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Short notes on Shakespeare's historical plays
William Shakespeare's Henry vi part i-iii site:123helpme.com
Shakespeare's henry iv part 1 essay
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The Role of the Chorus in Henry V by William Shakespeare The role of the Chorus in the Shakespeare's play, Henry V, is significant. Due to the subject matter that the play deals with, it is hard to present in the way that it deserves. The Chorus helps the audience follow the play by helping them to picture things as they were through the use of imagery. It uses descriptive language in describing events that take place in the play. The Chorus also helps in making the plot of the play flow together better by filling the time lapses that occur between acts due to the fact that the event being depicted in only a few hours actually occurred over several years, leaving some gaps between events. It also explains what happens in an act beforehand because the scenes switch around from place to place, and it can get confusing. The most important function of the Chorus is that it encourages the audience to be patient and reminds them to use their imagination to envision the events that occur in the play, to really imagine the royal courts of England and France, and to really imagine the battle scenes with all the horses and men. The prologue to the beginning of this play calls upon the "Muse" to help present the play. The chorus explains to the audience of the difficulties faced in presenting this play. It is difficult to transform a small stage to represent the English or French Courts, or the battlefield in France. They apologize, telling the audience, "But pardon, gentles all, the flat unraised spirits that hath dared on this unworthy scaffold to bring forth so great an object" (li 8-11). It is difficult to depict the life of King Henry V with all the honor and glory that he deserves when presenting it on the stage. ... ... middle of paper ... ...s. The Chorus has multiple functions in the play. In act I, it set the scene and prepared the audience of what to expect. In act II, the Chorus sets the plot for the conspiracy planned against the King. It also brings out one of the major themes that occurs throughout the play, honor. In act III, help out with the plot using imagery to help the audience to picture events taking place. The prologue to act IV sets the scene up for the battle. The Chorus also gives the audience some insight into the character of Henry V as well. The prologue to the last act fills in the lapse in time that occurred since the battle was won up to the point where Henry returns to France. The Epilogue closes the play with the Chorus reminding the audience that the event depicted is hard to present on stage due to lofty subject matter dealing with such a great man as King Henry V.
I feel that Richard gains our sympathy when he resigns the crown, refuses to read the paper that highlights his crimes, and smashes the mirror, which represents his vanity. In terms of kingship, I interpret the play as an exploration between the contrast with aristocratic pride in the law and the king's omnipotent powers. It also shows the chain reaction on kingship as past events in history determine present
The music makes the audience drawn to feel sympathy and pity when she is preaching her views on death. For instance, a solemn melody is played when Haemon’s corpse is brought to King Creon. Creon grieves by himself as he is overcome with devastation caused by his foolish actions; his emotions are intensified by the sorrowful and sombre background music. The music is able to complement the play, while accentuating the more significant events. The design of the set is the most essential element of the production because it serves as the backdrop for the entire play.
Shakespeare uses the prologue to underscore how drama impact throughout the play. For instance of Shakespeare using prologue as drama impact when chorus says, “ From forth the fatal loins of these two foes/ A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life; /Whose misadventured piteous overthrows/ Do with their death bury their parents' strife” (I.chorus.5-8). The chorus opens up with a prologue announcing that the story's fate controlling lovers die and their deaths reconcile their warring clans. Shakespeare starts the play by telling his audience that the main characters love be controlled by fate and end in tragedy, knowing that the lovers die their every step toward that fate more deeply felt. An additional example of Shakespeare using prologue to create a more dramatic trail is when the chorus says, “As the scene opens, two young Capulet servant swagger across the stage, joking and bragging .When they happen to meet servants from the rival house of Montague, a quarrel begins that grows into an ugly street fight” (I.i.1-3).Shakespeare begin the scene in a dramatic function for the audience to well understand, and for the readers to visually portrait the action in their mind deeply. He begins like this to show the citizens how much fun they are going to obtain from watching, and demonstrate to the readers on how much they can learn and acquire about these feuding families by just reading and paying atte...
To realize the vision of the play, the script, set-up, costumes, stagecraft, sound design, and acting have to communicate a unified message with which the audience will relate. The script will be tailored to ensure that the audience can understand the play as it proceeds. This is in terms of the language and terms used. Though the language will not be modern, it will be English that can be understood by the audience. This will be English of antique England as it will give the play a feeling of ancient times. The scriptwriter will carry out research on the level of understanding the local people will have of ancient English so as to ascertain that the script matches this level. Although many plays of that era were sung and accompanied by dance, this play will be acted out with spoken word rather than songs. This is because speaking will ensure the audience hears the conversations as they go on and that they understand. This is ...
King Henry VIII was born in 1491, and became king in 1509, until his death in 1547. He is probably most known for his six marriages, which he had two of his former wives beheaded. As king, Henry VIII was responsible for separating England from the Roman Catholic Church creating the newly formed Church of England. As a result of this reformation, King Henry VIII discontinued all monasteries serving Rome in England to get rid of all Catholic influences which ultimately led to a new form of church music being written for the Anglican Church. King Henry VIII was a unique king in the sense that he was a strong advocate for the arts especially music. He was a composer, musician, and had a very large court fill with some of the best musicians in Europe. His compositions were some of the most popular songs in England during the Renaissance. He was originally intended to play a major leadership role in the church, but due to the death of his elder brother Arthur he became king. The education and training he received for the church naturally played an enormous role in the daily life in his court. The fact that he was so involved with music really shaped his ideology on what should be the role for the arts in his monarch and how his court should function on a daily basis.
In modern theatres today we do not have a chorus, as it would obscure the view of the play and maybe set the wrong atmosphere as modern audiences are less willing to suspend their disbelief and want things to be as realistic.
In I Henry IV and II Henry IV, William Shakespeare brings together drama and comedy to create two of the most compelling history plays ever written. Many of Shakespeare's other works are nearly absolute in their adherence to either the comic or tragic traditions, but in the two Henry IV plays Shakespeare combines comedy and drama in ways that seem to bring a certain realism to his characters, and thus the plays. The present essay is an examination of the various and significant effects that Shakespeare's comedic scenes have on I Henry IV and II Henry IV. The Diversity of Society
The actions of Hamlet have changed up to the performance. Hamlet's behavior of being mad and depressed changed with the players because they are not involved with his "real" life and feels at ease and at his best, a prince reminding artists of the ideals their art is meant to uphold. The meanings of words have also changed. The meaning of "acting" plays a great role in the performance, not only by the observation of the entire audience, but by a more private and personal meaning or understanding of the play by Hamlet and the King.
Through Theseus’s speech to Hermia, Shakespeare introduces and establishes a central theme that is readily apparent throughout A Midsummer Night’s Dream and he also uses this theme to establish the central mood of the play. Theseus reveals the central theme of the play in the opening act, particularly in the lines being examined, and we see this theme throughout A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It occurs in three different situations and is carried on throughout the rest of the play. Shakespeare also uses this theme to create the mood of the play. In this way the passage spoken by Theseus becomes a pivotal point of the play. It serves as the introduction of the central theme of the play and also as the main device Shakespeare used to set of the mood. Shakespeare uses this passage as a starting point for the direction that the rest of the play will take.
Leadership in William Shakespeare's Henry V. At the time when "Henry V" was written in 1599, England was in chaos. facing many dilemmas and challenges. The country was coming to the end of the Elizabethan era. Queen Elizabeth was in the final years of her reign. and she was getting old, which must be taken into consideration.
Act one scene five is paramount to the play as a whole in creating dramatic effectiveness. Shakespeare has cleverly built up tensions in the initial scenes where he introduces the main themes which are love, hate and rivalry and he gives the audience an insight into the main characters developing intrigue and curiosity leaving the audience wanting to know more. It has become a world-wide story and is very successful, to the extent that it has become a popular play to study. Act one scene five is the most important scene and without it the play would not make any sense. The scenes prior to that are mostly a build up; even if a scene was taken out it would still make sense; but if scene five was taken out it the play would lose its effectiveness.
It makes sense to me to see in this Shakespeare's sense of his own art--both what it can achieve and what it cannot. The theatre--that magical world of poetry, song, illusion, pleasing and threatening apparitions--can, like Prospero's magic, educate us into a better sense of ourselves, into a final acceptance of the world, a state in which we forgive and forget in the interests of the greater human community. The theatre, that is, can reconcile us to the joys of the human community so that we do not destroy our families in a search for righting past evils in a spirit of personal revenge or as crude assertions of our own egos. It can, in a very real sense, help us fully to understand the central Christian commitment to charity, to loving our neighbour as ourselves. The magic here brings about a total reconciliation of all levels of society from sophisticated rulers to semi-human brutes, momentarily holding off Machiavellian deceit, drunken foolishness, and animalistic rebellion--each person, no matter how he has lived, has a place in the magic circle at the end. And no one is asking any awkward questions.
The Chorus is used as an instrument to help the audience to understand and feel Medea’s suffering, and so from this early point in the play, a sympathy is established for Medea because of her tragic circumstances.
The Chorus in the play Oedipus has three basic functions. Firstly, to act as bystanders throughout the play, observing what goes on, reacting and offering opinions at regular intervals throughout the play (e.g. When Oedipus accuses Croon irrationally of conspiring against him, the Chorus says "To one who fears fall, his words seem good; O king, swift counsels are not always safe". In this role they are important to the play as they often offer the voice of reason during moments of heated debate, the voice of fear and confusion during Oedipus' downfall, which seems to mirror the audience's reaction and emotion in many situations throughout the play. The Chorus are also used as a sort of receptive audience for passages of description over what has gone on behind closed doors (e.g. After Jocasta has realised the truth, the second messenger describes the scene inside the palace to the Chorus: "Within the porch, straight to the couch, she rushed, her bridal bed, and tore her hair." ... ...
Aristotle’s fifth point was that of Melody. The Chorus should “be regarded as one of the actors; it should be an integral part of the whole, and share in the action”. In Shakespeare’s works there is often singing in the beginning, or interludes during the performance.