Romeo and Juliet Essay Example for Free

Romeo and Juliet Essay William Shakespeare, one of the most famous playwrights of all time, was born in Stratford upon Avon in 1564 and died in 1616. He was one of eight children of John Shakespeare, a local town official and glove maker, and Mary Arden. In 1982 Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway at only eighteen. They had three children together, Susanna, and twin Judith and Hannet. Sadly Hannet tragically died at eleven. Shakespeare was known for performing at the Globe theatre with the Chamberlains Men. He wrote 37 plays in his lifetime and one of his most famous plays was Romeo and Juliet. I am going to compare lines 1-100 of Act One, Scene One from the text of the two film versions; Franco Zeffirellis version and Baz Luhrmanns version. The text opens with the prologue, which gives a brief outline of the story, it is 14 lines long, and is therefore typical of what is known as a sonnet. It is about two families from Verona, both of similar status; both hate the other due to an ancient feud, the lovers, Romeo and Juliet both from each of the families take their own lives for their love. Their death makes their parents see sense. Shakespeare has deliberately revealed the ending in the prologue so that the audience may judge the characters and the events up to the final tragedy. Act One Scene One begins in a public place. It starts like a comedy with word-play and puns from Gregory and Sampson, both servants of the Capulet house. They boast about what they would do to the Montagues. One pun used is Well not carry coals. This means well not stand for any insults. No, for then we should be colliers. This means if we do stand for any insults then we shall be coal sellers or coal miners which were probably regarded as dirty and poor people in their day. Sampson uses rude language, to boast about what they would do to any Montagues Therefore I will push Montagues men from the wall, thrust his maids to the wall. Sampson thinks that love is just a matter of brutal conquest of another body. This part of the scene is very boastful and light hearted, until Abraham and a servant, both from the Montague house enter and the scene turns instantly threatening and tension increases. Sampson and Gregory turn from being boastful to serious, in a way this is ironic because when the they were joking, they were not afraid of saying about what they would do to the Montagues, but now when they come across the Montagues they become unsure as to whether to torment them or not, because Gregory says How, turn thy back and run? Hes unsure whether to provoke the Montagues. But Sampson is not as afraid as Gregory, so he decides to provoke them by biting his thumb at Abraham and the servant. Biting thumbs was regarded as an insult in that day. Both houses start bantering at each other, both speaking politely with a threatening undertone. Gregory says Do you Quarrel sir? Which is do you fight. The Capulets crave for a fight by aggravating the Montagues, but the Montagues are not up for a fight. At this point Benvolio enters and Gregory says Here comes one of my master kinsmen. But he is not referring to Benvolio because he is a Montague. He is referring to Tybalt who is approaching. So the Capulets start the fight themselves when Sampson says Draw if you be men, Gregory remember thy washing blow. The word washing blow means in this context, a slashing blow, which is a sword move. They then fight but there is no description of what happens. Benvolio who is against fighting stops the fight, but then Tybalt who is a Capulet enters and he offers Benvolio to fight . Turn thee Benvolio, look upon thy death. Tybalt is an aggressive character and when he enters he is spoiling for a fight and he does not believe in peace, this is evident when Benvolio says I do but keep the peace. Benvolio tries to restore the peace because he is a peacemaker. Tybalt does not believe that Benvolio is trying to stop the fight so he threatens Benvolio What, drawn and talk of peace? I hate the word . have at thee coward. Then Tybalt attacks Benvolio and a huge brawl follows, but this time the citizens and the officer attempt to break up the fight. The mood is now chaotic. Old Capulet and Lady Capulet enter. Old Capulet wants to be involved in the fight Give me my long sword, ho. Lady Capulet replies A crutch, a crutch! Meaning a crutch might be better because he is too old to fight. Then enters Old Montague and Lady Montague, he also wants to fight but Lady Montague attempts to stop him by restraining him. The two heads of the families seem foolish and try to stand up for their family by trying to be involved in the fight. Then Prince Escalus enters with his train, these are his guards in our context. He is in charge of Verona and he breaks up the fight between the two families. He is furious with them both. He gives a long speech to the two families. He compares their behaviour to beasts You men, you beasts, that quench the fire of your pernicious rage He also says that there have been three civil brawls between the two families in Veronas streets. He has had enough of it and the pointless fighting has disrupted the social life of the city. Their punishment if this happens again would be paid with their lives. Many of the characters from the two families seem to act first and think later. For instance some characters jump into a fight without thinking of the consequences. The fight breaks out quickly between the two families which proves the point that some of the characters act first, think later. These first 100 lines prepare the audience for the haste and speed which plays a big part in the coming tragedy of the deaths of Romeo and Juliet and it prepares for the fights that take place later on in the play. The Franco Zeffirelli film version of the play is set in the 15th century in the town of Verona in Italy which is the ideal setting to the play. The first scene which I am going to study is set on a bright sunny morning in the town market. The costumes worn are authentic to the 15th century, these include tight leggings known as Hose and close fitted jackets known as doublets worn by the men. The two families also wear the livery of their household. The Montagues livery is blue and grey and the Capulets livery are red and orange. The film introduces with a prologue, just like the text. As the Prologue is being spoken, the film shows a number of views of Verona. While this is being shown, music authentic to the time is played along with it. The prologue is correct to the text but the last two lines are cut out. After the prologue, the film goes straight to Veronas market, the public place. This market setting is authentic with its old sandstone buildings and its bustling market. Sampson, Gregory and another Capulet who is not included in the text, are walking through the market joking and being a nuisance to some of the citizens by kicking them for a joke. This portrays the Capulets as trouble makers. The mood is boastful and light hearted, which is faithful to the text. The film does not include the conversation about Colliers and Montague maids spoken between the Capulets. But it starts on line 25 when Gregory says The quarrel is between our masters and us their men. Sampson replies to this Tis all one. This is correct to the text, but it misses all the lines afterwards where Gregory says Here comes the house of the Montague. The Montagues consist of three people here, Abraham and two other Montagues not named. They are shown buying items from a market stall, you see them thanking the stall keeper and being polite to the citizens, Zeffirelli portrays the Montagues as nice people even though there is no evidence of this in the text. The banters between the two families are started just like the text. Sampson bites his thumb at the Montagues. This is also known as an insult in the film. The banters between them are correct to the text. After Abraham says You Lie. The Montagues walk away from the Capulets because they dont want to start any trouble. This is evidence to suggest that the Montagues are nice people. Sampson retaliates to this because he craves for a fight. He deliberately trips up the older member of the three Montagues. This is not included in the text. Sampsons retaliation makes Abraham angry and he declares the fight by saying Draw if you be men. This is actually said by Sampson in the text. Then Sampson completes the sentence from the text Gregory, remember thy washing blow. The brawl starts with both sides charging at each other. The scene is now in the streets of Verona near the market. The citizens help the Montagues break up the brawl by grabbing hold of the Capulets. Then Benvolio enters, he stops the fight and says his lines from the text, but in addition to this he says The prince expressly forbids fighting on Veronas streets. This is not in the text. Then Tybalt with a lot more of Capulets men enter, he laughs in a threatening way and the mood suddenly gets threatening, he and Benvolio say their lines, which are correct to the text. Benvolio is cowardly towards Tybalts will to fight, and the brawl begins again. The mood is chaotic and hot because it is set on a bright and hot street. During the fight, Tybalt injures Benvolio and he says hi thee home? Fragment. This means youre a coward and you should go home, Tybalt says it in a boastful way. The film shows the fight with lots of chaos, colours, close ups, lots of action, aerial shots of fighting, village people trying to stop the fight, things flying through the air, explicit bits like people being killed, there is no evidence of this in the play, it is hard to see who people are, such as who is Montague and who is Capulet. At one point during the fight, Zeffirelli shows us the two households. He shows Old Capulet gathering his men and charging out into the chaotic fight. There is no conversation between Old Capulet and Lady Capulet, despite this being in the original text. Zeffirelli also shows us Old Montague gathering his men to go and join the fight, and Lady Montague attempting to stop him. At this part the conversation between Old Montague and Lady Montague is correct to the text, but it misses parts out.

Responses to Human Crises Revealed in The Rite by Hiroko Takenishi Essa

Responses to Human Crises Revealed in The Rite In the short story "The Rite," Hiroko Takenishi tells of some of the horrors that took place during and after the bombing of Hiroshima. This story was a creative response to the actual devastation Hiroko witnessed. She may have chosen to write this story as fiction rather than an autobiography in order to distance herself from the pain. This work may have served as a form of therapy, by allowing her to express her feelings without becoming personal. She could accomplish this by attributing her own feelings and thoughts to Aki, the narrator of this story. The crises to which this work responds was the total annihilation of Hiroshima and the aftershock experienced by those left behind. Those who witnessed this devastation were left to make sense of it, and then attempt to carry on with their lives. Aki had temporarily managed to go on with her life until she went to visit her friend Tomiko. At her friends house she saw "two small jars"that contained "fetuses that had been miscarried"( Takenishi 1895), most likely an after affect of being exposed to the bomb. The sight of these fetuses must have stirred some deeply buried feelings, because shortly afterwards, Aki started to have very disturbing flashbacks and dreams of the devastating event that took place during her childhood. Through these dreams and flashbacks it becomes apparent that Aki is unable to acquire any closure regarding this horrible event. This feeling of deficiency could be, in part, attributed to her feeling that there was a shameful lack of consideration shown for the "rites" owed to those who died. In her eyes they were never properly laid to rest; Therefore they" will not rest in peace" (Takenishi 18... ...in it brought with it ( Takenishi 1907). She felt these memories held a lot of value, and it was important to hold onto them. As she said " someone who can just casually wipe out the memory of his own history will not be fit ... to play the role of the great hero" (Takenishi 1907). I believe she wants to preserve these memories out of respect for those who died, and possibly, as a contribution to their rite. Hiroko Takenishi used the framework of a fictional story to tell of a real life tragedy. As mentioned before, this may have been done to create distance from the writer and her painful memories. This story was a creative and interesting way of allowing others to experience the devastation felt by those who lived through this crises. At the same time it makes clear the suffering and injustice that was inflicted on innocent lives, and the senseless evils of war. Responses to Human Crises Revealed in The Rite by Hiroko Takenishi Essa Responses to Human Crises Revealed in The Rite In the short story "The Rite," Hiroko Takenishi tells of some of the horrors that took place during and after the bombing of Hiroshima. This story was a creative response to the actual devastation Hiroko witnessed. She may have chosen to write this story as fiction rather than an autobiography in order to distance herself from the pain. This work may have served as a form of therapy, by allowing her to express her feelings without becoming personal. She could accomplish this by attributing her own feelings and thoughts to Aki, the narrator of this story. The crises to which this work responds was the total annihilation of Hiroshima and the aftershock experienced by those left behind. Those who witnessed this devastation were left to make sense of it, and then attempt to carry on with their lives. Aki had temporarily managed to go on with her life until she went to visit her friend Tomiko. At her friends house she saw "two small jars"that contained "fetuses that had been miscarried"( Takenishi 1895), most likely an after affect of being exposed to the bomb. The sight of these fetuses must have stirred some deeply buried feelings, because shortly afterwards, Aki started to have very disturbing flashbacks and dreams of the devastating event that took place during her childhood. Through these dreams and flashbacks it becomes apparent that Aki is unable to acquire any closure regarding this horrible event. This feeling of deficiency could be, in part, attributed to her feeling that there was a shameful lack of consideration shown for the "rites" owed to those who died. In her eyes they were never properly laid to rest; Therefore they" will not rest in peace" (Takenishi 18... ...in it brought with it ( Takenishi 1907). She felt these memories held a lot of value, and it was important to hold onto them. As she said " someone who can just casually wipe out the memory of his own history will not be fit ... to play the role of the great hero" (Takenishi 1907). I believe she wants to preserve these memories out of respect for those who died, and possibly, as a contribution to their rite. Hiroko Takenishi used the framework of a fictional story to tell of a real life tragedy. As mentioned before, this may have been done to create distance from the writer and her painful memories. This story was a creative and interesting way of allowing others to experience the devastation felt by those who lived through this crises. At the same time it makes clear the suffering and injustice that was inflicted on innocent lives, and the senseless evils of war.

Analysis of ‘The Truman’s Show’ in search of reality Essay

The film, The Truman Show, is a fiction movie that has been created to help the human search for reality in what apparently seems real. It shows that many times, people are absorbed in an unreal environment thinking that they are indeed in the reality. Media is to blame for making false impressions of the environment. The film depicts Truman as a person who has been entangled in a false environment and is trying hard to discover the truth. In other words, this film is intended to bring to the attention the many times that we get absorbed in situations that we cannot derive any real meaning. It challenges people to wake up and search for the true meaning and not become captives of falsehood. The film depicts Truman Burbank as a person who is born in a fake world. The environment that surrounds him is that of actors. It is in a big dome decked enclosure that is fitted with high-tech simulations of the sky and the sun. The wind and rain are also simulated. They are under the control of the director of the show. Apparently, Truman does not realize that he is in a simulated world initially. Moreover, he has no idea that he is in a television studio from which people all over the world can watch him in his normal behavior as he carries on with his normal activities. However, all the situations that he finds himself in have been staged and, therefore, lack a true meaning in the real world. However, with time Truman realizes that he is in a simulated environment. He is made to discover the false surrounds he is in by the help of Sylvia, who was intended to be his wife in the artificial world. He comes to know that staged events and scenes fill his life. He then begins to plan a way of escaping to the real world. He tries all means to escape but does not succeed immediately. That is because of two major barriers. One barrier is that he has been made a victim of fear by the director of the show has he controls his world. He has been made to fear travelling by water because his father had supposedly died while fishing. Truman is informed that travelling by water was dangerous at the time, and it was safer to stay at home. Secondly, obstacles have been placed in his way such that he cannot escape easily. He is unable to arrange for flights. Traffic jams that are also staged hinder him from travelling. Therefore, he does not manage to escape easily at first. Later on, Truman devices a way to escape and finally manages to escape to the real world. The first step in his escape is that he manages to overcome his fear. He sails in the water despite the many attempts by the director to enclose him from attempting such a move. Truman discovers a door marked â€Å"Exit† and he manages to escape completely to the real world. The escape is praised by the audience as an act of courage and triumphant. He meets with Sylvia, and they reunite. That marks the end of the artificial world created on falsehood and a new beginning in the world of reality. The Truman Show has significance in ordinary lives. It depicts how people live under the false beliefs painted by the media. Truman’s discovery that he had been living in the fallacy can be compared to how people realize that media creates only illusions that do not depict the reality. However, just as Truman was unable to get out of the fake world easily, people are reluctant to break away from the false impressions created by the media. Moreover, Truman had been absorbed into the fake world just as many people find themselves hooked by the illusions created in the media. Truman is a character used to show how people get absorbed into the fake world that is created by the media. Usually, people do not notice the impact of the illusions that they absorb have on their lives. Many live in a fantasy. However, later on, they realize how impractical the life created by the media is as compared to the real world. As such, some try to find a way out of the bondage with the media. While some of them succeed in getting out, others remain as slaves of the media. Media critics act to sensitize people on the negative side of the media just like Sylvia helped Truman to discover that he was leaving in a fake world. The film, The Truman Show, is a fiction movie that has been created to help the human search for reality in what apparently seems real. It shows that many times, people are absorbed in an unreal environment thinking that they are indeed in the reality. Media is to blame for making false impressions of the environment. The film depicts Truman as a person who has been entangled in a false environment and is trying hard to discover the truth. In other words, this film is intended to bring to the attention the many times that we get absorbed in situations that we cannot derive any real meaning. It challenges people to wake up and search for the true meaning and not become captives of falsehood. The film depicts Truman Burbank as a person who is born in a fake world. The environment that surrounds him is that of actors. It is in a big dome decked enclosure that is fitted with high-tech simulations of the sky and the sun. The wind and rain are also simulated. They are under the control of the director of the show. Apparently, Truman does not realize that he is in a simulated world initially. Moreover, he has no idea that he is in a television studio from which people all over the world can watch him in his normal behavior as he carries on with his normal activities. However, all the situations that he finds himself in have been staged and, therefore, lack a true meaning in the real world. However, with time Truman realizes that he is in a simulated environment. He is made to discover the false surrounds he is in by the help of Sylvia, who was intended to be his wife in the artificial world. He comes to know that staged events and scenes fill his life. He then begins to plan a way of escaping to the real world. He tries all means to escape but does not succeed immediately. That is because of two major barriers. One barrier is that he has been made a victim of fear by the director of the show has he controls his world. He has been made to fear travelling by water because his father had supposedly died while fishing. Truman is informed that travelling by water was dangerous at the time, and it was safer to stay at home. Secondly, obstacles have been placed in his way such that he cannot escape easily. He is unable to arrange for flights. Traffic jams that are also staged hinder him from travelling. Therefore, he does not manage to escape easily at first. Later on, Truman devices a way to escape and finally manages to escape to the real world. The first step in his escape is that he manages to overcome his fear. He sails in the water despite the many attempts by the director to enclose him from attempting such a move. Truman discovers a door marked â€Å"Exit† and he manages to escape completely to the real world. The escape is praised by the audience as an act of courage and triumphant. He meets with Sylvia, and they reunite. That marks the end of the artificial world created on falsehood and a new beginning in the world of reality. The Truman Show has significance in ordinary lives. It depicts how people live under the false beliefs painted by the media. Truman’s discovery that he had been living in the fallacy can be compared to how people realize that media creates only illusions that do not depict the reality. However, just as Truman was unable to get out of the fake world easily, people are reluctant to break away from the false impressions created by the media. Moreover, Truman had been absorbed into the fake world just as many people find themselves hooked by the illusions created in the media. Truman is a character used to show how people get absorbed into the fake world that is created by the media. Usually, people do not notice the impact of the illusions that they absorb have on their lives. Many live in a fantasy. However, later on, they realize how impractical the life created by the media is as compared to the real world. As such, some try to find a way out of the bondage with the media. While some of them succeed in getting out, others remain as slaves of the media. Media critics act to sensitize people on the negative side of the media just like Sylvia helped Truman to discover that he was leaving in a fake world. Reference The Truman Show (1998). Directed by Peter Weir. 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My Fourth Grade Teacher - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 757 Downloads: 9 Date added: 2019/02/05 Category Education Essay Level High school Tags: Teacher Essay Did you like this example? What are some reading and writing skills that I learned from my fourth-grade teacher? Someone who taught me how to read and write was my fourth-grade teacher Ms. Asamoah. She was a great teacher that cared about the importance of her students success in their education. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "My Fourth Grade Teacher" essay for you Create order She encouraged me to make reading a habit to myself and helped me get better in reading and writing. As a kid, I always concentrated on playing more than focusing on learning how to improve my reading and writing skills. She once told me something that I still use to keep me from too much distractions. Whenever I start to get distracted in something that involves playing around, she said, â€Å"all work and no play makes just a dull boy, all play and no work makes just a lazy boy, there is time to play and there is time to work only foolish people play all the time†. This message she told me is one thing that has taught me what I should expect of myself as a student from things I should do and not do. The way I behaved at home also played a part as to why my fourth-grade teacher told me the message she said, because of the good relationship she had with my mom as teachers. She mostly got complains of me about playing a lot and not concentrating or showing improvement towards m y reading and writing practices at home. She then told me that if I concentrate, and show effort in my reading and writing, she will be willing to give up her time to stay after school with me every day to make sure that Im able to read anything I approach fluently and be precise in writing. Some people say continuous practice in doing something could affect the way you perform later. I think practicing continuously is an opportunity, because it helps you learn more and improve on mistakes. Eventually, complains of me in school and at home about not completing my assignments were things that really bordered me in class. I wasn’t the type of student that did what was expected of him or her to be done when it came to assignments. I was lazy and didn’t know how to read fluently and most of the time I wouldn’t write complete sentences. She noticed my reading and writing skills weren’t strong, so she told my mom. She figured out a way that would help increase my reading and writing skills. One time during lunch, she called me, sat down with me, and advised me about her wanting me to succeed in my education. I took her advice to stay after school, so she could help me improve in reading and writing. She stayed after with me even on Fridays when everyone else was thinking about spending their weekend. Furthermore, since then she always checked on me during class to see how I was doing on my assignments. On some she will pick some books we will read together, then she will let me read the book again by myself and write a short summary of what I read to see if I was focused on the what I read previously with her. I began to experience some improvements throughout remainder of the school year from the advice she gave me about her willing to give up her time to stay after school and help me improve my skills in reading and writing. On other days, as I progressed, she will pick a book, read it to me then she would pick certain sentences from it. I would have to listen to her read them, while I wrote them with correct punctuations, proper nouns, etc. As my skills progressed, she began to challenge me by picking words from books I previously read. She would then test me on spelling certain words that she felt could be useful in my writing. In Conclusion, with my fourth grader teachers’ encouragement and advise, I can express my ideas and thoughts on many things. It is an opportunity that has created an advantage to me in my education from then until now. The help of my teacher and my effort has really changed who I am today, because without her willingness and encouragement I wouldn’t have known how I would have improved in reading and writing. With her help since then, I have been able to create a reading habit for myself to my own benefit that helps me in life.