Setting

Setting holds a very important role in connecting the reader to the time period, environment, and ambiance in a novel such as Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen or a tragedy such as Hamlet by William Shakespeare. The setting provides the thread that runs through the characters and plot. Without the giving the setting of a novel or play importance, the reader loses attachment to the characters and the ability of being immersed in the plot.
In Pride and Prejudice by Austen, the setting gives the reader environment and time period. With the information that the novel takes place in early England, the reader can make conclusions about the societal norms, giving the plot a more profound effect. With the knowledge of time period, the characters, story and dialogue are all put in context. Furthermore, Austen's use of house and ambiance descriptions all play into the overall effect of the setting. While conversations in the Bennet house seem to supported by tight spaces and a cozy household, places like the Bingley house and Pemberly place regular dialogue in a more regal environment. Through this, Austen emphasizes the importance of fiscal status in the early English society.
Similarly, in Hamlet by Shakespeare, the surroundings during each conversation hold the utmost importance in revealing the meaning behind each interaction. However, Shakespeare, to some extent leaves the structure of the castle and rooms up to interpretation such as the presence of the ghost, the play within a play, and Claudius' speeches. In other cases, the author makes sure a very claustrophobic setting is portrayed. Every time there is a conflict involving Hamlet, Shakespeare tends to use a smaller room to set the diaglogue or manic outburst in. For example, when Hamlet is having a conversation with his mother about her actions, Shakespeare sets it in the Queen's bedchamber, giving it a very small and tight feeling.
Overall, setting is a very important aspect in any novel or play to create the thread that connects character and plot. Without the setting, the reader would not be able to grasp the context of conversation.

Character

Character is, to me, the most important part of a story. With the employment of flat and multi dimensional characters within the same story line, the reader or audience is able to relate with at least one person in the tale.

In Pride and Prejudice, Austen uses multi-dimensional characters such as Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy to embody a realistic and relatable representation of a true human being while using flat characters such as Mrs. Bennet, Lydia, and Lady Catherine De Burgh for either comic relief or conflict. Elizabeth, the protagonist, is given conflicting and emotions and difficult situations to deal with, thus revealing her personality and ability to formulate opinion. This rounded quality gives the reader a multi-dimensional character of interest. Similarly, Mr. Darcy is given the same ability to have a variety of traits to her character, consequentially allowing his persona the quality of being relatable in his decisions. On the contrary, characters such as Mrs. Bennet and Lydia give the reader a comic relief to all the drama that happens in the story. Their one-dimensional view toward life and society makes them good models of stupidity and portrays them as laughable personas. Another flat character, though used for a more serious reason, adds to the seriously problematic social hierarchy of the early English society that Austen makes her backdrop. Lady Catherine De Burgh gives the reader a villain to dislike because of her dialogue of consistent judgment and condescension. Through these two kinds of characters, Austen is able to make her story relatable and enjoyable to each reader.

In Hamlet, Shakespeare employs the same technique of character personalities to make the tragedy believable. Hamlet, the protagonist, and Horatio are probably the most multi-dimensional characters throughout the entire play. Their ability to change views based on situation is vastly different than any other character. Furthermore, Hamlet's continuous inner conflicts are also a reflection of his multi-dimensional persona. The flat characters Shakespeare tends to use are: Polonius and Ophelia. These two characters appear to be the representation of unintelligent views in the play. Both Polonius and Ophelia have their distinct, unchanging, perspectives on every situation in the entire play. Ophelia, a mostly passive and obedient character, and Polonius, a mostly doubtful and "know-it-all" character.

Plot

Though plot can commonly be understood through the very simple definition of story line, there are many specific and important aspects of understanding a plot in its entirety, including: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and finally the denouement. The importance of conflict in triggering the rising action is equally important in creating an interesting and effective story for the audience or reader. Both Jane Austen as an author of fiction, and William Shakespeare as a playwright of drama successfully use the complexity of plot to their advantage in portraying their respective tales.

Austen mainly uses plot in a rather indirect and narrative way; the exposition begins in describing a very typical early English family and their issue in dealing with the marriages of their many daughters, thus implementing the basis of her plot. Austen establishes an overriding conflict between Elizabeth and her society to initiate the rising action. The support for this larger conflict comes from two others: the subtle disputes between the protagonist, Elizabeth, and her mother Mrs. Bennet and a quarrelsome relationship between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy which, in turn, becomes the main idea of the novel. Finally, the climax is reached as Mr. Darcy proposes to Elizabeth and is sternly rejected. Continuing on, the climax and falling action are connected with Elizabeth's reading of Mr. Darcy's letters after which she at first becomes innerly conflicted, and then achieves the resolution that is love. Austen's skillful use of a complicated story to enhance each aspect of the plot is uncanny. Additionally, her ability to tell a fluid tale with a multi-dimensional woman as her protagonist gives the plot even more depth.

Shakespeare uses the plot equally as brilliantly while he seems to be more direct and upfront with his approach; placing the audience in the middle of the action. the exposition commences almost on the same lines as a rising action: the death of Hamlet Sr., the simultaneous wedding of Claudius to the Queen, the initiation of Hamlet's grueling anger, and the appearance of the ghost. This throws the audience right into the center of the tragedy. The rising action continues with Hamlet's constant affliction from his surrounding events and conflicting emotion toward the murder he believes he must commit. The climax is most likely reached during the play within a play that Hamlet organizes to complete a task given by his father: the murder of Claudius. With this, Shakespeare gives the audience a satisfying yet riveting scene to focus upon. Finally, it is difficult to say whether a falling action even exists in Hamlet. It can be said that it mixes in, similar to the rising action and exposition, with the resolution. After the deaths of Claudius, Laertes, Gertrude, and Hamlet, the denouement is achieved with an extravagant funeral for the protagonist. Shakespeare allows the audience a chance to take in the story and understand the plot fully with his interesting approach.

Both authors use a fantastic and complex plot to reveal their individual stories. Austen and Shakespeare use complexity within the outer relationships of the protagonists and their inner conflicts as well. The only difference between the two is that Austen's plot follows a more narrative way of delivery, Shakespeare predominantly, uses an interactive technique of plot to convey each piece of his story.

Essay Review #2

After reading the comments on my essay on the speech patterns of Ophelia and Horatio, I believe that I have improved in the areas I had previously shown weakness in. I feel as though my structure, idea and topic sentences were much better than before; however, I still think I need to continue to work on these three areas as well as focus on broadening my vocabulary and diction. Furthermore, I learned that my essay should start off with a more direct approach and that I should not generalize my ideas at any point in my writing. Also, I should answer every question I raise in my essay to lessen the confusion or dissatisfaction of the reader.

The Perception of Time: Youth versus Decrepitude

The idea of time is readily articulated in both "To an Athlete Dying Young" by Housman and "Ulysses" by Tennyson, however, through structure and perception, differ quite a bit. While "To an Athlete Dying Young" seems to contain short, succinct sentences that get directly to the point of acknowledging the death of a young man, "Ulysses" has a general use of long and draggy sentences that reflect the over-extended life of an old man. Housman expresses the idea of time to be unpredictable and in many cases, severely limiting to a young life. His perception of how time affects humanity shows some glimpses of admiration as he morbidly jokes about the fact that the athlete died when he was at the peak of his career, giving him pride in death. Though this may be the case, Housman also does not falter in creating a melancholy aura about his poem, when he demonstrates the unfortunate uncertainty of placing trust in time. Similarly, Tennyson indirectly discusses the effects of time on humanity, although his perception seems to be opposed to that of Housman. In "Ulysses," the reader experiences the life of an old man who has out lived his welcome and begins to feel the burden of time weighing down on him. In complete opposition to the previous poem, this piece of writing focuses on what negatives time can bring if one is given too much of it. The man in the poem has become exceedingly old and lost his interest, and fame in the process. With long sentences and a long poem, Tennyson gives the reader a good sense of the consequences that an extreme amount of time can bring. Both these poems by Housman and Tennyson exhibit a view into two extremes of the role of time in human life: dying young and living for too long. In both, "To an Athlete Dying Young" and "Ulysses," the reader can see the two opposing perceptions and approaches to a common theme with respect to oppositional structure and differing perception.

"To an Athlete Dying Young" by A.E. Housman v. "Ulysses" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

The idea of time is readily articulated in both "To an Athlete Dying Young" by Housman and "Ulysses" by Tennyson, however, through structure and perception, differ quite a bit. While "To an Athlete Dying Young" seems to contain short, succinct sentences that get directly to the point of acknowledging the death of a young man, "Ulysses" has a general use of long and draggy sentences that reflect the over-extended life of an old man. Housman expresses the idea of time to be unpredictable and in many cases, severely limiting to a young life. His perception of how time affects humanity shows some glimpses of admiration as he morbidly jokes about the fact that the athlete died when he was at the peak of his career, giving him pride in death. Though this may be the case, Housman also does not falter in creating a melancholy aura about his poem, when he demonstrates the unfortunate uncertainty of placing trust in time. Similarly, Tennyson indirectly discusses the effects of time on humanity, although his perception seems to be opposed to that of Housman. In "Ulysses," the reader experiences the life of an old man who has out lived his welcome and begins to feel the burden of time weighing down on him. In complete opposition to the previous poem, this piece of writing focuses on what negatives time can bring if one is given too much of it. The man in the poem has become exceedingly old and lost his interest, and fame in the process. With long sentences and a long poem, Tennyson gives the reader a good sense of the consequences that an extreme amount of time can bring. Both these poems by Housman and Tennyson exhibit a view into two extremes of the role of time in human life: dying young and living for too long. In both, "To an Athlete Dying Young" and "Ulysses," the reader can see the two opposing perceptions and approaches to a common theme.

Ozymandias by Percy Shelley v. Ponder by E.E. Cummings

While both poems, "Ozymandias" and "Ponder" speak about the idea of time and how fast it seems to run out, their approaches are vastly different. Percy Shelley seems to address the destructive quality of time, in which it destroys everything, and seems to leave behind and trample over anything or anyone that once was even slightly important. Shelley uses a very fluid and direct way of conveying what he considers to be the harsh reality of time. Using one long sentence from lines 3 through 8, Shelley adds a final touch with the words of an ancient authoritative "King Ozymandias" following it with a simple statement: "Nothing beside remains."With this structure, Shelley is able to give the reader a straight-forward and hopeless view of how time will eventually turn everything into dust, no matter how mighty or great it once was. Contrarily, E.E. Cummings focuses more on his lustful desires to substantiate his view that time runs out way too soon. Almost like a parody of 'Coy Mistress' by Andrew Marvell, Cummings uses interesting typography, structure, and grammar to get his point across. Completely opposite from Shelley,"Ponder" has multiple awkwardly placed caesuras and parenthesis. The main objective of Cummings' poem is to convince the woman to take advantage of the time she has and engage in sexual intercourse with the narrator, while Shelley simply describes the destructiveness of time with no ulterior motives.