Research Proposal on "Shakespeare William"

Research Proposal 9 pages (2697 words) Sources: 0

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Shakespeare

William Shakespeare is perhaps one of the most important contributors to the development of universal literature. His contribution is important not only in the area of poetry and playwright, but also from a philosophical point-of-view. He was not only an acute observer of his contemporary society, but also a very profound interpreter of human values and behaviours. One of the most beloved plays that he wrote is represented by "Romeo an Juliet."

This paper will demonstrate how the minor exchanges within the play contribute to achieving the author's purpose of involving the reader emotionally through all the possible means. We will focus mainly on act 4, scene 5, the act in which the family finds Juliet asleep but believe her to be dead, start grieving for her and also start preparing for the funeral.

The themes brought into discussion by the playwright are numerous. On the one hand, there is an accurate depiction of the morals and customs of the society of those times. The social status of the families, both of them rich is very important. The condition of the woman is another interesting aspect that Shakespeare brings into discussion. Juliet's father at first says that she is going to marry whomever she pleases and ends up arranging a marriage with a man who is much older than her and whom she does not love. His decision has direct consequences on the behaviour that his daughter will afterwards demonstrate.

The lack of communication between parties is a fundamental factor. Perhaps Juliet would have succeeded in convincing her father to break off the deal he had made with Paris if she had been more courageous in declaring her feelings for Romeo. The importance of the rivalry between families seems to be more relevant to them than their own long-term happiness.

Shakespeare is a genius through that he manages to reunite an important variety in the same scene making the viewer experience a large array of feelings and emotions. Details are extremely important and nothing is left at random. Let us analyze for example act number four, scene number five. The scene could be divided into three main parts. There are two entrances and one exit. The first entrance is the one of the nurse and soon after, Juliet's parents.. The second one has Friar Lawrence, Paris and the musicians coming in. At the end of the act those leaving are Capulet, Lady Capulet, Paris and Friar Lawrence.

The nurse enters and she goes to wake Juliet up. The scene is an ordinary one, the action that the nurse perform is a customary one. Anyone could have found Juliet, but the impact of her presumed death becomes stronger when introduced in a context of day-to-day routine and normality. The maximum of intensity is supposed to be reached at the movement when the parents realize that the child is dead. This happens because they are considered to be the ones responsible for her gesture. The author must blame them morally and the discovery of their daughter dead is supposed to be a punishment. The role of the nurse is to announce the death to the parents. The time which passes from the moment in which she tries to wake up the girl realizing that she must be dead and the movement in which the parents arrive contributes to increase the tension.

The tension is created in the characters on the one hand and on the viewers on the other one. The nurse only says that Juliet is dead, she may very well be wrong. It is not until the parents arrive that the death is officially confirmed. The uncertainty regarding the fact is underlined by the fact that the parents come in running.

Choosing the nurse as a communicator of the novelty might also be motivated by the fact that she is a neutral character. On the one hand, nobody could ever suspect her of having done any harm to the young woman.

On the other hand, her character is defined only from a general generic point-of-view, in this way allowing for her to become a transient element. The nurse is the link between the scene in which Juliet takes the liquid which will make everybody think that she is dead and the scene in which the parents will find her. We can see a very clear scheme in which a message is being constructed, sent and received.

The one who creates the message is Juliet who performs the action of taking the liquid Friar Lawrence gave her. Therefore she can be called the emitter. The deliverer of the message is of course the nurse and the receiver are the parents. The parents receive the message, decode it (through that they come to see and touch by themselves) and afterwards provide a feedback (the feedback is represented by their lamenting.)

However, the circle of the communication process is incomplete because the sender of the message will never be able to receive the feedback, thus not knowing what the fate of the issued message was after all.

This, as well as the gesture itself can be interpreted symbolically. Yes, the measure was a drastic one, but it was probably considered the only available alternative. but, just as Romeo was symbolically dead because of his exile to Mantova, Juliet's gesture communicates the fact that she was spiritually dead in the absence of her beloved man.

In some representations the nurse leaves after the previous scene, in others she does not. The tone of voice that she has is happy, just like in the previous scene. This contributes to creating an even more dramatic tension because the viewers know that Juliet has drunk the liquid, but the others do not. Therefore the viewer is transformed into an omniscient observer.

The nurse tries to be funny telling the young woman that her future husband will have her involved in activities which will prevent her from sleeping. Sleep thus becomes an important theme of the scene -- through Juliet's gesture sleep become synonymous of death.

Therefore, the nurse who tries to be funny becomes a tool through which the author demonstrates his ironic perspective on what is going on.The intensity of the drama taking place increases since the parents are unaware that they are the culprits. Nor them, neither the nurse suspect that the act performed by the young Juliet is a mere reaction to their previous behaviours. And here we can underline the themes of destiny and communication (or better yet, the lack of communication).

From a certain point-of-view another important connection could be made, that between destiny, the truth and happiness. Had Juliet been courageous enough to tell the truth and declare her feelings, confronting her father and opposing them, the tragic denouement to follow may have been avoided.

Liquids seem to be always present in the play and of relevant importance. On the one hand, there is the liquid that friar Lawrence gives Juliet in order to help her fake her own death. Then there will be the poison that a man in need of money will sell to Romeo.

Then there is the liquid that the nurse demands hen realizing that the girl is dead. The liquid is probably for her and meant to keep her from fainting and not to try to aid Juliet. This is somewhat ironic and symbolic. The nurse, although having performed actions which seemed to position her as a friend of Juliet's is not the friend she really needs. The fact that the mother threatens to die if the girl does not wake up is another tool meant to support irony. The scene culminates with the entrance of the friar Laurence, Paris and the musicians. All of them are key characters.

The friar on the one hand is the one who suggests the solution to Juliet and who fails to let Romeo know about the plan. Naturally he is one of the agents of destiny. Paris on the other hand is less powerful from this point-of-view, but his importance does not diminish. He is not important as Paris the character, because the situation would not have changed had he been called differently, but as Paris incarnation of the fate's will. The musicians on the other hand fulfil the role of the antique choir. Instead of narrating the story and its premises they are present only to record the present.

Obviously their role is much diminished and they serve as accessories. They are supposed to provide the music for the event and this role does not change even if the situation changes dramatically. Instead of playing for a wedding they will be playing for a funeral. Instead of celebrating love as a manifestation of life, they will play tribute to death. It is easy to deduce how they are mere elements included in the process of rituals and rituals are magic processes needed in order to mark the important changes taking place in the lives of the Capulets… READ MORE

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