Classic to Modern English Literature

William Shakespeare, the greatest English playwright, wrote "The Tragedy of Hamlet" in the early 17th century. This five-act tragedy, commonly known as "Hamlet," was first performed around 1600. It centers on a young Danish prince who seeks to avenge his father's death. The ghost of Hamlet's father appears to him, revealing that he was murdered by Hamlet's uncle, Claudius. Claudius then married Hamlet's mother and claimed the throne. Written between 1599 and 1601, "Hamlet" was published in a quarto edition in 1603 and is widely regarded as one of the most influential literary works ever written. Although "Hamlet" is a fictional story, it was inspired by real oral accounts of Danish history. The story of Amleth, the last King of Jutland, can be found in the writings of Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus. Prince Hamlet's character was derived from several sources, notably Books III and IV of Saxo Grammaticus’s 12th-century "

A Midsummer Night's Dream is set in Athens and revolves around the marriage of Theseus, the Duke of Athens, and Hippolyta, the former queen of the Amazons. The comedy was written by William Shakespeare in 1595 or 1596. The title suggests an atmosphere of fantasy, whimsy, and imagination. In an interesting, the word “dream” only appears 14 times throughout the play and the only variation of it, “dreams,” appears just twice. It was first performed between 1595 and 1596. The play was written to celebrate the wedding of Elizabeth Carey. It expresses, "gender and power", "appearance and reality", "order and disorder", "dream and consciousness." Thomas Fisher published the first quarto edition of A Midsummer Night's Dream in 1600. He entered the play into the Register of the Stationers' Company on October 8, 1600. On the other hand, Arthur Rackham illustrated a limited edition of A Midsummer Night's Dream in 1939. The play belongs to th

Venice Preserv'd is an English Restoration play written by Thomas Otway, and the most significant tragedy of the English stage in the 1680s. It was first premiered in 1682, with Thomas Betterton as Jaffeir and Elizabeth Barry as Belvidera. The play was soon printed and enjoyed many revivals through to the 1830s. It tells the story of Jaffeir, who becomes embroiled in a conspiracy to overthrow the corrupt Senate of Venice. This decision leads to conflicts with his lover Belvidera and his friend Pierre's complicated relationship with a courtesan. In 2019, the Royal Shakespeare Company staged a modern adaptation, Venice Preserved, at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon. The story of "Venice Preserved" is partly founded upon St. Real's History of the Conspiracy of the Spaniards against the Republic of Venice, in 1618. Thomas Otway's Restoration revenge tragedy draws on motifs of sexual perversion and political corruption. In Prasanna Puwanarajah's fast-paced

Aristotle's fragmentary treatise on the Fine Arts (Poetike) has been the subject of commentary since its composition in the 4th century B.C. It is likely one of the most extensively analyzed works of secular literature in the West. Yet, it has received surprisingly little attention from the psychoanalytic world, aside from occasional references to Aristotle's concept of katharsis and the "medical" versus "moral" controversy surrounding it. The pre-eminent scholar on katharsis, whose views eventually became predominant, was Jakob Bernays, whose *Zwei Abhandlungen über die Aristotelische Theorie des Dramas* appeared in Berlin in 1880. According to Bernays, the effect of tragedy results from the pleasurable relief it provides the spectator, via the excitation and purging (abreaction) of fear and pity, within the safe confines of the stage. (Jakob Bernays was the uncle of Freud's wife, Martha). Freud's views on the function of tragedy, as expressed in &q

" King Lear" by Edward Bond:  1. Question: What kind of play is "King Lear" by Edward Bond?  Answer: It is a modern rewrite of Shakespeare's "King Lear".  2. Q: Who is Lear?  Answer: He is a cruel ruler who orders the construction of a wall.  3. Question: Who are Bodice and Fontanelle?  Answer: They are Lear's two daughters who rebel against their father.  4. Question: What is the significance of the wall?  Answer: It symbolizes Lear's power and control.  5. Q: Who is Warrington?  Answer: He is one of Lear's soldiers who helps build the wall.  6. Q: What is Cordelia's role?  Answer: He is a rebel leader who fights against Lear's rule.  7. Question: What is the role of violence in the play?  Answer: Violence has been used as a symbol of social and political degradation.  8. Q: How is Lear overthrown?  Answer: His daughters overthrew him and sent him into exile.  9. Q: Who is Carpenter?  Answer: He is a simple man who shelter