspects of comedy in Twelfth Night that stand at the forefront of the play’s comedy. Not only are mistaken identities and disguise evident within the main plot of the play but also in various other situations. Sexual confusion amongst characters, subversion of gender roles and farcical elements through stagecraft all effectively contribute to the dramatic comedy genre. However, it can be suggested that certain elements of Twelfth Night are not interpreted to be purely comedic; Shakespeare has incorporated serious and controversial subjects such as the idea of genuine love, the patriarchy of the time and the cruel gulling of Malvolio. Therefore, disguise and mistaken identity are not solely for the purpose of comedy and it could be inferred that it even borders on the genre of tragedy.
As the roles were essentially cemented into the culture, manipulations such as crossovers provide a source of conflict and intrigue into the narrative of the plays. Two of Shakespea...