Ian Smith

The social tolerance of these plays goes hand in hand with their exploration of human psychology. The hallmark examples of Shakespeare’s penetration into the human psyche are Hamlet and King Lear. In the former, Shakespeare explores the state of melancholia in the young prince of Denmark. Even after the play is finished the audience is still left pondering whether or not Hamlet is truly sane. Bloom writes: “the question of Hamlet always must be Hamlet himself, for Shakespeare created him to be as

Written by Ian McEwan and later screen adapted by Joe Wright, Atonement is an extremely effective and well-presented metanarrative. It isn’t until the final stages of the book where the format of the story is disclosed, leaving the audience with an unsuspected shock. However, upon closer inspection, the many indicative and self-referential symbols can be recognised all throughout the novel (2003) and the film (2007). One of the most important and well recognised symbols of the book and the film

The story of a girl who is held hostage by a frightening beast and then ends up falling in love with him is a tale as old as time. The live action version of the 1991 animated classic, Beauty and the Beast, is more than that though. The story portrayed in the live action film follows that of the animated version almost exactly. This musical romantic fantasy film, directed by Bill Condon, features an outstanding cast, which includes Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, and Josh Gad, among others

as a result of such difficulties can lead to tension and differences between individuals for years to come. More often than not, one must find a way to be forgiven for what one has done, as only then can one obtain peace with others and oneself. In Ian McEwan’s Atonement, Briony Tallis’s struggle on her path to understanding and correcting an injustice demonstrates the manner in which one can be forgiven, showing that in order to achieve forgiveness one must take the path to righting one’s wrongdoings

Audiences love knowing who is the villain of a story. There's a certain power in seeing something not visible to the other characters, recognizing a seed of hatred blooming behind the scenes. It brings a sense of satisfaction, actively rooting against the antagonist so that the hero can win. Seeing the difference between good and bad isn't easy in real life, but in a fictional world all of the rules change, and the audience knows the truth. In King Lear, Goneril and Regan, daughters to the king,

“Sometimes the man who looks happiest in town, with the biggest smile, is the one carrying the biggest load of sin. There are smiles and smiles; learn to tell the dark variety from the light.”(Bradbury 135) Written in 1962, Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes is a fantasy fiction novel which depicts the mysterious experience two teenage boys encounter one October night in Green Town, Illinois. Within Something Wicked This Way Comes, Ray Bradbury utilizes symbolism of the carousel in order

“King Lear”, a play by Shakespeare tells us how kingship and power or the loss of power are expressed. Lear, king of Britain decides to retire and shares his kingdom between his daughters; he later discovers what it is like to lose the power and authority that came with responsibilities. In the play, power is related to flattery, appearance and anger. In act 1, scene 1, Lear says that “Meantime [he] shall express [his] darker purpose” (1,1,36). The expression “darker purpose” tells us that there

In the novel Of Love and Other Demons, the author uses a few kinds of magic to bring out a few themes, mainly the themes of love and hybridity. The author uses Sierva Maria’s hair as a magic symbol for love. The novel is framed by a description of Sierva Maria’s hair. Firstly in the introduction, Garcia Marquez sees “a stream of living hair the intense color of copper” (pg 6) pouring out of the Santa Clara crypt. In the final line of the novel, “strands of hair gushed like bubbles as they grew back

Good morning, today I am going to talk about the ability to learn from mistakes. I’ve based my oral presentation on the novel “Atonement” by Ian McEwan. It can be said that it is in the nature of all of us, human beings, to make mistakes. Of course, there are different kinds of mistakes; there are some that are innocent and harmless and others that can affect ourselves and/ or other people’s lives. Still, it is mainly by making this second type of mistakes that we can learn important life lessons

Everyone has a different role model for their own different reasons. Sometimes it's just because of what they do and their films, and other times it's because of their great personality and loving nature. Overall, everyone has a specific person they look up to whether it's a celebrity or their mother. Nina Dobrev, one of many actresses, stands out amongst the crowd for me. She is kind and compassionate and always modest and humble. Through hard work, patience, and persistence, Nina Dobrev has become