SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE

"A tale of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy.
A fanciful tale of young Will Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes, Ralph's younger brother) who discovers his muse while struggling with his latest play, "Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate's Daughter," Madden's film is a tale of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy." movie review by Jeffrey Westhoff, Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

"Set amidst the grime and grandeur of Elizabethan England, "Shakespeare in Love" is an inspired re-imagining of history and a deft look at the relationship between art and life. Young Will Shakespeare ("Elizabeth's" Joseph Fiennes) is under commission from Philip Henslowe (Geoffrey Rush, also of "Elizabeth") to write a comedy, "Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate's Daughter."
Fiennes and Paltrow make a pleasant, though not distinctive, pair. Surrounding them are some of Britain's finest character players, who happily prove the saying that there are no small parts, only small actors. Crowning them all, as the wily Elizabeth I, is Judi Dench ("Mrs. Brown"), calmly stealing every scene she's in. But the real star is the script. It wears its scholarship casually, almost disguising how well researched and structured it is, preferring instead to delight us with joyful witticisms and adroit plot twists." by L. J. Strom

Have you ever had the necessity of growing up quickly? I bet you have. But what does growing up mean? Does it mean having more things accessible to you? Does it really mean owning your house and your car? Or does it mean living on your own without parents telling you off? Anyway, now matter what you think about growing up. This little boy I want you to meet is a fragile and delicate creature who is going to show you how to face life with commitment and naivety. He loves the world as it is and he is unable to feel contempt. By the end of the book, you will have learnt that the essential facts in life are invisible to your eyes because it is in your heart where you will find the real answers to the fundamental questions. This is growing up. Now let’s have a look at these lines. They will serve as an example of what you might find in the book: “The stars will be the horizon you will look at while you are smiling. I will be looking at the stars as well and the sun will feed me. You will have five hundred million kisses and I will have five hundred million hugs and I will not cry anymore when I look at the horizon. And we will belong together and things will never fall apart again because we will be looking at the horizon. Thanks for having tamed me.”

SOPHIE'S WORLD

I am going to introduce you to a warm and cozy world. This will be the place where you will want to stay for good because here you will find lots and lots of answers to your questions about who you are or what other people thought about the world before us. You will be able to understand about your past, about the hidden meaning of religion or you will understand why the culture you are living in is a product of a long process called history. And who are the creators of history? No, no. You are wrong. It is not the politics who make history but indeed we are the ones who make the world go round. Sophie will lead you through her world. She is a teenager like you are. She is a naive and smart girl who feels curious about everything she is surrounded by. She takes delight in finding out the reasons and explanations of her past and existence. So, take her hand and let her guide you through a new horizon in front of you. Let's have a blast together!!

Tom Sawyer

Tom Sawyer might be one example of the change from childhood to adolescence. The difficulties he has to face make him step into maturity progessively. There is something else about this novel. The treatment the writer makes of Tom Sawyer serves him to ridicule society. It is all the adventures and situations he has to go through that are going to demonstrate that the society Tom lives in is based on hypocrisy. In summary, this novel shows us that when universal values such as love or tolerance dominate society instead of codes of behaviour based on convention, this society works much better. You might feel identified to this character in many respects. There are lots of Tom Sawyers all around us!!
Have a look at this! http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/tomsawyer/themes.html