House of Notes

Summary of  WAITING FOR GODOT- Samuel Becket Introduction: The  Theatre  of  Absurd  literally  means  “out  of  harmony”.  Ionesco,  who  is considered as one of the major dramatists  of the school of the absurd, defines, the ‘Absurd’ as that “which is devoid of purpose…. cut off from his religious, metaphysical, and transcendental roots, man is lost, all his actions become senseless, absurd, useless”. In Beckett’s words, human life is the endurance and tolerance to “the boredom of living” “replaced by the suffering of being”. Samuel Beckett’s first play, Waiting for Godot (1948) written originally in French is a play in two Acts, in which two characters wait for someone named Godot, who never arrives. It does not tell a story, and it does not have a plot. Instead, it explores a static situation  where  nothing  happens,  nobody  comes  and  nobody  goes.  It  represents...

Waiting for Godot A Brief Overview Samuel Beckett – Irish – b. 1906 Waiting for Godot – 1947 - 1949 Beckett was obsessed with man-as-machine and man-as-a-user-of-machines. (Descarts idea). If man is a machine created by a perfect Being, why is that machine so defective? If man can himself create machines, does he in some way resemble the Creator of man-as-machine? What are the responsibilities of a creator toward his defective creature, and vice versa, and of one creature toward another? (Frankenstein) Most of Beckett’s characters suffer either from failure to face themselves, or from the pain that results from only half-trying. In Waiting for Godot, Didi (Vladimir) hovers on the verge of selfdiscovery but he is too terrified and so lapses into unfulfillment. Kierkegaard – “Man is paralyzed by dread. Of what? Why? Because if he breaks out of his mindlimited, objectivist way of life, the possibilities are infinite, and nothing is certain. In all crises man must act decisively. The most ...

The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People. , When asked what one could expect from “The Importance of Being Earnest”, Mr. Oscar Wilde said, “It is exquisitely trivial, a delicate bubble of fancy, and it hasits philosophy… that we treat all the trivial things of life seriously, and allthe serious things of life with sincere and studied triviality.”  Indeed,his play is peopled with desperately trivial characters, manipulating andcoping with a stifling, hollow system of rules to maintain their classdistinction and privileges.  At least two of them invent alter egos to escape this hell and to pursue their dreams of love and romance.  Through parody, irony and verbal paradox, Mr. Wilde adroitly strips off what Cecily calls “the shallow mask of manner” to reveal the hypocrisy and prejudice that prevailed in a society obsessed with appearance and propriety – one that was divided by class, money, gender and generation. People ...

The Satire of The importance of being earnest...... The use of satirical devices such as irony, travesty, sarcasm and farce to ridicule society and the behavior of people in society is quite often successful in questioning the morals and values of the people under observation. In Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Ernest, Wilde mocks the Victorian structure of society in Britain, and the rules it followed in the 1800s. Each character is used by Wilde to satirize the society on such issues like marriage, morality, intelligence, and the appearance versus the nature of something. Wilde usually satirizes the Victorian society that he lived in with the idea of marriage. Marriage is seen in Victorian society as a business arrangement, as shown when Lady Bracknell questions Jack to determine if he is suitable for Gwendolen, she had provided a list of bachelors that have been prearranged. in addition illustrating the attitude on marriage, Algernon’s speech criti...

The Jew of Malta: A Typical Marlovian Tragedy Marlovian tragedy is significant due to its newness, Renaissance influence, Machiavellian morality, powerful and passionate expression, element of tragic, inner conflict, its tragic hero, popular literary type, high seriousness, bombastic language and blank verse. Medieval drama was linked with church and there were only Mysteries and Morality plays but after the rise of a new wave of the Renaissance in Europe, there was a great change in the taste of audience. After the Reformation Movement, Mysteries and Morality plays lost all their influence on audience, rather they were disliked by the people because of their link with the old church. Interludes, Masques and Pageants were introduced and touch of comedy was felt in English Drama but all these innovations were in chaotic state when Marlowe and other “University Wits” started their career. With the revival of learning in the fifteenth c...

Theme of Jealously in "Othello" 1. Introduction      Jealousy is a mental cancer. It is an emotion, and the word typically refers to the thoughts and feelings of insecurity, fear, concern and anxiety over an anticipated loss or status of great personal value, particularly in reference to a human connection. Five characters in "Othello" by Shakespeare are victims of jealousy. Iago and Bianca are jealous about Cassio, Brabantio, Roderigo and Iago are jealous about Othello, and Othello becomes jealous of Desdemona. Emilia is not jealous about anyone but has a theory that jealousy is a constituent part of masculinity. Except Brabantio's jealousy of Othello and Iago's jealousy of Cassio, all characters are suffering from sexual jealousy - a jealousy which is triggered in a person when a sexual partner displays sexual interest in another person.  2. Iago's Jealousy of Cassio      Iago is a soldier who fights alongside Othello in his army. Provi...