Arguably the most radical aspect of ‘Tis Pity is the degree of sympathy that Ford affords his two protagonists; unlike other Renaissance plays in which characters’ incestuous desires are portrayed as extensions of their villainy or political greed, Ford’s tragedy makes the love of a brother and sister its central subject, and could be conceived as doubly radical in that this relationship is supposedly based on mutual affection rather than the norms of economic necessity and caste which governed marriages during this era. However, over the course of the play this relationship is shown, as Ronald Huebert attests, to be a ‘fantasy of constancy’; Giovanni is unable to control his all-consuming passion, asserting his authority over his sister in increasingly patriarchal terms and finally butchering her and his unborn child in the gory coup de théâtre of the play’s denouement[1]. If Giovanni’s fantasy of possession demonstrates how the need to represent desire can distort one’s sense of self, Annabella seems to present an alternative: the possibility of fashioning one’s identity and retaining control of one’s desires. Stephen Greenblatt argues that ‘Self-fashioning is achieved in relation to something perceived as alien, strange, or hostile’, and…
DROWN BY JUNOT DIAZ Pat Murphy & Iris Foley Junot Diaz • Born in the Dominican Republic – December 31 1968 • Like many of his characters, had a strained relationship • • • • • • with his father Books include Drown This is How You Lose Her The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao – won a Pulitzer Prize Was awarded a Macarthur Fellowship Teaches creative writing at MIT…
Marie begins her collection of lais with the story of Guigemar, a noble knight who is cursed with the task of finding true love to heal a physical injury. This lay introduces two types of love: selfish and selfless. Selfish love is not courtly love. It lacks devotion and true loyalty. It lacks suffering and self-denial. Marie de France portrays this kind of love in the old husband of the woman whom Guigemar loves. The man locks his wife away in an enclosure guarded by a castrated man. By doing this, the husband shows a mean, limited devotion to his wife; perhaps even worse, he limits her ability to experience true love. This kind of love does not last; in fact, the husband is cuckolded when his wife has a year-long affair with Guigemar. He is made a fool, the dupe of love.…
(I i 6), nor it is about celestial symbolism hinting fate as the manipulator of “civil blood” (I I 4) “in fair Verona” (I i 2). Instead, Romeo and Juliet portrays a love not for another, but a love of unhealthy obsession, for the sins of the minds true desires. Desires disguised as love, unity, and wit, but when uncloaked the sins of lust, division, and malice begin to materialize.…
The Southern region went through changes following the Civil War, experiencing two periods: the Reconstruction era and the emergence of the New South. Reconstruction aimed to integrate freed African Americans into society but was cut short by Jim Crow laws and opposition to their autonomy. Economically, the South grappled with challenges, in agriculture, labor shortages, and infrastructure issues. The New South era focused on diversification through investments in railroads, manufacturing, and mining. Faced growing disparities, including discrimination in employment and education as well as ongoing segregation under Democratic Party leadership.…
Love and fidelity are universal concepts. According to Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte, the issue of fidelity is depicted to be an ideal that is never achieved. Since ‘women are like that’. In Cosi Fan Tutte, Mozart encourages the belief that man should simply accept women are indeed disloyal in relationships. Nowra illustrates this same idea about women and infidelity through Lewis and Lucy’s relationship. Lucy cannot understand why Lewis is directing a play about love when thousands are dying in the Vietnam War. Lucy believes that the Vietnam War and politics are more important than anything else. Nowra presents the realities that took place in society with the relationships and the idea of free love. While Lucy is ‘sleeping’ with Lewis, she is also ‘having sex’ with Nick. The idea of free love was popular within the people at the time period and women were all labeled as unfaithful by society. When Lewis discovers Lucy’s betrayal, she waves aside his shock, defending that ‘it is not as if we’re married.’ The revelation does indeed prove that Così Fan Tutte is correct in stating that, ‘woman’s constancy is like the Arabian Phoenix. Everyone swears it exists, but no one has seen it.’ However it is ironic that Lewis questions Lucy’s fidelity when he too is being unfaithful. This is presented as…
Throughout the play, sexual love and fidelity is often discussed and seen through the actions of the different characters. Each individual within the playwright shows a difference of opinion on the topic, and with the patients doing Cosi fan tute, which is a play about Love and fidelity, brings out these diverse views. This creates conflict and confusion between the characters, as each is a very strong…
"In Death Constant beyond Love", we get a picture of what Senator Sanchez is really like. He is a powerful money hungry man who finds out he is going to die. He does however become very intrigued by Laura Farina. The senator's erotic love for Laura is an illusion because he is left with solitude at the end of the story. Senator Sanchez is very stunned by Laura's beauty and it takes him by surprise. Laura was sent to Senator Sanchez because her father needed Laura to convince the senator to get the false identity cards. Laura being a teenager did what her father asked.…
The play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare follows two ill-fated lovers who marry against their feuding families’ wishes. In the tragedy, Juliet makes several impulsive decisions. The Nurse sticks by her side and tries to help with the consequences of Juliet’s hasty decisions. Yet, when the hard times progress, the Nurse feels the need to share her feelings about the predicament. The Nurse uses her motherly instincts to protect Juliet; yet, Juliet misperceives the advice as betrayal and is unaware that these suggestions encourage her own well-being.…
When one faces pressure, emotions can be misconstrued and make one think something untrue. In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the reader would assume that both parties have a solid idea of love itself, however, Romeo confuses love with lust and gets ahead of himself.…
Cited: García Lorca, Federico. Blood Wedding and Yerma. Trans. Langston Hughes, W.S. Merwin. Theatre Communications Group. (1994)…
Through the symbol of the wind as a microcosm for the natural world and Ahab’s interaction with the wind, Herman Melville argues that human will will never been able to subvert the natural world long term, and short term attempts will be at the cost of the individual. Throughout Moby Dick, Melville characterizes Ahab as ambitious and charismatic, a leader who constantly internally and externally compares himself to a god. The wind acts as a symbol, an object that represents a greater intangible motif, for the natural world. Through Ahab’s monologue about his interactions with the wind, his own helplessness within the natural world becomes evident. Ahab begins by stating “Were [he] the wind, [he]’d blow no more on such a wicked, miserable world” (Melville, 337),…
Impetuous decisions have serious consequences. Allowing passion and emotion to dominate gives one the opportunity to affect the decisions one makes. A love with the influential abilities to alter opinions and decisions must be one that allows no room for rationality. In William Shakespeare’s famous play, Romeo and Juliet, Romeo and Juliet’s blinding love for each other clouds all reason. Therefore, they create their own “fate” of destruction. In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the impulsiveness and recklessness caused by the passion between both characters are their demise, along with Romeo’s unwillingness to take charge of his destiny.…
These two aspects of women’s lives in this time period play a major part in the drama Measure for Measure, and especially set up the scene in the opening act of the play. When Claudio sends for his sister, Isabel, to help him get out of jail, in which he was sentenced to death for having premarital (by the eyes of the church) sex with Juliet,…
The true nature of obsession manipulates a person’s character, forcing them to act in unusual ways, as if possessed by an involuntary need. An obsessed mind becomes intensely absorbed in the subject of the obsession to an extent that drives away the truth and realism in their values, morals and perceptions. William Shakespeare manifests this idea of an involuntary change in character in the play “Othello”, and with a similar approach this idea is identified by Scott Spencer in the novel “Endless Love” and is further explored in “Obsession”, a poem written by DaMoyre. Throughout each of these texts, the composers’ use of characterization depicts the true nature of obsession with themes of jealously, revenge and, as a consequence, madness.…