Nike Csr - 3496 Words

Nike CSR Corporate social responsibility can be defined as the economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary expectations that society has of organisations at a given point in time (Carroll and Buchholtz 2003, p. 36). The concept of corporate social responsibility means that organizations have moral, ethical, and philanthropic responsibilities in addition to their responsibilities to earn a fair return for investors and comply with the law. A traditional view of the corporation suggests that its primary, if not sole, responsibility is to its owners, or stockholders. However, CSR requires organisations to adopt a broader view of its responsibilities that includes not only stockholders, but many other constituencies as well, including†¦show more content†¦I am now going to list and elaborate on all of Nikes’ CSR policies and schemes. The Nike Considered Index Breakdown: This index tool is provided for evaluating the carbon footprint of a product prior to commercialisation. This system examines solvent use, waste, materials and innovation for footwear. Apparel products are evaluated on waste, materials, garment treatments and innovation. Products are assigned a Considered score using the Index framework based on Nike s known footprint in these areas. Only products whose score significantly exceeds the corporate average can be designated as Considered. The Index metrics are based on over a decade of collecting solid waste and solvent use data in footwear, and the examination of waste footprints in hundreds of apparel and footwear products across all sport categories. They are also based on the evaluation of every commercial material used to manufacture Nike products using a life cycle approach. Reuse the shoe program: Since 1993, Nike have recycled over twenty million sports shoes and contributed to more than 250 sports surfaces for children to play on. They promote this program by using the slogan, â€Å"Worn out. Play on.† Nike Environmentally preferred materials: Nike has developed a Material Analysis Tool (MAT) based on lifecycle thinking to quantitatively evaluate and rank our material choices, giving definition to Nike EPM s. Each material is assigned a numeric value that feedsShow MoreRelatedCsr and Nike3829 Words   |  16 Pages1. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and its Importance: 1.1 Definition of CSR: What does Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR mean? The World Business Council for Sustainable Development in its publication Making Good Business Sense by Lord Holme and Richard Watts, used the following definition: Corporate Social Responsibility is the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and to contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce andRead MoreThe Csr Issue Of Nike1776 Words   |  8 PagesThe first subject to be considered is what exactly the CSR issue is and why it is significant. Nike is the largest producer and seller of sports outfit and apparel in the world. Phil Knight established the organization in 1964 by offering running shoes out of the storage compartment of his car at track and field competitions meets. The company grew radically and since then, Nike has developed and now possesses over $19.2 billion in revenue with its products sold in about 180 countries in the worldRead MoreNike CSR Analysis1581 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿ CSR Analysis and Impact on Operations Nike has a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics that includes its commitment to the environment and is a signatory of the UN Global Compact. Nike has created a team of sustainability managers led by an independent director. Its environmental goals include producing eco-friendly products and minimizing its environmental impact through the reduction of greenhouse gases, organic solvents and PVCs. Nike acknowledges the difficulty of tracking environmentalRead MoreNike Csr Challenge1492 Words   |  6 Pages12/15/2015 10  Recommendations  for  Lean  Production  Execution  Success Advertisement 1. Lean  Manufacturing 3. Lean  Manufacturing 5. Lean  Production  Systems 2. Lean  Manufacturing 4. Lean  Resources 6. Lean  Production Tuesday,  December  15,  2015    Health Business Finance Travel Home  Repair Technology Computers Autos Family Entertainment   Nirav  Patel   Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚   10 Recommendations  for  Lean  Production Execution  Success    Management  Articles  |  July  11Read MoreOrganizational Culture Through Csr Initiatives Are Tentree And Nike Essay1183 Words   |  5 Pagescorporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives can directly reflect organizational culture and the voluntary implementation of these beliefs, expectations and values. It demonstrates their organizational reputability, especially if society benefits from them operating in an economic, social and environmentally sustainable manner (Global Affairs Canada, 2016). Two companies that portray their organizational culture through CSR initiatives are Tentree and Nike. However, these companies differRead MoreNike And Sweatshop Practices During Asian Pacific Region2331 Words   |  10 PagesNike and Sweatshop Practices in Asian Pacific Region The introduction and growth of globalization in the developing world coupled with the rise of Multi-National Corporations have produced an onslaught on factory workers who are forced to work in sweatshops for little or no pay. A business dictionary defines globalization as the worldwide movement towards economic, financial, trade and communications integration. Globalization points towards the opening of local and nationalistic perspectivesRead MoreMission And Vision Of Nike And Adidas1992 Words   |  8 Pagesof learning the vision, mission, CSR and stakeholders of two multinational sports utility manufacturing Companies, Nike and Adidas. In this report, we will be learning what their goals are, mission and vision of Nike and Adidas, how they have implemented these into their company process, how their policy is different. We will also be studying different strategies and different stakeholders they focus on to maintain their respective company’s sustainability. Nike and Adidas both specialize in footwearRead MoreNike Ethics Case Study1215 Words   |  5 Pagesfrom mass ordering and mass production are opportunities Nike sorted to exploit. However, this is not with problems as might lead to loss of control, and moral concern like was the case with Nike raising concern relating ethical principle in business. In this paper, we shall be answering questions related to the complexities of expansion amid a globalize world drawing inspiration from â€Å"The Promise and Perils of Globalization: The Case of Nike†, a working paper presented by Richard M. Locke and AlvinRead MoreCommunity Relations Efforts Of Nike Inc. Essay2154 Words   |  9 Pages Title: Community Relations for NIKE Author: Isuri Rajapaksa Faculty Sponsor: Katrina J. Quinn Abstract: This case study examines the community relations efforts of Nike Inc. This project gives an overview of the company and shows how the community relations programs can be developed globally. It also consists of the comparison between Nike and Toms. Finally this case study also includes and insight on an interview, suggestions and an evaluation. Nike is a multinational corporation foundedRead MoreNike Supply Chain764 Words   |  4 PagesNike Supply Chain Management Nike is one of the world’s largest athletic shoes and Apparel Company based on USA, including footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories, and services. The company was found at January 25, 1964 and they change its name to NIKE on May 30, 1971. Nike has brand basket and market them, such as NIKE+, Air Jordan, Hurley International, Converse and etc. Nike’s supply chain is plenary because they control the add-value part by itself and outsourced those labor-intensive part

The Law Is A Mid Sized Business Law Firm Based - 1987 Words

Modus Law is a mid-sized business law firm based in Boulder. We were founded upon the ideal of breaking the traditional mold in our organization culture and the way we deliver legal services to entrepreneurs and business owners. Our core values are education, transparency, efficiency and mindfulness. Law is a technical professional, so there is separation between the level of understanding of clients and attorneys and even a language barrier. Clients receive a large bill for services without fully understanding the value that has been created. From our clients’ perspective, we stand out from the competitors because of our practical, technology based, casual, and fun approach to law. We don’t take ourselves too seriously, but we do take†¦show more content†¦Our expenses have also increased greatly during this time. We purchased an office in Boulder and we are undergoing renovations. We are also under LOI for a new leased space in Broomfield that we are designing. This is very capital intensive. At first, we were a start up and all clients were good clients. We did not have much internal structure nor a focus on marketing. We now need to develop a set of metrics that help assess the health of the business and find a way to fuse our informal culture with the benefits of additional structure. Being in a growth phase is a challenge, since our growth is faster than our sustainable growth rate, we must follow that with a dynamic approach and increased marketing efforts, and secure debt and equity financing. We are in the midst of many changes in response to this growth to attempt to maximize customer lifetime value, including adopting credit card payment integration, hosting promotional events, adjusting pricing models, charging interest to late paying clients, utilizing targeted marketing campaigns, growing our presence on social media and increasing automation. As we grow in number of employees, number of locations, amount of payroll, new expenses like 401k management and matching, 50% coverage for employees’ health care, bonus compensation, and increased marketing efforts, as well as large amounts of difficult to collect and overdue AR, we struggled to cover expenses. During thisShow MoreRelatedSwot - Pepsi and Coca Cola1142 Words   |  5 PagesSarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 is a United States federal law enacted on 30th July 2002, also known as the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002 and commonly called SOX or Sarbox. This law was passed in response to a number of major corporate and accounting scandals including those affecting Enron, Tyco International, Adelphia, Peregrine Systems and WorldCom. These scandals, which cost investors billions of dollars when the share pricesRead MoreRecommending a COBIT-Based IT Security Framework for a Midsize Organization1243 Words   |  5 PagesRecommending a COBIT-Based IT Security Framework for a Midsize Organization The current objective is to provide the medium sized insurance organization with the most effective draft of and IT security policy framework. In reviewing the literature, it is clear that recent implementations of a COBIT model have proven incredibly successful in keeping with an efficient and productive organizational IT structure. As such, it is recommended that COBIT serve as a primary model for the foundation of theRead MoreEmployer Based Health Insurance : The Affordable Care Act ( Aca ) Changes The Healthcare Industry1089 Words   |  5 PagesEmployer-based Health Insurance Employer based health insurance has received much criticism and its existence is in jeopardy as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) changes the healthcare industry. Penalties enacted by the ACA may cause businesses to reevaluate their standing on providing insurance coverage. However, evidence shown by Klein (2013) and Radnofsy (2012) give way to thinking that large business may not change their policies on providing insurance coverage. Moore (2013) and Pear (2010)Read MoreEssay Banking on Solar Energy1318 Words   |  6 Pagespresident of Sunlight would be to try and re-consider the idea of doing business in Malaysia or Hong Kong. I would research the laws of trade between these other two countries and see if we would encounter the same issues as we are with doing business in Thailand. This information might not be of any use for the time being, but perhaps it’s something that can be of use in the future. Considering the decision of doing business in Thailand has already b een made, I would start with lobbying both theRead MoreThe Future Of Business Consulting869 Words   |  4 Pagesservices (Salifu). Our research corroborated this trends, as well as gave us more insight into the future of business consulting. Saliently, it indicated that changes in the economic, technological, business and political environment are set to affect the consulting industry. Consequentially, it will affect the function of consultants as well as companies in this industry. The growth of business consulting has coincided with the recovery of the global economy from the recession in 2009 (â€Å"Advice forRead MoreDo You Dream Of Starting Your Own Business?2415 Words   |  10 Pages Do you dream of starting your own business? Yes, I do have a dream of starting my own law firm. I have a personnel drive to give back to the community and to serve the public. 1) In general terms, how would you explain your idea to a friend? I would explain to my friend that my idea is to open a law firm for people who need help with various legal matters. 2) What is the purpose or objective of your venture? The purpose is to offer the citizens of the community with proper, affordable legal servicesRead MoreCase Study Of Lazer Spot Is The U.s. Industry Leader Of Third Party Yard Management Services Essay940 Words   |  4 Pagesannual revenue and 2,300-plus employees (90% are commercially licensed drivers) working in 31 U.S. states and 278 locations, and is growing organically at ~20% annually. The company is now planning its initial entry into the Canadian market through a business start-up that is scheduled to be fully operational by end of Q1 2016. COMPANY BACKGROUND/CULTURE Founded in 1995 by two entrepreneurs, the organization has grown every year since, adding blue-chip customers and expanding its footprint throughoutRead MoreBusiness Structure Liberalisation Of Australia And The Uk2246 Words   |  9 Pagesmuch of the consumer economy. Despite its prevalence, franchising is noticeably absent in the legal profession. This absence, however, may soon be a thing of the past. The recent wave of business structure liberalization in Australia and the UK is causing Ontario lawyers to discuss whether to permit alternative business structures (ABS) in the province, including franchise arrangements. Proponents of ABS argue that it will lead to innovation and efficiency, resulting in cheaper legal services. HoweverRead MoreWhy Small Firms Having An Understanding Of The Characteristics Of International Business2006 Words   |  9 PagesWithin this essay I will be discussing the possibility of small firms having an understanding of the characteristics of interna tional business and not just only the large firms. This is because small businesses are always looked down and people have a misconception that only larger firms choose to go globally. Every business needs to have a mission and objectives and need to know what affects them environmentally and within their organisation. If they understand what is happening within the organisationRead MoreThe Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 20024779 Words   |  20 Pagesof failed or poor governance, insufficient disclosure practices, and a lack of satisfactory internal controls, in 2002 George W. Bush signed into law the Sarbanes-Oxley Act that became effective on July 30, 2002. Congress was seeking to set standards and guarantee the accuracy of financial reports. Viewed as the most significant change to securities laws since the 1934 the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (also known as SARBOX or SOX) sought to address the public concerns through making corporate board members

John Locke Free Essays

John Locke Free Essays John Locke is one of the most important philosophers from the second millimium. One reason why he is so important to American history, is the influence of his writings upon Thomas Jefferson and other contributors to the writing of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution which still constitute two of the most important documents in American history. It would therefore behoove anyone interested in the history of the Enlightenment, philosophy and Colonial America, to study one of the rare figures in history would is able to encompass all three elements and bring them together. We will write a custom essay sample on John Locke or any similar topic only for you Order Now John Locke is that individual who is one who is able to do it. One of the greatest minds; John Locke is still read and discussed to this day. One of the litmus tests of the assumed greatness of those who come before, is whether or not that individual is still discussed and viewed as important centuries, or even decades after his or her death. John Locke fully meets that requirement. John Locke was born on August 29, 1632 twelve miles from the English town of Bristol. Both of Locke’s parents were Puritan and it would be this religious upbringing that would help to mold and to shape Locke’s beliefs, even if his philosophy was not always in unison with his religious upbringing. In 1647, at only the age of 15, Locke went sent to the prestigious Westminster School in London.[1] After successfully completing his studies there, Locke was then accepted to Christ Church in Oxford. Despite findings himself unmotivated by the classical curriculum which the university offered, Locke received his degree in 1656 and then a Master’s degree in 1658.[2] Locke, always fond of learning, received his Bachelor’s Degree in Medicine in 1674 as well. In 1667, Locke became the personal physician of Lord Ashley as well as continuing his medical studies and practice in London. It would be there that Locke, under the influence of Thomas Sydenham, Locke would write one of his most famous works: An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. Locke would also write his famous Essays while living at the household of Sydenham’s. Locke continued to write at this time and to make his philosophical views known. Lock was the exact opposite of another famous English philosopher; Thomas Hobbs. Locke’s Two Treatises of Government, with most of it written during England’s Glorious Revolution of 1688. This was concluded after Locke had spent five years in exile in Holland as he was suspected of being involved in the Rye House Plot due to his outspoken criticism of the English monarchy. Locke returned to England where he continued to write and to speak out for representative government. Locke’s writings would not be published until the last decade of his life. It was then that Locke, a sufferer from asthma, retreated to the house of a friend, lady Masham. During this period, Locke received many famous guests and well wishers. Among the notable guests were Isaac Newton and John Dryden. After a prolonged decline in his health, Locke died on October 28, 1704.[3] Locke never married, nor did he have any children. During Locke’s life, he was able to witness the English restoration, the Great Plague of London and the Great Fire of London. Locke just missed the 1707 Act of Union which brought Scotland under the rule of England for the next, nearly three hundred years. The shift towards a democracy in England would not be seen during Locke’s life.   However, Locke’s greatness lies in the ability that his writing had to influence other democracies who at the infancy of their life, relied upon the wisdom of John Locke in which to form a government. Not only did Locke have a great influence upon the French writer Voltaire, but also on such American forefathers as Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. It was in Locke’s writings about the human understanding which helped to create the greatest influence upon those who read him. Locke writes: â€Å"Whereas were the capacities of our understanding well considered, the extent of our knowledge once discovered, and the horizon found, which sets the boundary between the enlightened and the dark parts of things, men would perhaps with less scruple acquiesce in the avow’d ignorance of the one, and employ their thought and discourse, with more advantage and satisfaction in the other.†[4] Locke, unlike the philosophers before him, did not believe that man should find the limits of the Understanding. Locke argues something very different and which is contrary to the teachings of his personal hero Descartes. Locke asserts that at birth, people are born with a blank mental state and that their knowledge only comes from their experiences and not from their birth. Such assertions, though nothing new to the modern reader, had very interesting and profound reactions from those who came after him and absorbed his writings. The writings of Locke speak to the need for a meritocracy to govern men and not the established and favored ruling class which had been the norm in Europe for a thousand years. In this, Locke speaks against the divine right of kings which most churches as well as the established authority prescribed to. This stated that kings were there to rule by the grace of God; either good, bad or indifferent and that their offspring were to be given the authority to rule after their father is gone because it is the will of God. Locke believed, and is confirmed by America’s forefathers, that those who rule, should be granted the title, not by their lineage but by their merit. So too should the elevation of an individual through society be made possible, not by what class he comes from and how much money he has in order to buy himself a ticket into the ruling class, but rather from the skills and hard work which he needs to possess. Although contemporary America is not entirely based upon such premises and the next president of the United States will be one who cam spend hundreds of millions of dollars in order to win the office, it is the merit of the individual which is judged more than the family in which the applicant came. This is the premise of American democracy which has helped to make this country, to a large degree, the land of opportunity. John Locke had a great deal of influence in this becoming a reality. John Locke also spoke and wrote on a wide variety of other subjects and it should not be attempted to fit his beliefs into a single and neat definition. His most famous writings did deal with political thought. Locke advocated the presence of checks and balances within the government and even though humans are ruled by reason and tolerance, human nature encouraged men to be selfish and hateful as well. Locke’s beliefs in the right of the individual to possess: â€Å"life, health, liberty, or possessions†[5] as well as the belief that societal revolution was not only from time to time bound to happen, but that it was a right and an obligation in circumstances in which the government was trampling upon the rights of the individual. Locke believed that property is natural right of man and that right is derived from the labor which that individual is willing to partake in so that he may acquire the property. Also, that property which is the sole possession of the individual, that ownership is not to be infringed upon by the government which cannot â€Å"dispose of the estates of the subjects arbitrarily.†[6]   All of the aforementioned beliefs would play a profound influence upon the Declaration of Independence as well as the Constitution of the United States.[7] Locke also spoke about the monetary value of money and its uses within a society as well as the rules of supply and demand. Locke was not one to self contain his sphere of learning to one single aspect. Locke’s writings on The Self was also one of his more important contributions to philosophical thought. Locke defined The Self as: â€Å"that conscious, thinking thing, (whatever substance, made up of whether spiritual, or material, simple, or compounded, it matters not) which is sensible, or conscious of pleasure and pain, capable of happiness or misery, and is so concerned for itself, as far as that consciousness extends.†[8] In doing so, Locke argues against the Augustinian view of man as originally sinful but that man is born with a clean slate who later dirties it up with the greed and hatred that all too often, acts as a great impediment to the self fulfillment of The Self. Locke would conclude on the subject by stating: â€Å"I think I may say that of all men we meet with, nine parts of ten are what they are, good or evil, useful or not, by their education.†[9] The 19th century debate about nature vs. nurture, was first made famous by John Locke and his belief that it is the experiences of the individual and not his birth alone, which make up The Self of the individual. John Locke was one of those rare individuals who talents, beliefs and writings, have lasted and have remained relevant, centuries after their death. Who within today’s world will be able to make the same claim? The applicants are few and fare between. Also, who within today’s world will be able to influence to the same degree, the ways in which John Locke stood against the established and overly privileged and in the backdrop of threats upon his life, continue to write and to speak his or her own mind and in doing so, affect the lives of millions of people, albeit in an indirect way as was the case with John Locke? In history, we find only a few such people and only hindsight will tell if there are any more to come. If there are more individuals to come with the same motivations and lasting ability, they will stand atop the mountain of human wisdom and greatness with only a few, select individuals. John Locke will one of the few   present who will be there to greet th e future giants of human wisdom and ability. WORKS CITED Burns, Ken Thomas Jefferson New York: Steeplechase Films PBS Productions 1997 Locke, John Two Treatises of Government New York: Oxford University Press 2006 Milton. J. R. Essays Writings of John Locke New York: Oxford University Press 2006 Quotes by John Locke http://thinkexist.com/quotations/ Retrieved October 23, 2007 How to cite John Locke, Essay examples

An analysis on romeo and juliet pride and prejudice free essay sample

This research paper will compare and contrast literal aspects of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Both the movies fall in the genre categories of drama and romance, but throughout the story their literal aspects differ. The plot, characters, context, setting, narrator, themes, motifs and symbols vary from each other although they do not vary too much in some aspects. Since both the movies are great stories, I found it difficult to come at a conclusion to say which one’s better. But after thoroughly analyzing both masterpieces, I came to the conclusion that the Romeo and Juliet has made a greater contribution literature than the Pride and Prejudice. BACKGROUND Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is about tragic love story. Regrettably, when Tybalt insults Romeo, a street duel breaks out between the first cousin of Juliet, Tybalt and Mercutio, Romeos best friend. Friar Laurence decides to notify Romeo about the hoax so that he could meet Juliet after her burial and flee with her as soon as she recovers from her swoon and so he sends Friar John, to go and give Romeo a letter to notify of the death of his dearly beloved. However, Balthasar, Romeos servant, sees the burial of Juliet, thinking that she is dead, he goes to convey the bad news Romeo and unluckily reaches Romeo before Friar John. In misery, Romeo hurries to Juliets tomb and ends his life by drinking poison. Wakening up in a while after he expires, Juliet discovers a dead Romeo and goes on to stab herself with his dagger in order to join him. Later, both the families attend their joint funeral together and come to an understanding to end the feud. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is about the 5 daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet and their struggles as their mother, Mrs. Bennet, strains to get them married. They get to know that the men are Mr. Bingley, who has just rented the local estate of Nether field, and Mr. Darcy, both rich, eligible unmarried men, and this excites Mrs. Bennet. When Mr. Darcy does ask her to dance with him, she refuses, nonetheless when Mr. Wickham asks her right in front of Darcy, she accepts. Later, he asks her hand in marriage, but she refuses, partly due to the fact that Wickham had told her about Darcy depriving him of his rightful fortune, and also for the reason that she has just got to know that ended the love between Mr. Bingley and Jane. Mr. Darcy visits Elizabeth and tells her that Wickham will never marry Lydia. The story ends with a long kiss between Elizabeth and Darcy, with Mrs. Bennet spying on them and seeing how her other daughters have found noble suitors. CONTEXT Romeo and Juliet was written by the most persuasive playwright in all of English literature, William Shakespeare, was born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, England to a successful middle class family that made gloves. Shakespeare’s works were gathered and printed in numerous editions in the century following his death, and by the early eighteenth century his name as the greatest poet ever to write in English was well established. The unprecedented esteem garnered by his works steered to a fierce inquisitiveness about Shakespeare’s life, but the dearth of factual information has left many details of Shakespeare’s personal history masked in mystery. A quite a few of Shakespeare’s plays seem to have even excelled the category of brilliance, becoming so influential as to intensely affect the path of Western literature and culture ever after. (Marks) Through the unsurpassed intensity of his language Shakespeare prospered in this effort, in writing a play which is accepted universally in Western culture as the foremost, archetypal love story.(Isabelle Hopkins) The film was directed and co-written by Franco Zeffirelli, and starred Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey. Pride and Prejudice was written by Jane Austen. She was born in Steventon, England, in the year of 1775, and she lived there until she was twenty-five years old. She published her book was in January 1813, two years after her first no vel, ‘Sense and Sensibility’, and it attained an admiration that has endured even to this day. She published four more novels: Emma, Mansfield Park, Northanger, Persuasion, and Abbey. Persuasion, and Abbey, were published in 1818, a year following to her death. (Learning lit) During Jane Austen’s life, only her family knew about her authorship of her novels. Although anonymous publication prevented her from securing an authorial reputation, it also allowed her to keep her privacy at an era when the English society allied a female’s appearance into the public scope with a reprehensible cost of femininity. The social environment of Austen’s Regency in England was on the whole stratified, and class separations were rooted in family acquaintances and wealth. However, Austen was in various ways a realist, and the England that she portrays is one in which has limited social mobility and strong class-consciousness. (Austen 1994) Socially well-organized ideas of suitable behavior for respective genders factored into the works of Austen. Being a clergyman’s daughter, she would have had hands on experience on parish work and was without doubt conscious of the poor people around her. The criticisms that she makes on class structure give the impression to take account of only the middle and upper social classes; the lower social classes in which if they seem to appear whatsoever, are in general servants who look as if they are seamlessly pleased by means of their lot. This absence of attentiveness in the lives of the poor people may perhaps be a catastrophe on Austen’s part, on the other hand it ought to be understood as a catastrophe communal by the greater part of English people at the time.(Austen 1994) On the whole, she occupies a questioning position amongst the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In their cognizance of the situations of modernity and urban life and the costs for family structure and single characters, they foreshadow ample Victorian literature. (Austen 1994) PLOT The plotline for Romeo and Juliet starts as a brawl breaks out in the streets among the servants of Capulet and Montague; the feuding noble families of Verona. Benvolio, a M ontague, tries to stop the fighting, but is himself embroiled while the hasty Capulet, Tybalt, comes to on the scene. After people are annoyed by the constant ferocity overthrow the aggressive parties, Prince Escalus, the head of state of Verona, endeavors to prevent further clashes amongst the families by sentencing penalty of death for any person who disrupts the peace of Verona in the future. (BBC Learning) Romeo, Montague’s son, bumps into Benvolio, his cousin who had seen him earlier moping in a sycamore grove. After some nudging by Benvolio, Romeo confesses that he is fallen in love with woman named Rosaliane, who doesn’t return his loves. Benvolio advices Romeo to forget Rosaline and find another woman who is more beautiful. But Romeo stays despondent. (BBC Learning) In the meantime, Count Paris, a kinsman of Prince Escalus, seeks the hand of Juliet, in marriage. Juliet’s father Capulet, yet happy at the proposal, asks Paris to delay it two years, since Juliet has not even turned en fourteen. Capulet sends forth a servant with a list of folks to invite to a masquerade and a feast that he holds traditionally. He invites Count Paris to the feast, eager that Paris will win the heart of Juliet.(Learning Literature) Romeo and Benvolio, yet discussing Rosaline, come across the Capulet servant who bears the invitations list. Benvolio suggests that they go to the masquerade, since that it would give space to Romeo to compare his beloved Rosaline to other gorgeous women of Verona. Romeo reaches the agreement to go the feast with Benvolio, only for the reason that Rosaline, whose name will be present. (BBC Learning) In t he household of the Capulets, Juliet talks with Lady Capulet, her mother, and her nursemaid regarding the likelihood of marrying Count Paris. Although Juliet has not yet well-thought-out about the marriage, she agrees to give Paris a chance during the feast to see whether she’d fall in love with him. (BBC Learning) As the feast begins, Romeo felling melancholy, follows Benvolio and their entertaining friend Mercutio to house of the Capulets. Once they got inside, Romeo sees Juliet from afar and falls in love with her instantly completely forgetting about Rosaline. As Romeo keeps his eyes fixed Juliet, attracted, to the young Capulet, Tybalt the first cousin of Juliet, recognizes him, and becomes furious that a Montague would secretly come to into a Capulet feast. He gets ready to attack, but Capulet forbids him. Before long, Romeo speaks to Juliet, and the teenagers experience a deep attraction. They even go onto kiss, not even knowing the names of each other. But when he discoveries from Juliet’s nurse that she is the Capulet’s daughter— the enemy of his family—he becomes distressed. When Juliet hears that the young man that she has just kissed is Montague’s son, she grows equally upset as him. (Learning Literature) As Benvolio and Mercutio leave the estate of Capulet, unable to leave Juliet behind Romeo jumps over the orchard hedge into the garden. From the place he was hiding, he sees his Juliet in a window above the orchard hedge and overhears her voice his name. He gets her attention, and they go on to exchange their vows of love. (BBC Learning) Hurriedly, Romeo goes to see Friar Lawrence who is his friend and confessor. Though taken aback at the unexpected turn of Romeo’s heart, he agrees to secretly marry the young lovers because he understands that their love could be the possible of ending the long-standing feud amid Capulets and Montagues. The next day, Romeo and Juliet come together at Friar Lawrence’s cell and are wedded. (BBC Learning) The following day, Mercutio and Benvolio encounter Tybalt—Juliet’s first cousin—who, still furious about the fact that Romeo attended feast of the Capulets, and challenges Romeo to a duel. Romeo appears and since by marriage Tybalt is a kinsman, Romeo pleads the Capulets to delay the duel til he realizes why Romeo does not want to duel. Disgusted with this appeal for peace, Mercutio declares that he will duel Tybalt himself. The two of them begin to duel, Romeo attempts to stop them by jumping in to the middle of the combatants. Tybalt stabs Mercutio underneath Romeo’s arm, and Mercutio expires. Enraged by this Romeo, kills Tybalt and thereafter he flees from the scene. Soon after, the Prince sentences him to be banished forever from Verona for crime he committed. Friar Lawrence arrays for Romeo to spend the wedding night with his beloved Juliet ‘til he has to set course for Mantua the next morning. (Learning Literature) In her room, Juliet awaits the arrival of her new husband. The Nurse enters, and, after some confusion, tells Juliet that Romeo has killed Tybalt. Distraught, Juliet suddenly finds herself married to a man who has killed her kinsman. But she resettles herself, and realizes that her duty belongs with her love: to Romeo. (Learning Literature) Romeo sneaks into Juliet’s room that night, and at last they consummate their marriage and their love. Morning comes, and the lovers bid farewell, unsure when they will see each other again. Juliet learns that her father, affected by the recent events, now intends for her to marry Paris in just three days. Unsure of how to proceed—unable to reveal to her parents that she is married to Romeo, but unwilling to marry Paris now that she is Romeo’s wife—Juliet asks her nurse for advice. She counsels Juliet to proceed as if Romeo were dead and to marry Paris, who is a better match anyway. Disgusted with the Nurse’s disloyalty, Juliet disregards her advice and hurries to Friar Lawrence. He concocts a plan to reunite Juliet with Romeo in Mantua. The night before her wedding to Paris, Juliet must drink a potion that will make her appear to be dead. After she is laid to rest in the family’s crypt, the Friar and Romeo will secretly retrieve her, and she will be free to live with Romeo, away from their parents’ feuding. (BBC Learning) Juliet returns home to discover the wedding has been moved ahead one day, and she is to be married tomorrow. That night, Juliet drinks the potion, and the Nurse discovers her, apparently dead, the next morning. The Capulets grieve, and Juliet is entombed according to plan. But Friar Lawrence’s message explaining the plan to Romeo never reaches Mantua. Its bearer, Friar John, gets confined to a quarantined house. Romeo hears only that Juliet is dead. (Learning Literature) Romeo learns only of Juliet’s death and decides to kill himself rather than live without her. He buys a vial of poison from a reluctant Apothecary, then speeds back to Verona to take his own life at Juliet’s tomb. Outside the Capulet crypt, Romeo comes upon Paris, who is scattering flowers on Juliet’s grave. They fight, and Romeo kills Paris. He enters the tomb, sees Juliet’s inanimate body, drinks the poison, and dies by her side. Just then, Friar Lawrence enters and realizes that Romeo has killed Paris and himself. At the same time, Juliet awakes. Friar Lawrence hears the coming of the watch. When Juliet refuses to leave with him, he flees alone. Juliet sees her beloved Romeo and realizes he has killed himself with poison. She kisses his poisoned lips, and when that does not kill her, buries his dagger in her chest, falling dead upon his body. (Learning Literature) The watch arrives, followed closely by the Prince, the Capulets, and Montague. Seeing their children’s bodies, Capulet and Montague agree to end their long-standing feud and to raise gold statues of their children side-by-side in a newly peaceful Verona. (BBC Learning) The plotline for Pride and Prejudice starts with the news that a wealthy young gentleman named Charles Bingley has rented the manor of Netherfield Park causes a great stir in the nearby village of Longbourn, especially in the Bennet household. The Bennets have five unmarried daughters—from oldest to youngest, Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia—and Mrs. Bennet is desperate to see them all married. After Mr. Bennet pays a social visit to. Mr. Bingley, the Bennets attend a ball at which Mr. Bingley is present. He is taken with Jane and spends much of the evening dancing with her. His close friend, Mr. Darcy, is less pleased with the evening and haughtily refuses to dance with Elizabeth, which makes everyone view him as arrogant and obnoxious. (Austen, 1994) At social functions over subsequent weeks, however, Mr. Darcy finds himself increasingly attracted to Elizabeth’s charm and intelligence. Jane’s friendship with Mr. Bingley also continues to burgeon, and Jane pays a visit to the Bingley mansion. On her journey to the house she is caught in a downpour and catches ill, forcing her to stay at Netherfield for several days. In order to tend to Jane, Elizabeth hikes through muddy fields and arrives with a spattered dress, much to the disdain of the snobbish Miss Bingley, Charles Bingley’s sister. Miss Bingley’s spite only increases when she notices that Darcy, whom she is pursuing, pays quite a bit of attention to Elizabeth. (Austen, 1994) When Elizabeth and Jane return home, they find Mr. Collins visiting their household. Mr. Collins is a young clergyman who stands to inherit Mr. Bennet’s property, which has been â€Å"entailed,† meaning that it can only be passed down to male heirs. Mr. Collins is a pompous fool, though he is quite enthralled by the Bennet girls. Shortly after his arrival, he makes a proposal of marriage to Elizabeth. She turns him down, wounding his pride. Meanwhile, the Bennet girls have become friendly with militia officers stationed in a nearby town. Among them is Wickham, a handsome young soldier who is friendly toward Elizabeth and tells her how Darcy cruelly cheated him out of an inheritance.(Austen, 1994) At the beginning of winter, the Bingleys and Darcy leave Netherfield and return to London, much to Jane’s dismay. A further shock arrives with the news that Mr. Collins has become engaged to Charlotte Lucas, Elizabeth’s best friend and the poor daughter of a local knight. Charlotte explains to Elizabeth that she is getting older and needs the matc h for financial reasons. Charlotte and Mr. Collins get married and Elizabeth promises to visit them at their new home. As winter progresses, Jane visits the city to see friends (hoping also that she might see Mr. Bingley). However, Miss Bingley visits her and behaves rudely, while Mr. Bingley fails to visit her at all. The marriage prospects for the Bennet girls appear bleak. (Austen, 1994) That spring, Elizabeth visits Charlotte, who now lives near the home of Mr. Collins’s patron, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, who is also Darcy’s aunt. Darcy calls on Lady Catherine and encounters Elizabeth, whose presence leads him to make a number of visits to the Collins’s home, where she is staying. One day, he makes a shocking proposal of marriage, which Elizabeth quickly refuses. She tells Darcy that she considers him arrogant and unpleasant, then scolds him for steering Bingley away from Jane and disinheriting Wickham. Darcy leaves her but shortly thereafter delivers a letter to her. In this letter, he admits that he urged Bingley to distance himself from Jane, but claims he did so only because he thought their romance was not serious. As for Wickham, he informs Elizabeth that the young officer is a liar and that the real cause of their disagreement was Wickham’s attempt to elope with his young sister, Georgiana Darcy. (Austen, 1994) This letter causes Elizabeth to reevaluate her feelings about Darcy. She returns home and acts coldly toward Wickham. The militia is leaving town, which makes the younger, rather man-crazy Bennet girls distraught. Lydia manages to obtain permission from her father to spend the summer with an old colonel in Brighton, where Wickham’s regiment will be stationed. With the arrival of June, Elizabeth goes on another journey, this time with the Gardiners, who are relatives of the Bennets. The trip takes her to the North and eventually to the neighborhood of Pemberley, Darcy’s estate. She visits Pemberley, after making sure that Darcy is away, and delights in the building and grounds, while hearing from Darcy’s servants that he is a wonderful, generous master. Suddenly, Darcy arrives and behaves cordially toward her. Making no mention of his proposal, he entertains the Gardiners and invites Elizabeth to meet his sister. (Austen, 1994) Shortly thereafter, however, a letter arrives from home, telling Elizabeth that Lydia has eloped with Wickham and that the couple is nowhere to be found, which suggests that they may be living together out of wedlock. Fearful of the disgrace such a situation would bring on her entire family, Elizabeth hastens home. Mr. Gardiner and Mr. Bennet go off to search for Lydia, but Mr. Bennet eventually returns home empty-handed. Just when all hope seems lost, a letter comes from Mr. Gardiner saying that the couple has been found and that Wickham has agreed to marry Lydia in exchange for an annual income. The Bennets are convinced that Mr. Gardiner has paid off Wickham, but Elizabeth learns that the source of the money, and of her family’s salvation, was none other than Darcy. (Lierature.org) Now married, Wickham and Lydia return to Longbourn briefly, where Mr. Bennet treats them coldly. They then depart for Wickham’s new assignment in the North of England. Shortly thereafter, Bingley returns to Netherfield and resumes his courtship of Jane. Darcy goes to stay with him and pays visits to the Bennets but makes no mention of his desire to marry Elizabeth. Bingley, on the other hand, presses hi s suit and proposes to Jane, to the delight of everyone but Bingley’s haughty sister. While the family celebrates, Lady Catherine de Bourgh pays a visit to Longbourn. She corners Elizabeth and says that she has heard that Darcy, her nephew, is planning to marry her. Since she considers a Bennet an unsuitable match for a Darcy, Lady Catherine demands that Elizabeth promise to refuse him. Elizabeth spiritedly refuses, saying she is not engaged to Darcy, but she will not promise anything against her own happiness. A little later, Elizabeth and Darcy go out walking together and he tells her that his feelings have not altered since the spring. She tenderly accepts his proposal, and both Jane and Elizabeth are married. (Austen, 1994) CHARACTERS Shakespeare introduces a number of characters in Romeo and Juliet such as Romeo, Juliet, Friar Lawrence and Mercutio. A brief analysis about each character will be elaborated in the following. Romeo -The name Romeo, in popular culture, has become nearly synonymous with â€Å"lover. † Romeo, in Romeo and Juliet, does indeed experience a love of such purity and passion that he kills himself when he believes that the object of his love, Juliet, has died. The power of Romeo’s love, however, often obscures a clear vision of Romeo’s character, which is far more complex. Even Romeo’s relation to love is not so simple. The love she shares with Romeo is far deeper, more authentic and unique than the cliched puppy love Romeo felt for Rosaline. Her level-headed observations, such as the one about Romeo’s kissing, seem just the thing to snap Romeo from his superficial idea of love and to inspire him to begin to speak some of the most beautiful and intense love poetry ever written. Yet Romeo’s deep capacity for love is merely a part of his larger capacity for intense feeling of all kinds. Of course, though, had Romeo not had such depths of feeling, the love he shared with Juliet would never have existed in the first place. (BBC Learning) Among his friends, especially while bantering with Mercutio, Romeo shows glimpses of his social persona. Juliet Having not quite reached her fourteenth birthday, Juliet is of an age that stands on the border between immaturity and maturity. When Lady Capulet mentions Paris’s interest in marrying Juliet, Juliet dutifully responds that she will try to see if she can love him, a response that seems childish in its obedience and in its immature conception of love. Juliet seems to have no friends her own age, and she is not comfortable talking about sex as seen in her discomfort when the Nurse goes on and on about a sexual joke at Juliet’s expense. (Learning Literature) Juliet gives glimpses of her determination, strength, and sober-mindedness, in her earliest scenes, and offers a preview of the woman she will become during the four-day span of Romeo and Juliet. Juliet will accede to her mother’s wishes, but she will not go out of her way to fall in love with Paris. (BBC Learning) Juliet’s first meeting with Romeo propels her full-force toward adulthood. Essentially, Juliet cuts herself loose from her prior social moorings—her nurse, her parents, and her social position in Verona—in order to try to reunite with Romeo. (Learning Literature) Friar Lawrence He occupies a strange position in Romeo and Juliet. He is a kindhearted cleric who helps Romeo and Juliet throughout the play. But Friar Lawrence is also the most scheming and political of characters in the play: he marries Romeo and Juliet as part of a plan to end the civil strife in Verona; he devises the plan to reunite Romeo and Juliet through the deceptive ruse of a sleeping potion that seems to arise from almost mystic knowledge. In addition, though Friar Lawrence’s plans all seem well conceived and well intentioned, they serve as the main mechanisms through which the fated tragedy of the play occurs. (Literature. org) Mercutio With a lightning-quick wit and a clever mind, Mercutio is a scene stealer and one of the most memorable characters in all of Shakespeare’s works. The critic Stephen Greenblatt describes Mercutio as a force within the play that functions to deflate the possibility of romantic love and the power of tragic fate. Unlike the other characters who blame their deaths on fate, Mercutio dies cursing all Montagues and Capulets. (Literature. org) The most important characters in Pride and Prejudice are Elizabeth Bennet, Fitzwilliam Darcy, Jane Bennet and Charles Bingley, Mr. Bennet and Mrs. Bennet. Elizabeth Bennet The second daughter in the Bennet family, and the most intelligent and quick-witted, Elizabeth is the protagonist of Pride and Prejudice and one of the most well-known female characters in English literature. Pride and Prejudice is essentially the story of how she and her true love, Darcy overcome all obstacles—including their own personal failings—to find romantic happiness. Elizabeth must not only cope with a hopeless mother, a distant father, two badly behaved younger siblings, and several snobbish, antagonizing females, she must also overcome her own mistaken impressions of Darcy, which initially lead her to reject his proposals of marriage. (Literature. org) Fitzwilliam Darcy The son of a wealthy, well-established family and the master of the great estate of Pemberley, Darcy is Elizabeth’s male counterpart. Darcy demonstrates his continued devotion to Elizabeth, in spite of his distaste for her low connections, when he rescues Lydia and the entire Bennet family from disgrace, and when he goes against the wishes of his haughty aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, by continuing to pursue Elizabeth. Darcy proves himself worthy of Elizabeth, and she ends up repenting her earlier, overly harsh judgment of him. (AS Handbook) Jane Bennet and Charles Bingley Elizabeth’s beautiful elder sister and Darcy’s wealthy best friend, Jane and Bingley engage in a courtship that occupies a central place in the novel. They are spoken of as a potential couple throughout the book, long before anyone imagines that Darcy and Elizabeth might marry. Jane and Bingley exhibit to the reader true love unhampered by either pride or prejudice, though in their simple goodness, they also demonstrate that such a love is mildly dull. (Literature. org) Mr. Bennet – he is the patriarch of the Bennet household—the husband of Mrs. Bennet and the father of Jane, Elizabeth, Lydia, Kitty, and Mary. Initially, his dry wit and self-possession in the face of his wife’s hysteria make him a sympathetic figure, but, though he remains likable throughout, the reader gradually loses respect for him as it becomes clear that the price of his detachment is considerable. Detached from his family, he is a weak father and, at critical moments, fails his family. (Learning Literature) Mrs. Bennet – she serves as a middle-class counterpoint to such upper-class snobs as Lady Catherine and Miss Bingley, demonstrating that foolishness can be found at every level of society. In the end, however, Mrs. Bennet proves such an unattractive figure, lacking redeeming characteristics of any kind, that some readers have accused Austen of unfairness in portraying her—as if Austen, like Mr. Bennet, took perverse pleasure in poking fun at a woman already scorned as a result of her ill breeding. (Learning Literature) NARRATOR/ POINT OF VIEW Romeo and Juliet has both indirect and direct narrating. Insofar as a play has a point of view, that of Romeo and Juliet; occasionally the play uses the point of view of the Montague and Capulet servants to illuminate the actions of their masters. Pride and Prejudice is narrated in the third-person omniscient and it’s primarily told from Elizabeth Bennet’s point of view. SETTING Romeo and Juliet is set in the thirteenth or fourteenth century in Italy in Verona and Mantua. Much of the action takes place in Juliet’s house. Two cities of Venice are also mentioned in the play. The Capulets and the Montagues, the main families of the play, are from noble lineage and wealth; they dress well, live in fancy surroundings, and are served by many attendants. The play’s basic setting, therefore, is rich and elegant. (Modern world lit) Pride and Prejudice is set in the 19th century in England. It is set principally in Longbourn, the Hertfordshire country town that is a mile from Meryton and twenty-four miles from London. It is a well-ordered, provincial town, filled with landed gentry and oblivious to the sweeping changes occurring outside the fringes of its narrow, circumscribed vision. (Best Literature) THEMES The themes for Romeo and Juliet are ‘The Forcefulness of Love’, ‘Love as a Cause of Violence’, ‘The Individual versus Society’ and ‘The Inevitability of Fate’. These themes are explained further on. The Forcefulness of Love Romeo and Juliet is the most famous love story in the English literary tradition. Love in Romeo and Juliet is a brutal, powerful emotion that captures individuals and catapults them against their world, and, at times, against themselves. The powerful nature of love can be seen in the way it is described, or, more accurately, the way descriptions of it so consistently fail to capture its entirety. Juliet, perhaps, most perfectly describes her love for Romeo by refusing to describe it: â€Å"But my true love is grown to such excess / I cannot sum up some of half my wealth†. Love, in other words, resists any single metaphor because it is too powerful to be so easily contained or understood. Romeo and Juliet does not make a specific moral statement about the relationships between love and society, religion, and family. (Modern world lit) (BBC Education) Love as a Cause of Violence The themes of death and violence permeate Romeo and Juliet, and they are always connected to passion, whether that passion is love or hate. The passionate love between Romeo and Juliet is linked from the moment of its inception with death: Tybalt notices that Romeo has crashed the feast and determines to kill him just as Romeo catches sight of Juliet and falls instantly in love with her. Romeo and Juliet are plagued with thoughts of suicide, and a willingness to experience it: Romeo brandishes a knife in Friar Lawrence’s cell and threatens to kill himself after he has been banished from Verona and his love. (BBC Education) The Individual versus Society Much of Romeo and Juliet involves the lovers’ struggles against public and social institutions that either explicitly or implicitly oppose the existence of their love. For example, Juliet calls Romeo â€Å"the god of my idolatry,† elevating Romeo to level of God. But the social emphasis placed on masculine honor is so profound that Romeo cannot simply ignore them. It is possible to see Romeo and Juliet as a battle between the responsibilities and actions demanded by social institutions and those demanded by the private desires of the individual. (BBC Learning) The Inevitability of Fate In its first address to the audience, the Chorus states that Romeo and Juliet are â€Å"star-crossed†Ã¢â‚¬â€that is to say that fate; a power often vested in the movements of the stars controls them. These events are not mere coincidences, but rather manifestations of fate that help bring about the unavoidable outcome of the young lovers’ deaths. The concept of fate described above is the most commonly accepted interpretation. There are other possible readings of fate in the play: as a force determined by the powerful social institutions that influence Romeo and Juliet’s choices, as well as fate as a force that emerges from Romeo and Juliet’s very personalities. (Dramas) The themes for Pride and Prejudice are ‘Love’, ‘Reputation’ and ‘Class’. They are explained further in the following. Love Pride and Prejudice contains one of the most cherished love stories in English literature: the courtship between Darcy and Elizabeth. One could also say that Elizabeth is guilty of prejudice and Darcy of pride—the title cuts both ways. Austen, meanwhile, poses countless smaller obstacles to the realization of the love between Elizabeth and Darcy, including Lady Catherine’s attempt to control her nephew, Miss Bingley’s snobbery, Mrs. Bennet’s idiocy, and Wickham’s deceit. Darcy and Elizabeth’s realization of a mutual and tender love seems to imply that Austen views love as something independent of these social forces, as something that can be captured if only an individual is able to escape the warping effects of hierarchical society.(Austen 1994) Reputation Pride and Prejudice depicts a society in which a woman’s reputation is of the utmost importance. At other points, the ill-mannered, ridiculous behavior of Mrs. Bennet gives her a bad reputation with the more refined and snobbish Darcys and Bingleys. Austen pokes gentle fun at the snobs in these examples, but late r in the novel, when Lydia elopes with Wickham and lives with him out of wedlock, the author treats reputation as a very serious matter. By becoming Wickham’s lover without benefit of marriage, Lydia clearly places herself outside the social pale, and her disgrace threatens the entire Bennet family. The happy ending of Pride and Prejudice is certainly emotionally satisfying, but in many ways it leaves the theme of reputation, and the importance placed on reputation, unexplored. (Austen 1994) Class The theme of class is related to reputation, in that both reflect the strictly regimented nature of life for the middle and upper classes in Regency England. While the Bennets’, who are middle class, may socialize with the upper-class Bingley’s and Darcy’s, they are clearly their social inferiors and are treated as such. Through the Darcy-Elizabeth and Bingley-Jane marriages, Austen shows the power of love and happiness to overcome class boundaries and prejudices, thereby implying that such prejudices are hollow, unfeeling, and unproductive. Of course, this whole discussion of class must be made with the understanding that Austen herself is often criticized as being a classist: she doesn’t really represent anyone from the lower classes; Austen does criticize class structure but only a limited slice of that structure. (Austen 1994) MOTIFS For Motifs in Romeo and Juliet, Light/Dark Imagery and Opposite Points of View are be described in the following. Light/Dark Imagery One of the play’s most consistent visual motifs is the contrast between light and dark, often in terms of night/day imagery. On the contrary, light and dark are generally used to provide a sensory contrast and to hint at opposed alternatives. Romeo, forced to leave for exile in the morning, and Juliet, not wanting him to leave her room, both try to pretend that it is still night, and that the light is actually darkness: â€Å"More light and light, more dark and dark our woes†.(AS Handbook) Opposite Points of View Shakespeare includes numerous speeches and scenes in Romeo and Juliet that hint at alternative ways to evaluate the play. Mercutio serves as a critic of the delusions of righteousness and grandeur held by the characters around him. Where Mercutio is a nobleman who openly criticizes other nobles, the views offered by servants in the play are less explicit. There is the Nurse wholost her baby and husband, the servant Peter who cannot read, the musicians who care about their lost wages and their lunches, and the Apothecary who cannot afford to make the moral choice, the lower classes present a second tragic world to counter that of the nobility. (AS Handbook) For Motifs in Pride and Prejudice, courtship and journeys are described as follows. Courtship In a sense, Pride and Prejudice is the story of two courtships—those between Darcy and Elizabeth and between Bingley and Jane. Within this broad structure appear other, smaller courtships: Mr. Collins’s aborted wooing of Elizabeth, followed by his successful wooing of Charlotte Lucas; Courtship becomes a sort of forge of a person’s personality, and each courtship becomes a microcosm for different sorts of love or different ways to abuse love as a means to social advancement. (AS Handbook) Journeys Nearly every scene in Pride and Prejudice takes place indoors, and the action centers around the Bennet home in the small village of Longbourn. The third journey, meanwhile, sends various people in pursuit of Wickham and Lydia, and the journey ends with Darcy tracking them down and saving the Bennet family honor, in the process demonstrating his continued devotion to Elizabeth. (Austen 1994) SYMBOLS In Romeo and Juliet; poison, thumb biting, and queen mab are the three main symbols and they’re described in the following. Poison In his first appearance, Friar Lawrence remarks that every plant, herb, and stone has its own special properties, and that nothing exists in nature that cannot be put to both good and bad uses. Similarly, Romeo suggests that society is to blame for the apothecary’s criminal selling of poison, because while there are laws prohiting the Apothecary from selling poison, there are no laws that would help the apothecary make money. Poison symbolizes human society’s tendency to poison good things and make them fatal, just as the pointless Capulet-Montague feud turns Romeo and Juliet’s love to poison. (Modern world lit) Thumb-biting – at the beginning, the buffoonish Samson begins a brawl between the Montagues and Capulets by flicking his thumbnail from behind his upper teeth, an insulting gesture known as biting the thumb. He engages in this juvenile and vulgar display because he wants to get into a fight with the Montagues but doesn’t want to be accused of starting the fight by making an explicit insult. (Modern world lit) Queen Mab Mercutio delivers a dazzling speech about the fairy Queen Mab, who rides through the night on her tiny wagon bringing dreams to sleepers. One of the most noteworthy aspects of Queen Mab’s ride is that the dreams she brings generally do not bring out the best sides of the dreamers, but instead serve to confirm them in whatever vices they are addicted to—for example, greed, violence, or lust. Through the Queen Mab imagery, Mercutio suggests that all desires and fantasies are as nonsensical and fragile as Mab, and that they are basically corrupting. (BBC Education) In Pride and Prejudice; Pemberly, is the main symbol and it’s described as follows. Pemberley â€Å"In front,† she writes, â€Å"a stream of some natural importance was swelled into greater, but without any artificial appearance. † Darcy possesses a â€Å"natural importance† that is â€Å"swelled† by his arrogance, but which coexists with a genuine honesty and lack of â€Å"artificial appearance. † Like the stream, he is neither â€Å"formal, nor falsely adorned.† Pemberley even offers a symbol-within-a-symbol for their budding romance: when Elizabeth encounters Darcy on the estate, she is crossing a small bridge, suggesting the broad gulf of misunderstanding and class prejudice that lies between them—and the bridge that their love will build across it. (M odern world lit) CONCLUSION Both Romeo and Juliet and Pride and Prejudice are well made dramas that are very famous. Though at first glance, you may say that both novels are similar. Though both stories revolve around family and love, we see the differences in lifestyles and the different aspects of life in each era. After analyzing the plot, characters, context, setting, narrator, themes, motifs and symbols I came to the conclusion that the Romeo and Juliet has made a greater contribution literature than the Pride and Prejudice although at first it wasn’t easy to conclude which one’s better. Both are great stories and suitable for anyone to read as they are rich literature texts. REFERENCES www. literaure. org Austen, J. (1994). Pride and Prejudice Modern world lit Best literature AS Handbook www. bbcedu. com/literature www. bbclearning. com