Stage Directions in Shakespeare's Coriolanus In drama, readers are given spoken language and stage directions to interpret the world of the play. In Shakespeare's case, stage directions are close to non-existent and as analysts of what most consider the most gifted and eloquent playwright of humanity, it is possible to expound upon the most minute details and possible interpretations of his work. Having no information on what Shakespeare thought of his own work or his intended literary and dramatic motives, he speaks through his character's voices. It is important to observe Coriolanus objectively to see how his interactions with his supporting characters shape the play and shed light on why Shakespeare chose to lead him down his tragic spiral. The main benefit of the first seven weeks of class has been to take twenty informed opinions and allow them to take shape in structured discussion in order to fuel theories and the building process of discovering major themes and literary motives in important literature to theater as an area of study. There are many sections of speech in Coriolanus that provide an outlet of use for the techniques that have been refined in class so we may be able to break off as individuals and formulate solid and specific arguments by ourselves. In lines 182-193, before the closure of Act Five, Scene Three, Coriolanus succumbs to his family's pleas thus relinquishing pride's strong grip around his headstrong personality and through the form of the scene and these specific lines and their dramatic explosiveness, his tragic flaw is revealed being not his pride, but his willingness and ability to understand the false motivations it has inspired within him. O mother, mother! What have you done? Beh... ... middle of paper ... ...that have been brought forth in class. Most specifically, its form both internally and how it fits to the rest of the play speaks of its importance. It creates a wonderfully dynamic triangle of struggle between Volumnia, Coriolanus, and Aufidius. It is also the last shift within Coriolanus' decisions that will send him to death. Ironically and subtly Shakespeare has him speak of the gods laughing at this immediately after he has made the decision. Shakespeare demonstrates that the higher the level of headstrong pride within a character, the more shattering the effect is if another character with more power is able to second-guess their personality. In these eleven lines, Volumnia has triggered the crushing blow to Coriolanus' pride and in return sparked the super objective of Aufidius back to light thus leading to the ever-foreshadowed death of the tragic hero.
In the play Coriolanus, the man by with the play is named is a complicated individual. There is complexity to his personality, and subtlety to his emotions. In Act III, from III.ii.91 to 139, Coriolanus goes through an extreme shift of point of view and emotion. He has a complete reversal from not wanting compromise with the common people citizens to begrudgingly accepting that he must. For any actor trying to play Coriolanus, the importance of understanding this scene is important to understanding Coriolanus as a whole.
Jones, Eldred. "Othello- An Interpretation" Critical Essays on Shakespeare's Othello. Ed. Anthony G. Barthelemy Pub. Macmillan New York, NY 1994. (page 39-55)
With its entangled double plots and eloquent use of words, Much Ado About Nothing is a story that has the ability to entertain the masses both young and old. Shakespeare’s use of figurative language along with situation creates such vivid imagery for which carries the drama from beginning to end. For example, when we look at Act 1 Scene 1 of the play ...
Lately, it would be difficult to find a person who speaks in the elaborate way that nearly all of Shakespeare’s characters do; we do not describe “fortune” as “outrageous” or describe our obstacles as “slings and arrows,” neither in an outward soliloquy or even in our heads. Lately, people do not declare their goals in the grandiose fashion that members of royal family of Thebes proclaim their opposing intentions: Antigone’s to honor her brother and Kreon’s to uphold his decree. Lately, people do not all speak in one unified dialect, especially not one that belongs specifically to the British upper class; Jack and Algernon’s dialogue is virtually identical, excepting content. Unlike the indistinguishably grandiose, elaborate, fancy way characters speak in Shakespeare’s plays, Antigone, The Importance of Being Earnest, and other plays written before the turn of the twentieth century, more recently written plays contain dialogue that is more unique to its speaker. This unique dialogue indicates a change in the sort of characters which drama focuses on which came with a newly developed openness to those who are different from us. Moving away from recounting tales of nobility, royalty or deities brought the lives of a common, heterogeneous populace to the stage and, with these everyday stories, more varied speech patterns.
An editor who is given the task to edit any play written by William Shakespeare has a sizeable task to fulfill. The main objective in editing is to both make the play more understandable with altered language and also to give one's own perspective on how the editor wants to project the play on stage. I chose page 142 of Act 5, Scene 2 in Freeman's Othello because this page has become the springboard of the climactic turning point in the play. My personal decisions to alter certain lines and words on page 142 are made to give a new light and a fresh point of view on how I feel that particular scene is to be perceived. Because these plays have been altered a numerous amount of times over the centuries, it is important for one to be able to edit and project their perspectives for themselves.
Many would perceive madness and corruption to play the most influential role in Hamlet. However, it could be argued that the central theme in the tragedy is Shakespeare's presentation of actors and acting and the way it acts as a framework on which madness and corruption are built. Shakespeare manifests the theme of actors and acting in the disassembly of his characters, the façades that the individuals assume and the presentation of the `play within a play'. This intertwined pretence allows certain characters to manipulate the actions and thoughts of others. For this reason, it could be perceived that Shakespeare views the `Elsinorean' tragedy as one great puppet show, "I could see the puppets dallying".
The theme of reason versus emotion can be found by analyzing individual character’s actions in William Shakespeare’s Othello. However, the line between to the two decision-making mindsets is not always very apparent. Three characters – Iago, Desdemona, and Othello – will be analyzed to show that Shakespeare wanted to blur the line between reason and emotion and demonstrate that individuals do not necessarily operate with only one or the other.
Barthelemy, Anthony G. "Introduction" Critical Essays on Shakespeare's Othello. Ed. Anthony G. Barthelemy Pub. Macmillan New York, NY 1994. (page 1-19)
Othello is one of Shakespeare’s four pillars of great tragedies. Othello is unique in comparison to the others in that it focuses on the private lives of its primary characters. When researching the subject of Othello being an Aristotelian tragedy, there is debate among some critics and readers. Some claim that Shakespeare did not hold true to Aristotle’s model of tragedy, according to his definition in “Poetics,” which categorized Othello as a classic tragedy as opposed to traditional tragedy. Readers in the twenty-first century would regard Othello a psychological thriller; it definitely keeps you on the edge of your seat creating the emotions of terror, heart break, and sympathy. This paper will focus on what Shakespeare actually intended regarding “Othello” and its Aristotelian influences.
Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a prime example of a story that has a blank canvas. This story has a heavy dialect, but the stage directions do not tell the readers how each character responds to the different situation’s happening throughout the story. Many people might think Shakespeare intentionally did not put stage directions in his this play, because he wanted the actors to be free when they are interpreting their character in the play. Other’s might argue that it is not an important addition too the play because, when this play was created more people were watching it being acted out, rather than reading. I personally agree with not having stage directions because this play is a tragedy. There is so much going on all at once, it is impossible
3 Dec. 2013. Kerschen, Lios. A. A “Critical Essay on ‘Romeo and Juliet’. ” Drama for Students. Ed.
William Shakespeare's Hamlet and Sophocles Oedipus the King have long been included on academic lists for scholarly study as literary texts. As someone who has studied both texts in just the manner Hornby mentions, I would suggest that what is lost when a scholar treats a play text as literature is precisely that `central part of the play's meaning' which is illuminated by consideration of how a play was `designed to work on stage'. I intend to look at the crucial opening moments of each play, heeding Hornby's words, and keeping the text's status as `pretext' to an eventual performance very much at the forefront of my analysis.
As a Shakespearean tragedy represents a conflict which terminates in a catastrophe, any such tragedy may roughly be divided into three parts. The first of these sets forth or expounds the situation, or state of affairs, out of which the conflict arises; and it may, therefore, be called the Exposition. The second deals with the definite beginning, the growth and the vicissitudes of the conflict. It forms accordingly the bulk of the play, comprising the Second, Third and Fourth Acts, and usually a part of the First and a part of the Fifth. The final section of the tragedy shows the issue of the conflict in a catastrophe. (52)
Aristotle, as a world famous philosopher, gives a clear definition of tragedy in his influential masterpiece Poetics, a well-known Greek technical handbook of literary criticism. In Aristotle’s words, a tragedy is “an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude, language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play, the form of action, not of narrative, through pity and fear effecting the proper purgation of these emotions”(Aristotle 12). He believes that a tragedy should be serious and complete in appropriate and pleasurable language; the plot of tragedy should be dramatic, whose incidents will arouse pity and fear, and finally accomplish a catharsis of emotions. His theory of tragedy has been exerting great influence on the tragedy theories in the past two thousand years. Shakespeare, as the greatest dramatist in western literature, also learnt from this theory. Hamlet is one of the most influential tragedies written by Shakespeare. The play vividly focuses on the theme of moral corruption, treachery, revenge, and incest. This essay will first analyze Shakespeare’s Hamlet under Aristotle’s tragedy theory. Then this essay will express personal opinion on Aristotle’s tragedy theory. The purpose of this essay is to help the reader better understand Aristotle’s theory of tragedy and Shakespeare’s masterpiece Hamlet.
William Shakespeare’s dramatic and poetic techniques and his use of hyperbole are used to describe the characters emotions and weaknesses. The use of dramatic irony is used to create personal conflict. This is done throughout the play to describe the characters concerns and their situations.