Abstract This essay looks at how Calvino views the nature of narrative in the novel "If on a winters night a traveler" and how his intentions can be both serious and satirical. The paper explores the narrative devices that Calvino uses in his novel, and his lack of adherence to generic and narrative conventions. The paper also looks at the demystification of the notion of authority and authorship in the novel, and cites in this subject Roland Barthe's "Death of an Author."
From the Paper "In Alan Haspel's essay Calvino's Fairy-tale, he states that 'The didactic beginning of this novel is a mechanism Calvino utilises to ensure the reader that a fantastic, adventurous story is about to begin'. This is true to a certain extent as it does help build up suspense but I feel that the main reason Calvino uses this style is to parody the words of a storyteller reading to a young child. I think that this is his way of mocking both, the storyteller role of the writer, and the position of the innocent reader who has just picked up the book. Calvino begins the novel by speaking to the reader in a patronising tone, as if to a child. Calvino has comic intentions because he uses an intrusive and knowing tone to satirise the authority that other writers feel they have. On the other hand Calvino's intentions could be serious and the tone could be seen as conversational, a way of helping the reader to become more engaged in the novel. The storyteller beginning is a great contrast to the complex, psychological nature of the last few stories. This represents the way in which the reader develops through reading the novel."
Abstract This paper explains that the energy of Shakespeare's words can only be realized in modern terms -- in our language, in our time and with our ideals. This paper uses many examples from the movies: John Madden's "Shakespeare in Love", Al Pacino's "Looking for Richard", Stuart Canterbury's "A Midsummer Night's Cream", Spike Lee's "Bamboozled", and Baz Luhrmann's "William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet". The author concludes that actors have the power to bring the dead back to life and especially to determine how future generations will view Shakespeare.
From the Paper "Al Pacino's "Looking for Richard "is a patchwork of movie, educational film, Bardolatry, and documentary into adapting, directing and acting Shakespeare, specifically "Richard III". Pacino along with actor/director Frederick Kimble and an all-star cast takes us on a journey or a "quest" as Kimble puts it, to fulfill a personal dream of Pacino's to "communicate a Shakespeare that is about how we feel and think today". Immediately Pacino has conveyed that he is bringing the Bard to our society and so is not just presenting an adaptation of Richard III but a "meditation on what Shakespeare means at the end of the twentieth century"."
