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"The Glass Menagerie" by Tennessee Williams, 2004.
This paper discusses the character, Laura Wingfield's, role as the author's alter ego in the play, "The Glass Menagerie" by Tennessee Williams.
1,050 words (approx. 4.2 pages), 5 sources, APA, AU$ 43.95
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Abstract
This paper explains that, although "The Glass Menagerie" centers its attention on Tom, another character, Laura Wingfield, Tom's sister, emerges as a powerful individual in the story. The author points out that establishing Laura's character takes more than physically describing her deficiencies, such as her being crippled. Laura is also characterized as a woman who has lost all hope of attaining a wonderful life in being a wife and mother. The paper relates that author Williams achieves self-actualization through Laura's character in the same way that Tom and Laura finally free themselves from their emotional burdens in the play, "The Glass Menagerie".
From the Paper
"Laura's low regard for herself is not only developed within her but also by the people who are with her, especially Amanda, her mother, and Tom. This observation is expressed among critics who have illustrated Laura's character as "symbolic," i.e., laden with hidden meanings meaningful only to Williams'. Indeed, she is identified as the character who is "burdened by self-consciousness," experiences a "sense of worthlessness," and ''yearning for ... ideal or mystical beauty and spiritual or romantic love... absolute emotional and artistic fulfillment''. The third symbolic description of Laura, which pertains to her inherent likeness for 'mystical beauty' is symbolically represented by her fascination of her glass collection, considering them as objects that compensate for her imperfection."
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Moliere's "Tartuffe", 2004.
An analysis of Moliere's play, "Tartuffe", and the notion of hypocrisy in the play.
1,930 words (approx. 7.7 pages), 3 sources, MLA, AU$ 73.95
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Abstract
"Tartuffe" (Hypocrite) became public in the year 1664 for the first time as a three-act play that, when produced, attracted unfavorable denigration from religious factions. This paper discusses the hidden matter or the message of the play in addition to critical analysis from scholarly sources. In the play, one sees hypocrisy of the characters, especially hypocrisy of the main character in the play. However, it is not always clear that what one sees is true, and it is also true that seeing does not always leads to believing. In the play, the writer, Moliere, derided unnecessary godliness that he views as being a true from of hypocrisy; he did not condemn the actions of the pious people, but those who appear to be religious and, thus, are hypocrites.
From the Paper
"Thus, the hypocrisy that is evidently ridiculed in the play is specifically related to religious hypocrites. In fact, the theme and message of the play is convened to the public by means of satire and comedy in the play. If we go in to the history of the play, the time and the situation when it was written, we come to know that the play was directed most probably at the Company of the Holy reparation. This was a furtive society that was instituted in the year 1627 and the main aims of the society was to oppress unorthodoxy and religious opposition, where other aims concerned with spreading the extreme religious faiths by means of charity as well as other missionary work, in addition to improvement of its well defined standards ethics and morals. In effect, the society was a sort of a representation of a pious police from whom the private lives of the people were no secret."
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Tartuffe, 2004.
An examination of the social message being portrayed in Jean-Baptiste Poquelin Moliere's play, "Tartuffe".
1,875 words (approx. 7.5 pages), 8 sources, MLA, AU$ 71.95
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Abstract
"Tartuffe" narrates the story of how a scoundrel and a hypocrite disguises himself as a pious man of religion. By affecting religious behavior, Tartuffe charms his way into the house and the favors of Orgon, a local rich man. Orgon is unfortunately unable to see through Tartuffe's duplicity, and in the process, almost loses all his possessions to the scoundrel Tartuffe. Only the fortuitous intervention of the king saves Orgon's family from the machinations of the unscrupulous Tartuffe. This paper argues that "Tartuffe" is best read as a satire against the hypocrisy of political and religious authority figures of Moliere's day.
From the Paper
"The satire contained in this play made its author a target of 17th century religious authorities. After all, the main audience of this play was the Parisian elite in the late 17th century. This audience would have understood that Tartuffe had an underlying critique of both bad kingship and lying religious leaders (Baker, "Tartuffe as political parable"). The authority figures evidently understood this as well. When Moliere died, he was originally denied burial on consecrated ground. Only through the intervention of the king swayed the Archbishop of Paris's mind, smoothing the playwright's burial in holy ground (Bloom, "Chronology," p. 208)."
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"Hedda Gabbler", 2004.
An analysis of the play by Henrik Ibsen, "Hedda Gabbler".
911 words (approx. 3.6 pages), 1 source, MLA, AU$ 38.95
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Abstract
The paper analyzes the main character of the play, Hedda Gabler, daughter of General Gabler, who married Tesman out of sheer frustration because she was getting old and could not find a suitable and rich match for herself. The essay examines the reason behind Hedda committing suicide at the end of the play.
From the Paper
"The character of Hedda is that of a woman who had to live by the norms of the society that are mainly laid by men and who did not find the rebellion to these norms as an alternative to fulfill her desires to living a wishful life. Rather she endures the cultural limitations thinking that these are the boundaries that are set for her and crossing over would tarnish her much beloved repute. Being too much caring of the societal norms, she selected a life of comfort and respectability that was guaranteed in marrying Tesman. However, she soon became bored and frustrated with this life where there was no love and passion. Tesman was unaware of the feelings of his wife Hedda and also to her physiological and emotional state that demanded love and caring and affection. Instead, he was too engrossed with his own occupations."
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"Death and the Maiden", 2004.
An examination and comparison of Ariel Dorfman's play, "Death and the Maiden", and Roman Polanski's movie version.
1,301 words (approx. 5.2 pages), 3 sources, MLA, AU$ 51.95
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Abstract
This paper shows how Ariel Dorfman's play and Roman Polanski's movie, "Death and the Maiden", strongly indicate that Paulina's accusations that the man in her house is the same man who tortured and raped her twenty years earlier. The writer points out that the use of sound and isolation create an atmosphere where the audience must use its imagination, thus encouraging audience members to accept the man as Paulina's accuser. While there clearly is some room for the audience to consider Paulina's actions as invalid, both the clearly sympathetic portrayal of Paulina and the dramatic movement of the play and movie ultimately lead the audience to believe her accusations.
From the Paper
"Dorfman's play and Roman Polanski's movie share a common plot. They are set in a South American country as a democratic regime takes over from a brutal dictatorship. Paulina is a woman who was repeatedly raped and tortured during the regime, who comes to believe that a man who stumbles onto her home is the man who tortured her in the past. While the general details of the plot remain true between the play and movie, there are important differences as well."
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Tennessee Williams, 2004.
A biography of the personal and professional life of playwright, Tennessee Williams.
1,811 words (approx. 7.2 pages), 6 sources, MLA, AU$ 69.95
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Abstract
This paper examines how Tennessee Williams is recognized as one of the world's greatest playwrights and how his plays are known throughout the world and are continually sought after by some of the most renowned directors, producers, and actors of our time. It looks at how his achievement as a writer and playwright is impressive and how, during his life,he published more than 30 plays, numerous short stories, and two volumes of poetry. It also discusses his personal life and attempts to show how the difficulties of his life and his relationship with his family provided the impetus for his artistic achievements.
From the Paper
"Williams was born to Cornelius and Edwina Dakin Williams on March 26, 1911, in Columbus, Mississippi. His full name was Thomas Lanier Williams. His mother was said to have an aggressive temperament and manner and to be overly concerned with "her fantasies of genteel Southern living". (ibid) This reference to ideas of the 'genteel South' is often reflected in Williams' plays and other written work. An example of this aspect is the famous play "A Streetcar Named Desire". In this play one of the central characters has fantasies about a life of luxury and gentility in the South, which she had had to leave."
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Female Independence in Shakespeare's Works, 2004.
Examines the strong characters of Kate, Hippolyta, and Hermia in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "The Taming of the Shrew".
2,266 words (approx. 9.1 pages), 9 sources, APA, AU$ 84.95
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Abstract
Through his comedies, William Shakespeare was able to address many taboo subjects in the name of entertainment. His comedies provided him an avenue to express marginalized voices that were sometimes muffled in Renaissance society. This cannot be truer for the voice of women. This paper shows how, in his plays, "The Taming of the Shrew" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream", Shakespeare gives voice to strong women who refuse to become victims of society. Kate is what we would call a strong-willed child with a mind of her own, with no fear of expressing her opinions. Despite the mistreatment she endures in the play, she emerges a winner for many reasons. The paper shows how, similarly, Hippolyta and Hermia demonstrate independence uncommon to their female counterparts. These women illustrate that true love is its own reward in any age.
From the Paper
"Both sisters are playing a game of sorts. Kate is a shrew and cannot be manhandled while Bianca pretends to be the image of feminine sweetness. Bianca is revealed to be the true manipulator because she does not follow the demands of her husband. In the end, we come to appreciate Kate for her genuine character as opposed to Bianca's fraud. Margaret Ranald believes that "Katharina's liberated spirit remains unbroken, but that she has learned the value of realpolitik not only in marriage, but also in the even wider world of sociopolitics" (Ranald 1994). However, when we observe the entire action of the play, we can only surmise that Shakespeare is supporting the role and voice of the independent woman of his age."
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"Our Town", 2004.
A review of the play, "Our Town", by Thornton Wilder.
1,639 words (approx. 6.6 pages), 1 source, MLA, AU$ 63.95
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Abstract
This paper examines the play, "Our Town", written in 1938, a time of deep political and social upheaval after the First World War and before the end Depression. It looks at how, in such intensely troubled political and economic conditions, Thornton came up with the idea of a simple play that would focus on the beauty of life without its immediate problems. It shows how it is a play for sensitive readers, written for all those who seek meaning amidst deep personal or global turmoil, and how it doesn't talk at length about political or social issues, but how it has been written precisely to address the impact on these issues on our lives.
From the Paper
"The political conditions of 1938 were anything but smooth or positive. The social and economic problems were also intense. We must not forget the economic and political events directly influence social values and this is exactly what happened when the world entered the phase of Industrial revolution in early 1900s (the time period of the play) and later when this revolution led to a major collapse of world economy in1929. In the 1930s, people found themselves in the state of utter disillusionment. People lost faith in capitalism and there came a significant shift in their social values too. They began questioning their desire to amass wealth and several immigrants in every part of the country moved back to their native lands."
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Marlowe vs. Shakespeare, 2004.
A comparative analysis of the work of Christopher Marlowe compared to that of William Shakespeare.
1,307 words (approx. 5.2 pages), 7 sources, MLA, AU$ 53.95
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Abstract
This paper examines how the Elizabethan dramatists Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare were contemporaries and how, for the latter part of Marlowe's dramatic career, they were rivals as well. It looks at how Marlowe's career as a playwright was cruelly cut short after the author was murdered in a tavern brawl, probably the result of his political intrigues. The paper shows that regardless of the reasons for Marlowe's untimely demise, the difference between the older Marlowe and the young Shakespeare had already become manifest in the characterization of the main protagonists of the two men's plays. It explores how Marlowe clearly influenced Shakespeare's early writings and how, while Marlowe used broad character brushstrokes to create a vivid narrative and caricature of human character and morality, Shakespeare created a new way of dramatically rendering the human character in shades of gray. In particular, it examines how both men used similar themes, such as the presence of 'Jewish' values in a money-grubbing 'Christian' society.
From the Paper
"All of Marlowe's protagonists are larger than life, from Barabas to Faustus and lastly to Tamburlaine, in the scope of their desires. They are both sustained and destroyed by their respective evils. Barabas' poisoning reflects the Jewish dietary laws that Shylock merely tacitly refers to, "I will not eat with you," in Act I of "The Merchant of Venice." Faustus is destroyed by his love of knowledge and power, just as Tamburlaine is destroyed by his desire to conquer the world." All of these men stand outside of their societies, and reflect what is wrong with their societies-an over emphasis on money, scholasticism, and power respectively."
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Musical Theatre History, 2004.
An analysis of the history of musical theatre in the United States.
1,158 words (approx. 4.6 pages), 2 sources, MLA, AU$ 47.95
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Abstract
This paper briefly looks at the history of American musical theater traced back to the 18th century. It looks at various types of musical theatre pieces, such as rock musicals, revivals, classics, and others.
From the Paper
"In the 1790's, theaters in New York City offered much more musical entertainments than mainstream theater drama. During this time, musical performances were flourishing in many other cities and commonly took place in the theater. This gave way to a the beginnings of a variety of entertainment including puppet shows, ballad operas, circuses, dances, all of which had some type of musical involvement."
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"The Glass Menagerie", 2004.
A review of the play, "The Glass Menagerie", by Tennessee Williams.
2,544 words (approx. 10.2 pages), 4 sources, MLA, AU$ 92.95
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Abstract
This paper examines how Tennessee Williams's 1944 classic, "The Glass Menagerie", can be considered a study in multiple-level metaphors. It attempts to demonstrate how a collection of glass ornaments is an extrinsic comparison between the lives of the characters in the play, the family dynamic shown in the play, and also the interplay between the audience, who are merely passive observers, and the actors. It looks at how, in "The Glass Menagerie," we trace a few slices in the lives of three individuals with different characters and yet who share the commonality of fragility; this tenuous thread weaves around the characters and can be easily shattered from within and from the outside.
From the Paper
"The Glass Menagerie is about several slices in the lives of a family that lives in a rundown apartment in St. Louis. The family consists of an overbearing but concerned mother, Amanda Wingfield; a son, Tom, who is the sole breadwinner of the family; and, his sister Laura, who is possessed of a fragile physical constitution and an even fragile psyche. It is not difficult to imagine that the lives of this family resemble fragile pieces of glass arranged in a menagerie. The family is poor. The father abandoned the family several years ago and fled to Mexico. His only correspondence from Mexico was a postcard that had no return address."
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"Six Characters in Search of an Author", 2004.
A Freudian analysis of the play, "Six Characters in Search of an Author", by Luigi Pirandello.
718 words (approx. 2.9 pages), 2 sources, MLA, AU$ 30.95
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Abstract
This paper examines how Luigi Pirandello's play, "Six Characters in Search of an Author", is a representation of reality as opposed to the presentation of reality via drama. It looks at how it can also be interpreted as a division of the conscious mind from reality, or what Freud called 'doubling', since the characters in the play are separated into actors and the characters they are to play. In particular, it attempts to show how the relationship between the author's characters and the actors who attempt to play the characters can be understood in terms of Freud's theory of the uncanny.
From the Paper
"In the play, six characters appear at a rehearsal and are looking for a way to have their story told. Their goal is to have actors play the parts they represent in the story as yet completed. It is a paradoxical situation in which the actors are imitating the characters as they 'perform' the circumstances of their lives. The conflict is made manifest in the discussions between the father and the producer as to what constitutes reality. The actors are 'real' because they are living humans. The characters are 'fictitious forms' of consciousness. From the perspective of the characters, the actors are comical in their attempts to recreate what the character has created. The actor is both 'real' and an imitation while the characters are a representation presented to the world as 'real' because of the reality of their stories."
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Postmodernism in Theater, 2004.
A review of different forms of theater in the Western world and how theater has evolved as an art over the past few centuries.
1,724 words (approx. 6.9 pages), 2 sources, MLA, AU$ 66.95
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Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to see how the society has changed in retrospect to the period from modernism to postmodernism, creating awareness to different perspectives on analysis in today's world. It attempts to show how the best way this can be understood is through the developments in the world of theater and how the theater functions as an artifact and a metaphor of the times.
Outline
Different Forms of Theater
Postmodern Theater
Actors and Audiences
Robert Wilson
Peter Brook
From the Paper
"The modern theater is characterized by a narrative plot where the actors play out roles of everyday people who tell a story based on life's tragedies and conflicts, with the unfolding tragedy or comedy developing at a beginning and ending with the last act of the play. The aim of these plays is to stretch the audience's comprehension of existing reality, to being forward the truth that is basically obscured. Even though the results of the actors' behaviors are mostly tragic. The audience becomes emotionally aroused with the characters of the play. This is seen in reactions to Willy Loman in the play Death of a Salesman and in Blanche DuBois play, A Streetcar Named Desire."
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Philip Hayes Dean's "The Sty of the Blind Pig" (1971), 2004.
This paper analyzes Philip Hayes Dean's play, "The Sty of the Blind Pig" (1971), which is about an African-American family transplanted to Chicago in the 1950s as the civil rights movement was beginning in the South.
1,085 words (approx. 4.3 pages), 0 sources, AU$ 44.95
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Abstract
This paper explains that, although the audience is cognizant that social change is on the horizon, the characters themselves, at first ,are only concerned with their immediate, personal changes and struggles. The author points out that the antagonist of the play is the character's collective lack of movement and motion: Jordan is 'stuck' in his own way, in a quest for a woman long lost; Weedy and Alberta are 'stuck' in their apartment; and Uncle Doc is mired in a life of gambling. The paper determines that the three main members of the family all represent different, but ineffective, pre-civil rights ways of black Americans to cope with societal and institutionalized racism: religion in the form of Weedy; self-sacrifice and self-denial in the form of Alberta; and a recourse to get-rich-quick schemes and the drug of gambling in the form of Uncle Doc.
From the Paper
"Weedy's brother, Alberta's Uncle Doc, often visits both women. Doc is a gambler and a bad one at that, but his humor and animation seem to bring life to the room, even though he walks in a shuffling, difficult fashion. He seems to fill the room even though the audience knows his designs upon the two women are usually purely financial in nature, in a valiant and quixotic attempt, as amongst all down-on-his-luck gamblers, to get more money to waste in dubious ventures."
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"Blood Wedding", 2004.
A review of the play, "Blood Wedding", by F.G. Lorca.
706 words (approx. 2.8 pages), 0 sources, MLA, AU$ 30.95
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Abstract
This paper examines Lorca's "Blood Wedding", a play that appears, at first, to be based on a fairly straightforward plot of two lovers who defy all social and moral codes of honor by allowing their passion to get the better of them. It looks at how Lorca obviously had quite a different message in mind, given his rather sudden introduction of surreal elements in the last act, and how the symbolism inherent in the young woodcutter as the moon and the Beggar Woman as Death reveals that Lorca was really making a strong comment about the fact that ultimately all human beings meet justice at the hands of Fate.
From the Paper
"Lorca is obviously a master of his craft given the manner in which he artfully sets up his audience to believe that the lovers' fortunes will be dictated by the traditions and demanding laws of honor prevalent in the Spanish society of the time. This is evident in the way he develops the themes of knives, blood, nature and death throughout the play, including his very choice of the title Blood Wedding. In fact, the play begins on an ominous note with the bridegroom's mother exclaiming, "Knives, knives./ Cursed be all knives, and the scoundrel who invented them." (Lorca, p. 34) But perhaps the more ominous note lies in Lorca's portrayal of the bridegroom's mother as a woman who has been unable to make peace with the death of her husband and other son in an old family feud. "
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The Role of the Chorus in Greek Plays, 2004.
Looks at the role of the chorus in Euripides's play, "Medea", and Aeschylus's play, "Agamemnon".
1,169 words (approx. 4.7 pages), 4 sources, MLA, AU$ 48.95
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Abstract
This paper explains how the chorus in the plays, "Medea" and "Agamemnon", enhance the audience's experience as they watch the plays and contemplate their opinions of the actual character and the character as reflected by the chorus.
From the Paper
"Euripides play, Medea, has created astonishing results since the time it was written, 2400 years back and was first performed in 431 BC. The play originates from the ancient myths of Jason and Medea, while it, "investigates the psychology of revenge and betrayal".( Euripides' Medea 'ICFI', reviewed by: Stephen Griffiths http://www.wsws.org/arts/1998/aug1998/med-a04.shtml ). Euripide, though a male writer has been able to view a females' mind emerging with power and great intensity. He was the first Athenian to use the chorus as a commentator, in order to interpret human sufferings without the wisdoms of the gods. Parallel to Medea, Aeschylus' Agamemnon narrates a similar myth of Agamemnon and his queen, Clytemnestra in a play, which was written in Greek in the fifth century B.C. Aeschylus was known to be the first playwright and the father of Western Drama."
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