Comparing Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and Otway’s History and Fall of Caius Marius :: Comparison Compare Contrast Essays

Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and Otway’s History and Fall of Caius Marius William Shakespeare’s well-known play Romeo and Juliet addresses the ill-fated love of two young children from feuding households set in Verona. Over the centuries since the play was first published around 1595, many different versions have been produced and reproduced. While the basic story remains the same in these different renditions, certain aspects of the play are handled very differently. Thomas Otway wrote one of the most varied versions in 1680 entitled The History and Fall of Caius Marius. Set in ancient Rome this version focuses much more on politics than a story of true love. With this variation many of the characters are in much varied roles. One of the most obvious character disparities is found in the title character of Romeo, or Marius junior as he is called in Otway’s version. While both versions of the male lead go through little or no character development, Romeo and Marius junior are very different in their regard and understanding of filial duty and responsibility. Due to the political context of Caius Marius, Marius junior is much more aware and receptive of his filial and social duty, while Romeo rejects any sort of filial or social responsibility. Romeo and Juliet was first published around 1595. At this time in England the family was one of the most central and pivotal figures of social order. Children were expected to honor and obey their parents and seek their assistance in any decisions made. Especially in choices made concerning marriage. At this time children were finally able to take a more active role in choosing their husband/wife, but parents were essentially given the final decision (Amussen 94). Romeo and Juliet took it upon themselves to make such an important decision and hardly even considered their parents in the process. During the first half of the 17th century the average age for a woman to marry was 26 and for a man, 28 (Amussen 86). Shakespeare’s central characters are barely entering their teen years. As a son coming of age, and more importantly the singular male heir for the Montague family, Romeo should be entering University to prepare himself for handling the family fortune, not marrying in sec ret. This is merely the beginning of his show of irresponsibility towards his family and ultimately the role he is meant to play in society.

Shoe Horn Sonata

Through the use of projected images, music and dialogue, distinctively visual texts represent challenging aspects of life effectively. This is portrayed through texts such as John Misto’s play The Shoe Horn Sonata, Kevin McDonalds docu-drama Touching the Void and Roberto Innocenti’s picture book Rose Blanche. The shoe horn sonata by John Misto is a play that deals with the brutality of World War 2 by locking at the stories of two financial characters, Bridie and Sheila. When he wrote the play, Misto was concerned that the pain and suffering that many women endured at the hands of their Japanese captors after the fall of Singapore had been forgotten. Both army nurses and civilians were the victims of terrible mistreatment and cruelty during the war, yet their stories were not widely known, nor had successive Australian governments acknowledged them. The play serves as a tribute to those victims of the atrocities of war, and looks at the effects such horrendous experiences can have on those who experience them. By the use of distinctively visual elements, Misto has created a compelling play. Whilst projected images of the celebrations at Martin Place are projected behind the actors, the women struggling to live at Belalau are still fighting through the war. During this scene, the women struggle to ascend up a hill thinking it will be the last moment of their lives. Dialogue used to reveal the weakness is quoted â€Å"The sick and the dying were left behind† and â€Å"the old and frail began to die†. As the lucky women succeeded to ascend the hill, an orchestra performing the beautiful piece â€Å"The Blue Danube† is set out for the prisoners. The music creates the effect of the audience realising that the women are going to survive creating and symbolising triumph and life. This image of the realisation that the women will live is seen when Joe Simpon in Touching the Void comes out of the crevasse into the world of light, although he was weak and at the brink of dying. A sense of joy and relief is felt. Another example of the use of music in the Shoe Horn Sonata where challenges are explored is encountered whilst the song â€Å"Jerusalem Hymn† is played on stage. Sheila is clutching onto wood floating in the water as the lights gradually darken. The darkness and stirring chorus together convey the desperate situation of the young women as they almost drown. The hymn effectively represent the challenging aspects of life that the women endured whilst living through the war. Dialogue when used with music can create a great scene and emphasise the audiences understanding of the play. The audience is confronted with the disturbing details of the horror these women had to endure as captives which is projected through images on stage. It is followed with â€Å"hundred of women who could barely stand up, dragging their children behind them†. We are positioned to empathise with the women’s trauma and hopeless situation. This image of desperation is created with the use of poignant and evocative dialogue, stirring music and disturbing images. Distinctively visual elements are used in the docu-drama Touching the Void to relive the event that took place on the South American Andes and to convey challenging aspects of life effectively through the use of dialogue, music/sounds and projected images. Touching the Void chronicles the events of two young men Joe Simpson and Simon Yates as the triumph to climb a mountain in the South American Andes which no human has ever achieved. Following a successful three and a half day ascent, disaster struck. Simpson fell a short distance and broke several bones in his leg. With no hope of rescue, the men decided to attempt descent together with Simon trying his best to keep his friend in a positive mood. Another mistake which caused a life threatening situation was that Joe had fallen into a deep crevasse. How Simpson survived the fall, and made it back to base camp is a story that will astound and inspire. With the help of distinctively visual elements, the scenes in this docu-drama were successful and realistic. The text begins with a beautiful panoramic moving camera shooting above the mountain which is used to establish the scene. We see great enormous mountains as loud and foreboding orchestral music is played. The voice over’s begin of Simon and Joe beginning their recount of the story and Joe quotes â€Å"If you get badly hurt, you die†. This represents the challenges these men were about to face. The same consequences are faced in Shoe Horn Sonata where if a girl would get sick, she would die. 3 and a half days later the men reach the amazing summit and the use of the camera as it moves around the men also showing the height they are positioned in shows the exhilaration and the achievement these men went through as heavenly chorus music in a major key is played. The excitement stops as Joe quotes â€Å"80% of accidents happen on the descent†, which is followed by monstrous images of the mountain and dark horrific music in a minor key. The transition of music from the major to minor creates the sudden devastation and we realize it isn’t going to be a safe descent. The challenging aspects of life these men face begin to show and is emphasized with dialogue. On the 4th day a bad storm changes the life of these men dramatically and what they are about to experience. Simon tries to lower Joe down a cliff face not knowing if the length of the rope will last as the men didn’t know the depth of the cliff. The next morning Joe quotes â€Å" I knew when I saw it, it had been cut† which meant Joe had purposely cut the rope that he was lowered in. This creates a slight relief as it gave Simon the feeling that Joe could still be alive but not long after, he realizes the depth he must’ve fallen creating the sense that he must be dead so therefore Simon continued to descend the hill and get himself back to safety. The next scene shows Joe laying in a dark, cold and monstrous crevasse. â€Å"It was not the place for the living†. This quote shows the fear and thought of death Joe goes through. He then builds up in frustration as he yells â€Å"Stupid† and other obscenities. Towards the end of the docu-drama as Joe is near the camp sight we see the delirium scene where we hear a Boney M song which creates a death like feeling with images of death and decay as we see animal bones and carcasses, together with close-up shots of his battered, dehydrated body and use of fish-eye lends used in circular motion demonstrate the distorted thoughts and sensations Joe was experiencing at this moment. All of these elements creates a distinctively visual dream like delirium scene and effectively demonstrates how challenging the aspects of life are. Finally, dialogue reveals his relief that he was not going to die alone â€Å"I remember that feeling of being held†. Distinctively visual elements are used to convey images of misery and despair replaced by the possibility of regeneration in the picture book Rose Blanche, illustrated by Roberto Innocenti with text by Ian McEwan. This text follows the experience of the young girl Rose Blanche during the second world war as she discovers the Jewish children condemned to death in a concentration camp. Although the book ends with her death these is hope for new life at the end. The seventh opening through the book presents the devastating image of children in the camp. A single illustration spreads across both pages. The colours used are dark and dismal reflecting the misery of the scene and helping to create the image of despair. A line of children face the responder demanding our attention. Their faces are blank but their eyes ask for help, which we cannot give. A barbed wire fence between the responder and the children adds the image of hopelessness. The text which accompanies the illustration also helps convey the image of misery and despair and also the challenging aspects of life. Ian McEwan uses poetic images to capture the scene and make is distinctively visual. His use of the simile â€Å"they stood like ghost† and the use of the personification â€Å"the chilly wind made the barbed wire moan† conjure the image of death faced by these children emphasizing the challenging aspects of life the Jewish children are going through in this book. Therefore, distinctively visual element including projected images, dialogue and music represent the challenging aspects of life effectively which is seen through he texts The Shoe Horn Sonata by John Misto, Touching the Void a docu-drama by Kevin McDonald and also Roberto Innocenti’s picture book Rose Blache.

Famous Inventions on the April Calendar

What famous events happened in the calendar month of April concerning patents, trademarks, and copyrights? Find out who patented roller skates, and discover which famous inventor has the same April birthday as you or what invention was created on your April birthday. April Calendar of Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights April 1 1953—Arthur Millers The Crucible, a play in four acts based on the Salem witch trials of the 17th century and referencing the then-current plague of McCarthyism, was copyrighted. April 2 1889—Charles Hall patented an inexpensive method for the production of aluminum, which brought the metal into wide commercial use. April 3 1973—Francis W. Dorion was granted patent #3,724,070 for a dual razor blade assembly. April 4 1978—Francisco Garcia was granted patent #4,081,909 for orthodontic pliers. April 5 1881—Edwin Houston and Elihu Thomson were granted a patent for a centrifugal separator: the creamer.   April 6 1869—Isaac Hodgson received patent #88,711 for the roller skate. April 7 1896—Tolbert Lanston was issued a patent for a monotype printing  press. April 8 1766—The first fire escape was patented—the contraption was a wicker basket on a pulley with a chain.1997—Hooshang  Bral received a patent for an automatically rinsing baby bottle. April 9 1974—Phil Brooks received a patent for a disposable syringe, although intravenous injections and infusion began as early as 1670. April 10 1849—Walter Hunt patented the first safety pin, based in part on the Roman brooch known as a fibula. Hunt also invented several other famous things, all of which he gave up on before seeing any profit. April 11 1893—Frederic Ives patented the process for a half-tone printing press. April 12 1988—Drs. Philip Leder and Timothy Stewart on behalf of Harvard University were issued the first patent, #4,736,866, for a new animal life form: a genetically altered mouse. April 13 1990—The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie was copyrighted. April 14 1964—Paul Winchell (a ventriloquist whose main dummy was Jerry Mahoney) was granted patent #3,129,001 for an inverted novelty mask. April 15 1997—Bertram Burke received a patent for an automatic philanthropic contribution system called the MILLIONAIRES CLUB. April 16 1867—Wilbur and his brother Orville Wright invented the airplane, which they called a flying machine.1997—James Watkins received a patent for confetti that flutters and darts. April 17 1875—Snooker, a variation of pool, was invented by Sir Neville Chamberlain.1908—The song Hail Hail the Gangs All Here was copyrighted. April 18 1916—Irving Langmuir received a patent for an incandescent gas lamp. Some of his other accomplishments include atomic-hydrogen welding and contributions to the development of the radio vacuum tube. April 19 1939—John Steinbecks The Grapes of Wrath was copyrighted. April 20 1897 -  Simon Lake was granted a patent for an even keel submarine. April 21 1828—Noah Webster published the first American dictionary.1857—Albert Douglas patented a ladies bustle.1931—Ester Kiefer received a patent for ornamental paper. April 22 1864—The United States minted the first coin with In God We Trust on it.1884—John Golding patented a process for metallic silk screening.1955—Congress declared that all U.S. coins would be minted with In God We Trust on them. April 23 1964—My Fair Lady, the movie based on a musical version of George Bernard Shaws play Pygmalion, was registered.1985—The trade secret New Coke formula was released. Coca-Cola was invented by John Pemberton of Atlanta, Georgia. The famous trademark name was a suggestion given by Pembertons bookkeeper, Frank Robinson. April 24 1907—Anchors Aweigh, the march and two-step by Chas. A. Zimmerman, was copyrighted. April 25 1961—Robert Noyce was granted a patent for a semiconductor device-and-lead structure, the integrated circuit otherwise known as the chip. Noyce was the co-founder of Intel Corporation. April 26 1881—Frederick Allen patented a life raft.1892—Sarah Boone patented an ironing board. April 27 1920—Elijah McCoy received a patent for an air-brake pump lubricator. April 28 1908—Leonard Dyer obtained a patent for an automobile transmission. April 29 1873—Eli Janney received a patent for automatic railroad car couplings. April 30 1935—Patent #2,000,000 was issued to Joseph Ledwinka for vehicle wheel construction. April Birthdays April 1 1578—English physician William Harvey, who discovered blood circulation.1858—Italian sociologist Gaetano Mosca, who wrote the Circulation of Elite.1865—Germany chemist Richard Zsigmondy won the Nobel Prize in 1925.1887—American philologist and linguist Leonard Bloomfield dominated the science of linguistics.1922—American computer scientist Alan Perlis was best known for his pioneering work in  programming languages. April 2 1618—Mathematician and physicist Francesco M. Grimaldi discovered light diffraction.1841—French engineer and inventor Clement Ader is remembered primarily for his pioneering work in aviation and as a mechanical and electrical genius.1875—Walter Chrysler founded the Chrysler car company.1900—German musicologist Heinrich Besseler is best known for his Medieval, Baroque and   Renaissance music.1922—Russian atomic physicist Nikolaj G.  Bassov  worked with  lasers  and won the Nobel Prize in 1964.1948—Noted astronomer and educator Eleanor Margaret Burbridge was the first woman to be appointed to the Royal Greenwich Observatory. April 3 1837—Writer and nature enthusiast John Burroughs had the Burroughs Medal named after him.1934—British ethologist  Jane Goodall studied African chimps. April 4 1809—American mathematician and astronomer Benjamin Pierce contributed to studies in celestial mechanics, algebra, number theory and philosophy of mathematics.1821—Linus Yale  was an American portrait painter and inventor who invented the Yale cylinder lock.1823—Karl Wilhelm Siemens was an inventor who laid undersea cables.1826—Zenobe Theophile Gramme invented an electric motor.1881—Encyclopedist Charles Funk produced Funk and Wagnalls.1933—English manufacturer Robin Phillips invented a hand-dryer. April 5 1752—Sebastien Erard invented improved pianos and harps.1838—American invertebrate paleontologist Alpheus Hyatt made important contributions to the study of invertebrate fossils.1899—American inventor Alfred Blalocks invention ushered in the era of cardiac surgery.1951—Dean Kamen  invented the  Segway, and several other things, including the AutoSyringe, a mobile dialysis system, and the first wearable insulin pump.1954—Computer programmer Michael W. Butler invented the TODAY program. April 6 1920—Swiss scientist Edmond H. Fischer won the 1992 Nobel Prize in medicine with Edwin Krebs for their discoveries in reversible protein phosphorylation.1928—Chemist James D. Watson co-discovered the structure of DNA.1953—American inventor Andy Hertzfeld was a co-inventor of the Apple Macintosh; he started a new company called General Magic. April 7 1775—American businessman  Francis Cabot Lowell  invented the first raw cotton-to-cloth textile mill.1859—Walter Camp  was the father of American football and invented many of the rules.1860—Noted American vegetarian  Will Keith Kellogg  was the founder of the Kellogg Company and invented a process of making flaked cereal, corn flakes, for use as a healthy breakfast cereal.1869—American botanist explorer David Grandison Fairchild brought new plants into the United States.1890—Noted environmentalist Marjory Stoneman Douglas was nicknamed the First Lady of the Everglades. April 8 1869—American neurosurgeon Harvey Cushing did the first blood pressure studies.1907—Noted chemist Maurice Stacey is known for his contributions to carbohydrate chemistry.1911—American chemist Melvin Calvin won the Nobel Prize in 1961 for his work on photosynthesis. April 9 1806—Isambard Kingdom Brunel invented the first Trans-Atlantic steamer.1830—Eadweard Muybridge  pioneered the study of  motion photography.1919—John Presper Eckert was the co-inventor of the first  all-electronic  computer called the ENIAC. April 10 1755—German physician Samuel Hahnemann invented homeopathy.1917—Organic chemist Robert Burns Woodward won the Nobel prize in 1965. April 11 1899—Chemist  Percy L. Julian  invented a drug for the treatment of arthritis called cortisone. 1901—Adriano Olivetti was an Italian engineer and manufacturer of typewriters. April 12 1884—German psychologist and biochemist Otto Meyerhof won the Nobel Prize in 1922.1926—James Hillman is credited with developing archetypal psychology. April 13 1832—British designer and inventor James Wimshurst invented the electrostatic generator.1899—Alfred Moser Butts invented the game Scrabble. April 14 1886—American psychologist Edward C. Tolman created behaviorism. April 15 1452—Italian painter  Leonardo da Vinci  was also an inventor. April 16 1682—John Hadley invented the first reflecting  telescope.1867—​Wilbur Wright  co-invented the first manned and engined airplane. April 17 1934—Don Kirshner invented bubblegum music. April 18 1905—Medical research pioneer George Herbert Hitchings was renowned for developing drugs for several major diseases and was co-winner of the Nobel Prize in 1988. April 19 1768—English entomologist and botanist Adrian H. Haworth was known for his work with succulent plants.1877—Ole Evinrude  invented the outboard marine engine1912—American chemist Glen T. Seaborg discovered plutonium and won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1951.1931—American computer scientist Fred Brooks is best known for managing the development of IBMs   System/360 computers. April 20 1745—Physician Philippe Pinel is considered the founder of psychiatry. 1921—Donald Gunn MacRae is a noted sociologist.1927—Swiss superconductivity physicist Karl Alex Muller won the Nobel Prize in 1987 for his discovery of high-temperature superconductivity in a new class of materials.1934—Lindsay Oliver John Boynton is a noted furniture historian. April 21 1782—German educator Friedrich W.A. Frobel invented kindergarten.1849—German embryologist Oskar Hertwig discovered fertilization.1913—Biochemist Choh Hao Li isolated growth hormones. April 22 1799—Physician and physiologist Jean Poiseuille discovered blood pressure.1853—French anthropologist Alphonse Bertillon devised the crime ID system.1876—Sweden otologist Robert Barany was a vestibular expert who won the Nobel Prize in 1914.1919—American biochemist Donald Cram won the Nobel Prize in 1987.1929—Margaret Pereira was a noted forensic scientist. April 23 1858—German physicist Max Planck wrote the Planck Constant and won the Nobel Prize in 1918.1917—Nuclear physicist Jacob Kistemaker invented an  ultracentrifuge. April 24 1620—Statistician John Graunt founded the science of demography.1743—Edmund Cartwright  invented the power loom.1914—Justin Wilson invented Wise  Potato Chips. April 25 1769—Mark Isambard Brunel was a noted engineer and inventor.1825—Charles Ferdinand Dowd standardized time zones.1874—Guglielmo Marconi  invented a radio system and won a Nobel Prize in 1909.1900—Swiss-American physicist Wolfgang Pauli discovered the Pauli inhibition and won a Nobel Prize in 1945. April 26 1879—English physicist Owen Williams Richardson won a Nobel Prize in 1928. April 27 1896—Wallace Hume Carothers invented nylon.1903—Biochemist Hans Walter Kosterliz is best known as one of the key discoverers of endorphins.1791—Inventor  Samuel Finley Breece Morse  was born. April 28 1846—Swedish astronomer Johann E. Backlund discovered planets and asteroids.            1882—Italian industrialist Alberto Pirelli joined the family small rubber factory in Italy—the first of its kind—and was active in international affairs.   April 29 1893—Physicist Harold C. Urey discovered Deuterium and won a Nobel Prize in 1934. April 30 1777—Carl Friedrich Gauss is considered the worlds greatest mathematician.