Opening Speech Essays

  • Faustus' Study and Opening Speech

    3582 Words  | 8 Pages

    Faustus' Study and Opening Speech The scene now shifts to Faustus’s study, and Faustus’s opening speech about the various fields of scholarship reflects the academic setting of the scene. In proceeding through the various intellectual disciplines and citing authorities for each, he is following the dictates of medieval scholarship, which held that learning was based on the authority of the wise rather than on experimentation and new ideas. This soliloquy, then, marks Faustus’s rejection of this

  • Alferi's Opening Speech

    1932 Words  | 4 Pages

    English Coursework A view From the Bridge-Arthur Miller -Discuss the ways in which Alferi’s opening speech prepares the audience for what is to come in the play A View from The Bridge. Arthur Miller was born on October 17th,1915 in new York city with both of his parents being immigrants into the united States. His father’s success with his clothing manufacturing business made the family live well untill the American economy collasped and Arthur Miller had to be employed as a warehouseman

  • How does the language and stage directions of this section reveal the

    1158 Words  | 3 Pages

    characters. How far does the section prepare the audience for what is about to happen? From the opening stage directions you get a very clear indication of what Miller is trying to show about Eddie. His flat is described as clean, sparse and homely. The use of a phone box in the set is relevant as the audience can expect it to be used in an important way in the future. After Alfieri’s opening speech there are hints that all is not right and this leads the audience to think about the future. “A

  • Richard of Glouster

    1291 Words  | 3 Pages

    the crown? Shakespeare depicts Edward and Clarence as far more worthy of the crown. They possess traits of a King which Richard does not possess. Richard states in his opening speech “Unless to spy my shadow in the sun/And descant on mine own deformity./ And therefore since I cannot prove a lover'; (1.1.26-28). In this speech Richard admits he cannot be a lover because he is ugly with deformity. This imperfectness does not fit the perfect qualities known to Kings. His brothers, on the other

  • The Power of Women in Richard III

    1485 Words  | 3 Pages

    through their own discourse of religion and superstition. In the opening speech of Act 1, Scene 2, Lines 1-30 Lady Anne orients the reader to the crucial political context of the play and the metaphysical issues contained within it (Greenblatt, 509). Lady Anne curses her foes, using strong language to indicate her authority. She speaks in blank verse, by which she utilizes imagery to emphasize her emotions and reinforce her pleas. Her speech clearly illustrates the distinction between the submissive female

  • Eumenides - Importance of Gender in Aeschylus' Oresteia

    3666 Words  | 8 Pages

    itself in terms of gender by focusing on the Eumenides' exploration of the myth of matriarchy, issues of the conflict between oikos and polis and the use of speech within the polis. I will then look at how these themes are brought together in the trial and the play provides an image of resolution. Many of these issues are set up in the opening speech of the priestess Pythia as already resolved and are then reconfirmed by the trial itself and closing images order. The myth of matriarchy, despite

  • Animality and Darkness in Othello

    1043 Words  | 3 Pages

    hate him as I do hell-pains' in contrast to Desdemona, (or even the early Othello),'Not to pick bad from bad, but by bad mend.' Animality and darkness can be clearly seen in the character and more specifically the language of Iago. From the very opening of the play, curses and language which intone hate fall easily from his lips. His enigmatic declaration that 'I am not what I am' is preceded by the disturbing image that when he is sincere 'I will wear my heart upon my sleeve/For daws to peck at

  • Comparing Rosalynde and As You Like It

    745 Words  | 2 Pages

    a celebration of love; As You Like It, a philosophical discourse on love.. Shakespeare cuts to the chase, eliminating much of the prologue to Rosalynde. We hear of old Sir Roland de Boys (Lodge's John of Bordeaux) only through Orlando's opening speech, not the extended deathbed collection of aphorisms Lodge provides (though this shade of Polonius perhaps influences old Adam's long-winded style). Likewise, the extended ruminations are cut entirely or, for the forest scenes, condensed into tighter

  • The play A View from the Bridge is set in the 1940’s in a place called

    885 Words  | 2 Pages

    He speaks directly to the audience and he reminds the audience of things that have happened in the play, plus he is also a character involved in the action of the play. Alfieri introduces the themes that run through the play. In Alfieri’s opening speech he uses the words “watched it run its bloody course” as if he knows something bad is going to take place in the play, a tragedy. Alfieri also points out that there is a difference between the modern American law and the ancient law of the Sicilian

  • Effective Use of Dialogue in The Sacrifice of Isaac

    1488 Words  | 3 Pages

    The which I love not halffe so well. This fayer swet child, he schereys me soo . Now cum on, Isaac, my owyn swet child;. Cume on, swete child. I love thee best Of all the children that I ever begat. It appears that this opening speech by Abraham is designed to induce the audience to think ahead to God's demand, by offering them a view of Abraham's love for Isaac, and Isaac's fitness as a son. ... ... middle of paper ... ...ng through with the sacrifice. It becomes

  • Fantasy vs. Reality in A Midsummer Night's Dream

    1040 Words  | 3 Pages

    the civilized Greek world, to the periphery" (Borey 1). The impending marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta is an illustration of this so-called civilized world in which one is required to set aside emotions and do what is expected. In his opening speech, Theseus expresses his eagerness for his wedding day to arrive. Now, fair Hippolyta, our nuptial hour Draws on apace. Four happy days bring in Another moon; but, O, methinks, how slow This old moon wanes! She lingers my desires

  • Dr. Faustus Essay: Satirizing Renaissance Humanism

    758 Words  | 2 Pages

    prevalent Christian ideal of innate corruption and withdrawal from the present, flawed world in anticipation of heaven. (p. 83) The character of Faustus is reasoning and very aware of the moral (or immoral) status of what he is undertaking. His opening speech is devoted to working out logically why he is willing to sacrifice both the road to honest knowledge and his soul in favor of more power. (I, 1-63) He exhibits, in his search for power, anything but animal passion; he indeed exhibits a chilling

  • Dr Faustus - Ambition

    1258 Words  | 3 Pages

    holds himself in high regard is that he refers to himself in the third person, also shown in the above quote. Faustus’ discusses beliefs that he will no longer hold and describes what he wants to achieve in his opening soliloquy. Faustus may be seen as blasphemous in the opening speech, implying that he would only be a doctor if he could be equal to God, (lines24-6) ‘Couldst thou make men live eternally Or, being dead raise them to life again, Then this profession were to be esteemed.’ This

  • A View From the Bridge

    3444 Words  | 7 Pages

    him to fight Eddie. Eddie’s limited understanding of what it means to be a man becomes damaged and challenged during the play, he responds terribly to these and doesn’t approve when other men do not act as he believes men should. In Alfieri’s opening speech he makes it clear that something bad is about to occur. He says ‘Sat there as powerless as I, and watched it run its bloody course. This one’s name was Eddie Carbone…’ This makes it clear that Eddie too is to follow the fate that something bad

  • Merchant of Venice Essay: The Depression of Antonio

    1651 Words  | 4 Pages

      Antonio is a fascinating character study when it comes to psychology because he is such a sad but noble character.  He is world-weary and life's material things do not bring him joy.  He is also confused about his sadness.  As he says in the opening speech of the play, "In sooth, I know not why I an so sad:/It wearies me; you say it wearies you;/But how I caught it, found it, or came by it,/What stuff 'tis made of, whereof it is born, I am to learn;/And such a want-wit sadness makes of me/That I

  • Antony and Cleopatra

    2435 Words  | 5 Pages

    how Shakespeare uses imagery to describe Antony and his world of Rome, and Cleopatra and her world of Egypt, it is necessary to look at how he breathes life into their larger than life personalities by the use of powerful, vivid language. The opening speech raises the audiences’ awareness of the Roman view towards Antony and Cleopatra’s relationship. “You shall see him The triple pillar of the world transformed into a strumpet’s fool,” which ultimately means that Antony is Cleopatra’s jester, that

  • A Feminist Analysis of Cloud Nine

    2146 Words  | 5 Pages

    (Bryant-Bertail, 1). In the first act of the play, several references are made that allude to the economic power being held by the men. The play opens with the line “Come gather, sons of England, come gather in your pride” (Churchill, 810) and in Clive’s opening speech he makes several fatherly references; “I am father to the natives here, and father to my family so dear” (810). In the next song the line “The forge of war shall weld the chains of brotherhood secure” (810) can be found. It is interesting to also

  • Analysis of Shakespeare's The Tempest - Effective Use of the Cliffhanger

    961 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Tempest:  Effective Use of the Cliffhanger The first scene of The Tempest is unlike most of the openings in Shakespeare's plays, in that includes quite a bit of action. Instead of properly introducing some of the main characters, or setting up an important plot strand, this opening scene appears to be only an attention-grabbing device. This statement can be made quite justifiably, due to the fact that all the events of Act 1 Scene 1 are recounted in the following scene, in the conversations

  • Comparing Macbeth, Hamlet, and Othello

    2755 Words  | 6 Pages

    appropriate to tragedy and how he applied them to his plays. The opening of the play is significant because it sets the scene and the preceding atmosphere. When looking at the start of many of Shakespeare’s plays the audience generally discovers the protagonist by other characters. The audience also become aware of where the play is performed, together with important events contained in the play’s plot. In order to compose the openings of the plays it is necessary to examine the way in which Shakespeare

  • Thomas Bateman: A Derbyshire Antiquary

    803 Words  | 2 Pages

    Thomas Bateman: A Derbyshire Antiquary Thomas Bateman was born in 1821 at Rowsley, in the Derbyshire Peak District. His archaeological career, though relatively brief, is noteworthy both for its abundance, and the fact that his barrow-openings in Derbyshire and Staffordshire provide virtually the only evidence for the early Medieval archaeology of the Peak District and the elusive Peak Dwellers. Thomas's father, William Bateman, was an amateur antiquarian and pursued his pastime in accomplishing