16th and 17th Century Performance Conditions  The stage was covered with straw or rushes. There may have been a painted wall with trees and hedges, or a castle interior with practicable furniture. A placard announced the scene. The audience was near and could view the stage from three sides, so that no "picture" was possible. Verbal cues given for location and setting as there was no props or scenery  Whatever effects were gained were the result of the gorgeous and costly...

The Italian Futurist Futurism (1909-1944) was perhaps the first movement in the history of art to be engineered and managed like a business. Since its beginning, Futurism was very close to the world of advertising and, like a business, promoted its product to a wide audience. For this reason, Futurism introduced the use of the manifesto as a public means to advertise its artistic philosophy, and also as a polemic weapon against the academic and conservative world. The poet F.T. Marinetti,...

Heaney’s poetry is vividly imaginative, whilst being firmly rooted in reality Explore this comment on Heaney’s poetry, referring to at least three poems The poetry of Seamus Heaney is described as imaginative and honest whilst enabling him to share his views on the political and social situation in Ireland at that time. Through the use of metaphors and strong imagery aided by his choice of form and structure Heaney is able to appeal to a wide range of people. The use of...

Emily Dickinson’s Comparative Writings In the poems "It sifts from leaden sieves" and "T was warm at first like us," Emily Dickinson uses several language devices to help guide us in our perception of what she is writing. Metaphors and similes are used to compare like objects. The technique of personification is used to personify the meaning of the poems. Finally, metonymy is used to compare significant details of experiences to represent the whole. The first similarity between the...

John Proctor and "The Crucible" During the time of the Salem witchcraft trials, a number of wrongfully accused citizens were killed, due to the mass hysteria that had enveloped the community. Among these Puritan citizens is John Proctor, whom I believe dies a hero, not only because he refuses to surrender to the corruption in society, as did the rest that were put to death, but also because, in doing so, he is able to relieve himself of a guilty conscience. John Proctor is a respected man who...

Critical Analysis of the Poem "Dover Beach" The first stanza opens with the description of a nightly scene at the seaside. The lyrical self calls his addressee to the window, to share the visual beauty of the scene. Then he calls her attention to the aural experience, which is somehow less beautiful. The lyrical self projects his own feelings of melancholy on to the sound of "the grating roar /Of pebbles, which the waves draw back, and fling/ At their return, up the high strand" (ll.9-11)....

Critical Analysis of "Poem About Rights" Is it a combination of genetics and experience? Is it something predetermined and mapped out? Is it something so mutable that we have complete control over it? The origin of a person’s identity can be argued upon forever but what seems to be most agreed upon is that as a human we each have a unique identity. The poetry of June Jordan discusses identity and its origins but more so she argues that identity cannot be changed by force. By no means...