John Gielgud Essays

“All children, except one, grow up.” The sentence you just read is the opening sentence of Peter Pan - a fictional novel by James Matthew Barrie. Peter Pan is a fantasy with many themes like growing up and motherhood. The main characters consist of Peter Pan, Wendy Darling, Tinker Bell, and Captain Hook. Most of the story takes place in Neverland in 1904. Barrie also wrote novels such as Half Hours and multiple plays. Throughout Peter Pan, the reader is taught different life lessons while enjoying

(T) While talking with Gloucester and Lear, Edgar (Poor Tom) mentions that, contrary to what one might think, the devil is a gentleman. This concept of evil clothed in civility is crucial to the the play as it stresses the concept that, often, one must be careful to look beyond another’s outward appearance or intentions in order to derive their true motivations. After all, deception can hide a whole world of sin. This idea can be seen throughout the show, most namely when King Lear’s daughters profess

Wings of Desire by Ernst Wilhelm Wenders and Antigone by Jean Anouilh include life and death as an overbearing theme that affects both main characters of the film and play, Damiel and Antigone. As an angel, Damiel overlooks the lives of humans, delivers positive thoughts to them in times of need and overall tries to help each individual in this demolished city. Through his duty, Damiel is able to get a first-hand look at the experiences, prospects and the beauty of life. He also is exposed to the

The movie She’s the Man, Viola dresses up as her brother Sebastian in order to prove that she is good enough to play on the boys soccer team. In the play, The Twelfth Night Viola dresses up as a boy in order to get a job for Duke Orsino. In the movie She’s the Man Viola’s soccer team gets cut due to not enough girls wanting to play. Leading her to wanting to join the boys soccer team. The coach for the team says that girls aren’t capable of playing on the boys team. So, she dresses up as her brother

Julie Taymor’s The Tempest (2010) is a film adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays “The Tempest”. Although it had been recreated by other directors throughout the years, Taymor’s decision to change the gender of the main character from male to female was unprecedented and ultimately transformed how the film was perceived by audiences. Although there are many other themes in the film, such as the theme of natural order, romance, the four elements, and magic, the theme of feminism and

In Sophocles’ play Antigone and Niki Caros’ movie The Whale Rider, both Koro and Creon are considered the tragic hero because they were born at noble birth and have a fatal flaw, they undergo a reversal of fortune plus they have a tragic downfall, and they recognize their mistakes. To begin with, both characters Creon and Koro are considered to be born at noble birth meaning to occupy a high status. Creon is the king of Thebes, which authorizes him to be at high status. Everyone listens and obeys

As a student, I come across readings/media and interpret them through their metaphorical meaning rather than its literal. My views may be critically opinionated, often times creating a scenario to where people decieve my true identity. When it comes to Shakespeare's notable play, Hamlet, my first instinct brings me back to my childhood: The Lion King. Both protagonists portray a sense of heroism. Hamlet, being my hero, shares a parallel journey to that of Simba of The Lion King as the two characters

Throughout his masterpiece Things Fall Apart, Achebe accentuates the African cultural existence through heteroglossia. The term heteroglossia was first created by the Russian philosopher and literary critic Mikhail Bakhtin. In his Dialogic Imagination, Bakhtin defines heteroglossia as "the internal stratification of any single national language into social dialects, characteristic group behavior, and professional jargons, generic languages […] language of the authorities, of various circles and of

William Shakespeare is, perhaps, the greatest literary mind in history. His works, being largely commissioned by royalty and enjoyed by the public, also contain some meanings and interpretations that are topics of widespread debate. This confusion in the minds of readers and scholars is extremely prominent in two of Shakespeare’s most famous plays, Macbeth and Hamlet. In both plays, the titular character faces a wide array of choices. The protagonists respond in methods connected by their shared

England in Shakespeare’s time was established on the basis of divine order, which stated that the monarch was placed by God to preside over the commoners and animals. Shakespeare, in King Lear and Macbeth, explores the idea of an unnatural society, one that has been destabilized through the malevolent agents of the supernatural. Shakespeare conveys the supernatural in Macbeth through recognizable characters, such as the weird sisters, but utilizes only imagery and action to mention the supernatural

the cover page of the book. It is beautiful. There are no Illustrations and maps. The book accomplishes an award of New York Times Best Seller. Coleen Hoover’s book Hopeless is better and if by the story I guess Looking for Alaska is better too by John Green. I love the part near ending where Miles Archer said “I miss you” to Tate. It was when Tate left the apartment and went to another apartment. It is when Miles have searched for Tate because he loves him but at first he cannot express

The Theme of Nature and Civilization in The Tempest The Tempest, written by William Shakespeare, mostly takes place on a magical island Prospero got exiled to, but it shows a clear divide between nature and civilization. The play starts with Prospero and Miranda living in exile, and through this play, Prospero tries to go back to Milan, where he used to be the duke. When Alonso, the king of Naples, Antonio, the usurping Duke of Milan, and other nobles are caught in the tempest and arrive on the

Too Ideal To Be Real Alfred Lord Tennyson's “Lady of Shalott” is a direct response towards Dante Rossetti’s artistic views in “The Blessed Damozel” by using literary techniques and referencing famous literature to … artists to follow their philosophies.Rossetti was apart of an 18th century group “Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood” which had the philosophy that art should be divorced from the real. An artist must immerse themselves in their art Tennyson (explain who is Tennyson just a bit) who admired

Reading is a truly beautiful thing that lets people be taken into another world with intriguing characters that will sometimes leave us thinking for days. Joyce Carol Oates quote, “Reading is the sole means by which we slip, involuntarily, often helplessly, into another’s skin, another’s voice, another’s soul.” explains everything about reading. I have never read a quote that sums up reading more and that quote explains everything when it comes to reading with me. I can get so lost in characters

The play Antigone by Sophocles, translated by Paul Roche, was first performed in 441 BC focuses on the life of Antigone who is the daughter to the ex-rulers of Thebes. She has 1 other sister who is not supportive since she is manipulated by her uncle Creon who now rules after her 2 brothers killed each other in a fight for the throne. Creon and Antigone are the protagonist and antagonist who don’t seem to get along very well despite being related. Creon believes one thing and is very firm on his

During the Angelo-Saxon period (410-787 A.D.), men were described to be the dominant role of the society. They were the heads of their household, protecting and providing for the family by completing strenuous labor. Men’s role in the Angelo-Saxon period was so prominent that it tremendously overshadowed their counterparts-women. Women were treated as submissive beings who followed every order given by their husbands or fathers, not even uttering a word to argue about serious matters that involved

Shakespeare’s play, Henry V, portrays the newly crowned king of England, King Henry V, as a committed, fearless, and relentless leader. France is England’s archenemy and their relationship only worsens after the Dauphin delivers a mocking message to England’s new king. The Dauphin frequently ridicules the English and King Henry, whereas, the King of France, Charles VI, does not underestimate Henry and his people as his son does. (Source B) Throughout the play, the two leaders display their differences

In Shakespeare’s play, Othello, the storyline demonstrates male-dominance over the female characters, therefore marginalizing the role of feminism in the play. There are three female characters who play an important role in the Othello, each of whom showed true love and affection towards their men and yet were rejected and became a symbol of suspicion in the tragedy. The story line of Othello contains many problematic complications, all leading towards the ending tragedy, but one of the main conceptions

Couples all over the world are driven by love; and they will walk on glass to be with each other. There are many stories that show how powerful love is, and how far they will walk on the glass for. In the The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie, when Thomas first encounters Sarah he knows he has needs to be with her. If being with Sarah means he has to kill someone, he does not waste any time trying to find the target. His love for Sarah, and her tendons, makes him do extreme things to be with Sarah, and to

Many works of art, especially literature, has a large focus on deception and how deception pushes a plot and story along the line to completion. This had been used in the long history of literature an uncountable amount of times by a lot of different authors, but one of the most popular works which has a heavy focus of deception and the consequences thereof is the drama, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, by William Shakespeare. This drama, often just called Hamlet features incredibly heavy