Sakuntala and Everyman - Free Essay Example

Theatre and ritual connection are under maintenance to this day as a form of consecration rituals that teaches people the path to a moral system. Everyman plays the value of righteousness when one dies by noting that with earthly goods upon death, one is to be behind, have no value, and cannot enter Heaven (Davidson et al. 2006). The play seeks that before entering the kingdom of Heaven, people should search and do penance to forgive sins. At the judgment, people can bear witness to their grace by the only good they do. The result of the play in Everyman revitalizes outstanding deeds when the character is forgiven all sins, and there is agreement, and confession with a scourge punishment. Sakuntala is one of Kalidasa's plays that are best in India lacking tragedy. With successful conclusions, the play teaches the wheel of rebirth as everyone has chances to attain liberation and enlightenment in Hinduism with an infinite number of opportunities (Gokhale, 2006). The play lacks a basic premise that bases tragedy by prolonging another opportunity for people when life ends badly.

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The world in which Everyman plays a basis on the Roman Catholic premise whereby through good deeds and penance, there is attaining salvation. Before death, people need to atone for sins to enter Heaven and receive everlasting life. Everyman was written during the 1400s in England as a Christian morality play, and no one knows who wrote it. Morality play during the period spoke the language of people as vernacular dramas and was an allegory that was for ordinary individuals. The form and content of the play rely on allegorical characters that lesson the teachings of knowledge, material possessions, and good deeds. Sakuntala play is clear and understandable, a world connecting human beings with invisible forces such as gods. The play's form and content repeatedly give attention to the relationship between gods and people using legends and myths to teach moral values in society. The play gave new life to the almost forgotten ancient myths, given that the audiences were sophisticated.

The Love Suicides at Sonezaki, a Midsummer Night's Dream, and the Way of the World

The nature of love in the Way of the World is a restoration comedy that emphasizes commerce and materialism. Individuals of the time emphasized sex, pleasure, and money that judged love and marriage. Things mattered less as people were looking towards love as pleasure and relaxation. The Love Suicides at Sonezaki natures love with loyalty and corruption dangers. There is a combination of honor and respect as a means of sacrifice by ending one's life. Kind of love in the Midsummer Night's Dream makes the entire play by outlining false love, jealousy, and forbidden love. The play understands love as complicated and beautiful by using the characters to bear distinct meanings on the theme of love. The plays compare in treatment of love nature as a forbidden one with The Way of The World, basing it as a moneyed class with leisure. The main concern of the people in the play towards the nature of love was to pursuit money and sexual pleasures. The couple cannot see a positive path out of issues in Love Suicides at Sonezaki that, despite best efforts to remain steadfast in love, it traps them.

The forbidden love in Midsummer Night's Dream is a theme that runs through the play by characters such as Hermia to marry Demetrius but loves Lysander. Additionally, Bottom and friends portray it in Duke's wedding performance. Egeus, the father of Hermia, who insists on marriage towards Demetrius, mirror the prevailing social belief of forbidden love in Midsummer Night's Dream, but the daughter loves Lysander. The Athenian law allows the father to choose for the daughter a husband, but Hermia refuses, and the father in front of Theseus drags her (Kehler, 2001). Theseus admits her to listen, and rather than face life with Demetrius or death, she runs away. The play Love Suicides at Sonezaki portrays forbidden love by the honor that Tokubei had towards the uncle. Tokubei bears a proposal of an arranged marriage to control family wealth, but he refuses after wrestling with his conscience (Weidman, 2006). Tokubei life is ruined with Ohatsu, his true love, and both choose a double suicide because of abuse of the law. The Way of the World play maintains forbidden love by guiding true love for material gain. The villain in the play Fainall marries for a mercenary venture to gain Lady Wishfort's fortune. The character presents the aspect of society as a manipulator and a wit by pretending to love Lady Wishfort (Johnson, 2020). The desire for real love in all plays creates a forbidding love that revolves around issues of marriage.

References

Davidson, C., Walsh, M. W., & Broos, T. J. (2006). Everyman and its Dutch original, Elckerlijc. Medieval Institute Publications.

Gokhale, N. (2006). Shakuntala: The play of memory. Penguin Books India.

Johnson, E. L. (2020). The Way of the World by William Congreve. In How to Teach a Play: Essential Exercises for Popular Plays (pp. 106-109). Methuen Drama., doi:10.5040/9781350017566.ch-029

Kehler, D. (Ed.). (2001). A Midsummer Night's dream: critical essays (Vol. 1900). Psychology Press.

Weidman, M. (2006). Love Suicides at Sonezaki. Theatre Journal, 58(1), 134-136., 10.1353/tj.2006.0093