...The adaptation of Much Ado was Branagh’s second attempt at turning a Shakespearian classic into a box office phenomenon. Brannagh first adapted a Shakespearian play in 1989 with Henry V. “Branagh's "Henry V" emerges from the darkness with the rip and sputter of a struck match. It's a magnificent beginning and a startling metaphor -- an inspired equivalent for Shakespeare's "muse of fire" -- and the first stroke of brilliance in this audacious, resonant, passionate film” … Well that’s what Hal Hinson of the Washington Post thought anyway. Some might say that Brannagh therefore had a lot to live up to with Much Ado, his second Shakespeare adaptation. Do I think the film lived up to the expectations? Well I guess that depends upon your motives for watching, for fun? Or like me in an attempt to understand the complicating language and humour found within Much Ado, if the latter sigh no more students, Branagh’s film makes the understanding of Much Ado far easier. If you wanted a nice night in with a film, however, under no circumstance would I recommend this film, plagued with wooden acting, confusing, casting and more over a boring, predictable and somewhat unbelievable plot. Brannaghh’s decision to cast Denzel Washington as Don Pedro, the heroic, noble fighter is somewhat bewildering, considering traditional audiences’ connotations of a black man; however as a contemporary audience we are able to look beyond the colour of Don Pedro’s skin. I however was unable to look...
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...of themselves, thus adding humor to the play. For instance, Bottom drives the rest of the mechanicals crazy with his egotistical attitude and desire to play all of the parts in the play. His ridiculous ideas contribute to this as well. Bottom continuously thinks of unintelligent and outlandish solutions to problems. For example, he suggests that one man should play the part of a wall: “Some man or other must present Wall.”(Act 3, scene 1, lines 60) Having someone pretend to be a wall and having Pyramus and Thisbe talk through it is hilarious. Another key point influencing comedy was the way the mechanicals speak through prose. They commonly use oxymorons and malapropisms. A common oxymoron in the play is, “most lamentable comedy,” (Act 1, Scene 2, Line 12) meaning a tragic comedy. Shakespeare includes hilarious malapropisms: “Thisbe, the flowers of odious savours sweet.” (Act 3, Scene 1,Line 74) Bottom means to say odour instead of odious. The word “odious” changes the whole meaning of the sentence, stating the flowers have a repulsive smell. Comedy is a vital part of the play and provides a break from the romantic main plot. To sum it up, A Midsummer Night’s Dream is known for being Shakespeare's most comedic play without the mechanicals it would become a romantic story. The mechanicals helped to engage a wide range of audience, especially the “groundlings.” In writing his plays, Shakespeare kept in mind his lower and upper class spectators. A vast majority of Shakespeare’s spectators...
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...The title of the play itself sets this tone from the outset, that subconsciously, even before any obvious metatheatricality has occurred, the piece will be alternating between a fictional and a tangible reality – a fictional fantasy within a fictional piece. This unconventional playwriting is maintained throughout, and is particularly notable in the last act. When Peter Quince and his cohort are performing their play, other characters make artistic criticisms about their performance, noting how Quince ‘does not stand upon his points’, a reference to persistent malapropism -‘points’ being a euphemism for punctuation- and sloppy syntax within his delivery. This serves as another example of how Shakespeare breaks conventional boundaries, players criticising players on their delivery of a fictional play within a fictional play, ensures the tone is self aware and full of very sharp wit. Shakespeare finds a divide between the world of the play, a metatheatrical existence full of frivolous paradox, and the concrete world of reality, a world that exists to observe his fictional world, and succeeds to draw...
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...The Impact of Swardspeak Language to the Filipino Society INTRODUCTION In the Philippines, the gay community has their own unique slang called swardspeak. It is the “gay lingo” derived from English and Tagalog (one of the languages spoken in the Republic of the Philippines) as well as other languages and dialects in the Philippines, such as Cebuano, Waray, Bicolano and also the “bekimon” is a colloquial word for "gay") took off from the growing popularity of the jejemon subculture, which refers to those who deliberately exaggerate ordinary words by adding or subtracting letters, or by using a mixture of upper-case and lower-case letters, in written communication.. These dialects are rich sources of several words and phrases that the gay community in the Philippines incorporated in their own dynamic language. The word “sward,” which is defined in the dictionary as turf, is a Filipino slang meaning a male homosexual. Swardspeak as it is more popularly known in the Philippines also incorporates words from Spanish and Japanese. Names of celebrities and politicians, both local and international, plus trademark brands are used in this homosexual slang. Names, brand names, words and phrases are all given new meanings in swardspeak. It is a word coined by the 1970s movie critic and columnist, Nestor U. Torre. Most gay slang, gay lingo, gay speak or gay languages arose as a form of anti-languages. Anti-languages are usually developed by marginalized communities as a secret language...
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...Satiric and Comedic Devices-- 1. Mockery--insulting or contemptuous action or speech 2. Malapropism--an act or habit of misusing words ridiculously, esp. by the confusion of words that are similar in sound. Ex. “make a cow” (from Banned Books article); "Oftentimes, we live in a processed world, you know, people focus on the process and not results." (George W. Bush); "He is the very pineapple of politeness." (Mrs. Malaprop in Richard Sheridan's The Rivals) 3. Pun--the humorous use of a word or phrase so as to emphasize or suggest its different meanings or applications, or the use of words that are alike or nearly alike in sound but different in meaning; a play on words. Ex. "Look deep into our ryes." (slogan of Wigler's Bakery); "Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana." (Groucho Marx) 4. Understatement—1. A disclosure or statement that is less than complete. 2. Restraint or lack of emphasis in expression, as for rhetorical effect. 5. Hyperbole--Exaggeration--To represent as greater than is actually the case; to enlarge or increase to an abnormal degree 6. Irony--a technique of indicating, as through character or plot development, an intention or attitude opposite to that which is actually or ostensibly stated. a. an outcome of events contrary to what was, or might have been, expected. b. an objectively sardonic style of speech or writing c. an objectively or humorously sardonic utterance...
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...The Tragic and the Comic It has been said that tragedy is life viewed close at hand, while comedy is life viewed at a distance. It has also been said that life is comedy to the person who thinks and tragedy to the one who feels. The chief source of the comic is the incongruous, the unexpected. We expect one thing but find another. The Parable of the Blind by William Carlos Williams (based on a painting of the same name by Pieter Brueghel the Elder) This horrible but superb painting the parable of the blind without a red in the composition shows a group of beggars leading each other diagonally downward across the canvas from one side to stumble finally into a bog where the picture and the composition ends back of which no seeing man is represented the unshaven features of the destitute with their few pitiful possessions a basin to wash in a peasant cottage is seen and a church spire the faces are raised as toward the light there is no detail extraneous to the composition one follows the others stick in hand triumphant to disaster Fundamental Types of Comedy and Tragedy Comedy of Situation – “Low Comedy” – slapstick comedy and farce Tragedy of Situation – “Low Tragedy” – the essence of melodrama; events that are exciting Comedy of Character – “High Comedy” Tragedy of Character – “High Tragedy” In low comedy and low tragedy the characters are not individuals but types. In high comedy they...
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...Act 2 scene 2 1. a. The reason why Romeo compare Juliet to the sun is because he describe her as beautiful as the rising sun. b. The reason why Romeo wants the sun to kill the envious moon is because, Romeo describes all the rest of the ladies as envious moon, and Juliet is the sun. Romeo said that he wants the sun to kill the envious moon, he means that no women’s beauty can compare to Juliet’s beauty, her beauty kills the rest of girl’s beauty. c. The reason why moon envious is because Juliet was the moon’s maid and Juliet is much prettier than the moon. d. The reason why Romeo describe Juliet’s eye are like stars is because her eye is twinkle just like heaven. e. The foreshowing is that Juliet might die, so that is why he compare the stars to the heaven. 2. In line 33-36, Juliet was saying “ oh Romeo where are you? Tell your father to switch your name and not bet a Montague any more, or if he say he loves her, she will not be a Capulet.” 3. In line 43-44, Juliet said that Montague is just a name of the family, not the person. Just because they are in different families doesn’t mean they are Montague or Capulet. In line 38-49 Juliet basically saying that Montague was the name of the family, but Romeo and her don’t have to hate on each other because their name wasn’t Capulet or Montague, they can just don’t be a Capulet or Montague to love each other. 4. In line 85-105, Juliet was worried about Romeo doesn’t love her. 5. The reason why Juliet object Romeo’s...
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...Public Speaking Terms of the Trade 4 Abbreviations- shortened words that stand in place of whole words Abstract language- language that is general, or nonspecific Acronyms- words formed from the initials of a sequence of other words Active voice- the grammatical voice used in a sentence to indicate that the subject of the verb performs the action Ad hominem attack- criticizing the person making an argument instead of the argument itself Alliteration- the repletion of the same sound at the beginning of adjacent words Allusion- a vague or indirect reference to something or someone Analogy- a comparison between two things based on their similar features Anastrophe-reversal of the expected order of words for emphasis Antithesis- the juxtaposition of two opposing ideas Arbitrary- based only on social convention Articulation-the extent to which a speaker pronounces words clearly Assonance- the recurrence of a similar vowel sound in neighboring words Asyndeton- the omission of conjunctions for dramatic effects Clichés- phrases that were novel at one time but have lost their effect because of overuse Concrete language- language referring to specific people, objects, or actions in the physical world Connotative meaning- the mental and emotional association of a word for an individual Deception- the intentional transmission of information for the purpose of creating false beliefs Denotative meaning-a words literal meaning, the way a word is defined in the dictionary ...
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...C.L. Barber argued that comedy is all about pleasure and merrymaking. How do you react to this idea in your study of Much Ado About Nothing? Much Ado About Nothing is heavily influenced by the inclusion of C.L. Barber’s viewpoint on comedy, that pleasure and merrymaking should be a focal point in festive comedy. Shakespeare utilizes witty mockery, satirical conversations and the Saturnalian reversal of roles to emphasize festivity and merrymaking as a main theme in his comedy as this ensures the audience can make fun and laugh at the situations displayed. But, as the audience we cannot forget that Shakespeare used this idea of pleasurable entertainment to disguise the underlying Machevellian plots of Don John and Borachio to disrupt the fairy tale type of tenor the characters could have led. Therefore, further into Much Ado About Nothing, discussions about whether Shakespeares play conforms to C.L. Barber’s argument or to what extent is C.L. Barber’s perspective disputed are risen. Initially, from reading the script of Much Ado About Nothing, the reader can respond to C.L. Barber’s argument with firm disagreement as many other genres are used to heighten the effect of comedy in the play, although C.L. Barber’s argument was specifically aimed at comedies, whilst Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing is classed as a dramatic comedy, where tragedy is also hung in the balance in the climactic parts of the play. The purpose of Shakespeare’s plays in general and especially Much Ado...
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...banned? Simply because of one word used multiple times throughout the book. I believe this isn’t a good enough reason Huckleberry Finn should be banned in public schools. One of the main reasons this book has the title of a great American novel is because of the author’s writing style. Before Twain, American authors still wrote in a more European style, like Edgar Allan Poe. Twain wasn’t interested in doing that. He wanted to portray the characters better and make you understand what was actually going on in America during that time period. One example is when the king was giving Peter Wilks’ funeral, he used the word “orgies” instead of “obsequies” which makes fun of the southerners being stupid or uneducated. (Twain 129) Twain used malapropism to be humorous while still showing us how dumb they actually were. Twain truly sticks to trying to write how they spoke back then, and we see it every time Jim speaks, “‘Doan’ hurt me--don’t! I hain’t ever done no harm to a ghos’.” (Twain 49) He wrote exactly what he heard and by doing so it helps us understand where the character was coming from and the part they played in the story. The book is recognized for the new form of writing Twain introduced, but it is also because of the slang it uses in the writing that the book is banned. Since the book takes place before the civil war, when there was slavery, nigger was a very common word and Twain uses it during the entire book. Many people still find it poignant nowadays, and think...
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...This is a short story, by Rudyard Kipling, about a man and his fight against the administration. The author deals with the topic in an ironic manner. We will try and show the irony in the short story, and find out why the author chose to tell us this story using that particular literary device. Irony is connected to double meaning: the narrator states something while actually meaning something else, which the reader has to figure out*. In “The Pit that They Digged”, irony is found in several instances, and has several functions. The first few paragraphs show examples of situational irony. The main character, Hawkins Mumrath, is seen as about to die (‘lay down to die’), but actually does not (‘he rallied’), thus going against the expected (his friends and acquaintances ‘gave him up for lost’). This return to a state of good health does not bring a feeling of relief or happiness, on the contrary (he gets back to work ‘to the disgust of his juniors who had hoped promotion’). The situation turns into an administrative nightmare as well: the man is not dead, yet the Government makes arrangements for a grave to be dug for him, causing a zealous employee, Ahutosh Lal Deb, to try and get back the money spent on the grave. The situation is thus absurd: a man, quite alive, is asked to pay for his own grave. He writes letters (a sure sign of life) to put the situation to rights, but the administration is unwilling to see his point of view. The administration is presented as a caring entity...
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...This is a short story, by Rudyard Kipling, about a man and his fight against the administration. The author deals with the topic in an ironic manner. We will try and show the irony in the short story, and find out why the author chose to tell us this story using that particular literary device. Irony is connected to double meaning: the narrator states something while actually meaning something else, which the reader has to figure out*. In “The Pit that They Digged”, irony is found in several instances, and has several functions. The first few paragraphs show examples of situational irony. The main character, Hawkins Mumrath, is seen as about to die (‘lay down to die’), but actually does not (‘he rallied’), thus going against the expected (his friends and acquaintances ‘gave him up for lost’). This return to a state of good health does not bring a feeling of relief or happiness, on the contrary (he gets back to work ‘to the disgust of his juniors who had hoped promotion’). The situation turns into an administrative nightmare as well: the man is not dead, yet the Government makes arrangements for a grave to be dug for him, causing a zealous employee, Ahutosh Lal Deb, to try and get back the money spent on the grave. The situation is thus absurd: a man, quite alive, is asked to pay for his own grave. He writes letters (a sure sign of life) to put the situation to rights, but the administration is unwilling to see his point of view. The administration is presented as a caring entity...
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...Each of the characters represent political, psychological and social aspects of their society, and Shakespeare uses these minor characters to emphasize major events and concepts throughout the plot. As the story is centrally a play, Shakespeare developed characters such as Juliet’s Nurse to provide comic relief for the audience with her inane malapropisms. Similarly, the minor role of Mercutio has comical elements with his humorous and witty banter, but it was with his death that Shakespeare later used to heighten his tragedy. Mercutio’s infamous last words, the repeated curse— “a plague a’ both houses” highlights his firm belief that each side were equally to blame for his catastrophic demise. The audience may also infer from twice-spoken and differently tensed curse that Shakespeare himself intended for the blame to be heaped upon the families, and understand that the curse later predicted the unfolding of the tragic conclusion for both of the noble houses. In the climax of the novel, the Prince of Edolas comes forth, and bearing witness of damage that lay in the family’s wake, he too...
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...‘Most comedies can be criticised for a lack of seriousness’. To what extent do you believe this to be the case in the play ‘Much Ado About Nothing’? ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ contains comedy throughout but it could be argued that seriousness is present in equal measure. They are portrayed simultaneously by Shakespeare in his play: where one scene is comedic to one part of the audience, seriousness could be interpreted by others. The writer uses comedy not only to entertain but to portray and challenge concepts of gender, class and other norms dominant in Shakespearean times but also remain evident in contemporary society. He also uses a leading male and female character to construct this gender challenge, with a woman who will not marry until ‘God make men of some other metal than earth’ and a man she refers to as ‘no less than a stuffed man’. The forwardness with these lines are delivered in contrast with the passive expectations an Elizabethan audience would expect from the leading female, however comedy remains as the moment is unexpected. Furthermore, class and status issues can be identified in the play, an obvious example being the Prince’s brother a ‘bastard’, marginalised from society because of who he is, and a ‘watchman’ who is described as an ‘ass’. Through their comedic interchange of insults, two of Shakespeare’s main characters demonstrate the negative impact of gender issues in Elizabethan times. Benedick and Beatrice are constantly sparring with each other, starting...
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...Swardspeak Swardspeak (also known as "Bekimon" and "gay lingo") is an argot or cant slang derived from Englog (Tagalog-English code-switching) and used by a number of homosexuals in the Philippines.[1] Description Swardspeak uses elements from Tagalog, English, Spanish, and some from Japanese, as well as celebrities' names and trademark brands, giving them new meanings in different contexts.[2] It is largely localized within gay communities, making use of words derived from the local languages or dialects, including Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Waray, and Bicolano. Usage A defining trait of swardspeak slang is that it immediately identifies the speaker as homosexual, making it easy for people of that orientation to recognize each other. This creates an exclusive group among its speakers and helps them resist cultural assimilation. More recently, though, even non-members of the gay community use this way of speaking, particularly heterosexual members of industries dominated by gays, such as the fashion and film industries. By using swardspeak, Filipino gays are able to resist the dominant culture of their area and create a space of their own.[3] The language is constantly changing, with old phrases becoming obsolete and new phrases frequently entering everyday usage, reflecting changes in their culture and also maintaining exclusivity. The dynamic nature of the language refuses to cement itself in a single culture and allows for more freedom of expression among its speakers. Words and...
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