Derek Jacobi Essays

Hamlet and Ophelia “This was sometime a paradox, but now the time gives it proof. I did love you once… I loved you not” (3.1.114,119). Confusion clouds the audience’s judgement reading this quote from Hamlet. His paradox insinuates that he is insane and truly did not love her. Contrary to belief though, this quote was a way to set his “mousetrap” and force her to be in the background of his grand scheme. The audience must draw conclusions concerning their relationship because their love is not

Everyone will face challenges in their life’s and some will seem harder than others, but for all they are challenges. In the poem Hamlet by Shakespeare during acts 1 through 3, we see that Prince Hamlet faces many different challenges. In the beginning he faces the challenge of his father’s death and his mother’s hasty marriage. Later he faces his feelings of loneliness and diminishing self-worth, and finally he has the challenge of the shame and guilt he feels that he has not avenged his father

Director Lyndsey Turner’s modern take on Hamlet starring Benedict Cumberbatch creates a darker, horror-esque production of the well-known tragedy. Cumberbatch’s portrayal of the Prince of Denmark, though somewhat hard not to compare to other performances, stood out due to his phenomenal and pragmatic performance. The director’s decision to switch the characters in the first scene creates an interesting twist but ultimately takes away from the suspense and introduction of the ghost of King Hamlet

This extract is taken from the short story “The hop frog or the Eight chained Orang - Outans” by Edgar Allan Poe. The hop- frog was written in the era of 1849. Poe was from the era of which, in literature we might called it as the romantic era and this might be the reason which is why the Poe writes his stories based upon the concepts of lost love and death. In the story hop frog the author constantly focuses on the humiliation of the weak. The extract is also basically focused on the degradation

The rigid class system in Middle Age Europe was a primary factor that determined the course of events. In Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, there are underlying issues throughout the plot involving classes of the characters, and their roles within their class. While for the time period, it was common for those in lower classes to be looked down upon, Shakespeare uses many mediums to slyly challenge this idea. Throughout the play, Shakespeare makes the class differences obvious, yet creates certain

“Love can be uncertain, but true: The story of Hamlet and Ophelia” Love is a feeling difficult to understand. In fact no one exactly knows what does it mean to be in love. Some argue that being in love is feeling butterflies in the stomach and being constantly thinking about someone special. In my opinion, to love someone means to care for them and show respect at all times. In this play, The Tragedy of Hamlet, love is portrayed between the main character, Hamlet and the dear Ophelia. Even though

Thesis Question: How does Shakespeare develop the theme of love in this play-- that is: what is Shakespeare saying about love in this play and how does he show this? Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is almost always associated with the idea of romantic love, the passion and connection between two young lovers Romeo and Juliet. Separated by a raging family feud in the bustling Italian city of Verona, our story depicts a battle against the fate associated with idealistic love. Shakespeare effectively

There are many productions of Hamlet, but the two most popular are the 2009 film featuring David Tennant and the 1996 film featuring Kenneth Branagh. Overall, I believe that Hamlet was portrayed better in the movie with Kenneth Branagh, rather than the movie featuring David Tennant. One of the most significant scenes of the play is Act V Scene 2, where Claudius dies. In the Kenneth Branagh film, the costumes in this scene are very fitting of the time period of when Hamlet was alive. The men were

In Hamlet a play composed by William Shakespeare, Shakespeare uses multiple soliloquies throughout his play to delineate the thoughts and feelings of a character (Hamlet) at a key point during a characters climax. Within the second soliloquy in Act two scene two Hamlet seems to question his existence and states himself as “alone” as well as a “peasant slave” which indicates how his intellectual self is grieving towards the death of his father (the king). Hamlet had once seen his father as his hero

Every story is different; however, they can share similar qualities. Stories can be powerful as the characters experience mirrors similar pathways to ourselves. For instance, obstacles or unknown events and how they find a way for it to resolve can look like our own. A great story contains many different elements. A Midsummer’s Night Dream and The Odyssey are two exciting stories that share similarities and differences. Three important elements between these stories are the conflict between the characters

Foolishness is a theme that plays a huge part in Oscar Wilde’s play, The Importance of Being Earnest. Foolishness is defined as ‘lacking good sense or judgement’, and there is definitely a whole of that shown in many, if not most, of the characters in the play. This play is, however, a comedy, and when not taken seriously, all the empty-headedness adds a huge part in the hilarity of the play. Lady Bracknell, Gwendolen, and Algernon are characters in this play who do an exceptional job of displaying

Abstract: There are two opposed worlds in “Macbeth”_ rational and irrational. Macbeth’s tragedy begins when he begins to apply the standards of the irrational world in the rational one where he lives. The rational world is marked by complexities, uncertainties and inter-dependences of events. Heroism, in this world, consists in confronting these. The irrational world is characterized by simplicities, certainties and isolation of events. Macbeth loses his heroism and becomes fear-stricken when, undeservingly

As I read through this play, I found it very difficult to decipher Shakespeare 's writing and his choice of words. It is necessary to read the text aloud in order to comprehend Shakespeare’s language and have some sort of understanding of Hamlet’s inner feelings. To understand Hamlet’s frustration, anger, and confusion throughout the play. Hamlet’s inner feelings are expressed in his second soliloquy beginning with “O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I!” (2.2.560). Although Hamlet wants to avenge

In the 1996 “Branagh” Hamlet movie, the MouseTrap scene from the play is portrayed very theatrically, and the chosen actor and the approach the director took with this scene in the film offer a very different interpretation of the scene. The way the film is able to convey the problems of proof is more effective than the play, because the audience is able to see just how hard Hamlet has to try to “prove” Claudius’ guilt. The movie conveys the problems of proof by representing how Hamlet and Claudius

Much Ado About Nothing is a play written by William Shakespeare which set in Renaissance, Italy, in the city of Messina. It is generally considered as one of his best comedies, in a combination various themes including those of honor, deception, love and politics. Previously in the play, Don John along with Burachio had succeeded in deceiving Claudio and Don Pedro about Hero’s disloyalty. After this, the scene is shown in Hero’s bedroom where she is getting ready for her wedding day with help of

Comparative Essay While the works Beowulf and Paradise Lost where created almost 16 centuries apart, the stories show many of the same features like themes and the way they reflect the time period. Each helps create a feeling or mood that puts the reader back to the time the works were produced, or even the time period it is referring to. They each hold many different writing styles and language with reflects the writer’s era and where he was from. While very individualized in their own way they

Numerous accounts of literature display the significance of past events to the details of the present or future. Many novels show certain behaviors or actions of characters that are directly related to things that have happened in the past. This literary technique is evident in the novel The Great Gatsby, a book written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. In this story, the lavish life in the 1920s is personified by a diverse group of people living in New York. The main focus of the story is a mysteriously wealthy

Adversity draws men together and produces beauty and harmony in life’s relationships, just as the cold of winter produces ice-flower on the window- panes, which vanish with the warmth. (Soren Kierkgaard) Vikram Seth’s first novel, The Golden Gate(1986) is a survey of contemporary love relationships in an urban society and the search for harmony with or without love relationships when situations are adverse. Love and survival are the central themes in Vikram Seth’s novels. The present chapter

Kurzel’s adaptation of ‘Macbeth’ remains loyal and truthful to Shakespeare’s language and terminology, characters, setting and plot. It is obvious that the director did not want to deviate from tradition. However, within the midst of the traditional, the film explores later ideas that have arisen such as the appearance of a dead child in the opening scene. Since the play’s creation and debut on stage in the 17th century, theories and questions have been put forward by scholars and fans of Shakespeare

To be or not to be, that is the question. In actuality, it’s more like to be sane or not to be sane is the question. Scholars have tried for years to tear apart Shakespeare’s masterpiece of a play, Hamlet, and debate whether Prince Hamlet is completely sane or Insane. In Hamlet, the main protagonist is the prince of Denmark and is mourning the death of his father. Prince Hamlet’s uncle marries the widowed queen who is Hamlet’s mother and is found to murdered the late King Hamlet. After examining