Notes

Character of Viola in Twelfth Night

Jun 1, 2022

Viola is the heroine of Twelfth Night – the protagonist and catalyst of the play. She is a romantic lover who suffers the pangs of disappointment; she changes and effects the change of other characters who have their own illusions about love.

The Theme of Love in "Twelfth Night"

Jun 1, 2022

"Twelfth Night" as a Romantic Comedy

Jun 1, 2022

Northrop Frye in his book A Natural Perspective (1965) suggests that “in comedy and romance the story seeks its own end instead of holding the mirror up to Nature. Consequently comedy and romance are obviously conventionalized that a serious interest in them soon leads to an interest in convention itself.” It is true that Shakespeare’s comic plots are descended from the ancient conventions of romantic story-telling remote as they are from reality, but the divorce of art from nature implied in Frye’s words misrepresents the spirit of comedies. For the question is not whether these plays hold up the mirror to Nature, but how they do so.

"As You Like It" as a Romantic Comedy

Jun 1, 2022

As You Like It is a typical Shakespearean romantic comedy. The structure deals with a love story which, though for a time frustrated, is in the end brought to a happy conclusion. There is a secondary action of strife and conflict (Orlando-Oliver, and the two Dukes) which impinges upon and obstructs the love story but which is likewise happily resolved before the end of the play.

Analyze Unexpected Negatives in 'Journey of the Magi'

May 8, 2022

Influence of 'Journey of the Magi' by T. S. Eliot

May 8, 2022

Compared to the poetry prior to the 20th century, the poetry of T.S. Eliot rings vibrant, unconventional and inventive. Eliot’s poem Journey of the Magi is typical of his style and illustrates how Eliot’s poetry changed the genre forever. In its compression of image and language, Journey of the Magi is a complex poem, reflective of the complex world of the 20th century.