Laurence Olivier Essays

  • Comparing the Presentation of War in the Oliver and Branagh Film Versions of Henry the Fifth

    2289 Words  | 5 Pages

    Comparing the Presentation of War in the Oliver and Branagh Film Versions of Henry the Fifth Many films have been made of Shakespeare’s play, “Henry V”. The two I am analysing are by Laurence Olivier (1944) and Kenneth Branagh (1988). They are made for very different audiences with different aims. Although they seem very different, in some ways, Branagh’s version used many techniques of Olivier’s. Both productions were performed to communicate the director’s feelings on war to the audience

  • Hamlet´s Soliloquy Through the Years

    1133 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hamlet, has had his famous soliloquy, “To be or not to be”(III.i.56), reproduced in a variety of tones throughout history. Specifically, there have been three persistent tones that have been in the majority of the soliloquy’s vast interpretations. In Laurence Olivier’s, Hamlet (1948), Hamlet is portrayed as a confused, lost character that ponders some of life’s toughest questions. Mel Gibson’s 1990 version of Hamlet depicts Hamlet as a dark, reticent character who only speaks in a dismal way. Finally

  • Henry V Henry V Comparison

    2706 Words  | 6 Pages

    just what that entails changes over time. The way the play is presented and how Henry is characterized and portrayed has also changed over time. Nowhere are these changes more visibly present than in the three best known adaptations of the play, Laurence Olivier’s 1944 film Henry V, Kenneth Branagh’s 1989 film Henry V, and the 2012 version of Henry V that was featured as the final part of the BBC miniseries known as The Hollow Crown, with the Henry V episode being directed by theatre director Thea

  • Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye

    568 Words  | 2 Pages

    Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye From the first moment Holden Caulfield speaks in The Catcher in the Rye, he makes his personality obvious. While he is witty, passionate and honest, he is also troubled and lonely. Holden longs to find his place in the world and connect with other people. Ironically, however, his search for belonging leaves him more confused than ever. Consequently, he develops a psychological condition that can easily be considered a result of his fear and critique

  • Sir Laurence Olivier's Richard III versus Ian McKellan's Richard III

    935 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sir Laurence Olivier's Richard III versus Ian McKellan's Richard III INTRODUCTION It seems that modern Hollywood filmmakers are as much in love with Shakespeare's plays as were the 16th century audiences who first enjoyed them. Recent updates of Hamlet (1996) and Romeo and Juliet (1996), both highly successful movies, bear this out, as well as the two best film versions of Richard III; Sir Laurence Olivier's 1954 "period piece", and Ian McKellan's more modern interpretation (1995). In McKellan's

  • Wuthering Heights: From Book to Movie

    990 Words  | 2 Pages

    A movie or book is often considered a classic if it has been able to withstand time and remain an interest to others even if it was produced or written decades before one’s birth. Overall, there are many books and movies that are considered classics and have been enjoyed throughout the years. Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights is no exception to this rule. Over many years, there have been several versions of this book made into film. However, the first account of this movie was made in 1939 as a black-and-white

  • Macbeth: How Money Killed Essay

    735 Words  | 2 Pages

    Macbeth: How Money Killed           Many of our friends at Wall Street have serious heart problems; some of them even die years before they should because of the stress that is brought on by the money and greed of Wall Street.  Money is also evident as a health risk in Macbeth and The Merchant of Venice, both written by William Shakespeare.  On Wall Street people are driven by the greed of the people they represent, their own greed, and a

  • Essay on Falstaff in Henry IV Part I

    2514 Words  | 6 Pages

    The Character of Falstaff in Henry IV Part I In Henry IV Part I, Shakespeare presents a collection of traditional heroes. Hotspur’s laudable valor, King Henry’s militaristic reign, and Hal’s princely transformation echo the socially extolled values of the Elizabethean male. Molding themselves after societal standards, these flat characters contrast Sir John Falstaff’s round, spirited personality. Through Falstaff’s unorthodox behavior and flagrant disregard for cultural traditions, Shakespeare

  • King Lear Cathartic Moment Essay

    1847 Words  | 4 Pages

    Moments of 'Emotional outpouring ' (cathartic moments) are crucial to both tragedies because they communicate to an audience 's feelings of emotion and of sympathy for Shakespeare 's character. The become an Humanizing moments, when the protagonist is not seen as emotional but rather just a flaw that is moving the on until that cathartic moment. Initially, King Lear appears to be a strong ruler, a monarch who has decided to divide kingdom. This is crucial because this would make the audience perceive

  • Comparison Of Men And Women In King Lear And Othello

    1706 Words  | 4 Pages

    The men and women presented in Shakespeare’s plays King Lear and Othello both differ and are similar in various ways. Shakespeare adheres to many contemporary stereotypes of how men and women should or should not have acted in the Jacobean era. Gender is of great significance in his plays as the society of the Jacobean era was patriarchal, therefore it comes as no surprise that men and women are presented differently. Women have often been associated with weakness or inferior intelligence. According

  • Rhetorical Devices In Othello Essay

    1273 Words  | 3 Pages

    William Shakespeare uses language as the subject and medium of his plays. One truly sees the power of words and their delivery, along with the tremendous effect that they can have on people within the plays Othello and Henry V. Shakespeare’s characters, Iago and King Henry, use rhetoric devices to stimulate the other characters and shape the plot of the play. King Henry, who acts as the protagonist of the play, adjusts his feelings and speech patterns to increase the level of receptiveness from his

  • Quicken In Othello

    1163 Words  | 3 Pages

    Just like Cordelia in King Lear, there is a sense that forces in the play conspire against Desdemona, so that her death becomes an inevitable outcome of momentum of the play. Othello speaks ‘the plague [of] great ones’ (3.3.314) which seems to pertain to great Shakespearean protagonists: ’Tis destiny unshunnable, like death. Even then this forked plague is fated to us When we do quicken (3.3.316). Here, Othello seems to perceive the impetus of the play driving forward to its climax and end – one

  • Themes of love and lust in Shakespeare’s Othello and The Merchant of Venice

    934 Words  | 2 Pages

    Vast numbers of Shakespeare’s works allude to a common theme of either love or lust. These themes, conveyed in the stories, are either ambiguous or blatant. Shakespeare presents such themes in countless works to generate a connection with his audience who have experienced what it means to love and to lust. Nevertheless, some plays epitomize these themes better than others do. Shakespeare’s Othello and The Merchant of Venice both provide comprehensive and flawless evidence of the themes of love and

  • William Shakespeare's Henry IV

    1366 Words  | 3 Pages

    Identify and discuss the two issues with which you feel William Shakespeare is asking his audience to wrestle with most in Henry IV, Part I. As you develop this response, comment on Shakespeare’s refusal to match any of his questions with essay answers. Comment also on the immediate relevance of these issues to those of our own day. One of the great issues of Henry IV, Part I is summed up, but hardly concluded, by Sir John Falstaff at the end of the first scene in Act V. Falstaff, fearful of the

  • Book Review Of King Lear

    848 Words  | 2 Pages

    The book review of King Lear King Lear is one of Shakespeare’s famous tragedies .Lear, the aging king of Britain, decides to step down from the throne and he decides to divide his kingdom evenly among his three daughters. Firstly, however, he puts his daughters go through a test which asks each of them to tell him how much she loves him. Goneril and Regan, Lear’s older daughters, give their father flattering answers and make the old king very cheerful. But Cordelia, Lear’s youngest and favorite daughter

  • Failure In Othello's Failure

    1264 Words  | 3 Pages

    least. To contribute to his overall vulnerability, Hamlet continues to make rash decisions without getting the facts. From killing Polonius to eventually causing the deaths of the entire royal family, Hamlet shows his friends and subordinates that he makes his choices based on his emotions. This ignorance and overall weakness becomes the layout for all of Hamlets choices, thus eventually leading him to his own demise. Next, Othello 's ignorance and overall poor decision making shows just how

  • Unity Of Place In King Lear Essay

    1380 Words  | 3 Pages

    Much alike unity of time, unity of place was not explicitly defined within Poetics. In fact, Aristotle made no direct mention to unity of place. Instead it was an interpretation established by French and Italian classical dramatists in the sixteenth century (“Unities.”). It most likely arose due to limitations in creating representations of multiple locations in early theatre. It was clearer to confine the action to one setting. In theory, unity of place will concentrate the tragic effect, as all

  • A Modern Version of Romeo and Juliet

    651 Words  | 2 Pages

    mentioned above was not abused by the friar. It was used by Juliet with the Friar's consent. Therefore, neither the Friar nor Juliet can be charged witrh substances abuse. Therefore, with my above arguments, it is clear that my client, Friar Laurence should be cleared of all all charges against him.

  • A Parody In Othello

    1179 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to The Merriam-Webster dictionary, a parody is defined as “a piece of writing, music, etc., that imitates the style of someone or something else in an amusing way”. Despite this, a parody can also be used as recognition towards the original writer to appreciate a piece of work. Incorporated into Ann-Marie MacDonald’s modern drama “Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet), are two of Shakespeare’s remarkable tragedies “Othello” and “Romeo and Juliet”. MacDonald uses the two tragedies

  • The Consequences of Avarice

    1824 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout history, the human race seems to be driven by greed and controlled by the obsession of obtaining power. In fact, greed, at times leads specific individuals in history to become power hungry; in their search for power, their greed is usually never satisfied and their journey carries them through an unfortunate trail to unhappiness, isolation, and betrayal. Leaders in history like Hitler, Napolean, Machiavelli, and Richard Nixon showed great potential to be positively influential, but their