Structuralism And Literary Analysis

Each time I hear its title, Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing strikes me with a sense of anticlimax. I cannot help but wonder why one of the most brilliant writers on earth, known for his unparalleled deliberate diction, would craft a title that makes me feel as if this play is finished before I’ve read a single line? Few authors would dare proclaim, “Read my work! It’s a bunch of hubbub over absolutely zilch.” Usually, branding a product as “nothing” is not the greatest marketing strategy.

The fictional world is full of chaos, as people tend to prefer unstable theories to countless philosophies. Specifically, there is a literary shift from linearity and order to randomness and fragmentation. Consequently, Postmodernist writers understand that their works are subject to interpretation; however, they believe that the flexibility of understanding in texts is the basis for the development of innovative ideas in society. Moreover, Kurt Dinan writes in a nonlinear, flexible fashion by writing with a component of Mystery. Subsequently, the reader can make different predictions on what will occur throughout Don’t Get Caught, and the ability to predict and analyze uniquely is one of the principal ideals of Postmodernist literature.

His intention in lampooning was for his audience to enjoy the irony and sarcasm of his work while criticizing the foolish view of the upper class. During the time play’s release, many critics wrote about their opinions of the play. Some critics saw his work as a fantasy, others said it was burlesque, but there were also critics who understood Wilde’s purpose for writing this play (Kohl 272). For instance, Norbert Kohl said, “He is made to laugh at the hollow superficiality hidden behind the mask of earnestness, and to mock the rich facade…” (Kohl 272). Khol clearly understood that Wilde’s purpose of writing The Importance of Being Earnest was to publicly and comically criticize the rich.

Macbeth William Shakespeare left a large impact on the English language. At the time he published his plays, he made it possible for illiterate to understand and enjoy his plays through the use of language. Not to mention that the characters in his plays often were complex and full of doubts which made them question the world around them. But in order to understand how revolutionary and different his plays, such as Macbeth, were in comparison to others at the time, one needs to know the Elizabethan worldview.

Any dramatic work is written with the main purpose of being represented on stage. Therefore, the action is woven around a catchy conflict, which becomes the pillar of the play. Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire gained its immorality as a result of the multi-angled conflict that brings alive such a broad construction. Naturally enough, the play caught the attention of many critics, among which Thomas P. Adler who praised “Williams’ ability to capture something of the complexity of the novel within the dramatic form” (9). With its carefully organized structure, the contrasts and dichotomies seem to dominate the plot.

In the prologue, Shakespeare epitomises Henry for the audience, and attempts to build a poignant love of him, which becomes a central theme as the play continues. In the prologue, Shakespeare writes “the warlike Harry, like himself / Assume the port of Mars”. This immediate, simplistic description of Henry V as warlike displays what, at the time, was wanted in a leader: powerful, warmongering and bloodthirsty. In addition to this, the casual nicknaming of Henry to Harry shows that another value in a King was that he represented the people, while also appearing god-like, demonstrated in the audience wanting to link Henry to Mars, the Roman god of war. This empowering of Henry by Shakespeare is consistent and constant in the prologue, where the Chorus asks the audience to forgive “this unworthy scaffold” for bringing “forth / So great an object.”

The beginning of the Middle Ages and the medieval period simultaneously marked the fall of the Roman Empire. What Gawain and the Green Knight and Le Morte d’Arthur indulge in, to this extent, is constructing the beginning of new nations. Although the mentioned era was rather a quite a long period of time, it was also the time of quite radical and abrupt changes in the forms of written language and the forms that the written language takes on. Therefore, the foundational works mentioned above were actually taking the endeavor of fulfilling the necessity of a nation building text. In other words, they were fulfilling the sense of nation building not only on a dynastic level but also on a poetic level as well.

For example, if you don’t like someone you may call them your arch-villain. You may also not realize you are using one of the words Shakespeare made up. He used this word in his play called “Timon of Athens.” Another word he created actually surprised me and I found interesting is, swagger. The definition of swagger is to carry oneself in a confident and arrogant way.

Moreover, there is no preventing good from turning bad in a position of leadership. In Why Read Shakespeare, an argument by Michael Mack, show readers learn that even the noblest man could turn bad if driven by a darklarge enough force. Mack explains that the play Macbeth is not scary because Macbeth looks like a dictator but rather because we all see a bit of ourselves in him and his ambition (206). By explaining the similarities between Macbeth and the audience, Mack opens up the idea that any one of us could have been Macbeth and we could have been lead to do what he did. It also shows his humanity, rather than give him an unrelatable character.

Human beings do not have a total control over their thoughts and emotions. The human mind can easily be influenced by changes in terms of social status, greediness, and ambition. The play, Macbeth by William Shakespeare and the novel The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith are types of artworks where these changes or events can unleash the worst characteristics of people, and a battle for control ensues, between the good side and the dark forces within. To begin with, firstly, at the beginning of the play, Macbeth appears as a brave soldier and a warrior hero, whose fame on the battlefield led him to get a great honor from the king.

Do you know what a Renaissance man is? A Renaissance man is a person with many talents or areas of knowledge (Oxford). An example of one would be William Shakespeare. He's created amazing works such as Hamlet. He's contributed to the world of literature.

After the juxtaposing social upheaval of the preceeding eras, the Elizabethan Era (1558-1603), and part of the Jacobean Era (1603-1625) were relatively stable periods in time. In this 67 year timespan, a plethora of political reform took place. It was considered to be the "Golden Age" in English history as creative works in literature, poetry, and theatre began to flourish (C.S. Lewis, English Literature in the Sixteenth Century, page 1). This political reform helped in shaping what would come to be some of the most notable works in the history of literature, the works of William Shakespeare. First and foremost, it is important to understand the political ideals of William Shakespeare and how they go along with the time.