Phantom of the Opera - Obsession; the Mask of Love

Finally, Lee and Christine surmounted their fears of life by being with one another. Christine had always feared rejection, without Lee's love and understanding Christine would never have had her carefree

Webber uses masks in many different ways in the play, The Phantom of the Opera. One of the ways that he uses them is with the characters. Every character in the play wears some kind of mask. Whether it’s just stage makeup, a wig, beard, or a moustache, they all

Shakespeare 's Othello comprises of the subjects betrayal, affection and dishonesty. At the focal point of this play is the lamentable ruin of Othello because of his so-called friend Iago. In this paper I will be examining the explanations behind and against Othello being in charge of his defeat through taking a gander at critical interpretations of his character and activities.

The children's version, meant for 8 to 12 year-olds, is the most like the original 1920s Gaston Leroux version.  One of the few things that is changed, other than the overall abbreviation of the novel, is simplification of the language.  For example, Erik begins describing himself by saying, "I was ugly.  Worse than ugly"3.  This straightforward, childlike language puts the novel at the preteen reading level while preserving Erik's crucial description.  The Phantom of the Opera is the most popular book in Random House Publishing's youth "Bullseye Chiller" series, above other tales of vampires, werewolves, mummies, and witches4.  Even children can identify with the love triangle among the three main characters - Erik, Christine and Raoul.  They probably still pity his unrequited love for Christine, and the way in which he was mistreated.  Night Magic, another adaptation, is much lighter reading and aimed at a different audience than the more literary variations.  Night Magic is the modern-day romance version of Phantom, spanning two decades.  Erik becomes a reclusive scarred contractor, and Christine is now Marisa, a spoiled and orphaned teenager with a beautiful voice.  The traditional Erik kills without a thought when he feels threatened, while Erik's most raging moment in Night Magic consists of him throwing a stool across the room when a client has been flirtatious with Marisa5.  This adaptation is lacking the "dangerous" side of Erik, so as not to scare

* This theme is mainly developed through the major characters of the play. They all employ this unconscious, protective self-delusion strategy that makes life possible. Through their susceptibility to Iago’s plotting, and the unfolding of their characters, their lack of self-awareness is demonstrated

     In the novel, Phantom of the Opera, by Gaston Leroux, we are introduced to a character

This audio extract from Act 1 Scene 3 characterizes Othello in many ways, but ultimately as the tragic hero of the play. This scene sets up the tragic downfall of the protagonist and disrupts the chain of being by exposing Othello’s fatal flaw, his hubris. Othello’s speech and relationship with Desdemona are two key ways that the audio explores his hubris.

And while his death does not happen during the time of the musical it still affects her in every single way. With the death of her father came the death of the only life she knew. But, like most deaths written about in this time, his was beautiful. On his deathbed he described an angel of music that would come and guide Christine in everything she did. His death again served a purpose. Firstly it brought Christine to the Phantom witched sparked the whole ordeal the musical is based off of. It also made Christine cherish her father’s memory and everything he ever said to her. This includes his talk of the angel of music. The way he died fit in with everything the musical represents. The beauty behind the mask. While his death was very beautiful and peaceful, it still is death in the end. A young girl lost her father to a horrible disease. It shaped her whole life and in fact changed its very

James Barbour is currently playing the role of the Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera which is performed at Majestic Theatre in New York City. He has countless accomplishments including performing in eight Broadway shows and twelve films as well as winning three of the six awards he has been nominated for (Wikipedia Contributors). Although James Barbour sounds perfect on paper, he has a dark past.

The emotion shown by characters in a play appeals to an audience, the emotional impact characters have on us makes them interesting and attractive as in a way, emotion is the universal glue that binds us together. Emotional quality within a character hooks the audience by taking them through a series of different feelings throughout the play allowing the audience to relate to both the positive and negative qualities of the character’s search for meaning. This allows the audience to connect with the characters, therefore, breaking down the wall between characters, players and the audience. ‘Othello’ by William Shakespeare portrays the progressive downfall of a noble soldier due to his over-emotional nature and self-pride. ‘Othello’ is a play that portrays a manipulative antagonist, Iago plants the seed of doubt in Othello’s mind about his wife supposedly committing adultery. Othello is emotionally innocent and naive which makes it easy for Iago to plant a seed of doubt in his mind, as he begins to distrust his wife and leads to his eventual downfall. This chaotic emotional journey evokes an array of emotion within the audience as they watch and pity Othello’s fated journey and cruel ending. Goodness and innocence in the form of Desdemona does not triumph. The conflicting emotional ground swell stirred up by this dichotomy grips and appeals to our own emotional life.

The Phantom of the Opera started out as a book written by Gaston Leroux, published January 8th in 1910 (Haining, 1). There have been several adaptations since then, including Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical. The other adaptations were Das Phantom der Opera, which is also known as Das Gespent im Opernhaus produced during 1916 in Germany as a silent drama film, this is known as a lost film due to no known copies existing at this time. A silent drama horror was produced on November 15th, 1925, a drama thriller was produced during August 27th in 1943, a horror film was produced June 25th during 1962, and an indie thriller, called Phantom of the Paradise was adapted from Phantom of the Opera and then produced in October 31st of 1974.

In Stephen King's Christine, Arnie's obsessive love to Christine sets up a classical rivalry love triangle between Christine, Arnie Cunningham and Leigh Cabot. While the theme of love triangles are a relatively common and well understood among literature, plays, and movies, King's version of a love triangle in the novel is somewhat unconventional. The protagonist of the novel, Christine, is not a human character but a 1958 Plymouth Fury possessed by vengeful spirits of the LeBay family. King characterized Christine as a female that Arnie loves very dearly. Nonetheless, the female personification of Christine makes the story intriguing because the love triangle incorporates elements of powerful human emotions such as obsession and jealousy,

Thus, it is easy to understand to see in the character of the Daaé miss a first love. Christine sees the ghost to the "angel of music" that announced her father before he died.

Desdemona is a victim of both Othello’s jealousy (the ‘green-eyed monster’) and Iago’s malevolence. However, as a literary construct, she is unable to prevent herself from falling victim to the hamartia of Othello and his hubris, an essential flaw in the tragic hero according

Othello is one of the greatest plays due to its variety of character and themes. The immorality seen in Iago, the gullibility in Othello, and the desperation of Desdemona make the story. The theme of social status plays a huge role in the story. In addition, the theme of appearance versus reality also plays a huge role in how each tragedy happens. In the critical essay “Othello” it discusses the idea that the characters are cast as outsiders due to false interpretation of what is happening or what is being said. On the other hand, the piece “Othello Character Analysis” emphasizes how characterization reflects the greatness of the piece.