The Effect of Literary Devices William Shakespeare lived and wrote over 400 years ago, but his wonderful plays continue to entertain and influence the audiences of the Twenty-First Century. Despite the outdated content and language of his works, Shakespeare’s plays remain popular with modern readers and play watchers for another reason. In all of his works, including William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, he uses countless literary devices and techniques to affect the mood of the audience and enhance their enjoyment. He utilizes puns and juxtaposition to create a comical or light hearted mood. He also uses dramatic irony and oxymorons for a dramatic or serious mood. Although Shakespeare’s work does not include modern language or modern situations, the literary devices that he uses work to keep an audience of any time feeling involved and absorbed in his plays. Shakespeare uses examples of puns and juxtaposition to create a lighthearted and comical atmosphere throughout several scenes of Romeo and Juliet. When two Capulet servants see several Montagues walking towards them on the street, they try to act tough and intimidate the servants by saying, “Ay, the heads of the maids, or their maiden- / heads. Take it in what sense thou wilt” (1.1.li 26-27). The sexual pun exclaimed by one of the servants, Sampson, creates comedy for the audience’s benefit and provides a lighthearted beginning to the play. Sampson and Gregory play with the syntax of “maidenheads” to make
Last Spring when I performed in one of William Shakespeare's classics 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', Shakespeare felt to me like a mystery of words jumbled up together in a beautiful poem. In ‘Romeo and Juliet’ I learned the true meaning of Shakespeare's genius writing. A technique of writing William Shakespeare often uses in his plays like ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is juxtaposition. This technique puts two unlike things next to each other. Shakespeare uses juxtaposition to show the irony, drama, and the different views between characters to give his story's depth.
Shakespeare’s plays have endured over 400 years of significant history and have played an important role in this world’s culture. His play Romeo and Juliet (1597) is especially prolific because of the substantial use of dramatic techniques used to disclose the complexities of human nature. Shakespeare has shown these complexities through the incorporation of the dramatic techniques soliloquy, dramatic Irony, foreshadowing and conflict. These techniques emphasise the complexities of human nature through the characters Romeo, Juliet and Tybalt and identifies aspects of their personalities which, otherwise, would not have been so obvious in the absence of the dramatic techniques.
William Shakespeare is the world’s pre-eminent dramatist whose plays range from tragedies to tragic comedies, etc. His general style of writing is often comparable to several of his contemporaries, like Romeo and Juliet is based on Arthur Brooke’s narrative poem, “The tragical history of Romeo and Juliet”. But Shakespeare’s works express a different range of human experience where his characters command the sympathy of audiences and also are complex as well as human in nature. Shakespeare makes the protagonist’s character development central to the plot.
There are few names as commonplace, ubiquitous, and recognizable as that of William Shakespeare. His enchanting story telling, complex plot twists, and brilliant usage of rhetoric make it easy to understand why connoisseurs of the English language are devotees to his style of writing. However, it is his extremely portable themes that endear him to today’s audience – plotlines that resonate with the modern everyday human just as much with someone from the 1600s.
William Shakespeare, a world-renowned playwright, poet, and actor, has been known for centuries all around the world for his great variety of brilliant, poetic, and creative plays written during the Elizabethan Era. Shakespeare’s plays have the reputation of being among the greatest in the English language and Western literature, traditionally divided into the genres of tragedy, history, and comedy, and comprising of various imaginative settings, plots, characters, and conflicts. They have been translated into every major living language, in addition to being continually performed all around the world. Many of Shakespeare’s plays give insight on human nature, astonishingly able to characterize every emotion, strength, and weakness
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in 1597 about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately resolving their family feuds. Shakespeare included literary devices in the play so that the audience can emotionally connect to engage in the plot. Three of the literary devices that were used most were dramatic irony, classical allusion, and foreshadowing. By studying the devices, the reader enhancement improves.
William Shakespeare, arguably the greatest language in the English language and England’s national poet, has written numerous histories, tragedies, comedies and poems. Throughout his plays, his use of dramatic irony, immaculate word choice and wording, and his vast imagination has made him a successful playwright even in his time. Shakespeare’s scripts for his theatrical company, needed to pertain to the needs and fascinations of the Elizabethan audience. It is safe to assume that all his sonnets, poetic speeches, electrifying action and soliloquies in his play were created for the delicate and quickly appreciative of language Elizabethans of his time. A particular example out of the many soliloquies
William Shakespeare is accredited to writing thirty-eight plays, sonnets, and five other poems. It is believed that he was born in the Shakespeare dwelling on Henley Street, Stratford-upon-Avon, England. His birth date is widely assumed but, the actual date was not recorded as British births were not registered and birth certificates were not manufactured. Shakespeare was born to John and Mary, as the third child of the residence. Joan and Margaret, the two previous children died tragically of the Bubonic Plague. As his grandfather was a farm produce seller, his family was in constant state of danger of the Bubonic Plague. Shakespeare wed Anne Hathaway on November 28, 1582, in Worchester. Hathaway was pregnant during this wedding, and their first child Susanna was born May 26, 1583. Two years later, Hathaway delivered twins named Hamnet and Judith. Hamnet later died of the Bubonic Plague at the age of eleven. After the twins were born, there were seven years
In Hamlet, there are many different uses of literary devices that help establish the plot of the whole novel. This is most prevalent within Act 3 Scene 1 when Hamlet is contemplating whether or not he should commit suicide. This is also known as the to be or not to be speech.
Given the religious turmoil of the time and the horrendous executions to criminals, why did William Shakespeare choose to mostly write comedies? Did Shakespeare not understand the mood of society, or perhaps did he write exactly the type of plays that everyone needed to see? To fully understand why William Shakespeare chose to write of amusing scenarios, its important to know what society in his time was like: sorrowful, argumentative, but also enlightening. Amidst the troubles of religion and despairing sights of death, theater rose to the top of many people’s hearts.
The great William Shakespeare lived during a time of many noted and influential people such as Pocahontas, King James I, and Sir Walter Raleigh. Even though Pocahontas was born during the later years of Shakespeare’s life, interesting correlations exist between the playwright and the Indian princess. King James I of England wrote about witches, which gave some background information for Shakespeare’s Tragedy of Macbeth. As the special guest of Queen Elizabeth I, it is likely that Sir Walter Raleigh watched some of Shakespeare’s plays presented at court. The daughter of a Native American chief, the King of England, and the famous explorer, all lived and gained notoriety during the lifetime of William Shakespeare.
Much of the text is dated or archaic and is initially unknown to the typical student. Yet upon thorough study, the student will gain a deeper knowledge and understanding of Shakespeare's words and the English language.Despite the difficulty that dated text presents, the passions and emotions described by Shakespeare touch the hearts of his readers and audience, students included. Vivid imagery and poetic descriptions are presented effectively and have a great impact on the audience. Readers are provided with the opportunity to step into the lives of his characters; to feel their emotions and understand their motivations, a rewarding experience for the student.Although Shakespeare's wrote his plays more than 350 years ago, the relevance of their themes and subjects still exists.
“To be, or not to be” is one of William Shakespeare’s most famous quotes. William Shakespeare was recognized as one of the greatest English playwrights of his era. He was known for his admirable poems. One poem he has written is “Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?” which was written in 1609. He is also known for the well-known play “Romeo and Juliet”.
The power of language holds great significance not only in Shakespearean study but of our daily lives as well. Every nuance Shakespeare creates leaves a clue to a greater truth or understanding of our humanity. Exploring the works of Shakespeare with this in mind allows for audiences to gain more appreciation and awareness of the depth of language and communication through his dialogue and characters as Shakespeare: “asks us to adorn the actor with our thoughts and ‘carry them here and there, jumping o’er the times’” (Bevington xiii).
William Shakespeare is widely known for all of his literary works; one of his most famous love tragedies being 'Romeo and Juliet'. A Shakespearean definition of tragedy exemplifies the sense that human beings are inevitably doomed through their own failures or errors, the ironic action of their virtues, or even through the nature of fate and destiny (Sayour, Susan, 2007). Romeo and Juliet is a tragic tale based on two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. Throughout the play, Shakespeare intentionally draws on text structures and language features in order to replicate the attitudes, values and beliefs of Elizabethan audiences and intertwine it into his