The Merry Wives of Windsor - Theme Analysis

The Merry Wives of Windsor is a real romp of a Shakespeare comedy and is characterized by a feminist theme throughout. The women of the play win over the men, and the poorly-behaved Falstaff is made to pay for his treatment of women. In The Merry Wives of Windsor, theme is incredibly important, as our analysis reveals. Theme One: Celebration of Women The premise of the play is that wives are permitted to be strong, spirited and merry. They can lead full and vivid lives and can simultaneously be virtuous and faithful to their husbands. Ironically the women are the most morally righteous having been accused by Ford of adultery his wife cures her husband of his jealousy. Meanwhile Anne teaches her father and mother about marrying for love as opposed to status. Theme Two: Outsiders The Merry Wives of Windsor is one of Shakespeare’s most Middle Class plays. Anyone coming from outside that social structure or from outside the confines of Windsor are viewed with suspicion. Caius is from France and Sir Hugh Evans has a welsh accent, both are mocked for their pronunciation and their point of difference. Both Shallow and Slender’s  high minded pretentions in relation to the monarchy are mocked. Aristocracy is resented by many of the characters in the play. Fenton is penniless but high born. He is not considered to be worthy of Anne because of his background and his supposed desire for Anne’s money. Falstaff has become the town’s scapegoat due to his financially motivated plans to seduce the two mistresses. The town’s opposition to his links with aristocracy are evident in their support of Falstaff’s humiliation. However, this divide between the aristocracy and the middle classes is reconciled with the union of Anne and Fenton. Falstaff is encouraged to dress as one of the Mistresses Aunts and is beaten by Ford. Not only humiliated by tranvestisism but also beaten down by a man. This echoes the elopement of Caius and Slender at the end of the play who are paired off with two young boys who they mistakenly believe to be Anne. This hint at homosexuality and cross dressing also threatens the middle class world that is created in and is against the norm of a romantic wedding that forms the conclusion of the play. In the same way that financially orchestrated marriages and adultery also threaten the normality of Middle Class existence. Having said this, the cross dressing in the play where Caius and Slender are paired off with two young boys is paralleled with the fact that Anne would have actually been played by a boy in Shakespeare’s time and so the audience have had to suspend their disbelief in the same way that Caius and Slender were willing to. Theme Three: Jealousy Ford is desperately jealous of his wife and is willing to dress in disguise as ‘Brooke’ to catch her out. She teaches him a lesson by allowing him to believe for a while that she is cheating. She eventually lets him in on the plot to humiliate Falstaff and he realizes the error of his ways. That said, we are unsure as to whether Ford really is cured of his jealously. He is apologetic at the end of the play but he now knows that no one is in pursuit of his wife any longer. Equally Falstaff is jealous of the wealth enjoyed by the Fords’ and the Pages’ and he sets out to destroy them by ruining their marriages and their reputations. He is taught his lesson by the women in the play and suitably humiliated but not completely shunned as he is invited to join in with the revelry. Jealousy is treated in the play as a thing to be cured by humiliation. Whether this is a successful tactic remains to be seen. As a moral leveler, the Pages’ are taught a lesson by their daughter and the middle classes absorb the outsiders in the spirit of inclusivity despite their initial resistance. The idea of acceptance and inclusivity reign at the end of the play.

Treatment of Nature by William Wordsworth and Samuel...

William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge had vastly different writing styles as well as opinions of the material they treated in their writing. One of the primary differences between the two is how each treats nature in his work. Wordsworth, in his self-proclaimed writing like the common man, often expresses a nostalgic appreciation for nature, as can be seen in â€Å"Tintern Abbey†. On the other hand, Coleridge’s character, the mariner from â€Å"The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,† scorns nature and only learns to respect it, not necessarily to love it. Coleridge treats the supernatural far more than Wordsworth, and it is debatable as to whether or not his frequent use of opium contributes to this tendency. Overall, it stands to reason†¦show more content†¦Nature, to him, was a raw form of pleasure in his younger days and he often enjoys reminiscing on a more innocent time in his life. Coleridge’s message about Nature is conveyed through his narrator, the mariner, in the â€Å"Rime of the Ancient Mariner.† Whether or not Coleridge shared his opinion is questionable, but the moral of the poem seems to imply, somewhat half-heartedly, that nature is only worthy of respect, not admiration. Coleridge’s tone throughout the poem implies distaste toward nature. For example, toward the beginning of the poem, the narrator says, â€Å"the ice was here, the ice was there, the ice was all around: it cracked and growled, and roared and howled, like noises in a swound!† (lines 59-63). Indeed, three of the four verbs attributed to the ice are very natural words: growled, roared, and howled. These words are read menacingly, as if even the inanimate ice posed a threat in its connection with nature. Sixty lines later, a very similar stanza describes the cruelly ironic water, and he says â€Å"water, water, every where†¦ nor any drop to drink† (lines 118-122). Clearly the mariner resents something in nature enough to shoot down the Albatross which gave his crew fair sailing. Bearing the curse of the bird, he can only prosper again when he appreciates the â€Å"happy living things†Show MoreRelatedThe Romantic Movement Of William Wordsworth And Samuel Taylor Coleridge Essay1427 Words   |  6 Pagesspiritual elements of nature and used metaphors as an inspiration. Nature was a significant theme for the duration of this period since supernatural things began in our imagination. Many sonnets were created using freedom of thought however these writings soon shifted to an imagination method (natural surroundings) from a structured method (surroundings) (add cite) During this era poets express their feelings for the love of poetry by conveying nature in their writings. 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Her parents were well-known writers during theRead MoreRomanticism Essay1493 Words   |  6 Pagesthe 19th century from the period of the French revolution in 1789. Romantic artists’ glorified nature, idealized the past, and celebrated the divinity of creation. There is a fundamental emphasis on freedom of self expression, sincerity, spontaneity and originality. The movement rebelled against classicism, and artists turned to sources of inspiration for subject matter and artistic style. Their treatment of subject was emotional rather than reasonable, intuitive rather than analytical. Among otherRead MoreThe Romantic Era Of Samuel Taylor Coleridge And His Good Friend William Wordsworth2136 Words   |  9 PagesSamuel Taylor Coleridge was a philosopher and writer in the Romantic era. Coleridge and his good friend William Wordsworth h elped if not lead the transition of literature into the Romantic era. 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The last supper -movie satire analysis Free Essays

After having buried 10 conservationists , the students have a garden full of tomatoes proving that † conservationists serve great as fertilizers†(NOT) and since that in life they served no good to the society from the liberals point of view, in death they can. The students invite the guests with an already planned ending for all of them: death. They are in continuous disagreement with them in order to find something that they , n turn, see as wrong and reason the death of the guest , this taking some of the guilt off their shoulders and considering it a â€Å"good gets for society’ . We will write a custom essay sample on The last supper -movie satire analysis or any similar topic only for you Order Now At the slightest â€Å"counter-idea† they hurry the dinner and get to the exciting part of it by using phrases such as: â€Å"it’s time for dessert â€Å". Len the movie ,this is seen in the scene where the anti ecologist gradually considers their point of view as well and starts rethinking; confused of him agreeing to the libertarian point of view, and used to Just having their guests poisoned, the group of students does not break the â€Å"Sunday ritual† and assures the guest( by saying † you are entitled to your own opinion†) , who comes back to his conservationists point of view. This goes to the original argument :insignificance of life. As the movie progresses the students kill more and more people ;slowly not taking into consideration their status in society , Just their â€Å"closed-minded† ideas. The director stops introducing the guests by their names as they will eventually die;instead, continues by defining(l want to say it in a different way) them by their causes and slowly Just shows the piles of soil that were once their guests. The students decide a matter of life and death by either last questioning the guest : â€Å"if you were in a bar with a guy called Doll Hitler , would you kill him to save all those life’s or would you let him live†? Or â€Å"it’s 4 to 1 . He lives. † This again, shows the insignificance of life and how little they care for the others and their fate. RACISM (DISCRIMINATION AGAINST BLACKS ) From the very beginning ,Luke is the one who initiates the idea of having â€Å"the deadly dinner† ,even though his colleagues are reluctant. He is also the one to have suggested not to call the police ,and instead Just hide the murder . While he starts off as the most rational in critical situations, he becomes the most irrational ,cruel and â€Å"quick-tempered† ; he is also very sarcastic throughout the movie ( † keep them in the kitchen barefoot and pregnant† he says to a sex offender they have had as guest) . By the end of the movie he loses control and gets to the point where he is about to kill one of his own mends. THE LAST SUPPER (RELIGIOUS REFERENCE) In the movie, the 5 students are supposed to take the place of the apostles and the guests are Jesus, who is going to be sacrificed. The characters are also given names of apostles Dude,Pauline,Marc,Luke and Pete) The difference is , the roles are reversed, while the apostles are meant to spread the good word of â€Å"Jesus† to other people, they kill him. This could also mean that the students represent only two apostles :Judas(who betrayed Jesus) and Peter (who denies he knows him ) ;While Jesus is aware of his scarification , the guests aren’t . The guests are also served â€Å"very good food† as it will be their last meal . Unlike most movies where good always wins over bad in the end, â€Å"The last supper† ends by having Norman -(the very conservatism celebrity that is present in short scenes throughout the movie ,watched and critiqued by the students ) killing the 5 students with their own weapon and later describing himself as a â€Å"humble ,humble servant† in his presidential campaign. Why is it being satirized? ) I believe that the director is trying to say that both the right and left wing /wingers can become evil/ harmful when taken to the extreme :extreme conservationists ( the guests) and extreme liberalizes(the students) 2) Another problem I think the director meant to point out how easily people lose their life’s over different causes (like those mentioned in the movie: homosexuality , anti-ecologist, racism). This makes me wonder ,† Is it really worth it to die for it or to ta ke a life? And â€Å"When can you say it was right for you to decide that someone’s existence isn’t important to the society anymore ? † . This argument can be evidenced by history itself. Situations where people have died and been killed because their opinions or way of being did not correspond to the majority are many, hence Stalin’s saying : † If you are not with us , you are against us. â€Å"Another example is the time of â€Å"The inquisition† (an example Ewing Galileo Gillie’s scientifically proven idea that the earth revolves around the sun did not correspond to the original statement . N order to avoid imprisonment , he was forced to deny his statement. ) 3) Throughout history , â€Å"blacks† have always been seen as the â€Å"bad guys† with bad intentions . Len the movie , they have chosen the â€Å"head of the plan† ,a black , meaning to make fun of the concept and the stereotyping . 4) â€Å"Good does n’t always win in the end , especially in the real world† is what the directors expressed through their last scene . Corrupted people become the leaders of our countries. Is it effective? In my opinion, â€Å"The last supper† is a good movie, with a well-planned plot that is rather a continuous sarcastic response to certain topics such as : discrimination, the unnecessary deaths of people and intolerance. This film made me question my own tolerance of different views; it also made me think of how ,as a libertarian myself do I change the world without imposing my own views. Some minus points , from my perspective, are the repetitive scenes in the dining room of the guests and the students and the rushed through scenes that take place in the middle of the movie. How to cite The last supper -movie satire analysis, Papers