Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Before Romeo and Juliet even meet at the masked ball in Act one scene five Essay Example

Before Romeo and Juliet even meet at the masked ball in Act one scene five Essay Example Before Romeo and Juliet even meet at the masked ball in Act one scene five Paper Before Romeo and Juliet even meet at the masked ball in Act one scene five Paper Essay Topic: Romeo and Juliet The prologue is written in the form of a sonnet. It starts by introducing the two households and their ancient grudge. The play is set in fair Verona, Italy. Italy was regarded as a wealthy, romantic country in which romantic plays were often set. We are then told that the deaths of star-crossed lovers is the only way to end their parents rage. It tells us the end of the play before it has started which sets a sombre mood. The audience will see the characters struggle yet know they are always doomed to fail. There is also a reference to the stars. This is continued the whole way through the play and gives the impression that he stars determine the characters fate and they are not in control of their destiny. This all adds to the dramatic tension. Shakespeare mentions death, death-marked love and fatal loins, which all add to the fear of the audience. He does not let us know the reason behind the grudge. This prevents the audience from becoming biased towards one side, and creates sympathy as we feel that the more modern characters like Romeo and Juliet dont have much to do with the grudge. It also reinforces the self-perpetuating nature of the feud. Act one, scene one begins with the Capulet servants. They speak in prose sing slang and begin by insulting the Montagues, The dog of the House of Montague moves me! This sets the scene in conflict. They treat women as objects and weaker vessels. This is a very physical view of love and contrasts strongly with the love between Romeo and Juliet which comes later in the play. Shakespeare also includes some humour. After Benvolio and Tybalt enter, it soon turns into a brawl, including old Capulet and Montague. We are introduced to Benvolio as a peace maker as he says, I do but keep the peace, and Tybalt as a trouble maker as he tells the Montagues about peace that he hates the word as e hates hell. Shakespeare goes from the bottom of society with the servants, up to the top with the Lords. Language varies from prose, with the servants, to blank verse with Tybalt and Romeo and poetic verse with Lord and Lady Montague and the prince. Romeo and Juliet are kept out of this brawl, to show their innocence and also so that there is no chance of them possibly seeing each other and the prince says, If you ever disturb our streets again, your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace, letting the audience know how serious this has become and at the same time showing the reason why Romeo will soon be anished. After the excitement, Lady Montague changes the mood with a rhyming couplet, O where is Romeo? Saw you him today? Right glad I am he was not at this fray. Montague talks about Romeo being upset about something. Benvolio introduces us to Romeo which calms the whole scene down. When we meet Romeo, he talks about love and hate. He uses such oxymorons as brawling love, loving hate, heavy lightness, serious vanity, feather of lead, cold fire and sick health. This is to do with his love for Rosaline bringing him pain and anguish rather than joy. It is also about the crazy world of the feud. At the end of Romeos short speech, he says, That love I feel, I feel no love at this. This could tell us that he feels no love in the feud or that in return, he is receiving no love from Rosaline, which leads us to believe that he love will be forever unrequited as in the conventional courtly love. We have been given the impression of Romeo as someone who falls in love with a woman who is not goingg to love him back. In the play, we do not meet Rosaline which could be so that we dont make comparisons between her and Juliet. Benvolio advises Romeo to Examine other beauties, and although this is first rejected by Romeo, this ironically is what he will do. In scene two, we meet Paris who asks Capulet for Juliets hand in marriage. However Capulet thinks she is too young to be a bride. The servant with the guest list for the Capulets masked ball is illiterate so asks Romeo for help in reading it. This could be down to fate as is the fact that it was a masked ball and the Montagues could get in without being recognised. Romeo decides to go to the Capulets party to see Rosaline, and not as Benvolio suggests, to Compare her face with some that I shall how and I will make thee think thy swan a crow. In scene three Juliets mother asks her, How stands your disposition to be married? Juliet replies, It is an honour that I not dream of. Lady Capulet shows her desire for her daughter to be married, as she tells her that she, herself was a mother to Juliet at her age. The nurse is quite excited about it as she says a man, young lady; lady such a man. As all the world, why hes a man of wax. Juliet tells her mother, I look to like if looking, liking move. But no more deep I will endart mine eye. Then your consent gives to fly. She isnt goingg to do anything that her mother doesnt consent to, but she will look. This has significance to what happens later because she did exactly the opposite and fell in love with Romeo and eventually got married to him without letting her mother know. Towards the end of the scene, Romeo predicts the consequences of him goingg to the ball. He says that some consequence, yet hanging in the stars shall lead to his death. This is also a reference to star-crossed lovers from the prologue. He also mentions the phrase, direct my course. This also leads back o the idea of fate controlling the characters actions. This gives the audience a feeling of apprehension. It is love at first sight when Romeo meets Juliet. He delivers a series of five rhyming couplets talking about her beauty. Tybalt recognises Romeos voice and interrupts the romance by trying to get his uncle to throw him out. He says, This by his voice hold be a Montague. Capulet refuses and speaks well of Romeo, Verona brags of him to be a virtuous and well governed youth. This is surprising. It also delays the more important plot for a few minutes which adds to dramatic tension. The first words that Romeo and Juliet share are in the form of a sonnet. The way in which the words are used is very clever and the sonnet is finished with a kiss. The sentences flow together well which makes Romeo and Juliet seem compatible. The words of the sonnet have connotations of a courtly love, however, the kiss shows a more physical side which makes Romeo and Juliets love a mixture of the two types. Just as they are to kiss again, the nurse interrupts. This represents real life and also interrupts the peace. They both find out who the other is at the same time and they both mention death. Romeo says, My life is my foes debt and Juliet says, If he be married, my grave is like to be my wedding bed. This reminds the audience of the prologue, and Juliets words, My only love sprung from my only hate ia a reminder of the feud and shows us that from the start, their love was tainted by the feud. The words are also quite similar to Romeos loving hate in scene one when he talks with Benvolio. This also shows their compatibility. Juliet is led away by the nurse and Romeo, by his friends. This represents the distance between them and a sense of real life keeping them apart. I think Baz Luhrman interprets Romeo and Juliet very well in his film. It has been set in modern days and the prologue is read out on the news. We are introduced to the characters and their feud using pictures to avoid confusion and we see two sky scrapers with the familys names on the top of each, symbolising power, wealth and also their alikeness to one another. The music is loud and tense which gives it a dramatic atmosphere. We are first introduced to the Montague boys in a gas station and when they meet the Capulets a fight occurs. Both groups of boys are loud and Tybalt ears leather clothes and metal shoes which make him look tough and scary. Their clothes and cars contrast as the Capulets wear dark colours and drive a black car and the Montagues wear bright colours and drive a yellow car with no roof. This highlights how different they are. Fast, loud music is combined with the sound of helicopters and police cars, speed up the scene. Lord Montague and his wife arrive in a limousine symbolising wealth and Luhrman has cleverly showed the guns to be called sword so Shakespeares lines such as Give me my long sword, ho will not ave to be changed when put in modern days. Suddenly there is total silence as they are told off by the prince. It is a very dramatic way of changing the atmosphere. Calm, quiet music plays as Lady Montague and Benvolio talk of Romeo, and we are first introduced to him on a beach at sunset which is very romantic. We are introduced to Paris as Bachelor of the year on magazines, showing his suitability to Juliet and why her parents approve of him. We see Paris and Lord Capulet together which shows their friendship. Instead of the Montagues finding out about the party from Peter, they see t on television and decide to go. We meet Juliet in a big mansion as she and her mother get ready for the party and talk about Paris. Lady Capulet is very bossy and loud. The nurse is smaller and friendly and it seems that she and Juliet have a good relationship. Fireworks are going off which are romantic and shows that it is a big occasion. Fate also plays a major role in this play and Baz Luhrman has interpreted he that heth the steerage of my course, direct my saile as a point when Romeo is taking drugs and loses control. As it is a masked ball, all the characters are in costumes. Romeo is dressed as a knight. This symbolises that he is a hero. Also, when he first sees Juliet, he says, What ladys that which doth enrich the hand of yonder knight? Juliet is an angel which implies that she is innocent. There are also references to dear Saint and speak again bright angel. Tybalt is dressed as a devil, symbolising evil, and his friend is death, subtly telling the audience that he will soon die. Lady Capulet is dressed as Cleopatra, showing the audience, her beauty, richness and love of men and her husband is an emperor symbolising his wealth and power. This, however could also symbolise that he is living in the past and has old fashioned views on things like marriage. Paris is an astronaut, which is a well respected, though superficial modern day hero. It also shows that he doesnt really fit in as most of the other characters are dressed as more historical figures. Lady Capulet is wearing lots of make up, yet Juliet is wearing none. This shows the audience that she is pure. The music is vibrant and loud in keeping with the party theme. Young hearts born free relates to Romeo and Juliets situation. Baz Luhrman has Romeo and Juliet meet at a fish tank. The music has changed to soulful singing which is romantic and calms the whole pace of the scene down. The fish tank symbolises distance between Romeo and Juliet. It is also relaxing and there is mirror imaging between them. Lady Capulet flirts with Paris, which highlights the age difference between her and her husband. Romeo and Juliet find out about each other at the same time and there is slow, deep music. As Romeo is pulled away by his friends, this is combined with fast talking and barking dogs, making Romeo feel lonely.

Sunday, March 1, 2020

How to keep Your New Year’s resolutions

How to keep Your New Year’s resolutions This is the time of year where everyone’s optimistic about how much better they’re going to do once the calendar flips over to January 1. We’re all going to be healthier, more motivated, more focused, and more zen, right? Sure. For a little while. Then reality hits, and those resolutions start looking more like quaint relics of last month. But we could all stand to be healthier, more productive, nicer, etc., so how do you make those stick well into February and beyond? Let’s look at some tips you can use to help make better, more achievable, and more successful personal and professional goals for the coming year.Build in some accountability.Some of us are better than others at self-motivation and keeping ourselves on track. For others of us, well, the excuses mount. I’m so busy. I’ll deal with this later. I can’t do this because X, Y, and Z. The main problem here is that you’re the one monitoring yourself, and you’re the one both making and accepting the decision to slack off on the resolutions. If that sounds painfully familiar (and if it does, I hear you), that’s why you need someone else to help keep you accountable to yourself.In my own life, I find I’m much more successful at staying on track when I know I’m going to have to talk about it with someone else. For example, it helps me hunker down and read my book club’s current book when I know I still have 50 pages to go, but there’s an official date and time set to talk about it with my friends.So basically, find a resolution buddy- or several buddies, for different things. That can be as simple as finding someone to go with you to the gym, making it more of an appointment than a chore. Or it can mean having regular check-ins or coffee dates where you talk about your progress on a particular goal. At work, it can be a colleague who’s also interested in taking on more projects or arriving on time every da y. Having someone else who knows what you’re up to can motivate you to make time for your task (whatever it may be), and give you a sense of purpose.Start small- and specific.If you want to make a lasting change, you’re setting yourself up to fail if you set a task so overwhelming or complicated that you’ll get frustrated right away. A frustrating resolution is often a failed resolution, so what’s the point of using â€Å"go big or go home† as your guiding principle here? For example, weight loss is a pretty common resolution for the new year. It’s also very vague. Sure, you want to lose weight. How much, and over how much time? Setting smaller, specific goals will help you chip away at the larger one.If you want to lose weight, say you’ll lose five pounds by February. Then another five pounds by March. Setting these smaller, month-by-month goals gives you milestones that you can hit, and feel proud about reaching. Feeling successful will make you more likely to stick with your new weight loss regime. On the other hand, if you say â€Å"I will lose 50 pounds next year† without really breaking down how that will happen, you’re more likely to feel overwhelmed about the massive change you need to make, and let the whole thing lapse.At work, think along the same lines. Say you want to be more organized at work. What specific steps can you take to get there? Maybe the first step is downloading a productivity app that can help you manage your schedule and projects, and the step after that is tackling your email inbox and organizing it into folders. These are specific, manageable tasks that contribute to the larger goal, but are easy to accomplish in, say, an afternoon instead of languishing on a mental â€Å"when I have time† list.Use the whole year.Part of the reason resolutions are such a popular idea is that we have this sense that once the year changes, everything should be different and bette r, instantly. The reality is that this new you should be an all-year thing, not an â€Å"everything right now† thing. Set mini-goals throughout the year, or think about the milestones you want to hit before next December.For example, if your goal is to save more money, put specific dollar amounts to that goal throughout the year, so you’re not scrambling (or giving up on the notion) all at once to meet the goal late in the year. You can set up automatic deposits on a regular basis. Moving, say, $25 from your paycheck to savings every pay period is going to be a lot less painful than trying to move over thousands of dollars all at once from checking to savings. Use the calendar to figure out how often you’ll need to do something to make your goal for the year.Be flexible.Things change in life. And sometimes they change quickly. So flexibility is a key quality of any resolution. When you’re thinking about your resolutions for the next year, think about pote ntial â€Å"plan B† goals as well. If you can’t get to the gym four mornings a week like you want to do, what other times could potentially work as well?Feel free to revisit any resolutions throughout the year, too. Maybe you were too optimistic about the number of online classes you would have time to take to build skills. Maybe you had some unexpected costs that put a dent in how much money you can sock away toward your savings goals. If something’s not working, for whatever reason, modify it in a way that does work for you.Expect to fail sometimes.If you were already perfect at something, it likely wouldn’t be on your resolutions list in the first place, right? Embrace the imperfections of this process. This is about being a better self, not necessarily the perfect self. (Let’s face it: a perfect self would be pretty boring, no?) And that means treating this like a journey, and learning from any failures or mistakes you make along that journey.I f you’ve set a goal for yourself of getting promoted or finding a new job within three months and that doesn’t happen, it doesn’t mean you’ve totally failed at your goal and should walk away. It just means you should ask yourself what worked and what didn’t, and try again.Reward yourself.Fun fact: bribes work wonderfully well when it comes to motivation, whether you’re a kid or a seasoned adult. So build in your own personal rewards program for achieving your milestone goals, or completing a full year of resolution-ing. And be creative- if your resolution is to lose weight and your standard self-reward is, say, ice cream, then your reward is undercutting your progress. But you could sub in a fun activity that you don’t get to do often, or buying yourself something you’ve had your eye on for a while. #treatyoselfThe reward doesn’t have to be anything extravagant or even all that personal. It could be as simple as allowing yourself a take-out lunch for every two weeks’ worth of lunches you pack and bring to work, or a 10-minute break for every two hours you go without checking your social media during the workday. Deprivation without any kind of reward can get unappealing fast, so if you can give yourself something to look forward to in exchange, you’re more likely to keep going with your progress.Take responsibility for your goals.Remember, this whole thing is about you and what you think will make you a happier, wealthier, wiser, more productive, or more successful person. You already know what needs to be done (hence the resolutions)- but you also know yourself better than anyone else does, so you know what your pitfalls, distractions, and weaknesses are likely to be. Even if you find an accountability buddy or tell the world about your grand plan to apply to grad school, it’s entirely on you to make these goals happen. The more control you accept and the more confidence you h ave in your ability to take concrete steps toward those goals, the easier it will be to make choices that support your resolutions.By setting realistic, achievable goals for yourself, and doing some planning ahead to keep yourself engaged in your self-improvement plan, you’re already stepping up your resolution game. It’s easy to say, â€Å"I should do X.† It’s much harder to say, â€Å"Here are the 10 things I need to do to achieve X, and here’s the timeline I want to follow.† But that commitment is worth it, because the more work you put in up front, the more work you’re going to want to do over the next year to make sure you’re getting something out of this process. We don’t get to be entirely new people at 12:01 on January 1, but with a little effort, we can feel more accomplished when the next round of New Year’s resolution-making hits. Good luck!