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Shakespearean Fool
The Shakespearean fool is a recurring character type in the works of William Shakespeare. They are usually clever peasants or commoners who use their wits to outdo people of higher social standing. In this sense, they are similar to the real fools, and jesters of the time, but their characteristics are greatly heightened for theatrical effect. The Fools Fools have entertained a varied public from Roman through Medieval times. The fool perhaps reached its pre-Shakespearean heights as the jester in aristocratic courts across Europe. The jester played a dynamic and changing role in entertaining aristocratic households in a wide variety of ways: songs, music, storytelling, medieval satire, physical comedy and, to a lesser extent, juggling and acrobatics. Shakespeare not only borrowed from this multi-talented jester tradition, but contributed significantly to its rethinking. Whereas the court jester often regaled his audience with various skills aimed to amuse, Shakespeare's fool, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Dyce - King Lear And The Fool In The Storm
William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is sometimes abbreviated "Wm." Shortened familiar versions in English include Will or Wil, Wills, Willy, Willie, Bill, Billie, and Billy. A common Irish form is Liam. Scottish diminutives include Wull, Willie or Wullie (as in Oor Wullie). Female forms include Willa, Willemina, Wilma and Wilhelmina. Etymology William is related to the German given name ''Wilhelm''. Both ultimately descend from Proto-Germanic ''*Wiljahelmaz'', with a direct cognate also in the Old Norse name ''Vilhjalmr'' and a West Germanic borrowing into Medieval Latin ''Willelmus''. The Proto-Germanic name is a compound of *''wiljô'' "will, wish, desire" and *''helmaz'' "helm, helmet".Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford Unive ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antony And Cleopatra
''Antony and Cleopatra'' is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The play was first performed around 1607, by the King's Men at either the Blackfriars Theatre or the Globe Theatre. Its first appearance in print was in the First Folio published in 1623, under the title ''The Tragedie of Anthonie, and Cleopatra''. The plot is based on Thomas North's 1579 English translation of Plutarch's '' Lives'' (in Ancient Greek) and follows the relationship between Cleopatra and Mark Antony from the time of the Sicilian revolt to Cleopatra's suicide during the War of Actium. The main antagonist is Octavius Caesar, one of Antony's fellow triumvirs of the Second Triumvirate and the first emperor of the Roman Empire. The tragedy is mainly set in the Roman Republic and Ptolemaic Egypt and is characterized by swift shifts in geographical location and linguistic register as it alternates between sensual, imaginative Alexandria and a more pragmatic, austere Rome. Many consider Shakespeare's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Comedy Of Errors
''The Comedy of Errors'' is one of William Shakespeare's early plays. It is his shortest and one of his most farcical comedies, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity, in addition to puns and word play. It has been adapted for opera, stage, screen and musical theatre numerous times worldwide. In the centuries following its premiere, the play's title has entered the popular English lexicon as an idiom for "an event or series of events made ridiculous by the number of errors that were made throughout". Set in the Greek city of Ephesus, ''The Comedy of Errors'' tells the story of two sets of identical twins who were accidentally separated at birth. Antipholus of Syracuse and his servant, Dromio of Syracuse, arrive in Ephesus, which turns out to be the home of their twin brothers, Antipholus of Ephesus and his servant, Dromio of Ephesus. When the Syracusans encounter the friends and families of their twins, a series of wild mishaps based ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Much Ado About Nothing
''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' (W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. 1387 The play was included in the ''First Folio'', published in 1623. The play is set in Messina and revolves around two romantic pairings that emerge when a group of soldiers arrive in the town. The first, between Claudio and Hero (Much Ado About Nothing), Hero, is nearly scuppered by the accusations of the villain, Don John. The second, between Claudio's friend Benedick and Hero's cousin Beatrice (Much Ado About Nothing), Beatrice, takes centre stage as the play continues, with both characters' wit and banter providing much of the humour. Through "noting" (sounding like "nothing" and meaning gossip, rumour, overhearing), Benedick and Beatrice are tricked into confessing their love for each other, and Claudio is tricked into believ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dogberry
Dogberry is a character created by William Shakespeare for his play ''Much Ado About Nothing''. '' The Nuttall Encyclopædia'' describes him as a "self-satisfied night constable" with an inflated view of his own importance as the leader of a group of comically bumbling watchmen. Dogberry is notable for his numerous malapropisms, sometimes called "dogberryisms" or "dogberrys". The character was created for William Kempe, who played comic roles in Shakespeare's theatre company the Lord Chamberlain's Men. In the play In the play, Dogberry is the chief of Messina's citizen-police. He is first seen instructing his constables on their duties. He tells them that it is perfectly fine to sleep on duty, and that if they see a thief, they should not touch him, to avoid becoming defiled by association with crime. During their watch, the constables overhear a conversation between two characters, Boraccio and Conrade, one of whom is part of Don John's plot to discredit Hero. They misunders ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Love's Labours Lost
''Love's Labour's Lost'' is one of William Shakespeare's early comedies, believed to have been written in the mid-1590s for a performance at the Inns of Court before Queen Elizabeth I. It follows the King of Navarre and his three companions as they attempt to swear off the company of women for three years in order to focus on study and fasting. Their subsequent infatuation with the Princess of France and her ladies makes them forsworn (break their oath). In an untraditional ending for a comedy, the play closes with the death of the Princess's father, and all weddings are delayed for a year. The play draws on themes of masculine love and desire, reckoning and rationalisation, and reality versus fantasy. Though first published in quarto in 1598, the play's title page suggests a revision of an earlier version of the play. There are no obvious sources for the play's plot. The use of apostrophes in the play's title varies in early editions, though it is most commonly given as ''Love ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Costard
Costard is a comic figure in the play '' Love's Labour's Lost'' by William Shakespeare. A country bumpkin, he is arrested in the first scene for flouting the king's proclamation that all men of the court avoid the company of women for three years. While in custody, the men of the court use him to further their own romantic endeavors. By sending love notes to the wrong women and blurting out secrets (including that of an unplanned pregnancy), Costard makes fools of the royal court. Along with Moth the page and Jaquenetta, a country wench, Costard pokes fun at the upper-class. While mocking a pedantic schoolmaster, Costard uses the word '' honorificabilitudinitatibus'', the longest word by far from any of Shakespeare's works. Costard makes many clever puns, and is used as a tool by Shakespeare to explain new words such as ''remuneration''. He is sometimes considered one of the smartest characters in the play due to his wit and wordplay. Costard's name is an archaic term for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Titus Andronicus
''The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus'', often shortened to ''Titus Andronicus'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1588 and 1593. It is thought to be Shakespeare's first tragedy and is often seen as his attempt to emulate the violent and bloody revenge plays of his contemporaries, which were extremely popular with audiences throughout the 16th century. Titus Andronicus (character), Titus, a Legatus, general in the Roman army, presents Tamora, Queen of the Goths, as a slave to the new Roman emperor, Saturninus. Saturninus takes her as his wife. From this position, Tamora vows revenge against Titus for killing her son. Titus and his family retaliate, leading to a cycle of violence. ''Titus Andronicus'' was initially very popular, but by the later 17th century it was not well esteemed. The Victorian era disapproved of it, largely because of its graphic violence. Its reputation began to improve around the mid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Othello
''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulated by his ensign, Iago, into suspecting his wife Desdemona of infidelity. ''Othello'' is widely considered one of Shakespeare's greatest works and is usually classified among his major tragedies alongside ''Macbeth'', ''King Lear'', and ''Hamlet''. Unpublished in the author's life, the play survives in one quarto edition from 1622 and in the First Folio. ''Othello'' has been one of Shakespeare's most popular plays, both among playgoers and literary critics, since its first performance, spawning numerous stage, screen, and operatic adaptations. Among actors, the roles of Othello, Iago, Desdemona, and Emilia (Iago's wife) are regarded as highly demanding and desirable. Critical attention has focused on the nature of the play's tragedy, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cymbeline
''Cymbeline'' (), also known as ''The Tragedie of Cymbeline'' or ''Cymbeline, King of Britain'', is a play by William Shakespeare set in British Iron Age, Ancient Britain () and based on legends that formed part of the Matter of Britain concerning the early historical Celtic British King Cunobeline. Although it is listed as a tragedy in the First Folio, modern critics often classify ''Cymbeline'' as a Shakespeare's late romances, romance or even a Shakespearean comedy, comedy. Like ''Othello'' and ''The Winter's Tale'', it deals with the themes of innocence and jealousy. While the precise date of composition remains unknown, the play was certainly produced as early as 1611. Characters ;In Britain * Cymbeline – Modelled on the historical King of Britain, Cunobeline, and father to Imogen * Queen – Cymbeline's second wife and mother to Cloten * Imogen (Cymbeline), Imogen / Innogen – Cymbeline's daughter by a former queen, later disguised as the page Fidele * Posthumus Leon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Julius Caesar (play)
''The Tragedy of Julius Caesar ''(First Folio title: ''The Tragedie of Ivlivs Cæsar''), often shortened to ''Julius Caesar'', is a history play and Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy by William Shakespeare first performed in 1599. In the play, Brutus the Younger, Brutus joins a conspiracy led by Gaius Cassius Longinus, Cassius to assassinate Julius Caesar, to prevent him from becoming a tyrant. Caesar's right-hand man Mark Antony, Antony stirs up hostility against the conspirators and Roman Empire, Rome becomes embroiled in a dramatic civil war. Synopsis The play opens with two tribunes Flavius and Gaius Epidius Marullus, Marullus (appointed leaders/officials of Rome) discovering the plebeians, commoners of Rome celebrating Julius Caesar's Roman triumph, triumphant return from Battle of Munda, defeating the sons of his military rival, Pompey. The tribunes, insulting the crowd for their change in loyalty from Pompey to Caesar, attempt to end the festivities and break up the commone ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Winter's Tale
''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some critics consider it to be one of Shakespeare's "Shakespearean problem play, problem plays" because the first three acts are filled with intense psychological drama, while the last two acts are comic and supply a happy ending. The play has been intermittently popular, having been revived in productions and adaptations by some of the leading theatre practitioners in Shakespeare's plays#Performance history, Shakespearean performance history. In the mid-18th century, after a long interval without major performances, David Garrick premiered his adaptation ''Florizel and Perdita'' (first performed in 1753 and published in 1756). ''The Winter's Tale'' was revived again in the 19th century, when the fourth "pastoral" act was widely popular. In the seco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
