Ur-Hamlet

On June 29, 1613, during Shakespeare's play, Henry V, a cannon was used to add flair to the arrival of King Henry; however, the outcome was not a dignified entrance. The special effect resulted in a grand exit. The wadding, cloth put inside the cannon, was fired out of the cannon. It landed on the roof and ignited a fire which burnt down the famous Globe Theatre (Allison 68). Most special effects used during the Elizabethan Era did not cause any destruction; therefore, stage crews felt…

The Mystery Plays, depicting the creation of everything all the way to the end of this world with the judgment, are history plays more than anything else. The Morality Play Everyman; however, is an allegorical play. There are several distinct differences between these two types of plays, Mystery Plays as history and the Morality Play as allegory. Mystery Plays rely on biblical topics and stories, while the Morality Play does not rely on, or even desire, a specific background story found in the…

1. In Nathaniel Hawthorn’s short story “Young Goodman Brown”, the man character, Goodman Brown, comes across a strange traveler whom he encounters in the woods late one evening. This man turns out to be the devil. Hawthorn’s description of the strange traveler’s staff, which “bore the likeness of a great black snake” (Hawthorn 94), foreshadows the identity of the man Goodman Brown is meeting. Furthermore, the Devil’s identity is fully revealed by Goody Cloyse, who screams his name after she is…

Prince Hans, voiced by Santino Fontana, was introduced as Anna’s love interest, but later revealed to be the villain. I heard a theory that Hans was based off the mirror in “The Snow Queen,” and there is a little bit of evidence to support this. His personality and motivations are constantly changing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSLv9cYOA6M He’s upbeat and awkward when he’s with Anna, he’s quiet when he’s with Elsa, he throws his weight around when he’s with the diplomats, and he even shows…

Why does Duffy use an extract from Shakespeare's will ? The reason Duffy had used an extract from Shakespeare's will is because she had a different view towards Shakespeare’s will. The poem “Anne Hathaway” acts as an revisionist exercise, where Duffy challenges Shakespeare’s idea of the second best bed with an alternative opinion of her own. Duffy interprets the second bed as not simply the second best bed or a sign of neglect, but a sign and proof of love and devotion to the reader as it is…

The story of The Three Stooges began in 1922 with Ted Healy, Moe Howard and Samuel “Shemp” Howard. From a young age, Moe Howard desired to go about the career of acting. He started in smaller positions, taking most anything, such as performing in Shakespearean plays. However, nothing for Moe stuck or became massively successful. That was until he re-encountered a long-time friend, and now Vaudeville entertainer, Ted Healy, at the Brooklyn Prospect Theatre. Healy needed a…

Carol Reed’s 1949 film, The Third Man, is a cinematic masterpiece that dives deep into the layers of what it means to be human. The story takes place in post war Vienna, where Joseph Cotton’s character, Holly Martins, travels to reconnect with his longtime pal, Harry Lime, played by Orson Welles (www.imdb.com). Holly arrives in Vienna only to find that his pal Harry is presumed dead – but something about his death just doesn’t add up. The story follows Holly on a journey for the truth while the…

Everyone is faced with conflict multiples times in their lives. The conflict may be created by a peer or an enemy based on what they believe in, which may cause disagreement, giving them the urge to kill. In Hernando Tellez, “Just Lather That’s All,” the barber does not believe in Captain Torres's actions which causes conflict between the two of them. The barber gets pushed to the limit throughout the story by the Captain causing him to make a risky decision leading him to think about killing…

How does a play about a bastard, orphan, son of a whore go on and on grow into more of a phenomenon? Lin Manuel Miranda changed Broadway in 2015 with his musical Hamilton. Inspired by a biography by Ron Chernow about the life of Alexander Hamilton, Miranda went to work on what might be the most influential musical of the decade. Miranda, in creating his work, had to work through the constraints, find the exigence, and establish the audience for writing a Broadway musical while also making it…

M*cbeth, and Other Theatre Quirks If a person were to walk into a theater during a rehearsal having no outside knowledge about theater or its vocabulary, that individual would probably become very confused. Sure, all the words are English, but to the untrained ear it is a completely different language. Stage right, left wing, upstage, downstage, apron, “thank you, five”, are just a few of many terms that serve very significant purposes in the theater. Thespians will often pride themselves on…