Feste's songs and their contribution to major themes of the play
Music played an important part in the sixteenth and seventeenth century during which Shakespeare was writing. Maybe this is the reason why there are frequent references to music in most Shakespeare's dramas. Shakespeare's plays like The Tempest and Twelfth Night are rich in songs and music.
The play Twelfth Night has four main songs all sung by Feste. Feste is officially the Clown in the play though he is sometimes referred to also as the Fool. One of the functions of the Clown in Shakespearean comedy is that of providing music. According to critic Richmond Noble the reason for this could be the fact that "The Clown in Shakespeare's age was usually a man able to entertain his audience with music and song. Feste posses a mellifluous voice' in which he can sing with equal skill love songs and songs of life". There are four songs in the play all sung by Feste beginning with "O Mistress Mine, where are you roaming?" (Act II, Scene iii). "Come away, come away death" which is the second song in the play and occurs in Act II, Scene iv. Festes song "I am gone sir" (Act IV, Scene ii) is the third song in the play and is Festes farewell to Malvolio. The final song in the play is the Epilogue in the end of Act V, beginning with "When I was a little tiny boy".
The first song is performed at the enthusiastic requests from Sir Toby and Sir Andrew for a love-song.
Next, Shakespeare had also impacted many other writers at his time and still to this day. He influenced the writers in many ways. Many others have used phrases from Shakespeare's work for their own titles or for own novels they write. The authors thought his work was so unique they wanted to use some of it for their work. There have been dozens of movies based on Shakespeare and his work. The first one was in 1899 and since then many authors have made a movie about him (Mabillard). Many writers are inspired by Shakespeare and his work. His stories surpass time and culture which is a reason to why authors continue to adapt his work. An author named John Keats wrote a poem he would keep Shakespeare's works next to him for influence (Acevedo).
The Glass Menagerie is a play written by Tennessee Williams. It involves a mother, Amanda, and her two children, Tom and Laura. They are faced with many problems throughout the play. Some of these problems involve: Amanda, the mother, only wants to see her kids succeed and do well for themselves. How does her drive for success lead the book?
The Shakespearean world of the late 1500's and early 1600's was very, very different from our own. Though there are differences, there are also some similarities. The world of Shakespeare is a unique, and again, is much different than our own.
Shakespeare uses many themes in all his play that attract audiences throughout history. The things he wrote about are as relevant now as they were in his time. Death and Sin were issues that are always around. In his plays, Shakespeare could comment on these things and make audiences see things that they could not before.
In today’s world the quality of the art form called writing is said to be somewhat diminishing, it is important for English literature to keep some studies of classic literature, such as Shakespeare. I think well rounded education must have a strong foundation in both modern and classical literature, for the foundation in classical literature, an in-depth study of Shakespeare’s works would be more than sufficient. Not only was Shakespeare so skilled in his writing that he has become a significant point in the history of literature, but a majority of his works were written on such basic human themes that they will last for all time and must not be forgotten.
Shakespeare's plays are full of references to what is now obscure- classical myth, falconry, astrology, or the theory of 'humors' that were thought to determine personality within so many of his characters (?S??Far?). Shakespeare wrote about themes and events we can relate to even now nearly 500 years later. 'He wrote about us-you and me, our friends, our families, the people we work with and play with and argue with and go to bed with, the characters we see on the evening news and elect to public office' often times comparisons are often scary (Seder iii). Shakespeare also liked to make fun of many of his characters. His plays show that he can be funny and has a humorous personality, often times even in his tragedies in which tears would flow from not only depression but from laughter. 'Shakespeare is full of humor, not only the broad clowning of the likes of Falstaff, but the deft little jabs and needles, sly and subtle jests' found in his vocabulary (Seder iv). The meanings of words Shakespeare used have changed and some have totally disappeared. The word ?bootless to Shakespeare did not mean lacking footwear, but useless or meaningless? (?So?..Far?). In our time we use expressions like LOL and IDK that stand for ?laugh out loud? and ?I don?t know or understand? when writing text messages or instant messages. If these expressions were during Shakespeare?s time the people would not have understood their meaning. Another such expressions could be ?Cool beans!? that basically means ?this is neat.? Terms that Shakespeare used have either fallen out of use or have different meanings, thus confusing the reader if he or she is not familiar with the Shakespearean style of writing. A great example of a word meaning chan...
If a person is walking down the street talking with his or her friend about love, and they mention the play Romeo and Juliet and someone walking nearby hears them, they will understand what they are talking about. This is called common knowledge. Because Shakespeare put so many ideas that are part of everyday life, even in this day in
Naturally, one of the most reoccurring themes in Shakespeare is romantic love. It is perhaps not a coincidence that he put so much emphasis on this elusive and enigmatic emotion. In the Elizabethan age when he was writing, the arts were being explored more fervently, and thus raw human emotions began to surface in the mainstream culture. In Twelfth Night, love is a confusing and fickle thing, as demonstrated in the relationships between Duke Orsino and Olivia; Olivia and Viola/Curio; Malvolio and Olivia (she certainly has an effect on men doesn't she?); Duke Orsino and Viola/Curio. However, the characters seem to have a love-hate relationship with Cupid. Within the first line of the play, it is glorified: "If music be the food of love, play on..." (Duke Orsino, I:I). And while Olivia is annoyed with Orsino's affection, she craves Curio's.
William Shakespeare’s plays have shown some of the most intriguing and insightful acting practices from past to present. The performances of his plays have influenced many actors and companies to abide by the guidelines that were put in place so many years ago. Shakespearean plays are in a sense in a category of their own as they have evolved with the changing times, while staying in similar forms.
Shakespeare wrote many different types of plays such as histories, tragedies, and comedies. He had multiple ideas that he wrote about in his work, all ideas are still relevant to us today as they were then. Themes that he wrote about included relationships, love, mercy and forgiveness. He often used the Globe Theatre to add to his performances as in some plays he had the actors rising from the ground on trap doors and had actors changing behind poles to let the plays flow into different acts.
It is necessary to understand that music in Shakespeare's time functions as a complete renovation of sound, voice, and function. Paul Brian emphasizes that "whereas the music of the middle ages is predominately sacred, there is a great flourishing of ideas dedicated to secular topics, predominantly love, in the 15th through early 17th centuries" (1). From this comment, we can understand that the demand for love music and poetry in Shakespeare's time is indeed influential on As You Like It's musical content. In addition, Mason proffers that "the chief glory of Elizabeth's age was [...] the development of its secular vocal music, which reached a high degree of artistry. It did so, of course, because Elizabethans received perhaps even more enjoyment from singing together socially then they did from singing psalms together in church" (3). In this development of secular music and emphasis on communal singing, the numerous musicians and singers who painfully extend Shakespeare's cast of characters should be seen as symbols of music's booming popularity in the Elizabethan age.
Feste, the amusing clown, plays a most important part in the play. He is able to take on several roles, and is indeed "for all waters"; from serious to comic, learned to nonsensical, the wit or the practical joker; just as the occasion seems to suggest. Because he is a part of both the main and sub plot, Feste is the character, who links both parts of the play together, making Twelfth Night a whole.
The Chorus has multiple functions in the play. In act I, it set the scene and prepared the audience of what to expect. In act II, the Chorus sets the plot for the conspiracy planned against the King. It also brings out one of the major themes that occurs throughout the play, honor. In act III, help out with the plot using imagery to help the audience to picture events taking place. The prologue to act IV sets the scene up for the battle. The Chorus also gives the audience some insight into the character of Henry V as well. The prologue to the last act fills in the lapse in time that occurred since the battle was won up to the point where Henry returns to France. The Epilogue closes the play with the Chorus reminding the audience that the event depicted is hard to present on stage due to lofty subject matter dealing with such a great man as King Henry V.
There are many of great writers of our past but the one that stands out the most would have to be William Shakespeare. William Shakespeare wrote plays and other literary pieces in the late 15 hundreds and early 16 hundreds that we still read and study today. Some of his well known pieces he wrote were Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth, and Julius Caesar. He wrote a wide variety of pieces being from poetry, tragedies, and even comedies. Even though William Shakespeare's writing wasn't as popular at the time, today his work is very popular and many people worldwide still look at it today. At the time William Shakespeare might not have realized what he was doing and just wrote these pieces because that was what he liked to do but what he did was impact our society into what it is today. By doing all of the amazing things William Shakespeare did in his lifetime he helped impact our society by changing our English language, inspire a very famous murder that changed the U.S. history, tell us stories, influenced other writers, and change the theatre world.
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.