Much Ado About Nothing

1.What does Don John vow to do?

Don John vows to attempt to ruin Don Pedro's plan to woo Hero, just to spread gloom.

2. Who does Claudio love?

Claudio loves Hero, the only daughter of Leonato.

3. What is their perspective about love in comparison to Beatrice and Benedict?

Hero and Claudio perspective of love is very to different that that of Beatrice and Benedick. This is so because Beatrice and Benedick seemingly are disgusted by the thought of love, while Hero and Claudio are hopeless romantics who adore and love each other. Therefore it can be said that one pair of them absolutely detest the idea of love, while the other strives on the idea of love.

4.What is the plan executed by Don Pedro?

The plan executed by Don Pedro was that he would disguise himself as Claudio to Hero and make advance to her. He also plans to intrigue Leonato. After he succeeds with this, Claudio will be able to have Hero for himself.

Elizabethan Review: Group 3

" The Globe Theatre"

During the reign of Elizabeth 1, English drama was introduced and developed into a sophisticated and very popular art form. Preceding the reign of Elizabeth 1, it was customary that theatre companies explored the country, performing plays where there was an audience.

England's First Playhouse, known as The Theatre, was built by the actor, James Burbage in Shoreditch London. In that time, actors were looked down upon by the more affluent persons of society , but  were accpeted and supported by the commoners of society.

The Theatre was closed down in 1597 and was dismantled by Richard Burbage and  his men in the late 1598. Eventually, it was rebuilt and renamed the Globe, this was accomplished in a period of six months. It was speculated that the Globe was round or octagonal and could draw audiences as large as 2500 to 3000 viewers. At the time, there were no elaborate technology, such as sets or lighting and thus, performances had to be held in the broad daylight.

The Globe was destroyed in 1613, by a cannon that was fired as a part of the performance of Henry V111. Luckily, everyone escaped unharmed, but the Globe burned to the ground. It was later rebuilt, but was permanently closes in 1642 by the Puritans. The new Globe was then opened to it's full season on June 8th 1997.

William Shakespeare

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

William Shakespeare, an English actor, poet and playwright, was born to John Shakespeare and mother, Mary Arden. Shakespeare’s exact birth date is unknown, but he was baptised on 26^th April 1564, in Stratford-Upon-Avon, where he was born. All that is known of Shakespeare’s youth is that he may have attended the Stratford Grammar School, although there aren’t any records to prove it. However, it is recorded that at the age of 18, Shakespeare married 26 year old, Anne Hathaway in 1582. The year after their marriage, she gave birth to their daughter, Susanna, followed by twins, Judith and Hamnet, two years later.

Shakespeare’s recognition as an actor, poet and playwright, came seven years later, when Robert Greene made reference to him as “an upstart crow”, in A Groatsworth of Wit.  In his time, William Shakespeare had written 13 comedies, 13 Historical Plays, 6 Tragedies, 4 Tragicomedies, as well as about 154 Sonnets. Some of his plays include:

The Taming of the Shrew

Julius Caesar

Much Ado about Nothing

Romeo and Juliet

The Tragedy of King Lear

Twelfth Night

He is considered the greatest writer of all time and the world’s pre-eminent dramatist. This may be so because of his vast collection of works displayed in the aforementioned. Also, his plays have been translated into basically every major living language, and have been performed more often than those of any other playwright in the world.

William Shakespeare joined with The Lord Chamberlain’s Men, one of the most successful acting troupes in London. The troupe lost the lease for the theatre, in which they performed, and had to build their own theatre across the Thames, south of London, which they called “The Globe”.  The new theatre opened July of 1599, during the Elizabethan Era, with the Motto “Totus mundus agit historionem”, which means a whole world of players.

Shakespeare wrote fewer plays after 1606-1607 and none are accredited to him after 1613. Shakespeare died on 23^rd April, 1616 and was survived by his wife and two daughters.

Letter to Newspaper

Gambles Terrace

St. John’s

Antigua

3^rd November, 1954

FreeTown

St. Barclays

Jamaica

Beacon Light Publications

Dear Editor,

I write to inform you of the vile attack of a man, known as “Brother Man”, in a small village called Orange Lane in Jamaica. My heart is filled with grief to recount the maliciousness of some of the villagers as they beat this innocent man and jeered at him, screaming wicked and cruel words. I observed as the malicious villagers chanted “Down de ole Ras Tafarite, murderers dem”.

As they ferociously attacked this man, for no apparent reason, I thought to myself, “What man deserves such an injustice?”  In my opinion, Brother Man was kind, helpful, and righteous and treated everyone who came for his help with great care and he definitely did not deserve to be treated in this manner.

However, as I helplessly watched on, my sullen, grieving mood was somewhat lightened, when an old lady from the village threw her body over Brother Man , sacrificially, so as to protect him from the vicious villagers. I was overwhelmed with a feeling of admiration to her, for trying to prevent the brutal attack. However, her efforts were merely disregarded as she too became a victim of the villagers’ brutality.

I write you this letter, with a mournful heart, recounting the ill-treatment of this innocent man , in this little village of Jamaica, based on the villagers’ stereo- typical mindset.

In their view, Ras Tafarianism was a “cult-like” group of bearded men who practiced rituals and traditions which were not norms of society. As a result, Ras Tafarianism or Ras Tafarians were discriminated by outsiders and were not welcomed as a part of society. Therefore, I believe that Brother Man’s attack, was based solely on his beliefs as a Ras Tafarian.

Yours Sincerely

A concerned witness.

Brother Man Assignment

 Some conflicts arising in Brother Man are:

•  Between Girlie and Papacita (external conflict) – Their conflict results in an abusive relationship, due to the unfaithfulness of Papacita.
•   Cordelia (internal conflict) - where she turns mad or crazy, because of Bra’ Man’s inability to sure or to heal her son.
•   Between Cordelia and Brother Man (external) - Cordelia is angry that Bra’ Man and therefore hatred toward him arises.
• Between Brother Man and Papacita (external conflict) -where Papacita is determined to get Bra' Man out of the way so that he could have Minette. 

   Internal Conflict can be defined as something a character has to overcome, i.e.  it occurs when a main character struggles within himself or herself. External conflict can be defined as conflict that is caused by outside forces, which you have no control over.

 Three types of irony  are: 

  Socratic Irony - is when a person pretends to be ignorance of something or someone in order to expose the weakness of another's position.

Verbal Irony - is the use of words to convey something other than, and especially the opposite of the literal meaning of the words, to emphasize a circumstance.

Situational Irony - when persons and events come together in improbable situations, creating a tension between expected and real results.

The religion of Rastafarianism.

The Rastafari movement is a new religious movement that arose in a Christian culture in Jamaica in the 1930s. Rastafarians worship a singular god, they call Jah, and Haile Selassi ,who was a former emperor to Ethiopia. Rastafarianism is considered a religion by rastafarians themselves, but to others it is more viewed as a way of life. Rastafarians express their religion in not eating meats, but eating their approved food called Ital. However, Rastafarianism is not criticized as much in today's society and is considered a norm.

Roger Mais Biography

• Roger Mais Biography 

  Roger Mais was a Jamaican novelist, playwright, journalist and painter who was born on the 11th August,1905. He began writing verse and short stories in the 1930's. He was journalist and contributor to the Public Opinion, from 1939 to 1952. He also wrote plays, reviews  and short stories for other newspapers, including Focus and The Jamaica Daily Gleaner.

  Mais was a close friend of political leader and later Chief Minister of Jamaica, Norman Manley, and was good friends with the Chief Minister profoundly influenced by the political, cultural and social climate of his times, as a result,  most of his articles focused on injustice and in-equality. He used this approach to attract local audiences and pushed for national identity and anti-colonialism.

   As a writer and novelist, he wrote about one hundred short stories and a few novels, including " Brother Man", "The Hills Were Joyful Together" and "Black Lightning". 

   As a result of his avid involvement in journalism and writing of novels, he was awarded with ten first prizes in West Indian literary competitions.

   In 1955, Mais returned to Jamaica after falling ill with cancer and eventually died the same year at age 50.

Literary Terms and Definitions

TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

1. PROSE FICTION FORMS

·         Novel:  A book length fictional prose narrative

·         Novellas: Written, fictional, prose narratives, longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel.

·         Short- stories:  A brief narrative in prose.

2. ELEMENTS OF PROSE FICTION

·         Narrative Techniques:  The methods involved in telling a story.

·         Point of View:  The relationship of the narrator, or storyteller, to the story.

·         Characterization: The methods of a writer used to reveal the personality of a character.

·         Setting: The time and place in which events of a story, novel or play occur.

·         Theme: The central message of a story, poem, novel or play that readers can apply to life.

·         Plot:   The sequence of events in a narrative work.

·         Style:  The author’s choice and arrangement of words and sentences in a literary work.

3.  LITERARY DEVICES

·         Imagery:  The “word pictures” that writers create to help evoke an emotional response.

·         Symbol: An object, person, place or experience that means more than what it actually is.

·         Irony:  A contrast or discrepancy between appearance and reality or between what is expected and what eventually happens.

·         Satire: Writing that exposes and ridicules the subordinates or stupidity of people or societies.

·         Allusion:  A reference in a work of literature to a character, place, or situation from history or from another work of literature, music or art.

4. STRUCTURAL DEVICES

·         Stream of Consciousness: A literary technique that presents the thoughts and feelings of a character as they occur.

·         Interior Monologue: A passage of writing presenting a character’s inner thoughts and emotions in a direct, sometimes disjointed or fragmentary manner.

·         Flashback:  An accountant of an event that happened before a story began.

·         Foreshadowing:  The use of clues by the author to prepare readers for events that will happen later in the story.

·         Time Frame:  A period during which something takes place or is projected to occur.

·         Motif: A significant word, description, idea or image that is repeated throughout a literary work.

·         Juxtaposition: The act of positioning close together or side by side.

5. TYPES OF FICTION

·         Commercial Fiction

·         Literary Fiction

·         Mainstream Fiction

Genre fiction:

·         Mystery

·         Romance

·         Women’s Fiction

·         Science Fiction/ Fantasy

6.  LITERARY CONTEXT

·         Political: Of or pertaining to government, a government, or the conduct of government.

·         Historical:  Of or concerned with history as a science.

·         Religious:   Pertaining to or concerned with religion.

·         Ethnic: Designating or of a population sub-group, having a common cultural heritage as distinguished by custom characteristics, language, common history etc.

·         Moral:  A practical lesson about right and wrong conduct.

·         Intellectual:  The ability to reason or understand or to perceive relationships.

·         Cultural: The training and refinement of intellect, interest, skills and art in a particular place.

·         Social: Of or relating to human society and its modes of organization.