#2: Characters

Characters automatically give audiences connection to the play. Characters help move along the plot, influence other characters to make decisions, create violence or tension to fuel the story, etc. However, the story usually centralizes around one character, the protagonist. Hamlet, for example, fights against his own restraint, his uncle's lies, and Denmark's future in his respective play. Similarly, Elizabeth wrestles with herself to find true love in an aristocratic and monotonous 19th century England. The difference in conflict between Pride & Prejudice and Hamlet are represented by external and internal. Furthermore, characters reveal these conflicts through dialogue with other characters and/or soliloquies (in Hamlet's case). A truly engaging and thought-provoking characters connects to the audience personally through deep dynamics that make the characters somewhat paradoxical. However, truly empowering characters are driven by family connection, whether it be revenge or a change in lifestyle. Video games, oddly enough, have been able to capture many characters' confusion and changes through breakthrough and engaging stories, such Bioshock and Assassin's Creed. Characters exude confidence and liveliness into a story, developing the story through intricate conflicts.

#1: Plot

Plot paves the way for a novel, play, film, dance, or piece of music. Essentially, the plot dictates events around a certain frame of time revolving round a distinct character and/or set of characters. The most conventional form of plot is as follows: exposition, rising action, climax, and then the denouement. Like most of his plays, Shakepeare turns astray from this 'conventional' outline for his tragedy Hamlet. With an intricate plot, Shakespeare offers various climaxes to stress the urgency and tension within the play itself. However, on the other hand, Austen's Pride & Prejudice follows a tight narrative of a more 'standard' approach. Each action is revealed through a clear and well-timed manner, albeit predictable; however, Austen emphasizes her mocking and sarcastic tone throughout to give the novel a fresh feeling. Ultimately, both Shakespeare and Austen succeed tremendously in conveying the thematic significances in their work: Shakespeare exploits friendship, betrayal, and violence within a war torn Denmark, whilst Austen focuses on true love within a monotonous, traditional 19th century England.

Time will tell...

Both "Ozymandias" and "Ponder" reflect the importance of time; however, through varying tones, both poems enforce different urgencies. "Ozymandias'" depressingly solemn tone emphasizes the slow passage of life and its extremeties. However, "Ponder" uses a sexually driven and uplifting tone to slowly reveal an importance of time itself, much like Marvells' "To His Coy Mistress."

Intro Paragraph for Laertes Essay

An actor must take responsibility for what each audience member hears through the language, conveying the story and characters of a playwright; specifically, an actor may further enable the audience to distinguish certain objectives and thoughts by emphasizing the playwright’s diction. Unlike most writers, William Shakespeare thoroughly dictates the illustrious language of his tragedies and comedies by implementing specific sounds, tones, and accents in order to reveal a character’s strategy. However, Shakespeare also manifests a character’s identity to help the audience realize, judge, or accept a certain conflict in the story. Furthermore, although each of his tragedies analyzes a different emotional topic of moral conviction, Shakespeare generally implements a similar set of characters in order to easily distinguish the exact plight at the core of a scene. Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark provides a potent example. Specifically, like Hamlet whose father has recently died, Laertes finds himself distraught over the eventual death of his father, Polonius, questioning the power of the government in a chaotic Denmark. However, clouded by King Claudius’ offer of revenge, Laertes is forced to struggle with an inner conflict that has the capability to inflict irreparable damage. Similar to The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet’s Tybalt, Laertes finds himself preemptively misjudged as the anti-hero because of his reserved intelligence and strikingly hot-temper. Consequently, Shakespeare depicts Laertes’ personality by juxtaposing harshly plosive articulation with eloquently calming phrases, furthering the audience’s perception of Laertes’ conflict. By submitting to Claudius’ demands, Laertes reveals his doubtful confidence in avenging his family because he struggles to find his true purpose. Therefore, Shakespeare manipulates the audience’s perception of heroism by exploiting Laertes’ actions as impetuous, when in fact Laertes struggles to accept murder as an appropriate response because of his shared grief with Hamlet over the loss of each of their fathers, as well as his expectations for a glorified, successful, and hopeful Denmark.

Prufrock: Do I Dare Disturb the Universe?

T.S. Eliot's The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock analyzes the frailty of an erratic, love-torn man who dehumanizes himself by doubting his significance. Specifically, the line "Do I dare disturb the universe" unquestionably reveals the narrator's inability to grasp his potentially grand life. Moreover, much like that of Shakespeare's Hamlet, the narrator questions the standards, ideals, and praises of man in comparison to his own fears; in fact, the narrator doubts that his existence has any meaning in the complicated world he abides by. The narrator's ironic comparison to Hamlet reveals an emotionally distraught character who is directed by his own doubts. Therefore, although he ultimately understands a greater meaning to the power of love within his world, the narrator consistently reveals a self-conscious state of unparalleled fear, which also congruently displays the narrator's confusion on living in general.

To His Coy Mistress Mini-Essay: Make Love, Not War

In Marvell's To His Coy Mistress, the narrator implicitly criticizes the standards of sexually-repressed society through an urgently decisive tone. Specifically, through a three paragraph structure, the narrator provides time in order to lure his mistress with pastoral and reassuring writing; however, the narrator does so in order to reenforce his true feelings with the (later) more urgent, demanding paragraphs. In addition, despite his unbound love, the narrator demonstrates his sense of urgency through harsh, less colloquial, shorter-phrased language , full of harsh and plosive diction. By doing so, the narrator reveals his anxious desire to seize the moment or Carpe Diem. Essentially, the narrator believes in the importance of both physical and emotional investment in a relationship and, although he truly loves his mistress, believes in investing in sexual desire rather than rejecting it. Marvell, through the narrator, illustrates the importance of an individualistic sense of self-reliance and self-respect by succumbing to one's own fantasies, desires, and dreams rather than suppressing one's own honest passion. Therefore, the narrator's provocative diction in the last paragraph characterizes the truth of individual creation and opinion. Marvell believes natural thought, rather than conformity, exemplifies true beauty.

Had We But World Enough, And Time.

In To His Coy Mistress, Andrew Marvell's narrator suggests the importance of seizing the moment over monotonous manners. Specifically, the line "Had we but world enough, and time" illustrates the significance of Carpe Diem. Marvell poignantly depicts an eternal love in order to juxtapose a woman's ideal with more realistic truth. Moreover, 'but' re-emphasizes the narrator's belief into succumbing to one's own desires rather than shunning honest emotion in favor of idealistic standards. Evidently, Marvell suggests that people take advantage of love for life and time always fade away quicker than expected. Consequently, the narrator's persuasive tone in the first paragraph excels because he establishes an illusion of false hope. In the end, however, the narrator demands true love, including physical.