An artistic and poetic movement or style using symbolic images and indirect suggestion to express mystical ideas, emotions, and states of mind.



One of the many striking Hebrew prayer poems, the "piyutim," recited on the High Holidays repeats a recurrent biblical theme that the way of G-d is "storm and tempest." This means, of course, that G-d uses the mighty forces of nature to realize His wishes. It is a thought clearly expressed in Psalm 148:8 as quoted in the heading above. This idea was taken up by the great poet, William Shakespeare, in The Tempest, a play that fully merits our attention.One of the many surprises in this play about sin, judgement, and repentance in which sinful people repent their deeds, is that it is actually an allegory that enacts the period of the Jewish "days of awe" -- the ten days beginning with Rosh Hashonah and ending with Yom Kippur. An analysis of the play's first act is sufficient to prove this point. Here Judaic elements familiar to Jews who say traditional prayers for this holiday emerge with striking impact along with the mighty tempest that lashes a ship in the scene. With the storm raging, the ship's "master" orders his first mate to get on with the task of combating the winds. With ready obedience, the first mate carries out the wishes of the "master" and barks commands and words of encouragement to the seamen in his charge:

1. "Cheerly, cheerly, my hearts! yare, yare!"

That it is in fact "heavenly judgement" that is at hand for those aboard ship is further suggested by a number of dramatic sequences, culminating with the one toward the end of the scene: The situation being desperate, Gonzalo, a kindly squire to one of the noblemen, sees salvation in the image of a grim jest. Noting the gross disrespect of the first mate to the royal passengers on the ship -- an insubordination that could on land be punishable by death -- Gonzalo notes that the rebellious nature of this seaman must set a "hanging mark" on him, a "dry" destiny for the gallows. Hence, Gonzalo quips that this seaman's fate cannot be to drown at sea as then appears likely, but sees in this rebel's proper fate "a cable for deliverance" to all on board. "If he be not born to be hanged, our case is miserable," cries Gonzalo against the storm. This talk of destiny is a clear link to the image of the "days of awe," which is the time when each man's destiny is determined. In an awesome prayer ("Nessaneh Tokef") recited on the Holy Days, the scene is evoked of mankind passing before the L-rd in judgement, like sheep passing under the shepherd's rod. As the synagogue prayer is intoned, the permutations of man's destiny are reviewed: who it will be that will die that year and by what means, among which, "Who by drowning? Who by hanging?" -- the alternative destinies actually posed for the rebellious seaman aboard Shakespeare's ship. Interestingly, in The Tempest there is a later scene that actually reenacts the Jewish heavenly scene of judgement described in the Hebrew prayer, as all the play's characters are lined up for judgement. In sum, we find that in Shakespeare's opening scene, barely 67 lines in length, with masterful economy of action and words, the poet has introduced the major themes of his play using the symbolism of "the days of awe." As the allegory of the play runs to completeness, we learn the poet's profound conception of the nature of sin and repentance and how central and deep is the Jewish imagery in the telling of this story. Shakespeare ends his play with a message of worldwide significance, a message whose revelation had awaited the uncovering of its Judaic key.Like the storm in king lear, the tempest that opens our play is full of symbolic meaning. When Prospero uses magic to whip up a storm that shipwrecks the King of Naples on the island, the tempest seems like a very physical manifestation of Prospero's anger and his suffering, which has been eating at him for the past twelve years. Although the tempest (like Prospero's anger) is definitely powerful enough to cause a shipwreck, no real harm is actually done.Prospero wants to teach Alonso and Antonio a lesson, but the fact is that he doesn't kill anybody or cause permanent damage to the ship or its inhabitants. Unlike the notorious storm-whipper-uppers in Macbeth (that would be the weird sisters), Prospero is NOT an evil guy. He's bitter, controlling, and wants some payback for losing his dukedom, but, ultimately, Prospero forgives the men who once betrayed him. We also want to point out how the tempest is associated with social upheaval.As the crew and passengers are being tossed around on deck, panic sets in and quite a lot of trash talking goes down after Duke Antonio tries barking orders at the crew. The Boatswain, who knows a thing or two about sailing, basically tells the Duke of Milan to keep his mouth shut and get out of the way:

"Hence! What cares these roarers / for the name of King? To cabin! Silence; trouble us not" (1.1.5).

Oh, snap! The social and political hierarchy begins to break down here as the Boatswain points out that royal titles are meaningless in a life and death situation at sea. (



By the middle of Act 5, Scene 1, Prospero has worked his magic to win back his dukedom and he has also orchestrated the marriage of Miranda and Prince Ferdinand, who everyone thinks is dead thanks to Prospero. Still, Prospero's got one more trick up his sleeve. In the middle of the scene, Prospero gathers everyone around and dramatically draws back a curtain to reveal his virginal daughter and Ferdinand...playing a game of chess. Surprise! It looks like Ferdinand has made good on his promise to keep his hands to himself until his wedding night, wouldn't you say? As it turns out, the conversation going on between Miranda and Ferdinand is as G-rated as the action. Miranda bats her eyelashes and says something cute ("Sweet lord, you play me false") and Ferdinand promises that he'd never do such a thing (5.1.1). So, it seems like chess is being used here as a metaphor for romantic pursuits or, the kinds of teasing little "games" played by people who are in love. The goal of a chess game is to capture your opponent's king by strategically placing him in a position from which he can't move. Gee. That sounds kind of familiar. This is exactly what's been going on between Prospero and Alonso ever since the King of Naples allowed Antonio to steal Prospero's dukedom. In the end, Prospero has ultimately won this little game by backing Alonso into a corner from which the king cannot move. Check mate. Game over.
Prospero's Books

Prospero's books are a pretty big deal in this play. They're the source of Prospero's magic, which is why Caliban says Prospero is completely vulnerable without them:




First to possess his books; for without them
He's but a sot, as I am, nor hath not
One spirit to command: they all do hate him
As rootedly as I. Burn but his books. (3.2.11)


In other words, without the contents of his treasured library, Prospero's a "sot" (a stupid fool) and as powerless as Caliban. When Prospero says he's going to retire from the magic business, he promises "I'll drown my book" (5.1.5).As useful as these books are, we also want to point out that Prospero's nose was buried in these very same texts back in Milan when his brother was busy stealing his dukedom (1.2). By his own admission, when Prospero was "rapt in secret studies," he neglected his duties as a ruler and isolated himself from the rest of the world (1.2.10)


Ever the optimist, Gonzalo's response to being stranded is to make a big speech about how things would be if he ruled the isle:


I' the commonwealth I would by contraries
Execute all things; for no kind of traffic
Would I admit; no name of magistrate;
Letters should not be known; riches, poverty,
And use of service, none; contract, succession,
Bourn, bound of land, tilth, vineyard, none;
No use of metal, corn, or wine, or oil;
No occupation; all men idle, all;
And women too, but innocent and pure;
No sovereignty;--
[...]
All things in common nature should produce
Without sweat or endeavour: treason, felony,
Sword, pike, knife, gun, or need of any engine,
Would I not have; but nature should bring forth,
Of its own kind, all foison, all abundance,
To feed my innocent people. (2.1.23)



Shakespeare (a notorious and unapologetic plagiarist) cribbed Gonzalo's speech from Montaigne's famous essay "of cannibals" (1580), where the Brazilian Indians are described as living at one with nature:


[Brazilian Indians have] no kind of traffic, no knowledge of letters, no intelligence of numbers, no name of magistrate or politic superiority, no use of service, of riches or of poverty, no contracts, no successions...no occupation but idle, no respect of kindred but common, no apparel but natural, no manuring of lands, no use of wine, corn, or metal. (from John Florio's 1603 English translation)




At a time when Europeans were running around calling natives in the Americas "savages," Montaigne suggests that the Brazilian Indians live a utopian lifestyle while European colonizers are the real barbarians. (This essay, by the way, is where the concept of the "noble savage" comes from.)So, it's interesting that Shakespeare puts this speech in the mouth of one of his characters. Shakespeare endorses Montaigne's ideas about New World inhabitants Maybe. Gonzalo, after all, is the play's ultimate good guy. On the other hand, Caliban, who is a kind of exotic "other," is portrayed as a complete savage in this play.

The play and most of the characters in it are so obsessed with Miranda's virginity. Prospero is always talking about it (and guarding it from the likes of Caliban) and, when Ferdinand sees Miranda for the first time, he says he hopes she's unmarried and still carrying her V-card (1.2.3). First of all, it was really, really, really important for unmarried women to be chaste in Shakespeare's day. If they had sex before marriage, they were considered damaged goods who couldn't be depended on to produce legitimate offspring.Miranda's virginity is a thing that's treated like a "treasure" to be guarded, mostly by her dad, who prevents Caliban from raping her and populating the "isle with Calibans" (1.2.3). Prospero not only prevents his daughter from being assaulted, he also puts a stop to the potential threat that the island could be taken over by the offspring of his slave. Prospero would much rather give his daughter over to Prince Ferdinand (although he gives his son-in-law a huge lecture about keeping his hands to himself until after the wedding) because 1) Miranda loves the guy and 2) Miranda and Ferdinand will have legitimate babies that will one day rule Naples.
At times, it also seems like Miranda's virginity is symbolic of her purity, innocence, and goodness. (As opposed to Sycorax the witch, who hooked up with the devil and gave birth to Caliban.) It also seems like Miranda's status as a virgin helps to somehow redeem the island's naturalness. Remember that the last woman on the island was Sycorax. She was unnatural by virtue of being a witch, but also because when she came to the island, she was already carrying the devil's child (it doesn't get any more unnatural than that). If the island is to be a place of redemption for all the characters in the play, Miranda's virginity is symbolic of the promise of a new and pure beginning.Miranda will inevitably lose her virginity to her new husband and this signals that she is growing up and, well, changing in ways that not even her father can manipulate and control. Miranda (unlike Isabella in Measure for Measure) is really excited about this and says as much about what she "desires to give" Ferdinand after she becomes his wife (3.1.9).


Water is central to this play, and, particularly, the act of being immersed in water – namely, drowning. Of course, the first scene when the ship splits is a pretty good time to worry about drowning, but the imagery goes beyond that to represent loss and recovery. When first exiled with Miranda, Prospero suggests that he could have drowned the sea with his own tears when he cried over his lost dukedom and his past:


"When I have deck'd the sea with drops full salt" (1.2.18).


The new inhabitants of the isle are obsessed with water too. Ferdinand, upon hearing Ariel's song, knows it refers to his father's certain drowning:



Full fathom five thy father lies;
Of his bones are coral made;
Those are pearls that were his eyes;
Nothing of him that doth fade
But doth suffer a sea-change
Into something rich and strange (1.2.20)


Ariel's song leads Ferdinand to believe that his father has drowned and is lost to him forever. Not only that, but the song suggests that his body has been transformed into something unrecognizable. Later, when Alonso gives up hope that Ferdinand could have survived the shipwreck he says,


"he is drown'd / Whom thus we stray to find, and the sea mocks / Our frustrate search on land. Well, let him go" (3.1.1) and Antonio notes the King has "given up hope" (3.1.1).


The idea here is that when someone is lost to the sea, there probably isn't even going to even be a body that can be recovered. Drowning demands that the dead must be let go, without the closure of a burial ceremony. So what we're talking about here is the seeming finality of drowning. The Tempest isn't just a story about loss. It's also about the recovery of what seems to have been lost forever. As we know, Ferdinand and his father don't actually drown and when they discover each other at the play's end, we're reminded that new beginnings are possible.Same goes for Prospero, who once thought Milan would never be restored to him but lives to see the day his daughter is married to Prince Ferdinand and will live as a royal in Italy. While Miranda and Prospero will never get back the twelve years they lost on the island, the play suggests that, despite their suffering, they will gain something even greater.


Hands stuff pops up all over the place in this play. Prospero takes Miranda's hand before he tells her of their true identity, and our first introduction to the Prince and King has them below deck, praying, with their hands clasped. Ariel invites Ferdinand to take hands (presumably Miranda's) as he leads him away from crying over his father's death.Miranda is offered Ferdinand's hand as a symbol of his faith to her and of their marriage. Prospero gives Miranda's hand in marriage to Ferdinand when he agrees to their union, and Alonso clasps all their hands together and raises them to the heavens when asking God's blessing on the new union. Finally, when Prospero gives his epilogue speech to the audience, he asks that they bring their hands together, supposedly in prayer forgiving him his failures, but really in applause to tell him that he's totally awesome. So, hands mean prayer, truth, love, and applause.

The Epilogue

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"Shakespearean or Renaissance or Elizabethan Age."


The Elizabethan era was a time associated with Queen Elizabeth's reign (1558–1603) and is often considered to be the golden age in English history. It was the height of the English Renaissance and saw the flowering of English poetry, music and literature . This was also the time during which Elizabethan theater flourished, and William Shakespeare and many others composed plays that broke free of England's past style of theatre. It was an age of exploration and expansion abroad, while back at home, the protestant reformation became more acceptable to the people, most certainly after the Spanish Armada was repulsed. It was also the end of the period when England was a separate realm before its royal union with Scotland.The Elizabethan Age is viewed so highly because of the periods before and after. It was a brief period of largely internal peace between the English reformation and the battles between Protestants and Catholics and the battles between parliament and the monarchy that engulfed the seventeenth century. The Protestant/Catholic divide was settled, for a time, by the Elizabethan English settlement , and parliament was not yet strong enough to challenge royal absolutism.



William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was born into an age of experiment, invention, discovery, and revolution. It was an age in which scientists overthrew long-held axioms, philosophers promoted universal education, and seafarers expanded the boundaries of the known world.A major catalyst of advancements was the invention of movable type (individual letters that could be arranged by hand to form words) by German goldsmith Johannes Gutenberg (1400-1468) in the mid-15th Century. Due to Gutenberg’s invention, the common folk of England had access for the first time to books and the power of the printed word. They could learn scripture from the printed word instead of the painted picture or the sculpted statue. Or they could study history, peruse classic literature, explore the sciences, or read controversial foreign-language books such as Il Principe (The Prince), by Italian political theorist and statesman Nicolò Machiavelli (1469-1527), published in 1532. The book tells how a leader–a prince, for example–has the right to win and keep political power through intrigue, intimidation, and trickery...During this time, Desiderius Erasmus (1469-1536), a Dutch Roman Catholic priest, popularized humanism in Europe.Elizabethan England also became a leading sea power after explorer and adventurer Sir Francis Drake (1540-1596) defeated arch rival Spain and its armada of ships in 1588. This triumph boosted the British ego and British prosperity to new heights at the threshold of a new century.Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) who promulgated this theory and Italian scientist Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), inventor of the astronomical telescope, who confirmed it. The Copernican theory was revolutionary–affecting not only science but also theology and philosophy–for it impeached the egocentric view that the earth and its people were the center of the universe. Earth, in fact, was just another planet orbiting the sun. In 1609, German mathematician Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) published another revolutionary finding: that the path of the orbiting planets was elliptical, not circular.The unsettling findings of Copernicus, Galileo, and Kepler appeared within little more than a century after Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) accidentally discovered the Americas (1492), an event that expanded the known world, encouraged further exploration, and increased the importation to England of ideas, peoples, and cultures. Africa, that far-off Dark Continent, was opening up after Portuguese sailors established trading posts in its coastal regions...



Elizabeth I (7 September 1533 – 24 March 1603) was Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty . The daughter of Henry VI, she was born a princess, but her mother, Anne Bolyen was executed two and a half years after her birth, and Elizabeth was declared illegitimate. It was expected that Elizabeth would marry, but despite several petitions from parliament and numerous courtships, she never did. The reasons for this outcome have been much debated. As she grew older, Elizabeth became famous for her virginity, and a cult grew up around her which was celebrated in the portraits, pageants, and literature of the day.The poets idealized Elizabeth. She was to Spenser, to Sidney, and to Raleigh, not merely a woman and a virgin queen, but the champion of Protestantism, the lady of young England, the heroine of the conflict against popery and Spain. Moreover Elizabeth was a great woman. In spite of the vanity, caprice, and ingratitude which disfigured her character, and the vacillating, tortuous policy which often distinguished her government, she was at bottom a sovereign of large views, strong will, and dauntless courage. Like her father, she "loved a man," and she had the magnificent tastes of the Tudors.


Era covering Elizabethan England provides the History, Facts and Information about the Religion, Laws, Tortures and Punishments including executions in the Elizabethan Era.

• Crimes and Punishments
• Executions
• Tortures
• Religion
• Politics, spies and intrigue
• The Law - the Poor Law
• The Tower of London

The Famous Elizabethan Women of the era and the famous men. There are Biographies, Pictures and Timelines about the life of famous Explorers, Courtiers, Politicians, Dramatists and Poets who lived during the Elizabethan era.

• Sir Francis Drake
• Sir Walter Raleigh
• Mary Queen of Scots
• Sir Francis Walsingham
• William Shakespeare
• Christopher Marlowe
• John Dee
  
• Lord Robert Dudley
  
  

But in considering the literature of Elizabeth's reign it will be convenient to speak first of the prose. While following up Spenser's career to its close (1599) we have, for the sake of unity of treatment, anticipated somewhat the literary history of the twenty years preceding. In 1579 appeared a book which had a remarkable influence on English prose. This was John Lyly's Euphues, the Anatomy of Wit. It was in form a romance, the history of a young Athenian who went to Naples to see the world and get an education; but it is in substance nothing but a series of dialogues on love, friendship, religion, etc., written in language which, from the title of the book, has received the name of Euphuism.Walter Scott introduced a Euphuist into his novel the Monastery, but the peculiar jargon which Sir Piercie Shaft on is made to talk is not at all like the real Euphuism. That consisted of antithesis, alliteration, and the profuse illustration of every thought by metaphors borrowed from a kind of fabulous natural history.Lyly's style was pithy and sententious, and his sentences have the air of proverbs or epigrams. The vice of Euphuism was its monotony. On every page of the book there was something pungent, something quotable; but many pages of such writing became tiresome. His carefully balanced periods were valuable lessons in rhetoric, and his book became a manual of polite conversation and introduced that fashion of witty repartee, which is evident enough in Shakespeare's comic dialogue.That knightly gentleman, Philip Sidney, was a true type of the lofty aspiration and manifold activity of Elizabethan England. He was scholar, poet, courtier, diplomatist, soldier, all in one.In 1580, while visiting his sister Mary, Countess of Pembroke, at Wilton, he wrote,for her pleasure, the Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia, which remained in manuscript till 1590.The Arcadia, like Euphues, was a lady's book. It was the favorite court romance of its day, but it surfeits a modern reader with its sweetness, and confuses him with its tangle of adventures. The lady for whom it was written was the mother of that William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke, to whom Shakespeare's sonnets are thought to have been dedicated. And she was the subject of Ben Jonson's famous epitaph.Another typical Englishman of Elizabeth's reign was Walter Raleigh, who was even more versatile than Sidney, and more representative of the restless spirit of romantic adventure, mixed with cool, practical enterprise that marked, the times. He fought against the queen's enemies by land and sea in many quarters of the globe; in the Netherlands and in Ireland against Spain, with the Huguenot army against the League in France.Raleigh was active in raising a fleet against the Spanish Armada of 1588.He took a prominent part in colonizing Virginia,and he introduced tobacco and the potato plant into Europe.America was still a land of wonder and romance, full of rumors, nightmares, and enchantments. In 1580, when Francis Drake, "the Devonshire Skipper," had dropped anchor in Plymouth Harbor, after his voyage around the world, the enthusiasm of England had been mightily stirred. These narratives of Raleigh, and the similar accounts of the exploits of the bold sailors, Davis, Hawkins, Frobisher, Gilbert, and Drake; but especially the great cyclopedia of nautical travel, published by Richard Hakluyt in 1589, The Principal Navigations, Voyages, and Discoveries made by the English Nation, worked powerfully on the imaginations of the poets. We see the influence of this literature of travel in the Tempest, written undoubtedly after Shakespeare had been reading the narrative of Sir George Somers's shipwreck on the Bermudas or "Isles of Devils.


The strictly literary prose of the Elizabethan period bore a small proportion to the verse. Many entire departments of prose literature were as yet undeveloped. Fiction was represented—outside of the Arcadia and Euphues already mentioned—chiefly by tales translated or imitated from Italian novelle. George Turberville's Tragical Tales (1566) was a collection of such stories, and William Paynter'sPalace of Pleasure (1576-1577) a similar collection from Boccaccio's Decameron and the novels of Bandello. These translations are mainly of interest as having furnished plots to the English dramatists. Lodge's Rosalind and Robert Greene's Pandosto, the sources respectively of Shakespeare's As You Like It and Winter's Tale, are short pastoral romances, not without prettiness in their artificial way. The satirical pamphlets of Thomas Nash and his fellows, against "Martin Marprelate," an anonymous writer, or company of writers, who attacked the bishops, are not wanting in wit, but are so cumbered with fantastic whimsicalities, and so bound up with personal quarrels, that oblivion has covered them. The most noteworthy of them were Nash's Piers Penniless's Supplication to the Devil, Lyly's Pap with a Hatchet, and Greene's Groat's Worth of Wit. Of books which were not so much literature as the material of literature, mention may be made of the Chronicle of England, published by Ralph Holinshed in 1580. This was Shakespeare's English history, and its strong Lancastrian bias influenced Shakespeare in his representation of Richard III. and other characters in his historical plays. In his Roman tragedies Shakespeare followed closely Sir Thomas North's translation of Plutarch's Lives, made in 1579 from the French version of Jacques Amyot.

The life of Francis Bacon, "the father of inductive philosophy," as he has been called—better, the founder of inductive logic—belongs to English history, and the bulk of his writings, in Latin and English, to the history of English philosophy. But his volume of Essays was a contribution to general literature. In their completed form they belong to the year 1625, but the first edition was printed in 1597 and contained only ten short essays, each of them rather a string of pregnant maxims—the text for an essay—than that developed treatment of a subject which we now understand by the word essay. They were, said their author, "as grains of salt, that will rather give you an appetite than offend you with satiety." They were the first essays, so called, in the language. "The word," said Bacon, "is late, but the thing is ancient." The word he took from the French essais of Montaigne, the first two books of which had been published in 1592. Bacon testified that his essays were the most popular of his writings because they "came home to men's business and bosoms." Their alternate title explains their character: Counsels Civil and Moral, that is, pieces of advice touching the conduct of life, "of a nature whereof men shall find much in experience, little in books." The essays contain the quintessence of Bacon's practical wisdom, his wide knowledge of the world of men. The truth and depth of his sayings, and the extent of ground which they cover, as well as the weighty compactness of his style, have given many of them the currency of proverbs. "Revenge is a kind of wild justice." "He that hath wife and children hath given hostages to fortune." "There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion." Bacon's reason was illuminated by a powerful imagination, and his noble English rises now and then, as in his essay On Death, into eloquence—the eloquence of pure thought, touched gravely and afar off by emotion. In general, the atmosphere of his intellect is thatlumen siccum which he loved to commend, "not drenched or bloodied by the affections." Dr. Johnson said that the wine of Bacon's writings was a dry wine.

But the Elizabethan genius found its fullest and truest expression in the drama. It is a common phenomenon in the history of literature that some old literary form or mold will run along for centuries without having any thing poured into it worth keeping, until the moment comes when the genius of the time seizes it and makes it the vehicle of immortal thought and passion. Such was in England the fortune of the stage play. At a time when Chaucer was writing character-sketches that were really dramatic, the formal drama consisted of rude miracle plays that had no literary quality whatever. These were taken from the Bible, and acted at first by the priests as illustrations of Scripture history and additions to the church service on feasts and saints' days.Masques and interludes—the latter a species of short farce—were popular at the court of Henry VIII. Elizabeth was often entertained at the universities or at the inns of court with Latin plays, or with translations from Seneca, Euripides, and Ariosto. Original comedies and tragedies began to be written, modeled upon Terence and Seneca, and chronicle histories founded on the annals of English kings. There was a master of the revels at court, whose duty it was to select plays to be performed before the queen, and these were acted by the children of the Royal Chapel, or by the choir boys of St. Paul's Cathedral. These early plays are of interest to students of the history of the drama, and throw much light upon the construction of later plays, like Shakespeare's; but they are rude and inartistic, and without any literary value.Accordingly, shortly after 1580, a number of men of real talent began to write for the stage as a career. These were young graduates of the universities, Marlowe, Greene, Peele, Kyd, Lyly, Lodge, and others, who came up to town and led a bohemian life as actors and playwrights. Most of them were wild and dissipated and ended in wretchedness. Peele died of a disease brought on by his evil courses; Greene, in extreme destitution, from a surfeit of Rhenish wine and pickled herring, and Marlowe was stabbed in a tavern brawl.
The most important of the dramatists who were Shakespeare's forerunners, or early contemporaries, was Christopher or—as he was familiarly called—Kit Marlowe. Born in the same year with Shakespeare (1564), he died in 1593, at which date his great successor is thought to have written no original plays, except the Comedy of Errors and Love's Labours Lost. Marlowe first popularized blank verse as the language of tragedy in his Tamburlaine, written before 1587, and in subsequent plays he brought it to a degree of strength and flexibility which left little for Shakespeare to do but to take it as he found it. Tamburlainewas a crude, violent piece, full of exaggeration and bombast, but with passages here and there of splendid declamation, justifying Ben Jonson's phrase, "Marlowe's mighty line." Jonson, however, ridiculed, in hisDiscoveries, the "scenical strutting and furious vociferation" of Marlowe's hero; and Shakespeare put a quotation from Tamburlaine into the mouth of his ranting Pistol. Marlowe's Edward II. was the most regularly constructed and evenly written of his plays. It was the best historical drama on the stage before Shakespeare, and not undeserving of the comparison which it has provoked with the latter's Richard II. But the most interesting of Marlowe's plays, to a modern reader, is theTragical History of Doctor Faustus. The subject is the same as in Goethe's Faust, and Goethe, who knew the English play, spoke of it as greatly planned. The opening of Marlowe's Faustus is very similar to Goethe's. His hero, wearied with unprofitable studies, and filled with a mighty lust for knowledge and the enjoyment of life, sells his soul to the Devil in return for a few years of supernatural power. The tragic irony of the story might seem to lie in the frivolous use which Faustus makes of his dearly bought power, wasting it in practical jokes and feats of legerdermain; but of this Marlowe was probably unconscious. The love story of Margaret, which is the central point of Goethe's drama, is entirely wanting in Marlowe's, and so is the subtle conception of Goethe's Mephistophiles. Marlowe's handling of the supernatural is materialistic and downright, as befitted an age which believed in witchcraft. The greatest part of the English Faustus is the last scene, in which the agony and terror of suspense with which the magician awaits the stroke of the clock that signals his doom are powerfully drawn.
O, lente, lente currite, noctis equi!
The stars move still, time runs, the clock will strike....
O soul, be changed into little water-drops,
And fall into the ocean, ne'er be found!

Of the life of William Shakespeare, the greatest dramatic poet of the world, so little is known that it has been possible for ingenious persons to construct a theory—and support it with some show of reason—that the plays which pass under his name were really written by Bacon or some one else. There is no danger of this paradox ever making serious headway, for the historical evidence that Shakespeare wrote Shakespeare's plays, though not overwhelming, is sufficient. But it is startling to think that the greatest creative genius of his day, or perhaps of all time, was suffered to slip out of life so quietly that his title to his own works could even be questioned only two hundred and fifty years after the event.

__________________
"Wa tu izzu man-ta shaa, wa tu zillu man-ta shaa"

1. Although Trinculo and Stephano are alarmed at first, Caliban is soothed by the sound of
mysterious ________.
2. Antonio and Sebastian attempt to kill Alonso, the ________ of Naples.
3. Antonio becomes the Duke of ________ after forcing Prospero from power.
4. Antonio _________ his brother Prospero’s dukedom.
5. Ariel assumes the shape of a ________ to torment Alonso, Sebastian and Antonio.
6. ________, the King’s jester, is very suspicious of Stephano’s acceptance of the monster,
Caliban.
7. Ferdinand is Alonso’s son and, thus, the Prince of _________.
8. _________ is the Roman numeral for the number of beats in a normal iambic pentameter line of
verse.
9. In Act 1, Scene 2 Prospero states that his good fortune – or _________ – depends on the stars.
10. _________ is one of the goddesses that performs in the masque for Miranda and Ferdinand.
11. Island spirits torment Trinculo, Stephano and Caliban by taking the shape of hunting _________.
12. __________ is described as the “high'st queen of state” by the other goddesses.
13. Miranda accuses her father of causing the ship to sink into the _________.
14. Miranda taught _________, a native to the island, to speak.
15. Prior to the shipwreck, the royals had attended the wedding of Claribel, the king’s daughter, to
the King of Tunis. They said she was the most beautiful _________ since Dido.
16. Prospero confines Caliban in a _________.
17. Prospero _________ Caliban after he assaulted Miranda.
18. Young _________ fell in love with Miranda at first sight.
19. Prospero punishes Caliban and Ferdinand by making them carry _________.
20. The ________ tries to get the passengers of the ship to return to their cabins during the storm at
the beginning of the play.
21. The drunk butler, Stephano, is even able to find ________ on a deserted island.
22. _________ is an airy spirit whom Prospero has enslaved.
23. Twelve _________ have passed since Prospero was Duke of Milan.
24. Upon arriving at the island, Prospero defeated the witch _________, Caliban’s mother.
25. _________ provided Prospero with his books when he was banished.
26. _________ is a banished duke who has been studying magical arts.



answers
a. Ariel
b. boatswain
c. Caliban
d. dogs
e. enslaved
f. Ferdinand
g. Gonzalo
h. harpy
i. Iris
j. Juno
k. King
l. logs
m. Milan
n. Naples
o. ocean
p. Prospero
q. Queen
s. Sycorax
t. Trinculo
u. usurped
v. voices
w. wine
x. X
y. years
z. zenith


select the BEST multiple choice response.
1. Prospero was once
a. Duke of Milan b. King of Naples c. Thane of Cawdor d. Duke of Verona e.
Magistrate of Rome

2. The storm was caused by
a. the Boatswain’s incompetence
b. Prospero’s magic
c. the combined forces of Caliban and Sycorax
d. laws of nature and will of God
e. a tsunami



3. Miranda is told the story of her formative years by Prospero because
a. it is her favorite tale
b. Prospero realizes she is about to learn the truth from Antonio
c. Prospero believes the time is ripe, and their lives are about to change
d. Miranda begins to suspect her father’s questionable past
e. Ferdinand hints that she does not know all that she should



4. As Prospero tells Miranda of their past, his recounting of past events serves as the play’s
a. rising action b. exposition c. climax d. denouement e. resolution


5. For helping Prospero, Ariel asks for
a. Miranda’s hand in marriage
b. his freedom
c. a position of power once Prospero regains
control of Milan
d. a place at court in Naples
e. the murder of Caliban


6. Caliban is the child of
a. Ariel b. Antonio c. Sycorax d. Robin
Goodfellow
e. Oberon


7. Ariel was punished by Sycorax for
a. refusing to follow her terrible orders
b. lying about Caliban’s location
c. killing the sailors from Argier
d. casting spells against island spirits
e. singing to the mermaids


8. Caliban is
a. a sweet, obedient servant
b. Miranda’s devoted fairy
c. Prospero’s ill-mannered slave
d. a water-nymph, rescued from the sea
e. creator of Sycorax


9. Caliban indicates that initially he
a. cursed Prospero, which is the reason for
Prospero’s bad luck
b. was in love with Ariel
c. revealed the secrets of the island to Prospero
d. ruled Prospero
e. killed his mother


10. Caliban learned language from
a. Prospero b. Miranda c. Ferdinand d. Ariel e. Sycorax


11. After the shipwreck, Prospero arranged for all the persons aboard to be
a. hanged b. separated c. tied up d. sent home e. made fun of


12. Ferdinand is the son of
a. Prospero b. Sebastian c. Antonio d. Sycorax e. Alonso


13. When Miranda and Ferdinand first see each other, they
a. start in fear and then run away from each other
b. fall instantly in love, even as they wonder if the other is divine
c. call for their parents’ protection lest they forget their past
d. begin to plea for immunity for each other’s wronged relatives
e. hope never to be so befallen again


14. Gonzalo argues that if he were king of the isle, he would
a. set up commerce with Spain
b. establish schools and universities
c. raise crops and establish vineyards
d. set up courts with magistrates
e. leave it idyllic and uncivilized, just as it is


15. Sebastian and Antonio are stopped from killing Alonso by
a. Miranda b. Caliban c. Gonzalo d. the King of
Tunis
e. Ariel


16. Trinculo compares Caliban to a
a. fish b. god c. girl d. slave e. orphan


17. Under Caliban, Stephano finds
a. gold b. Trinculo c. an island map d. a newborn beast e. a book of poems


18. Prospero requires Ferdinand to work for him, stacking firewood, because
a. Caliban has run away
b. Ferdinand has stolen goods from Prospero and must pay off his debt
c. a storm is on the horizon and all hands are needed to prepare
d. he wishes to test Ferdinand’s devotion to Miranda
e. Prospero doubts Ferdinand’s physical stamina


19. As Prospero secretly witnesses the exchange of vows between Miranda and Ferdinand (3.1), he is
a. incensed b. perplexed c. pleased d. saddened e. desolate


20. Shakespeare appeals to the humor of the groundlings particularly in his characterization of
a. Trinculo and Stephano
b. Prospero and Antonio
c. Ariel and Sycorax
d. Claribel and the King of Tunis
e. Alonso and Sebastian

__________________
"Wa tu izzu man-ta shaa, wa tu zillu man-ta shaa"

Ariel is a spirit who appears in william shakespeare play The Tempest Ariel is bound to serve the magician Prospero, who rescued him from the tree in which he was imprisoned by Sycorax , the witch who previously inhabited the island. Prospero greets disobedience with a reminder that he saved Ariel from Sycorax's spell, and with promises to grant Ariel his freedom. Ariel is Prospero's eyes and ears throughout the play, using his magical abilities to cause the tempest in Act one which gives the play its name, and to foil other character's plots to bring down his master.
The source of Ariel's name and character is unknown, although several critics have pointed out his similarities to the Ariel mentioned in Isaiah chapter 29 in theBible. The name means "Lion of the Lord", in this sense. Ariel may also be a simple play on the word "aerial". Scholars have compared him to sprites depicted in other Elizabethan plays, and have managed to find several similarities between them, but one thing which makes Ariel unique is the human edge and personality given him by Shakespeare.

Since the stage directions in The Tempest are so precise, critics and historians are better able to see how this play may have originally been performed than with other Shakespearean plays. Several of the scenes involving magic have clear instructions on how to create the illusion required, causing critics to make connections and guesses as to exactly what sort of technology would have been used in Shakespeare's troupe to stage Ariel's role in the play. Also, a line by Ariel in Act IV brings other scholars to ask questions as to whether the original actor for Ariel played the part for ceres as well, due to a shortage of boy actors.Ariel is widely viewed as a male character, although this view has wavered over the years, especially in the Restoration, when women played the role, for the most part. Ariel has also been involved, though lightly, in the debate over the colonialist nature of the play, as scholars have tried to determine how he compares to the more rebellious Cliban in terms of service to the European Prospero.

Ariel first appears in the second scene of the play to report to Prospero on his success in carrying out his command to shipwreck the King of Naples and his crew in a violent tempest. Ariel adds that, as commanded, he saw that none of the group were harmed, but that all landed safely on the island, scattered and separated along the coast. After being praised by Prospero, Ariel pleads for his freedom from the magician's service in return. Prospero declines, reminding him of the state he was in before Prospero rescued him: Ariel had been trapped by the witch Sycorax in a "cloven pine" as a punishment for resisting her commands. After 12 years of pain (and the death of Sycorax), Ariel was released from his prison by Prospero, who pressed the spirit into his service. The magician denies Ariel's request for freedom at this time, but promises that on the condition he follows the rest of his commands, he will grant his wish in two days. For the rest of the play, Ariel is Prospero's eyes and ears—spying on the shipwrecked sailors in invisible form, but only Prospero can see Ariel.In the second act Ariel briefly appears to stop a conspiracy to kill Alonso, King of Naples, whose brother (and heir to the dukedom), Sebastian, plots to kill him in his sleep. Ariel sings in the ear of Gonzalo, a councillor to Alonso, to wake him and foils the plot. Ariel also appears in Act Three to foil Caliban's plot to turn the sailors against Prospero and murder him. Later in the same act, he appears with a clap of thunder and rebukes those who were involved in the plot to banish Prospero to the island, displaying his fearful power to the men. He is later called on to gather the spirits of the island before Miranda and Ferdinand, and to bring Trinculo, Stephano, and Caliban before Prospero for judgement.In the final act, Ariel releases the prisoners of Prospero and awakens what is left of the crew of the ship from a deep slumber. Thanks to Ariel's work, Ferdinand and Miranda have fallen in love. Prospero is so impressed by Ariel's matchmaking that he says that he would set Ariel free for that one act. Thus, having fulfilled Prospero's tasks, and Prospero himself now being free to leave the island, Ariel is set free.

The '-el' ending of Shakespeare's name translates in Hebrew as 'God,' placing Ariel inline with more benevolent spirits, many of which were listed in sorcery books published in Shakespeare's day with similar suffixes. Jewish demonology, for example, had a figure by the name of Ariel who was described as the spirit of the waters. Another spirit, Uriel, is also comparable. In Isaiah 29, an Ariel is mentioned as another name for Jerusalem.

Though the actual source Shakespeare used has not yet been determined, it seems clear that Shakespeare's Ariel and his relationship with Prospero reflects more closely the Renaissance idea of a neutral spirit under the control of a magician than the religious idea of a sprite. Shakespeare, however, refuses to make Ariel a will-less character, infusing him with desires and near-human feelings uncharacteristic of most sprites of this type.

Later Act IV, Scene 1, Ariel says:


"when I presented Ceres / I thought to have told thee of it / but I feared lest I might anger thee."


Earlier in the same scene, Ceres, along with Iris and Juno, had appeared at Prospero's command in a Masque. Scholars have wondered whether Shakespeare originally intended the actor for Ariel to cover Ceres' role, and give it away in this line. The need for a dual role may have been caused by a shortage of boys capable of playing female parts (boys usually played all female roles in Shakespeare's day) as there are many female roles in The Tempest. This changing of parts requires a change in costume, which explains a lot of Ariel's delay in scene four in carrying out Prospero's orders. Time is allowed for the character to change from Ariel to Ceres and back. On the other side, Ceres may have been associated, by Shakespeare, to the Kairos figure, related to rhetorics, personating the opportune moment to present the convincing argument in a speech. arly critics were skeptical of the idea, saying that "presented Ceres" could merely mean that he introduced him to the gathering. More recent studies, however, have revealed that, given the small number of boys traveling with the King's Men and the large number of parts for them to fill, there would have been little choice in the matter. The entire scene comes together in a way that leads scholars to believe that the Masque scene with the three goddesses was added as an afterthought in order to work around costuming and role-playing issues.In all textual versions Ariel is referred to with the male pronoun "his" twice in the entire play.

"Thunder and lightning. Enter ARIEL, like a harpy; claps his wings upon the table; and, with a quaint device, the banquet vanishes.


"All hail, great master! grave sir, hail! I come
To answer thy best pleasure; be't to fly,
To swim, to dive into the fire, to ride
On the curl'd clouds; to thy strong bidding task Ariel and all his quality."

__________________
"Wa tu izzu man-ta shaa, wa tu zillu man-ta shaa"

The Power and Passion of Love and Hate




Romeo and Juliet opens with a prologue announcing the story's star-crossed young lovers will die and their deaths reconcile their warring clans. Shakespeare opens his story by boldly announcing the climax of its plot. How can he get away with this? Because the better the storyteller, the stronger their understanding that a story is a journey. That a well-told story makes every step of that journey engaging and dramatic, more than the sum of its parts. Shakespeare can do what most inexperienced writers would be loathe to do -- give away his ending -- because what makes his story satisfying is a separate issue from the mechanical working out of its plot.Further, by telling the audience the story's outcome, Shakespeare gives the story a poignancy it would lack otherwise. Knowing the lovers will die makes their every step toward that fate more deeply felt. This speaks to that issue of drama being not only the anticipation of action, but the feelings and thoughts that anticipation arouses.


Act One

Scene One


Act one opens with some of the men of Capulet clan meeting on the street men of the Montague clan. A brawl erupts, citizens join in, and the heads of the houses of Capulet and Montague come upon the scene. The Prince of the City arrives. His judgment, if there is more fighting, those guilty face death.The dramatic purpose of this scene is to introduce that the families are bound together by an ancient blood feud that has grown to a lethal hatred. The scene does this through a measured introduction of characters that always gives the audience time to assimilate who a particular character is, their personality, and their relationships to other characters.On a story level, because this story is about a conflict between love and hate, introducing the hate that fuels the story's action also sets the story into motion.In the aftermath of the brawl, a question arises to the whereabouts of Romeo, a young Montague. It comes out that Romeo has been shedding tears and avoiding his kinsmen, but why is unclear. It is left to Benvolio to discover the cause of Romeo's distress.



Story note, the play opens with some hotly contested action that sets up the retribution further conflict will bring. There's clearly something at stake if anyone from either household engages in more brawling. Second, Romeo is mentioned in a way that it's made clear before his arrival he has issues he's dealing with. Because it's made clear he has an issue to resolve, he is a character who is "ripe" even before he appears. The story's audience anticipates some outcome to Romeo's issues.
Romeo enters as the others exit. It comes out quite quickly that Romeo is lovesick.



"Out of her favor where I am in love."

Story note, the dramatic purpose here isn't to withhold that Romeo is lovesick.


Scene Two




The Senior Capulet enters, mentioning the ban on any further fighting and that it should be easy to uphold. Note how Capulet's words will come back to haunt him. During this scene, Count Paris reminds Capulet of his desire to wed Juliet, not quite fourteen. Capulet wishes that Juliet be older before she weds, but Paris presses his suit. Capulet invites him to a party that night, and they exit.



Enter Benvolio and Romeo, still caught up in his love sickness. They immediately come upon a serving man sent out by Capulet to announce the party to those on a list he cannot read. He asks Romeo to read the list. It comes out that Rosaline, for whom Romeo pines, has been invited to this party. The serving man, grateful to Romeo for reading the list, invites him to the party as long as he's not a Montague.Benvolio suggests Romeo go, that seeing some of the town's other beauties aid his recovery from his infatuation with Rosaline.




Romeo answers, defending Rosaline,






"One fairer than my love? The all-seeing sun
Ne'er saw her march since first the world begun."



Through these opening scenes the author maintains a measured, brisk, pace that introduces the principles and their issues. He now begins bringing them together in a way that escalates the story's dramatic tension. Romeo going to a party at the Capulet's is inherently dangerous.


Scene 3


This scene opens with Lady Capulet, Juliet's nurse, and Juliet. The nurse is a folksy, humorous character. She ends a long answer to a simple question with the hope she live long enough to see Juliet marry. That becomes the lead in for Lady Capulet to broach her parents desire she consider marrying Paris. Juliet's answer,




"I'll look to like, if looking liking move.
But no more deep will I endart mine eye
Than your consent gives strength to make it fly."
They exit to attend the party.
Story note, again the measured, brisk pace of introducing characters and their issues.


Scene 4
When Romeo, Mercutio, and Benvolio enter the party, it is a masquerade, which means they do not have to announce who they are, nor are their faces visible. Romeo and Mercutio pause to talk about dreams, then Romeo says,






"I fear too early, for my mind misgives,
Some consequence yet hanging in the stars.




Something about this moment troubles him, but he goes forward.
Story note, to have Romeo and company pause before entering the party allows the drama over what will happen to build for the audience.
Scene 5




Capulet welcomes Romeo and company to the party. Romeo sees Juliet and exclaims,






"O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!"

Story note, Romeo falling in love with Juliet is the purpose of this scene, so it is not delayed. Many writers struggle because they build up to a moment of dramatic tension and then cut away. Shakespeare begins a scene with dramatic tension and quickly works to heighten that tension to a higher release point. It's a subtle point to understand, but a major fault for inexperienced writers is cutting away too early from the tension they create.Tybalt, who crossed swords with Benvolio in scene one, hears Romeo's voice and sends for his sword. The elder Capulet orders Tybalt to stand aside, and even praises Romeo. Again, an act that will come back to haunt him. Tybalt protests, but Capulet rebukes him and orders him to not upset the party.
Romeo takes Juliet's hand and speaks to her,




"If I profane with my unworthiest hand,
This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this:
My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand
To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss."

Story note, it is the purpose of the scene to show how quickly and deeply Romeo falls in love with Juliet. It is not delayed, nor does it happen off stage.




Juliet is quickly swayed by Romeo's passion. Juliet,




"Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hands too much, Which mannerly devotion shows in this;
For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch,
And palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss.
Romeo kisses Juliet, then again.
Juliet's nurse calls her away, and Romeo learns from the nurse that Juliet is of the house of Capulet. Romeo,
"O dear account! My life is my foe's debt."
Again, the author maintains his brisk pace of setting up and advancing the story.
Juliet, on learning Romeo's identify, speaks,
"My only love sprung from my only hate!
Too early seen unknown, and known too late!
Prodigious birth it is to me
That I must love a loathed enemy."






This is the end of act one. All the major elements are in place. The hatred of the Montagues and Capulets. That Romeo is lovesick and in love with the idea of love. The fate of what will befall the next person to disturb the peace. And now Romeo and Juliet in love. The curtain closes on a note of high drama and feeling. The storyteller has brought the audience to this height of feeling by potently and directly putting into play the elements of the story. Very little is withheld for some far off plot effect or revelation. What's important to setting up and advancing this story has been presented in a clear, dramatic way with poetic grace and wit.In a script written by a struggling storyteller, one could imagine the brawl that opens Romeo and Juliet being the climax of act one. Because Shakespeare had a clear sense of his story and how to escalate its drama, he doesn't delay setting out the conflict that fuels it. In this story, if Shakespeare writes that one character doesn't like another, one can surmise they will meet in either that scene or the next. Because of this arrangement of the story's elements, the play's audience develops a sense of trust the author won't introduce characters for no clear dramatic purpose, introduce information but delay its import.When Romeo is introduced, he is already lovesick, and very poetic and direct about it. What he's feeling isn't withheld to create a revelation at the end of act one. Because it defines Romeo, it comes out in his opening scene. Further, the dramatic purpose of his introduction isn't to make a statement about the kind of character he is. It's to show a young man in the anguish of first love that will quickly be tested. This speaks again to that issue of trust that develops between a writer like Shakespeare and his audience, because one trust Shakespeare to move the story forward dramatically.Further, Shakespeare writes every moment of every scene to bring out its drama, texture and poetic richness. If a character is angry, they speak of that; lovesick, they speak of their heavy heart; vengeful, they speak of the joys of vengeance. Each moment he creates heightens the drama of that particular moment. The struggling writer is forever doing what I call "describing the furniture." Describing characters, events, environments as if from rote, while the dramatic richness of what should be the heightened moments of a scene are held back for some revelation or plot effect. Shakespeare is both a master of the moment, the scene, the act, the story. He presents passionate, feeling characters in full flower, not as seeds set to bloom late in the fall.
Wonderful structure for the first act of a play.

Act Two

Scene One
The second act opens with a Chorus that posits the problem for Romeo and Juliet:


"Being held a foe, he may not have access."
But the Chorus also points out,
"But passion lends them power, time means, to meet,
Temp'ring extremities with extreme sweet."




Just as the opening lines of the chorus foretells the end of the story, this chorus foretells what will soon transpire in the second act. Again, with a master storyteller, it's the journey the story creates for its audience that is moving, not a withholding of the destination for dramatic effect.
The action of the scene opens with Romeo having two lines,




"Can I go forward when my heart is here?
Turn back, dull earth, and find they center out."




Romeo goes over a garden wall into the Capulet estate.
Story note, Romeo is a lovesick, rash, impulsive character. Shakespeare acts that out by having Romeo voice just two lines before going over the wall to return to Juliet. He doesn't think about it, doesn't discuss it with others, he simply acts on his feelings in a way that advances the story.Many writers struggle because they spend a great deal of time setting up why characters will do something when they eventually meet. Shakespeare arranges for characters to meet, because in those moments, their goals and feelings are more naturally revealed.
Benvolio and Mercutio see Romeo go over the wall into the field by the Capulet's house. Both Benvolio and Mercutio realize there's no point in trying to find Romeo, who they think has gone off to find Rosaline.

Scene Two
Romeo goes forward and sees Juliet upon a balcony. He speaks of his love for her,


"Oh, that I were a glove upon that hand, That I might touch that cheek."

Juliet speaks from her heart,
"O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?"
And,
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."
Poetic language treasured through the ages.
More, Juliet speaking,
"My love as deep, The more I give to thee,
The more I have, for both are infinite."
And,
"Yet I should kill thee with much cherishing.
Good night, good night. Parting is such sweet sorrow
That I shall say "Good Night" till it be morrow."




Of what can one add to such beautiful language? Spoken in the moment, from the heart, to the heart. Again, these are scenes written from the inside of the dramatic moments they bring to life. They are not words chosen to describe a girl on a balcony, or a young man standing below.


Scene Three
Romeo meets with Friar Lawrence and asks that he perform the marriage to Juliet. Friar Lawrence chides Romeo, that he was so recently lovesick over Rosaline. But he agrees to the marriage because it would end the feud between the two clans.




Romeo, about the marriage,
"Oh, let us hence. I stand on sudden haste."
Friar Lawrence,
"Wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast."




Romeo meets Juliet and arranges their marriage. Again, the story is always advancing forward.


Scene Four
Mercutio and Benvolio wonder about Romeo, and think he's still mad in love with Rosaline. It comes out that Tybalt has sent some kind of challenge to Romeo's father, possibly a challenge to Romeo to a duel.
The nurse comes upon the scene with a message for Romeo from Juliet, but first comes a comic exchange between the nurse and Mercutio. It varies the pace of the story. Romeo asks the nurse to have Juliet meet him at the cell of Friar Lawrence to be married.
Scene Five
Juliet waits impatiently for the nurse, who returns but delays offering the message from Romeo to instead offer a list of her aches and pains. Hearing that all she need do to be married to Romeo is meet him at Friar Lawrence's cell, Juliet is ecstatic.
Scene Six
Romeo and Juliet meet at the Friar's cell. They leave with the Friar to be married.
Friar,




"Come, come with me, and we will make short work,
For, by your leaves, you shall not stay alone
Till Holy Church incorporate two in one."


Story note, the preceding four scenes have all been brief, focused, and have quickly advanced the story. Because the story is not about the details of how Romeo and Juliet get married, Shakespeare does not dwell on those scenes Once a scene has fulfilled its dramatic purpose of advancing the story in a dramatic way, it's over.


This scene ends Act Two. The act answers the question, can Romeo and Juliet be together? It also leaves the question, will they be able to be together to open the Third Act. It's important that a storyteller be able to see how far this second act has advanced the story at a measured, brisk pace, even while it left open one question to draw the audience back into the third act. Many writers struggle because they withhold and delay a great deal of their story to create a single, powerful revelation. Shakespeare, however, made the journey of the story itself a revelation, with this question at the end of the act something that adds to the story's drama.
Act Three
Scene One
The intensity of the story heightens with the opening scene of Act Three. Benvolio and Mercutio come upon Tybalt. They taunt each other, and then Romeo arrives on the scene. Tybalt challenges Romeo to a duel, which Romeo refuses, hinting that he and Tybalt have no cause for quarrel no.,




"And so, good Capulet, which name I tender
As dearly as mine own, be satisfied."
Romeo's words infuriate Mercutio, who draws his sword and challenges Tybalt. Tybalt mortally wounds Mercutio. Romeo responds,
"...Tybalt, that an hour
Hath been my cousin! Oh, sweet Juliet,
Thy beauty hath made me effeminate
And in my temper softened valor's need."
Tybalt returns and again challenges Romeo. Romeo slays Tybalt.
The Prince is immediately upon the scene, with the heads of the clans Capulet and Montague. For his part in Tybalt's death, the Prince exiles Romeo from Verona.
That ends the scene.
Scene Two
Juliet awaits Romeo, when the nurse enters with news of his banishment. Juliet speaks of killing herself over her grief at the loss of Romeo,
"I'll to my wedding bed
And death, not Romeo, take my maidenhead."


The nurse promises to find a way to bring Romeo to her.

Scene Three
Friar Lawrence tells Romeo he is banished, thinking it a good end to a bad situation. Romeo feels only his grief over the fated loss of Juliet. The nurse arrives with news of Juliet, that she grieves deeply the loss of Romeo. Plans are made that Romeo will come to Juliet, and that the Friar will arrange for them to leave Verona together.

Scene Four
Count Paris approaches Capulet and pushes for his marriage to Juliet. Capulet gives in to a marriage within three days.

Story note, the dramatic purpose of this scene is to escalate the pressure on Juliet.


Shakespeare introduces characters when they have a dramatic purpose in the story. For example, he introduced Count Paris earlier in a scene where he asks for the hand of Juliet. That scene serves the dramatic purpose of showing that Juliet being considered for an arranged marriage. His new proposal escalates the drama around whether she can be with Romeo. Friar Lawrence, on the other hand, only enters the story when he has a dramatic purpose to serve, arranging for the marriage of Romeo and Juliet. He's not simply introduced earlier as a background character, because that would serve no dramatic purpose. Many writers struggle because they use the opening scenes of their plays to introduce characters whose dramatic purpose in the story only becomes clear later.
Scene Five
As another day dawns, Romeo and Juliet prepare to separate.
Juliet,




"Then, window, let day in, and let life out."
Romeo,
"Farewell, farewell, one kiss and I'll descend."


Juliet has a premonition of Romeo's death, which frightens her. Romeo departs, and Juliet's mother comes on the scene. She vows to Juliet that when Romeo is exiled, someone will be sent to kill him. When Juliet is told of the plan she marry Count Paris, she counters that it is only Romeo she will wed.Juliet's father refuses to hear why she resists marrying Count Paris. He exits. Juliet's mother refuses to listen to Juliet as well, and also exits. Juliet sends word to her parents she's going to see Friar Lawrence to seek absolution. Her final words,


"If all else fail, myself have power to die."


In this scene Juliet shows herself to be a character willing to die rather than submit to her parents concerning the marriage to Count Paris. By speaking these words to end Act Three, the audience is cued to Juliet's dramatic dilemma and one solution, and drawn back to the next act to find the answer. Another powerful, well-developed Act.
Act Four
Scene One
Count Paris visits Friar Lawrence to arrange his marriage to Juliet. He explains her reluctance arising from her grief over Tybalt's death. Juliet arrives and she speaks to Paris about her love for Romeo, but in a veiled way. He, not understanding, takes his leave. Juliet pours out her grief to the Friar, and shows him the knife she will use to take her life if something cannot be done. The Friar gives Juliet a potion that will make her appear as dead, that she should take the night before her wedding to Paris. Juliet agrees to take it. Once again she acts out her determination to control her own fate. The Friar also tells Juliet that he will send a note to Romeo through a courier, so Romeo will not be alarmed at her supposed death.

Story note, once again, Shakespeare brings together the principles whose actions advance the story. Romeo's thoughts about his exile to another town and his journey there, for example, serve no dramatic purpose to this story, so they are not included.
Scene Two
Juliet returns home and finds her father preparing for her wedding. She now pretends that she will honor his request to marry Count Paris. Her father is so delighted, he says the wedding should happen the very next day.

Story note, Shakespeare deliberately heightens the dramatic pressure not only on Juliet, but on the audience as well, by hastening the marriage. The storyteller is always looking for ways to increase the dramatic pressure on their characters, not to reduce it.


Scene Three
Juliet speaks to her mother, that all is in preparation for the next day, words rich in irony. Juliet,




"No, madam, we have culled such necessaries
As our behooveful for our state tomorrow."
Juliet takes out the vial and wonders if it is really a poison that will kill her and save the Friar the embarrassment of having married her to Romeo.
Finally, Juliet drinks from the vial, with the words,
"Romeo, Romeo, Romeo! Here's drink. I drink to thee."


Scene Four
The elder Capulet and the nurse stay up preparing for the wedding. The approach of Count Paris heard, Capulet sends the nurse to awaken Juliet.


Scene Five
The nurse finds Juliet seemingly dead and calls for others. Lady Capulet is first on the scene, followed by Juliet's father. They mourn Juliet's death. Moments later, Friar Lawrence is on the scene with Count Paris. Friar Lawrence instructs that Juliet's body be taken to the church for her internment. The scene ends with an exchange between a Capulet serving man and the musicians trying to think of a way to at least get a meal for their labors of coming to the Capulet estate.
These five scenes constitute the Fourth Act. They all revolve around Juliet and her determination to do whatever must be done to be with Romeo and not marry Count Paris. In these scenes Juliet comes to life as a fully dimensional character whose actions advance the story to its final act.
Act Five
Scene One
A man brings Romeo news of Juliet's death. Romeo is bereaved, but still asks if the man brings a letter from Friar Lawrence. When the answer is "no," Romeo instructs the man to hire him a horse to take him to Verona. As soon as the man departs, Romeo speaks of his intentions,




"Well, Juliet, I will lie with thee tonight."


Story note, as always, Romeo speaks directly and to the point about his intentions. And by making his intentions clear, the drama of the story is heightened.




When Romeo tries to buy a poison to take his life, the apothecary hesitates, because it's against the law. Even this moment in the story is presented in a way that its drama is heightened.

Scene Two
Friar Lawrence is told the letter he sent to Romeo about Juliet's seeming death was not delivered. Friar Lawrence realizes he must go immediately to Juliet's tomb and break in to forestall a new tragedy.


Scene Three
Paris comes to see Juliet in her tomb. Soon afterwards, Romeo arrives determined to join Juliet in death. He asks that Balthasar, his companion, take a letter to his father. Paris comes upon Romeo and blames him for Juliet's death, thinking that she killed herself over grief for Tybalt. Romeo tries to tell Paris that he's at Juliet's tomb to join her, but Paris insists on taking Romeo into custody. Romeo draws his sword and slays Paris, who asks with his dying words to join Juliet. Romeo realizes then that it is Count Paris, a kinsman of Mercutio, which adds to his grief.
Romeo opens Juliet's tomb and speaks,




"For here lies Juliet, and her beauty makes
This vault a feasting presence full of light."


Romeo kisses Juliet, then drinks his poison. As soon as he falls dead, Friar Lawrence comes on the scene and finds Paris and Romeo. At that moment, Juliet awakes and asks for Romeo. Friar Lawrence, hearing others approach, wants to take Juliet away to be a nun, but she refuses. Friar Lawrence leaves, and Juliet picks up Romeo's dagger and speaks,


"O, happy dagger,
This is thy sheath. There rust, and let me die."




Juliet kills herself.




Others come upon the scene and a search is mounted to discover what has happened. The heads of the clans Capulet and Montague are sent for, and the Prince of Verona. Balthasar is found and Friar Lawrence.Romeo's father arrives on the scene with news that his wife has died that night.The Prince demands an explanation of the events. Friar Lawrence tells him of how the events transpired that led to the deaths of Romeo, Juliet and Paris. The Prince reads Romeo's suicide note, then turns to Capulet and Montague and says,


"Where be these enemies? -- Capulet, Montague,
See what a scourge is laid upon your hate,
That heaven finds means to kill your joys with love,
And I, for winking at your discords too,
Have lost a brace of kinsmen. All are punished."
Capulet responds,
"O brother Montague, give me thy hand.
This is my daughter's jointure, for no more
Can I demand."
Montague,
"But I can give thee more,
For I will ray her statue in pure gold,
That whiles Verona by that name is known,
There shall no figure at such rate be set
As that of true and faithful Juliet."
The play ends with a summation by the Prince and the final lines of the play,
"For never was a story of more woe
than this of Juliet and her Romeo."




As with all the other scenes of the play, these final scenes bring together characters at the height of their feelings. It places them into an arena where they interact in a way that advances the play to its resolution -- the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. The plot also advances the story to its fulfillment, that the love of Romeo and Juliet is so great as to defy even death and reunite their families.

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"Wa tu izzu man-ta shaa, wa tu zillu man-ta shaa"

Oh My God what's this Labyrinth...Can you please attach a whole file or word file of this because darmyan men he discussion shuru hojati he ap ki kisi k sath...
It's really a monstrous job..
Pehle parho phir likho ya chalo paste bhi karo to saal lg jata he...itna mushkil to hmari veterinary ya medical ka literature bhi nae hota...

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If I am what I have and if I lose what I have, who then am I?

you are right .Arts subject needs length too.Even i have excluded some important topic of tempest .because i have no personal pc .so when ever i got time ,i try my best to post.you are student of English literature.It would be my pleasure if u have got some thing from this thread. I can adore this thread but its not in my authorization to split this discussion .yes time waqae bht lagta .ek post pe 3 hours minimum lag jaty hen n maximum ...........

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"Wa tu izzu man-ta shaa, wa tu zillu man-ta shaa"

"Shakespeare's Characters: Juliet"


We first see Juliet, the heroine of Romeo and Juliet with her mother, Lady Capulet and the Nurse. She meets Romeo . and they are married and then ,Juliet stabs herself.


Such is the simplicity, the truth, and the loveliness of Juliet's character, that we are not at first aware of its complexity, its depth, and its variety. There is in it an intensity of passion, a singleness of purpose, an entireness, a completeness of effect, which we feel as a whole; and to attempt to analyze the impression thus conveyed at once to soul and sense, is as if while hanging over a half-blown rose, and reveling in its intoxicating perfume, we should pull it asunder, leaflet by leaflet, the better to display its bloom and fragrance. All Shakespeare's women, being essentially women, either love or have loved, or are capable of loving; but Juliet is love itself. The passion is her state of being, and out of it she has no existence. It is the soul within her soul; the pulse within her heart; the life-blood along her veins, "blending with every atom of her frame." The love that is so chaste and dignified in Portia — so airy-delicate and fearless in Miranda — so sweetly confiding in Perdita — so playfully fond in Rosalind — so constant in Imogen — so devoted in Desdemona — so fervent in Helen — so tender in Viola — is each and all of these in Juliet.


In the delineation of that sentiment which forms the groundwork of the drama, nothing in fact can equal the power of the picture but its inexpressible sweetness and its perfect grace: the passion which has taken possession of Juliet's whole soul has the force, the rapidity, the resistless violence of the torrent; but she is herself as "moving delicate," as fair, as soft, as flexible as the willow that bends over it, whose light leaves tremble even with the motion of the current which hurries beneath them. But at the same time that the pervading sentiment is never lost sight of, and is one and the same throughout, the individual part of the character in all its variety is developed, and marked with the nicest discrimination. For instance, the simplicity of Juliet is very different from the simplicity of Miranda; her innocence is not the innocence of a desert island. The energy she displays does not once remind us of the moral grandeur of Isabel, or the intellectual power of Portia; it is founded in the strength of passion, not in the strength of character; it is accidental rather than inherent, rising with the tide of feeling or temper, and with it subsiding. Her romance is not the pastoral romance of Perdita, nor the fanciful romance of Viola; it is the romance of a tender heart and a poetical imagination. Her inexperience is not ignorance; she has heard that there is such a thing as falsehood, though she can scarcely conceive it. Her mother and her nurse have perhaps warned her against flattering vows and man's inconstancy.


Our impression of Juliet's loveliness and sensibility is enhanced, when we find it overcoming in the bosom of Romeo a previous love for another. His visionary passion for the cold, inaccessible Rosaline, forms but the prologue, the threshold, to the true, the real sentiment which succeeds to it. This incident, which is found in the original story, has been retained by Shakespeare with equal feeling and judgement; and far from being a fault in taste and sentiment, far from prejudicing us against Romeo, by casting on him, at the outset of the piece, the stigma of inconstancy, it becomes, if properly considered, a beauty in the drama, and adds a fresh stroke of truth to the portrait of the lover. Why, after all, should we be offended at what does not offend Juliet herself? for in the original story we find that her attention is first attracted towards Romeo, by seeing him


"fancy-sick and pale of cheer, for love of a cold beauty. . . ."


In the extreme vivacity of her imagination, and its influence upon the action, the language, the sentiments of the drama, Juliet resembles Portia; but with this striking difference. In Portia, the imaginative power, though developed in a high degree, is so equally blended with the other intellectual and moral faculties, that it does not give us the idea of excess. It is subject to her nobler reason; it adorns and heightens all her feelings; it does not overwhelm or mislead them. In Juliet, it is rather a part of her southern temperament, controlling and modifying the rest of her character; springing from her sensibility, hurried along by her passions, animating her joys, darkening her sorrows, exaggerating her terrors, and, in the end, overpowering her reason. With Juliet, imagination is, in the first instance, if not the source, the medium of passion; and passion again kindles her imagination. It is through the power of imagination that the eloquence of Juliet is so vividly poetical; that every feeling, every sentiment comes to her clothed in the richest imagery, and is thus reflected from her mind to ours. The poetry is not here the mere adornment, the outward garnishing of the character; but its result, or rather blended with its essence. It is indivisible from it, and interfused through it like moonlight through the summer air. To particularize is almost impossible, since the whole of the dialogue appropriated to Juliet is one rich stream of imagery. . . .



The famous soliloquy, "Gallop apace, ye fiery-footed steeds," teems with luxuriant imagery. The fond adjuration,

"Come night I come Romeo! come thou day in night!"


expresses that fulness of enthusiastic admiration for her lover, which possesses her whole soul; but expresses it as only Juliet could or would have expressed it — in a bold and beautiful metaphor. Let it be remembered that in this speech Juliet is not supposed to be addressing an audience, nor even a confidante; and I confess I have been shocked at the utter want of taste and refinement in those who, with coarse derision, or in a spirit of prudery, yet more gross and perverse, have dared to comment on this beautiful "Hymn to the Night," breathed out by Juliet in the silence and solitude of her chamber. She is thinking aloud; it is the young heart "triumphing to itself in words." In the midst of all the vehemence with which she calls upon the night to bring Romeo to her arms, there is something so almost infantine in her perfect simplicity, so playful and fantastic in the imagery and language, that the charm of sentiment and innocence is thrown over the whole; and her impatience, to use her own expression, is truly that of "a child before a festival, that hath new robes and may not wear them." It is at the very moment too that her whole heart and fancy are abandoned to blissful anticipation, that the nurse enters with the news of Romeo's banishment; and the immediate transition from rapture to despair has a most powerful effect.


It is in truth a tale of love and sorrow, not of anguish and terror. We behold the catastrophe afar off with scarcely a wish to avert it. Romeo and Juliet must die; their destiny is fulfilled; they have quaffed off the cup of life, with all its infinite of joys and agonies, in one intoxicating draught. Young, innocent, loving and beloved, they descend together into the tomb; but Shakspeare has made that tomb a shrine of martyred and sainted affection consecrated for the worship of all hearts — not a dark charnel vault, haunted by spectres of pain, rage, and desperation. Romeo and Juliet are pictured lovely in death as in life; the sympathy they inspire does not oppress us with that suffocating sense of horror which in the altered tragedy makes the fall of the curtain a relief; but all pain is lost in the tenderness and poetic beauty of the picture.


Having not quite reached her fourteenth birthday, Juliet is of an age that stands on the border between immaturity and maturity. At the play’s beginning however she seems merely an obedient, sheltered, naïve child. Though many girls her age—including her mother—get married, Juliet has not given the subject any thought. When Lady Capulet mentions Paris’s interest in marrying Juliet, Juliet dutifully responds that she will try to see if she can love him, a response that seems childish in its obedience and in its immature conception of love. Juliet seems to have no friends her own age, and she is not comfortable talking about sex (as seen in her discomfort when the Nurse goes on and on about a sexual joke at Juliet’s expense in Act 1, scene 3).Juliet gives glimpses of her determination, strength, and sober-mindedness, in her earliest scenes, and offers a preview of the woman she will become during the four-day span of Romeo and Juliet. While Lady Capulet proves unable to quiet the Nurse, Juliet succeeds with one word (also in Act 1, scene 3). In addition, even in Juliet’s dutiful acquiescence to try to love Paris, there is some seed of steely determination. Juliet promises to consider Paris as a possible husband to the precise degree her mother desires. While an outward show of obedience, such a statement can also be read as a refusal through passivity. Juliet will accede to her mother’s wishes, but she will not go out of her way to fall in love with Paris.



Juliet’s first meeting with Romeo propels her full-force toward adulthood. Though profoundly in love with him, Juliet is able to see and criticize Romeo’s rash decisions and his tendency to romanticize things. After Romeo kills Tybalt and is banished, Juliet does not follow him blindly. She makes a logical and heartfelt decision that her loyalty and love for Romeo must be her guiding priorities. Essentially, Juliet cuts herself loose from her prior social moorings—her nurse, her parents, and her social position in Verona—in order to try to reunite with Romeo. When she wakes in the tomb to find Romeo dead, she does not kill herself out of feminine weakness, but rather out of an intensity of love, just as Romeo did. Juliet’s suicide actually requires more nerve than Romeo’s: while he swallows poison, she stabs herself through the heart with a dagger.


Juliet’s development from a wide-eyed girl into a self-assured, loyal, and capable woman is one of Shakespeare’s early triumphs of characterization. It also marks one of his most confident and rounded treatments of a female




Romeo

The name Romeo, in popular culture, has become nearly synonymous with “lover.” Romeo, in Romeo and Juliet, does indeed experience a love of such purity and passion that he kills himself when he believes that the object of his love, Juliet, has died. The power of Romeo’s love, however, often obscures a clear vision of Romeo’s character, which is far more complex.

Even Romeo’s relation to love is not so simple. At the beginning of the play, Romeo pines for Rosaline, proclaiming her the paragon of women and despairing at her indifference toward him. Taken together, Romeo’s Rosaline-induced histrionics seem rather juvenile. Romeo is a great reader of love poetry, and the portrayal of his love for Rosaline suggests he is trying to re-create the feelings that he has read about. After first kissing Juliet, she tells him “you kiss by th’ book,” meaning that he kisses according to the rules, and implying that while proficient, his kissing lacks originality (1.5.107). In reference to Rosaline, it seems, Romeo loves by the book. Rosaline, of course, slips from Romeo’s mind at first sight of Juliet. But Juliet is no mere replacement. The love she shares with Romeo is far deeper, more authentic and unique than the clichéd puppy love Romeo felt for Rosaline. Romeo’s love matures over the course of the play from the shallow desire to be in love to a profound and intense passion. One must ascribe Romeo’s development at least in part to Juliet. Her level-headed observations, such as the one about Romeo’s kissing, seem just the thing to snap Romeo from his superficial idea of love and to inspire him to begin to speak some of the most beautiful and intense love poetry ever written.

Yet Romeo’s deep capacity for love is merely a part of his larger capacity for intense feeling of all kinds. Put another way, it is possible to describe Romeo as lacking the capacity for moderation. Love compels him to sneak into the garden of his enemy’s daughter, risking death simply to catch a glimpse of her. Anger compels him to kill his wife’s cousin in a reckless duel to avenge the death of his friend. Despair compels him to suicide upon hearing of Juliet’s death. Such extreme behavior dominates Romeo’s character throughout the play and contributes to the ultimate tragedy that befalls the lovers. Had Romeo restrained himself from killing Tybalt, or waited even one day before killing himself after hearing the news of Juliet’s death, matters might have ended happily. Of course, though, had Romeo not had such depths of feeling, the love he shared with Juliet would never have existed in the first place.


Among his friends, especially while bantering with Mercutio, Romeo shows glimpses of his social persona. He is intelligent, quick-witted, fond of verbal jousting (particularly about sex), loyal, and unafraid of danger.

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"Wa tu izzu man-ta shaa, wa tu zillu man-ta shaa"

"Romeo Juliet as Shakespearean tragedy."

"A drama or literary work in which the main character is brought to ruin or suffers extreme sorrow, especially as a consequence of a tragic flaw, moral weakness, or inability to cope with unfavorable circumstances."

The following fourteen points are a summation of a typical Shakespearean tragedy.

1.)Tragedy is concerned primarily with one person – The tragic hero.

2.)The story is essentially one of exceptional suffering and calamity leading to the death of the hero. The suffering and calamity are, as a rule, unexpected and contrasted with previous happiness and glory.

3.)The tragedy involves a person of high estate. Therefore, his or her fate affects the welfare of a whole nation or empire.

4.)The hero undergoes a sudden reversal of fortune.

5.)This reversal excites and arouses the emotions of pity and fear within the audience. The reversal may frighten and awe, making viewers or readers of the play feel that man is blind and helpless. The audience will regard the tragic hero as an individual who is up against an overwhelming power that may treat him well for a short period of time, but will eventually strike him down in his pride.

6.)The tragic fate of the hero is often triggered by a tragic flaw in the hero’s character. The hero contributes in some way, shape, or form to the disaster in which he perishes.

7.)Shakespeare often introduces abnormal conditions of the mind (such as insanity, somnambulism, or hallucinations).

8.)Supernatural elements are often introduced as well.

9.)Much of the plot seems to hinge on “chance” or “accident”.

10.)Besides the outward conflict between individuals or groups of individuals, there is also an inner conflict(s) and torment(s) within the soul of the tragic hero.

11.)The tragic hero need not be an overwhelmingly “good” person, however, it is necessary that he/she should contain so much greatness that in his/her fall the audience may be vividly conscious of the individual’s potential for further success, but also the temptation of human nature. Therefore, a Shakespearean tragedy is never depressing because the audience can understand where the hero went wrong.

12.)The central impression of the tragedy is one of waste.

13.)The tragic world is one of action. Action is created when thoughts turn into reality. Unfortunately for the tragic hero, their plans do not materialize as they may have hoped and their actions ultimately lead to their own destruction.

14.)The ultimate power in the tragic world is a moral order; more specifically, the struggle between good and evil.

a)The main source of the problems which produces all the death and suffering is evil in the fullest sense.

b)This evil violently disturbs the moral order of the world.

c)Evil is seen as something negative, barren, weakening, destructive, a principle of death. It isolates, disunites, and annihilates. Only while some vestiges of good remain in the hero, can he/she still exist. When the evil masters the good in the hero, it destroys him/her and those around them.

d)This evil is eventually destroyed and the moral order of the world is re-established





At its very least, Shakespearean tragedy is pre-eminently the story of one person, the hero (and on occasion the heroine). The story leads up to and includes the death of the hero (a person of high degree); it is in fact essentially a tale of suffering and calamity leading to death. The suffering and calamity are, moreover, exceptional. They befall a conspicuous person and are themselves of some striking kind, including being unexpected and contrasting with previous happiness or glory.However, and this is important, the calamities of tragedy do not simply happen, nor are they sent by the gods; they proceed mainly from actions, and those are the actions of men. Consequently, the hero always contributes to the disaster in which he perishes; at the same time, the center of tragedy may be said to lie in action issuing from character or in character issuing in action. That is, the calamities and catastrophe follow inevitably from the deeds of men, and the main source of the deeds is character. There are some qualifications to made here regarding the role of character and tragedy. First, Shakespeare sometimes represents abnormal states of mind: insanity, somnambulism, hallucinations. Deeds done from these conditions are not what we can call deeds expressive of character. However, these abnormal conditions are never introduced as the origin of deeds of any dramatic moment. Second, the supernatural is sometimes introduced in his tragedies; ghosts and witches appear who have supernatural knowledge. Yet the supernatural is always placed in the closest relation to character. Third, he allows chance (any occurrence [not supernatural of course] which enters the drama neither from the agency of a character nor from the obvious surrounding circumstance) a large role in some of the action. This operation of chance is a fact of human life and to exclude it wholly from tragedy would be to fail the truth. In addition, it is not merely a fact; that men may start a course of events that they cannot control is a tragic fact, and Shakespeare attempts to make us feel this. The roles then of character and action in Shakespearean tragedy are obviously linked to the ideas of Aristotle. In almost all of them we see a particular obsession; a marked one-sidedness; a pre-disposition in some direction, a total incapacity, in certain instances, of resisting the force which draws in this direction; a fatal tendency to identify the whole being with one interest, object, passion, or habit of mind. This is perhaps the fundamental tragic trait. It is a fatal gift, but is carries with it a touch of greatness; there is something attractive about a man so possessed with one concentrated activity. Unfortunately, his one-track focus destroys him. He errs by action or omission and his error, joining with other causes, brings on him ruin. For Shakespeare, the idea of the tragic hero as a being destroyed simply and solely by external forces is quite alien.


Although the characters are obviously important in Shakespeare's tragedies, there is a kind of operative controlling force that is present throughout. It would be comforting if we could easily see the direct influence of a benevolent, personal God in the Judeo-Christian tradition. Such, however, is not the case. Elizabethan drama was almost wholly secular; and while Shakespeare was writing he practically confined his view to the world of non-theological observation and thought, so that he represents it substantially in one and the same way whether the period of the story is pre-Christian or Christian. He looked at this secular world most intently and seriously, and he depicted it accurately without the compulsion to impose on it his own system of belief. Tragedy within the context of this dramatic world must be qualified by two points. First, the tragic actions appear piteous, fearful, and mysterious. Second, the presentation of the tragedy does not leave us crushed, rebellious, or despairing. From the first point it follows that the ultimate power in his tragic world is not adequately described as a law or order which we can see to be just and benevolent--in the sense of a moral order; for in that case the spectacle of suffering and waste could not seem to us so fearful and mysterious as it does. And from the second it follows that this ultimate power is not adequately described as fate, whether malicious and cruel or blind and indifferent to human happiness and goodness; for in that case the spectacle would leave us desperate or rebellious.


Still, the idea that some kind of fate controls the dramatic world of Shakespearean tragedy is hard to ignore. If we do not feel at times that the hero is, in some sense, a doomed man; that he and others drift struggling to destruction like helpless creatures borne on an irresistible flood towards a cataract; that their failings are far from being the sole or sufficient cause of all they suffer; and that the power from which they cannot escape is relentless and immovable, we have failed to receive an essential part of the full tragic effect. Many times we see men and women confidently attempting to survive the tragic world. They strike into the existing order of things in pursuit of their ideas. But what they achieve is not what they intended; indeed, it is terribly unlike it. They seem to understand very little of the world in which they operate. They fight blindly in the dark, and the power that works through them makes them its instrument. They act freely, and yet their action binds them hand and foot. And it makes no difference whether they meant well or ill. Consequently, everywhere in the tragic world what characters intend is translated into the opposite of what was intended. Their actions, seemingly insignificant, become a monstrous flood which spreads over a kingdom. Whatever they dream of doing, they achieve just the opposite and typically end in destroying themselves. All this makes us feel the blindness and helplessness of man. It is obvious that these impressions about fate are in Shakespeare's tragedies. On the other hand, there is practically no trace of fatalism in its more primitive, crude, and obvious forms. Nothing makes us think of the actions and sufferings of the persons as somehow arbitrarily fixed beforehand without regard to their feelings, thoughts, and resolutions. Nor are the facts ever so presented that it seems to us as if the supreme power, whatever it may be, had a special spite against a family or an individual. Neither do we receive the impression that a family, owing to some hideous crime or impiety in early days, is doomed in later days to continue a career of portentous calamities and sins. What, then, is this fate which the impressions already considered lead us to describe as the ultimate power in the tragic world? It appears to be a mythological expression for the whole system or order, of which the individual characters form an inconsiderable and feeble part; which seems to determine, far more than they, their native dispositions and their circumstances and action; which is so vast and complex that they can scarcely at all understand it or control its workings; and which has a nature so definite and fixed that whatever changes take place in it produce other changes inevitably and without regard to men's desires and regrets. And whether this system is called fate or not, it cannot be denied that it does appear as the ultimate power in the tragic world.
Whatever may be said of accidents, circumstances and the like, human action is presented as the central fact in tragedy and as the main cause of the catastrophe. That necessity which so much impresses us is chiefly the necessary connection of cause and effect. For his own actions we tend to hold the hero responsible. The critical action of the hero is to a greater or lesser degree bad or wrong. The catastrophe is the return of this action on the head of the hero. Another way to say this is that the ultimate power in a Shakespearean tragedy is a moral order. Thus, what a man does in violation of the moral order must be inevitably paid back to him. Even if we confine our attention to the heroes who are not guilty of overtly monstrous sins, even if they are comparatively innocent, they still show some marked imperfection or defect--irresolution, pride, credulousness, excessive simplicity, excessive susceptibility to sexual emotions, and so on. These defects are certainly in the widest sense evil, and they contribute decisively to the conflict and catastrophe.

Not all heroes are as perfect as some might think. In fact, in Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”, the tragic hero, Romeo is quite flawed. The play is set in Verona and is about two families, the Capulets and the Montagues, who are bitter enemies. Juliet, the daughter of Capulet, and Romeo, the son of Montague, fall in love and get married. Soon after their marriage, Mercutio, Romeo’s friend and Tybalt, Capulet’s nephew gets in a fight in which Mercutio is killed. Romeo seeks revenge and kills Tybalt. As punishment, Romeo is banished from Verona. With the help of Friar Lawrence, Juliet comes up with a plan to see Romeo by faking her death. Romeo, unaware of the plan, learns she has died and decides to end his own life. Juliet sees Romeo dead and then also kills herself. Romeo has many flaws but the most prominent is his impulsiveness. He tends to make irrational and quick decisions without thinking about the consequences of his actions. Romeo’s impulsiveness motivates his choices when falling in love and while in love, as well as when choosing to get into fights and ultimately when he decides to commit suicide, leading to the downfall of the tragic hero, Romeo.From the beginning of the book, Romeo is quick and reckless when falling in love as well as while in love. An example is when Romeo seems to fall in love with Juliet very suddenly. Romeo is at a ball at the Capulet’s house. He thinks he is in love with a woman named, Rosaline, until he sees Juliet. At first sight of Juliet he proclaims

, “Did my heart ever love till now? Forswear it, sight, / For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night” (1.5. 59-60).

Romeo is immediately convinced he is in love with Juliet because of her beauty, even though he has never talked to her and does not know who she is. His rash decision-making causes him to feel he is in love without knowing Juliet or thinking about the fact that she might be a Capulet as well as the consequences that loving an enemy might have. Romeo continues to be impulsive when he is in love with Juliet. Romeo goes to the Capulet mansion, climbs the walls and finds Juliet. While explaining how he had gotten there and found her he says,

“And what love can do, that dares love attempt. / Therefore thy kinsmen are no stop to me” (2.2. 73-74).

Romeo is desperate to see Juliet because he thinks he is in love. He knows he is in danger of being caught and subsequently killed for being on enemy property. He risks his life to see Juliet out of impulse without fully thinking through the danger he is putting himself in. The absence of this thought process allows him to fall in love with his enemy, which eventually leads to his demise.The Friar also notices Romeo’s impulsive behavior. Romeo goes to see the Friar after falling out of love with Rosaline. At the beginning of the book, Romeo says he is completely in love with Rosaline. Soon after he confesses his love of Rosaline, he falls in love with Juliet. When telling the Friar about this change he says,

“With Rosaline, my ghostly father? No. / I have forgot that name and that name’s woe” (2.3. 48-49).

Romeo is quick to wipe Rosaline from his head within a matter of days of saying he was in love with her. He doesn’t stop and think about Rosaline compared to Juliet and just decides to forget her. The Friar goes on to say,

“If e’er thou was thyself and these woes thine,/ Thou and these woes were all for Rosaline./ And art thou changed?” (2.3. 81-83)

The Friar realizes Romeo’s erratic and impulsive behavior. He notices that Romeo quickly dropped Rosaline without thinking very much. Romeo rushes through most decisions in his life, including love. The Friar continues on and says,

“Wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast” (2.4. 101).

The Friar is warning Romeo about his rash and sudden decision-making. The Friar knows that this behavior can lead to a mistake. He tells Romeo to slow down, stop and think before acting on something or making a decision. This warning could have stopped Romeo from fighting Tybalt or immediately killing himself. Unfortunately, Romeo ignores the Friar’s warning. He continues to be impulsive when making decisions, which leads to Romeo’s death. Romeo’s impulsiveness also tends to allow him to get into fights. Romeo irrationally gets into a fight with Tybalt. Romeo’s friend, Mercutio, is in the streets on Verona and sees Tybalt. They get into a duel and Mercutio is killed. Romeo, seeking revenge for his friend’s death says

“And fire-eyed fury be my conduct now.-/… Either thou or I, or both, must go with him” (3.1 129, 134).

Romeo lets his emotions take over and guide his actions. He decides to fight which results in Tybalt’s death while having no regard for his own life. He doesn’t think about possibly getting killed in the fight or getting in trouble for fighting in the streets. The Prince eventually punishes Romeo for fighting but is lenient because Romeo was seeking revenge for Mercutio, one of the Prince’s kinsmen. The prince banishes Romeo from Verona. This causes Juliet and the Friar to come up with a plan to fake Juliet’s death in order to see Romeo. Since Romeo is banished and the messenger is unable to contact him, Romeo doesn’t know about the plan. Romeo thinks Juliet is actually dead, which causes him to commit suicide, bringing about his own downfall. Romeo’s impulsiveness also causes him to get into a fight with Paris. On his way to go to Juliet’s tomb after he hears she is dead, he encounters a man. Immediately he says,

“Wilt thou provoke me? The have at thee boy!” (5.3 70)


Romeo doesn’t even see whom he is fighting but continues to fight and kill the man. When he sees he has killed Paris, a close kinsman of the Prince, he gets himself into deeper trouble, making him more desperate and more inclined to end his own life.Finally, Romeo’s impulsive behavior continues all the way until the end of his life. Romeo’s friend goes to visits him after he is banished from Verona. His friend tells him that Juliet is dead, when in fact she is still alive. Romeo goes into a state of despair and desperation. Upon hearing the news of Juliet’s death, he says to his friend, Balthasar,

“Well, Juliet, I will lie with thee tonight. / Let’s see for means. O mischief, thou art swift/ To enter in the thoughts of desperate men” (5.1. 38-40).

Romeo’s thoughts immediately go to suicide. He thinks he is so attached to Juliet that he cannot possibly continue on without her. He makes his decision without investigating further as to what happened with Juliet. He finds a pharmacist and buys a bottle of poison. Romeo plans to go to Juliet’s tomb, drink the poison and die next to her.Rather than go to the Friar first, Romeo decides he will take his own life because of his impulsive nature. Romeo’s impulsiveness causes him to commit suicide when in fact Juliet was not even dead and the whole tragedy could have been avoided. Romeo’s constant impetuousness while dealing with love, when getting into fights and when he commits suicide, eventually leads to his downfall. His carelessness when falling in love with Juliet allows him to fall in love with an enemy. His spontaneous behavior gets him into fights with both Tybalt and Paris. In the end, this spontaneous behavior causes him to commit suicide without finding out more about what happened to Juliet. Romeo, the tragic hero of the play, is eventually brought to an end because of his impassivity. All heroes are imperfect in one-way or another, but the ones that let their flaw take control are eventually meet their demise.

It could be said that the person who is responsible for Romeo and Juliet’s death is Lord Capulet. After all, he is the one who forced Juliet to marry Paris, which eventually led her to drink the potion and “kill” herself. Lord Capulet was so intent on saving his reputation; he did not realize all the pain he was putting his child through. However, one could also argue that the Nurse is at fault. When Juliet found that her future was to be with Paris, the Nurse sided with Lord Capulet, advising Juliet that it would be best for her to be with Paris. With the Nurse having abandoned Romeo and Juliet, it puts them in a vulnerable position. Under helpless and stressed conditions, both Romeo and Juliet plan irrational decisions, which prove to be deathly. Then again, Balthasar, Romeo’s page, could indeed be responsible. It is his fault Romeo found out about Juliet’s “death”. Had he kept quiet, Romeo would not have hastily ended his life. However, in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, it is inevitable that the person who is responsible for Romeo and Juliet’s death is Romeo himself, for he was over dramatic, he lacked in foresight, and he was awfully impulsive. In the play, the readers can infer that Romeo is quite a melodramatic character who cannot control his emotions. It is evident that when ill misfortune swallows Romeo, he becomes a spineless and unnerved person. Friar Lawrence seemed to also think this as well when he chastises to Romeo,

“’Thy noble shape is but a form of wax, / Digressing from the valor of a man’” (III. i. 136-137)

During the time in which Romeo has just found that he is to be banished from Verona. Friar Lawrence’s words speak of how Romeo’s body is just a cover up for his insecurities and weaknesses within him. Learning that he has to leave Verona and Juliet, Romeo is totally devastated and breaks down into fits of tears. Seeing this, the Nurse demands Romeo to stand up and be a man for Juliet’s sake. However, full of grief, Romeo attempts to plunge a dagger into himself, only to be stopped by Friar Lawrence. It is obvious that Romeo is highly unstable and because of his weakness, Juliet also suffers. One would believe that after seeing Romeo like this, he is far too emotional to take care of himself, let alone be married and look after Juliet. Lastly, when Romeo finds Juliet dead, he is terribly distraught and can’t stand to see her dead. Due to his inability to control his distressed emotions, Romeo finally ends his life to be with Juliet in death. In addition to being overemotional, Romeo also lacks in foresight. Besides being quite temperamental, Romeo greatly lacks in foresight. A significant amount of tragedy and suffering could have been avoided had Romeo thought ahead with his plans and actions. When Friar Lawrence tells Romeo,

“’Like powder in a skilless soldier’s flask, /Is set afire by thine own ignorance, / And thou dismembered with thine own defense’” (III. iii. 142-144),

He meant that Romeo operates his actions like a soldier lighting powder without thinking. Due to Romeo’s own incompetence to contemplate his doings, he is thrown into a whirlwind of problems and despair. One of his major faults was murdering Tybalt, as a result of his ineptitude to process the aftermath of killing him; Romeo goes on ahead, only to realize that he is too late to take back what he did. Further more, it is unmistakable that Romeo is too selfish to realize how his actions negatively affect those around him, especially Juliet. If Romeo hadn’t been senseless enough to kill Tybalt without thinking of the consequences, then maybe, Juliet wouldn’t have “killed” herself and maybe Friar Lawrence’s plan to bring peace would have succeeded. On account of Romeo’s lack of foresight, it led him and Juliet to their demise. Romeo’s character in Romeo and Juliet could be viewed as a tragic hero, for he has flaws that steer Juliet and him to their graves. One of them, as said before, is his inability to judge outcomes; another one of his flaws is his impulsive nature. Romeo, after having just met Juliet, decides he wants to marry her. Friar Lawrence even warned Romeo about moving with too much haste when he told him, “’Wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast’” (II. iv. 101). Throughout the play, Romeo made many unwise decisions and for all of them, he had to suffer afterwards. Evidence of his impulsive nature is highlighted in his journey to Juliet’s house to express his love for her when he barely knows her. He acts on his impulses when he decides to jump over the wall to the Capulets' house. The thing that was stupid and dangerous was that he never once thinks about whether he would get in trouble or be killed by one of the guards. Even Juliet was surprised that he managed to climb the wall without being caught. Further more, as the play progresses, after multiple impulsive acts, Romeo decides to kill himself when he finds Juliet “dead”. If he had chosen to simply think about what he was going to do or went to Friar Lawrence to make sure that Juliet was truly dead, Juliet would have been able to wake up and none of them would be dead. Ultimately, it was Romeo’s ignorant choices combined with his impulsive ways that ended up killing him and his love.In Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, Romeo is undoubtedly at fault for his own death as well as Juliet’s. He was highly dramatic and emotional to withstand the difficulties that arose as a result of his inability to make wise decisions and plan them thoroughly mixed together with his impulsive character. Additionally, Romeo, as a character, was a great example of one of the major themes that was emphasized in this play. One could point out that he was the epitome of the theme impulsivity of youth. It seemed as though that in every major choice he made, Romeo acted on pure impulse, such as the time when he kills Tybalt, or his speedy marriage with Juliet. In the end, it was his own tragic flaws that truly led Romeo to his destruction and poor Juliet became a victim of his flaws.

__________________
"Wa tu izzu man-ta shaa, wa tu zillu man-ta shaa"

Robert Frost (1874-1963)

1.http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap7/frost.html
2.http://kirjasto.sci.fi/rfrost.htm


Poetry
The first collection of Frosts's poetry, published in 1913.
Poetry

• "Out, Out–"

A Girl's Garden

A Hundred Collars


A Servant to Servants


After Apple-Picking


Birches


Blueberries


Dust of Snow


Fire and Ice


For Once, Then Something


Good Hours


Good-bye, and Keep Cold


Home Burial


Mending Wall


Neither Out Far Nor In Deep


Nothing Gold Can Stay


Once By The Pacific


Putting in the Seed


Range-Finding


Spring Pools


Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening


The Black Cottage


The Code


The Death of the Hired Man


The Fear


The Generations of Men


The Housekeeper


The Mountain


The Oven Bird


The Pasture



The Road Not Taken


The Rose Family


The Self-seeker


The Sound Of The Trees




The Star-Splitter


The Tuft of Flowers


The Wood-Pile


To E. T.




Robert Frost

(1969 - 1969)




http://www.internal.org/Robert_Frost




2.Walt(er) Whitman (1819-1892)




1.http://kirjasto.sci.fi/wwhitman.htm





2.http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/s_z/whitman/bio.htm





3.http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USASwhitman.htm

work of poet .




A.POETRY AND PROSE





1.Song of Myself



Song of Myself




2.Browse the Whitman Collection -- Electronic Text Center




3.http://www.internal.org/Walt_Whitman



4.I Sing the Body Electric

http://www.daypoems.net/poems/1903.html


ARTICLES ABOUT WALT WHITMAN



http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/w/walt_whitman/index.html

__________________
"Wa tu izzu man-ta shaa, wa tu zillu man-ta shaa"