"Don't Be Fooled By The Lots That I Got" (Tutorial)

Question: “What is the importance of social status to the play, and what happens because of social status? Cite specific examples from the play to support your answer.”

           

The play, Winter’s Tale authored by Shakespeare, focuses pointedly at the issue of social status and how it affects interactions among the classes. It is clear that this ideology is a reflection of the practices of the era. The Lost Colonial Educational Pages posits that high social status regarded those who held the monarchy, nobility, gentry, merchants and beneath them, labourers. The common traits among these groups include family name, gender and marriage. Scholars suggest that social status provides a sense of belonging to the various members of society and according to Marx, a clear distinction between the wealthy and powerful and the poor and exploited.

            Through out Shakespeare’s written works, although primarily focused on the ‘upper crust’, when the reader does, in fact, get a glimpse of the ‘not-so-fortunate’, the men are always the head of the home and primary decision makers, with the exception of the deviant women, who is, in this case, Paulina. This is a trend of male dominance throughout the classes. 

            Winter’s Tale illustrates the prominence of male dominance that over shadow social status. In the text, the reader sees equal interaction between Camillo and Leontes or  Polixenes.

        

          Leontes: “Let that suffice. I have trusted thee, Camillo,
With all the nearest things to my heart, as well
My chamber-councils, wherein, priest-like, thou
Hast cleansed my bosom…”

           

This extract depicts Leontes’ value for Camillo’c companionship not withstandin the fact that his is simply a servant.

            Pauline: …

Leontes: What noise there, ho?

Paulina: No noise, my lord; but needful conference
About some gossips for your highness.

Leontes: How!
Away with that audacious lady! Antigonus,
I charged thee that she should not come about me:
I knew she would.

Antigonus: I told her so, my lord,
On your displeasure's peril and on mine,
She should not visit you.

Leontes: What, canst not rule her?

From this extract, it is clear to note that Leontes bares no value in what Paulina has to say and considers her plea as ‘noise’. When comparing these two extracts, it is clear that Leontes’ view of social status is blurred in light of gender.

However, not in all circumstances is social status blurred by gender but there are clear-cut conflict between the classes in Winter’sTale. In Act 4, at the Sheep sharing festival, Polixenes and Camillo disguise themselves in to spy on Florizel, at which time, they learn of Florizels intention to marry a shepherd’s daughter. Upon  unveiling himself (Polixenes) he says the following:

Polixenes: Mark your divorce, young sir,

Discovering himself

Whom son I dare not call; thou art too base
To be acknowledged: thou a sceptre's heir,
That thus affect'st a sheep-hook! Thou old traitor,
I am sorry that by hanging thee I can
But shorten thy life one week. And thou, fresh piece
Of excellent witchcraft, who of force must know
The royal fool thou copest with,--

            This is a manifest of his obvious disdain of the intermingling between the two classes: wealthy and poor. He makes his disapproval clear by referring to Florizel as ‘royal fool’.

In conclusion, social status plays an important part in Winter’s Tale, as well as many of Shakespeare novelties. The reader sees it being manifested and the fore mentioned examples. However, interestingly, Shakespeare makes allowances for gender to over shadow class prominently in the text. Nevertheless, the conflict between social status between high and low are existence and adds a dramatic element to Shakespearean plays. 

            

Shakespeare's Venture through Time and Experiences

The Double Edged-Sword of Betrayal

Betrayal is an inevitable part of live. Whether it being minor or major, betrayal threatens everyone once there is social interaction. I have encountered the nasty effects of betrayal.

One such experience which left a lingering bitterness was a get together planned among a few close friends. An acquaintance took the duty of transporting the food and drinks. However, succeeding a heated argument the night before the proceedings involving the acquaintance and another partygoer, the acquaintance said regardless of the outcome she would still come and address her responsibility. However, the next day, two hours after the event was suppose to happen, the persons attending to the event questioned the reliability of the acquaintance. Shortly after, to our surprise, the acquaintance revoked her responsibilities without informing anyone significant (the coordinators) and indulged in the food stuff that were suppose to be at the event with two other party goers that depended on her for transportation. Clearly, this betrayal was engineered to leave the attendees with a deficiency of sustenance. 

It left the sting of disbelief, anger and distrust towards the acquaintance as the display of her unsavory capabilities prevailed. Thankfully, one of the partygoers was late, so she was able to bring a generous amount of food for the attendees; the drinks and ice were available in the event that the acquaintance did not show, but the bonds of friendship were definitely worn.

There was certainly no misunderstanding when her actions were compared to what she said the night before during the argument.

Have you ever felt that you were betrayed and in the end misunderstood the situation?

There have been instances where initially a situation may seem like betrayal but was in fact a misunderstanding.

There was an incident of theft in a 3^rd form class and the teacher inquired about the students who were in the classroom at the time. I, much like my fellow students, plead absent at the time of the incident. However, a ‘friend’ of mine insisted that she saw me in the classroom during the time of the incident but realized it was someone else she saw and assumed it was I.

Why the Violence? Why the Trickery? Why the Evilness?

            In many of Shakespeare’s tragedies, there is the notorious trend of violence and most commonly trickery. These elements add an intriguing touch to the plot of the plays and richness to its content, often coming in the form of complication. However, the reasons for resorting to violence in Shakespeare’s works vary from desperation, to a means of revealing the truth, to adding richness and the dramatic essence to the play as well as defining the characters themselves. It helps to define the characters as being either the protagonists or the antagonists. However, trickery is a vehicle for both good and bad motives.

            With reference to Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’, both trickery and violence are demonstrated as Claudius engineered a plan geared towards the death of Hamlet. Having established Laetre’s hatred towards Hamlet, Claudius uses Laetre’s anger to drive him to fence against Hamlet. Claudius poisons the blade of Laetre’s sword so that it would kill Hamlet when it cuts him. Laetre’s not knowing of Claudius’ deed, engages in the game of fences and cuts Hamlet who subsequently dies from the wound. Trickery was used here as a means of violence as Claudius wanted to commit a crime without being suspected or directly involved. Hamlet knew of Claudius’ unlawful act (killing Hamlet’s father and taking his place as King) and Claudio saw it fitting to go to any extent to keep it a secret.       

            Another renowned play, ‘The Merchant of Venice’, manifests trickery when Antonio was to give Shylock a pound of flesh but Portia, Bassanio’s wife, disguised herself as a male lawyer to free Antonio from the bonds of his contract. This form of trickery was in favour of the protagonist Antonio and provided a peripeteia. However, Shylock’s thirst for violence having demanded the pound of flesh from Antonio can be justified by the hostility displayed by Antonio thought out the years. It has been argued in some cases the Antonio was the master of his fate having pushed Shylock to the extent of violence.

            Contrarily, in ‘Much Ado About Nothing’, Shakespeare uses trickery in both forms: positively and negatively. An example of positive trickery occurred when Don Pedro and a group of friends tricked Beatrice and Benedict into expressing their feelings for one another openly. However, Don John, Don Pedro’s bastard brother, tricks Claudio into believing that the woman he was about to be betrothed to was not a maiden in respect of her virginity and thus publicly shamed her on their wedding day. This comedy, is one of the tamer play encountered by this reader.

            A common element in the plays is the persons who mainly resorted to violence were the villains or antagonists of the play that made them easy to identify. The evilness provides a clear and intriguing battle between good and bad that provides reputable dramas and for this reason an interesting and captivating playwrights.

In the era of The Winter’s Tale

The Winter’s Tale, similar to many famous writings, was written in the Elizabethan Era near the end of William Shakespeare career. The Era is known as one of the more memorable events or periods in the British History, The Jacobean Era.  

What is the Elizabethan Theatre?

^{The Global Theatre}

Prior to the establishing of the Elizabethan Theatre, Actor and performers in England traveled from town to town performing their plays for various audiences. Shortly after the outbreak of the Bubonic Plague, the public regarded actors of the Elizabethan Era negatively. Due to a license and regulations of initiation, Elizabethan actors were restricted to perform. The traveling actors performed their plays in what were called “Inn Yards”. In these Inn Yard, temporary stages were erected for the purpose of performances. Subsequently, after seeing the growth in theatre in, Mr. James Burbage obtained a lease and permission and erected the Theatre, affectionately known as the ‘Elizabeth Theatre’.

            The theatre was designed to hold 3000 spectators. The audience the theatre attracted was vulgar and unsavory, causing institutions like the Church to rebel against it. From this, there was a raise in criminal activity in the City of London. Soon the social conditions became unbearable and the authorities were forced to close and banned all theatres, including the Elizabethan Theatre.

            Subsequent to the unfortunate theatre closings, William Shakespeare opened The Globe Theatre under partial ownership. Which housed the plays of stifled actor and new and revitalizes playwrights as well and proved successful.

            However, the Bubonic or Black Plague claimed the lives of thousands that caused the Theatres to close and once again. Additionally, a fire broke out in the Globe Theatre claimed in the entire structure save the foundation on which the rebuilt it and make technological improvements. Unfortunately, Theatres closed once again as a result of the protestants who insisted on passing stricter law with regards to actors cause actors to be seized and whipped and caught audience members to be fined.

What is the Theatre of the Absurd?

^{The Theatre of the Absurd}

The term absurd is defined as “Wildly unreasonable, illogical, or inappropriate”.

According to www.wisegeeks.com ,“Theater of the Absurd is often called a reaction to the realism movement in the theater. Rather than try to conform as closely as possible to a concept of real life, absurdists sought to provide an unmistakably unreal experience. In an absurdist play, time and settings are generally ambiguous, if they are even defined at all. Characters are not meant to mimic real people, but instead are often metaphorical or archetypal.”

The Theatre of the absurd is a demonstration of an illogical style of theatre, hence the turn absurd, It stemmed from the World War 2 event which help drive the dramatic elements. The absurdity of the theatre impeded the settings, the situations or plots and most importantly the dialogue which never seemed to make sense.

 A visually active example of "The Theatre of the Absurd" > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsM_k0esAQY

The Life and Times of William Shakespeare

Referencing the Biography published in the play, 'Much Ado About Nothing', William Shakespeare was born in Stratford upon Avon on April 1564. He was born to John Shakespeare and Mary Arden. Shakespeare was the last of three children as well as the eldest son. He had elder siblings, both of whom where girls. This Catholic family provided William Shakespeare’s with what was perceived to be a traditional up brining of that era.

         26 year old Shakespeare married his 18 year old wife, Anne Hathaway, 3 months pregnant with their first child, in December 1582. On May 6th 1583, the couple produced their first of three children, Suzanna Shakespeare. Suzanna was then preceded by her twin siblings, Hamnet and Judith, on February 22nd 1585. In the midst of Shakespeare youthful yet burdensome life, he left his family in Stratford on Avon to work in London, having been accused of deer theft.

        Shakespeare made his first appearance in the public eye as a playwright when he was first featured with Johannes Factotum. In April 1593, William published his poem 'Venus and Adios' with dedication to the Earl of Southampton; its success thereafter was manifested in the reprinting nine times over nine years. This, however, was proceeded by another phenomenal poem entitled 'The rape of Lucrece".

        Due to the historical plague, theatres remained in active, but the instant of reactivation, Shakespeare’s work because the subject of rivalry of the Lord Chamberlains Company who produced a play in Shoredith Theatre. Soon there after, Shakespeare authored additional plays, namely, The Gently men of Venus, Love's Labour's Lost and The Taming of the Shrew. The most famous and world-renowned play being Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare was, at this point, believed to be the greatest author and playwright because of his extraordinary talent in captivative writing, both plays and poetry. He dominated the play entertainment world for quite sometime with his undeniable passion and expertise in the field.

       Shakespeare died in 23rd April 1616. His successes carried on through out his 52 year life spand. Having been survived by his wife, William left behind a high standard of dramatic playwright as well as his work that's still studied and recited to this very day.

His plays studied today include the following:

Historical plays include:

King Henry IV Part I

King Henry IV Part 2

King Henry V Part 1

King Henry V Part 2

King Henry V Part 3

King Henry VIII

King John

Richard II

Richard III

Tragedic plays include:

Antony and Cleopatra

Coriolanus

Hamlet

Julius Ceasar

King Lea

Macbeth

Othello

Romeo and Juliet

Timon of Anthenus

Titus Andronicus

Comedic plays include:

All Well That Ends Well

As You Like It

Comedy of Errors

Cymbeline

Love’s Labour’s Lost
Measure for Measure

Merchant of Venice

Merry Wives of Windsor

Midsummer Nights Dream

Much Ado About Nothing

Pericles, Prince of Tyre

Taming of the Shrew

The Tempest

Troilus and Cressida

Twelfth Night

Two Gentlemen of Verona

            Winter’s Tale

Literary Jargon

Elements of Drama

Act - A main separation in the play

Scene - The minor section within the act

Exposition - The part of the play or novel in which the theme a main characters are introduced.

Conflict- The struggle between characters or forces in which the story is based.

Complication - A factor, condition, or element that creates difficulties.

Climax- The highest point of the narrative; all actions build towards.

Denouement - A solution or unraveling of a plot in a play or story.

Peripeteia - A sudden reversal of fortune or the change in circumstances.

Characterization - The way in which the writes creates or develops his characters.

Protagonist - the main character; hero or heroine of a drama.

Antagonist - the main characters in a piece of fiction that provides a source of conflict upon which the plot may turn.

Main Plot - The pattern of events or main story in a drama.

Sub Plot- The plot in a play or film or novel in a story that is separate and less important than the main story.

Form of Drama

Comedy - The misadventures of the characters which are presented in a drama as amusing rather than disastrous and provide a happy ending.

History - A drama which is based on the past; often the mid evil or early modern past.

Tragedy - A serious play based on human suffering that offers the audience pleasure which provides a sad ending.

Romance - A heroic play and verse narrative portraying chivalrous deeds.

Theatre of the Absurd - A theatrical style originating in France after World War 2 which took the basis of existential philosophy and combined it with dramatic elements to create a style of theatre which presented a world of which cannot be logically explained.  

Satire - Using humour of exaggeration to show what is bad or weak about a person or thing.

Modern Drama - The Western Development of drama beginning in the late nineteenth century. It also represents a wide array of historical and fictional perspectives.

Melodrama - A dramatic work which exaggerates plot and characters in order to appeal to the emotions.

Features of Drama

Monologue - When the character may be speaking his or her thoughts directly addressing another character or speaking to the audience especially the former.

Dialogue - Words spoken by the characters in a novel or play.

Soliloquy - A speech in a play in which a character tells his or her thoughts to the audience as if talking to him or herself.

Aside - A dramatic device in which a character speaks to the audience.

Set- The time, place, and circumstances in which a narrative, drama or film takes place.

Stage Directions - An instruction in the text of a play displaying the movements of the actors, the arrangement of the scenery, etc

Stage Convention - Certain devices used in a performance that are accepted as portraying an event or style not necessarily being realistic.

Chorus - A non-individualized group of performers in a play who comment with a collected voice on the dramatic action.

Dramatic Unities - the three unities of time, place and action observed in a classical drama.

Disguise - to change the appearance or guise of so as to conceal identity or mislead.

Literary  devices.

Imagery - the writer or speakers use of words to produce pictures in the viewer’s mind.

Motif - aspect of literature (a type of character or theme) which recurs frequently.

Symbolism - the representation of something in symbolic form or the attribution to symbolic meaning.

Tragic Irony - the words and actions of the characters contradict the real situation, which spectators fully realize.

Dramatic Irony - the words and actions possess words and actions possess significance that the listeners or audience understands, but the speaker and character does not.

Juxtaposition - side by side or close together.

Literary Context

Social - living together in groups

Historical - from the past; connected to the past.

Political - relating to the state or its government

Religious - observation of religious laws or practices.
Ethnic - different racial or social groups of people within a country

Moral - conforming to accepted standards; having integrity.

Intellectual- highly intelligent devotes to mental or intellectual pursuits.

Cultural - refers to the patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activities significance or importance.

Difficult Marriages In Pride and Prejudice

      The disadvantage of marriage depicted in her fathers would most likely address the reason for his 'isolation' of his family. He has more of a subdued nature in conparison to his wife. There relationship is the ideal example of two colliding persoanlities; Mr. Bennets intellectual stabiliy and Mrs. Bennet's simple minded and idiotic bahavious. As a result of this Mr. Bennet resorts, however not recognized, to blatantly insult his wife. In the first Chapter of the novel, the dislogue between Mr. and Mrs. Bennet is as follows:

       Mrs. Bennet: "My Dear, you flatter me. I certainly have had my share of beauty, but I do not pretend to be anything extraordinary now. When a woman has five grown up daughters, she ought to give other thinking of her own beaurty."

Mr. Bennet: "In such cases, woman has not often much beauty to think of."

       This an obvious however subtle insult of his wife's character which she easily disregards.

        Additionally, Mr. Bennet, although polite and intellectually intriguing, seems to be a somewhat unhappy character. It is postulated that he stays with his family for the sake of his children as it reflects the noble nature of his character.

        On a broader view, children are irrefuteable affected by a difficult marriage. It evokes favouritism among parents, where some children may find themselves fancying one parent over the other. This can additionally be strenous on a single parent to support their children emotionally and likewise therefore subjecting the child to becoming influenced by the single parent. This can be seem where some characteristics can be seen of Mrs. Bennet in the five girls, there fancy for rich men and they since of gossiping, however not particulary prominent in the eldest two.

         Difficulties in a marriage can also cause a barrier for parent-child communication, the parent and the children will have issues in their own relationship as a result of the marital problems and will therefore cause the child to have a conception of life of her own. The parents will not be able to meassure her capabilities and ambitions because of the lack of interaction. This is seen in Lydia, when she ran away and her parents were surprised. This would not have been so shocking of an encounter had only Mr. and Mrs. Bennet had a closer relationship with their child and more extensively, children.

        It is exceptable, however not common, for parties to stay in a marriage just for the sake of the children. It more common to have divorced or single parent families and the children must alternate between the two parents. This is a prominent practise in society.

Speak Peak at the Characters in Pride and Prejudice

Characters

Ms Jane Bennet
Jane is condemned by her sister Elizabeth as being “a great deal to apt… to like people”. While Jane’s endeavor to see the best in people contribute to her king and caring nature, it also blinds her from the malicious devices of persons such as Caroline Bingley who only pretend to have her best interest at heart. Jane is also described as being prone to “conceal” her affection; she divulges to Elizabeth alone her admiration for Mr Bingley, but is “cautious” when discussing him with everyone else. This secret reserve of Jane ultimately causes her to lose Bingley’s love.

Ms. Elizabeth Bennet

Elizabeth, second daughter born to Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, is the thorn among roses; she is the intellectual gems among her sisters. It is reflected in her witty speech and opinionate composure. Elizabeth wows strangers with her unique nature, notwithstanding the fact that she is a woman. She emulates the "Prejudice" in 'Pride and Prejudice'. Throughtout the novel, we learn of the prejudices Elizabeth hold strongly towards Mr, Darcy. This course relationship fostered by Mr. Darcy and prolonged by Elizabeth is outstanding because, as opposed to the average woman, Elizabeth has her views and opinions and makes them known.

Mr. and Mrs. Bennet

Mr. and Mrs. Bennet; an interesting and contrasting duet. Mr. Bennet is termed in the book as "so odd a mixture of quick parts" A colourful blend of personality characteristics such as humour, sarcasm and interlligence, thus he is of a sound mind. His wife, Mrs. Bennet, on the other hand, is more of a simpleton. She busies herself with the fine, however idle things in life, such as clothes and gossip. Mrs. Bennet represents the average women of the novel; subject to poor education, matters of the home and family and lastly, a vivid example to the place of women being subordinate to men.

Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy
Mr Darcy is described as “the proudest, most disagreeable man in the world”. However, Darcy’s reserved nature stems as much from his shyness and inability to be comfortable around persons he does not know as it does from his pride. His love for Elizabeth despite her family’s obvious shortcomings prove that there is more to Mr Darcy beneath his proud demeanor.

Mr Charles Bingley
“Good looking and gentleman like… [with] a pleasant countenance and easy, unaffected manners”, it is no surprise that the young bachelor is a favourite among all of the inhabitants of Hertfordshire; especially the young ladies. Bingley’s overall appeal is slighted only by his relation to such prideful people as his sisters Caroline and Louisa.

Mr. William Collin

The character Mr Collins is the neohew of Mr.Bennet and also is a clergyman. He is 25 years of age and is the heir to the property that Mr. Bennet owns due the fact Mr. Bennet has five Daughters. His character can be said of a bit boastful via his manner on speaking of Lady Catherine de Bourgh. The author states Mr. Collins as ‘not a sensible man, and the deficiency of nature had been but little assisted by education or society.” From this it is seen that Mr. Collins is a character that goes based on his instinct and not his common sense. The characters around him see him as prideful but he is seen as a person in good standing with Mrs. Bennet when he shows interest in marrying her daughter Elizabeth.

Persuasion... The Literary 'Under Dog'

Many different characters in this play are persuaded to do things they would not do of their own accord. What are some of these instances, and how does persuasion affect the course of the plot?

Persuasion is verbal communication intended to change someones mind from one state to another and in this case, do something they would not do on their own merit. Persuasion has posed as an underling element of in William Shakespeare’s ‘Much Ado About Nothing’. It usually stems from the root of deception, however stands on its own in several distinct cases. Few of which are persuading Benedict and Beatrice of their love for one another and then concreting it with the persuasion of their very own written notes. Then persuading Don Pedro and Claudio that Hero was sleeping with another man the eve of her wedding and the persuasion of Hero’s innocence. All of which influence, if not carried the burden of the play.

When Hero and Margret spoke of Benedict's secret affection towards Beatrice and Don Pedro, Claudio and Leonato speaking likewise of Beatrice in 'convenient' hearing distance of them both was a form of persuasion. In this example, persuasion has been stemmed from deception. The persistant talk of their overwhelming secret intimate feeling towards each other evoke a responding emotion they claimed as 'love', having been convinced by as reliabie an evidence as gossip would allow. Additionally, the example of Claudio and Don John being convinced of Hero's unfaithfulness. Unlike Benedict and Beatrices case, Doh John had the benefit of audible aid and to some extent visual as well to further convince them of Hero dishonesty.

The persuasion of Leonato of Hero's innocence is a subtle however, different take on persuasion being stemmed from something other than deception. Here, it focuses mainly on gender ininquality. Hero wasnt givenb the priledge to defend herself because Leonato wouldnt listen but Frair Francis insisted in her to voice her innocence. Had it not been through the Friar Francis, Hero would never had gotten the opportunity to plea her innocence and persuade her father of it. This form of persuasion was responsible for the trun of events in the latter regions of the play.

Conclusively speaking, persuasion plays an intricate role in the play 'Much Ado About Nothing'. Unique to this play, it ir partially if not completely responsiblke for the plot and the turn of events thereof.

Dogberry as a Humourous Element

In Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing”, many different themes are expressed to amplify the plot and general quality of the play. However, the theme targeted here is humour. Homour, similar to comedy, is an amusing quality, however, comedy speaks more extensively as being a happy ending that succeeds the light amusement. The character that bears this essential burden of ‘comic relief’ is Dogberry.

Dogberry is characterized as being a fool. His undeniable misuse of his vocabulary adds in his success of being humourous. According to Princeton’s WordNetWeb, Dogberries “unintentional misuse of a word in confusion with one that sounds similar” is termed malapropism. A functional example is Act 3 Scene 3 (15) “First, who think you the most desertless man to be constable?” It is evident that Dogberry used “desertless” instead of the rightful term “deserving” in its place. His consistent error adds a light upliftment in the midst of the unfortunate events that has been dampening the mood of the characters and by extension the reader. Another example would include Act 3 Scene 5 lines 24-26 Dogberry states “One word sir, our watch have indeed comprehended two auspicious persons, and we will have them this morning examined before your worship.” The mistake made here was the misuse of “auspicious” instead of “suspicious”.

Moreover, Dogberry is what Cliff notes claim to be a “beautifully designed” character.  He comes across to the audience as being at a rudimentary level of thought and is quite fittingly so. This is reflected in his misused vocabulary and in ability to look beyond the simple quirks, for instances being called an “ass”. After being proclaimed such by one of the imprisoned, namely Conrade (Act 4 Scene 2, line 9) “Away, you are an ass, you are an ass”, Dogberry took it upon himself and exclaim his injustice of slander to any listening ear and Leonato was the subsequent victim of this.

Conclusively, the character of Dogberry speaks to a humours element or comic relief, as opposed to the misunderstood comedy. His character keeps the flow of the play balanced to provide a consistent and well execute playwright.