The Importance of Ideas in The Tempest Essay -- Tempest essays

The Importance of Ideas in The Tempest      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Shakespeare's play, The Tempest, is constructed on a framework of ideas rather than on any dramatic principle. It is "ideas" that are presented throughout, and the play is built around the presentation of these themes -- themes such as the argument over whether nature is superior to nurture or vice versa (as in the case of Caliban and Antonio, the first being one on whom all efforts at nurture "can never stick" due to the inherent baseness of his nature, the second being one whom neither nature nor nurture has availed to deter him from consciously choosing evil), the moral duties of the sovereign (in the case of Prospero and Alonso, both of whom have to go through physical or emotional distress because of their negligence, in one way or another, or these duties), the transitoriness of all material things (as in Prospero's speech following the masque), the rights of the colonialist and whether he is exploiting or educating the natives (in the case of Prospero and Cali ban), the argument over whether "enlightened" civilization is superior to the "natural man" or otherwise, and the importance of retaining social hierarchy.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is also, to a certain extent, not inaccurate to suggest that the characters, or at least the important ones, have a symbolic function. Prospero does symbolize "Art" and enlightened civilization, Caliban "Nature" and the primitive, uncontrolled succumbing to instinctual, sometimes base, urges that results from the lack of "civilization", Ferdinand and Miranda the purity and virtue of noble birth, most of the court party (Antonio, Alonso, Sebastian; on a different level, Stephano and Trinculo) the imperfection of civilization in the form of ... ...nd Political Thought." A Companion to Shakespeare. Ed.   David Scott Kastan. Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers Ltd., 1999. 100-116. Gervinus, G.G. "A review of The Tempest." Shakespeare Commentaries. (1877):787-800. Rpt.   Scott. 304-307. More, Sir Thomas. "Utopia." The Longman Anthology of British Literature. Vol 1. Ed. David   Damrosch. New York: Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc., 1999. 637-706. Platt, Peter. "Shakespeare and Rhetorical Culture." A Companion to Shakespeare. Ed. David   Scott Kastan. Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers Ltd., 1999.   277-296. Sacks, David Harris. "Political Culture." A Companion to Shakespeare. Ed. David Scott   Kastan. Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers Ltd., 1999. 100-116. Snider, Denton J. "A review of The Tempest." The Shakespearian Drama a Commentary: The Comedies. (1890). Rpt. Scott. 320-324.   

Nurse Betty

â€Å"Nurse Betty† is not so much a movie about a nurse, but it is a good depiction of how  nurses can sometimes be portrayed by the media. In this film a small town waitress named Betty  fixates on one doctor as portrayed in her favorite soap opera, â€Å"A Reason To Love.† After witnessing her husband’s murder while watching an episode Betty begins to  become delusional, believing that she is a nurse in the hospital where the character of Dr. Ravell  from the soap opera works. Betty also believes herself to be his ex-fiancà © and that she is still in  love with him. As this delusion takes hold she packs her bags and leaves the scene of the crime to  head to Los Angeles to find him. Because of her delusions Betty does not often relate well with others. She has convinced  herself that she is an actual nurse and is in love with Dr. Ravell. For this reason she fails to  understand why others cannot accept this.  The remaining nurse, doctor and hospital administration portrayals are all minor roles.  Many are little more than walk-ons and cardboard cut-out soap opera stereotypes. The ones who  are really in these positions and not characters from the soap opera are portrayed more fairly than  the soap characters.  When Betty arrives at what she believes is the hospital where Dr. Ravell works the  administration is at first depicted as sincere in response to her claims of being a nurse and  looking for Dr. Ravell, an acclaimed cardiologist who should work there. Even though he has  never been heard of before. Little is shown of how Betty handles herself as a nurse. Mainly this is due to the fact  that she is not a nurse. Even though she believes herself to be one. The other minor portrayals of  nurses in this movie are generally positive and believable.Overall this movie shows several examples of how Hollywood portrays those in the  medical profession. Both with the medical professionals as characters and with the more  stereotyped soap opera characters. LaBute, N. (Director). (2000). Nurse Betty [Film] Hollywood: Gramercy Pictures

Comparing Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet And His Comedy...

Compare how love is presented in Shakespeare’s tragedy Romeo and Juliet and his comedy Twelfth Night INTRODUCTION Shakespeare uses similar techniques in his contrasting plays ‘Twelfth Night’ and ‘Romeo and Juliet’ to explore societal conventions of love and courtship, while also considering different types of love – such as fraternal love or the idea of infatuation; and, despite the fact that each play lies at opposite ends of the genre spectrum, he still manages to clearly convey the idea to both contemporary and modern audiences that love is overcomplicated by our society – for example, the practice of courtly love in the 1600’s, which was in essence men allowing women for once to feel in power as they wallowed in self-pity – often lead to an almost excessive amount of confusion – a notion he uses at the core of the comedy ‘Twelfth Night’ – or that all the unwritten restrictions and connotations of love can lead to dark, bittersweet endings – something he uses to his advantage in the tragedy ‘Romeo an d Juliet’. COURTLY LOVE Shakespeare uses courtly love to introduce his first title character, Romeo, in ‘Romeo and Juliet’. We first hear of Romeo from Benvolio and his worried father; â€Å"Away from light steals home my heavy son,† The lexis â€Å"steals† implies that Romeo’s actions are surreptitious and secretive, something that we can assume is out of character due to his father’s concerned tone when asking after him. Romeo’s introduction allows Shakespeare to quickly establishShow MoreRelatedThe Elizabethan Er An Important Form Of Entertainment And Occupation For The Elizabethans2132 Words   |  9 PagesINTRODUCTION Elizabethan Era was the time when drama became an important form of entertainment and occupation for the Elizabethans. Shakespeare stands as a colossus in the English literary arena and his plays are considered as the greatest writings. These plays are rich and are suggested works for pursuing women’s studies and gender ideologies. His plays depicted the social status and responsibilities of women in the society. He seemed to support the English renaissance stereotypes of men and women