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Portia (The Merchant Of Venice)
Portia is a female protagonist of William Shakespeare's ''The Merchant of Venice''. A rich, beautiful, intelligent heiress of Belmont, she is bound by the lottery set forth in her father's will, which gives potential suitors the chance to choose among three caskets. If he chooses the right casket, he wins Portia's hand in marriage. If he chooses the incorrect casket, he must leave and never woo any other woman in marriage. She is shown to think little of various foreign noblemen of similar rank who are most likely to seek her hand in marriage and still less of two suitors who seem to attempt her father's assigned task. Instead she favours a young but impoverished Venetian noble, Bassanio, who is also a soldier and a scholar. Bassanio goes on to choose the right casket. Portia is also fond of wordplay and proverbs, frequently quoting and coining them, which was considered a sign of wisdom and sharp wit in Elizabethan era. Some suggest that the character of Portia was based on Q ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Everett Millais
Sir John Everett Millais, 1st Baronet, ( , ; 8 June 1829 – 13 August 1896) was an English painter and illustrator who was one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. He was a child prodigy who, aged eleven, became the youngest student to enter the Royal Academy Schools. The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was founded at his family home in London, at 83 Gower Street (now number 7). Millais became the most famous exponent of the style, his painting ''Christ in the House of His Parents'' (1849–50) generating considerable controversy, and he produced a picture that could serve as the embodiment of the historical and naturalist focus of the group, ''Ophelia'', in 1851–52. By the mid-1850s, Millais was moving away from the Pre-Raphaelite style to develop a new form of realism in his art. His later works were enormously successful, making Millais one of the wealthiest artists of his day, but some former admirers including William Morris saw this as a sell-out (Millais ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Porcia Catonis
The gens Porcia, rarely written Portia, was a plebeian family at Ancient Rome. Its members first appear in history during the third century BC. The first of the gens to achieve the consulship was Marcus Porcius Cato in 195 BC, and from then until imperial times, the Porcii regularly occupied the highest offices of the Roman state.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. III, p. 498 ("Porcia Gens"). Origin The nomen ''Porcius'' was derived from ''porcus'', a pig. It belongs to a class of gentilicia derived from the names of common animals and objects, such as ''Asinius'', ''Ovinius'', ''Caprarius'', and ''Taurus''. The Porcii were reputed to have come from the ancient city of Tusculum in Latium. This tradition was alluded to in a speech given by the emperor Claudius. Praenomina The chief praenomina of the Porcii were '' Marcus'' and ''Lucius'', two of the most common names throughout Roman history. The Porcii Catones favoured ''Marcus'', almost to th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pen Name
A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise the author's gender, to distance the author from their other works, to protect the author from retribution for their writings, to merge multiple persons into a single identifiable author, or for any of a number of reasons related to the marketing or aesthetic presentation of the work. The author's real identity may be known only to the publisher or may become common knowledge. Etymology The French-language phrase is occasionally still seen as a synonym for the English term "pen name", which is a "back-translation" and originated in England rather than France. H. W. Fowler and F. G. Fowler, in ''The King's English'' state that the term ''nom de plume'' evolv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abigail Adams
Abigail Adams ( ''née'' Smith; November 22, [ O.S. November 11] 1744 – October 28, 1818) was the wife and closest advisor of John Adams, as well as the mother of John Quincy Adams. She was a founder of the United States, and was the first second lady of the United States and second first lady of the United States, although such titles were not used at the time. She and Barbara Bush are the only two women to have been married to U.S. presidents and to have been the mothers of other U.S. presidents. Adams's life is one of the most documented of the first ladies: she is remembered for the many letters she wrote to her husband john adams while he stayed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during the Continental Congresses. John frequently sought the advice of Abigail on many matters, and their letters are filled with intellectual discussions on government and politics. Her letters also serve as eyewitness accounts of the American Revolutionary War home front. Surv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gemma Jones
Jennifer "Gemma" Jones (born 4 December 1942) is an English actress. Appearing on both stage and screen, her film appearances include ''Sense and Sensibility'' (1995), the ''Bridget Jones'' series (2001–2016), the ''Harry Potter'' series (2002–2011), ''You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger'' (2010), and ''Ammonite'' (2020). For her role in the BBC television film ''Marvellous'' (2014), she won the 2015 BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her other roles on television include '' Rainbow City'' (1967), ''The Duchess of Duke Street'' (1976–1977), ''Trial and Retribution'' (2003–2008), '' Spooks'' (2007–2008), ''Teacup Travels'' (2015–2017), '' Diana and I'' (2017), and '' Gentleman Jack'' (2019). Early life Jones was born in Marylebone, the daughter of Irene (''née'' Isaac; 1911–1985) and Griffith Jones, an actor (1909–2007). Her brother Nicholas Jones is also an actor. She attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where she won the gold medal.Radio T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lily Rabe
Lily Rabe (born June 29, 1982) is an American actress. She is best known for her multiple roles on the FX anthology horror series ''American Horror Story'' (2011–2021). For her performance as Portia in the Broadway production of ''The Merchant of Venice'', she received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. Her film credits include ''What Just Happened'' (2008), '' All Good Things'' (2010), ''Pawn Sacrifice'' (2014), ''Miss Stevens'' (2016), ''Golden Exits'' (2017), ''Vice'' (2018), '' Fractured'' (2019) and '' The Tender Bar'' (2021). On television, Rabe also appeared in the series ''The Whispers'' (2015), ''The Undoing'' (2020), '' The Underground Railroad'' (2021) and '' The First Lady'' (2022). Early life Rabe was born on New York City's Upper West Side, the daughter of playwright David Rabe and actress Jill Clayburgh. She has a younger brother, Michael, an actor and playwright; and an older paternal half-brother, Jason, a musician. Her father is Roma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lynn Collins
Viola Lynn Collins (born May 16, 1977) is an American actress. She has made television appearances in ''True Blood'' (2008), '' Manhunt: Unabomber'' (2017) and '' The Walking Dead'' (2021–2022), and is recognized for her roles in films such as '' X-Men Origins: Wolverine'' (2009) and '' John Carter'' (2012). Youth and education Viola Lynn Collins was born in College Station, Texas,. reported variously in May or June 1977.This source, which is currently hindered by WP:Original Research and source inaccessibility, is said to state a DOB as May 16, 1977. See 'subscription required''/sup> Collins is said to have come from Houston, Texas. She has English, Scottish and Irish ancestry but has also made unsubstantiated claims of Cherokee ancestry. She spent her formative years in Singapore, with "summers in Japan where my parents were getting their fourth and fifth and sixth Dan (''sic'') in Shitaru ... Okinawa style karate". During a childhood Christmas pageant in which she played ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caroline John
Caroline Frances John (19 September 1940 – 5 June 2012) was an English actress. She played classical roles on the stage and also portrayed Elizabeth "Liz" Shaw in the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', as well as several other television roles. Early life and education John was the third of eight children born to Vera (''née'' Winckworth), an actress and singer, and Alexander John, a theatre director. She was educated at St. Joseph's convent school, Crackley Hall in Kenilworth. After training at the Central School of Speech and Drama, she worked in theatre and toured with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre Company. She appeared in '' Juno and the Paycock'' in a 1966 production directed by Laurence Olivier, ''King Lear'', ''Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead'', ''The Merchant of Venice'' and as Hero in Franco Zeffirelli's production of ''Much Ado About Nothing''. ''Doctor Who'' John played the role of the Doctor's companion in 1970 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joan Plowright
Joan Ann Olivier, Baroness Olivier, (née Plowright; born 28 October 1929), professionally known as Dame Joan Plowright, is an English retired actress whose career has spanned over seven decades. She has won two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award and has been nominated for an Academy Award, an Emmy and two BAFTA Awards. She was the second of only four actresses (as of 2020) to have won two Golden Globes in the same year. She won the Laurence Olivier Award for Actress of the Year in a New Play in 1978 for Filumena. Early life Plowright was born on 28 October 1929 in Brigg, Lincolnshire, the daughter of Daisy Margaret ( née Burton) and William Ernest Plowright, who was a journalist and newspaper editor. She attended Scunthorpe Grammar School [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sybil Thorndike
Dame Agnes Sybil Thorndike, Lady Casson (24 October 18829 June 1976) was an English actress whose stage career lasted from 1904 to 1969. Trained in her youth as a concert pianist, Thorndike turned to the stage when a medical problem with her hands ruled out a musical career. She began her professional acting career with the company of the actor-manager Ben Greet, with whom she toured the US from 1904 to 1908. In Britain she played in old and new plays on tour and in the West End theatre, West End, often appearing with her husband, the actor and director Lewis Casson. She joined the the Old Vic, Old Vic company during the First World War, and in the early 1920s George Bernard Shaw, Bernard Shaw, impressed by seeing her in a tragedy, wrote ''Saint Joan (play), Saint Joan'' with her in mind. She starred in it with great success. She became known as Britain's leading tragedienne, but also appeared frequently in comedy. During the Second World War, Thorndike and her husband toured ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Claire Bloom
Patricia Claire Bloom (born 15 February 1931) is an English actress. She is known for leading roles in plays such as ''A Streetcar Named Desire,'' ''A Doll's House'', and '' Long Day's Journey into Night'', and has starred in nearly sixty films. After a childhood spent in England (and in the US for two-and-a-half years during the Second World War), Bloom studied drama in London. She debuted on the London stage when she was sixteen and took roles in various Shakespeare plays. They included ''Hamlet,'' in which she played Ophelia alongside Richard Burton. For her Juliet in ''Romeo and Juliet'', critic Kenneth Tynan stated it was "the best Juliet I've ever seen". After she starred as Blanche DuBois in ''A Streetcar Named Desire'', its playwright, Tennessee Williams, stated, "I declare myself absolutely wild about Claire Bloom". In 1952, Bloom was cast by Hollywood film star Charlie Chaplin to co-star alongside him in ''Limelight''. During her film career, she has starred alongsi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maggie Smith
Dame Margaret Natalie Smith (born 28 December 1934) is an English actress. With an extensive career on screen and stage beginning in the mid-1950s, Smith has appeared in more than sixty films and seventy plays. She is one of the few performers to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting, having received highest achievement for film, television and theatre, winning two Academy Awards, a Tony Award and four Primetime Emmy Awards. Hailed as one of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actresses, she was made a Dame by Queen Elizabeth II in 1990 for contributions to the Arts, and a Companion of Honour in 2014 for services to Drama. Smith began her career on stage as a student, performing at the Oxford Playhouse in 1952, and made her professional debut on Broadway in ''New Faces of '56''. Over the following decades, Smith established herself alongside Judi Dench as one of the most significant British theatre performers, working for the National Theatre Company and the Royal Shakespea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
