Examine the presentation of Claudius in Act 1 Essay Example

Examine the presentation of Claudius in Act 1 Paper William Shakespeares Hamlet is a play of deceit, hypocrisy and most importantly revenge. The play is written in Shakespearean language, and is one of Shakespeares many classics. There are a few main characters in this play, which consist of Hamlet, Gertrude and Ophelia, but the character in question here is Claudius. Shakespeare, who is most famous for his creation of characters, which seem like real people, has portrayed Claudius as astute, cunning, but yet accomplished in a sense. The audience seem to make an immediate judgement of Claudius after Act ( scene ? as Shakespeare uses Claudiuss first speech to out line his character. Claudiuss first speech is very important and reflects his character and also the play. It primarily is about betrayal, incest, marriage and death. He talks about war, his newly beloved wife, his valiant brothers funeral, the Prince of Norway and Laertes. Shakespeares technique here uses a lot of juxtaposition mixed with alliteration for this speech. The main one is when Claudius is talking about Gertrude he says sometime sister which portrays incest. This is a very interesting choice of language because it has a double meaning. We will write a custom essay sample on Examine the presentation of Claudius in Act 1 specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Examine the presentation of Claudius in Act 1 specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Examine the presentation of Claudius in Act 1 specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer One being Claudius trying to say after Hamlet Seniors death he is in no way related to Gertrude. But when read into more detail he could have also said this to show the audience, incest. Alliteration and juxtaposition has been used again, when the ghost talks about Claudius, he says, A serpent stung me. This an excellent choice of juxtaposition as it makes the audience very curious. This is because the audience want to know how the King died, and also gets the audience thinking, because a serpent does not sting it bites. The alliteration here is again the sss sound. This is the sound of a snake, and a snake represents evil. There is one other occasion when Claudius is referred to as an animal, is when hamlet is doing a soliloquy and he says Hyperion to a satyr. This shows Hamlets sarcasm towards Claudius and also means Claudius is very hasty. Again in line 10 he uses juxtaposition. Defeated joy, is the term that is used here and Shakespeare has used this here because it is a shortened explanation of the next few lines. Here is a very important quote when Claudius says, With mirth in funeral and dirge in marriage which is exactly what he was talking about when he said defeated joy. This quote is basically showing how everyone is feeling, because one side of them is happy for Claudius and Gertrude getting married, and the other side till a certain extent they are still mourning the great kings death. In a sense just this little part of the speech already shows the link to the country with the king, and also shows how respected and powerful the king is, but also how conniving he is because he very cleverly moves on from Hamlet Seniors death to his marriage with Gertrude in the speech. Another very interesting line from the king is line 64 where again juxtaposition is used, but this time in a sentence, But now, my cousin Hamlet, and my son. This is a very good contradiction as he is trying to say, just because he is married to Gertrude, he is also Hamlets father. Shakespeare very cleverly shows this as it sums up Claudius in a sentence. It shows the king to be manipulative, and powerful. There are a few other techniques used in this speech. Body politic is used in line 4 where Claudius says brow of woe. Which shows he is a little bit upset because of his brothers death and this little sentence sums up everything. Repetition is another technique used by Shakespeare, where Claudius is talking to Hamlet about his father. The two words that are repeated three times are, father and lost. Shakespeare has used this technique to make Claudius emphasis his point. These few sentences are very important as they show another side to Claudius, the devious side. At first his care towards Hamlet is thought to be conscientious, as he tries very hard to stop hamlet from grieving and tries to show him its the course of nature. However, later on he says tis a fault to heaven, a fault against the dead, a fault to nature. This is Claudius trying to say it is a sin to grieve so much, not only to your father, but also to God, to the dead, and to nature. This is where the audience see the real side to him, which is vile and selfish. The structure of Claudiuss first speech can be broken down into five main parts. Shakespeare starts him off by talking about the death of Hamlet Senior, and his funeral. A few sentences after that he moves on to talking about marriage. For a speech that is over a 100 lines long, talking about the funeral for about 5 lines must mean the death does not mean a lot to him as he doesnt have a lot to say about it. Shakespeare has presented him like this to make him hated by the audience and can in a way be seen as a villain. After talking about the marriage he moves on to war and politics, and talks about Fortinbras and war with Norway, which shows his power and respect. Then he moves onto Laertes, and he asks him for any wish he will grant. This again portrays his power. Finally he moves onto hamlet. He explains why he thinks Hamlet should not go to his university. He says comfort of our eye this again is ironic because the audience see him as being caring but this quote could also mean they want to keep an eye on him. Here Claudius is speaking on behalf of him and Gertrude but is actually talking about himself. In conclusion Claudius, has been presented as cunning, desperate, in a sense clever, very respected and powerful. His character also comes across as the manipulative type, and always gets what he wants and if he doesnt would go to extreme measures to get it. The repetition and the body politic in this speech is fewer than the juxtaposition and the alliteration. I think Shakespeares combination of juxtaposition and alliteration work exquisitely together and the effects are substantial.

The 3 Types of SAT Reading Passages You Should Know

The 3 Types of SAT Reading Passages You Should Know SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips There are 3 types of SAT reading passages that you, as the test taker, need to be familiar with. The 3 types of passages mainly differ in length, but also somewhat in content. Therefore, the strategies for tackling them need to be different. Below, we'll go over the different types of reading passages on the SAT and what you can expect from the questions that follow them. NOTE: This article was written about the old SAT Critical Reading section. For more information about passages on the current SAT Reading, we recommend instead reading this article. Types of Passages: Short passages Short passages are generally 100-200 words, 5 or 6 questions per passage.You might have multiple short passages in a section but, because they have less space to express ideas, they are usually informational pieces, rather than fiction. Here's an example of a short passage: These short reading passages tend to follow the sentence completions.Short passages are generally more straightforward and convey simpler ideas. Therefore, you should be able to go through them faster, and with greater accuracy than thelong or paired passages. Short Passage Questions Short passage questions tend to focus around reading comprehension questions. They're likely to be specific questions, or information based, with some general questions about the main idea or tone. Long Passages Long passages are 400-800 words, with anywhere between 7-10 questions per passage.The types of questions likely to be covered in a long passage are mentioned in another section below. Because of its length, you may find yourself forgetting what you read by the time you get to the questions. Therefore, make things easier for yourself! Mark important sections or words as you're reading the passage so that you can easily find it again later as you are going through the questions, just like in the example above. Long Passage Questions Longpassages are the bread and butter of the reading passage and usually involve main idea questions in some form. You should definitelyexpect plot summary questions, questions about the author’s views, and questions about individual characters (if the subject is fiction). Paired Passages Paired passages are 250-600 words each.They generally share the same topic or theme but approach it from a different perspective. Paired passagesare either both long or both short but, don't worry, they are no more difficult than the standard long or short passages. Here's an example of a passage pairing that's particularly short: With paired passages, remember to read any introductory material describing or giving information about two passages. This will usually be found in italics at the beginning and contain valuable information that can start helping you compare and contrast the two viewpoints. It might also be good to keep in mind the kind of sources that the 3 types of reading passages are drawn from. We'll cover these in more detail in another article, but for now, here's a very brief overview, below. Paired Passage Questions For paired passages, the first group of questions will refer to the first passage and the second group of questions will refer to the second passage. The last group of questions will almost always refer to how the passages relate to each other -this question type is unique to paired passages. Paired Passages Generally Have the Following Format for their Questions: A few questions on passage 1 A few questions on passage 2 Some questionsthat ask you to compare and contrast the two passages Some questions that ask you to consider what one author thinks about the other author's point of view Reading passages usually concern these subjects: Natural Sciences Humanities [Arts Commentary, History] Social Sciences [Science and culture] Literary Fiction [Literature] Personal Narrative We cover all these types in more detail in another article, Master SAT Reading: 5 Types of Passages. Question Types Across Passage Types: There are a total of 48 critical reading questions that are passage based, distributed across the 3 types of passages above. All passages share certain types of questions in common, while each passage type also has unique question types. First, we'll cover the types of questions that are common to all passage types. Vocabulary in context questions Vocab in Context questionsgenerallynumber between12-16 questions in total. Typically, they ask about a word in the passage.These questions are straight forward and quick. They're also easy to practice for - don't waste this opportunity to accumulate points!Always refer back to the passage first (get an idea of what word means in your terms then look at answer choice and pick one that matches). Specific Questions Specific questions will often contain a line or paragraph reference, a piece of information that isn't identified by line number.You will need to look for one identifiable piece of information within the passage, not the passage as a whole.If you find the answer, then approach itlike you would the vocab questions - think of the answer in your own words, and only thenlook back at the question.Specific questions can be literal comprehension, extended reasoning, or main idea questions. Literal comprehension questionswant you tofind a specific piece of information. Extended reasoning questionsask you to enter, make connections or draw conclusions about specific information in the passage. They never stray far from the text!You can draw conclusions but keep in mind that they're still specific questions! All answers should be drawnfrom the passage.Sometimes you may have to identify cause and effect,make inferences, orunderstand the logic of analogies or arguments. Main Idea Questions Main idea questions generally ask about passage as a whole (about author's tone, about attitude/development of a character).To answer these, you must have reasonable grasp of the entire passage.These can take a long time, so save them for last if you have trouble with time management. Confused About How to Sort This Out? Don't worry! We've got you covered! Below are some questions that should help you assess how you are doing on the critical reading - what you're good at, what you're having trouble with, where you can improve, etc. Answer them on a separate piece of paper and go over them with another practice test in hand. If you have a tutor, bring your answers to them, so they can have a clear idea of where you need help most! We've also got some links to articles that focus on strategies to ace the SAT Critical Reading section. Check out the section What's Next? at the bottom of this article. Questions to Ask Yourself: What Passage Types Are You Bad At? For each type of passage, categorize the number of questions you get right, wrong, and omit Figure out your % performance for each type of passages Ifone of these is worse than others (say 10% lower than others), focus on that type of passage Categorize the types of questions across the test, then figure out your % for each type of question Focus on your weaker questions/passages when studying for your test What's Next? For more information on SAT Critical Reading, check out: What's Actually Tested on SAT Reading? SAT Reading Skills Printable SAT Practice Tests: 8 FREE Official Tests The Best Way to Read the Passage in SAT Reading Want to improve your SAT score by 240 points?We've written a guide about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Big Bull Moose Derbies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Big Bull Moose Derbies - Essay Example The operation of the big bull moose derbies will be conducted in a similar manner to the other contests that have already been allowed under the governing statue. These derbies will be conducted throughout the duration of the annual moose season by licensed individuals that have managed to successfully acquire all the proper documentation as dictated upon by the State of Alaska showing that they will stay within the set moose season legal boundaries. Individuals that wish to participate in the derby will be required to purchase a derby ticket to the moose season’s open day. The derby’s winner will be based on the spread of the bull antlers, with the winner being the who manages to harvest the bull having the widest spread or size that has been legally taken. This winner will receive a predetermined cash prize that will be based on the overall proceeds that are netted by the fund raiser. All participants that enter a bull will be entered into the derby’s prize dra w regardless of the antler spread of their bulls (housemajority.org, 2014). The Hose Bill 268’s sponsoring statements also points out that the Tanana Valley Sportsmen Association (TVSA) which is the association that will be responsible for using the derby to raise funds is a nonprofit organization that is concerned with the hosting and training of a number of competition events on behalf of several local high schools as well as on behalf of the nationally ranked University of Alaska Nanooks Rifle Team. Some of the school and community events that are normally hosted by the association include gun safety and personal protection classes, biathlon competitions and trainings as well as NCAA tournaments. By passing the House Bill 268 allowing for Big Bull Moose Derbies to be operated in much the same way as other contests, the TVSA will be able to easily raise funds that will be used in supporting the activities of both the TVSA club