In what way does Romeo Juliet reflect the time in Which It was written and what is its relevance to a modern audience Essay Example For Students

In what way does Romeo Juliet reflect the time in Which It was written and what is its relevance to a modern audience? Essay To look at the time in which this play was written we have to look at the conditions I which it was written. Also we need to consider why it was written. Firstly four hundred years ago there were on electric lights, torches were dangerous and candles were expensive. So Shakespeare wrote most of his plays in public houses where candle light was free in the evening. But the problems with this are that it was a noisy atmosphere and he probably got a little bit drunk. So because of this there may be mistakes that we are unable to prove that they are mistakes. Thou shalt continue two-and-forty hours. Said by Friar Laurence act four, scene one line one hundred and five, is an example of a possible mistake. Forty two hours doesnt fit the time scale of the play, twenty four hours would fit in to the play better. But Shakespeare may not have made such possible mistakes. All of his plays were written just once the actors only had heir lines so they had to learn when to speak carefully. It was only after Shakespeares death that the lines were put together as a whole script. During this process many mistakes could have been made. The theater in which the plays were to be preformed in would reflect the way in which it was written. Before Shakespeares time theaters were mobile moving from town to town. Also before Shakespeares time people had very little leisure time and so theaters were in very little demand. But around four hundred years ago rural urban migration was at a high and people started to have more leisure time. This was the industrial revolution. The first stationary theater was built around the turn of he 17th century. This was the Globe Theater, Shakespeares plays were written especially written because of the conditions that it was to be preformed in. It was a circular building with an open roof, this was because there was no artificial lights and if there were a roof it would be too dark to see what was happening. So the weather and time of day often delayed or canceled the performances. The stage was raised and had no back drops, it had two doors. These were used to show characters entering and leaving scenes. In-between scenes some of the scenery could be changed. Below the stage was space for the lower class audiences. There were quite bad conditions and there were no toilets so people went where they could. This was common, as drinking water was fatal, people drank mild beer instead. So they were often rowdy and had a short attention span. So between acts a chorus would go on stage to recap the story so far. There is an example of this at the start of act two. The chores enters and explains what has happened. This is also a way to show the passing of time and scenery can be changed in this time. Also around the edge of the theater set higher than the stage and the lower class audience was a balcony with seats for the high-class audience. They would have had to pay more to get these seats. On the balcony it would have been easier to see what was happening but it may have been harder to here over the noise from below. Dew to the noisy atmosphere actors repeated some things three times to make sure that the audience heard it. A well-known example of this is in act two, scene two, line thirty-three and said by Juliet. O Romeo, Romeo! Here fore art thou Romeo? Also because the audience surrounds the actors on three sides even if some members of the audience were paying attention they still might not hear what has been said. As their were no back drops, curtains and very few props, things the actors said had to inform the audience what time of day it was and where they were. A good example of this is where Benvolio in act three, scene one lines one and two, says. I pray thee, good Mercutio, lets retire: The day is hot, the capels are abroad, Blood Brothers Coursework Argumentative EssayRomeo and Juliet meet and get married within less than a day. Thinking about it, it doesnt seem to be a good idea. But they didnt think about it. They didnt think about the consequences. This part of the play that Shakespeare made to be about haste and the problems it causes are clearly shown here. They should have thought about what their families and Parises reactions would have been. These emotions as part of a play still attract a modern audience because the audience hasnt chanced, people are still the same and still have the same emotions and experiences. So the play doesnt need to change to have the same effect. Modern up dates of the play using modern language, weapons and places still have the same effect as the original. This is because the plot and themes are still included. Catharsis is some thing that means if you feel like doing something bad, if you see it done you dont want to do it your self, because you find the consequences of what you were going to do with out doing it. And now that you have a better view of what would happen you realize that it isnt worth doing. With this play being a tragedy with lots of people doing wrong the audience may see it and go home feeling better, not wanting to make the same mistakes which happen in the play. This play is very well written and is worth reading but better watched. The plot is quite complex but with the way in which it is written and the order that it is written in makes it understandable. This is a short summary of the plot. On Sunday morning two of the servants of each of the families are walking in the streets of Verona. An unfriendly gesture generates in to a town-sized battle. But the prince arrives and says if theirs any more fighting between the two families then they will pay with their lives. At this point we are introduced to Romeo who is miserable because of Roselyn who he loves but she doesnt love him back. Sunday evening the Capulets are having a party. Romeo, a Montague is eventually persuaded to go to the party, but he only agrees to go to see Roselyn. But while he is there he meets Juliet and finds that she is a Capulet, his only enemy. After the party Romeos friends are teasing him so he climbs over a wall in to an orchid. There he finds Juliet. Here they agree to get married only hours after meeting each other. The next morning Juliet sends her Nurse to ask Romeo when they are getting married. Later that day Friar Laurence marries Romeo and Juliet. Monday afternoon Tybalt kills Mercutio and Romeo kills Tybalt. Because of this Romeo is banished. But that night he amongst other things sleeps with Juliet and leaves Vern for Mantua. On Tuesday morning old Capulet asks if Juliet will marry Paris, but when she says no he says if she doesnt marry Paris she is no longer welcome in his home. At this Juliet goes to see what the Friar can do. Here he explains his plan that she will drink a potion that will make her sleep for forty-two hours. And in that time he will send a message to Romeo explaining that Juliet is in a deep sleep and to come and collect her when she wakes up. The plan works but when Friar John doesnt manage to get the message to Romeo things start to go wrong. Romeo gets a message from a friend telling him that Juliet is dead. Romeo goes to Juliets tomb with a poison but Paris is guarding the tomb so Romeo kills him to get to Juliet. Here he drinks the poison and kills himself. Juliet wakes up and finding Romeo dead she kills herself to be with him. Because of Romeo and Juliet death the Capulets and the Muntagues agree to peace. This is a very satisfying play and one of Shakespeares best in my opinion. I preferred a modern version of the play because it was set in a modern city it made the play easier to understand and relate to modern society.

Len Bias free essay sample

In one day all of one man’s dreams came true, and in one night all those dreams came spiraling down with a silent crash. I think about his friends with whom he spent his last hours with, and the nightmares that must have followed after helplessly watching their friend die at their feet. I think about his family who lost so much good fortune and, more importantly, a nephew, a cousin, a brother, and a son. I also think about the game of basketball. It lost a great player that day. Some believe he was going to be it’s greatest yet. Len Bias was the greatest player to never play the game, it’s brightest star to never shine. Cocaine had, once again, robbed the world of a truly one of a kind treasure. There has been a bit of poetic justice to come from this story, however. Bias’ mother has told stories of people who have randomly come up to her at the market or in the street telling her of how her son’s death has helped them kick their cocaine addiction. We will write a custom essay sample on Len Bias or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Seeing as how the story was told all over the nation, it wasn’t just locals who responded to it in this way. I have been affected by this story in a similar way. Len Bias is the sole reason I have never tried cocaine. Of course it’s very rare for a young athlete like myself to have a heart attack from drugs. Bias was definitely an exception, but he was not the rule. It goes deeper than fatality statistics for me, though. The death on Len Bias showed me that everything a human being has worked for could be stripped away in an instant with the involvement of drugs. For example, there’s the similar story of Earl â€Å"The G. O. A. T. † Manigault, who was deemed one of the greatest basketball players New York has ever seen but never reached his full potential because of a heavy heroin addiction. Unlike Bias, Manigault is still alive today. However, he is nowhere near being in the position he could’ve been in had he not picked up his drug habit. We’re talking about a possible difference of 20 million dollars! There’s no drug on earth worth making that sacrifice for in my opinion.

Muhaug essays

Muhaug essays There is Nothing Wrong with Mu Huang During the late 1990s a new product was born. In an age that more than 40 million people in the United States are considered obese, a shining light of hope was seen (Obesity-A National Epidemic). A new craze of overnight results seemed to take over the television and magazine ads. Hundreds of before and after pictures backed up the overnight claims. They depicted everyone from weight lifters wanting to shred unwanted fat, to common house moms wanting a new look. This shining light was an herb called Mu Huang that was discovered by the Chinese decades ago (Ephedra is an Herb). Mu Huang extract was started to be used in dietary supplements, spiking the metabolism into burning more fat without the traditional amount of exercise. This shining light didnt come without its risks. In the years to come Mu Huang would be blamed for a rash of untimely deaths. These untimely deaths eventually contributed to the ban in early 2004. If you are a healthy individual, taking Mu Huang extract e ven with its risks would have been better for you in the long run so is shouldnt have been banned. Mu Huang (more commonly referred to as Ephedrine, or Ephedra) seemed to be the new age caffeine. There also seemed to be another use for the product aside from burning fat. Since it seemed to out match caffeine as a pick-me-up, Ephedrine was used in products such as Stackers and Yellow Jackets. A lot of people also noticed that with the pick up they were just generally happier. So it wasnt uncommon to hear them referred to as happy pills. There seemed to be no limitations to the uses of this product. The biggest drive for the Ephedrine uptake to the American society is the fact that second only to smoking, obesity is the leading killer of people in the United States (Obesity-A National Epidemic). It is easy to understand how this can happen. If you go to th...

Should the SAT be Use to Evaluate Student Application for Ad essays

Should the SAT be Use to Evaluate Student Application for Ad essays Throughout their years in high school, students carry anxiety and heavy burden on their backs over the supposedly, most important test of their life time, the SAT. The test is known as Americas oldest and most widely used college entrance exam. It is composed of two sections, Verbal and Math, each scored on a 200-800 point scale. The test questions are almost exclusively multiple-choice... as stated in article, Gender Bias in College Admissions Tests. The result of this test will determine their future and as well as alter their goals. They avidly study, spending hundreds and thousands of dollars cumulatively to prepare for the test. Brain Doherty, in his article Those Who Cant, Test, states ...last year 35,000 kids paid the nationwide coaching service almost $26 million to learn how to beat the standardized test. SAT preparation programs such as Kaplan or Princeton Review flourish as more and more students realize the need to do well in order to gain acceptance into a good co llege. Today, the SAT exams are so overrated that the test preparation industry blossomed. Furthermore, the real purpose of the SAT test has completely been hidden under many thick layers of misconceptions. The SAT test no longer measure intelligences but rather how much time and money the individual spent in preparation. The purpose of the SAT has evolved much over time and has lost its meaning and fairness altogether-it has deviated over time and it does not test all the knowledge a person has; thus the UC school system, along with other colleges should not evaluate student applications for admission based on their SAT scores. The SAT was created to give equal opportunities for an education to all people, but unfortunately, in the world today, the purpose of the SAT has deviated. During the early days, only members of the elite class were given a chance for proper educa...

Poetics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Poetics - Essay Example While he stresses the importance of action in tragedy, he claims that it is the plot which is the most important thing in the genre. One of the implications of Aristotle's Poetics is that for a tragedy to achieve its full impact, it must employ powerful rhetorical composition. In effect it requires an embellishment of language in order to deliver the intensity of emotion it has beforehand planned on exhibiting to achieve its purpose. Aristotle differentiates between the four kinds of Tragedy according to motive - Complex, Pathetic, Ethical and Simple - categorizing Prometheus Bound as Simple. Attributed to Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound is worthy of imitation by society because of the relevance of its content to Western history and civilization. Literature and history reveal that both Aeschylus and Aristotle highlight the importance of justice in political thinking. This emphasis on justice is undoubtedly evident in Prometheus Bound. Aeschylus' play is a prolonged metaphor epitomizing the complexities in a society, describing the struggle of a common citizen against a restrictive environment. Written circa 430 B.C.E., the Greek tragedy is based on the myth of a titan who was punished by Zeus for conferring to mortals the gift of fire. Bound to a rock by his friend Hephaestus, Prometheus calls on nature to witness his suffering. The Chorus of Oceanid comes down on winged chariots to hear his story and expresses sympathy. Oceanus alights to ask Prometheus to stop provoking the ire of Zeus but Prometheus continues to openly criticize Zeus despite her warning. Such audacity is admirable. In one instance, Hermes threatens Prometheus of a storm that will send him away if he does not reveal the identity of Zeus' son's mother who he predicts to topple Zeus. Despite everyone's advice for him to yield, Prometheus remains firm about keeping the information to himself. An allegory of humanity's conflict with the way of nature, the story emphasizes rebellion against an authority possessing an all-encompassing power and injustice. More than being a depiction of nature and society, it is also tackles agreement and diplomacy. Here, Prometheus is said to possess foresight through which he predicts the overthrow of Zeus by the latter's own son. He makes known to everyone his sacrifice in order to tell the truth about Zeus. He speaks of an offspring who will take away Zeus' throne and will be many times mightier than Zeus himself. His perception of self is that of a hero who is punished for speaking the unspeakable but speaks, nonetheless, what he believes is the truth. Aeschylus presents his character Prometheus as someone who is obsessed with humanity and helping people and society develop. In the play, he teaches mortals agriculture, language, mathematics, raising animals, medicine and even divination. Prometheus is aware of his role and influence in human civilization and thus demonstrates pride, triggering objection from humanity. Aeschylus' creation of Prometheus as a rebel does not happen suddenly but instead, in gradual progression. At first, Prometheus is open to reconciliation with Zeus. This is manifested by his utterance of prophecies that Zeus will set him free and befriend him because of his ability to predict occurrences. However, when Io comes into the picture and Prometheus sees the injustice done to her by Zeus, he becomes more enraged. The sight of Io turns Prometheus into a fearless rebel. Toward the end, Prometheus rema

AT&T Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

AT&T - Essay Example The platform features cost-savings, convenient online account management tools as well as 24/7 technical support and help to the companies. This has attracted a wide pool of companies thereby increasing their customer base thus assuring AT&T huge profits for the foreseeable future. Secondly, the company engages in mergers and acquisitions. For instance, it recently assented to acquire 49 Advanced Wireless services. This has the potential of extending the coverage by more than 50 million people in 14 states (seekingalpha.com). This will add the company’s spectrum thereby increasing its ability to meet the ever-increasing mobile Internet services’ demand. AT&T Inc. will be able to roll out its network in new markets thus increasing business. Lastly, AT&T Inc. is undergoing migration from TDM to IP. This will ensure reliable broadband Internet thereby improving data security and business continuity (forbes.com). According to John Donovan, a senior VP at AT&T, this migration will increase business because a greater amount of enterprise customers are adopting fiber and IP-based services. The device financing initiatives of AT&T also appear to be booming with subscribers and hence should increase business by improving

Why did the majority of Germans conform to Nazi rule Essay Example for Free

Why did the majority of Germans conform to Nazi rule Essay The majority of German citizens conformed to Nazi rule because of the dual positive and negative pressures exerted by the regime. The Nazis designed and aggressively propagated a programme likely to be attractive to most of the community and backed this up with an apparatus of terror to silence those not convinced. The successes of the party within the country assured widespread support. Hitlers foreign policy, that overturned the Treaty of Versailles and secured Germany a great deal of territory even before the war, garnered him unparalleled popularity. The few opposition groups, and those groups targeted by Nazi ideology, were sent to concentration camps and a vigorous secret police assured that no opposition, especially not vocal, remained in Germany for long. Even when the atrocities of the Nazis became somewhat known Germans continued to conform to Nazi rule, primarily as a result of the anti-Semitism and bigotry prevalent in German society, effectively fostered by the Nazis. Finally, the Hitler myth is vital in understanding why the majority of Germans conformed to the rule of the regime. The contrast between Nazi rule and that of the Weimar Government that preceded it is vital in understanding why the majority of Germans conformed to Nazi rule. Gellately describes how many Germans believed that the liberal Weimar Republic was a degenerate society, and that their country was on the road to ruin. Newspapers were filled with stories regarding crime, drugs, murder and the activities of organized gangs. Crime had risen steadily between 1927 and 1932, the rate of some crimes in large cities almost doubling. The death penalty, a popular punishment, was bestowed 1141 times from 1919 to 1932, of which only 184 were executed, a figure which infuriated many German citizens. Hitler and his party, on the other hand, promised to restore some semblance of the normality for which they [the majority of Germans] longed (Gellately). Hitler gave the police far greater powers than they had had previously, which they immediately began exercising even petty criminals such as swindlers an d con-artists were sent to concentration camps without trial. Death sentences under Hitler increased in number and 80% were actually carried out, a huge increase from Weimars 16%. Exaggerated stories of crime and punishment were sent to the press so often that they became constituent parts of Nazi mythology (Gellately). The Nazi  partys emphasis on the rebuilding of the German state, an idea spread primarily through propaganda, was exceedingly popular. The Nazis also linked crime to Jews, homosexuals and gypsies, which heightened the homophobia and anti-Semitism already prevalent in German society, which meant that the more radical aspects of Nazi ideology were more accepted in society. The image of Hitler as a radical proponent of cleaning up the streets, banishing offenders, and purifying the race and the stories about swift justice all fuelled [the] populist myths about the regime as a crime fighter, and thus earned it considerable support (Gellately), which helps explain why the majority of Germans conformed to the Nazi regime. The domestic policy of the Nazi party was closely related to its foreign policy, which provided successes that are even more important in understanding why the majority of Germans conformed to Nazi rule. The majority of Germany believed that the Treaty of Versailles was a great injustice, and many, including Hitler, believed Germany had only lost because the army had been stabbed in the back by the Jews and politicians of Germany. After Hitler assumed complete power over Germany the clauses of the Treaty of Versailles were overturned one by one, and each was greeted with overwhelming public support of Hitlers actions. In 1934 Hitler publicly announced that the German army, limited to 100 000 by the treaty, had already expanded to 240 000 and would grow to 550 000 in less than three years. At the same time he made public the existence of a German air force, forbidden under the terms of Versailles. In 1936, while France had no government in control, Hitler ordered German troops to march into the demilitarized Rhineland. Next, in October 1939, German reoccupied first the Sudetenland and then, in a surprise tank invasion, the rest of Czechoslovakia in March 1939. These bloodless successes overjoyed the German populace, as shown by the wild, enthusiastic crowd scenes seen around Germany after each foreign policy success. The outbreak of war brought even greater success. Quickly defeating both Poland and France, and beating Britain back to her Island, then pushing far into Russian territory, the Nazi Government appeared to be well on the way to completely dominating the continent. Now at the peak of its power, the vast majority of Germans not only conformed to Nazi rule but actively supported it. Almost all youth,  male and female, were enrolled in Hitler Youth, as the competing youth associations (even the illegal gangs) had been removed, their leaders sent to concentration camps. Unemployment was essentially nil, with the German army and Germans arm production assuring employment for anyone that wanted it. The SPD (Social Democrats) in exile sent agents to gauge popular opinion and found that the Nazis were almost uniformly supported throughout the country. Apart from the domestic and foreign policy success of the regime, the use of terror in Nazi society is also important in understanding why the majority of Germans conformed to Nazi rule. The orthodox view of the role of the Gestapo, represented by such historians as Jackel and Hillgrà ¼ber, is that the German secret policy pervaded every aspect of society, and that most Germans were so afraid of being arrested and interrogated that they were terrorized into submission. Recent research, however, has proven this judgment false. The terror was not the blanket, indiscriminate terror of popular myth (Johnson). In the Cologne region, for example, the Gestapo had only one officer for every 10 000 to 15 000 inhabitants (according to Johnson). Nazi terror was instead targeted only at opposition groups and those condemned by Nazi ideology. When an average, non-Jewish, heterosexual German was under Gestapo scrutiny, they were generally treated leniently and almost never punished. When a Jew o r opposition of the state was interrogated, however, they were treated brutally and almost always sent to a concentration camp. The majority of Germans did not conform to Nazi rule because of the terror instilled by the Gestapo; they conformed because of the attractions of the regime as shown by its domestic and foreign policy success. On the other hand, the minority groups that were either targeted by Nazi ideology and those that were not won over by success were actually forced to conform to Nazi rule. The minority groups were primarily uncovered, according to both Johnson and Gellately, through denunciations. Many ordinary Germans were so won over by Nazi ideology that they would report to the Gestapo any suspicious behaviour, such as homosexuality or sympathy for the plight of the Jews. In fact, almost anyone who did not openly support the regime was denounced by at least one neighbour. This made the Gestapo a highly effective unit, despite its small numbers, when  tracking down ideological enemies of the state. The Gestapo also proved highly effective in tracking down more serious opponents of the state. Through forced confessions, reports from informers and paid spies, house searchers, police raids, information supplied by Nazi Party officials, SS and SA storm troopers, and police auxiliaries, long-existing police registers of political opponents and known criminals, and other official sources (Gellately) the Gestapo tracked down and removed all serious opposition to the Nazi regime. In this way the Gestapo is vital to an understanding of why the majority of Germans conformed to Nazi rule because those few who might harbor doubts about the regime could never voice them for fear of persecution. The most dubious elements of Nazi policy the systematic murder of huge numbers of people based on race or sexual preference were grounded in deep-seated prejudices that proliferated German society. The prejudice against homosexuality was extremely, so it is not a stretch of credibility to surmise that many Germans supported the imprisonment of confirmed homosexuals. Hitlers advertisement of Rà ¶hms sexuality as justification for his murder is indicative of the strength of homophobia in Germany. Anti-Semitism in Germany (indeed, Europe) stretches back well over a thousand years. Again, it seems certain that most of the German population would have personally approved, to varying levels, of the persecution of the Jews. This is not to say that the majority of Germans supported the Nazi atrocities, but that the majority of Germans supported the principle of discrimination (if not the extremes to which it was carried). While virtually all balked when presented with Nazi war crimes (although Kershaw argues that the systematic gassing programme was largely unknown, not all can have been sincere given the direct participation of Germans in many parts of the process), the principle behind the killings was appreciated by many Germans. By building on existing prejudices that Nazis ensured that most Germans could find something to support in Nazi ideology. Finally, one of the most important factors in explaining German conformity is in the foundation of the Nazis unity the most stunning propaganda success the regime enjoyed, the establishment of the Hitler myth. This propaganda  helped create a population that did not just conform, but willingly conformed. Kershaw argues that while ultimately most of Nazi propaganda failed in their objectives, Goebbels succeeded in depicting Hitler as a dynamic, active, visionary leader who would lead Germany to greatness. Kershaw states that Hitler was seen as the representative of popular justice, the voice of the healthy sentiment of the people, the upholder of public morality, the embodiment of strong, if necessarily ruthless, action against the enemies of the people to enforce law and order'. Before the war Hitler was portrayed as both a statesmen and as the future military leader, taking muster of his armed forces (Kershaw). When the war began this image was broadened and the image of Hitler as supreme war leader and military strategist came to dominate all other components of the Fà ¼hrer myth'. The decline of the Hitler myth followed the military reversals of the war, when the population realised Hitlers personal responsibility for the catastrophe of Stalingrad. But until then the myth formed a significant part of the reasons why Germans conformed to Nazi rule. Accompanied by the early successes of the Nazi regime, this created a very persuasive regime regardless of the attractiveness of its ideology. Without an attractive ideology, a majority of Germans would have willingly conformed to Nazi rule at least as long as they didnt have to make sacrifices to do so. Combined with the Nazi ideology, which was attractive to a broad cross-section of Germany, the high level of conformity exhibited in Nazi Germany does not seem remarkable. Germans conformed to Nazi rule primarily because of the regimes initial domestic and foreign policy success, and the success of the establishment of the Hitler myth. Those groups who either opposed the regime or were targeted by Nazi ideology had little impact on the overall support of the party because they were silenced by the highly-effective Gestapo.