English Literature

SHUAIB ASGHAR DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH GOVT. RAZVIA ISLAMIA COLLEGE HAROONABAD, PAKISTAN A comedy, like the drama in general, may be of two types�Classical and Romantic. The classical comedy follows the rules of dramatic composition as laid down by the ancient Greek and Roman masters. Its models are the classical dramatists like Plautus, Terence and Aristophanes. The more important of these rules are: The observance of the three unities of time, place and action. The strict separation of the comic and the tragic, or the light and serious elements. Realism. It deals with the everyday familiar life of ordinary people Its aim is corrective and satiric. Some human folly, weakness, or social vice is exposed and ridiculed. It laughs at the people and not with them. The most noted exponent of the Classical Comedy in England was a younger contemporary of Shakespeare, Ben Johnson.           William Shakespeare's ...

SHUAIB ASGHAR DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH GOVT. RAZVIA ISLAMIA COLLEGE HAROONABAD, PAKISTAN Antonio is the title character in Shakespeare �s The Merchant of Venice . He is a middle-aged bachelor and merchant by trade who has his financial interests tied up in overseas shipments when the play begins. He is kind, generous, honest and confident, and is loved and revered by all the Christians who know him. Even Portia , who sees Antonio as a rival for her husband�s affections, reveres his character and appreciates his willingness to die for Bassanio. Passive And Non-Combative The key-note of his character is melancholy, and it is struck in the very first words he utters: � In sooth I know not why I am so sad�. And again             I hold the world but as the world, Gratiano A stage where every man must play a part And mine a sad one. There is a lack of combativeness and self-assertion in his character. In the process of the trial, while fri...

SHUAIB ASGHAR DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH GOVT. RAZVIA ISLAMIA COLLEGE HAROONABAD, PAKISTAN Portia has been called by critics one of the most perfectly developed female characters of Shakespeare. S. A. Brooke has called her, �the queen of beauty�. Jessica calls her beautiful �past all expressing�. She possesses physical as well as the beauty of character. She is so beautiful that suitors come to woe her from distant lands like so many Jasons in search of Golden Fleece. Cultured And Learned Portia is one of the most prominent of Shakespeare's heroines in his mature romantic comedies. She is beautiful, gracious, rich, intelligent, and quick-witted. Born in rich, aristocratic family, she is noble, generous and large-hearted. She has been given the best of education by a wise father, and so is cultured and refined. She represents all that is sweetest and best in womanhood. She can quote with perfect ease from classical writers, and frequently alludes to classical mythology. With all her refi...

SHUAIB ASGHAR DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH GOVT. RAZVIA ISLAMIA COLLEGE HAROONABAD, PAKISTAN Shylock is a fictional character in William Shakespeare 's play The Merchant of Venice . Because of the character's notable request of a "pound of flesh" for security interest, individuals considered to charge excessive interest on loans are sometimes called "Shylock." The creation of Shylock is one of the triumphs of Shakespeare�s art of characterization.  He is highly complex nature, and hence most varied and contradictory estimates of his character have been given. Shakespeare has shown the Jew as cruel, savage, relentless, vindictive and greedy, with all the atrocity traditionally associated with the Jewish character; and yet he has succeeded in enlisting our sympathies for him. His Passion For Money Passion for revenge and passion for money are the two leading traits of his character. He is a miser who hoards, and for him even to spend a single penny is a torture. He...