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Plays
Plays are forms of literature written by playwrights for theatrical performances. These are written with dialogs between characters in a variety of genres – tragedy, historical, satire, comedy or farce. Among the famous plays is William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.”
2,548 Questions
How many pages is the play The Glass Menagerie?
The number of pages in Through the Looking Glass will vary from edition to edition so it is impossible to give a definitive answer as to how many it has.
Well, lots of people actually, including Beatrice and Benedick. What's strange is that Margaret, who should know what really happened, does not speak up to contradict what Claudio and Don Pedro are saying.
Why was the play called domestic tragedy?
Because the action concerns family/domestic affairs rather than public matters of state.
What is discovered from Gertrude's farewell to Ophelia?
At the funeral, Gertrude says "thou should have been my Hamlet's bride." Polonius and Laertes were sure that the King and Queen would not approve a marriage between Hamlet and their sister, but it appears that they were wrong.
Othello is neither a Turk nor a Spaniard. The most specific description of Othello given throughout the play is that he is a Moor. A Moor typically describes someone who is black or Arab and has descended from North Africa. Europeans applied the term 'Moor' loosely to people who were black or Middle Eastern in appearance, and thus, not much can be determined about Othello's race or appearance from this description.
In An Inspector Calls what does it teach the audience?
Sheila has learnt how her actions can effect everyone else in the wold. And Mr birling doesn't learn anything he believes that you only have to look after youself.
What are some examples of symbolism in 'Mourning Becomes Electra' by Eugene O'Neill?
the following is Long days journey into the night...not Morning becomes electra.
Characters in the play:James Tyrone is a famous actor.His wife Mary has been addicted to morphine for 20 years but a new supposedly "cured".They have two sons-Jamie4,aged 33 who is also an actor although unsuccessful and drunkard and Edmund,aged 23,who is ill -possibly with tuberculous-after spending several years working on sailing ships,travelling the world and living rough.he is trying to be a writer.The play shows one day in the life of the Tyone family at their summer home on the north-east coast of the USA in August 1912.At the start of the extract Tyone and Jamie are discussing Edmund's health.
What are William Shakespeare's two most famous plays?
Probably the most famous are Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet; those are the two everybody seems to have heard of. Hamlet is also considered to be one of Shakespeare's greatest plays along with King Lear, Macbeth and Othello. Romeo and Juliet does not usually make this list. There is a prejudice in favour of Shakespeare's tragedies; for some reason a lot of people seem to think that sad plays are "greater" than happy ones.
Why is Othello called a domestic tragedy?
The classification of Shakespeare's plays as "Histories" "Comedies" and "Tragedies" was done by the publishers of the compilation known as The First Folio. In this edition, the full title of the play is "The Tragedy of Othello, The Moor of Venice", and it is classed among the tragedies.
Some people will want to discuss whether this play falls within the conventions and definitions of tragedy drawn from Aristotle by later critics. It is important to know that this is a highly artificial and academic definition which Shakespeare himself does not use, and which hinges on whether there is a "tragic hero" as described by Aristotle (Basically, Oedipus in Sophocles' Oedipus Rex).
Some will say Othello is not a tragedy. Othello is not a tragic hero, Iago manipulates him. Othello falls for it because essentially he has to, he is an outsider. Also, Iago has about 200 more lines than Othello. If Iago is considered the central character, then he can in no way be considered a tragic hero.
Others will say that 'Othello' is a tragedy as he follows the conventions of a 'tragic hero'. A tragic hero is someone who has a flaw, and that flaw leads to his downfall. Othello's flaw is that he is naive and believes "honest Iago" to be exactly that, honest. Becuase of his trusting nature he declines and he ends his life realising he has nothing to live for. Iago does maniplulate Othello. But just because Iago has more control over the characters before the final scene in Act 5, doesn't mean he is the main character.
Another point of view is that the definition of 'hero' in literature has changed, and there may be better ways of deciding whether something is a tragedy than seeing how close the main character comes to Oedipus. Keep in mind that Shakespeare was a man who was beyond his time. He wrote in a very modern way. He isn't called the father of literature for no reason. In short, do we not feel like our guts are kicked out when we see this man, torn between his brain and his heart, who destroys the one he loves and who truly loves him only to find out minutes later that it was all a con job? I think so, and if that's not tragedy I don't know what is.
To conclude, 'Othello' is in fact, a tragedy. It is known as "Shakespeare's greatest tragedy".
Proctor says my honesty is broke Elizabeth I am no good man Explain?
John Proctor is considered an honest man, but few know that he is guilty of adultery with the teenage servant Abigail Williams. This compromises his honesty in the eyes of his wife and causes him to be doubted and not given the trust he deserves.
-Your very welcome :)
Why does Abigail accuse Elizabeth Procter for witchcraft?
Because Abigail wants to ruin her and she wants john to love her again.
In An Inspector Calls why does act 1 end on a cliff hanger?
Because JB wanted you to read on and not get bored as younger people might get bored PLUS act one ends on a cliff hanger because JB wants you to try and predict what is going to happen in act 2 so you think about the book not just read it
How many movies have been made on the Cinderella fairy tale?
It is a fair guess, that dozens of movies including cartoons ( short and long) have been done or adapted from basic Fairy tales such as Aladdin, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Pinocchio, etc. There was even a fairly long running series cartoon based on Little Wooden lad! ( Pinocchio) they must have had different plots, as it was on daily mon-fri. I never looked at it. In rare cases some Fairy tale plots- have been modernized and updated into dramatic stories in comic strips- for example one plot involving senior-citizen twin sisters- turns out to be a modernized Witch tale concealing a murder. Police come to the rescue and are uniformly good guys. This was in the Jackson Twins ( not Jackson Five) and was an adaptation of Hansel and Gretel in a sense- early in the entrapment at the Mansion the girls were cut off from communication- but did make use of the pipe organ- no, the cops did, playing ( T for Two) to signal their car ( a model T) had been found! There are other examples of modernized fairy tale plots.
Why has reverend hale visit the proctors by the book the crucible by arthur miller?
I think Hale went to Proctors house because he heard that John Proctor has been missing out on Sabeth(?) days lately and his third son has not been baptised. Also I think he went to tell John Proctor that Elizabeth's name was mentioned in Court that day.
What are the comic elements of the Merchant of Venice?
Bassanio wants to marry Portia, and so needs money.
Bassanio has no credit and so his friend Antonio borrows the money from Shylock.
Shylock dislikes Antonio so agrees to lend him the money interest-free on the security of a pound of flesh from anywhere on Antonio's body (he chooses the spot nearest Antonio's heart). Basically if Antonio doesn't pay up, Shylock can kill him.
Bassanio, with the aid of the money, goes to woo Portia. She loves him alright but, according to her father's will, must marry the man who can guess which of the three boxes her picture is in. Bassanio guesses the right box--Hooray! They get married.
But watch out! Antonio is unexpectedly broke and cannot pay Shylock. Shylock takes him to court and starts sharpening his knife.
Portia disguises herself as a lawyer, and gets Antonio off on a technicality. What's more, she convinces the court to order Shylock to give all his money to his daughter and her goyim husband and to stop being Jewish. This you call justice?
But there's more. Portia asks Bassanio for a fee for her services and insists on taking his wedding ring, which he swore to her he would never get away. Antonio persuades him to do this, and of course there's a tongue-lashing waiting for him when he gets home to his brand-new wife without his wedding ring.
But all is explained and it's yuks all round except for poor Shylock.
What is Hamlet's excuse for his behavior?
; Claudius mentions more than one thing. From Act 4 scene 3:
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Clau: Hamlet, this deed, for thine especial safety
Which we do tender, as we dearly grieve
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Claudius claims there that he's concerned for Hamlet's well being. We know it's a lie, of course, since Claudius has set up the mission to England to kill Hamlet.
Also Act 4 scene 7:
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Clau: Oh, for two special reasons : Which may to you perhaps seem much unsinewed,
But yet to me they're strong; the Queen, his mother
Lives almost by his looks, and for myself,
My virtue or my plague, be it either which,
She is so concleave to my life and soul,
That as the star moves not but in his sphere
I could not but by her; the other motive,
Why to a public count I might not go,
Is the great love the general gender bear him,
Who, dipping all his faults in their affection,
Work like the spring that turneth wood to stone:
Convert his gyves to graces, so that my arrows,
Too slightly timbered for so loved, armed,
Would have reverted to my bow again,
But not where I have aimed them. ; -------
In talking to Laertes, Claudius says he needs Gertrude's political support, and she dotes on Hamlet. That's true.
Then, the "public count" idea is that Claudius doesn't want to challenge Hamlet before the general public, because he's afraid people, in general, might like Hamlet better than they like him. Politics, in other words. So altogether, Claudius basically mentions two things. The first one is the lie that he has personal affection for Hamlet. The second is true, that he's worried about his political support against Hamlet, and he doesn't want to risk people turning against him in favor of Hamlet.
Of course when Laertes led his mob to storm the castle, that got Claudius thinking about how popular he was, and it obviously didn't look good for him.
What was the setting for Cabaret?
Cabaret (film/musical) was set in 1930s Berlin, when Nazis and Hitler were on the rise.
Who is Desdemona's father in Othello?
Brabantio is Desdemona's father. He becomes very upset when Desdemona elopes with Othello and accuses Othello of committing witchcraft in order to woo his daughter. Othello denies any wrongdoing and Brabantio warns Othello that if Desdemona deceived her father, she can deceive Othello as well. Brabantio dies from a broken-heart resulting from Desdemona's marriage.
What does hale do when proctor is arrested?
He quits the court and motivates the individuals who are in jail to confess
What does artemidorus plan to do?
'Caesar, beware of Brutus; take heed of Cassius; come not near Casca; have an eye to Cinna, trust not Trebonius: mark well Metellus Cimber: Decius Brutus loves thee not: thou hast wronged Caius Ligarius. There is but one mind in all these men, and it is bent against Caesar. If thou beest not immortal, look about you: security gives way to conspiracy. The mighty gods defend thee! Thy lover, 'ARTEMIDORUS.' Here will I stand till Caesar pass along, And as a suitor will I give him this. My heart laments that virtue cannot live Out of the teeth of emulation. If thou read this, O Caesar, thou mayst live; If not, the Fates with traitors do contrive.
Do you agree with the taming of the shrew and why?
From a revisionist-history perspective, definitely: husbands are not the boss of their wives anymore; wives are no longer "chattel". But in the mid-17th century, Shakespear's era, "The Taming of the Shrew" was an accurate play reflecting and commenting on the typical situations in a well-to-do family of the day, just as some movies and other media reflect the present time. It wasn't really until the 1960s-'70s that women began to change the status quo and enter the serious work-world with men in greater numbers and with professional goals that were now actually possible to achieve. But "the women's movement" has a long history, and women are constantly under threat of having their ability to control their reproduction taken away or restricted; the ability to control her reproduction is the single most empowering thing for women--without it, well, potentially a baby a year, a high mortality rate and dependence on a mate to provide for and protect "his" brood.
How did Cassius and Brutus resolve their argument?
Cassius has been less than honest; he takes bribes from soldiers who want to be promoted. He has also tolerated one of his corrupt officers who has taken bribes from people outside of the army. Brutus has had this man arrested, and censures Cassius for his own corruption.
Why does antonio hate shylock in merchant of Venice?
Shylock is a Jew and as such has always been forced to live on the fringes of society. In effect he has an understandable chip on his shoulder. He is not looking for revenge he is just trying to outsmart him.
