So Christipher Marlowe was an English dramatist, he is known among many other things for his mysterious death. A warrant was issued for Marlowe's arrest on 18 May 1593, o reason for it was given. On 20 May he was brought to court for questioning. Ten days later he was stabbed to death by Ingram Frizer, however whether the stabbing was connected to his arrest has never been resolved.
Marlowe attended The King's School in Canterbury, where he studied on a scholarship and received his Bachelor of Arts degree. In 1587 the university then hesitated to award him his master's degree, poor thing, because of a rumour that he had converted to Roman Catholicism and intended to go to the English college at Rheims to prepare for the priesthood. But you neeedn't worry because someone intervened and all was well.
There are many different variations of Marlowe's death and it is still not resolved today. However most people believe it was a drunken fight that got Marlowe killed. Frizer was released because the coroner supposedly found evidence that he was acting in self defence. Hmm..
Tuesday, 19 July 2011
Thursday, 7 July 2011
Nosferatu!
So I left my blog with Mr.F :( it was crumbs anyway. So take 2...So there are many ways in which Nosferatu has a Gothic atmosphere. I think loneliness is in Nosferatu quite a lot actually. Throughout the film the characters are shown to be on their own a great deal, like Nina for example. She is without Jonathon, which makes both the audience and her feel uneasy.
Another way the atmosphere is created Gothic is by the power of light, or lack of it. Dark, night-time, creates a sense of fear and the unknown. When Renfield? (don't actually remember :s) gets a horse ride to Dracula's castle, it's dark. You could barely see him it was that dark and foggy. His piercing white eyes wouldn't have had the same affect on the audience if it was in day light.
The idea of being chased and being in danger crops up a lot too. This links into loneliness and darkness because whenever someone is being chased they are alone (I think) and it's dark. People are always getting chased by Dracula, (or Nosferatu?!) if you can call it that. He walks the pace of a snail and like a retard so it's not really fair on him. So this does put a downer on the whole fear factor, but hey, they're still being chased.
Also the idea of the supernatural is incorporated into it. It would seem that Jonathon and Nina can read each others minds. Kinda. Nina knows when he is coming etc, quite weird and eerie really. Another supernatural thing is how Dracula can walk through things, or turn himself invisible. This can create tension for the audience because he can just pop up out of nowhere. Also how he has to sleep in the soil he was buried in to obtain his powers is very supernatural indeed.
Ooooooh and I managed to pick out a quote and because I always get told off for not using them, I shall now. Even if it's not relevant or correct. 'The empty castle came alive with menacing shadows' The words 'empty' and 'alive' support the ideas of the supernatural, suggesting there are ghosts. Making the whole atmosphere more eerie, cold and freakaaaaaay.
Another way the atmosphere is created Gothic is by the power of light, or lack of it. Dark, night-time, creates a sense of fear and the unknown. When Renfield? (don't actually remember :s) gets a horse ride to Dracula's castle, it's dark. You could barely see him it was that dark and foggy. His piercing white eyes wouldn't have had the same affect on the audience if it was in day light.
The idea of being chased and being in danger crops up a lot too. This links into loneliness and darkness because whenever someone is being chased they are alone (I think) and it's dark. People are always getting chased by Dracula, (or Nosferatu?!) if you can call it that. He walks the pace of a snail and like a retard so it's not really fair on him. So this does put a downer on the whole fear factor, but hey, they're still being chased.
Also the idea of the supernatural is incorporated into it. It would seem that Jonathon and Nina can read each others minds. Kinda. Nina knows when he is coming etc, quite weird and eerie really. Another supernatural thing is how Dracula can walk through things, or turn himself invisible. This can create tension for the audience because he can just pop up out of nowhere. Also how he has to sleep in the soil he was buried in to obtain his powers is very supernatural indeed.
Ooooooh and I managed to pick out a quote and because I always get told off for not using them, I shall now. Even if it's not relevant or correct. 'The empty castle came alive with menacing shadows' The words 'empty' and 'alive' support the ideas of the supernatural, suggesting there are ghosts. Making the whole atmosphere more eerie, cold and freakaaaaaay.
Monday, 7 March 2011
Friday 4th March
So, this was our final lesson on reading the book and we focused on the ending of the play. Hamlet goes through the play very idle and doesn't do much. It's only at the end of the play where he takes action when he about to die. I began to think that as a result of this, does it show he is a weak character? Or is he infact a strong character because he has reached his ultimate goal, that of to get revenge on Claudius. It is debatable whether or not Fortinbras is more successful in acheving his revenge compared to Hamlet because he did gain the throne by the end of the play, but he did this by chance really. It was all down to Hamlet's actions. Also I think it's a bit weird how Hamlet just won't die when the Queen seemed to instantly, it was a bit annoying. To me this highlights the importance of Hamlet in the play. For example the Queen wasn't that important, no one really cared when she died. Oh and at the end of the lesson we re-wrote the play, which I thought was quite funny, I think we should do this all the time maybe? :)
Thursday, 10 February 2011
Gertrude Talks Back
Well I found this quite weird but interesting. She seemed to come across as kind of funny in this and I liked that. I feel that she seems to be a bit dull in Hamlet. She is quite comical 'have a nice roll in the hay' and the mirror comment, I can't imagine her saying this. You get the impression that she didn't love the old Hamlet by the way she talks about him, It's very casual. It annoys me. She doesn't really have much respect for a man that has literally just died. Yeah, on the whole I like this. Oh and I loved the pork bit. Haa poor porkchop.
Tuesday, 1 February 2011
How Claudius is presented in Act 1. :(
At this point in the play most people will have their opinion of Claudius. I believe that his presentation can differ to every person reading it and to different directors directing the film. I am going to explore these different interpretations.
My initial thoughts of Claudius in Scene 2 were that he was quite emotionless. This is shown in the way that he talks about his brother's death in his first speech. It is said so casually. It's almost as if he is shrugging it off, like it doesnt matter to him. The way he talks is also very insensitive and he gives me the impression that he is more bothered about his new Queen than he is the mourning of his brother's death, her late husband.
This thought is shown in one of the versions we watched. He drifts from person to person, his speech just seems to roll of his tongue. He is trying to please everyone and therefore making him seem fake. There is no thought in the words he says, no emotion. This makes us think that Claudius is not a very nice person and that he doesn't really care about his brother dying. However, another version of Hamlet shows otherwise. He seems to be quite warm and friendly, contrasting to the other interpretation of him. After watching this I started to question my opinion of him. The director made him act almost friendly and warm, his voice was also a lot different, slower and more calm. Not as quick and rushed, he came across not to be as self-absorbed.
The last version was much like the first. Claudius spoke with more haste and less meaning. He was played like he didn't care what he was talking about like he just needed to say it and not actually caring what he was saying. Once again he was playing to the crowd, saying what they want to hear and not taking Hamlet's feelings into consideration. Throughout the whole of scene one in fact Claudius is very unforgiving of Hamlet's mourning. He seems like he doesn't accept it and like it isn't right for him to be feeling that way. Which is silly because he has every right to.
When Claudius is addressing Hamlet in Act 1 Scene 2, lines 87-102, he comes across as almost patronising, "'Tis sweet and commendable in your nature, Hamlet," He tells him that "your father lost a father" which to me seems quite insensitive to Hamlet's feelings, seen as his father just died. There is no sympathy from Claudius to Hamlet. He is also very rude to Him, later calling his mourning over the death of his father, 'unmanly grief'. Then further insulting him saying that his actions are 'incorrect to heaven'. When Claudius tells Hamlet to 'think of us as of a father' he is suggesting that his father is easily replaced. Once again showing us his insensitivity toward Hamlet. It seems to me that Claudius is trying his best to rid any feelings Hamlet has for his father. He wants him to move on and to stop acting like a woman over his father's death, again seeming unsympathetic.
However the portrayal of Claudius and my thoughts of him being rude and insensitive may be wrong. As the play starts after the King dies we know little about him. I wondered why the Queen is so quiet during these scenes because surely she loved her husband and thinks that it is wrong of Claudius to be telling Hamlet to stop mourning him? However, as we do not know what the King was like we cannot judge her fully on her actions, or lack of. This brings me onto my next point about why Claudius seems to not be bothered about his brother dying. In the films he acts like he doesn't really care, and in the play he talks like he doesn't care. Here I think both the film and the play mirror each other. You can have the actors acting differently but you cant change the words that are spoken. I think it is pretty obvious that Claudius isn't the nicest man just by what he says.
I think that the actors playing Claudius should be very carefree. They shouldn't think too much about their actions as I don't believe he intends on moving that much, it's just the words he says that have all the power. I believe that Claudius is a man that doesn't dwell on his words or actions. And I think that this should be made clear to the audience. I think only one of the three versions that I have looked at was incorrect. And this was the one where he was warmer and on the whole seemed nicer. To me I do not get that impression from what I read.
I did not enjoy this task and don't think my essay very good at all. In fact I think I may have done it wrong. But oh well, I tried. :)
My initial thoughts of Claudius in Scene 2 were that he was quite emotionless. This is shown in the way that he talks about his brother's death in his first speech. It is said so casually. It's almost as if he is shrugging it off, like it doesnt matter to him. The way he talks is also very insensitive and he gives me the impression that he is more bothered about his new Queen than he is the mourning of his brother's death, her late husband.
This thought is shown in one of the versions we watched. He drifts from person to person, his speech just seems to roll of his tongue. He is trying to please everyone and therefore making him seem fake. There is no thought in the words he says, no emotion. This makes us think that Claudius is not a very nice person and that he doesn't really care about his brother dying. However, another version of Hamlet shows otherwise. He seems to be quite warm and friendly, contrasting to the other interpretation of him. After watching this I started to question my opinion of him. The director made him act almost friendly and warm, his voice was also a lot different, slower and more calm. Not as quick and rushed, he came across not to be as self-absorbed.
The last version was much like the first. Claudius spoke with more haste and less meaning. He was played like he didn't care what he was talking about like he just needed to say it and not actually caring what he was saying. Once again he was playing to the crowd, saying what they want to hear and not taking Hamlet's feelings into consideration. Throughout the whole of scene one in fact Claudius is very unforgiving of Hamlet's mourning. He seems like he doesn't accept it and like it isn't right for him to be feeling that way. Which is silly because he has every right to.
When Claudius is addressing Hamlet in Act 1 Scene 2, lines 87-102, he comes across as almost patronising, "'Tis sweet and commendable in your nature, Hamlet," He tells him that "your father lost a father" which to me seems quite insensitive to Hamlet's feelings, seen as his father just died. There is no sympathy from Claudius to Hamlet. He is also very rude to Him, later calling his mourning over the death of his father, 'unmanly grief'. Then further insulting him saying that his actions are 'incorrect to heaven'. When Claudius tells Hamlet to 'think of us as of a father' he is suggesting that his father is easily replaced. Once again showing us his insensitivity toward Hamlet. It seems to me that Claudius is trying his best to rid any feelings Hamlet has for his father. He wants him to move on and to stop acting like a woman over his father's death, again seeming unsympathetic.
However the portrayal of Claudius and my thoughts of him being rude and insensitive may be wrong. As the play starts after the King dies we know little about him. I wondered why the Queen is so quiet during these scenes because surely she loved her husband and thinks that it is wrong of Claudius to be telling Hamlet to stop mourning him? However, as we do not know what the King was like we cannot judge her fully on her actions, or lack of. This brings me onto my next point about why Claudius seems to not be bothered about his brother dying. In the films he acts like he doesn't really care, and in the play he talks like he doesn't care. Here I think both the film and the play mirror each other. You can have the actors acting differently but you cant change the words that are spoken. I think it is pretty obvious that Claudius isn't the nicest man just by what he says.
I think that the actors playing Claudius should be very carefree. They shouldn't think too much about their actions as I don't believe he intends on moving that much, it's just the words he says that have all the power. I believe that Claudius is a man that doesn't dwell on his words or actions. And I think that this should be made clear to the audience. I think only one of the three versions that I have looked at was incorrect. And this was the one where he was warmer and on the whole seemed nicer. To me I do not get that impression from what I read.
I did not enjoy this task and don't think my essay very good at all. In fact I think I may have done it wrong. But oh well, I tried. :)
Thursday, 2 December 2010
Assef quotes
There is lots of evidence that we can use to show that Assef has demon-like qualities. For example when he is just about to rape Hassan he says, '...so it will always remind you of what I'm about to do'. Assef wants Amir to never forget this.
When he is talking about the executions he describes it as 'the show', which is very disturbing and shows that Assef takes pleasure in hurting and killing people.
'Assef was standing over them' this makes Assef seem like he looks down his nose at everyone and thinks he is better than them.
"You don't know the meaning of the word 'liberating' until you've done that..let the bullets fly' this shows us that death excites him, not what most people would class as liberating.
Assef contradicts himself in the way he lives. He says he is religious but then does the things he does. 'Only stopped to eat and pray' suggests he is religious but then massacres people and puts on a 'show' to kill people. Which doesn't sound very religious to me. His head is not screwed on right..
When he is talking about the executions he describes it as 'the show', which is very disturbing and shows that Assef takes pleasure in hurting and killing people.
'Assef was standing over them' this makes Assef seem like he looks down his nose at everyone and thinks he is better than them.
"You don't know the meaning of the word 'liberating' until you've done that..let the bullets fly' this shows us that death excites him, not what most people would class as liberating.
Assef contradicts himself in the way he lives. He says he is religious but then does the things he does. 'Only stopped to eat and pray' suggests he is religious but then massacres people and puts on a 'show' to kill people. Which doesn't sound very religious to me. His head is not screwed on right..
Friday
It was our first supply lesson today and she is really nice. In the lesson we made a massive poster and wrote down the main characters names and themes in the book, Guilt was one of these. We wrote down our thoughts under each title, this really helped because we got to see what other people think.
The lesson after this we looked at a poem by Sylvia Plath called 'You're'. We were then challenged to write our own poem in this style but write it about Hassan. I handed in my poem so sadly it cannot be blogged, what a shame. :/
The lesson after this we looked at a poem by Sylvia Plath called 'You're'. We were then challenged to write our own poem in this style but write it about Hassan. I handed in my poem so sadly it cannot be blogged, what a shame. :/
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