Abstract The paper explains how the play and film of "M. Butterfly" both tell the same story in much the same way, but there are some details that are very different and the way elements are emphasized is different. It shows how both the play and the film raise the same essential question for the viewer, though, a question that was originally raised by the true story on which each is based: Given that the diplomat in the story has an affair for several years with a man dressed as a woman and claimed not to know that this was a man and not a woman, how is this possible?
From the Paper "The external world of the film is more realistic than the "suggested" world of the stage, and this also undercuts the way the play deals with the conflict between reality and illusion because it makes reality more real and the illusion more obviously an illusion. The way Hwang develops Song Liling contributes to the essential deconstruction of Madame Butterfly, for while Song Liling decries the story of the opera, he makes use of it to seduce Gallimard and plays the part of Cio-Cio San in their relationship. "
Discusses director Julie Taymor's 1999 film "Titus" in relation to Shakespeare's first tragedy. Includes issues of violence, director's visual style & imagery.
1,125 words (approx. 4.5 pages), 2 sources, 2001, $ 39.95
From the Paper " Any production of Shakespeare's first tragedy, Titus Andronicus, has to take a position regarding the play's seriousness and Julie Taymor's 1999 film version, Titus, establishes her intentions immediately. She will not only take it seriously she will look to the text for universal lessons about violence. The film's opening sequence also makes clear, however, that she will not offer a literal-minded production but will work freely in visual terms, and in supplementing the text as she sees fit, in order to produce the meanings she hopes to draw from the play. It is easy, however, to forget all about her serious intentions as one sits back and enjoys the nearly irresistible brilliance of the spectacle that Taymor creates. Yet, even though the viewer can be pleased by the sheer fun that is involved in the costumes, the music, the acting, and the.."
The purpose of this paper is to introduce and discuss the 1959 play ?A Raisin in the Sun"; a serious drama about a black family written by a black woman, Lorraine Hansberry.
Abstract The paper gives a background of the author and gives an overview of the play. It then reviews the historical aspects of the play and discusses its impact on audiences of the time. The paper also discusses the play's use of characterization, construction, setting, conversation, and theme and looks at the racial tone prevalent in the work.
Table of Contents:
A. Introduction
B. Background on Author and Play
C. Characterization
1. Flat, Round
2. Conversations
D. Construction
E. Theme and Contrast
F. Racial Tone
G. Setting
H. Conclusion
From the Paper "When the play appeared on stage in 1959, there was not a Broadway-going black audience, and no one could say with fact that white audiences would attend a play about a black family, yet attend they did. "Writer James Baldwin said that never before had so much of the truth of black people's lives been seen on stage" (Edwards). It made viewers think about their own reactions to integration and prejudice, during a time when the country itself was on the brink of racial integration."
Abstract Explores the characteristcs of Desdemona, Bianca and Emilia and their status, roles and power within the largely male dominated society. The paper suggests that the male dominated society leads to, ultimately, all three women falling victims.
From the Paper "Othello by William Shakespeare is a play set in Venice at the height of it's powers. There are three significant female characters in the play, Desdemona, Bianca, and Emilia, who are representative of the female gender. Their characters within the play are presented as being victims of their gender, and victims of the male dominated society of the time. They are seen as victims in their treatment, their status and roles and their power within society, and in the ultimate death of two of the three female characters in the play."
Abstract This paper traces the history of the architectural form and cultural function of the amphitheatre from its modest beginning in ancient Greece through to the Roman influenced theatre of today. It examines how, although some aspects of their design and function are debatable because so little of their physical structure exists today, Greek theaters can be chronologically classified into three categories: The early Athenian, Hellenistic and Graeco-Roman. It discusses how all of these theaters could be divided into essentially three parts: the theatron (or auditorium), the orchestra and the skene (or scene building) and how these standards developed over time.
From the Paper "In its simplest form the orchestra of a theater is simply a circular plot of land designated as a place for dance and this idea defines the orchestra employed during this time. It was circular in shape with a diameter of about 66 feet and was believed to be a locus for supernatural powers. An altar (or thymele), described as "a short drum of marble decorated with low-relief carvings of garlands and satyrs, or other Greek icons? was usually erected in the epicenter of the orchestra. It was primarily used prior to performances for sacrifices in honor of the god Dionysus, however plays with religious content often incorporated the altar into the performance. A level surface area, raised one foot from the orchestra and situated below the skene, termed the proscenium, served as the area in which the majority of the dramatic action transpired."
From the Paper "This study will examine August Wilson's play Joe Turner's Come and Gone, focusing on the characters' search for their "song." The play offers a number of definitions of what this "song" is, but it is roughly equivalent to one's individual spirit or purpose in life. The study will consider in greater depth what this song is, its significance, which characters have found theirs, which are still searching, and which will probably never find it. The thesis of the study will be that those who have found their songs have come to a state of acceptance about life and its difficulties, and have as a result discovered within themselves what the others are seeking in vain outside themselves. Those who have not found their songs are still doing battle with life, with people, and with themselves. The significance of the song, then, is found in the fact that the ..."
From the Paper "In his play The Price, Arthur Miller attempts to bring moral and familial issues far closer to home than he believes he had done in some of his "larger" social and political plays. He writes in his autobiography Timebends about his own vision and purpose with respect to the play and its very personal message:
Two brothers, one a policeman, the other a successful surgeon, meet again after an angry breakup many years before. . . . Grown men now, they think they have achieved the indifference to the betrayals of the past that maturity confers. But it all comes back; the old angry symbols evoke the old emotions of injustice; and they part unreconciled. Neither can accept that the world needs both of them---the dutiful man of order and the ambitious, selfish creator who invents new cures ..."
Abstract The paper shows that in "The Glass Menagerie" by Tennessee Williams, symbolism is used to describe the character development of Laura Wingfield. It describes how the use of symbolism in this play reveals deeper aspects of Laura's persona and her relationships with the outside world. The symbols that describe Laura's development through "The Glass Menagerie" include the fire escape, the glass menagerie and the unicorn.
From the Paper "Fire escapes are typically used as a means of escaping danger such as a fire. That is, people use the fire escape as a way out of a dangerous or unwanted situation. In contrast, Laura used the fire escape as a means of connecting to the outside world. Because Laura is an extremely shy girl, she is more comfortable staying at home attentively caring for her glass menagerie and playing her victrola. By staying in her safe world, she is able to deny the realities of the outer world such as marriage or career. For example, Jim, the gentleman caller, symbolizes the outside world. It is symbolic that Laura does not want to open the door when Jim arrives. She does not want the outside world coming into the safe world she created in her apartment. She even becomes sick with the thought of opening the door and allowing Jim into her home."
Abstract Analysis of Anton Chechov's play. Plot of courtship of Lomov and neighbor's daughter Natalya. Importance of land and money to the characters. Reasons for their constant fighting. Depiction of the rual social system and its relationship to the characters. The play as a metaphor for marriage as a continuing battle ground.
From the Paper "In the short play "A Marriage Proposal," Anton Chekhov describes the odd courtship of Lomov, who seeks a marriage with his neighbor's daughter. Lomov and the woman he wants to marry fight before he can make his proposal, fight while he proposes, and fight after she agrees to marry him. They tend to fight every time they speak to one another, and while this alarms her father at first, he decides that the two just like to fight with each other. In the end, the father calls this last fight the "beginning of family happiness," though it is doubtful that a couple can fight all the time and achieve anything like bliss.
The meeting between Lomov and Tchubukov suggests one sort of neighborhood arrangement, for Tchubukov could not be friendlier and more delighted to see Lomov, happier being asked about the marriage, and more positive about Lomov's prospects."
Abstract This sophomore level paper analyzes a Character In Oedipus The King focusing on a very important character, Jocasta, who plays the role of Oedipus's mother and wife in the play. This paper thoroughly analyzes her personality and her motives. This paper also compares the character of Jocasta with Oedipus and how both end up in a miserable situation in the end, from where there is no turning back. The paper also highlights few quotes from the play, which contribute to the development of important theme. In the end an analysis of Jocasta's complicated character is made.
Abstract At the heart of August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize winning play, "The Piano Lesson", is the piano itself. This paper interprets the 'character' of the piano and discusses its importance in the overall drama of the play. The piano is a pivotal piece of the action and climax, and it reappears throughout the play as a source of friction and healing.
From the Paper "The piano does not breath, but it seems to have a life of its own and without it, the play could not possibly exist, or have the impact it does. The piano's "lesson" is clear, family is more important than money, and sentimentality is often the only way to exorcise the demons of the past so that one can move along to the future. The play's dramatic impact lies in the climax of Berniece playing the piano, and the resolution that follows. The piano is the center of the drama, and used as another character by the author, it makes perfect sense that an inanimate object could be so important."
Abstract This paper studies the character of Laertes as a foil or mirror image of the character Hamlet. Throughout the play, Laertes actions and responses seem to be a mirror of the character, Hamlet, both physically and verbally.
From the Paper "In William Shakespeare's tragedy of 'Hamlet', the character of Laertes can be seen as a foil or a mirror of the protagonist Hamlet. This comparison extends throughout the play, as Laertes' responses to the murder of his father Polonius, the death of his sister Ophelia, and even his general philosophy of life can be interpreted not simply a mirroring of Hamlet but as a sort of running commentary on Hamlet's words and actions. In this context, this essay will argue that Shakespeare employs Laertes as a dramatic foil to Hamlet, allowing audiences more illuminating insights into the character and actions of the protagonist."
Abstract This paper examines Henrik Ibsen's play "A Doll's House" to show how Ibsen illustrates his point that women have the potential to be independent and forceful, but in a society that is controlled by men, they have to make deep sacrifices in order to achieve their rights.
From the Paper "A patriarchy is defined as a social system in which a community or society is governed by men. For centuries, women have been under the domination of men in patriarchal social systems. In these systems, women are dominated by the law and by repression. Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House shows how women are paternalistically dominated in a society that is governed by men. The protagonist, Nora, is treated like a doll child first by her father and then by her husband. She is never allowed to evolve as a person, and as a result, she is considered to be delightful, ignorant, whimsical, and foolish by the other characters. Yet beneath her twittering, girlish exterior is a woman who has the potential to be independent and forceful, but whose efforts are hampered by the male characters in the play. She is a virtual captive in a lovely dollhouse created by her husband, where her husband keeps her for his amusement."
From the Paper "It becomes evident in the play that Stoppard is attempting to convey the frustration which accompanies the realization by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that the world is neither random nor coherent and that it is, furthermore, utterly deterministic. Through his use of contrasts -- probability and improbability, reliability and unreliability, and certainty and uncertainty -- Stoppard presents to his audience the world as a terribly frustrating stage where all events are fixed and predetermined, known to everyone but the players themselves."
Tags: fate, illusion, predestination, predetermined, reality, stoppard, tom
Abstract This paper takes a look at how Shakespeare shows his audience the noble and ignoble nature of honor and chivalry in the behavior of the play's main characters Henry Percy, Henry Prince of Wales, Sir John Falstaff, and King Henry the Fourth. An examination of "Henry IV" shows how Shakespeare demonstrates these 16th century values of honor and justice to his audience.
Tags: honor, elizabeth, I, england, virtue, valor, glory
