Essays on Plays

1540

Comparison of "The Taming of The Shrew" and "10 Things I Hate About You"

2 pages / 1051 words

Introduction The themes of William Shakespeare’s classic plays still resonate today, captivating audiences worldwide through both traditional performances and contemporary interpretations. Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew and the 1999 movie 10 Things I Hate About You, a modern-day rendition, revolve around two sisters. One...

The Taming of The Shrew

1541

Shakespeare's Use of Machiavellian Politics in Hamlet

4 pages / 1902 words

Shakespeare’s Hamlet is not simply a morality play surrounding a grief-mad prince; it is a complex study of political maneuvers as described by Machiavelli. “The rules of this politics, Machiavelli’s political science, then, are the choreographed moves, countermoves, and tricks that bring to life the...

Hamlet Machiavelli The Prince

1542

Morality and Immorality in a Streetcar Named Desire and The Picture of Dorian Gray

4 pages / 2013 words

The measure of a man’s character is what he would do if he knew he never would be found out. Made-to-order essay as fast as you need it Each essay is customized to cater to your unique preferences + experts online Get my essay Thomas...

A Streetcar Named Desire Oscar Wilde The Picture of Dorian Gray

1543

Cultural Trauma Narrative: The Use of Supernatural Elements in The Piano Lesson

3 pages / 1300 words

Novels that are centered on traumatic events in history have used different tools to access the past. The Piano Lesson by August Wilson is a film (based on a play) that is set during the Great Depression while Octavia Butler’s Kindred is a novel that...

The Piano Lesson

1544

The Idea of Past and Legacy in The Piano Lesson by August Wilson

2 pages / 1006 words

Afro-American writers made the political choice of speaking up for themselves by articulating their thoughts, when they veritably vowed to own their legacy and their values. The average African-American who had not only been divested from his history and heritage, but also had been dissevered...

Piano The Piano Lesson

1545

A Remembrance Song: The Benefits of The Choices Made by Berniece

2 pages / 872 words

August Wilson uses his play The Piano Lesson to explore the turmoil inside the homes and hearts of many African Americans in the 1930s. Many African Americans are torn between being proud of their heritage, which is blackened with the enslavement of their ancestors, and...

Literature Review The Piano Lesson

1546

A Theme of Neglect in Metamorphosis and Oedipus The King

2 pages / 1146 words

In Franz Kafka’s classic, The Metamorphosis, family members of Gregor Samsa, the main character who is a giant insect, ignore Gregor for a majority of the plot. Disregard for Gregor eventually obliterates him. In Oedipus the King by Sophocles, Oedipus neglects the wise words of...

Metamorphosis Oedipus Rex

1547

The Importance of Being Earnest: The Society Above and Below The Surface

3 pages / 1284 words

“We live, I regret to say, in an age of surfaces” (2257). So the character of Lady Bracknell observes at the conclusion of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest. The play as a whole is one firmly preoccupied with the idea of surfaces and...

The Importance of Being Earnest

1548

Benefits of Frugality: a Condemnation of The Upper-class Society by Oscar Wilde

3 pages / 1530 words

Honesty is an important trait that is conveyed throughout society. It is the foundation for a long-lasting and meaningful relationship, and it is expected to be practiced in almost every social interaction. Much like today, the Victorian Era valued honestly and upheld the idea of...

The Importance of Being Earnest

1549

Homosexual Subtext in "The Importance of Being Earnest" by Oscar Wilde

4 pages / 1804 words

Oscar Wilde frames “The Importance of Being Earnest” around the paradoxical epigram, a skewering metaphor for the play’s central theme of division of truth and identity that hints at a homosexual subtext. Other targets of Wilde’s absurd yet grounded wit are the social conventions of...

The Importance of Being Earnest

1550

The Systemic Stereotypes of Characters in "The Importance of Being Earnest"

2 pages / 986 words

Names play a pivotal role in Oscar Wilde’s drama “The Importance of Being Earnest.” The naming of the characters is deliberate and well thought-out. Their name alludes to the pigeonhole for each of their characters. A name is a typecast and in Victorian times, when...

The Importance of Being Earnest

1551

The Theme of Triviality as Brought Out in "The Importance of Being Earnest"

3 pages / 1494 words

The interpretation that “we should treat all the trivial things of life seriously, and all the serious things of life with sincere and studied triviality” greatly applies to the Importance of Being Earnest. The Importance of Being Earnest is a subversive comedy of manners with...

The Importance of Being Earnest

1552

The Importance of Being Earnest as a Comedy of Manners

3 pages / 1691 words

Richard Foster states that The Importance of Being Earnest has a “multivalent nature” and thus implies that a farce or comedy of manners are not particularly urbane genres and are therefore ‘unsuitable’ for The Importance of Being Earnest. Foster argues that the play could be...

The Importance of Being Earnest

1553

The Link Between Emotions and Food in The Importance of Being Earnest

2 pages / 1225 words

In Oscar Wilde’s, The Importance of Being Earnest, satire is used to emphasize the triviality and absurdity of certain conventions within Victorian society. The play’s main characters epitomize Victorian high society; thus, the criticism that arises from Wilde’s exaggeration extends further than the play itself....

The Importance of Being Earnest

1554

Algernon's Comic Aspect as Illustrated in "The Importance of Being Earnest"

4 pages / 1960 words

Algernon is a comic to a contemporary audience because of his dandyism, his enjoyment of self-gratification, his inverted morals and his double life. Wilde presents Algernon as a dandy figure who is more concerned with style over substance; indeed, Algernon’s nature can be seen through...

The Importance of Being Earnest

1555

The Headmaster as a Source of Comedy in The History Boys

3 pages / 1507 words

The headmaster is used by Bennett as a source of comedy in the play. He is used to provide different types of comedic elements; through his hypocritical nature where he strives for his school to do academically well, yet he himself is not academically sound....

The History Boys

1556

Theme of Growing Up in The History Boys and a Portrait of The Artist as a Young Man

5 pages / 2259 words

Joyce’s and Bennett’s writing have become synonymous with the arduous process of becoming an adult, and, despite the large gulf in time between their works’ publication, use some similar techniques to describe the process. However, Bennett’s ‘The History Boys’ focuses primarily on educational and partially...

A Portrait of The Artist as a Young Man The History Boys

1557

A Study of The Theme of Sexuality in The History Boys

3 pages / 1372 words

The complex exploration of homosexual relations that break the boundaries between pupils and teachers should be typically identified as scandalous, and as a form of paedophilia in a school. However, Alan Bennett presents the issue at a modest grammar school in Sheffield in a radically...

The History Boys

1558

The Elements of Light and Music in The Glass Menagerie and Master Harold and The Boys

4 pages / 1839 words

Light and music are two elements of drama that can become significant in developing the plot and characters. Certain playwrights may further incorporate stage lighting including directional lighting and setting lighting in order to not only divert attention to the critical area of the stage,...

The Glass The Glass Menagerie