Character and Theme in Romeo and Juliet and Troilus and Cressida : a Comparative Critical Study Charlotte H
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
English Renaissance Dream Theory and Its Use in Shakespeare
THE RICE INSTITUTE ENGLISH RENAISSANCE DREAM THEORY MID ITS USE IN SHAKESPEARE By COMPTON REES, JUNIOR A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS Houston, Texas April, 1958 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction .............. 1-3 Chapter I Psychological Background: Imagination and Sleep ............................... 4-27 Chapter II Internal Natural Dreams 28-62 Chapter III External Natural Dreams ................. 63-74 Chapter IV Supernatural Dreams ...................... 75-94 Chapter V Shakespeare’s Use of Dreams 95-111 Bibliography 112-115 INTRODUCTION This study deals specifically with dream theories that are recorded in English books published before 1616, the year of Shakespeare1s death, with a few notable exceptions such as Robert Burton’s Anatomy of Melancholy (1621). Though this thesis does not pretend to include all available material on this subject during Shakespeare*s time, yet I have attempted to utilise all significant material found in the prose writings of selected doctors, theologians, translated Latin writers, recognised Shakespeare sources (Holinshed, Plutarch), and other prose writers of the time? in a few poets; and in representative dramatists. Though some sources were not originally written during the Elizabethan period, such as classical translations and early poetry, my criterion has been that, if the work was published in English and was thus currently available, it may be justifiably included in this study. Most of the source material is found in prose, since this A medium is more suited than are imaginative poetry anl drama y:/h to the expository discussions of dreams. The imaginative drama I speak of here includes Shakespeare, of course. -
Romeo & Juliet
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The unauthorised copying of the whole or any part of this publication is illegal Romeo & Juliet for Abbey Primary School, Nottingham SCRIPT Copyright © 2014 by Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers Ltd Page numbers in this document correspond with those in the Micromusicals | Romeo & Juliet resource book 6 MICROMUSICALS | Romeo & Juliet SCRIPT Stage directions are suggestions only. Owners of a valid performance licence for Micromusicals | Romeo & Juliet may photocopy this script. SCENE 1 A street in Verona, Italy. Backdrop of an archway in the town. The stage is empty, apart for the two NARRATORS, who stand one on each side of the stage. NARRATOR 1 Two families in Verona fair fight endlessly with swords and knives, and as our tale will shortly show two star-crossed lovers lose their lives. NARRATOR 2 The Montagues and Capulets can never find a path to peace till death and sorrow, pain and loss make parents see that war must cease. NARRATOR 1 The lovers in this tale of strife are Romeo and Juliet. They love – although their families cannot forgive, cannot forget. They exit the stage. 1 19 37 SONG 1 | MONTAGUES & CAPULETS (PAGe 18) The ensemble cast are split into houses of MONTAGUES and CAPULETS. MONTAGUES begin off-stage left, and CAPULETS off-stage right. Throughout the song one cast member from each family strides with purpose to a pre-determined point on the stage to meet their counterpart. They face up to one another and mime the process of antagonising their foe. By the end of the song the stage is full of MONTAGUE and CAPULET pairs confronting each other. -
The Aesthetics of Railing: Troilus and Cressida and Coriolanus
The Aesthetics of Railing:Troilus and Cressida and Coriolanus Maria Teresa Micaela Prendergast The College of Wooster Cet essai explore comment Shakespeare utilise la rhétorique des insultes cruelles et for- tement métaphoriques des débuts de la modernité afin de réaliser une rivalité agressive entre le déclinant idéal aristocratique élisabéthain du sang et du langage épique d’une part, et le théâtre satirique en émergence d’autre part. Ce type de théâtre se justifie en associant le guerrier aristocratique à un corps suintant, efféminé, et malade. Cet essai se concentre en particulier sur les pièces Troilus and Cressida et Coriolanus, qui éta- blissent un fort lien entre la manifestation de maladies internes sur la peau et la perte d’autonomie masculine. Dans Troilus and Cressida, Thersites, incarnant le personnage du fou, domine la pièce avec ses discours vicieux qui transforment sur le plan rhétorique le personnage héroïque de l’aristocrate masculin en une créature abjecte. Parallèlement, Coriolan, en fort contraste avec Thersites, est un guerrier autonome, qui néanmoins sou- tient l’opinion de Thersites que le spectacle théâtral, ainsi que la fréquentation des gens du peuple dégradent les idéaux guerriers aristocratiques. Les deux pièces suggèrent que c’est à travers une langue caustique et scatologique de l’insulte, de pair avec une destruction rhétorique des idéaux de l’aristocratie guerrière, que le théâtre britannique du début du dix-septième siècle remplace une esthétique traditionnelle de l’élite faite de sang héroïque par une célébration de la puissance rhétorique des croûtes et des éruptions cutanées. ike many of his Elizabethan and Jacobean contemporaries, Shakespeare was Lcaught up in the art of railing. -
A Midsummer Night's Dream Education Pack
EDUCATION PACK 1 Contents Introduction Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................3 Section 1: An Introduction to Shakespeare ……………………......................................................................……4 William Shakespeare 1564 - 1616 ..................................................................................................................5 Elizabethan and Jacobean Theatre..................................................................................................................7 Section 2: The Watermill’s Production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream....................................................10 A Brief Synopsis ............................................................................................................................................11 Character Profiles…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….13 Character Map...............................................................................................................................................15 Themes of The Watermill’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream………………………………………………………………………..16 Meet the Cast................................................................................................................................................18 The Design Process........................................................................................................................................21 Costume Designs……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..23 -
Answers for the Story of Pyramus and Thisbe
Questions for the Story of Pyramus and Thisbe Instructions: Answer the following questions in complete sentences as you will be sharing this story with your cartography team. 1. What is the problem that Pyramus and Thisbe face from their families? Their families forbid them to be together or see each other. 2. What is the solution they came up with to solve their problem? They decide to meet at night outside the walls of the city so they can be together. 3. What three objects are located in the area where they decide to meet? The three objects that are located in the area where they decide to meet are a tree, a stream, and a cemetery. 4. What incident happens to Thisbe as she is waiting under the tree for Pyramus? Thisbe is attacked by a lioness. 5. What is the name of the item Thisbe dropped on the ground? Thisbe drops her veil as she runs from the lioness. 6. What action does Pyramus perform when he thinks Thisbe is dead? Pyramus falls on his sword and dies when he thinks Thisbe is dead. 7. What continues happen even to today to the white fruit of the mulberry tree as a result of the lovers’ tragedy? The white fruit of the mulberry tree turns a dark purple color when ripe. 8. What proposal would you make to improve Pyramus and Thisbe’s situation? Answers will vary. 9. What other story do the Story of Pyramus and Thisbe resemble? What differences do you notice between these two stories? The Story of Pyramus and Thisbe resembles Romeo and Juliet. -
Filostrato: an Unintentional Comedy?
Heliotropia 15 (2018) http://www.heliotropia.org Filostrato: an Unintentional Comedy? he storyline of Filostrato is easy to sum up: Troiolo, who is initially presented as a Hippolytus-type character, falls in love with Criseida. T Thanks to the mediation of Pandaro, mezzano d’amore, Troiolo and Criseida can very soon meet and enjoy each other’s love. Criseida is then unfortunately sent to the Greek camp, following an exchange of prisoners between the fighting opponents. Here she once again very quickly falls in love, this time with the Achaean warrior Diomedes. After days of emotional turmoil, Troiolo accidentally finds out about the affair: Diomedes is wearing a piece of jewellery that he had previously given to his lover as a gift.1 The young man finally dies on the battlefield in a rather abrupt fashion: “avendone già morti più di mille / miseramente un dì l’uccise Achille” [And one day, after a long stalemate, when he already killed more than a thou- sand, Achilles slew him miserably] (8.27.7–8). This very minimal plot is told in about 700 ottave (roughly the equivalent of a cantica in Dante’s Comme- dia), in which dialogues, monologues, and laments play a major role. In fact, they tend to comment on the plot, rather than feed it. I would insert the use of love letters within Filostrato under this pragmatic rationale: the necessity to diversify and liven up a plot which we can safely call flimsy. We could read the insertion of Cino da Pistoia’s “La dolce vista e ’l bel sguardo soave” (5.62–66) under the same lens: a sort of diegetic sublet that incorporates the words of someone else, in this case in the form of a poetic homage.2 Italian critics have insisted on the elegiac nature of Filostrato, while at the same time hinting at its ambiguous character, mainly in terms of not 1 “Un fermaglio / d’oro, lì posto per fibbiaglio” [a brooch of gold, set there perchance as clasp] (8.9). -
Motifs in Romeo and Juliet Fall Semester Unit 2 Motif
Motifs in Romeo and Juliet Fall Semester Unit 2 Motif: A distinctive idea, image, word, or phrase that is repeated throughout the literary work. Why do insignificant or mundane things take on significance when they are repeated? Motif: Light and Dark/Day and Night Motif: Light and Dark/Day and Night One instance of this motif is Romeo’s lengthy meditation on the sun and the moon during the balcony scene, in which he describes Juliet as the sun. Romeo uses figurative language to describe her as banishing the “envious moon” and transforming the night into day (2.2.4). Motif: Light and Dark/Day and Night Friar Lawrence’s first speech refers to day and night, light and dark. “The grey-eyed morn smiles on the frowning night” (2.3.1). Motif: Light and Dark/Day and Night We see a third example in the last speech of the play, when Prince Escalus says that the morning sky is dark, fitting the mood of occasion: "A glooming peace this morning with it brings; / The sun, for sorrow, will not show his head" (5.3.306). Motif: Dreams Marc Chagall: Over the Town (1918) Dreams (1939) Motif: Dreams Mercutio mocks dreams in his Queen Mab speech as “children of an idle brain” (1.4.104). Motif: Dreams Romeo tells Juliet, “Oh blessed, blessed night! I am afeard, Being in night, all this is but a dream, Too flattering sweet to be substantial” (2.2.146-148). Motif: Dreams Just before he receives news that Juliet is dead, Romeo says, “If I may trust the flattering truth of sleep, My dreams presage some joyful news at hand” (5.1.1-2). -
Troilus and Cressida the Articles in This Study Guide Are Not Meant to Mirror Or Interpret Any Productions at the Utah Shakespeare Festival
Insights A Study Guide to the Utah Shakespeare Festival Troilus and Cressida The articles in this study guide are not meant to mirror or interpret any productions at the Utah Shakespeare Festival. They are meant, instead, to be an educational jumping-off point to understanding and enjoying the plays (in any production at any theatre) a bit more thoroughly. Therefore the stories of the plays and the interpretative articles (and even characters, at times) may differ dramatically from what is ultimately produced on the Festival’s stages. The Study Guide is published by the Utah Shakespeare Festival, 351 West Center Street; Cedar City, UT 84720. Bruce C. Lee, communications director and editor; Phil Hermansen, art director. Copyright © 2011, Utah Shakespeare Festival. Please feel free to download and print The Study Guide, as long as you do not remove any identifying mark of the Utah Shakespeare Festival. For more information about Festival education programs: Utah Shakespeare Festival 351 West Center Street Cedar City, Utah 84720 435-586-7880 www.bard.org. Cover photo: Cameron McNary (left) and Tyler Layton in Troilus and Cressida, 1999. Contents TroilusInformation and on William Cressida Shakespeare Shakespeare: Words, Words, Words 4 Not of an Age, but for All Mankind 6 Elizabeth’s England 8 History Is Written by the Victors 10 Mr. Shakespeare, I Presume 11 A Nest of Singing Birds 12 Actors in Shakespeare’s Day 14 Audience: A Very Motley Crowd 16 Shakespeare Snapshots 18 Ghosts, Witches, and Shakespeare 20 What They Wore 22 Information on the Play Synopsis 23 Characters 24 Scholarly Articles on the Play An “Iliad” Play 26 Where Are the Heroes and Lovers? 28 Utah Shakespeare Festival 3 351 West Center Street • Cedar City, Utah 84720 • 435-586-7880 Shakespeare: Words, Words, Words By S. -
Study Questions Troilus and Cressida D R a F T
2012 Suggestions for Teaching Troilus and Cressida by William Shakespeare Before seeing/reading the play 1. Research the Trojan War? What was the source of the conflict? Who fought against whom? Who were the major players? How long did it last? What was the outcome? Who famously wrote about events in The Trojan War? These and other websites provide information: http://www.stanford.edu/~plomio/history.html http://www.timelessmyths.com/classical/trojanwar.html http://www.ancienthistory.about.com/cs/troyilium/a/trojanwar.htm 2. The Iliad is an epic poem written by Homer. What events are recounted in The Iliad? Who are the major characters in The Iliad? These and other websites provide information: http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iliad http://www.timelessmyths.com/classical/trojanwar.html#Iliad 3. Read Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyd, one of Shakespeare's sources for this play. These and other websites provide information: http://www.tkline.pgcc.net/PITBR/English/Chaucerhome.htm http://www.omacl.org/Troilus 4. According to the Random House Webster’s dictionary, status is “the position or rank of an individual in relation to others.” Describe some of the factors that determine an individual’s status. When and how can one’s status change? Describe situations in which status is important. Under what circumstances is status unimportant? What is the relationship of reputation to status? 5. I maintain that this question has nothing to do with the play. I would delete it, but I defer to someone else. Which members of the House of Atreus are associated with the Trojan War? Describe the part each plays. -
Background Notes
Background Notes William Shakespeare and Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare: A brief biography • Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564 in Stratford-on-Avon, England to an upper/ middle class family. Shakespeare: A brief biography • He learned Latin and Greek history in his grammar school as a child. This would explain the Latin and Greek references in his works. • There is not evidence that Shakespeare continued his schooling after elementary school. Shakespeare: A Brief Biography In 1582 at the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway who was 26. She was pregnant before they were married. Shakespeare: A Brief Biography • After a few years of marriage, Shakespeare left Stratford-on-Avon and his family for London to pursue his career in acting and writing. Shakespeare: A Brief Biography • Shakespeare wrote and acted with The Lord Chamberlain’s Men. This was an acting troupe that would perform during Shakespeare’s time. Shakespeare: A Brief Biography • It is believed that Shakespeare died on April 23, 1616. • In his will, Shakespeare left his daughters the majority of his wealth and possessions. He left his wife his “second best bed”. Shakespeare: A Brief Biography • The inscription on his tomb states: "Good friend for Jesus sake forbeare, To dig the dust enclosed here. Blessed be the man that spares these stones, And cursed be he that moves my bones.” Shakespeare wrote this because in his time, old bodies were dug up and burned to make room for new burials. Shakespeare despised this treatment of bodies, so he wrote this. Romeo and Juliet and Elizabethan Theater • Shakespeare did not create the story of Romeo and Juliet. -
Shakespeare, Aristotle, And
Colloquium on Violence & Religion Conference 2003 “Passions in Economy, Politics, and the Media. In Discussion with Christian Theology” University of Innsbruck, Austria (3.2 Literature) 14:00-15:30, Friday, June 20, 2003 Shakespeare, The ‘Prophet of Modern Advertising’, Aristotle, the ‘Strange Fellow’, and Ben Jonson and in Mimetic Rivalry the ‘Poets’ War’ Christopher S. Morrissey Department of Humanities 8888 University Drive Simon Fraser University Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6 PGP email: Key ID 0x6DD0285F Background: Achilles asks Ulysses at Troilus and Cressida 3.3.95 what he is reading. Ulysses reports what “a strange fellow”, an unnamed author, teaches him through the book, which he does not name (96-102). Achilles retorts emphatically that what Ulysses reports is quite commonplace and “not strange at all” (103-112). Many modern commentators have not hesitated to take Achilles’ side on the issue. They regard what is voiced (e.g. “beauty … commends itself to others’ eyes”: 104-106) as commonplace, finding the substance of Ulysses’ report (96-102) and Achilles’ paraphrase of it (103-112) in a variety of ancient and Renaissance sources. In a previous play, however, Shakespeare had a copy of Ovid’s Metamorphoses brought onstage as a plot device (Titus Andronicus 4.1.42). Perhaps the same kind of self-conscious literary event is occurring in Troilus and Cressida, for Ulysses goes on to answer Achilles’ protest. He argues that the commonplaces (with which both Achilles and the modern commentators profess familiarity) are treated by the unnamed author in a decidedly different fashion (113-127). William R. Elton has suggested that the unnamed author is Aristotle and that the book to which the passage alludes is the Nicomachean Ethics (1129b30-3; cf. -
Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida: a Commentary
University of Alberta Shakespeare's 'Itoüus and Cressida: A Commentary Lise Maren Signe Mills O A thesis subrnitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial Mllment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. Department of Politicai Science Edmonton, Alberta Spring 2000 National tibrary Bibiii ue nationale 1+i OfCamda du Cana% A uisitions and Acquisitions et B%graphii Seivicas seMces bubliographiques 385 W- Süwt 395. lue WellGngtm OttawaON K1AON4 OltawaON K1AW Canada CMada The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une iicence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant à la National Lbrary of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distniute or seil reproduire, prêter, distriilmer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de niicrofiche/film, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author rehownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts fiom it Ni la thése ni des exbraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de de-ci ne doivent êeimprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. Troilus and Cressida is aot a play for the sentimental. Those who yeam for a seductive taie of brave waniors heroicaliy defendhg the honour of fair maidens would be better suited reading sornething hmHarlequin Romance. This thesis explores how, using the ancient story of the Trojan War as his foudation, Shakespeare strips love and glory--the two favorite motivations of men and women in popuiar romances-of their usual reverence.