Free Essays on Comedy Of Errors Critique

Critique : â€Å"The Comedy of Errors† On Saturday March 29, 2003 I saw a production of â€Å"The Comedy of Errors,† written by William Shakespeare, at The Hilberry Theatre. Overall, I enjoyed this play. By far it was the best of the three Wayne State University performances I experienced this semester. However, there were many scenes in the play that I found confusing. The day after the play, I read the script to gain a deeper understanding of some of these situations within the play. After seeing this production, I was pleased with certain aspects of the play and displeased with others First, the pre-play experience was very energetic. As the audience gathered I felt that there was a much more positive energy and enthusiasm for the production than there was at the two performances I saw at The Bonstelle Theatre earlier this semester. The seating was almost completely full and there also appeared to be more variety in age. Throughout the play, the inter audience rapport was positive. There were many points were the audience laughed and there were very few people sleeping during the show! My main criticism of play â€Å"The Comedy of Errors† is the writing of the script. The language style used was very complicated for me to comprehend. Especially in the very beginning of the play where I felt that the exposition was unclear. The introduction to the plot was very difficult to understand. The actor’s performances were of good quality but I didn’t really understand what they were saying which started me out in a state of confusion. It took reading the text to understand that the initial scenes were about the separation of a family and a the shipwrecked man Egeon (Mark Robson), a merchant of Syracuse, who was pleading for his freedom and relating his story before being put in jail. Furthermore, I feel that my confusion was due primarily Shakespearean writing. The playwright of this play, Shakespeare, is so foreign-sounding to ... Free Essays on Comedy Of Errors Critique Free Essays on Comedy Of Errors Critique Critique : â€Å"The Comedy of Errors† On Saturday March 29, 2003 I saw a production of â€Å"The Comedy of Errors,† written by William Shakespeare, at The Hilberry Theatre. Overall, I enjoyed this play. By far it was the best of the three Wayne State University performances I experienced this semester. However, there were many scenes in the play that I found confusing. The day after the play, I read the script to gain a deeper understanding of some of these situations within the play. After seeing this production, I was pleased with certain aspects of the play and displeased with others First, the pre-play experience was very energetic. As the audience gathered I felt that there was a much more positive energy and enthusiasm for the production than there was at the two performances I saw at The Bonstelle Theatre earlier this semester. The seating was almost completely full and there also appeared to be more variety in age. Throughout the play, the inter audience rapport was positive. There were many points were the audience laughed and there were very few people sleeping during the show! My main criticism of play â€Å"The Comedy of Errors† is the writing of the script. The language style used was very complicated for me to comprehend. Especially in the very beginning of the play where I felt that the exposition was unclear. The introduction to the plot was very difficult to understand. The actor’s performances were of good quality but I didn’t really understand what they were saying which started me out in a state of confusion. It took reading the text to understand that the initial scenes were about the separation of a family and a the shipwrecked man Egeon (Mark Robson), a merchant of Syracuse, who was pleading for his freedom and relating his story before being put in jail. Furthermore, I feel that my confusion was due primarily Shakespearean writing. The playwright of this play, Shakespeare, is so foreign-sounding to ...

Battle of Cambrai - World War I - Western Front - Tanks

Battle of Cambrai - World War I - Western Front - Tanks The Battle of Cambrai was fought November 20 to December 6, 1917, during World War I (1914 to 1918). British General Julian Byng2 corps324 tanks Germans General Georg von der Marwitz1 corps Background In mid-1917, Colonel John F.C. Fuller, the Chief of Staff of the Tank Corps, devised a plan for using armor to raid the German lines. Since the terrain near Ypres-Passchendaele was too soft for tanks, he proposed a strike against St. Quentin, where the ground was hard and dry. As operations near St. Quentin would have required cooperation with French troops, the target was shifted to Cambrai to ensure secrecy. Presenting this plan to British Commander-in-Chief Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, Fuller was unable to obtain approval as the focus of British operations was on the ​offensive against Passchendaele. While the Tank Corps was developing its plan, Brigadier General H.H. Tudor of the 9th Scottish Division had created a method for supporting a tank attack with a surprise bombardment. This utilized a new method for targeting artillery without registering the guns by observing the fall of shot. This older method frequently alerted the enemy to impending attacks and gave them time to move reserves to the threatened area. Though Fuller and his superior, Brigadier-General Sir Hugh Elles, had failed to gain Haigs support, their plan interested the commander of the Third Army, General Sir Julian Byng. In August 1917, Byng accepted both Elles attack plan and along with Tudors artillery scheme to support it. Through Elles and Fuller had originally intended for the attack to be an eight- to twelve-hour raid, Byng altered the plan and intended to hold any ground that was taken. With fighting bogging down around Passchendaele, Haig relented in his opposition and approved an attack at Cambrai on November 10. Assembling over 300 tanks along a front of 10,000 yards, Byng intended for them to advance with close infantry support to capture enemy artillery and consolidate any gains. A Swift Advance Advancing behind a surprise bombardment, Elles tanks were to crush lanes through the German barbed wire and bridge the German trenches by filling them with bundles of brushwood known as fascines. Opposing the British was the German Hindenburg Line which consisted of three successive lines approximately 7,000 yards deep. These were manned by the 20th Landwehr and 54th Reserve Division. While the 20th was rated as fourth-rate by the Allies, the commander of the 54th had prepared his men in anti-tank tactics utilizing artillery against moving targets. At 6:20 AM on November 20, 1,003, British guns opened fire on the German position. Advancing behind a creeping barrage, the British had immediate success. On the right, troops from Lieutenant General William Pulteneys III Corps advanced four miles with troops reaching Lateau Wood and capturing a bridge over the St. Quentin Canal at Masnià ¨res. This bridge soon collapsed under the weight of the tanks halting the advance. On the British left, elements of the IV Corps had similar success with troops reaching the woods of Bourlon Ridge and the Bapaume-Cambrai road. Only in the center did the British advance stall. This was largely due to Major General G.M. Harper, commander of the 51st Highland Division, who ordered his infantry to follow 150-200 yards behind his tanks, as he thought the armor would draw artillery fire on his men. Encountering elements of the 54th Reserve Division near Flesquià ¨res, his unsupported tanks took heavy losses from the German gunners, including five destroyed by Sergeant Kurt Kruger. Though the situation was saved by the infantry, eleven tanks were lost. Under pressure, the Germans abandoned the village that night. Reversal of Fortune That night, Byng sent his cavalry divisions forward to exploit the breach, but they were forced to turn back due to unbroken barbed wire. In Britain, for the first time since the start of the war, church bells rang in victory. Over the next ten days, the British advance slowed greatly, with III Corps halting to consolidate and the main effort taking place in the north where troops attempted to capture Bourlon Ridge and the nearby village. As German reserves reached the area, the fighting took on the attritional characteristics of many battles on the Western Front. After several days of brutal fighting, the crest of Bourlon Ridge was taken by the 40th Division, while attempts to press east were halted near Fontaine. On November 28, the offensive was halted and British troops began to dig in. While the British had been spending their strength to capture Bourlon Ridge, the Germans had shifted twenty divisions to the front for a massive counterattack. Beginning at 7:00 AM on November 30, German forces employed stormtrooper infiltration tactics which had been devised by General Oskar von Hutier. Moving in small groups, German soldiers bypassed British strong points and made great gains. Quickly engaged all along the line, the British concentrated on holding Bourlon Ridge which allowed the Germans to drive back III Corps to the south. Though fighting quieted on December 2, it resumed the next day with the British being forced to abandon the east bank of the St. Quentin Canal. On December 3, Haig ordered a retreat from the salient, surrendering British gains except for the area around Havrincourt, Ribà ©court, and Flesquià ¨res. Aftermath The first major battle to feature a significant armored attack, British losses at Cambrai numbered 44,207 killed, wounded, and missing while German casualties were estimated at around 45,000. In addition, 179 tanks had been put out of action due to enemy action, mechanical issues, or ditching. While the British gained some territory around Flesquià ¨res, they lost approximately the same amount to the south making the battle a draw. The final major push of 1917, the Battle of Cambrai saw both sides utilize equipment and tactics that would be refined for the following years campaigns. While the Allies continued to develop their armored force, the Germans would employ stormtrooper tactics to great effect during their Spring Offensives.