Seminar 2 PDF

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Seminar 2...

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Seminar n.2: Shakespeare as a dramatist •

“Ay me, for aught that I could ever read, / Could ever hear by tale or history, /The course of true love never did run smooth...” A Midsummer Night's Dream,1595.

Characters on “A Midsummer night's dream” often wander around the idea of love and what it takes. In this line Lysander tells his lover Hermia that all lovers have problems and that it's part of true love. Lysander tries to soothe Hermia's mind after her father, Aegus, forbade them to marry and she is in dispair. •

“There’s daggers in men’s smiles./ The near in blood, The nearer bloody.” Macbeth, 1606.

This line is spoken by the younger son of King Duncan, Donalbain, to his older brother. “Daggers in men's smiles” reffers to canine teeth showing when they smile. This, with the next phrase “the near in blood, the nearer bloody” tells that not everyone who looks friendly is actually a friend, and those nearer to you are the ones more capable of doing you harm. •

“Here’s the smell of the blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.” Macbeth, 1606.

This line is spoken on the sleepwalk scene, after which Lady Macbeth commits suicide. The quote is a nod to a previous statement “a little water clears us of this deed” said by Lady Macbeth right after she killed King Duncan. What before seemed like nothing importnt to her now is a big sin of which she cannot run away from nor clean, not even using all the perfumes of Arabia. She now is guilty and traumatized for what she has done.

Romeo and Juliet: Act 2, Scene 2 1. This scene takes place at night in a garden. How does it affect the content of the speeches? It makes the speech be led to nature. Romeo uses a lot of comparisons to refer to Juliet and her beauty, as well as what he feels for her. 2. What are the comparisons or metaphors in this scene? “Fair sun”: Metaphor of Juliet being the sun of which the moon is envious. “Bright angel”,“As is a winged messenger of heaven”: Juliet is compared to an angel. 3. Point out the vocabulary related to the semantic field of nature and the senses. Light, sun, moon, stars, birds, clouds, bright, night, sea, sweet, fruit-trees. 4. How would you describe the relationship between Romeo and Juliet at this point: What is happening? They both are conscious now that they love each other but are aware of the dangers it implies being together. 5. Do we get a sense of joy or tragedy in this scene? Explain where and why. In Juliet's speech we can sense the tragedy of two lovers who can't be together because of their families. They can't openly calim their love. Also, Juliet is in despair because she fell for Romeo but doesn't know if he loves him too. But even if he loves her, it'd take the sacrifice of them both giving up their names and families. Joy comes when Romeo

intervenes and tells Juliet he does love her and that he'd rather die than live without her love. They agree on giving up their names and getting married. 6. How does Shakespeare create suspense and dynamism in the dialogue? By stating the fact that if they hear or find Juliet talking with Romeo it'd get him killed. Also, the nurse insistedly calling Juliet to get back into her bedroom hurries their words of love and forces them to separate. 7. Can you think of any love scene in literature or film that resembles to this one? Yes, in Pretty Woman, Warm Bodies and Sweeny Tood. 8. Do we get a feeling that they are sincere in their love? Yes. Juliet manifests her feelings when she thinks nobody's listening and Romeo wants to see her so bad he sneaks into her garden risking his own life just to see her once more. When he interrupts her monologue he gives her sweet words of love by comparing her to the sun, for example....