She Stoops to Conquer Suggested Essays

Throughout history, class distributions have constantly been a serious issue. Many compositions today display social disparity; however, to recognize it, one needs to look through the proper lens. Literary critical lenses help to understand a work from a different angle which leads to a further interpretation of the composition. There are many lenses and aspects in literature, and one of them is the Marxist Theory. Also known as the Conflict Theory, this idea asserts that class struggle is a powerful divider in society. Although it is a social idea, this concept also relates to literature. In his play Hamlet, William Shakespeare demonstrates class struggles. Looking at this composition through the lens of the Marxist Theory, one uncovers that the dominant ones suppress and exploits the others seeking to display their superiority.

There is no doubt that Shakespeare was the author of great pieces of literature during an interesting time period. Given the circumstances, he was indeed mastering his craft during a very tumultuous juncture in British history. When one reads Richard III, they don’t necessarily have to know a great deal about the War of Roses to understand that there is some serious strife going on. However, if the reader takes some time to understand this fascinating string of events, the story of Richard and his fall becomes much more interesting. In all of his brilliance, Shakespeare manages to toy with the idea of humor in this very morose play. As a matter of fact, he does this in many, if not all of his tragedies.

central to the play. I am going to look at only the first act of the

Firstly let us consider conflict. In each act of the play, we see the overpowering desire to belong leading to a climax of conflict

Derrick ‘Big Hutch’ Hutchinson, who plays Horatio in the production, describes various interpretations of the play. The first being his theory of the hierarchy of characters and how they relate to the types of inmate in prison. Making an analogy

It seems as if there are two Hamlets in the play. One that is sensitive and an ideal prince

One of the strengths of good theater is its ability to mirror the problems and conditions shaping its time. In The Merchant of Venice, William Shakespeare reflects two important aspects of Elizabethan society: the corrupting influence of prosperity and the increasingly vengeful nature of Venetian justice. To address the former issue, Shakespeare downplays the importance of wealth by associating its involvement in romance with superficial and insubstantial advantages. He characterizes prosperity as a deceiving agent, citing its ability to introduce shallowness into a relationship. Shakespeare reasons that genuine romance depends on sacrifice and emotion, not wealth. The problem with justice is equally striking. In the play, justice is

An early interaction between the wealthy noble Olivia and her hired fool mocks the hierarchal stereotypes and provides an example of Shakespeare's ironic commentary on the social class distinction. In this scene, Olivia, mourning her brother's death, is angry with Feste, her fool, for his unexcused absence. Feste responds to this anger with wit and proceeds to disprove the stereotypes surrounding his title. As a fool, Feste is expected to embody his title and possess little wit. However, as he and Olivia continue to argue, he uses his wit to flip this cliche, proving her to be the true fool. Olivia exits this scene in higher spirits, due to Feste’s comedy, rather than Feste exiting in a body bag, as most would have expected. Shakespeare uses Feste’s humor and diction in this scene to develop not only the characters but provides more insight on the social class distinctions present in the play.

In the play, The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, there is a lot of humor that can be found. Specifically, developed behind the characters in this play that display many instances of irony and how important it was to fit into the “status quo” of this time period. There are specific behaviors from the characters of Lady Bracknell, Gwendolen, and Algernon that portray Wilde’s opinion of society during the Victorian Age. The attitude of these characters is snobbish and their manners display double standards and superiority. The play’s use of mockery and irony of these satirical situations is meant to publicly ridicule the self- loving attitude of the upper class while exposing their true absence of intelligence which causes their absurd social behaviors

In the movie called, “Gosford Park” the film distinguishes social class between upper and lower class. The movie starts with a fancy party hosted by Sir William McCordle and Lady Sylvia McCordle. The party has invited a house full of guests for a shooting party. The guests include Sir William sister, Constance, the Countess of Trenham, who depends on an allowance he is constantly threatening to withdraw, Lady Sylvia’s sister Louisa, who like Sylvia had to marry for money. Lastly Louisa’s husband, Commander Anthony Meredith is also invited to the party along with Lavinia, who is married to Raymond, Lord Stockbridge. And the Hollywood star Ivor Novello. Beneath the stairs is the butler Jennings, the housekeeper Mrs. Wilson, and the cook Mrs. Croft. In the movie the guests have to perform certain roles to satisfied their owner. For example, Lady Constance is threatened with financial ruin. Novello has to sing for their supper; while below stairs, a man like Jennings is obviously extremely happy to head the staff of a great house. The conflict begins when Sir William McCordle was murdered.

In the book Hamlet by Shakespeare, irony is used numerous times in order to give the reader insight on what is going on. As stated in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, irony is an action that is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play. If this strategy were not included in this drama, it would take away the whole purpose. This play would consist of no suspense and would be extremely boring to the reader because the characters would know as much as the readers know. This allows for incite to what can happen in the future or what has happened in the past. The irony in this play ultimately revolves around Hamlet and his plan to achieve revenge with Claudius. From the play that Hamlet organizes

Shakespeare adapts these tenants to construct a power thirsty character. Consequently, while the London elite was introduced to these ideals, Shakespeare shaped the overall plot of the play to exemplify the discussed the power quest introduced by Machiavelli. This results in Richard’s actions that lead him to kill his brother and manipulate his family into getting the throne.

The main purpose of this theme is to stimulate laughter from the audience. Wilde is able to satirize the upper classes by placing this play in an upper class social setting. This “…requires the audience to accept the world presented on the stage as a real world, a possible world; and its human foibles, even if heightened and exaggerated in the play’s satirical exposure of them…” (Foster 19). Then he fills the characters language with sayings, which make them seem ridiculous. The characters constantly contradict the basic values in their speech. This works to Wilde’s advantage because he wants his play to be funny and not offensive. Raby states “… [i]n his political and aesthetic theory Wilde was both romantic and cynical. In his drama he was both sentimental and satirical” (Raby 26). He could manipulate the audience to think that the play was just a storyline but in reality it was mocking them. Which includes the theme of the irrational upper class; the question arises: what is the importance of being earnest.

Oscar Wilde’s play The Importance of Being Earnest (.1993.) is an enlightening epitome of social class in the Victorian era. The satire is driven by the frivolous behaviour, superficial lives and artificial norms within the Victorian aristocracy. Incorporating his own opinion into the play, Wilde continually attacked and mocked their hypocrisy, views on marriage, and their mannerisms. Throughout the play, Wilde used an abundant range of literary techniques to reinforce his opinion. Irony, paradox and hyperboles, as well as witty epigrams and aphorisms were used astutely and were ubiquitous throughout the play. This contributed to the satirical style and tone of the text, and enabled Wilde to effectively communicate his critical perspective on social class in Victorian England.

In Shakespeare's comedy, The Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare has a woman as one of the story's main characters. Katherine Minola (Kate) is off the wall, and kinda crazy. Because of her actions, the “male centered world” around her doesn't know what to do with her.