Part I:
The Importance of Being Earnest is one of the best plays I've actually read, and not just because of the fact that it's short. I liked this play a lot because of the way the plot is set up in this story. Wilde plays around with identity in this play by having the two main male characters being "Bunburyists", or leading double lives. Since this play is a comedy and the characters are leading double lives, most can assume that nothing good will come out of this. Many people could easily recognize the plot because it's been used in many ways in different stories and even on sitcoms that we see every day on TV. Because the plot is very familiar, I was able to connect with the story better and I could pretty much guess what could happen from such predicaments. But the way he ties in both Algernon and Jack's lies made the play even better, and I found the play very funny because of that. Wilde does use wit very well in this play, whether the jokes are right in plain sight or they're covered up but can be deciphered when people think about it.
Part II:
Wilde plays around with the subject of identity throughout the entire story. As seen in earlier short story assignments, it could be viewed that identities are never actually set in stone. Anything or any event can alter one person's identity to other forever. Wilde does this very well by concealing his main views with a very humorous plot. After all, it can be quite funny when the characters of a story try to pretend to be something they aren't. Jack's lie seems to go over quite well, that is until Algernon decides to Bunbury and pursues Cecily. But as the plot unfolds, the girls do figure out that both men were lying and they won't marry the men until they are christened and their names' are changed to Ernest. Living lies and pretending to be something the person isn't is a conflict all by itself. It's a conflict that happens within the characters themselves, and it deals with truth versus fiction. A conflict of identity by trying to pose as a different person instead of being truthful from the start. Perhaps if Algernon and Jack were truthful from the beginning, this whole mess may not have happened and perhaps they'd be wedded. But by messing around with their true identities, the women weren't in love with the men. Rather, they were in love with Ernest, who was nothing but a name before Jack found out his true name was Ernest all along. Wilde shows these consequences of messing around with one's identity in a way that people will be able to understand but at the same time in a humorous way that people will seem to enjoy.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Monday, April 9, 2007
Blog No. 6, Apr 9th
Part I:
So far, The Taming of the Shrew is quite good. I have read this book before, and reading it for the second time reminds me of how much I liked it when I read it the first time. First of all, Taming of the Shrew is a comedy, and I always love to have a good laugh, and for me, this one hits home. Shakespeare basically decided to make a comedy based on relationships, which many can relate to, especially when people are able to compare that to relationships we see on TV sitcoms at times. The main plot in this story is that Petruchio marries a girl for her money but she is metaphorically a shrew. The idea that a man would marry into money even if the girl acts like a devil is definitely funny, and that's what I like about the story. After all, it shows how insane some be can be in other's eyes. I wouldn't marry someone who is ruder than Simon Cowell on one of his bad days, but then again people do crazy things, especially when money is involved. But that's the whole reason I find this funny, since who'd be that crazy to do something like this, and it also foreshadows that some weird predictaments could happen when living with a shrew.
Part II:
A good way to look at the humor that exists in the text of the play is by looking at the relationship of Petruchio and Katharina. For example, in the first act of the story, Petruchio is traveling and is wanting to gain riches. After Hortensio mentioned about Katharina and her being in a rich family, it imeediately sparked Petruchio's interest and he wanted to mary her. However, the humor of this is that nobody can actually believe that somebody would even consider marrying such a shrew and they all think he could be crazy, since each and every time they mention her and her shrewd nature, he simply ignores the fact and increases his want to woo her. One could view him ignoring this fact as being crazy, because a man would have to be incredibly patient to deal with a shrew like Katharina. This can be seen in the second act as well, when A good way to address the idea of humor in the text and/or subtext is by looking at the relationship between the two main characters: Petruchio and Katharina. The situation that is happening throughtout the first three acts already shows some humor. In the first act, it can be revealed that Petruchio is only after one thing on his journey, money and riches. When Hortensio mentions the rich Katharina to Petruchio, it sparks his interest and wishes to marry her; ignoring all other outside factors. The humorous part about this is that Hortensio and the others keep mentioning that she is pretty much the devil and her shrewd nature, but PetruchioPetruchio meets Katharina for the first time. The humor in the text is very obvious, as Katharina slings insult after insult at Petruchio, but each time she does, Petruchio always comes back with a suggestive saying. It's humorous in the sense that it seems like Petruchio is very oblivious to Katharina's shrewdness, yet she keeps trying to insult him. But he keeps his ground in a sort-of perverted way, which makes it quite humorous. But one of the very humorous things about this play happens in Act Three, during which Gremio describes what happened at the wedding and how Petruchio showed his shrewd nature. The humor is that Petruchio played a role as the "Worst Groom Ever" by doing all sorts of completely ridiculous things at a wedding, including hitting the priest with the book. The bizarreness of Petruchio's action only adds to the already hilarious plot that is unfolding between him and Katharina.
So far, The Taming of the Shrew is quite good. I have read this book before, and reading it for the second time reminds me of how much I liked it when I read it the first time. First of all, Taming of the Shrew is a comedy, and I always love to have a good laugh, and for me, this one hits home. Shakespeare basically decided to make a comedy based on relationships, which many can relate to, especially when people are able to compare that to relationships we see on TV sitcoms at times. The main plot in this story is that Petruchio marries a girl for her money but she is metaphorically a shrew. The idea that a man would marry into money even if the girl acts like a devil is definitely funny, and that's what I like about the story. After all, it shows how insane some be can be in other's eyes. I wouldn't marry someone who is ruder than Simon Cowell on one of his bad days, but then again people do crazy things, especially when money is involved. But that's the whole reason I find this funny, since who'd be that crazy to do something like this, and it also foreshadows that some weird predictaments could happen when living with a shrew.
Part II:
A good way to look at the humor that exists in the text of the play is by looking at the relationship of Petruchio and Katharina. For example, in the first act of the story, Petruchio is traveling and is wanting to gain riches. After Hortensio mentioned about Katharina and her being in a rich family, it imeediately sparked Petruchio's interest and he wanted to mary her. However, the humor of this is that nobody can actually believe that somebody would even consider marrying such a shrew and they all think he could be crazy, since each and every time they mention her and her shrewd nature, he simply ignores the fact and increases his want to woo her. One could view him ignoring this fact as being crazy, because a man would have to be incredibly patient to deal with a shrew like Katharina. This can be seen in the second act as well, when A good way to address the idea of humor in the text and/or subtext is by looking at the relationship between the two main characters: Petruchio and Katharina. The situation that is happening throughtout the first three acts already shows some humor. In the first act, it can be revealed that Petruchio is only after one thing on his journey, money and riches. When Hortensio mentions the rich Katharina to Petruchio, it sparks his interest and wishes to marry her; ignoring all other outside factors. The humorous part about this is that Hortensio and the others keep mentioning that she is pretty much the devil and her shrewd nature, but PetruchioPetruchio meets Katharina for the first time. The humor in the text is very obvious, as Katharina slings insult after insult at Petruchio, but each time she does, Petruchio always comes back with a suggestive saying. It's humorous in the sense that it seems like Petruchio is very oblivious to Katharina's shrewdness, yet she keeps trying to insult him. But he keeps his ground in a sort-of perverted way, which makes it quite humorous. But one of the very humorous things about this play happens in Act Three, during which Gremio describes what happened at the wedding and how Petruchio showed his shrewd nature. The humor is that Petruchio played a role as the "Worst Groom Ever" by doing all sorts of completely ridiculous things at a wedding, including hitting the priest with the book. The bizarreness of Petruchio's action only adds to the already hilarious plot that is unfolding between him and Katharina.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)