William Shakespeare

First of all Mercutio is considered a character foil in the play because he only sees love in a physical way. In contrast Romeo thinks love is supposed to be romantic. In Act I, Scene 4, Mercutio’s speech about Queen Mab indicates that he is does not know of Romeo’s pure love. “O then I see Queen Mab hath been with you…This is she” (1.4.23-24) Romeo is about to tell Mercutio about a dream that he had. Mercutio interrupts Romeo of what he was going to say about his dream and tell him about Queen Mab. In Mercutio’s speech he thinks of love comes from Queen Mab being a dream fairy. She gives people dreams and decides what they will dream about.

For example women dream of kisses and priests’ dream of tithes, lawyers’ dream of money. This speech shows Mercutio just does not get the romantic part of love. He does not believe in dreams. The references to the body show the physical realities of life as opposed to the ideals that Romeo holds. This speech shows much about the fiery spirit of Mercutio, but it also suggests a more brutal and realistic view of life, contrasting with the romantic of love. So the play using minor characters is a success because Mercutio helps make the pure love for Romeo and Juliet. Second of all Friar Lawrence is a mentor to Romeo and Juliet, but a poor planner.

This character also leads to the success of the play. The friar marries Romeo to Juliet and he constantly advises them to act more with caution and provides plans to Romeo and Juliet. In act 4 scene 1 the friar says “take thou this vial being in bed/And this distilling liquor drink thou off” (4.1.93-101). When Paris wants to marry Juliet, the friar expresses his disapproval of the wedding. When Paris leaves, Juliet asks the Friar for help. The friar provide a plan. The plan includes using the drug for Juliet and deliver the message to Romeo. The friar attempts to make the marriage of Romeo and Juliet is very admirable but are poorly planned.

The tragedy of their deaths could not have happened if Romeo have received the message in time. This is due to Friar Lawrence not planning how he is going to fake Juliet’s death. It directly leads to the tragedy in the play. Third of all the nurse makes comic relief by making a lot of inappropriate speeches. The nurse provides a contrast with Juliet because of the nurse’s view which if love is sexual, while Juliet’s way is all romantic. “If ye should lead her into a fool’s paradise/ it were a very gross kind of behavior” (2.4.151-52). The nurse act as Juliet’s mother. She cares for Juliet and her entire life. The Nurse is loyal to Juliet and she keeps the secret marriage a secret. The Nurse believes in love and wants Juliet to have a nice-looking guy, but the idea is that Juliet would sacrifice anything for love to Romeo. The nurse is the success to the play because there is humor to the play.

In act 1 Mercutio to Romeo and Juliet strong  because the play shows Romeo is on a quest for love. When Romeo talks about he is love sick for Rosaline and Benvolio makes him look at another girl and Mercutio says “[Romeo is] a lover borrow cupid’s wings and soar with them above a common bound” (1.4.21-16). The importance of this quote is because he trying cheer Romeo up from being love sick. The quote shows the success of the play because of Mercutio being a minor does not understand the romantic part of love.

In act 2 Mercutio thinks Romeo is still love sick over Rosaline but the when Romeo gets back from Friar Lawrence’s place which Mercutio does not know And sees Mercutio and he is all of a sudden happy. After Romeo says hi to Mercutio and he says “that’s as much as to say such a case as (Romeo’s) constrains a man to bow in the hams” (2.4.47-52). The importance of this quote is because when Romeo says hi to Mercutio so he is wondering why Romeo is all happy. The quote shows the success of the play by using minor characters because Romeo was lovesick and all of a sudden he becomes happy so Mercutio thinks he made Rosaline like him. So the play using minor characters is a success because Mercutio helps make the pure love for Romeo and Juliet.

He creates conflict by agreeing to marry Romeo and Juliet so he says “For this alliance may be so happy prove to turn [their] households’ rancour to pure love” (2.3.44-90). The importance of this quote is that He agrees to marry Romeo to Juliet because he sees it as a chance to bring back the families together. It is successful to the play using minor characters because he is not supposed to marry them but he does it any way. He’s basically helping Romeo and Juliet even though their enemies.

Shakespeare clearly demonstrates that Lord Capulet is a very protective father. This is because in Act 1 scene 2 Capulet says “ hopeful lady of my earth” In this quote Shakespeare shows that Capulet is a loving and protective father because children died easily and the words ‘hopeful lady’ means that Juliet was his only hope , Juliet was very precious for him because she was his only child. Also in that quote Shakespeare used flattering language.

Lord Capulet was a responsible and protective father which the audience in those times found as a typical father, however throughout the play Capulet gives Juliet freedom to choose who she wants to marry which wasn’t considered as normal in those days. “My child is yet a stranger in the world” This could suggest that he does not feel ready about Juliet being married. The word ‘stranger’ shows that she’s naive and inexperienced. And that she hasn’t been long enough in the ‘world’. Shakespeare shows that Lord Capulet has the ultimate power and control in his household.

His power and control is shown trough his relationship between his wife, daughter and others members of his family. In act 1 scene 5 Capulet is presented as a kind and friendly man by starting his sentence “ Welcome , gentlemans” But as he goes along Shakespeare shows that he can be manipulative not only over his family. “Ladies that have their toes unplagu’d with corns will walk a bout you. ” This quote maybe is suggesting that he’s manipulating woman. Also throughout the scene he says “Am I the master here, or you? Go to.”

The language used here is dominant. Shakespeare uses rhetorical question to show that Lord Capulet has control to tell people what to do and authority over his family, also he’s foreshadowing the disasters that are soon to come. He uses imperative words. Paris asked Capulet to marry Juliet, not Juliet herself which was found normal for the audience, however it gives a small bit of evidence to support that he, being Juliet’s father had power over Juliet’s own decisions. Juliet changes more than any other character throughout the play.

In act 1 scene 3 Juliet says “But no more deep will I endart mine eyes Than your consent gives strength to make it fly” Juliet is being obedient by saying that she’ll do what her parents tell her to do. The word ‘consent’ suggests that she need her parent’s permission to do what she wants. But when she meets Romeo, she become more confident regarding the path of her life. Act 3 scene 5, Capulet tells her that she is to marry Paris, but instead of doing what he said she goes against her father’s will, “I will not marry yet.

And when I do, I swear it shall be Romeo” This shows Juliet transformation throughout the play, she changes from an innocent obedient girl into a brave confident girl, this is because she confesses her love for Romeo to her parents. Lord Capulet expected Juliet to be happy with the match with Paris because Juliet obeys him, and in those days fathers picked their daughter’s husband and they couldn’t disagree with it; they should be happy and thankful. Also Paris was rich, he was related to the Prince and good looking.

“Not proud you have, but thankful that you have” In this quote Shakespeare uses flattering language. As the play goes on Juliet makes a number of important decisions, she falls in love with the enemy of her family, gets married, would be an embarrassment to her family, and finally kills herself, this wasn’t expected from a girl in those times, the audience might have been shocked with her acts in the play because the society expected daughter to obey their parents. Destiny is the most powerful theme of the play. This is because destiny controls the end result in Romeo and Juliet’s ill-fated union.

This is evidence from the line “A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life” Shakespeare mentioned that Romeo and Juliet were ‘star-cross’d they’re destiny to die. He foreshadows Juliet and Romeo’s death. The prologue points out that Romeo and Juliet have fate against them. Is says that their love is “death-marked” and they have no control over what happens. Juliet tells Romeo of her vision of him dead at the bottom of a tomb. This is foreshadowing to the already destined event these two lovers will soon face. Before Romeo enters the house of the Capulets, he speaks about an unknown danger “hanging in the stars”.

The word ‘star’ might suggest that events expected to occur being written in the ‘stars’, and explains how life is predetermined by fate. He says that he defies fate, by saying that he defies what is written in the stars. In act 5 scene 3 Romeo says “Shall I believe That unsubstantial Death is amorous,” Shakespeare used Oxymoron by saying ‘Death is amorous’ to create an dramatic effect. Romeo refuses to accept that Juliet is dead. What Romeo does not realize is that he has no control over is destiny. No matter how angry or motivated he is to change what is written in the stars, he cannot. It is already predetermined.

Overall I feel that power and control of Capulet was critical in the development of the play because he certified to carry the feud between the Capulets and Montagues. However I think fate was the most important theme because it controls the end result in Romeo and Juliet’s ill-fated union, and no one can change destiny. From the beginning of the play Shakespeare uses foreshadowing to emphasise how important fate is. If it wasn’t for destiny Romeo and Juliet wouldn’t have met, married and therefore wouldn’t have settled the dispute between the Capulets and Montagues. Examine the way Browning reveals power and control In My last Duchess

My last Duchess is about the imbalance of power and control between man and women. On the surface the poem is about a dominant possessive duke who killed her wife because she was too easily admired by others and blushed The Duke holds a sort of ownership over his wife. “My last Duchess” The title itself revels that the speaker, the Duke, is very possessive. The word ‘my’ suggests that the Duke is very dominant and controlling. Browning used the voice of a possessive narrator, this might be because to show how completely he ruled over her. The quote “The curtain drawn for you, but I “shows that he’s possessive and powerful.

The pronoun ‘I’ suggests self-importance. Nobody is allowed to touch the curtain but him. Furthermore, the Duke is presented as a controlling person; the evidence for this is “since none puts by’ The Duchess could be covered up giving him complete control thru the opening and closing of the curtain. Now he controls who sees the picture, but he cannot control time and mortality. The narrator is presented as a commanding, powerful and jealous. At the beginner of the poem the narrator, the duke, is giving the ambassador of his second wife a tour of his artworks in his house. We can see this in the quote “Will’t please you sit and look at her?”

Really a command rather than a question. Throughout the poem the narrator uses the pronoun ‘My’ to show how dominant and possessive the Duke is. “My gift” This quote he used an arrogant tone, and the word ‘my’ again shows ownership. Moreover on the poem we can he is cold and powerful, the evidence for this is “I gave commands; Then all smiles stopped together. ” This quote might be telling us that the Duke is vague, and that he ‘gave commands’ or orders to kill the Duchess. And foreshadows the Duchess death. He’s jealous that he can’t even bring himself to talk to her about her behaviour – murder is the only solution he can come up with.

His jealousy isn’t just about romantic attention; it’s about any kind of attention. We know he is self-obsessed because of his repeated use of ‘I’. The narrator presents the Duchess as a happy, cheerful and flirtatious. which has displeased him. As the ambassador looks at the portrait of his late duchess he says “Of joy into the Duchess’ cheek” The Duchess blushed easily. We could see this furthermore on the verses 23-24: “she liked whate’er She looked on”. He’s jealous of the attention his wife shows to other, he’s jealous of every smile and every blush that she gives.

He claims she flirted with everyone and did not appreciate his “gift of nine-hundred-years- old name. ” He describes her cheek as having a “spot/ Of joy” in it, perhaps a slight blush of pleasure ‘joy’. On the verse 14 he says “her husband’s presence only,” This suggests that it wasn’t just “her husband’s presence” that made her smiled and blush in this way, although the Duke seems to believe that it should have been the only thing that would. From the beginner of the poem we might conclude that his wife was no longer alive. The evidence for this is “as if she were alive.”

We immediately begin to suspect that the duchess is no longer alive, but left enough uncertainly to capture our attention as readers. “That’s my last Duchess painted on the wall” In these lines, we are given our first hint that the duchess wasn’t that important to the duke, suggesting that his late wife was nothing more than her external appearance. The word “last” is the evidence that she was dead. As his monologue continues, the reader realizes that the Duke in fact caused the Duchess’s early end, when her behaviour escalated, he “gave commands;” In the verses 46-47 he says “There she stands As if alive.”

This is another evidence that the Duchess is no longer alive, Browning uses juxtaposition to create an effect on the reader. We might conclude that he had his wife killed because the final image of the expensive bronze statue , a metaphor “Taming a sea-horse , thought a rarity,” The Duchess is being tamed by someone powerful , the Duke , which killed her because of jealousy, and to show that he had power and control to do anything that pleased him. We never got to hear her point of view. Did she really disrespect his “nine-hundred-years-old name” as he claimed she did?

What is your response to the pieces of literature you have read? Make links between the ways the writers have considered and presented the theme. You will be hearing from us shortly , The conscript , Hawk roosting and My last duchess are all poems about power and control which we can link with the play Romeo and Juliet. Romeo and Juliet is a play about love, conflict, power and control. At the start of the play there’s a fight between the Montagues and the Capulets, which later in the play results Romeo and Juliet’s early death.

Whereas ‘My last Duchess’ is about jealousy, selfishness, power and control, which also ends with death. In ‘Romeo and Juliet’ power is presented in fate, love and parental control. As ‘My last Duchess’ power is presented between man and women. Both of the poem and play uses commanding language and an imperative. In ‘Romeo and Juliet’ power and control can have an effect in individuals, similar to the Duchess. Both of the play and poem we can see that power and control corrupts the end result of the main characters.

This has an impact on the reader because we can realise that power and control has a devastating consequence. Lord Capulet and the Duke have a lot of similarities. Both of them has power and control, but it is viewed in a different perspective. Capulet wanted the best for his daughter that’s why he used his power and accidentally caused her death. As in ‘My last Duchess’ the duke wanted to kill his wife because of jealousy and to show that he’s won’t let anyone disrespect him or unpleased him , and that the only way to show his power was to kill her.

Shakespeare also presents the theme of power and control between Lord Capulet and members of his family. Act 1 scene 5 Shakespeare presents Capulet’s power within his relationship between Tybalt, he says “Am I the master here, or you? ” Shakespeare might have used rhetorical question to show his power and commanding word. He uses the pronoun ‘I’ to show that he’s the one who controls what happens. Browning also uses the pronoun ‘I’ frequently, this might be because to show how self-obsessed, selfish, powerful and narcissistic he is. “Will’t please you sit and look at her?”

This is really a commanding rather than a question which we can link with Lord Capulet being powerful and using rhetorical question. Romeo and Juliet and ‘Hawk roosting’ both seem to be about power and control. ‘Hawk roosting’ is about a dominant hawk that feels superior. The poem shows the world as seen from a hawk’s point of view. The hawk seems very determined and powerful, the evidence for this is “I sit in the top of the wood” This can be taken two ways , literally he is positioned at the top of the wood, but also metaphorically he is at the top of the tree- at the top of the food chain.

Shakespeare also presents the theme of power and control , but the difference is that he presents power and determination within Capulet. “Am I the master here, or you? ” The language used here is dominant, also Shakespeare uses a rhetorical question to shows that Lord Capulet has power and authority to tell people what to do, similar to hawk roosting “I am going to keep things like this” here Browning shows that the Hawk is powerful and determinate, and that no one can challenge him and he has power to do anything without needing permission from anyone.

Both of the poem and play use the pronoun ‘I’ repeatedly which suggests self-importance and power. The techniques used in these quotes are dominant language, rhetorical questions and an imperative. The impact on the reader is that both the play and the poem show how people use their power to control. Friar Lawrence and the doctors in the poem ‘The conscript’ have some similarities. Shakespeare presents the power of religion within Friar Lawrence. Whereas in ‘the conscript’ power is shown by the doctors secularly.

At the very beginning of the poem, the reader can realise that is about unsympathetic doctors. “Indifferent, flippant, earnest, but all bored” Here the poet is describing the doctors, from the word ‘bored’ we can deduce that the doctors are not doing their job properly. Friar Lawrence uses his religious power to make serious decisions such as suggesting the idea that Juliet could fake her death to be unrestricted and be with Romeo afterwards. ‘The Conscript’ uses the image of Jesus “With arms outstretched and drooping thorn-crowned head”

Begin with an interesting quotation related to your opinion about Shakespeare Mystery (You will need a transition here) – End the Intro paragraph with your thesis statement: Even though that william shakespeare is the author of all plays and sonnets published in his name. , William Shakespeare of Straford-upon-Avon is the man who wrote the play and sonnets because that all evidence correlates with william shakespeare being the author and all the plays that he wrote were credited to him and published in his name.Body Paragraph #1 Topic of the body thesis: that william shakespeare is the author of all plays and sonnets published in his name. – Find evidence – like facts, examples, quotations, or statistics that back it upor support the topic sentence of this paragraph. – Explain how your evidence supports the topic sentence Another example that shows that that william shakespeare is the author of all plays and sonnets published in his name.

is… – Find more evidence – facts, examples, quotations, or statistics that back it up or support the topic sentence of this paragraph. Explain how this second piece of evidence supports the topic sentence. Body Paragraph #2 Even though that william shakespeare is the author of all plays and sonnets published in his name. , William Shakespeare of Straford-upon-Avon is the man who wrote the play and sonnets because that all evidence correlates with william shakespeare being the author.

– Find evidence – like facts, examples, quotations, or statistics that back it upor support the topic sentence of this paragraph. – Explain how your evidence supports the topic sentenceAnother example that shows that that all evidence correlates with william shakespeare being the author is… – Find more evidence – facts, examples, quotations, or statistics that back it up or support the topic sentence of this paragraph. – Explain how this second piece of evidence supports the topic sentence. Body Paragraph #3 The most important reason William Shakespeare of Straford-upon-Avon is the man who wrote the play and sonnets is because all the plays that he wrote were credited to him and published in his name.

Find evidence – like facts, examples, quotations, or statistics that back it upor support the topic sentence of this paragraph. – Explain how your evidence supports the topic sentence Another example that shows that all the plays that he wrote were credited to him and published in his name is… – Find more evidence – facts, examples, quotations, or statistics that back it up or support the topic sentence of this paragraph. – Explain how this second piece of evidence supports the topic sentence. ConclusionSo you can see that although that william shakespeare is the author of all plays and sonnets published in his name.

, William Shakespeare of Straford-upon-Avon is the man who wrote the play and sonnets for two main reasons. First, that all evidence correlates with william shakespeare being the author. But most importantly, all the plays that he wrote were credited to him and published in his name. – Now you will return to your opening attention-getter from the introduction – Then end your essay with a powerful So What? statement. Do you want to print or copy and email this page?

Have you ever wondered what the world might sound like if we still spoke Shakespearean English? Imagine switching the television on to hear a commentator calling a game of football: “Marry, In the very alarm he doth leap and Like the eagle he soars to grab the flying pig- skin. What, ho – the umpire doth cry ‘play on’ – but Franklin hath not heard and is strewn to the ground. Marry, he doth protest, calling the umpire a saucy villain and retch. Your Job Is to write a two-minute scene in Modern English and then a Shakespearean translation of the same scene. A basic Shakespearean dictionary has been provided for you to use. But you will need to consult the play script for more Ideas. Your contemporary scene does not have to be overly clever or funny. In fact, the more realistic it is, the more entertaining it will seem when replayed in Shakespearean English. These scenes will then be delivered to the class.

You may choose one of the allowing scenes or come up with your own: Figurative and Poetic Language Try to Incorporate figurative and poetic language In your Shakespearean version where possible. Figurative language Is language that Is not meant to be taken literally, but has a poetic quality. An example of this can be found when Romeo speaks to Gullet’s seemingly dead body: “Here, here I will remain/ With worms that are thy chambermaids. ” Romeo does not literally mean that the worms that one finds in tombs are employed to change beds.

In what way, however, do worms serve the dead? What, do you think Is the Intended Impact of these words on an audience watching the play? Poetic Language frost/Upon the sweetest flower of all the field. ” This simile compares the apparently dead Juliet to a flower covered in frost? How is this effective? Shakespearean Translation A list of Frequently Used Shakespearean Words Shakespearean Insults It is easy to make new insults by changing the adjective and noun pairings. Shakespearean Exclamations The Rhyming Couplet

In keeping with Shakespearean plays, your scene, in its Shakespearean translation, should finish with a rhyming couplet: “For never was a story of more woe/ Than this of Juliet and her Romeo. ” Have a look through the play script of Romeo and Juliet and note that the last two lines in nearly every scene rhyme. Why did Shakespeare do this? Activity two: Allurement Vs. Sufferable – A Comparison This task requires you to consider and compare the different film versions of Romeo and Juliet that you have viewed. Fill in the table below.