King Lear

King Lear

King Lear is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. Here we can see the gradual madness of Lear, the aging king of Britain. He had three daughters named as- Goneril, Regan and Cordelia, whom he puts in a test before giving his kingdom in their hands. He asked them to say how much did they love him, the elder two daughters Goneril and Regan gave flattering answers to impress their father. On the other hand, the youngest and favourite daughter Cordelia of Lear remained silent and only said that she doesn’t knows how much she loves her father. On hearing her reply Lear becomes furious and disowns her. The King of France was still ready to marry Cordelia though she had nothing with her and they both went to France.

Lear soon realises that he had made a mistake in judging his daughters. He was being undermined by his elder daughters and he goes insane. He leaves his daughter’s house somehow and he was being accompanied by his Fool and Kent. Gloucester another loyal nobleman of Lear decides to help him after he had learnt about Lear’s grief. Regan and her husband Cornwall discover him helping Lear, accuse him of treason, blind him, and turn him out to wander the countryside.

In Dover, a French army lands as part of an invasion led by Cordelia in an effort to save her father. The English troops reach Dover led by Edmund, defeats Cordelia-led French. Lear and Cordelia are imprisoned.

At the end Goneril kills Regan for Edmund and commits suicide when her treachery got revealed infront of Albany, Edmund’s betrayal for Cordelia ends her upto needless execution in prison. And Lear dies in the grief of Cordelia’s death after he understood that how wrong was he in judging his three daughters. Albany, Edgar, and the elderly Kent are left to take care of the country under a cloud of sorrow and remorse.

The Poem Journey of the Magi

Journey of the Magi

Journey of the Magi begins with the journey which is cold and a difficult one. This journey is about the journey of the Three Kings (Three wise men or Magi) to the birthplace of Jesus. As the poem starts preceding it enumerates about the difficulties faced during travelling, including the grumpy camels, longing for home, unfriendly and expensive towns and lack of places to halt and rest for some time. The speaker says that for these reasons the Magi selected to travel all day and night long and through their travelling a voice kept suggesting that maybe this whole thing was nothing.

 The speaker says about the arrival of the Magi in Bethlehem a place known as “temperate valley”. They didn’t get any such hint from the villagers where to go exactly but then also they manage to reach the stable on time to witness the birth of baby Jesus.

The last part of the poem blatantly the Magus reminiscing about the story and he also in doubt thinks whether the birth is good or bad thing, as it would replace old religion and beliefs. In fact, at the end of the poem he seems to say the birth of Jesus as a bad thing indeed, with the Magus wishing for his own death alongside with the death of people’s old religion and ways.

The Poem Collar

Collar

The poet gets annoyed and is in doubt for which he thinks to commit the sin of mix “freedom” with temptation. He repents for yesterday because he thinks that he has sold his soul and he is feeling bad for it. He states his state to “abroad”, as he was drowning in the blackest thoughts his conscience had saved him.

 Herbert uses the title of the poem as a pun because throughout the poem there is no significance of “Collar”. This word has different meaning that is- One that means a band of leather that surrounds an animal neck or a slave collar because Herbert thinks himself as a slave to the Lord. He spent his entire life selflessly without any return for which he wants to free himself. He remains in a state of agony until he hears the word “child”. It’s his inner voice that made him realise his true relation with God. This poem is nothing but a reflection of fury and antagonism toward God and his creation.  It shows us that God is willing to listen to all of ours grieves and brings us hope even in the case of despair, frustration and anger.

At the end George Herbert speaks about the relationship of God with men. They are concrete example to show how God is present everywhere with us in every worst situation.

A Tale of Two Cities

A Tale of Two Cities

It is 1775, and Mr. Jarvis Lorry is traveling to Dover to meet Lucie Manette. He tells her that she is not an orphan as she had been told from a young age. He now says that he will travel with her to Paris to meet her father, who has recently been released from the Bastille. Doctor Manette is housed in the Defarge’s wine-shop and has lost his memory, but he starts to regain it when he meets his daughter and is transported back to London.

Five years later, Charles Darnay is tried in London on a charge of treason for providing English secrets to the French and Americans during the outbreak of the American Revolution. The appearance of Mr. Sydney Carton, who looks mostly like him, precludes any positive identification and allows Darnay's liberty. Darnay, Mr. Carton, and Mr. Stryver all fall in love with Lucie Manette, who was a tearful, unwilling witness for the prosecution. Although they all make an attempt to butter up her, she favours Charles Darnay and marries him. Carton comes to her house alone and ssays as he knows that he would get nothing for his love, so he decides to do anything for her or for the one’s she loves. Darnay has harmoniously hinted to Doctor Manette of his masked identity, and he reveals to his father-in-law on the morning of his wedding that he is a French nobleman who has resigned his title.

In France, Darnay's uncle, Monseigneur, has been murdered in his bed for crimes against the French people. This means that Darnay is next in line to inherit the aristocratic title, but he tells no one except Doctor Manette. At the urgent request of Monsieur Gabelle, who has been arbitrarily imprisoned, Darnay returns to Paris, there he is being arrested as a nobleman and an emigrant and was thrown into jail.

A spy named John Barsad drops into the Defarges' wine-shop to gather evidence regarding whether they are revolutionaries. They reveal practically nothing, although Madame Defarge is knitting a list of those whom she and the other revolutionaries intend to kill.

Doctor Manette, Miss Pross, Lucie, and her small child follow Darnay to Paris, where the Doctor is almost successful in using his power among the revolutionaries as a former Bastille prisoner--like the people; he was oppressed by the ruling regime--to secure Darnay's release. But Darnay is once again denounced by the Defarges, a charge which is made even stronger by Monsieur Defarge's revelation of a paper document that he found in Doctor Manette's former cell in the Bastille. The document recounts that Manette was arbitrarily imprisoned by the Evrémondes for having witnessed their rape of a peasant girl and the murder of her brother. Darnay is brought back to prison and sentenced to death.

Sydney Carton also has traveled to Paris because of the selfless love that Lucie Manette has inspired in him. He resolves to sacrifice himself to save her husband's life. He forces the help of John Barsad, having recognized him as Solomon Pross, the dissolute brother of Miss Pross. Carton overhears the Defarges discussing a plan to kill Lucie and her child, and he figures out that Madame Defarge is the surviving sister of the peasant girl who was raped and of the boy who was stabbed by the Evrémonde family.

Carton arranges for the Manettes to leave immediately. He uses his influence with Barsad (Pross), who also works as a turnkey, to get into Darnay's cell. He drugs Darnay and exchanges places with him, having Barsad carry Darnay out of the prison to safety.

Madame Defarge knocks on Lucie's door to arrest her, but the Manettes have already fled to safety. She is instead confronted with the extremely protective Miss Pross, who comes to blows with her and accidentally shoots her dead with her own gun. Darnay returns with the Manettes to London in safety. Carton dies in Darnay's place at the guillotine, satisfied with the knowledge of his good deed.

The Birthday Party

The Birthday Party-

1> As we discussed in the article that there is absence of Lulu’s in two scenes from the movie, because changes in the film have to do essentially not with the sequence of events or the dialogues but it depends on how we read the texture of the play or find the distinctive characteristic in the character is more important. As per my understanding, sometimes it happens that some scenes are relevant to the film that’s why it remains in the film. There is nothing deep into absence of some scene from the text or in the film. It is just because Director can’t omit those scenes from the film because somehow it shows human nature, characteristic and condition of the society in his time.

2> We can see the effect of menace in the movie, because while reading the play we can sense that Stanley has a mysterious past which we are not informed about. I felt this while reading the long conversation between McCann, Stanley and Goldberg.

3> While watching the movie I felt the effect of lurking danger because as movie proceeds towards the end and other side lurking danger also rises in my mind. It is obvious that noise of things like constant beating of the drums and knocking door, humming sound, voice of characters creates danger in mind but silence creates more danger than noise of something. In act 2 I founded many pauses and silence where nobody speaks it arouses curiosity and at the same time the response that comes after the silence is equally mysterious. That creates danger in my mind. Or in the text where at last Stanley shows up as clean-shaven, well dressed and yet is forcibly taken to some unknown destination. It created danger in my mind. It shows that when things are in order it doesn’t mean that it goes smoothly, here we can see that everything is alright but vitality of life is not there.

4> In the movie we find that Petey reads newspaper everyday in the morning and so it becomes routine for him and the news which contains so many emotions but as a regular reader he cannot feel it. Same if we connect it with life of Stanley then we would be able to realize that Stanley’s life contains so many pain as an artist but how it is torn by McCann and Goldberg it goes appropriate with the symbol of newspaper. When acts opens we find Petey reads newspaper and at last scene we find same situation but slight change in it is that torn pieces of newspaper are hidden by Petey because it shows that habit of reading newspaper kills his sensibility to feel pain of others. And he has no courage to accept the reality that’s why he hides the pieces of newspaper and acts like nothing has happened with Stanley.

5> When camera moves over the head of McCann while he was playing the Blind Man’s Buff, it showed that he is in power position and can destroy anything that he wants. Angle of camera is over the head of McCann that symbolically represents the power position. We can connect it with history and McCann with Adolf Hitler. When camera moves over Stanley we can see a view of room like cage that shows actual condition and state of mind of Stanley that how he is imprisoned by his past as an artist and he has no hope to come out from that, uncertainty of life is lurking over him like a cage. Because as an artist he feels the same uncertainty in the past and now he is going to face another reality.

6> Yes, it does happened in the movie, we can see blurred dialogues, and with this space, etc. We can't understand it without a doubt.

7> Movie helps me in better understanding of the play ‘The Birthday Party’ in the text we can’t imagine that why character takes a pause or silence there in between their constant talk and also in the text I can’t feel menacing effect or lurking danger in any situation because its above my imagination. While watching the movie audio- visual effect gives me more clear idea to understand the exact pause or silence. Though they want to say so many things but rather than selecting words to express it they chooses silence or pause. In the movie we find that danger is lurking through hatch and peeping out behind door or noise of knocking door or in the blackout scene. Menacing effect is there because all the characters are suffering from the unknown fear. It may happen that they laugh because they want to forget the fear that they can’t face it.

8> According to me both has right is at its own place, because everything has its own limitation and it can’t go beyond the limitation. Same thing if we apply here in the movie or in the text of the play then we realize that both has its own charm to satisfy the minds of the readers or the viewers.

9> If I was director of the movie then I would have reduced the sounds of things that constantly irritates me while watching the movie. Next I would like to change is unnecessary things that are lying in the room and I would give 

more space to person rather than the things.

10> According to me all actors of the play plays good role as characters of the play. But personally I like the character of Meg that she is happy because she remembers nothing and that gives her vitality to live life. It may be her pretension but one who looks her from outside they can imagine that she is happy, because if she can’t act like that then there is no difference between the situation of Stanley and Meg. It is so because she has skill of pretending something and Stanley has no skill of pretending anything, which we can clearly see on the face of Stanley.

Dr. Faustus

1) The image resembles victory of evil over good. It shows what we do out of greed without thinking anything. Dr.Faustus wanted to rule over people and also on God for which he became ready to surrender his soul to Lucifer for learning the art of black magic. The image resembles that Lucifer is laughing on God because the evil thoughts has taken over the good and pure thoughts of Faustus. And at last Lucifer takes the soul of Faustus.

2) Yes, God is present in the play. Though not directly but indirectly. God is present in the form of- good angel,old man,and his friends who says him not to proceed in this art but he doesn't listens to them. At the end Dr. Faustus repents on what he has done and prays to God for being guilty and not thinking anything before doing. But he only repents and nothing else happens with him.

3) The image of Daedelus and Icarus resembles that everything has its own limit and one should have to listen to others what are they saying to them and give a thought.

Thinking Activity on Hamlet

 

Thinking activity on Hamlet-

1> I don’t find the movie much faithful to the original play. It is so because at the very beginning of the play we get to know that Hamlet is a University student and is in his twenties but in the play he is showed as a man of early thirties rather than being shown as young. Shakespeare wrote the play in Renaissance time but in the movie Victorian age is much reflected. The costumes of the characters are much different than the originality. But on the positive side we can also say Ophelia is much highlighted and Claudius played his role well as depicted in the play. The theme of the original play is also well maintained in the movie by the director Kenneth Branagh.
2> My perception about the main protagonist of the play that is Hamlet has changed. I thought why Hamlet was wasting his time in faking his madness and portraying his whole life story through a play in his kingdom, why is he not punishing his mother (Gertrude) and uncle (Claudius) for their heinous act when he was well aware of the truth. When I saw the same part of the play in the movie I got to know that he was trying to see that the story which he knew behind his father’s death was true or not and did it effect Claudius or not. And when he came to know that the story was true he started faking his madness for killing Claudius otherwise he couldn’t kill him. At last when he succeeded in killing Claudius, it just showed the love and loyalty of a son to his father and also loyalty of a true Prince or a warrior for his kingdom.
3> In the movie I can feel aesthetic delight, it is so when Ophelia becomes mad just after her father’s death that too in the love of Hamlet and not in the grief of her dead father. And I can also find aesthetic delight when Hamlet mocks his uncle and his uncle is silent.
4> I feel catharsis in the play, it is so when Hamlet after his return from Wittenberg to Denmark hears the sudden death of his father and the over hasty marriage of his mother with his uncle he gets shattered. When he first saw his father’s ghost and heard the brutal story of his death and how sorrowfully he asks Hamlet to take revenge for his death and when the ghost disappears Hamlet breaks down, here also I can find catharsis.
5> At first I thought what is the need of watching a movie related to a play. But when I witnessed movie like Doctor Faustus and Hamlet, I got to know the merits of watching a movie related to a play. Now-a-days when we watch Hollywood or Bollywood movies most of the scenes and dialogues of the movies gets imbibed in our mind for a quite longer period; it is same in the case of academic movies when we watch this movies we can easily relate the dialogues with the scenes and it becomes easier for us to remember and sometimes the background music of the movie helps us to remember the scenes of the movie because we are also mostly accustomed with the songs or music of a movie. Watching movie related to our academics is very helpful.
6> The scene or moment which I would like to cherish lifetime is the scene of Claudius’s death, this scene depicts the loyalty of a son for his father; here Hamlet at last kills Claudius the murderer of King Hamlet his father. This scene also depicts that when we think of evil for others sooner or later we will also undergo the result of our own evil mind like the condition of Claudius.
7> If I would have been the director of the movie I would have chosen a character for Hamlet in early twenties rather than a matured man as shown in the movie. I would have shown Gertrude to think what was she up to and against whom she was conspirating along with Claudius. And I would have shown Hamlet being concerned for Ophelia before her death.
8> The broken statue at the end signifies that punishing the evil is good but to some extent taking revenge is not so good because revenge is such a thing which can bring a whole empire to an abrupt end as in the case of the Denmark kingdom. Where no one of the royal family survives, which is the most sorrowful part of the play. It also signifies the change of time where nothing is stagnant.
9> While studying the play through movie I found philosophical approach more applicable, it is so because as Hamlet is a student of Philosophy he is very intellectual in his thoughts; he thinks why did his uncle kill his father and how could his mother marry his uncle by betraying his father and he keeps on thinking how to kill Claudius. He found Claudius praying and Claudius was armless, as it was a ‘golden opportunity’ for Hamlet he didn’t kill Claudius. Hamlet thought that if he will kill Claudius while praying then his soul would go to Heaven which Hamlet didn’t want at all, so he left that opportunity and Claudius was saved. In place of Hamlet if there would have been Claudius he would have never stopped as Hamlet did.
10> In pre-viewing the movie the cultural approach seems to be more appealing to me, it is so because in the play Renaissance age is well reflected rather than the movie. And up to some extent feminist approach is also applicable for the characters of Gertrude and Ophelia as they are being suppressed by the men folk most of the times in the play.