Alliances were forged between powerful families through arranged marriages of daughters. These girls may have received an education through tutors attending their homes there were no schools for girls , but their endgame would be marriage, children and maintaining the home.
Women and girls of a lower class did not receive any formal education but would have learned how to govern a household and become skilled in all housewifely duties. Impoverished and desperate women Mistress Overdone would turn to prostitution to stay alive. Shakespeare perhaps highlights the struggle of women in his female characters; Isabella, Mistress Overdone, Juliet, and Kate Keepdown.
A year earlier came the end of the 45 year long Elizabethan era and began the Jacobean era under the rule of King James. Since the late Queen Elizabeth had no direct heirs, King James of Scotland a relative took to the throne.
Little was known by the English people of this foreign king. The playwright characterizes the Duke as loving his people, but not enjoying being before their eyes and in the spotlight; much like King James, a quiet ruler who relished studying privately in his great library. The rich gentry paid 2 pennies for seating in the galleries, often using cushions.
The really rich nobles could watch the play from a chair set on the side of the stage itself. Playhouses in Shakespeare's time were often close to brothels, both in terms of their physical locations in the suburbs and the way they were viewed by some of polite society. Talking about authorial intent in your analytical essay leads to a more in-depth analysis.
Think of it as an opportunity to make your very own soup! Add some themes, stir in character analysis, sprinkle in some quotes and serve with historical context and authorial intent. Just try not to overcook it, like I have done with this soup metaphor. Grab a snack, a drink, and enjoy this tasty Shakespeare meme. Are you ready for part 2 of the Shakespeare train? As you can see, the themes are interconnected.
Do you like the diagram? Made it myself : Why does this matter? Keep in mind that depending which pieces of evidence you look at, the Bard could be saying something different. The beauty of Shakespeare is that much is open to interpretation. You can interpret characters and ideas in so many different ways! The Duke is the leader of Vienna, ordained by God. He hands this power to his deputy Angelo, who misuses it in his request of Isabella.
Now consider Isabella - she has power too, but a different kind… Also consider characters who have little to no power - Mistress Overdone, Pompey etc. Perhaps Shakespeare is suggesting that power is a dangerous weapon and that in the wrong hands, it could be deadly.
This is an interesting theme. What defines sin? Bit of a pickle that one. So many of the characters take part in questionable deeds. Was it immoral for the Duke to pretend to be a holy friar? Deep stuff man. Perhaps Shakespeare tries to tell us that there is a fine line between something moral and something sinful.
Everyone from the almighty Duke to a lowly prostitute has committed potentially immoral acts. Perhaps audiences are encouraged to be more understanding of others, and their reasons for these deeds.
Mmm, this theme ties in nicely with just about all of the others. How does one define justice? The play explores this idea; does justice mean punishment? Or mercy? Characters that dispense justice include The Duke, Angelo although they have differing ideas of justice and Isabella. Since Vienna is a religious place, consider the divine justice system ie.
Laws exist in an attempt to ensure justice. But does it always work? Perhaps Shakespeare says that since we humans are inevitably flawed, that any justice system created by us will too be imperfect. Who are we to decide the fates of our fellow man? Furthermore, the Bard may be encouraging us to be kind when dispensing justice, leaning more to mercy than punishment.
Who run the world? The exploration of the female characters in this play are very interesting, and kind of sad. Of 20 named characters, only 5 are women. There is a lot to unpack here. Their situations: a maiden poised to enter a nunnery, a prostitute, a pregnant girl about to lose her husband, a nun, and another prostitute.
Quite gloomy, isn't it? Over the course of the play, our female characters are put into worse situations by men. Their experiences are dictated by men. Perhaps Shakespeare suggests that women are treated unfairly in society.
The Bard potentially says that such sexual and gender politics do not create a cohesive and just society. This theme, again, connects to many others. It can link to all groups of people The wealthy, the poor, women, criminals etc. Most of the mercy is dispensed at the end of the play when the Duke does his grand reveal. Characters who choose to mete out mercy over punishment include The Duke and Isabella. We might think this is harsh, but it a legal and lawful decision. Perhaps Shakespeare encourages us to look at mercy and punishment from different perspectives.
Angelo believes he is punishing Claudio for his own good, and cleaning up Vienna of lechery too. Maybe we ought to be merciful in our opinion of the deputy. Nonetheless, the Bard shows that in the case of young Claudio, mercy and forgiveness is the right path to choose. Finally, consider why Shakespeare may have portrayed a merciful leader to his Jacobean audience.
Maybe if he were to portray a leader as fair and merciful, the Jacobean audience would trust that their new king a man similar in character to the Duke could be kind and merciful too. Earning the favour of the king and writing a killer play? He wants to save his own ass, fearing Claudio will seek vengeance. The Duke is flawed too. Then he plans to swoop in and look like a hero. Kinda dodgy. Consider Claudio and Juliet too. They, like Angelo, succumbed to lust and slept together before they were officially married.
Are the poor frail in a different way? In that way she is virtuous. However, she sells her body to survive. Perhaps she is not prone to desire like Angelo, but serves another desire - a desire to survive? Perhaps Shakespeare suggests that no one is truly perfect, not even a leader supposedly ordained by God, a law-abiding deputy, or a maiden who is poised to enter a nunnery.
Yet while Angelo is overcome by his lust and emotion, the Duke and Isabella attempt to better themselves by showing mercy and temperance. So, society in Vienna is very much religious. Their beliefs dictate actions and laws within the city. Some very religious characters include Isabella and Angelo. However, our novice nun, who is obsessed with virtue and chastity, agrees to and takes part in the bed-trick, a deception that is not particularly Christian.
Even The Duke, supposedly semi-divine, makes some dubious choices. He spends most of the play posed as a holy man, even though he is not. He plans the bed-trick to deceive Angelo and lets poor Isabella think her poor brother is dead, instead of saving her so much pain.
The question of how much we should let religion dictate us is another reason this piece is a problem play. Perhaps Shakespeare criticises religious extremism in his portrayal of characters like Isabella and Angelo. Or maybe he just wants us to remain open-minded about ideas and our spirituality.
Yikes, there are so many themes in this play! Each character can be viewed in different lights, even more so than themes can be. Here are the characters, in order of how much they speak in the play. Who would you swipe right on? Hint: not Lucio.
These are people, objects, words etc that represent a theme or idea. The idea of heavenly justice vs earthly justice is prominent throughout the text. Is he harsh and equalising? Is he just and sympathetic? These ideals teach that the person who committed a misdeed shall have the same misdeed done unto them. Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. So, when sentencing Angelo the Duke employs the words of the Old Testament.
Wait, who? Well, in Act 4, Scene 4 Line , Lucio says something very intriguing. We can think of Lucio as representing all the sins and misdeeds in Vienna - lechery, immorality, lack of justice, selfishness etc. Hence, Lucio is saying that these shortcomings and flaws will always be present to people and in Vienna, sticking to the city like a nasty burr. The metre of the verse ie.
This means that each line is divided into 5 feet. Within each foot, there is one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one. Verse does not have to rhyme, as the above lines do. Shakespeare often employs a rhyming couplet to close a scene and add some drama. Verse is usually reserved for the higher class citizens, with those who are less fortunate speaking in prose. Certain characters, such as Lucio, switch between verse and prose depending on who they are speaking to.
Escalus is the ever reasonable and loyal lord and close confidant of the Duke. His name gives connotations of scales and balance - characteristic of the rational man. If we judge him only by his name, he should be a pure and heavenly being.
We can see that appearance is very different from reality. There is so much to unpack about this douchebag. Let us briefly consider 2 ideas. Maybe this obsession leads to his immorality and poor leadership. He weaves his way around the request, propositioning Isabella so indirectly that at first, she does not even seem to understand his request!
Or maybe this scene is yet more evidence of a patriarchal society, with the men knowing very well the power they hold. We never actually meet this fellow. Fascinatingly, Ragozine is the only person who dies in the entire play. ALSO, he dies of natural causes. It feels like the play is full of death, grief and many heads on the chopping block. But curiously, there is only one death, of a minor character, of natural causes.
Perhaps this says something about fate and justice or offers some commentary on life and hope. Elbow is a silly policeman who speaks in malapropisms using a similar but incorrect word for humorous effect. Pompey is a clever pimp who seems to have a deep understanding of justice and the Viennese people. The comparison of these characters, fortunate and dumb to unfortunate and clever, perhaps serves to show that the law is not always apt and that sometimes those who break the law are more clever than it.
Mistress Overdone is a pitiable prostitute. Furthermore, this happens in Act 3 of 5, around halfway through the play! The audience never hears from Mistress Overdone again, and her future is left uncertain. Even Barnadine, a convicted murderer, is given freedom and a happy ending.
What is Shakespeare saying by portraying Mistress Overdone and other women in such a way? This blog post is by no means an exhaustive list of all its quirks and complexities. You are very lucky to be studying a text with such universal themes and ideas that you can carry with you even after high school.
Dissecting a collection of short stories can be very challenging due to the many characters involved, and the different themes. This is how I planned my essays ate the beginning of the year when I was still struggling with writing an essay on short stories and wanted everything to be clear to me before I start writing so that I know exactly what I will be covering.
Although many of the characters in like a house on fire are dealing with physical and emotional pain , it is their resilience that will be remembered by the reader. Do you agree? Now that we have highlighted the important parts that the question is inviting us to discuss, we know that we need to mention characters who are dealing with physical and emotional trauma yet rise above their tribulations, leaving the readers hopeful and optimistic.
Thus, his resilience becomes admired by the readers who realise that despite almost dying, he chooses to alter his imperfect circumstances. Which characters are unable to show resilience and become prisoners of their imperfect circumstances? After planning which stories, we want to discuss in the essay, we can now begin the writing process.
So essentially the most important part of writing your essay is planning it and making sure you understand properly what you need to answer in your essay. So, I will run you through how I planned my essay in an actual exam situation. So just like we did with the detailed plan, we highlight the important parts of the question that will need to be discussed in the essay.
Then you need to think of the stories that represent physical pain yet the characters rise above their tribulations:. Then you need to think of the rebuttal story whereby the characters suffer but do not exhibit resilience:. So essentially in the short plan you just outline the stories that you would like to mention and split them up according to which aspect of the prompt they will be answering rather than actually writing dot points on each one.
So your plan becomes less detailed but rather just an outline so you stay on track and do not ramble. By the way, to download a PDF version of this guide for printing or offline use, click here!
So this week I have another essay topic breakdown for you. So eventually I'm going to get through all of the VCAA texts that are on the study design, but we're slowly going to get there and are just want to say yet again, even though this one is like a house on fire, I am really glad if you've clicked on this video and you're not necessarily studying it because as always with all my videos, I try to give you an overall message for you to take away that can be applied to any single text.
So that is the same for this particular text today. And so even though the takeaway message for this video is quite specific to short stories, it's still an important consideration for any text that you're studying. Ideally, you want to use a diverse range of evidence for any text, but in particular, for short stories, you don't just want to rely on a small handful, but to try and make links between the different short stories. So let's see what that means on the other side of this quick overview of the text.
Like a House on Fire is a collection of short stories by the author, Cate Kennedy, and unlike a lot of other texts on the study design, this book portrays a lot of very domestic situations, which seems fairly boring compared to some of the other texts that other students might be doing.
However, I'm really excited about this text because the short stories are great. Not because they have groundbreaking premises, which they don't, but because of how effortlessly and deeply emotive they are.
So the domestic scenarios actually help us relate to the characters in the stories and empathize with the complexity of their experiences. The essay topic we'll be looking at today is in Like a House on Fire, Kennedy finds strength in ordinary people. Here, the term which you really have to think about is strength.
We already know that she depicts the story of ordinary people, of people like you or me, or even just people we may know, but does she find strength in them? It could be physical strength, but more often than not, it might be other types of strength. For instance, the mental strength it takes to cope with intense pressure or the emotional strength it takes to make a difficult choice or action.
It's important to think about how they might actually apply throughout the book. In this sense, our essay will have essentially two halves. The first two body paragraphs we'll look at scenarios of intense pressure, be it through the loss of control in one's life or a domestic situation which has become emotionally tense. The last two body paragraphs will then consider the types of strength that Kennedy evinces in these stories.
And we'll contend that she does find strength in the characters who face a difficult decision, but that she also finds a lot more strength in the characters who managed to cope with their situation and grapple with the tensions in their lives. In many of her stories, Kennedy portrays characters who experience powerlessness. This loss of power can come a number of ways. For instance, both Flexion and Like a House on Fire tell the story of men who have injured their previously reliable bodies and have thus been rendered immobile.
But they also tell the story of their respective wives who have lost some control over their lives now that they have to care for their husbands. On the other hand, there are the kids in Whirlpool whose mother insists that they dress a certain way for a Christmas photo. Her hand on your shoulders, exerting pressure that pushes you down. Kennedy's use of second person really makes you feel this pressure that keeps you from going out to the pool you so desperately desire to be in.
Evidently powerlessness is an experience that comes in many shapes and forms in several stories. In addition to this, Kennedy explores other emotional tensions across the collection, subverting the idea that the home is necessarily a safe sanctuary.
This is where she really goes beyond just the idea of powerlessness, but actually jumps into scenarios that are much more emotionally complex. In Ashes for instance, we see the homosexual protagonist struggle with feeling useless and tongue tied, embarrassed by the floundering pause between his mother and himself.
There is a significant emotional hurdle there, which is particularly poignant given that mothers are usually considered a source of safety and comfort for their children.
Kennedy's story of domesticity actually subvert or question what we might think of the domestic space shared by family members.
If you have the Scribe edition of the book, the artwork on the cover would depict a vase of wilting flowers, an empty picture frame, and a spilt cup of coffee. These are all visual symbols of an imperfect domestic life. A similar rift exists between husband and wife in both Five Dollar Family and Waiting, the women find themselves unable to emotionally depend on their partners. While Michelle in Five Dollar Family despises her husbands startled, faintly incredulous expression, an inability to care for their child, the protagonist in Waiting struggles to talk about her miscarriages with her husband who is already worn down as it is.
Kennedy takes these household roles of mother, son, husband, wife, and really dives into the complex shades of emotion that lies within these relationships. We realize through her stories that a mother can't always provide comfort to a child and that a husband isn't always the dependable partner that he's supposed to be. However, Kennedy does find strength in some characters who do take a bold or courageous leap in some way.
These are really important moments in which she is able to show us the strength that it takes to make these decisions. And she triumphs however small or insignificant that can be achieved. A moment that really stands out to me is the ending of Laminex and Mirrors, where the protagonist rebelliously smuggles a hospital patient out for a smoke only to have to take him back into his ward through the main entrance and therefore get them both caught.
She recounts this experience as the one I remember most clearly from the year I turned The two of us content, just for this perfect moment. And their success resonates with the audience, even though the protagonist would have lost her job and therefore the income she needed for her trip to London, Kennedy demonstrates her strength in choosing compassion for an elderly patient.
Even the sister in Whirlpool, who wasn't exactly kind to the protagonist in the beginning, forms an unlikely alliance with her against their mother, sharing a reckless moment and cutting their photo shoot short.
Bold leaps such as these are ones that take strength and therefore deserve admiration. However, more often than not, Kennedy's stories are more about the strength needed to simply cope with life, one day at a time. She explores the minutiae of her characters lives in a way that conveys the day to day struggles, but also hints at the underlying fortitude needed to deal with these things on a daily basis.
In Tender, the wife feels as if everything at home is on the verge of coming apart since her husband is only able to cook tuna and pasta casserole for their kids. However, when she must get a possibly malignant tumour removed, her concern of whether there'll be tuna and pasta in the pantry just in case, demonstrates her selfless nature. Kennedy thus creates a character who is strong for others, even when her own life at home is disorderly and her health may be in jeopardy.
The strength of gritting one's teeth and getting on with things in spite of emotional tension is a central idea across this collection, and many other examples are there for you to consider as well. And so we come to the end of our essay. Hopefully going through this gives you an idea of how to cover more bases with your evidence.
Remember that you don't have to recount lots and lots of events, but it's more important to engage with what the events are actually telling us about people. This is particularly important for prompts like this one, where it heavily focuses on the people involved. That is it for me this week, please give this video a thumbs up. If you wanted to say thanks to Mark, who has been helping me write these scripts up for a lot of the text response essay, topic breakdowns.
If you enjoyed this, then you might also be interested in the live stream coming up next week, which will be on Friday the 25th of May at PM. I'll be covering the topic of analysing argument for the second time, just because there's so much to get through.
I'll also be announcing some special things during that particular live stream. So make sure you're there so you're the first to hear it. I will see you guys next week. Close analysis of 'Cake' from Like a House on Fire.
How to embed quotes in your essay like a boss. Like a House on Fire Essay Planning. Not gonna lie, this novel is a bit of a tricky one to introduce.
World War II, arguably one of the darkest events of human history, has been the basis of so much writing across so many genres; authors, academics, novelists have all devoted themselves to understanding the tragedies, and make sense of how we managed to do this to one another. Many reflect on the experiences of children and families whose lives were torn apart by the war.
In some ways, Doerr is another author who has attempted this. His novel alludes to the merciless anonymity of death in war, juxtaposes individualism with collective national mindlessness, and seeks out innocence amidst the brutality of war. What makes this novel difficult to introduce is the way in which Doerr has done this; through the eyes of two children on opposite sides of the war, he explores how both of them struggle with identity, morality and hope, each in their own way.
Their storylines converge in the bombing of Saint-Malo, demonstrating that war can be indiscriminate in its victims—that is, it does not care if its victims are children or adults, innocent or guilty, French or German. However, their interaction also speaks to the humanity that lies in all of us, no matter how deeply buried. Disclaimer: this is a very, very broad overview of the novel and it is absolutely not a substitute for actually reading it please actually read it.
Chronologically, we start in , five years before the war. As she starts to go blind, Daniel teaches her Braille, and makes her wooden models of their neighbourhood to help her navigate.
Meanwhile, she befriends Etienne, who suffers from agoraphobia as a result of the trauma from the First World War. He is charming and very knowledgeable about science, having made a series of scientific radio broadcasts with his brother Henri who died in WWI.
Macbeth realizes now, that he will not and cannot have the true rewards of friendship, respect, and genuine love. This is a moment of insight for him.
In an aside, time seems to stand still onstage as well, but for a much shorter time. An aside serves almost the same purpose as a soliloquy, but it is very short- only a couple of lines or so. Unlike a soliloquy, an aside is spoken directly to the audience for a single brief thought. An aside may shed some light on an interior struggle, but it does not go into detail. The aside is intended to help the audience see the intentions of a character, but not the complex thoughts or motivations.
An aside is directed toward the audience. This is the most famous of all Macbeth's soliloquies. In it, Macbeth expresses a deep sense of gloom. It is famously known as the "Tomorrow Speech. This speech comes just after Macbeth learns that Lady Macbeth is dead. He speaks about the futility of all that he has done.
Macbeth is grieving his wife. He is also sinking into a dark place of despair because of his former actions. To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day To the last syllable of recorded time, And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death.
Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more: it is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing. The famous words "tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow" exemplify effective use of repetition to enhance a theme. The rest of the tomorrow soliloquy is about how futile, repetitive, and hopeless life seems to Macbeth.
Beginning with a hopeless type of repetition ony serves to underscore Macbeth's feeling of despair. A soliloquy is a very particular type of speech, different from a monologue and longer than an aside. A soliloquy, then, is directed mainly toward the self. Marine Biology. Electrical Engineering.
Computer Science. Medical Science. Writing Tutorials. Performing Arts. Visual Arts. Student Life. Vocational Training. Standardized Tests. Online Learning. Social Sciences. Legal Studies. Political Science. Welcome to Owlcation. Related Articles. By Linda Crampton. By Kelley Marks. By Andrew Spacey. By Darla Sue Dollman. Macbeth and the Barber demonstrate how one should not have the need to question their morals, especially when the victims are in a vulnerable and defenseless position.
During the course of the play, Macbeth goal is to fulfill only the prophecies that are beneficial to him and him only. His thirst for power allowed his character flaw to show, for he was consumed with hubris.
While he is thinking about his plan to kill Duncan, Macbeth has all of these reasons not to kill Duncan, but his ambition is so strong, Macbeth cannot deny his urge to murder. In his play, Shakespeare defines the meaning of humanity and shows its varying degrees and extremes, and he primarily illustrates the worst humanity has to offer through his own creation, Macbeth. Macbeth is a character that goes through significant change throughout the novel as a result of his own actions and, perhaps, fate.
In his tale of witchery, madness, and war, Shakespeare illustrates how Macbeth changes from an ambitious man to one that has gone made as a result of his wrongdoing to finally a person that is sorrowful yet indifferent to the world around him. To begin, Macbeth is first portrayed as an ambitious individual. In the scene directly following the encounter with the witches, Macbeth displays his hunger for power.
In the start of the play we meet Macbeth who is described as brave and honorable.. Three witches tell Macbeth that he will become the Thane of Cawdor and king of Scotland he doubts this but happens to become Thane of Cawdor for fighting for his country, after he becomes Thane of Cawdor he tells his wife Lady Macbeth who is thrilled by this surprising news.
King Duncan announces that he will give his crown to his oldest son, Malcolm. The story begins with witches mentioning a character named Macbeth, who fought in war along with Banquo. How did Birnam Wood move and why was Macduff able to kill Macbeth? What convinces Macbeth that the Witches' prophecy is true? Why does Banquo not trust the Witches? Why does Macbeth believe he needs to kill King Duncan? Why does Macbeth kill King Duncan's two chamberlains?
Why does Macbeth kill Banquo? How does Lady Macbeth's death affect Macbeth?
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