Essays About Character
Sybil Birling is introduced later on in to the Inspector’s questioning than the rest of the characters, entering the room in act two in a manner described “briskly and confidently” by the stage direction. She is aware of the developments of the night, due to her husband informing her privately, but seemingly unaffected by the…
The stories I am going to study are; ‘The Red Room’ by H. G. Wells, ‘The Signalman’ by Charles Dickens and ‘The Judge’s House’ by Bram Stoker. These stories were all written in the nineteenth century at the time of the Victorians. They were an extremely popular form of entertainment as there was no television,…
All thress poems, ‘Porphyria’s Lover’, ‘My last Duchess’ and ‘The laboratory’ are about murdering innocent people out of the desperateness of love and never wanting to lose that one perfect moment. In the poem, ‘Porphyria’s Lover’, a blonde woman is the vistim but ‘My Last Duchess’ is about killing the Duchess probabaly through jealously as…
A new wave of theatre is inviting the natural world back on stage Everyone is “for” the earth today–from the masses of Americans who want clean air but can’t imagine life without cars, to the corporations who appropriate stunning natural imagery for their ad campaigns while despoiling the pictures’ originals. In such a climate, it’s…
Prospero is the principal character of Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’. Without question, he vaguely bestows a sense of a ‘prevailing authoritarian’, using his powers to control the capabilities of others, solely for the purposes of self indulgence and expediency. We see this domineering and overwhelming trait throughout the play. An instance of this can be perfectly…
Which character in “An Inspector Calls” do you think is the most likeable and why? Give reasons for your answers and briefly discuss why you did not choose the other characters? As I have read the play “An inspector calls” written by J. B Priestly, I believe that Shelia Birling is my most likable character,…
The Inspector is a mysterious character, who we know very little about. He comes across as a very calm and honest man. When the Inspector first appears in the play he is confronted by Mr. Birling. Mr. Birling is a very successful businessman who has “been around in local politics for years. ” Mr. Birling…
Choose a play in which one the main characters has to cope with strong feelings such as love, jealousy, ambition or hatred. Show how the character deals with these feelings and what effect this has on the outcome of the play. In the play “Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare, the character of Romeo has…
At the beginning we do not get the full profile of Proctor, but by the end of Act One his character does become clearer to the reader. Proctor is a very short-tempered person, and has power over many women. This is shown by the following quote “I’ll show you a great do in on your…
Examine the settings and characters that the writers have chosen for their stories in “The Speckled Band”, “The Man with the Twisted Lip”, and “The Red Room”. Consider the effects that each writer has created, and how they contribute to the atmosphere. We read three short mystery stories, which all tried to keep the reader…
This essay sets out to find how a playwright, ie Alan bennet, extracts sympathy from the audience for his character. Alan Bennet is an expert at creating sympathy for his characters. He places them in situations or with problems which become the focal point of his drama. Wilfred’s character is that of a paedophile, but…
In the first half of Act One, the Birlings are seen to be solidly prosperous- nothing seems to be able to shake them- self righteous. As the play proceeds the basis for this prosperity is not well founded. Priestly gives clear signals that the cosiness is going to be undermined. Birling says there is not…
Roll up, Roll up, the most amazing production around, tragedy, humour, blood, death and love, all on show at the globe theatre, London. Imagine yourself the year is 1594, it’s the Elizabethan era and Shakespeare has released his new play, ‘Romeo and Juliet’, the most successful ever released. The location is south of the river…
Shylock is one of the main protagonists in Shakespeare’s ‘The merchant of Venice’. He plays an important role in the story as it is he who first lends Antonio money and the story spiralled from there. Throughout the story there are many occasions where Shylocks actions make him seem to be a villain but there…
I think that the role of Shylock remains a popular one because Shylocks character can be open to interpretation. He can be played as a merciless old miser or as a persecuted bitter old loner. I don’t think that I would class him as neither a villain nor a victim, as he is a Jackal…
It is difficult to describe Shylock as a victim or a villain as there are many things that you can say for each. At the end of the play some of the audience may felt strongly that Shylock is a victim. However if had been able to get what he wanted people may have felt…
Over hundreds of years, great men and women of English literature have spent countless hours debating one of the most simple yet controversial questions: What did Shakespeare mean by Shylock? When he created him Shakespeare could not have anticipated that Shylock would become the emblem around which so much contention would rage. Shakespeare’s money-lender is…
In the Merchant of Venice, Shylock is a wealthy Jew and moneylender. Bassanio, a young Venetian, is a spendthrift, and asks his friend Antonio to lend him money in order for him to pay off his debts. Antonio agrees, but as his wealth relies on his ships, which are at sea, and therefore needs to…
In the play `The Merchant of Venice’ by William Shakespeare, the character Shylock has two sides to his personality. These two sides, victim and villain of the play, present themselves frequently in the play. Although many Christians see him as a great evil, the audience is forced to feel some sort of sympathy towards him,…
Described by many as the most complex character Shakespeare ever created, all view him as a greedy moneylender who cares little for his daughter and whose only concern is to receive his pound of flesh from a respectable merchant. Shylock is not just the stereotypical villain but in spite of this the audience might feel…
In the Merchant of Venice Shylock is portrayed as both a victim and a villain. Shakespeare shows that he is firstly a villain as he is spoken about in a conversation between Salarnio and Salerio. They describe him as “dog Jew,” automatically we see him as the bad man of the play. We then sympathize…
In the day of Shakespeare’s plays going to the theatre to see a play was often a very popular source of entertainment. People would squash into the globe to see the performance, and feel part of the action; cheering and clapping away. Also when they felt anger, it was seen as ok, to throw mouldy…
Romeo and Juliet is a tale of two star-crossed lovers who in their love for each other were willing to sacrifice their lives. Romeo is a very temperamental person; his character develops considerably throughout the play in various ways. In this essay I shall be looking closely at Romeo’s character, his intentions& abilities, the way…
Consider the character of Juliet. How does she change and develop from the beginning of the play and once she meets Romeo? Refer to Shakespeare’s use of language. Romeo and Juliet, one of the most revered and profoundly known love stories of all time. Adopted for play performance from an Italian poem first written by…
Of all of Shakespeare’s tragedies “Romeo and Juliet is perhaps the best known one, Shakespeare based much of his play on the reality of his time by managing to encompass much of his context in the play. This was the Elizabethan era, In the Elizabethan era it was very different in the way we live…
In this play there are seven main characters: Romeo, Juliet, Mercutio, Lord and Lady Capulet, Friar Laurence, and the nurse. All of their views on love and marriage are different. Here I’ll be looking at Juliet’s, Mercutio’s, and Lord Capulet’s views in great detail. I choose these characters as their views on love and marriage…
Capulet is a leading citizen of Verona and head of one of the two feuding families: Capulet and Montague. The way he reacts to different events shows a variety of sides to his character. We first meet him in Act 1, Scene 1 where we find him demanding for his long-sword to join in with…
In the play Twelfth Night Maria is a waiting gentlewoman for Lady Olivia. She mainly plays the part of a catalyst and shows an interest in playing jokes particularly on Malvolio. Another waiting gentlewoman is Charmian in the play Antony and Cleopatra. She can best be described as a loyal servant and friend to Cleopatra….
At the start of the play, Orsino, the Duke of Illyria is shown as a noble man. Shakespeare’s audience knew this or has noticed this by the way Orsino speaks. Orsino speaks in an elaborate and very sophisticated way. He does this by comparing music with food and love with appetite when he says, “If…
Viola makes her entrance into the play in Scene 2, when she emerges out of the sea after a ship wreck. She is distraught the first time we meet her, as she has just lost her twin brother in the ship wreck. The fact that she is so distraught needs to be emphasised in the…