Assistance required!

[Noah]

Hey guys,

I am looking for someone who is particularly talented with English (particularly essays) with MSN or email to help me with some English work I have.

If you think you can help me please contact me through PM or this thread.

Thankyou and sorry if you think this thread might be pointless.

Noah.

[which doctor]

Could you describe what you need help on?

[Noah]

I am writing an essay about Romeo and Juliet for KeyStage 4.

[Amusing Scrotum]

Originally posted by [email protected] 8 2005, 10:51 PM
I am writing an essay about Romeo and Juliet for KeyStage 4.

Is Key Stage 4, GCSE. If it is, I did Romeo and Juliet for my GCSE English and I can try and "retrieve" my essay for you. I had 17 or 18 out of 20.

[Jimmie Higgins]

I'm guessing GCSE is some standard British test?

When I went to college I majored in Literature (yes even with my poor spelling skills), but I would imagine that US and UK essays have differences in style. In the US there is a very specific college essay standard which actually changes every few years. I could possibly help you to see if your argument is coherent and supported with evidence, but I probably could not help you with more specific points on formality.

I wouldn't be able to help you make an argument or thesis since I havn't read Romeo and Juliette since I was a first-year and I have already forgotten any details that might help.

I didn't really enjoy R&J that much, I liked the "Henry IV 2" and "Lear" and that stuff more. I'd add "Hamlet" but that's sooo played-out, always on the radio and on MTV...

[Amusing Scrotum]

I'm guessing GCSE is some standard British test?

The GCSE's are the exams you sit when you're 15/16 just before you leave school.


I could possibly help you to see if your argument is coherent and supported with evidence, but I probably could not help you with more specific points on formality.

What I remember from English essays was that all that was needed was to point out the relevant quotations (which your teacher tells you) and discuss them.

You know, Romeo said, "Oh my dear Juliet, thou art making my lower sections ache." To which you say, "In this passage, Shakespeare is trying to portray the underlying sexual desire Romeo has for Juliet, etc. etc."


I didn't really enjoy R&J that much, I liked the "Henry IV 2" and "Lear" and that stuff more. I'd add "Hamlet" but that's sooo played-out, always on the radio and on MTV...

The Merchant of Venice has always been my favourite.

[Jimmie Higgins]

"Merchant" is one of Shake's more intereresting plays. It starts off like many of his comedys but takes an about face (at least to the contemporary reader) when one of his stock "fool/schemeing" characters, Shylock, turns the tables and starts making a lot of sense to modern readers.

I think modern readers may empathise more with Shylock than the Bard intended because we are more alert to opression, especially feudal cast opression and modern anti-semitism.

Many villians in his plays are villianous because they are machievellian: they are caculating and plotting and hold logic over "sentiment". In these ways Shylock is like Iago. Like Iago, Shakespeare gives Shylock realistic and sympathetic motivations which is part of his undeneyable skill as a writer.

So Shylock's motivations resonate very strongly with modern audiences because we view him as a victim of both systmatic cast opression as well as being slighted and disrespected by specific characters in the play.

When we see the play now, we hope that Shylock gets his pound of flesh and admire him for standing up to unjust circumstances, but I think Elizabeathan audiences would have seen him as a fool for not allowing his daughter to follow love and a villian asking an "unjust" settlement for his debts.

Many people today think Shylock is the Merchant of the title but Antonio is actually the title character and most of the protagonists view Shylock as "unjust" and inflexable.

Shakesepeare was a person (or possibly people - some think that the plays were actually a collaboration of many actors as well as an author/director) of his time and may not have seen any real problem with specific rules for different castes of people. My knowledge of Elizabeathan history isn't that strong, so I don't know if jews were still seperated out as a caste at that time and I could very well be wrong about views on anti-jewishism (as opposed to modern anti-semitism which is based on "blood" rather than caste or religion) at that time. But it is remarkable that something like that could be written so well as to still hold up even when changes in social views have turned the intention of the play on its head.

[Noah]

Can anyone help me, I was reading it and reading my friends and it needs a more interesting intro sentence, here's the intro sentence now...

In this essay I will be discussing William Shakespeare's “Romeo and Juliet” and more specifically, how Shakespeare conveys a wonderful sense of drama to the reader during Act 1 Scene 5.

But don't you think I should start it with more 'read-on' factor?

Like umm... This is a play about, secrecy, love, hate...

I don't know i'm having some trouble... any suggestions for a good intro sentence/s. Also I should have this finished by Monday so if anyone would kindly want to read it and suggest I change anything, thatd be good.

Thanks.