sychikmoron
Member
- Joined
- Oct 11, 2004
- Messages
- 38
Below is a part of my practice essay for Hamlet/Ros+Guil are Dead. I sent it to my teacher to read and she gave me these few pointers.
YOU MUST DISCUSS THE TEXTS MORE
THE THEMES OF EACH PLAY ARE SUPERFICIALLY TOUCHED ON
YOUR REFERENCES AND QUOTES TO THE PLAY ARE BRIEF
YOUR USE OF TECHNIQUES TO EXPLAIN HOW THE COMPOSERS CONVEY THEIR IDEAS IS NOT DETAILED ENOUGH.
I'm having a really hard time with transformation, and finding it extremely hard to mould my essay into the pointers above. can someone please help me? I've tried adapting it but am having no such success. and the fact that they're both plays with TONNES of techniques just makes it harder, at least that's what i reckon. anyways, PLEASE HELP!
here's my section based on themes from my practice essay:
Question: In comparing your TWO texts you will have become aware of how the contexts of the texts have shaped their form and meaning. Of more interest, perhaps, is a comparison of the values associated with each text. To what extent has this point of view been your experience in your study of Transformations?
As a transformation, Stoppard renovates the themes and issues depicted within Hamlet, thus transforming its meaning. These are transformed according to the changes in historical and social context and to suit the attitudes and values of the 20th century. One such transformation is the theme of corruption. During the Elizabethan era, the Elizabethans perceived the universe as a Chain of Being with God at the apex and the Monarchy was held to be God’s representative on Earth. In Hamlet, there is consistent references between the welfare of the royal family and the state of the nation as a whole, with Denmark frequently referred to as a physical body made ill due to the incestuous marriage between Claudius and Gertrude: “tis an unweeded garden that seeds to grow things rank and gross in nature”. Imagery is used there to depict the untamed, reckless and wild nature of the court. This is a reflection of the dominant social attitudes during the 1600s, where the moral legitimacy of the ruler was of great value as the Monarchy offered firm frameworks for members of its society. Stoppard however changes this value of the Monarchy into a value of the common man. Democratic governments and constitutional monarchies during the 1960s brought about changed attitudes including a shift in focus from the aristocracy to a raised awareness of the common man. Stoppard conveys this contemporary value in Ros+Guil dead by changing the subject matter from Hamlet to Ros and Guil, symbols of the every man. His reason is that man is increasingly feeling alienated in his own world due to secularisation and technological advancements. Historically, the horrors of World War 1, which forced audiences into recognition of man as corrupt creatures, question traditional beliefs, affected this transformation as Stoppard changes the corruption of the court to the corruption of human nature, he uses symbolism, in which the Players are used to depict the “blood and …love” of the wicked modern life. Overall, Stoppard TRANSFORMS the value of the Monarchy and Church into a value of the common man, revealing a loss of religious values.
During the 20th century, new ways of thinking, political revolutions and wars of mass destruction have dispelled a universal belief in divinely ordained reality. Thus change in social context since the 1600s drove Stoppard to transform the meaning and readings of the theme of fate and destiny in Hamlet. In Hamlet, the theme of fate and destiny is portrayed with the certain knowledge and value that there was indeed a “special providence in the fall of a sparrow”. Hamlet at first curses destiny that he has to face adversity “oh cursed spite that I was ever born to set it right”. He however comes to accept fate as “a divinity that shapes our ends”. In Ros+guil dead, Stoppard presents a less certain universe. He raises the possibility that there is no plan or reason for what happens to us in life, “uncertainty is the normal state” in contrast to the idea of the master plan in Hamlet. Ros questions preordained destiny, witnessing it as, through metaphor, “a blur in the corner of your eye”. This is a reflection of the secular and existentialist values and beliefs preceding essence during the 20th century, in which the “only beginning is birth and the only end is death”, rendering life meaningless.
YOU MUST DISCUSS THE TEXTS MORE
THE THEMES OF EACH PLAY ARE SUPERFICIALLY TOUCHED ON
YOUR REFERENCES AND QUOTES TO THE PLAY ARE BRIEF
YOUR USE OF TECHNIQUES TO EXPLAIN HOW THE COMPOSERS CONVEY THEIR IDEAS IS NOT DETAILED ENOUGH.
I'm having a really hard time with transformation, and finding it extremely hard to mould my essay into the pointers above. can someone please help me? I've tried adapting it but am having no such success. and the fact that they're both plays with TONNES of techniques just makes it harder, at least that's what i reckon. anyways, PLEASE HELP!
here's my section based on themes from my practice essay:
Question: In comparing your TWO texts you will have become aware of how the contexts of the texts have shaped their form and meaning. Of more interest, perhaps, is a comparison of the values associated with each text. To what extent has this point of view been your experience in your study of Transformations?
As a transformation, Stoppard renovates the themes and issues depicted within Hamlet, thus transforming its meaning. These are transformed according to the changes in historical and social context and to suit the attitudes and values of the 20th century. One such transformation is the theme of corruption. During the Elizabethan era, the Elizabethans perceived the universe as a Chain of Being with God at the apex and the Monarchy was held to be God’s representative on Earth. In Hamlet, there is consistent references between the welfare of the royal family and the state of the nation as a whole, with Denmark frequently referred to as a physical body made ill due to the incestuous marriage between Claudius and Gertrude: “tis an unweeded garden that seeds to grow things rank and gross in nature”. Imagery is used there to depict the untamed, reckless and wild nature of the court. This is a reflection of the dominant social attitudes during the 1600s, where the moral legitimacy of the ruler was of great value as the Monarchy offered firm frameworks for members of its society. Stoppard however changes this value of the Monarchy into a value of the common man. Democratic governments and constitutional monarchies during the 1960s brought about changed attitudes including a shift in focus from the aristocracy to a raised awareness of the common man. Stoppard conveys this contemporary value in Ros+Guil dead by changing the subject matter from Hamlet to Ros and Guil, symbols of the every man. His reason is that man is increasingly feeling alienated in his own world due to secularisation and technological advancements. Historically, the horrors of World War 1, which forced audiences into recognition of man as corrupt creatures, question traditional beliefs, affected this transformation as Stoppard changes the corruption of the court to the corruption of human nature, he uses symbolism, in which the Players are used to depict the “blood and …love” of the wicked modern life. Overall, Stoppard TRANSFORMS the value of the Monarchy and Church into a value of the common man, revealing a loss of religious values.
During the 20th century, new ways of thinking, political revolutions and wars of mass destruction have dispelled a universal belief in divinely ordained reality. Thus change in social context since the 1600s drove Stoppard to transform the meaning and readings of the theme of fate and destiny in Hamlet. In Hamlet, the theme of fate and destiny is portrayed with the certain knowledge and value that there was indeed a “special providence in the fall of a sparrow”. Hamlet at first curses destiny that he has to face adversity “oh cursed spite that I was ever born to set it right”. He however comes to accept fate as “a divinity that shapes our ends”. In Ros+guil dead, Stoppard presents a less certain universe. He raises the possibility that there is no plan or reason for what happens to us in life, “uncertainty is the normal state” in contrast to the idea of the master plan in Hamlet. Ros questions preordained destiny, witnessing it as, through metaphor, “a blur in the corner of your eye”. This is a reflection of the secular and existentialist values and beliefs preceding essence during the 20th century, in which the “only beginning is birth and the only end is death”, rendering life meaningless.