Victorian Synthesis

Lee Miyauchi

Stephen Cummings

Bobby Kobara

Aidan Louie

Team 9

2/8/12

Victorian Era Synthesis Question

The Victorian era was a unique era consisting of prudery and propriety which was mainly influenced by Queen Victoria and the previous era.  This era is clearly a reaction to the previous period, the romantic era, because the people of Britain kept going with the transition towards romanticism and mysticism and away from rationalism.  This was mainly brought about by Queen Victoria and the fact that she had such an immense amount of influence on her people. She had the longest reign in British history and because she was in charge for so long people respected her, loved her, and took to her ways. Queen Elizabeth’s success was recognized by her, her people, and even other countries. They all witnessed the success of the prudery and propriety that Queen Elizabeth portrayed and wanted to be involved.

Another reason why this era resembles romanticism is the increased interest in the arts. Trade was booming during this time and so they had more time and more money to devote to art. Live events such as opera, drama, and music were always well attended, but one art that truly flourished was literature. People had more money to devote to purchasing books and other writings and were able to enjoy authors such as Charles Dickens and Arthur Doyle.

            Queen Victoria and the Victorian era set a standard for all societies as they displayed success in their economy, happiness, arts, and government.  This is the true goal for a country, having a balance between the different aspects.  This era was a reaction to romanticism and the Romantic Era but it was also well lead by their leader, their Queen.    

Macbeth Essay- Bobby Kobara Period 2

Bobby Kobara

P.2

12-6-11

Macbeth Essay (45 minutes)

            In Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, Macbeth’s view on his fate and his destiny causes him to act irrationally because in his mind his future has been planned for him.  Throughout the play, people told Macbeth their predictions for his future as king and how he will be the one to lead them to prosperity.  With this constant source of confidence, Macbeth felt immortal in a sense.  Shakespeare uses characterization in Macbeth to show Macbeth’s perception on his fate and the actions he commits to fulfill his destiny.

            Macbeth has been instilled with an infinite amount of confidence and mental strength from the people around him which causes him to act as he does. His ambition and search for power leads him to murder the king and to take power. Once in power Macbeth has other people murdered as well in fear of losing his position.  Due to the potential people told him he had, once he became King that wasn’t enough to satisfy him.  His idea of his fate overruled any morals or ideals he previously lived by. He did away with these principles and let the feeling of power get the best of him. 

            Macbeth calls upon the witches to predict his future and they tell him he will be king, but the next time he speaks with them, they have some very different news.  They tell him how no woman born man can defeat him and that he will live till the forest reaches his castle. Macbeth takes both of these as impossible events and feels unstoppable. Once people began to turn on him a war began and was headed for his castle.  Macbeth knew no one could kill him and fought like a God. But in the seemingly unlikely event both the witches predictions came true.  The army used the branches of the forest as a disguise and the man who Macbeth fights in the end, was not technically woman born.  Macbeth begins to realize this but is killed soon after.  Macbeth’s ignorance and stubbornness lead him to his death.  He only saw the glory and power; he never saw the consequences or had the heart to realize what he was doing.  Shakespeare set up each character around Macbeth so that he would receive each piece of advice leading him to his short eventful role as a leader, and his eventual death.

            As the story continued we were able to see Macbeth lose control of his life and get caught up in his fate.  The perception he had on his fate lead him to lose sight of what truly mattered and what he stood for.  Macbeth was unable to handle the pressure put upon him by his people and his peers to become King and once he was King, he couldn’t handle the responsibility.  Macbeth believed in his fate, but did not let the events unfold; instead he forced them to turnout as he hoped.  If he let his destiny develop he would have been content, but rather he ends up beheaded.  Shakespeare uses characterization to clarify the perception Macbeth has on his fate and uses this to push the action through the climax and to Macbeths unfortunate death.