Animal Farm , written by George Orwell , is a political fable that tells the story of a group of farm animals who rebel against their cruel human master, hoping to create a society where all animals are equal, free, and happy. Inspired by the dream of the wise old pig Old Major, the animals overthrow the farmer Mr. Jones and take control of the farm, renaming it Animal Farm. At first, the animals work together to build an egalitarian community based on the principles of Animalism, summarized in the Seven Commandments painted on the barn wall. However, over time, the pigs—led by the cunning and power-hungry Napoleon—begin to seize control. They gradually assume privileges, manipulate language and truth, and use fear and propaganda to maintain power. Eventually, they become indistinguishable from the humans they once overthrew. This allegory clearly reflects the events of the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the rise of Stalinism. The animals represent different social and political groups...
The collected edition of Shakespeare's plays came out in 1623, after the poet's death.
This first edition is traditionally called The First Folio, which contains 36 plays sorted by literary genre: comedies, historical plays and tragedies.
In according to plays, we may divided Shakespeare's career into four periods:
- the years of apprenticeship;
- the history plays and love comedies;
- the great tragedies and the dark comedies;
- the romances.
In the first phase he experimented with all the major dramatic genres:
- history plays: they treat events of English history (Henry VI, Richard III);
- tragedy of horror: he took as a model to follow Seneca's Latin tragedies (an example is Romeo and Juliet);
- refined love comedy (The two gentlemen of Verona).
In the second phase of his career, Shakespeare wrote the history plays and the love comedies.
Shakespeare's history plays treat politics as an eternal struggle for power, love and property. They set in a crucial period of English history: from the latter part part of the 14th century to the Wars of the Roses.
In the early love comedies, Shakespeare explored the psychological of love and human relationships and he used a language very simple and obvious (The Merchant of Venice, As you like it).
In the third phase of his career, he wrote a series of great plays: Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth.
They show a deeply pessimistic view of life and deal with characters, who occupy the highest positions in society: kings, queens, princes and commanders.
Shakespeares wrote about the faults, contradictions and weaknesses of human nature at the highest possible level.
In the same period Shakespeare wrote dark comedies.
They are balanced between comedy and tragedy: they show the ambiguities inherent in such feelings as love and friendship (Troilus and Cressida).
Shakespeare's career last phase is characterized by a return to the romantic drama in a completely new spirit.
The romantic comedies show a Shakespeare finally reconciled to human nature: order and harmony were achieved through the love and understanding of the younger as opposed to the older generations.
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