AP+William+Shakespeare

=Aim - Lauren Rosen= In his play, //Othello,// William Shakespeare crafts a tragedy using pathos to highlight themes of jealousy and revenge and address ethical issues from the time period. The play, //Othello//, "is believed to have greater dramatic intensity or emotional effect on the audience than do most of Shakespeare's other tragedies" (Mercer). The "emotional effect on the audience" is due to the pathos in Shakespeare's writing. He aims to create an "emotional effect on the audience" in order to connect them to the characters within the play and to display his ideas through the themes. Shakespeare's aim in writing //Othello// is to address these themes. A professor of philosophy at Brandeis University states that the play has "preoccupation with ethical questions that turn, ultimately, on revenge versus forgiveness" (Teuber). Shakespeare's written "preoccupation" with the ethical questions demonstrates that he aims to answer these "ethical questions." In the process of highlighting these themes, he "creates a powerful drama...that ends precipitately with jealous rage and violent deaths" (Mowat). In the process of this "powerful" writing of Shakespeare's, the themes of "jealous[y]," "revenge," and "forgiveness," are evaluated. Shakespeare's aims, then, in writing //Othello//, is to attempt to answer these questions and evaluate the themes he writes of regarding human behavior.

Works Cited Mercer, John M. "Study Guide 5: Othello." //Shakespeare: Tragedies.// Northeastern State University, October 2010. Web. 4 January 2012.Mowat, Barbara and Paul Werstine. "Othello." //Folger Shakespeare Library.// Folger Shakespeare Library, 1993. Web. 4 January 2012. Teuber, Andreas. "William Shakespeare." //Department of Philosophy.// Brandeis University. Web. 4 January 2012.

=Audience - Kayla Wright= William Shakespeare did not have a specific audience in mind when writing. It is said, about Othello, "In the theatre, this play is believed to have greater dramatic intensity or emotional effect on the audience than do most of Shakespeare’s other tragedies... Part of the reason for the play’s effect is that it focuses on the breakdown of a single marriage rather than the collapse of an entire society" (Mercer). "Dramatic intensity" is what Shakespeare wishes to bring to his "audience", simply meaning anyone that goes to his plays or reads them. Shakespeare's intent with Othello was to appeal to his entire "audience" with a "focus" on the "single" instead of "society". By doing this William Shakespeare is establishing a closer and easier bond for his audience with his play because it is not widespread, but a "breakdown" that could happen to them. Although William Shakespeare is well known for his plays he also wrote sonnets. Unlike his often tragic plays, "Mostly romantic pieces, the sonnets further illustrate Shakespeare's ability to capture in words the experiences of the human heart"("William Shakespeare"). "Experiences" are universal and individual, meaning they differ from person to person. By "capturing" these "experiences" into a "sonnet" Shakespeare is able to appeal to every member of his audience because these "experiences" are those of the "human heart", which most of his audience will have gone through.

Works Cited Mercer, John M. "Study Guide 5: Othello." Shakespeare: Tragedies. Northeastern State University, October 2010. Web. 4 January 2012. "William Shakespeare." World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 4 January 2012.

=Historical -=

Englishman, William Shakespeare was one of literatures greatest influences with his poetry and plays. His works are so popular that they are still studied today and have been translated into any major language around the world. As well as the most widely performed plays. When he began writing plays they were mainly of comedic and historical content. However by the end of the 16th century he became more sophisticated and wrote mainly tragedies, including Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth. All of which are considered some of the finest plays ever created. One of his most favorite quotes is from “Hamlet” stating, “To be, or not to be: that is the question" (Act III, Scene I). This quote is so important because it triggers the constant argument within humans. The battle in which decides life, as we know it. Towards the end of his career he wrote “tragicomedies”, tragic romances, like Romeo and Juliet. Many scholars believe the reason that he is still so popular and accredited is because of his humor, wit, intellect and insight on human nature. It is also said that Shakespeare changed how plays were performed because he spent lengthy amounts of time on putting together the sets, practicing with the actors and making the play feel like it was real life. Whereas, other playwrights put everything together in a hurry because of the big demand of plays as entertainment. William Shakespeare overall was a very talented man whose literature will forever have an impact on how society views classic literature.

Works Cited Shakespeare, William, Ann Thompson, and Neil Taylor. //Hamlet//. London: Thomson Learning, 2006. Print.

"William Shakespeare." //World History: The Modern Era//. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 5 Jan. 2012.

"William Shakespeare the Greatest English Playwright." //Absolute Shakespeare - Plays,// //Quotes, Summaries, Essays.// Absolute Shakespeare, 2000. Web. 5 Jan. 2012. (My computer was being dumb. You said to leave the above citation as is due to my tab bar and space bar not working. :p)

=Cultural -Jeanne Torres=

Shakespeare is a name known by many around the world for many reasons, his cultural impact is far above that of most. Brandies University includes a piece about Shakespeare written by one of their professors that states, “Every nation that has a theatrical tradition is indebted to Shakespeare, and in language after language Shakespeare remains the greatest living playwright” (Teuber). Through this quote it can be discovered that many cultures base pieces of their “tradition” in theatre off of Shakespeare. This is for many reasons, his writing was revolutionary and his use of rhythm, “language” and inventive story lines have been replicated repeatedly to the point where any theatre finds themselves “indebted” to him. Online Encyclopedia ABC-CLIO describes his impact by writing “His extraordinary intellect, artistry, wit, and profound insight into human nature created characters and stories that continue to seize the public imagination four centuries after he lived”. He is describes as holding “intellect”, “artistry”, “wit”, and “profound insight”, these words of admiration describe what a memorable and important writer he was. The word “profound” especially works to describe the intense effect that Shakespeare has had with his ability to “seize the public imagination. These descriptions all help to describe how strongly he has impacted the literary and theatrical worlds and paired with Teuber’s description of the global spread the importance of Shakespeare’s writing proves to be unmatched.

Works Cited Teuber, Andreas. "William Shakespeare." //Department of Philosophy.// Brandeis University. Web. 4 January 2012. "William Shakespeare." //World History: The Modern Era//.ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 4 Jan. 2012.