Prologue to Year 2

Have you ever been betrayed and give an example?

I dont normally show emotions or let people in on my feelings so it is a rare occurance but yes I have been betrayed and in fact it was a quite recently. You see one of the benefits of the Antigua State College is the mergeance of all the secondary schools, so when school opened last year I was re-acquainted with an old flame. So being teenagers alot of the free time we had was spent flirting with one another mostly in jest, or atleast so i thought. Fast forward now about a month of flirting and catching up, we went to a party on the weekend and we spent the night in the same manner. Knowing how young people behave a party isnt complete without rum, so a group of us were having fun, drinking etc. The girl and I spent the bout half the night together but never in a secluded "we're a couple" kind of setting just talking and joking and an occasional flirt or what not. Towards the end of the night we are all winding down about to head home and the corner of my eye I see the girl and my good friend walk off. Now please note I was not jealous or anything I was just observing, as far as I knew we were just friends, but then they started kissing... I instantly became irate! Apparently without my knowledge*  I had caught feelings for this girl and my good friend just ignored all of that and threw me under the bus like that.  *(I say without my knowledge because we were always flirty and playful but this problem of jealousy never arose before, its possible because of the fact that it was a daily repitition I had just started assuming that she was mine But either way my friend didnt know whether or not my feelings for her were real as far as he knew I spend everyday at school with this chick, I always talked about this chick and what not. If he was confused about whether or not I truly liked her he should've atleast checked or something but whatever am over it now.)

What did you do & how did you feel?                                                                                           

At the time it happened I was angry, I just left the party without a word and found my way home. I didn't want to deal with any of them. I just left to avoid an altercation. Didn't make sense to fight for something that wasn't there.   

Ever felt betrayed and in the end misunderstood the situation?    

Honestly I want to say no because I believe that I either stop the situation before I get betrayed or never know about the situation until its in my face. There was one time a friend of mine was troubling a girl that I was troubling I didnt really feel betrayed but I wasnt sure if he was serious or not. They claim that it was a joke but you can't trust anyone nowadays....

Looking at "Merchant of Venice" and "Much Ado About Nothing" , why do the characters always seem to resort to voilence and trickery?

In Merchant of Venice the main character Antonio went to an enemy to borrow money, Shylock and unfortunately for Antonio he could not pay back his debt. Therefore Shylock wanted a pound of flesh which was promised to him.
In Much Ado About Nothing Don John spends most of the play attempting to ruin his half brother, Don Pedro's, life. Both directly and indirectly through Claudio.
I think most of Shakespeare's characters resort to trickery because at the time of being written social problems were solved by only that medium. Police were rarities and vigilantes were popular. As seen in Merchant of Venice (when the deal was made no mention of police was said, the deal was made between the two and if broken would be solved between the two)

What is the Elizabethan theatre ?
 The Elizabethan theatre was established in the period of Queen Elizabeth the first because actors were viewed upon as liars and thieves by society. The nomadic lifestyle was inhibited thus giving way to the Elizabeth acting troupes and the Elizabethan theatre. The theatre was erected 1576 by a John Burbage, an entrepeanour who say revenue in the increasing popularity of the plays. In 1599 the Globe theatre opened with William Shakespeare as a co-owner and the business was a huge sucess.

What does the term "Theatre of the Absurd" mean?
Theatre of the Absurd refers to certain plays which stress the illogical or irrational aspects of life, usually to show that modern life is pointless. Examples of this genre of plays are Macbeth and Rosencrantz and Guildenstorm are Dead by Stoppard.

Who is William Shakespeare?

William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminant dramatist. Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon to John Shakespeare and Mary Arden. His actual birthdate remains unknown, but is traditionally observed on 23 April and he was baptised in Stratford-upon-Avon on 26 April 1564. Shakespeare began his career as an actor, writer and part owner of a play company called the Lord's Chamberlain Men (later known as the Kings Men) in London. Few records of Shakespeare's private life exist.

Most of Shakespeare's work was produced between 1589 and 1613, this included 38 plays(including Merchant of Venice, Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo & Juliet and Macbeth), 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems(Venus & Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece) and several other poems. His early plays were mainly comedies and histories, genres he raised to the peak of sophistication and artistry by the end of the 16th century. He then wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth, considered some of the finest works in the English language. In his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies, also known as romances, and collaborated with other playwrights. Most of the plays were performed in the Elizabethan theatres of that Era. In his later years, Shakespeare became part of the ownership of the famous Globe Theatre where many of his plays were later performed. The Globe opened in autumn 1599, with Julius Caesar one of the first plays staged. Most of Shakespeare's greatest post-1599 plays were written for the Globe, including Hamlet, Othello and King Lear.William Shakespeare died on April, 1616. However, written upon his tomb stone is an appeal bearing a curse to anyone who were to move his bones. It read:"Good friend, for Jesus´ sake forbeare
To digg the dust enclosed here!
Blest be ye man that spares thes stones
And curst be he that moues my bones."
Shakespeare has been commemorated in many statues and memorials around the world, including funeral monuments in Southwark Cathedral and Poet's Corner in Westminster Abbey.

Difficult Marriages

"Elizabeth feels that there are disadvantages for children born out of marriages like her fathers'."Discuss this statement.

         In Jane Austens' novel "Pride and Prejudice", the main focus of all the women within the novel is to be married. It is an ideal that drives all the women in this story because to them without a husband around their arm they are worthless. Therefore if that is the mentality of society a marriage cannot be truly happy because a woman with marry because of stability not because of compatibility.

         The most marriage fixated woman in the entire book is Mrs. Bennet, i can only assume that she may have come from nothing and been introduced into a little wealth upon her marriage. Mrs. Bennet is completely obsessed with finding her daughters suitable husbands and her husband seems completely annoyed by it. In fact the couple are so incompatible it is strange to imagine that they are married. Throughout the entire book Mr. Bennet shows no sign of affection towards his wife and Mrs. Bennet shows no sign of compassion for his opinions. They merely tolerate each other not love each other.

         It is then no surprise that Elizabeth has developed this theory about difficult marriages. The signs of disadvantages exist within her very own household. For example Lydia's little stunt in which she elopes with Mr. Wickham. She obliviously is a rebellious child who wasnt properly socialized as a child which is one effect of a difficult marriage.

        Which leads me to my next point although it is a proven fact that difficult marriages can lead to the children suffering both mentally, emotionally and physically. I do not think just giving up on the marriage is the answer because having a fragmented family is just as damaging to a child as a difficult marriage.

       Thus my recommendation if you find yourself in a difficult marriage try to work things out but always keep up the "happy family" phasaud in front of the children. The children do not need to be involved in your adult trivialities. By keeping up the phasuad the children aren't affected untilt hey are old enough to realize and when they are of that age, the damge that a difficult marriage can cause is minimal for they are already mostly developed.

Literature Test

“Betrayal is a theme introduced at the very beginning of this play how does this constant stream of betrayal affect the outcome of the plot and which characters are affected most.”

Betrayal is defined as the breaking or violation of a presumptive contract, trust, or confidence. And due to the secrecy and plotting of both friend and foe in the book, betrayal is a regular occurrence throughout the pages of “Much Ado About Nothing” pages. There are a quite a few examples of betrayal throughout this book ranging from the miniscule and playful to the malicious and cruel. All of which nevertheless affect the outcome of the play.

For example, Don Pedro devised an idea to make Beatrice and Benedick fall in love. It seemed innocent enough but Don Pedro knew of Benedick’s wishes never to get married and completely ignored them and betrayed them by plotting for his betrothal. Another form of Betrayal is the fact that Borachio used poor lady Margaret as a puppet in Don John’s plan to slander the name of Lady Hero. Borachio violated her trust by using her as a pawn in a plan, while she merely thought that she was being “wooed”.

The major betrayal in the story is the plan that Don John has to get revenge of sorts on his brother. Don John hates his brother the Prince of Morocco, Don Pedro and thus plotted to ruin the wedding of his Claudio and Hero. Don John made a plan to slander the name of Hero and have Claudio disgrace her name in the front the entire town. Don John lied to his brother Don Pedro and Claudio and violated the trust that he had between his brother and him. He merely used this to his advantage and due to the betrayal of Don John the wedding between Claudio and Hero was cancelled and Hero was shamed in a most heinous manner which even caused her “death”. This was the climax of the book.

In conclusion, I must say that betrayal was an integral part of the novel and it was due to this major theme and others such as deception and love  that the book is such an interesting tragic-comedy, filled with twists and turns.

Humour is Vital in any Comedy

“Humour is vital in any Comedy. Though Dogberry and his constables play a minor role in Much Ado About Nothing there presence is vital. To what extent do you agree with this statement?”

            In my opinion humour is unequivocally vital in any comedy. Humour is the life-blood that flows through any comedy. Although humour can be found in other literary pieces, a comedy is not a comedy without humour. In fact, comedy is defined as a narrative where the woes are looked at as amusing rather than disastrous and ends happily. Furthermore humour is the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement.  Thus, it can be seen that there is a fundamental relationship between humour and comedy.

            It has been established that comedy and humour are very intricately related. Consequently we must establish the humorous elements of the comedy, “Much Ado About Nothing”. In the book, humour is expressed by Beatrice and Benedick; the “merry war” between these two can be seen as amusing because of the pure openness and harshness of the comments made between these two. For example, in the very first scene of Act 1 they greeted each other with an exchange of insults such as “God keep your ladyship still in that mind! some gentle man or other shall 'scape a predestinate scratched face” spoken by Benedick to Beatrice as to rudely tell her that she should continue her belief not to take a husband but not to save her, to save her husband from a grave mistake. Beatrice responds by saying “Scratching could not make it worse, an 'twere such a face as yours were” insulting Benedick back and saying that his face is even uglier than any man’s who could possibly be “scratched”. The little back and forth between these two major characters are quite amusing to read, but this banter does not last throughout the entire book and isn’t a dominant aspect of humour.

The major source of humour throughout the book emanates from Dogberry and his constables. Dogberry is the head of police in the town of Messina and he isn’t the brightest of men for he continually uses malapropisms such as “thou villain, thou art full of piety” and “the most senseless and fit man”. In Act 3 Scene 3 his crew of comedic relief appear in four scenes throughout the book and due to their seeming lack of professionalism, they cause the audience to be entertained as well as do the job of thwarting the villains. For example, when asked how the men should react should someone refuse to stand in Don Pedro’s name, Dogberry replies, “Why then take no note of him, but let him go, and presently call the rest of the watch together, and thank God you are rid of a knave”. In Act 3 Scene 5, Dogberry and Verges attempt to explain to Leonato that they have caught two very suspicious men and wish to interpret them. However, their attempts to communicate their message are so long-winded, foolish, and generally mixed up that they fail to convey how urgent the matter is. To the reader, who already knows that if only Dogberry and Verges were not so bad at expressing themselves the entire climax of the book may have been avoided, it may be seen as humorous. In the interrogation scene, Act 4 Scene 2, Dogberry and Verges become so annoying that Conrade becomes so angry that he insults Dogberry. The lack of respect that a criminal has for a police man is also a sign of hilarity. Finally the final comedic scene, Act 5 Scene 1, Dogberry and his men bring the villains to Claudio and the others in an attempt to have a denouement but once due to Dogberry’s lack of professionalism and mastery of language, the task proves a bit tedious. Even resulting Don Pedro asking the criminals themselves what they have done. Nonetheless the unlikely heroes get the job done in such a style that it exudes humour and amusement. 

In closing, there are two sources of comedy in the book the minor is Benedick and Beatrice, the two witty lovers who spar with a brilliant display of intellect and the major source Dogberry, Verges and his watchmen. Their brand of humour is completely different from that provided by Benedick and Beatrice, Dogberry and Verges get half their words wrong, providing humour with their ignorance. Even though most of the humour derived from mere plays on words, without the comedic aspect of Dogberry and his team the book “Much Ado About Nothing” could not be truly deemed a “comedy” for Beatrice and Benedick’s battle are not prevalent enough or amusing enough to supply the reader with comedic relief. Therefore, because of the consistent and amusing humour in the Dogberry scenes it is safe to say that his role is vital because without him “Much Ado About Nothing” is not a comedy.