Pride and Prejudice film screening

 

1] Which version of the novel is more appealing? novel or film (adaptation)?    &                                     Compare the narrative strategy of novel and movie:                                                                                    Generally, I prefer a book before a movie. Because books develop our imagination, they are much more detailed than films. books have deeper thoughts while the movie has shallowness in them because, of lack of time. But in the pride and prejudice, I prefer the movie. The original novel 'pride and prejudice' by jane Austen is quite lengthy. while the movie, pride and prejudice  directed by Joe Wright; is based upon the novel  - pride and prejudice. personally, the version of 2005 is more appealing to me as it has the most amazing cinematography and the choice of perfect characters. this movie is giving me the vibe of the romantic era.                                                                                                                                                                           

                                                                            The acting is very well done by   Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet, Matthew Macfadyen as Mr.Darcy, Rosamund Pike as Jane Bennet, Simon Wood as Mr.Bingley, and Tom Hollander as  Mr.William Collins, and Mrs.Brenda Blethvn as Mrs.Bennet. I loved the chemistry of Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen. In the movie, the starings and long glances of Mr. Darcy can be creepy but Matthew Macfadyen does it so endearing and so sweetly. The movie definitely embodied the period and story very well. The movie goes very well as per the novel. Though there are some changes and alterations I didn't mind the aspects of the plot that were left out. the character of Mary Bennet doesn't really stand out too much in the book but she definitely standout in the movie.  I wouldn't have minded more walking throughout the film, but that's okay. For the most part, all the major plot points are covered well. Some characters are downplayed in the movie eg, Caroline Bingley and Mr. Wickham. Their character and their motives weren't played up as much as in the book.                                        2] character of Elizabeth:  

        The movie starts with the entry of Elizabeth bennet. In the starting we see Elizabeth reading a book. Our professor Dilip Barad sir often tells us that - " When the movie starts with the female character who is reading a book then there's surely something interesting in the movie!"                       

                                                              we can see that Elizabeth is bold, intelligent, and stubborn as well. she is quick-witted which shows the fertility of her mind and her thinking. Jane Austen's literary heroine Elizabeth Bennet is one of the most badass female literary characters ever written. Fiercely vocal about challenging stereotypes related to gender, social, and cultural norms, Lizzy remains a paramount figure of defiance and pride. she is definitely a strong character, but the thing I find the most interesting is that she is a very likable character from the beginning because she has weaknesses, and she has internal conflict. she does have the desire to find true love. she did give importance to marriage life and love life, but she never thought of it as the only earthly purpose of living. we can well observe the factor 'pride and prejudice' from Mr.Darcy as well as Elizabeth. the very first encounter of Mr.Darcy and Elizabeth, which started kneading conflicts of pride and prejudice; when Mr. Darcy says-                                                              " Perfectly tolerable! But not enough handsome to attempt me "                                                                                         there start the conflicts between Mr.Darcy and Lizzie about pride and prejudice. At the ball party, Mrs.Bennet starts praising her daughter Jane and exaggerates her beauty and householding skills she also mentioned that one boy loved Jane so much that he often wrote a letter to her and she assumes that, he must have written some poetry for her daughter jane. and while praising the beauty of jane to Mr. Bingely she starts backbiting Lucy. To avoid such a meaningful conversation about her friend, Lizzie diverts the conversation with the question -                                                                                                    Elizabeth:" I wonder who first discovered the power of poetry!"     Mr.Darcy:  " I thought poetry is the food of love !"                                         Elizabeth: "Of a fine love, it may but it is only a vague inclination. I'm convinced one poor sonnet will kill it stone dead!"                                        Mr. Darcy: " So what do you recommend to encourage affection?"                                                            

 Elizabeth taunts Mr.Darcy by saying                                

 Elizabeth: "Dancing, even if one's partner is barely tolerable"                                                                                                                   

     this is how we can say that Elizabeth is quick-witted. we can see the 'pride' of Lizzie when she admits while talking with Jane that -                            

 " I could more easily forgive his vanity, had he not wounded mine."                                                                               When Jane was invited to Bingley's, she goes there in rain. she fell ill. Lizzie ran to her, she was so worried about Jane as she was all alone at Bingley's. and she also lives with her there for some time. there were some conversations between Mr. Darcy, Miss Caroline, and Elizabeth. Caroline talks about Darcy's sister that she must have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, and modern languages Darcy also adds that she must read a lot and at the same time Elizabeth was also reading a book. which shows how much they both gave importance to the reading.  When Caroline offers a room tour to Elizabeth and taunts her by saying - "It's refreshing or not? after sitting so long in one attitude!" which shows her jealousy towards the liking and same interest of both- Elizabeth and Darcy but Elizabeth handles the situation very cleverly by saying "And it is small kind of accomplishment I suppose!"  she also asks Mr.Darcy  after teasing him " are you too proud Mr.Darcy? would you consider pride a fault or a virtue ?" Darcy replies- " That  I can not say" Elizabeth- " Because we are trying our best to find a fault in you" from this we can say that Elizabeth has something negative approach from Mr.Darcy that is 'prejudice'. but very next moment, Darcy says " My good opinion, once lost, is lost forever" from this we can see the 'Pride' of Darcy.                                                                        

                                                                                                                                  I also love that scene, in which Mrs.Bennnet visits Bingley's along with her daughters-                                                                                                                                                                                            

                                                                                                                                 The way this scene is shot. how all Bennet sisters and their mother are sitting on one couch and then Elizabeth is sitting on the other couch, like she is so apart from them. she is so different from them all.

                        After that, there's an encounter between Elizabeth with Wickham, a charming and well-spoken young man. Me. Wickham is a Militia officer who meets the Bennet sisters when he is stationed at Meryton. he can not consider a proper 'antagonist' of the novel, though he causes some problems to some characters of the novel. When Elizabeth Bennet meets first meets him, she finds him very charming and even begins to have feelings for him, but later she finds that he is not all that 'he seems'. this also shows their prejudices of Elizabeth toward Wickham. he tells her that he was raised alongside Mr.Darcy almost as an adopted sibling, but that Mr.Darcy cheated him out of an inheritance. Elizabeth believes Wickham blindly because she was having strong prejudices toward Mr.Darcy. but later Elizabeth did find the 'true' truth about Wickham.                                                                                                                   I think another thing that makes Elizabeth- 'A REAL STRONG'  female character is that she doesn't hold on to her prejudices, as the story grows. she's starting to see what Darcy is really like, his true character is being revealed.                                                                                                                                                                  When the story is mostly based on a female character, I mostly observed that the protagonist female characters are typical strong stereotypes, stubborn, and too stubborn. That annoying stereotypical female character who will not change her mind in any situation she won't admit that she's wrong. she doesn't have weaknesses, she doesn't have flaws. That's the stereotype that I hate the most. Actual strong female character grows, when she has weaknesses, misbeliefs, they she has internal conflicts, and fears. And I think Jane Austen made a perfect strong female character and Keira Knightley played it really well, giving enough justice to Elizabeth Bennet, in the movie Pride and Prejudice which is directed by Joe Wright.

 the character of Mr.Darcy:                                      

          Fitzwilliam Darcy is a very arrogant man of England's upper crust. From the very starting, we can well observe the 'pride' and 'prejudice' of both characters,  Darcy and Elizabeth. darcy was having pride more than prejudice. he considers Elizabeth 'not enough handsome' to attempt him.' pride and prejudice' has characters who have flaws, a flaw is a misbelief, so both characters have their own misbeliefs, their own flaws. they are dealing with and working through. we can see the prejudice toward Darcy when he considers the Bennet family a joke and something which can not fit with the Bingley family. so Darcy convinces Bingley to leave Netherfield, and go to London, to get away from Jane. Charles Bingley should not marry Jane because her family is unsuitable for the Bingley family. but very soon Darcy himself starts feeling affection towards Elizabeth!! he advises Bingley not to marry Jane but at the same time, he is in love with Jane's sister!!                                                                                                                                                                                                 In the movie, we don't see Darcy's character in a larger perspective as we see Elizabeth, though we can 'feel' their internal conflicts with Darcy. we can see the factor-pride is getting strong with the dialogue of Mr.Darcy while proposing to Elizabeth-                             "I have struggled with vain and I can bear it no longer. I've fought against my better judgment, my family's expectation, the inferiority of your birth, my rank and circumstances, all those things, and I am willing to put them aside and ask you to end my agony... I love you"                                                                                                   Even after rejection, Mr.Darcy did clarify all the misunderstandings of Lizzy about Wickham. When Lizzy visits Darcy's home, from the perspective of Elizabeth we also come to know about Darcy's goodness. one of his servants asks Elizabeth if she knows Mr. Darcy then Elizabeth replies- "only a little" there we see the prejudices of Elizabeth starts breaking down.

Mr. Darcy rescued Lydia with womanizer-Wickham. he helped them with money because he knew very well what could happen to Bennet's sister if one of them runs away ( probably no one would marry them in that era). he also convinced Bingley to go for Jane, as if his prejudices are baseless now. then there starts some romantic chemistry between them. that is one of the mistakes I see a lot of writers do, with hate-to-love romance. especially, there suddenly we have characters who were hating each other for no good reason and suddenly they start loving each other for no good reason. one can understand this if he/she has seen the Gujrati movie Love ni Bhavai.                                                                                                                                              At end of the movie, Darcy proposes one last time to Elizabeth. and she accepts the proposal. a satisfying story is a story where the characters transform as a result of their journey. and that truth that they learn always goes back to the misbelief that they had at the beginning of the story.  we can see the protagonist at the end and at the beginning from the following: 

                                               

                                

                                                                                                                                    3]  Illustration of the society of that time (Jane Austen's presentation):                                As per Jane Austen's novel 'Pride And Prejudice, the most common topic was a marriage at that time. during that period, the main purpose of humans was to get married. marriage is the only important thing for lady and man as well. Education was not important at all.. pride and prejudice depict a society in which a women's reputation is of the utmost importance, a woman is expected to behave in certain ways .stepping outside the social norms makes her vulnerable to ostracism, this theme appears in the novel when Elizabeth walks to Netherfield and arrives with muddy skirts, to the shock of the reputation-conscious Miss. Bingley. technically in that period, one would be ruined if their sister ran off, and one's whole family would be ruined. no guy's gonna touch you so this is kinda a disaster.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     The second most important thing was 'class' and 'mannerism'. from the very first entry of Miss. Bingley and Darcy, there is some kind of seriousness on the face of Mr.Darcy and Caroline Bingley. the seriousness of Caroline was all about her awareness of her class. from her expression, one can clearly see some kind of pride because of her class. Elizabeth when goes to Bingleys to check on her sister, and visit, Mr. Darcy stands up to greet Elizabeth while Caroline kept sitting, this shows 'pride' in Caroline. and she judges her for her muddy clothes

                          I can be / I am definitely wrong that there is 'female petriachry' in that time (as per Jane Austen's- Pride And Prejudice) we can observe the female patriarchy through the character of Mrs.Bennet, Miss. Caroline Bingley and Lady Catherine de Bourgh.Mrs.Bennet took all the decisions of her family without asking her daughters or her husband Mr.Bennet! Caroline Bingley also took the decision about the love life of her brother Charles Bingley. ( whom he should love or not as per their class and reputation). Lady Catherine, even though she is not part of the family of Mr. Collins, though Mr.Collins wants to get married just to please her. this shows the impact of Lady Catherine on Mr.Collins.                                                                                                                                                    Another factor is 'mannerism' at that time, people gave so much importance to it. mostly upper class followed it more strictly. In this novel, Caroline Bingley, Lady Catherine, Mr.Darcy, Charles Bingley, and Mr.Coliins are the best example of it. Caroline follows it strictly. mannerism is not everything, but it is something. My second ball party- thrown by Bingley's, almost every Bennet was feeling free at that party. mannerism is something that shows fake sophistication of society; which is probably wrong. but when someone starts behaving free publically and, when it bothers or disturbed someone then that is something problematic.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         5] What sort of differences would I make, in the making of the movie:                                      Everything is perfect in this movie. I love the cinematography of this movie.

 if I have to make some changes, I would definitely let Jane marry Mr.Bingley.(Because Mr. Bingley doesn't have his own thoughts on whether to love Jane or not. he takes the advice of others to follow his heart. he can't take decisions on his own. when someone tells him to leave Jane because of class differences and when someone convinced him to propose to Jane and he also proposes to her. he behaves like a puppet.)                                                                                                                                                        6] Who would be my choice of the actors to play the role of the characters:                                       Every actor in this movie, justified their role. even though if I have to change the character then the following will be my choice:                                                    * Regé-jean page as Mr.Darcy                                           * Phoebe dynevor as Jane Bennet                                                     * Emma Watson as Elizabeth Bennet                                                *Rupert Grint as Mr. Bingley                                                        *Salman Khan as Mr. Collins                                                            *Chris Hemsworth as Wickham                                                                                                                                                                                This is the list of actors whom I'd like to see as playing some of the interesting characters of the novel 'Pride And Prejudice.                              7] A scene that I liked the most:                       After getting engaged to Mr.Collins, Lucy comes to Elizabeth and tells her about her engagement. when Elizabeth asks her why she married Mr.Collins, then she gives very valid reasons (that reasons were valid at that time)! and says that  " We all are fools in love ". after that incident, Elizabeth started thinking broadly. this made her more mature. the way she swirls in the movie, as the season passes by; shows the best cinematography, perfect angel, perfect timing, and most important- perfect acting/ expression. 

                                                             

characteristics of Renaissance literature and Romantic literature

Q:Can we differentiate general characteristics of Renaissance literature with that of Reformation / Restoration or Neo - classical or Romantic or Victorian or Modern literature ?

    Before differentiate the literary characteristics of renaissance literature and romantic literature, we should have some lights upon the term ‘renaissance’ and ‘romantic’.

   Renaissance:The word renaissance is a French word which means - "rebirth". Renaissance movement started in Italy. the Renaissance promoted the rediscovery of classical philosophy, literature and art.

 Romantic:In English literature, ‘Romantic’ is characterized by a celebration of nature and the common man, a focus on individual experience, an idealization of women, and an embrace of isolation and melancholy.

         ★Renaissance:

             Renaissance started with ‘The Revival Of Learning’ (though there were some glimpse of renaissance movement in the age of Chaucer). In broad sense The Revival Of Learning means the gradual enlightenment of the human mind after the darkness of the middle ages. 

    The beautiful change in the history of English literature has three Key stges of renaissance:

• 13th and 14th century: the early renaissance

• until the end of the 15th century: High renaissance

• the 16th century: late renaissance.

        As we all know that the renaissance is ‘breaking dawn’ period of English literature from the dark middle ages.

    “ Life is short. Art long. Opportunity is fleeting. Expierience treacherous. Judgement difficult.”

              —Geoffrey Chaucer

        Religion occupies an important place in Middle English literature, as it was an important element of social life in the medieval ages. People lived in constant fear of hell and its torments and were vitally concerned with the salvation of their souls. That’s why religious writing forms a greater part of Middle English Literature.

        De Quincey says,-

         “In the Middle Ages, the literature of knowledge and the literature of power are often close together if not much the same thing.” 

         Due to the church's authority over the lives of people, Middle English literature is absolutely didactic in nature, full of teachings and warnings instead of entertainment.

      Renaissance is also mentioned as an Elizabethan age as it has strong impact on Elizabethan age's literature mostly. During this period lots of social economical changes happened in England. Queen elizabeth bought a lot of political stability in England. 

       During this time England was very stable as if it has no wars like age of revival.And because there was no wars people started working towards various other art forms and one such an art form was literature.Renaissance literature was created at a most loud time in English history. The population was growing following the Dark Ages, and the monarchy faced many challenges, such as the downfall of Charles I. Science and humanism became growing forces among intellectuals, and art and literature grew faster than ever before thanks to increased education and invention.

      During renaissance, printing press came to England. And because of that lots of books can be written and can be read by more and more people in society. This change made England more curious towards literature and knowledge.

        Here are some major characteristics of literature of renaissance.

1.Humanism : 

           it is philosophy which says that humans have worth dignity and power. Humanism basically believes that life should be centred around the humans. It should not be centred around church, religion. As we know that before Renaissance movement church had supreme power over everything whether it is place, literature, art or person. But with renaissance people came to know that humans are the beautiful creation of God therefore life should be centred around the humans and humanity

2. Religious toleration: 

               the most significant characteristic of renaissance is the ‘religious toleration’ because of queen Elizabeth's influence. Because of Reformation, the fundamental questions of religious toleration seemed to be settled,and the mind of man, freed from religious fears and persecutions, turned with a great creative impulse to other forms of activity.

3. Enthusiasm: 

               it is an age of dreams, adventure, unbounded enthusiasm springing from the new lands of fabulous riches revealed by English explorers. There was a belief during this era that the “mind must search farther than the eye; with new, reach lines opened to the site, the imagination must create the new forms to people the new worlds.” While queen Elizabeth's explorers search the new world for the fountain of youth, her poets are creating literary works that are young forever. So dreams and deeds increase side by side, and the dream is ever greater than the dead. That is the meaning of literature.

5.Development of Science: 

          The age was accompanied by the birth of modern science, mathematics, astronomy etc. In the 4th decade of the 16th century, Copernicus replaced Aristotle’s system with the sun, instead of the earth at the centre of the universe.

           In astronomy, Harvey discovered circulation of blood in 1628. In addition to this, there was the use of clocks, telescopes, thermometers, compasses, microscopes etc. Hence there was considerable development in the scientific field.

    ★ Romentic literature:

           Romanticism was a literary movement that began in the late 18th century, ending around the middle of the 19th century—although its influence continues to this day.influence continues to this day. Marked by a focus on the individual (and the unique perspective of a person, often guided by irrational, emotional impulses), a respect for nature and the primitive, and a celebration of the common man, Romanticism can be seen as a reaction to the huge changes in society that occurred during this period.

           Because of Romentic literature the common people had begun to red, and the chief subject of romantic literature was essential nobleness of common man and the value of individual.

     Literary characteristic of the age

1. Hero in common man:

           This age Elevates common people and common events in language spoken by everyday man. This age portrayed flawed characters with good heart, glory in imperfection, concern and sympathy for common man.

2. Romantic enthusiasm:

   

“ bliss was it in that dawn to be alive,

    But to be young was very heaven.”

                       –Wiliiam Wordsworth

          The essence of romanticism was, it must be remembered, that literature must reflect all that is spontaneous and unafted in nature and in men, and be free to follow its on fancy in its own way.

 3. Age of poetry:

            As we all know that the glory of the age is in the poetry of Scott, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, Keats, Moore,and southey. 4.women as novelist:

              It was during this period that women assumed, for the first time, ans important place in our literature. Probably the chief reason for this interesting phenomenon lies in the fact that woman was for the first time given sums light chance of education, of entering into the intellectual life of phrase. Secondary reason maybe found in the nature of the age itself, which was intensely emotional. As woman is naturally more emotional than man, it may well be that the spirit of this emotional age attract her, and give hurt the opportunity to express herself in literature.

   ★ Form above two of the period, Renaissance and Romanticism we can differentiate these points: 

      • The two movements share similarities but their roots and main ideas are quite different.

      • The Renaissance, meaning 'rebirth', was a huge moment of progression for the sciences, arts and philosophy following the Middle Ages. The Renaissance was all about looking back to ancient civilizations for inspiration, such as the Greeks and Romans, and stepping away from the established Christian church. Humanism was very prevalent during this period, meaning that people thought more about how humanity could benefit from an idea, rather than how they could appease a higher power. This 'return to ancient times' inspired so much art and literature during this period.

      • Romanticism usually refers to the period I mentioned before. Romanticism was very much a reaction to the Enlightenment period that took place before and the Industrial Revolution on the horizon. The Enlightenment was about rational, scientific thinking, and Romanticism aimed to challenge that by focusing on emotions and the beauty of the natural world. It would be fair to say that 'Romantics' regarded themselves as led by intuition, rather than scientific thinking. The Revolutionary wars that took place at the time (French and American) were also a huge influence at the time. Though opinions between Romantics were divided on these matters, there was a strong sense of optimism for change. This also influenced art and literature of the time. The Romantics also looked back to the classical civilizations, but this was not what defined the movement, as was the case for the Renaissance.

     • One could argue that both of these movements took place because of a desire to change to a new way of thinking, but they were caused by different sequences of events. Along with the fact that these periods took place hundreds of years apart, the movements are different in their aims. The Renaissance looked towards a classical way of thinking which was still largely rational, whereas the Romantics focused more on emotions, intuition and a wild, untamed relationship with the natural world.