Passa ai contenuti principali

Animal Farm by George Orwell

Di
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...
Posta un commento

Shakespeare's comedy: The tempest

Immagine
Di

The plot

In this comedy, the main characters are :
  • King Alonso: king of Naples;
  • Ferdinand: king Alonso's son;
  • Prospero: he is a magician and lives on a desert island, where he does different illusiones such as a tempest. He was Duke of Milan, but he lost his dukedom because of a plot set up by his wicked brother, Antonio, together with Alonso;
  • Ariel: a spirit and Prospero's attendant;
  • Miranda: Prospero's daughter. She remembers nothing about her past but she knows his father was once the Duke of Milan;
  • Caliban: a sort of half-man, half-beast because he was initially a companion to Miranda, but, then, rebelled against Prospero's authority and became his servant.
King Alonso's ships are shipwrecked on a desert island because of a tempest.
All are saved except Ferdinand, who has disappeared.
The tempest is raised by Prospero , a magician and the master of island, with the help of his attendant spirit, Ariel.
With Prospero there is his daughter, Miranda, who has grown up on the island and knows nothing about her past.
Prospero was once the Duke of Milan but he lost his dukedom because of a plot set up by his wicked brother, Antonio, together with Alonso.
When Prospero arrived on the island, Miranda was three years old.
He, using his magic, subdued all spirits of island and took two of them into his service: Ariel, a spirit of air, and Caliban, a sort of half-man and half-beast.
The shipwrecked noblemen and marines have several adventures: everything that happens to them is the product of Prospero's magic arts.
Meanwhile, Miranda and Ferdinand, who was captured by Prospero , fall in love at first sight.
The love of Ferdinand and Miranda resists the many tests that Prospero subjects them, so the man decides to abandon his intentions and bless their union with a masquerade characterized by many spirits disguised as Greek gods.
All Prospero's plans have worked: Ferdinand and Miranda have fallen in love, Alonso is devastated by grief, Antonio is unmasked and Caliban punished together with the two roguish sailors.
At this point the magician gives up the magical arts and brings together all characters in his cave.
At the end of play, there is a reconciliation:

Prospero returns to being Duke of Milan, and his dukedom will be united with the Kingdom of Naples with the marriage of Ferdinand and Miranda;
Alonso earns his forgiveness;
Caliban, having realized how noble Prospero is, swears to Prospero his fidelity.
Ariel will be free when he'll realize Prospero's last favour: to ensure calm sea and favorable wind for the ship that will leave the island the next day.At this point Prospero turns to the audience and, in a famous monologue, asks that actors also be let loose with applause.

Comment

The Tempest belongs to the last phase of Shakespeare's production, that of the romances: works in which he re-elaborates already treated themes (in the great tragedies or comedies) placing them in a mythical and sacred dimension.
The recurring themes in romances are generally death and rebirth, atonement followed by forgiveness, and sins of fathers redeemed by their children.
This is the only work of Shakespeare in which the units of time, place and action of the classical drama are (almost) respected.

The Tempest treats the relationship between civilized Europeans and indigenous peoples through Prospero and Caliban.
Prospero defines Caliban an inferior being, a savage; in fact, Miranda teaches Caliban her language, in the way that he understands better the orders given.
Caliban feels that he has been robbed of the island that his mother left him as an inheritance and that he has been reduced to a slave.
So, he plot against Prospero.
Even the English name "Caliban" could be the anagram of "canibal" or "cannibal" (cannibal) to indicate precisely the inhabitants of the New World subdued by the Europeans.
The figure of Caliban is associated with the myth of the "noble savage", a good and innocent man who has a close contact with nature and far from civilization.
In 16th century, the period of voyages, exploration and colonization, people began to realize the existence of different races and cultures that were not corrupted by progress and society.
Another important theme is the constant allusion to the theater through the Prospero'assimilation to Shakespeare.
The character's renunciation of magic, therefore, would symbolize the farewell to Shakespeare's scenes. From this point of view, Prospero is seen as an incarnation (the last and greatest) of the mask of Hamlet: the one who enacts his own revenge instead of executing it.
Etichette:

Commenti

Posta un commento

Post popolari in questo blog

Analisi del testo. Tre cose solamente mi so 'n grado di Cecco Angiolieri

Di
Testo Tre cose solamente mi so 'n grado, le quali posso non ben men fornire: ciò è la donna, la taverna e 'l dado; queste mi fanno 'l cuor lieto sentire. Ma sì me le conven usar di rado, ché la mie borsa mi mett'al mentire; e quando mi sovvien, tutto mi sbrado, ch'i' perdo per moneta 'l mie disire. E dico: – Dato li sia d'una lancia! – Ciò a mi' padre, che mi tien sì magro, che tornare' senza logro di Francia. Trarl'un denai' di man serìa più agro, la man di pasqua che si dà la mancia, che far pigliar la gru ad un bozzagro. Parafrasi Solamente tre cose mi piacciono delle quali, però, non posso disporre: cioè la donna, l'osteria e il gioco d'azzardo; queste cose rendono allegro il mio cuore. Purtroppo, posso permettermele di rado perché la mia borsa non mi consente di realizzare tutti i miei desideri; quando mi rendo conto di ciò, mi metto a sbraitare poiché per mancanza di denaro perdo il mio desiderio. Perciò, dico a me stesso ch...
Posta un commento
Continua a leggere

Wars and social revolt in 14th century

Di
Agincourt battle In 1337, war between England and France broke out when Edward III claimed the vacant throne of France. One of the most famous victories in English history was achieved by Henry V at Agincourt. The conflict was interrupted by other tragic events such as the Bubonic plague or Black Death. Under Henry VI's reign, the French obtained spectacular victories thanks to Joan of Arc. In the end, the English kings had lost all their continental possessions. Opposition to the Church developed in the second half of the 14th century under the leadership of John Wycliffe, a member of Oxford University who attacked the supremacy of the Pope. From 1454 to 1485 there was a civil war between the two noble houses of York and Lancaster. It was called the War of the Roses because symbols of Lancaster and York families were respectively red rose and white rose. The war was won by Henry Tudor of the Lancastrian dynasty, and he became Henry VII of England.
Posta un commento
Continua a leggere

Comparison between Joyce's "Ulysses" and Woolf's "Mrs Dalloway"

Di
James Joyce (1882-1941) and Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) belonged to the first generation of Modernists and it’s possible to make a comparison between their literary production analyzing their masterpieces: Ulysses and Mrs Dalloway . Ulysses Ulysses is one of the greatest examples of reworking of myth in Modernist literature. Joyce uses the epic model to stress the lack of heroism, ideals, love and trust in the modern world. The plot utterly takes place in Dublin in a single day which involves the life of three characters: Leopold Bloom, an advertising agent, Sthephen Dedalus, a sensitive young man with literary ambitions, and Molly Bloom, Leopold’s wife. Leopold Bloom, compared to Homer’s Ulysses, makes common actions: he wanders throughout the day in the streets of Dublin making errands, stopping at the advertising office and joining a funeral. He is distressed with two deep emotional burdens: the unsolved grief over his baby son’s death and the crumbling relationship with his unfa...
Posta un commento
Continua a leggere

The Ballad of Lord Randal

Di
Text "O where ha you been, Lord Randal, my son? And where ha you been, my handsome young man?” I ha been at the greenwood; mother, mak my bed soon, “For I’m wearied wi hunting and fain wad lie down.” “An wha met ye there, Lord Randal, my son? An wha met you there, my handsome young man?” “O I met wi my true-love; mother, mak my bed soon, “For I’m wearied wi hunting and fain wad lie down.” “And what did she give you, Lord Randal, my son? And what did she give you, my handsome young man?” “Eels fried in a pan; mother, mak my bed soon, “For I’m wearied wi hunting and fain wad lie down.” “An wha gat your leavins, Lord Randal my son? And wha gat your leavins, my handsome young man?” “ My hawks and my hounds; mother, mak my bed soon, “For I’m wearied wi hunting and fain wad lie down.” “And what becam of them, Lord Randal my son? And what becam of them, my handsome young man?” “ They stretched their legs out and died; mother, mak my bed soon, “For I’m wearied wi hunting and fain wad lie ...
Posta un commento
Continua a leggere

Giovanni Pascoli: Lavandare

Di
Testo Nel campo mezzo grigio e mezzo nero resta un aratro senza buoi che pare dimenticato, tra il vapor leggero. E cadenzato dalla gora viene lo sciabordare delle lavandare con tonfi spessi e lunghe cantilene: Il vento soffia e nevica la frasca, e tu non torni ancora al tuo paese, quando partisti, come son rimasta, come l’aratro in mezzo alla maggese. Analisi e commento Lavandare è un madrigale, ossia un componimento metrico breve a sfondo pastorale, scritto da Giovanni Pascoli ed appartenente alla raccolta Myricae . In questa raccolta l'autore parla della natura che ci circonda, la campagna e gli oggetti quotidiani, osservandoli con lo stupore e la meraviglia di un bambino. Essa incorpora componimenti brevi e lineari che illustrano quadretti di vita campestre che, circondandosi di un alone di mistero, evocano l'idea della morte. Questa caratteristica è presente in Lavandare , nella quale emergono i temi ricorrenti nelle poesie di Pascoli: l'abbandono e la solitudine. Il...
Posta un commento
Continua a leggere

Analisi del testo. La vita fugge, et non s'arresta una hora di Francesco Petrarca

Di
Testo La vita fugge, et non s'arresta una hora, et la morte vien dietro a gran giornate, et le cose presenti et le passate mi dànno guerra, et le future anchora; e 'l rimembrare et l'aspettar m'accora, or quinci or quindi, sí che 'n veritate, se non ch'i' ò di me stesso pietate, i' sarei già di questi penser' fòra. Tornami avanti, s'alcun dolce mai ebbe 'l cor tristo; et poi da l'altra parte veggio al mio navigar turbati i vènti; veggio fortuna in porto, et stanco omai il mio nocchier, et rotte arbore et sarte, e i lumi bei che mirar soglio, spenti. Parafrasi La vita fugge e non si ferma nemmeno un'ora, e la morte arriva a marce forzate, e, pertanto, tormenta sia il presente che il passato ed anche il futuro; la mia anima è angosciata sia nel ricordo del passato che nell'attesa del futuro, per cui se ad impedirmelo non fosse la pietà che avverto per la mia anima, avrei posto fine alla mia esistenza. A consolarmi è il ricordo di qu...
Posta un commento
Continua a leggere

I contributi a livello di poesia di Francesco Petrarca e Dante Alighieri a confronto

Di
  Francesco Petrarca: confronto con Dante Alighieri e i suoi importanti contributi alla nascita della poesia ed allo sviluppo ed alla diffusione della letteratura italiana in Europa   Francesco Petrarca e Dante Alighieri sono considerati insieme a Giovanni Boccaccio i padri fondatori della letteratura italiana ed è proprio in base alle tematiche ed ai canoni stilistici adottati dai tre poeti che si è sviluppata la stessa poesia. Le opere celebri dei due poeti sono degli esempi: la “Commedia” ( o “Divina Commedia” come l’ha rinomata Boccaccio in una delle sue “Letture della Commedia” ) rimane nella letteratura italiana un’opera inimitabile mentre il Canzoniere  è considerata l’opera più imitata tanto che dal Trecento fino ai primi anni del Novecento molti poeti si avvalgono di parecchi “petrarchismi”. La prima differenza che si può notare tra i due intellettuali è l’attenzione rivolta al mondo classico: Dante, uomo del Medioevo, non avverte alcun distacco tra il mo...
Posta un commento
Continua a leggere