From the Paper "The purpose of this research is to examine "Fuente Ovejuna" by Lope de Vega. The plan of the research will be to set forth the major themes that emerge in the plot of the play, and then to discuss certain major ideas of critics with respect to Fuente Ovejuna. Additionally, the criticism of Fuente Ovejuna will be discussed based on a current reading of the play, with a view toward suggesting the impact that the play's pattern of ideas and the means by which the ideas emerge may have.
Fuente Ovejuna is set in fifteenth-century provincial Spain, at the moment of history when the nation of Spain was emerging, owing to the unification of the crowns of Aragon and Castile under Ferdinand and Isabella and to the dominance of the Spanish over the Portuguese throne on the Iberian peninsula. Fuente Ovejuna, an outlying village, is occupied by troops of ... "
From the Paper "The purpose of this research is to examine in detail The Conscious Lovers by Sir Richard Steele. The plan of the research will be to set forth the social milieu in which The Conscious Lovers first appeared, and then, with reference to the pattern of ideas and events emerging in the work, to discuss the importance and standing of The Conscious Lovers as a representative drama of its type (sentimental comedy). As appropriate, reference will be made to the role that prevailing or emerging social mores played in positioning the play in the post-Restoration period.
A useful way of appreciating the social milieu of The Conscious Lovers is to refer, first to the milieu of the play, then to evidence of the societal environment in which it appeared, and then to judgments of both play and society. Steele's preface to the published play is framed by a deliberate..."
From the Paper "THE "NEW SENSIBILITY" OF "ENDGAME"
Samuel Beckett's Endgame has been described as a drama that presents "the death of the stock props of Western civilization---family cohesion, filial, parental, and connubial love, faith in God, artistic appreciation and creation." It is the THESIS of this paper that Beckett is able to use only four characters--- Hamm, Nagg, Nell, and Clov--- to portray the fact that modern theater has to address itself to a new sensibility that today might be termed "postmodern." Beckett gets his title from the final stage of chess, when only a few pieces remain on the board and checkmate is near. This is the "endgame," and Beckett's play demonstrates that the mechanics of the theater (as they mirror "life") are near the checkmate stage."
From the Paper "Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg are both associated with modern naturalism in the theater. In their naturalistic plays, Ibsen and Strindberg were similar in that they both included psychological, symbolic, and subjective elements in their depictions of reality. However, Ibsen and Strindberg were very different in the way they went about expressing naturalism. Ibsen was concerned with ideas of social consciousness, whereas Strindberg expressed a cynical, fatalistic, and individualistic perspective on life. This paper will show how these differences influenced the dramatic elements in the plays of Ibsen and Strindberg.
Naturalism in the theater, like realism, seeks to show life as it really is. This effort can be seen in the sets, dialogue, characterization, and plots of naturalistic plays. However ..."
(Arthur Miller). Examines the play on Puritan witch-hunts in the context of the historical need of a community to find scapegoats to express its oppressive bigotry.
1,575 words (approx. 6.3 pages), 5 sources, 1993, $ 55.95
From the Paper "The subject of Arthur Miller's play The Crucible is the Salem witchcraft trials, and Miller uses the historical trials as a way of commenting on the nature of official oppression and bigotry as directed at a specific group in society. Miller's play was produced during the McCarthy era and was intended to comment directly on the "witch-hunts" of our own time as McCarthy and his cohorts ferreted out Communists everywhere as a way of promoting their own careers rather than the truth. The witchcraft in the play is built on historical evidence from the period as to the rationale offered by the Puritans for the witch hunt, historical analysis which has offered its own assessment of why the witch hunts developed and what purposes they served, and links with contemporary witch hunts to show how these processes and patterns of thought persist and continue to cause injustice.."
From the Paper "Paul Robeson rose to national and international fame as a multi-talented black man from the most humble beginnings. Paul was born on April 9, 1898, in Princeton, New Jersey, the son on a man who himself had been a slave. William Drew Robeson, Paul's father, was born into slavery in the small town of Robersonville, in Martin County, North Carolina, on July 27, 1845. The determination to expand himself and succeed was as strong in William as it would prove to be in Paul, for William "escaped as a young man of 15 and headed north to freedom via the Underground Railway." Years later, William "had educated himself in the finest classical tradition and graduated from Lincoln University's divinity school.".
William also showed the determination he would pass on to his son in the fact that it was fifteen years after his escape ... "
From the Paper ""Ibsen's Hedda Gabbler: A Seeker of Beauty"
In his 1890 play, Hedda Gabbler, Henrik Ibsen portrays Gabbler, the central character, as a doomed seeker of beauty. Her life is rooted in unsustainable illusion and deceptions. Presented as a misguided heroine, Gabbler is revealed to be a woman whose deep frustrations and thwarted ambition eventually leads to the play's catastrophic conclusion. By the dramatic ending, Hedda Gabbler and Eilert Lovborg have both died of self-inflicted gunshot wounds. Ibsen represents these deaths as the consequence of their indiscriminate pursuit of beauty. Gabbler and Lovborg are depicted as individuals unable to accept life's routine pettiness and circumstantial monotony. Instead, they ..."
Abstract Jiang Qing, also known as Madame Mao, was a very influential figure in the cultural revolution of China. Besides being the third wife of Chinese Communist leader, Mao Zedong, it is believed that she was the most influential female in Chinese history. The paper discusses the cultural revolution in China which was one of the most controversial and provocative revolutions to ever take place in the world. Beginning with a brief biography of Madame Mao, the paper explores her life and the impact that she had on the Cultural Revolution. The paper shows that she was an instrumental part of reforming the role of arts within Chinese culture.
From the Paper "As a result of being outnumbered Jiang created a method known as the three in one combination. ("Chiang Ching: A Revolutionary Life") This method was composed of leadership cadres, playwrights and the masses. ("Chiang Ching: A Revolutionary Life") First the leadership cadres would set the theme for the play. Then the playwrights would prepare to write about the theme by going out into real life and gaining experience about the theme. ("Chiang Ching: A Revolutionary Life") The playwrights would then write the plays and the masses would express how they felt about the theme and suggest ways to improve the play. ("Chiang Ching: A Revolutionary Life") This method helped in the development of many plays which were performed by large theatre companies and small theatres and artist's groups as well."
Abstract This paper analyzes Shakespeare's "Othello" for possible racist connotations towards its main character. It explains how Othello possesses "Negroid" features and the manner in which he is first described. It proceeds to analyze whether these external features cause other characters in the play to act differently towards him. The writer selects many lines from the play as proof of racist attitudes toward Othello.
From the Paper "The play Othello by William Shakespeare is the tragic story of a man who has moved from one culture to another. He looks differently than others because of Negroid features, which are mentioned in the play (thick lips compared to Europeans, and dark skin). Possibly because he isnot completely familiar with the culture within which he lives, he trusts the wrong people, with tragic results."
Abstract Traditionally the role of the ghost in Elizabethan plays was to act as the messenger. In this paper about "Hamlet", the ghost of Hamlet's father is portrayed as a messenger of his own death and represents the vengeful spirit. The ghost in this case has a much more specific role than is generally seen in Elizabethan plays. The writer presents that this ghost is a crucial part of the play and manipulates the plot to its tragic end. The paper covers the themes of Hamlets delay in seeking revenge for his fathers death, the relationship between father and son, the nature of the ghost and Hamlet's insanity. In the conclusion the writer explains that it is through the influence of the ghost that Hamlet is shown his full range of human attributes and thus a meaning is attached to his life.
From the Paper "The role of the ghost in the Elizabethan play was a familiar occurrence in this tradition. A ghost would usually act as a messenger. In Hamlet the ghost of Hamlet's father acts as a messenger of his own death and as a representative of the vengeful spirit. Thus in Hamlet the ghost has a more specific role than is generally the case in Elizabethan plays. This ghost, as will be seen, is a crucial part of the play, and manipulates the plot to its tragic end".
Tags: elizabethan, messenger, shakespeare, father, spirit, plot, manipulates, portrayed, death
Abstract This paper shows how Miller bases the events of his play on the Salem Witch Trials in the 1650's. The play is also inspired by the pseudo witch hunts that occured in Hollywood in the 1950's in the search of Communists, fanned on by McCarthy's laws. It examines whether Miller managed to depict true events of the Salem Witch Trials in his play or whether these were blown out of proportion.
From the Paper "The accuracy of Arthur Miller's play, The Crucible, with regards to the actual events upon which he based his play have been the subject of much speculation since he wrote the play in 1953. Miller wrote the play because of the witch-hunt of sorts occurring in Hollywood as the scare of Communism caused the anti-Communism trials headed up by Senator Joseph McCarthy earlier that year (Margo Burns). Miller did not base his play on the actual events that happened in 1692, but rather was inspired by the events. He took actual events in history and then wrote a play. Miller was justified in taking artistic liberties with the historical accuracy, however there is several major (and plenty of minor) discrepancies regarding what actually happened, and what Miller came up with. Pointing out those discrepancies is my purpose ? not to criticize Miller's imagination."
Abstract This paper discusses Romeo's friend, Mercutio in William Shakespeare's famous love story, "Romeo and Juliet". The paper compares and contrasts Romeo and Mercutio and concludes that Mercutio is the better of the two. Mercutio is more mature in his views of love, his wit is outstanding and he carries impulsiveness to a fault.
From the Paper "Even in a simplified modern-day version of Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio's character stays with similar wit. "Unable to make anything coherent" with Mercutio's dialogue, the author of the film had the actor "put a handkerchief over his face and say, 'blah, blah, blah, blah, blah'" (Pendleton 62). Mercutio's witty punning is directly a part of his character, and leads to his death with the baiting of Tybalt (Vickers 73). He described his wound simply as "not so deep as a well, nor so wide as a church door, but 'tis enough, 'twill serve." Also punning, he states, "Ask for me tomorrow, and you shall find me a grave man." (Shakespeare 61)."
Abstract The paper shows that while the theme of appearance versus reality runs rampant throughout the play of "Othello" as perceptions become reality and imaginary thoughts take form, it is Act 3 Scene 3 of the play that captures this theme in essence. It discusses how the scene is an ideal representation of the manipulation of Iago and presents how he twists words and facts and creates a second reality for Othello that ultimately results in tragedy.
From the Paper "These words create a bond of trust towards Iago and reveal that Othello is unaware of Iagos deceit. Othello is honest himself and thus considers most people around him to be the same. His naivety and inability to perceive deceit when he sees it shows his lack of understanding of human nature and thus, makes him an easy person to manipulate.
It is in these words that Iago tries to show Othello the truth, as if mocking him for his nearsightedness and trust in people, ?Men should be what they seem; Or those that be not, would they might seem none!? (3.3.128)""
Background and text analysis, dealing with social aspects of "The Cherry Orchard" by Anton Chekhov (money, power, politics, capitalism, communism, aristocracy, and serfdom).
Abstract In this paper, the writer accentuates the fine lines between rich and poor, landowner and slave, success and failure, that emerge in the play. The politics and economy of Russia were somewhat muddied at the time, and the capitalists, who used to be serfs, were now taking over the aristocracy, whose members did not have money-managing skills. The paper shows how Lyubov Andreyevna and her brother cling to the aristocratic past, Lopakhin is the capitalist (embodiment of the present economy) and Trofimov is a sort of prophet, predicting the rise of communism (though even Chekhov would not live to see that era). Differences in culture, speech, action, demeanor and viewpoints between Firs and Lopakhin; and all the characters (even the servants) are described.
From the Paper "After feudalism was abolished in Russia in 1861, Russia was undergoing some gradual yet drastic economic changes. The growth of entrepreneurial activity was centered around Moscow while St. Petersburg was crumbling with the tsar as he lost authority to the rising merchant class. For centuries, wealth and income had been based solely on the ownership of land. Technically, the serfs were not slaves, but their economic situations forced them into complete submission; their masters could trade them for horses or even dogs. The serfs were freed in 1861, but with no money or property, so for decades, many were still dependent on their masters. It wasn?t until just before the turn of the century that these men began to find their wealth in the form of industrial capitalism (textile production being the most prominent business). Soon these old aristocratic and new capitalist worlds began to battle with each other. This is the Russian economic background of Anton Chekhov's ?The Cherry Orchard.? (Worrall 13) Lyubov Andreyevna Ranevskaya is a middle-aged aristocratic woman who returns from France to find her estate in danger of being subjugated by the rising merchant class, specifically Yermolay Alexyevich Lopakhin. Chekhov does not favor either the aristocrat or the merchant, but stresses the strengths and weaknesses of both groups? ideals. No one person or governmental system is perfect, and everyone's "absurd, unhappy lives" (Lopakhin ? 45) fall victim to the continual change of any society."
Tags: andreyevna, aristocracy, emancipation, landowning, lopakhin, lyubov, ranevskaya, russia
Abstract Analysis of Christopher Marlowe's 16th Century play. Faustus' pact with Mephostophiles. Consequences of his pledge to give himself to Lucifer and deny Christianity.r Faustus' troubled conscience, his inability to marry and have a family life because of the pact. Outcome of his bargain with the devil to gain power and physical pleasure.
From the Paper "The play, Dr. Faustus, written in 1592 by Christopher Marlowe, was based on the story, The Damnable Life (1592), by P.F. Gent[leman], which in turn was the English translation of the German volume, Historia von D. Iohan Fausten (1587). This story was basically the age-old tale of a man who seemingly already has everything he needs -- an education, inherited comfort, good standing in the community, and a bright future in the Church, medicine, or as a scholar, as well as the salvation of his soul -- and trades it all in a pact with the devil.
In these tales, Dr. Faustus makes a bargain with the devil to obtain more power, more wealth, more wisdom, and more fame, by having control of Mephostophiles, who is contracted to be at Dr. Faustus' beck and call and do whatever Faustus commands (116). In return, Dr. Faustus pledges to give himself to Lucifer, deny..."
