Rosa Novotny | The Plays

The 5 Most Incredible Plays of All Time

July 30, 2017September 7, 2017Rosa NovotnyLeave a comment

Plays are one of the best art forms of expressions in portraying a story about a certain idea and concept. Writers have been so patient and imaginative in creating these plays with twisted and distinct plots, interesting characters and deep messages. Because of their impact on the world, they have been critically-acclaimed, multi-awarded and considered as among the most influential literary works. Here is our list of the top 5 plays of all time:

Hamlet by William Shakespeare

One of the greatest literary pieces is Shakespeare’s Hamlet which dramatizes the tragic story of Prince Hamlet’s revenge towards his uncle Claudius who murdered his brother and married his mother to seize the throne. Shakespeare wrote this tragedy with characters in an abnormal state of mind with Hamlet centered on problems arising from love, death, and betrayal. Hamlet has 5 acts, which is so far the longest play of Shakespeare and is regarded as the most influential work in world literature.

Long Day’s Journey into Night by Eugene O’Neill

This autobiographical play written by Eugene O’Neill in 1940s was considered to be one of the finest plays of the 20th century. It followed his own story with his brother and parents. The play centers the pain of family expressing blame, accusations, and resentments. This includes the mother’s addiction to morphine, father’s miserliness, brothers’ illnesses and the family’s addiction to whiskey. This piece received 1957 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee

This play written by Edward Albee was first staged in 1962. The title of the play is a pun on the song “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?” from Walt Disney’s Three Little Pigs. This examines the breakdown of the marriage of the couple, Martha and George. Their disappointment with their relationship leads to bitterness and frustration between them, making them question the difference between reality and illusion. The play won 1963 Tony Award for Best Play and New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play.

Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

Death of a Salesman is a 1949 play written by Arthur Miller. The play premiered on Broadway in February 1949, running for 742 performances. It revolved around the sad story of the sales man Willy Loman and his delusions that barely keep him afloat. The play uses flashbacks to portray Willy’s memory during the reality. His illusion suggests his past and his lost pastoral life. The more he engages into illusion, the harder for him to know and face reality. Death of a Salesman bagged 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play.

Angels in America by Tony Kushner

Angels in America by Tony Kushner was played into two parts entitled Millennium Approaches and Perestroika. The play is a symbolic and metaphorical examination of AIDS and homosexuality in America in America during the 1980s. Its major characters are supernatural beings and deceased persons who play multiple roles, all involving homosexuality. Some of them are the gay couple and the homophobic man, among others. This play won numerous awards including the Tony Award for Best Play, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It has also been made into television series and opera.

Have you seen one of these plays performed in your school?

7 Greatest American Authors of All Time

June 28, 2017September 7, 2017Rosa NovotnyLeave a comment

Writing is an essential tool to express our deepest thoughts. Writers need inspirations to mold a masterpiece that reflects society and all concepts. America has been a home to thousands of incredible literary works. Here is our list of the greatest American authors who have exuded undying passion to writing:

Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1804 – 1864

Hawthorne was a novelist and short story writer who has been labeled of his dark romantic theme which suggests that sin, guilt, and evil are natural qualities of mankind. His works which are set in a past New England showcases historical fiction with concepts of ancestral sin, guilt, and retribution. His most famous novel is “The Scarlet Letter”.

Edgar Allan Poe, 1809 –1849

Poe was a writer, editor and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories which center mystery and suspense. He is even considered the inventor of detective fiction. His works were not only popular in America, but also in Europe. Some of his notable poems are “The Raven” and “The Bells”. He was also known for his stories The Masque of the Red Death and The Pit and the Pendulum.

Walt Whitman, 1819-1892

Whitman became a prominent poet in the world for his disregard for traditional rhyme and meter to celebrate democracy of thoughts and sensual, please. One of his masterpieces is “Leaves of Grass”, a collection of poems studied by various poets and critics and was transformed into songs and numerous languages. His influence can be found everywhere – feature films, musical works, and best seller lists.

Emily Dickinson, 1830 – 1886

Dickinson is considered one of the most powerful voices of American culture. During her lifetime, she was not known as a poet. In fact, after she died, her sister found almost 2, 000 poems. She experimented poetry and deviated from the conventional first person point of view. The speakers of some of her poems are observers in the society. Her works include “The Soul has Bandaged Moments” and “Fame is a Fickle Food”.

F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1896 – 1940

Fitzgerald was a novelist regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. He is best known for his “The Great Gatsby” which is a story of doomed love between a man and a woman, in the grip of greed and hollow pursuit of pleasure. This became a constant best-seller which sold millions of copies. He also wrote “The Beautiful and Damned” and “This Side of Paradise”.

Ernest Hemingway, 1899 – 1961

Hemingway was a popular novelist, short story writer, and journalist who published seven novels, six short story collections and two non-fiction literary works. His pieces depend on the themes of love, war, wilderness, and loss. He is notable for his “Indian Camp”, “A Farewell to Arms”, “Death in the Afternoon” and “The Old Man and the Sea”. He has received Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954. In 1961, he committed suicide just like his father, brother, and sister.

Henry James, 1843 – 1916

James is considered one of the key figures of the 19th-century literary realism. He is notable for his writings that center a character’s point of view. He used interior monologues and narrators in his stories, which brought a new depth to narrative fiction. Some of his prominent works are “The Portrait of a Lady” and “The Wings of the Dove”

Have you read some of their works?

The 6 Most Influential Works of Fiction of All Time

May 28, 2017September 7, 2017Rosa NovotnyLeave a comment

Writers have dedicated their ideas and inspirations to put to words the stories of religion, culture, tragedies and basically everything about life. They used distinct styles and devices in crafting their messages in various literary works. Now, let us take a look at some of the most influential works of fictions that you should not miss:

The First Folio by William Shakespeare

This folio was composed of William Shakespeare’s comedies, histories, and tragedies which was published in 1623. It was considered one of the most influential books ever published. It was prepared by Shakespeare’s friends, John Heminges and Henry Condell and was dedicated to Shakespeare’s “incomparable pair of brethren” William and Philip Herbert. It contained 36 plays generally accepted by Shakespeare.

The Odyssey by Homer

The Odyssey is the second of the two epic Greek poems attributed to the ancient poet known as Homer. Apart from The Iliad, it was considered one of the best works of Western literature. It was composed near the end of 8th century. The poem focuses on the hero Odysseus (Ulysses in Roman myths) and his adventure to Ithaca following the fall of Troy.

Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes

This Spanish novel was published in two volumes in 1605 and 1615. It follows the story of an elderly knight named Don Quixote who had madly read many books of chivalry which led him to set out an adventure with his pragmatic squire Sancho Panza. Ingenious Nobleman Mister Quixote of La Mancha, its full title is one of the earliest European novels. Its author Miguel de Cervantes was almost an exact contemporary of Shakespeare.

Oedipus the King by Sophocles

Oedipus Rex or Oedipus the King is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles. This play was first performed in about 430 BCE which tackles the story of Oedipus, the King of Thebes who was prophesized that he is going to kill his own father, Laius and marry his mother. He has successfully solved the riddle of the Sphinx which saved his land from being devastated by plague. He married his mother, Jocasta, without knowing that they are related.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Very popular with children, Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland tells us the story of Alice who fell through a rabbit hole and reached a dreamy world populated by peculiar and fantastic characters including Humpty Dumpty, the Queen of Hearts, Cheshire cat and the Hatter, among others. Lewis Carroll had references on people, situations, and buildings in Oxford and at Christian churches.

The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales is a collection of 24 stories I a frame story between 1387 and 1400. It follows thirty people who travel as pilgrims to Canterbury and told these stories in their journey. Chaucer reflected religion in his stories making a significant theme of the work. It was also evident that Chaucer used various linguistic styles and rhetorical devices in his tales.

How many of these fictions have you read?

The Best Writers of All Time

April 27, 2017September 7, 2017Rosa NovotnyLeave a comment

In the present time, we read novels, poems, plays and essays that continue to inspire and awaken us about culture, history and everyday living. These are written by incredible writers who were very passionate in capturing the world. Here is our list of the 10 best writers of all time:

William Shakespeare, 1564 – 1616

William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright, and actor and is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. He was the man behind the ever popular “Romeo and Juliet” and “Hamlet”. Apart from plays, he is also known for his poems and sonnets. His works are translated into over 50 languages and performed all over the world for audiences of all ages.

Homer, c. 800 BCE–c. 701 BCE

Homer is a Greek poet who is credited as the first writer of the epic stories of “The Odyssey” and “The Iliad” which had an enormous impact on Western culture. Homer’s style falls more in the minstrel poet or balladeer category, with repetitive elements and epic content.

Fyodor Dostoevsky, 1821 – 1881

Dostoevsky is a Russian novelist and a short-story writer who is best known for his novella “Notes from the Underground” and novels “Crime and Punishment”, “The Idiot” and “The Possessed”. Dostoevsky is considered to be one of the greatest psychologists in the history of literature.

Jane Austen, 1775 – 1817

Jane Austen was a Georgian era author who was popular for her social commentary in literary classics “Pride and Prejudice” and “Sense and Sensibility” which bridged the gap between romance and realism.

Leo Tolstoy, 1828 – 1910

Tolstoy is also a Russian author who wrote the acclaimed novels “Anna Karenina”, “Death of Ivan Ilyich” and “War and Peace”. Tolstoy was remarkable of his realistic approach, basing his novels from his day-to-day life activities.

Charles Dickens, 1812 – 1870

English novelist Charles Dickens was considered one of the greatest writers of the Victorian era. He received wider popularity for his simple and sophisticated appeal to his stories. He is widely known for his “A Tale of Two Cities” and “A Christmas Carol”.

J. R. R. Tolkien, 1892-1973

Tolkien was the man behind award-winning novels and blockbuster films “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy. He found writing fantasy fiction a hobby. He even felt before that his fans considered him as “lunatic”.

George Orwell, 1903 – 1950

Orwell was an English novelist and essayist known for his “Animal Farm” and “Nineteen Eighty-Four”. He addressed some major political movements such as imperialism, fascism, and communism in his works.

Mark Twain, 1835 – 1910

Twain made his adventures an inspiration to his works including “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” and “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”. Twain, who used the pseudonym Samuel Langhorne Clemens was most notable for his distinct humor in how works.

Victor Hugo, 1802 – 1885

Victor Hugo was a French poet, author, and playwright widely known for his “Les Miserables”. He also had his own brand of romanticism which he portrayed on his “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”. In this novel, he also presented how harsh and degrading a society can be.

Who are your favorite writers? Comment down below.