Genre Essays

“Ghost” is but a common love story showing parting in front of life and death in terms of the frame of the plot. However, its development is placed in a unique edge between human and ghost created by the director’s deliberately creativity. It is defined as a ghost and fantasy love story amidst an intriguing […]

It’s such a cold night. The air is still and freezing and the streetlight provides no warmth, simply a harsh pool of sterile light. Underneath the light she’s huddled, sucking as much heat as she can out of her only cigarette. Her hands shake as she brings it up to her pale lips, takes one […]

At the beginning of the play, an ominous atmosphere is established as the changing of the guard takes place at Elsinore. There is a sense of tension and fear, created by conversation and descriptions. When an unknown figure approaches Bernado, the first question asked is “Who’s there?” Francisco hesitates to reveal his identity, but assures […]

In Hamlet, Shakespeare carefully develops themes and characters in order to achieve the desired dramatic intensions. As Hamlet is a tragedy there is a strong sense of foreboding from the very beginning. This is fully intentional and is dependent on the development of relevant themes and characters. A final important factor of the dramatic significance […]

At the beginning of the play, it takes place at a castle which is bitterly cold and the time is midnight. The guards are being switched as Barnado takes over for Francisco. The conversation begins with Barnado posing the question, “Who’s there?” and Francisco responding by demanding, “Answer me. Stand and reveal your identity.” This […]

To understand a play fully, we must understand the setting and context in which it is set. To understand Hamlet fully, we must analyse its contextual setting through language, events and its characters. The first instance through which we begin our understanding of the social situation in Denmark is through thee first scene of Act […]

In order to grasp the character of Hamlet portrayed in the play, it is crucial to comprehend the historical context and the prevalent beliefs regarding ghosts among Shakespeare’s audience. Understanding Hamlet’s behavior in the play requires an understanding of the Elizabethan-era beliefs about ghosts. Three main views existed at the time, each offering different perspectives […]

The themes of disease and corruption infuse Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” as a revenge tragedy. The play’s opening serves as an indicator of the pervasive nature of these themes throughout the work. In this essay, I will explore how images of disease and corruption in the first act create essential tension for the unfolding of this tragedy. […]

Hamlet was written during the seventeenth century during which Britain was going through a time of social anxiety there was no certain heir to throne as Elizabeth was nearing her end of her reign. This uncertainty is mirrored in the play through the death of the king of Denmark and so highlights a key subject […]

Hamlet and Faustus have differing views on death at the start of each of the plays. Faustus is a typical character of an Elizabethan drama in the role of a man overreaching himself in his quest for knowledge: he believes that he knows all there is to know about what happens after death and Faustus […]

Hamlet and Doctor Faustus have a preoccupation with death and the afterlife. The protagonists’ attitudes towards death drastically change as the plays progress. Hamlet is at first very scared of what the afterlife holds, but then begins to accept the inevitability of his death. At the beginning Faustus shows no fear of dying or of […]

In this Essay I will be trying to point out J. B. Priestley’s intention in writing ‘An Inspector Calls’. I will also be showing how modern interpretations of the original, support his message o the audience. J. B. Priestley wrote ‘An Inspector Calls’ in 1944 but it was first performed in 1945 in Moscow. It […]

‘The Swan’ by Roald Dahl and ‘The Signalman’ by Charles Dickens are two stories which create an atmosphere of tension, fear and danger. ‘The Swan’ is a late twentieth century story about a small boy who is severely bullied by two older and bigger boys. ‘The Signalman’ is a nineteenth century ghost story of a […]

The setting of the story creates a mysterious feeling from the start. Early on in the story Dickens begins building up the tension, the opening line says “Halloa! Below there!” this gets us immediately into the story showing us we must be follow the story carefully to understand it. This also gets the reader-asking questions […]

The first line of the “SignalMan” is, ” ‘Halloa! Below there!’ “. The signalman looks away confused. As this is what the ghost had said the signalman is cautious about the source of it. This is the visitor. This already adds a tense atmosphere, as the signalman is afraid and cautious of the new visitor.You […]

Both of these stories are set in the Victorian era and were written before 1914. The Dickens story explores the introduction of railways, while the other story shows how scientific theory began to replace mystery and how Victorian people started to embrace rational thinking. “The Red Room” uses a dark castle in a remote area […]

The first gothic short story was written by Horace Walpole in 1765. The first gothic short story was called “the caste log Otranto”; from this the whole gothic short story tradition began when readers found this novel to be electrifying, original, thrilling and suspenseful. Gothic short stories are based on the supernatural, and its medieval […]

The purpose of writing about the supernatural is to interest the reader into depth and mystery, and get the reader involved quickly, these are one of the best wide spread mysteries all over the world. Are ghosts real?. As readers of the supernatural, we expect to be entertained by a suspenseful tale of dark fantasy […]

English ghost stories became popular in 1855 when a tax reform brought about the withdrawal of duty on newspapers. This brought about a magazine boom that fed the large literate middle class who were thirsty for sensation. To satisfy their readers, magazines needed stories and promised “fiction of powerful interest”. Charles Dickens owned one of […]

‘The Red Room’ by H. G. Wells, ‘The Clubfooted Grocer’ by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and ‘The Signal Man’ by Charles Dickens are all short stories set in the nineteenth century. Knowing this the reader gets the impression that the stories will be taking him or her back in time. The author makes the reader […]

In analyzing four works by Charles Dickens, specifically the Queer Chair, Goblins who stole a Sexton, The Signalman, and The Baron of Grogzwig, I have observed that the author portrays ghosts in different manners throughout each story. I will assess whether Dickens presents these specters as malevolent or benevolent and attempt to ascertain the reasons […]

Originally stories were sung or spoken and handed down through word of mouth from one person to another. There were thousands of traditional stories all over the world, from King Arthur and his knights of the round table in Britain to Hercules and the Gods on Mount Olympus in Greece. In the middle ages this […]