The mood created by the mise en scene in Arsenic and Old Lace is haunting. The mood of this is created through the graveyard scene in the window and the low, shady lighting of the candles and lamp. This mood is made in contrast to the comedic aspects of the play, emphasizing the play being a dark comedy. The major themes throughout this play are right vs. wrong, death, and family relations. The theme of right vs. wrong is made through Abby and Martha in their belief that they are “saving” the men through putting them out of their miseries as lonely old men. They believe that they are in the right versus Mortimer who believes that they are in the wrong. Abby, Martha, and Jonathan’s willingness to kill creates the theme of death, and with Abby …show more content…
These elements were enhanced by the connections and interactions that the characters had with them and their positions within the setting. They were emphasized because of the importance that they had throughout the play. The cellar door is accentuated because it is where the audience later finds out, where the bodies are buried. The window seat is a significant element as not only do Jonathan and Einstein enter from the window above it, the seat ends up becoming the temporary hiding place for a body when a visitor comes. Lastly, the wine is dramatized because it is the weapon of choice for the two women, as glasses of wine are moved about, the women talk of how good it is, and Mortimer tries to distract the men from drinking it. As death is one of the major themes of this play, the playwright has written it so that the focal points are upon objects that are used to commit and/or hide the character’s acts of murder, therefore associating these objects with the idea of death. To show these elements, the designers can make the door be in contrast to the rest of the set, the window to be large in proportions and the wine bottle and glasses to be embellished. For lighting, the lights from the window can fall well upon the seat, showing it to be brighter than the rest of the room, and casting the door into even more shadow for emphasis. Lastly, for costumes, gloves can be
The black box theater is a very intimate setting to begin with, and as I took my seat in the theater, I felt that intimacy. The theater was dark, and the audience was virtually silent before the production began. As I sat waiting for the performance to begin, I took in the lighting, the props, and the set as a whole, and I began to feel as if I were sitting just at the edge of a different time period. The design element that stood out most to me was the lighting of the river because the gobos and the selection of down lights made the river come to life, almost as if it was another character in this production. I was definitely drawn into the world of this play due to the intimacy of the black box theater and the lighting design of the
He falls into a sort of fantasy when he feels the comfort of the warm air, but is snapped back to reality by the cold wind from outside. He will later become regretful that he ignored the warm air, the symbol for his wife, and instead listened to the window and the air
The 1920’s mobster theme creates a sort of eerie a mysterious mood for the play. Taking place mostly at night under street lamps at the end of a suspicious alley, the tone is rather ominous. The mobsters add to
In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare masterfully employs the key elements of tragedy, such as language, form and features, to explore the themes of extreme obsession and fate versus love. Depicted throughout the play, Shakespeare conveys Romeo’s extreme obsession, which ultimately leads to his downfall. Another theme discussed also includes fate versus love, incorporating the idea of how Romeo and Juliet were predestined to die. In Romeo and Juliet, one of the major themes portrayed is extreme obsession.
Backstage areas of the theater, dressing rooms, rooftops, corridors, and, of course, the stage all provide deeply detailed to perfectly contain the characters in the film. Printed couches, scrawled “congratulations” notes, flowers and flickering light bulbs adorn our hero’s dressing room. These spaces are each decorated to look authentic. Color also plays a large role in “Birdman”. The stage lighting shifts dramatically throughout the play within the film and this theme often bleeds into the backstage of the St. James Theater.
The play explores themes of guilt, revenge, justice, and hysteria. Ultimately,
Situational irony is also evident in both stories. Walter’s mundane life contrasts with his adventurous daydreams as his real life of weakness contrasts with his daydreams of dominance. The most ironic conclusion is witnessed in The Story of an Hour when Mrs. Mallard dies, just as she is about to live an autonomous life. The concluding sentence states, “When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease - of joy that kills.” (Chopin, 3).
“The Possibility of Evil” by Shirley Jackson has a truly unexpected plot and Mrs. Strangeworth has changed throughout the story. Mrs. Strangeworth is the main character in this book and in the beginning, she is a pleasant, caring old woman who enjoys roses and talking to others. The other people in the town have received rude and harsh letters from an anonymous person. During the end of the story, the reader soon finds out that Mrs. Strangeworth has been writing the letters and as a punishment, the people destroy her roses. Mrs. Strangeworth dramatically changes through the story and she teaches us the theme of appearance can be deceiving.
In this story the author Agatha Christie uses symbolism, flashbacks and foreshadowing to support the purpose of building suspense. First, the author uses symbolism to add complications to the plot. On page 242, the text says, “And the dining room window has been smashed-and there are only three little soldier boys left on the
The theme is this scene is supernatural. This theme is important in the play because without the witches there would be no story. The audiences will be uncomfortable and quite scared of her because witches can kill people. They would be immersed into the play because of the
English 10 Date: _____________ Mango Street—Double Entry Journal (DEJ) Period: ____ Overview: A DEJ is a way to closely read passages from a text, to discover what individual words and sentences reveal about characters, conflicts, themes, etc. In the future, you will be selecting your own “strong lines” and meaningful passages to comment on, but for this first effort three have been chosen for you. Each passage shows something about Esperanza, her relationship to someone else in the neighborhood, and/or her opinion about a particular social issue. Link your passages to the Essential Questions: HOW DOES CHANGE AFFECT THE FUTURE?
In The Tragedy of Hamlet , by William Shakespeare, some of the most significant events are mental or psychological events that make the audience feel and have an emotional connection with the characters. Moreover, these significant events are categorized as new awakenings, discoveries, and changes in consciousness that set off a mental or psychological effect to the readers. The author, Shakespeare, gives these internal events to characters such as Ophelia, Gertrude, and Hamlet throughout the play to give the sense of excitement, suspense, and climax which associate with their external action. Ophelia is the daughter of Polonius and the sister of Laertes, who both tell her to stop seeing Hamlet. To Polonius, Ophelia is an eternal virgin who
By doing so, Thornton Wilder simplifies his play and further develops the Stage Manager’s definition of eternity. The props symbolize the small details of life since their absence does not affect the play, and characters recognize the small details of life after they transition into eternity; therefore, this absence conforms to the Stage Manager’s belief that eternity serves as a bridge between ungrateful and modesty. Audience members observe the missing props in the beginning of the play: “...he stops, setting down his-- imaginary-- black bag, takes off his hat, and rubs his face with fatigue…” (Wilder 24) along with Emily’s realization of smaller details, such as how young her mother is, in Act III, after she passes into eternity. Evidently, the events in the play concur with the Stage Manager’s definition of eternity and the purpose it
There is a long shot so you can see the whole room. This creates a relaxing atmosphere for the audience. Grace is embroidering a new veil for Anne her daughter first communion. She is surrounded by the childrens toys and a teapot so it is a very calming and very homely. The colours in the room are quite light so they contrast with the dark of the home.
Imagery is use in the story to stimulate the five sense of the readers. For example in the story, the surroundings in the beginning is use to stimulate the senses of touch and sight for the readers when words like smouldering, dim and uncertain is use to emphasise the feeling of heat, warmth and darkness in the room where Brantain sat in the shadows while watching Nathalie who was sitting in the bright glow of the fireplace in the room. For example, “It was still quite light out of doors, but inside with the curtains drawn and the smouldering fire sending out a dim, uncertain glow, the room was full of deep