Denmark–Norway
Denmark–Norway known as the Dano–Norwegian Realm, the Oldenburg Monarchy or the Oldenburg realms, was an early modern multi-national and multi-lingual real union consisting of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Kingdom of Norway, the Duchy of Schleswig, the Duchy of Holstein. The state claimed sovereignty over two historical peoples: Wends and Goths. Denmark–Norway had several colonies, namely the Danish Gold Coast, the Nicobar Islands, Serampore and the Danish West Indies; the state's inhabitants were Danes and Germans, included Faroese and Inuit in the Norwegian overseas possessions, a Sami minority in northern Norway, as well as indigenous peoples and enslaved Africans in the colonies. The main cities of Denmark–Norway were Copenhagen, Altona and Trondheim, the primary official languages were Danish and German, but Norwegian, Faroese and Greenlandic were spoken locally. In 1380, Olaf II of Denmark inherited the Kingdom of Norway, titled as Olaf IV, after the death of his father Haakon VI of Norway, married to Olaf's mother Margrete I.
Margrete I was ruler of Norway from her son's death in 1387 until her own death in 1412. Denmark and Sweden established and formed the Kalmar Union in 1397. Following Sweden's departure in 1523, the union was dissolved. From 1536/1537, Denmark and Norway formed a personal union that would develop into the 1660 integrated state called Denmark–Norway by modern historians, at the time sometimes referred to as the "Twin Kingdoms," "the Monarchy" or "His Majesty". Prior to 1660, Denmark–Norway was de jure a constitutional and elective monarchy in which the King's power was somewhat limited. After 1660, Denmark–Norway consisted of three formally separate parts, Norway kept its separate laws and some institutions, separate coinage and army; the Dano-Norwegian union lasted until 1814, when the Treaty of Kiel decreed that Norway be ceded to Sweden. The treaty however, was not recognised by Norway, which resisted the attempt in the 1814 Swedish–Norwegian War. Norway thereafter entered into a much looser personal union with Sweden as one of two equal kingdoms through 1905, when the union was dissolved and both kingdoms became independent.
The term "Kingdom of Denmark" is sometimes used to include both countries in the period, since the political and economic power emanated from the Danish capital, Copenhagen. These terms cover the "royal territories" of the Oldenburgs as it was in 1460, excluding the "ducal territories" of Schleswig and Holstein; the administration used two official languages and German, for several centuries both a Danish and German Chancery existed. The term "Denmark -- Norway" reflects the legal roots of the union, it is adopted from the Oldenburg dynasty's official title. The kings always used the style "King of Denmark and Norway, the Wends and the Goths". Denmark and Norway, sometimes referred to as the "Twin Realms" of Denmark–Norway, had separate legal codes and currencies, separate governing institutions. Following the introduction of absolutism in 1660, the centralisation of government meant a concentration of institutions in Copenhagen. Centralisation was supported in many parts of Norway, where the two-year attempt by Sweden to control Trøndelag had met strong local resistance and resulted in a complete failure for the Swedes and a devastation of the province.
This allowed Norway to further secure itself militarily for the future through closer ties with the capital Copenhagen. The term "Sweden–Finland" is sometimes, although with less justification, applied to the contemporary Swedish realm between 1521 and 1809. Finland was never a separate kingdom, was integrated with Sweden, while Denmark was the dominant component in a personal union. Throughout the time of Denmark–Norway, it continuously had possession over various overseas territories. At the earliest times this meant areas in Northern Europe and North America, for instance Estonia and the Norwegian possessions of Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Iceland. From the 17th century, the kingdoms acquired colonies in the Caribbean and India. At its height the empire was about 2,655,564.76 km2 Denmark–Norway maintained numerous colonies from the 17th to 19th centuries over various parts around India. Colonies included the town of Serampore; the last towns it had control over were sold to the United Kingdom in 1845.
Rights in the Nicobar Islands were sold in 1869. Centred on the Virgin Islands, Denmark–Norway established the Danish West Indies; this colony was one of the longest-lived of Denmark, until it was sold to the United States in 1917. It became the U. S. Virgin Islands. In the Gold Coast region of West Africa, Denmark–Norway over time had control over various colonies and forts; the last remaining forts were sold to the United Kingdom in 1850. The three kingdoms united in the Kalmar Union in 1397. Sweden broke out of this union and re-entered it several times, until 1521, when Sweden left the Union, leaving Denmark–Norway; the outbreak of the Northern Seven Years' War in 1563 is attributed to Denmark's displeasure over the dismantling of the Kalmar Union in the 1520s. When the Danish-Norwegian king Christian III included the tr
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright consisting of dialogue or singing between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. Plays are performed at a variety of levels, from Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional theater, to Community theatre, as well as university or school productions. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference as to whether their plays were performed or read; the term "play" can refer to both the written texts of playwrights and to their complete theatrical performance. Comedies are plays. Comedies are filled with witty remarks, unusual characters, strange circumstances. Certain comedies are geared toward different age groups. Comedies were one of the two original play types of Ancient Greece, along with tragedies. An example of a comedy would be William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream, or for a more modern example the skits from Saturday Night Live. A nonsensical genre of play, farces are acted and involve humor.
An example of a farce includes William Shakespeare's play The Comedy of Errors, or Mark Twain's play Is He Dead?. A satire play takes a comic look at current events people while at the same time attempting to make a political or social statement, for example pointing out corruption. An example of a satire would be Nikolai Gogol's The Government Inspector and Aristophanes' Lysistrata. Satire plays are one of the most popular forms of comedy, considered to be their own genre entirely. Restoration comedy is a genre that explored relationships between men and women, was considered risqué in its time. Characters featured in restoration comedy included stereotypes of all kinds, these same stereotypes were found in most plays of this genre, so much so that most plays were similar in message and content. However, since restoration comedy dealt with unspoken aspects of relationships, it created a type of connection between audience and performance, more informal and private, it is agreed that restoration comedy has origins in Molière’s theories of comedy, but differs in intention and tone.
The inconsistency between restoration comedy’s morals and the morals of the era is something that arises during the study of this genre. This may give clues as to why, despite its original success, restoration comedy did not last long in the seventeenth century. However, in recent years, it has become a topic of interest for theatre theorists, who have been looking into theatre styles that have their own conventions of performance; these plays contain darker themes such as disaster. The protagonist of the play has a tragic flaw, a trait which leads to their downfall. Tragic plays convey all emotions and have dramatic conflicts. Tragedy was one of the two original play types of Ancient Greece; some examples of tragedies include William Shakespeare's Hamlet, John Webster's play The Duchess of Malfi. These plays focus on actual historical events, they can be tragedies or comedies, but are neither of these. History as a separate genre was popularized by William Shakespeare. Examples of historical plays include Friedrich Schiller's Demetrius and William Shakespeare's King John.
Ballad opera, a popular theatre style at the time, was the first style of musical to be performed in the American colonies. The first musical of American origin was premiered in Philadelphia in 1767, was called “The Disappointment”, this play never made it to production. Around the 1920s, theatre styles were beginning to be defined more clearly. For musical theatre, this meant that composers gained the right to create every song in the play, these new plays were held to more specific conventions, such as thirty-two-bar songs; when the Great Depression came, many people left Broadway for Hollywood, the atmosphere of Broadway musicals changed significantly. A similar situation occurred during the 1960s, when composers were scarce and musicals lacked vibrancy and entertainment value. By the 1990s, there were few original Broadway musicals, as many were recreations of movies or novels. Musical productions have songs to help move the ideas of the play along, they are accompanied by dancing. Musicals can be elaborate in settings and actor performances.
Examples of musical productions include Fiddler on the Roof. This theatre style originated in the 1940s when Antonin Artaud hypothesized about the effects of expressing through the body as opposed to “by conditioned thought.” In 1946, he wrote a preface to his works in which he explained how he came to write what and the way he did. Above all, Artaud did not trust language as a means of communication. Plays within the genre of theatre of cruelty are abstract in content. Artaud wanted his plays to accomplish something, his intention was to symbolise the subconscious through bodily performances, as he did not believe language could be effective. Artaud considered his plays to be an enactment rather than a re-enactment, which meant he believed his actors were in reality, rather than re-enacting reality, his plays dealt with heavy issues such as patients in psych wards, Nazi Germany. Through these performances, he wanted to “make the causes of suffering audible”, audiences reacted poorly, as they were so taken aback by what they saw.
Much of his work was banned in France at the time. Artaud did not believe that conventional theatre of the time would allow the audience to have a cathartic experience and help heal the wounds of World War II. For this reason, he moved towards radio-based theatre, in which the audience could use their imagination to connect the word
Norwegians
Norwegians are a North Germanic ethnic group native to Norway. They speak the Norwegian language. Norwegian people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in the United States, Australia, Chile, Brazil, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, South Africa. Towards the end of the 3rd millennium BC, Proto-Indo-European speaking Battle-Axe peoples migrated to Norway bringing domesticated horses, agriculture and wheel technology to the region. During the Viking age, Harald Fairhair unified the Norse petty kingdoms after being victorious at the Battle of Hafrsfjord in the 880s. Two centuries of Viking expansion tapered off following the decline of Norse paganism with the adoption of Christianity in the 11th century. During The Black Death 60% of the population died and in 1397 Norway entered a union with Denmark. In 1814, following Denmark-Norway's defeat in the Napoleonic Wars, Norway entered a union with Sweden and adopted a new constitution. Rising nationalism throughout the 19th century led to a 1905 referendum granting Norway independence.
Although Norway remained neutral in World War I, the country was unofficially allied with the Entente powers. In World War II Norway proclaimed its neutrality, but was nonetheless occupied for five years by Nazi Germany. In 1949, neutrality was abandoned and Norway became a member of NATO. Discovery of oil and gas in adjacent waters in the late 1960s boosted Norway's economic fortunes but in referendums held in 1972 and 1994, Norway rejected joining the EU. Key domestic issues include integration of a fast growing immigrant population, maintaining the country's generous social safety net with an aging population, preserving economic competitiveness; as with many of the people from European countries, Norwegians are spread throughout the world. There are more than 100,000 Norwegian citizens living abroad permanently in the U. S. U. K. and other Scandinavian countries. Norwegian or Norse Vikings travelled north and west and founded vibrant communities in the Faroe Islands, Orkney, Ireland and northern England.
They conducted extensive raids in Ireland and founded the cities of Cork and Limerick. In 947, a new wave of Norwegian Vikings appeared in England. In the 8th century and onwards, Norwegian- and Danish Vikings settled in Normandy, most famously those led by Rollo, thus began the tradition of the Normans, who expanded to England and other Mediterranean islands. Apart from Britain and Ireland, Norwegian Vikings established settlements in uninhabited regions; the first known permanent Norwegian settler in Iceland was Ingólfur Arnarson. In the year 874 he settled in Reykjavík. After his expulsion from Iceland Erik the Red discovered Greenland, a name he chose in hope of attracting Icelandic settlers. Viking settlements were established in the sheltered fjords of the western coast. Erik's relative Leif Eriksson discovered North America. During the 17th and 18th centuries, many Norwegians emigrated to the Netherlands Amsterdam; the Netherlands was the second most popular destination for Norwegian emigrants after Denmark.
Loosely estimated, some 10% of the population may have emigrated, in a period when the entire Norwegian population consisted of some 800,000 people. The Norwegians left with the Dutch trade ships that when in Norway traded for timber, hides and stockfish. Young women took employment as maids in Amsterdam. Young men took employment as sailors. Large parts of the Dutch merchant fleet and navy came to consist of Danes, they took Dutch names, so no trace of Norwegian names can be found in the Dutch population of today. One well-known illustration is that of Admiral Kruys, he was hired in Amsterdam by Peter I to develop the Russian navy, but was from Stavanger, Norway. The emigration to the Netherlands was so devastating to the homelands that the Danish-Norwegian king issued penalties of death for emigration, but had to issue amnesties for those willing to return, announced by posters in the streets of Amsterdam. Dutchmen who search their genealogical roots turn to Norway. Many Norwegians who emigrated to the Netherlands, were employed in the Dutch merchant fleet, emigrated further to the many Dutch colonies such as New Amsterdam.
Many Norwegians emigrated to the U. S. between the 1850s and the 1920s. Today, the descendants of these people are known as Norwegian Americans. According to the 2000 U. S. Census, three million Americans consider Norwegian to be their sole or primary ancestry, it is estimated. Travelling to and through Canada and Canadian ports were of choice for Norwegian settlers immigrating to the United States. In 1850, the year after Great Britain repealed its restrictive Navigation Acts in Canada and more emigrating Norwegians sailed the shorter route to the Ville de Québec in Canada, to make their way to US cities like Chicago and Green Bay by steamer. For example, in the 1850s, 28,640 arrived at Quebec, Canada, en route to the US, 8,351 at New York directly. Norwegian Americans represent 2-3% of the non-Hispanic Euro-American population in the U. S, they live in both the Upper Midwest and Pacific Northwest. As early as 1814, a party of Norwegians was brought to Canada to build a winter road from York Factory on Hudson Bay to the infant Red River settlement at the site of present-day W
Norway
Norway the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe whose territory comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The Antarctic Peter I Island and the sub-Antarctic Bouvet Island are dependent territories and thus not considered part of the kingdom. Norway lays claim to a section of Antarctica known as Queen Maud Land. Norway has a total area of 385,207 square kilometres and a population of 5,312,300; the country shares a long eastern border with Sweden. Norway is bordered by Finland and Russia to the north-east, the Skagerrak strait to the south, with Denmark on the other side. Norway has an extensive coastline, facing the Barents Sea. Harald V of the House of Glücksburg is the current King of Norway. Erna Solberg has been prime minister since 2013. A unitary sovereign state with a constitutional monarchy, Norway divides state power between the parliament, the cabinet and the supreme court, as determined by the 1814 constitution; the kingdom was established in 872 as a merger of a large number of petty kingdoms and has existed continuously for 1,147 years.
From 1537 to 1814, Norway was a part of the Kingdom of Denmark-Norway, from 1814 to 1905, it was in a personal union with the Kingdom of Sweden. Norway was neutral during the First World War. Norway remained neutral until April 1940 when the country was invaded and occupied by Germany until the end of Second World War. Norway has both administrative and political subdivisions on two levels: counties and municipalities; the Sámi people have a certain amount of self-determination and influence over traditional territories through the Sámi Parliament and the Finnmark Act. Norway maintains close ties with both the United States. Norway is a founding member of the United Nations, NATO, the European Free Trade Association, the Council of Europe, the Antarctic Treaty, the Nordic Council. Norway maintains the Nordic welfare model with universal health care and a comprehensive social security system, its values are rooted in egalitarian ideals; the Norwegian state has large ownership positions in key industrial sectors, having extensive reserves of petroleum, natural gas, lumber and fresh water.
The petroleum industry accounts for around a quarter of the country's gross domestic product. On a per-capita basis, Norway is the world's largest producer of oil and natural gas outside of the Middle East; the country has the fourth-highest per capita income in the world on the World IMF lists. On the CIA's GDP per capita list which includes autonomous territories and regions, Norway ranks as number eleven, it has the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, with a value of US$1 trillion. Norway has had the highest Human Development Index ranking in the world since 2009, a position held between 2001 and 2006, it had the highest inequality-adjusted ranking until 2018 when Iceland moved to the top of the list. Norway ranked first on the World Happiness Report for 2017 and ranks first on the OECD Better Life Index, the Index of Public Integrity, the Democracy Index. Norway has one of the lowest crime rates in the world. Norway has two official names: Norge in Noreg in Nynorsk; the English name Norway comes from the Old English word Norþweg mentioned in 880, meaning "northern way" or "way leading to the north", how the Anglo-Saxons referred to the coastline of Atlantic Norway similar to scientific consensus about the origin of the Norwegian language name.
The Anglo-Saxons of Britain referred to the kingdom of Norway in 880 as Norðmanna land. There is some disagreement about whether the native name of Norway had the same etymology as the English form. According to the traditional dominant view, the first component was norðr, a cognate of English north, so the full name was Norðr vegr, "the way northwards", referring to the sailing route along the Norwegian coast, contrasting with suðrvegar "southern way" for, austrvegr "eastern way" for the Baltic. In the translation of Orosius for Alfred, the name is Norðweg, while in younger Old English sources the ð is gone. In the 10th century many Norsemen settled in Northern France, according to the sagas, in the area, called Normandy from norðmann, although not a Norwegian possession. In France normanni or northmanni referred to people of Sweden or Denmark; until around 1800 inhabitants of Western Norway where referred to as nordmenn while inhabitants of Eastern Norway where referred to as austmenn. According to another theory, the first component was a word nór, meaning "narrow" or "northern", referring to the inner-archipelago sailing route through the land.
The interpretation as "northern", as reflected in the English and Latin forms of the name, would have been due to folk etymology. This latter view originated with philologist Niels Halvorsen Trønnes in 1847; the form Nore is still used in placenames such as the village of Nore and lake Norefjorden in Buskerud county, still has the same meaning. Among other arguments in favour of the theor
Coronation
A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of other items of regalia, marking the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power. Aside from the crowning, a coronation ceremony may comprise many other rituals such as the taking of special vows by the monarch, the investing and presentation of regalia to the monarch, acts of homage by the new ruler's subjects and the performance of other ritual deeds of special significance to the particular nation. Western-style coronations have included anointing the monarch with holy oil, or chrism as it is called; the monarch's consort may be crowned, either with the monarch or as a separate event. Once a vital ritual among the world's monarchies, coronations have changed over time for a variety of socio-political and religious factors. In the past, concepts of royalty and deity were inexorably linked.
In some ancient cultures, rulers were considered to be divine or divine: the Egyptian pharaoh was believed to be the son of Ra, the sun god, while in Japan, the emperor was believed to be a descendant of Amaterasu, the sun goddess. Rome promulgated the practice of emperor worship. Coronations were once a direct visual expression of these alleged connections, but recent centuries have seen the lessening of such beliefs. Coronations are still observed in the United Kingdom and several Asian and African countries. In Europe, most monarchs are required to take a simple oath in the presence of the country's legislature. Besides a coronation, a monarch's accession may be marked in many ways: some nations may retain a religious dimension to their accession rituals while others have adopted simpler inauguration ceremonies, or no ceremony at all; some cultures use bathing or cleansing rites, the drinking of a sacred beverage, or other religious practices to achieve a comparable effect. Such acts symbolise the granting of divine favour to the monarch within the relevant spiritual-religious paradigm of the country.
Coronation in common parlance today may in a broader sense, refer to any formal ceremony in relation to the accession of a monarch, whether or not an actual crown is bestowed, such ceremonies may otherwise be referred to as investitures, inaugurations, or enthronements. The date of the act of ascension, however precedes the date of the ceremony of coronation. For example, the Coronation of Elizabeth II took place on 2 June 1953 sixteen months after her accession to the throne on 6 February 1952 on the death of her father George VI; the coronation ceremonies in medieval Christendom, both Western and Eastern, are influenced by the practice of the Roman Emperors as it developed during Late Antiquity, indirectly influenced by Biblical accounts of kings being crowned and anointed. The European coronation ceremonies best known in the form they have taken in Great Britain, descend from rites created in Byzantium, Visigothic Spain, Carolingian France and the Holy Roman Empire and brought to their apogee during the Medieval era.
In non-Christian states, coronation rites evolved from a variety of sources related to the religious beliefs of that particular nation. Buddhism, for instance, influenced the coronation rituals of Thailand and Bhutan, while Hindu elements played a significant role in Nepalese rites; the ceremonies used in modern Egypt, Malaysia and Iran were shaped by Islam, while Tonga's ritual combines ancient Polynesian influences with more modern Anglican ones. Coronations, in one form or another, have existed since ancient times. Egyptian records show coronation scenes, such as that of Seti I in 1290 BC. Judeo-Christian scriptures testify to particular rites associated with the conferring of kingship, the most detailed accounts of which are found in II Kings 11:12 and II Chronicles 23:11; the corona radiata, the "radiant crown" known best on the Statue of Liberty, worn by the Helios, the Colossus of Rhodes, was worn by Roman emperors as part of the cult of Sol Invictus, part of the imperial cult as it developed during the 3rd century.
The origin of the crown is thus religious, comparable to the significance of a halo, marking the sacral nature of kingship, expressing that either the king is himself divine, or ruling by divine right. The precursor to the crown was the browband called the diadem, worn by the Achaemenid rulers, was adopted by Constantine I, was worn by all subsequent rulers of the Roman Empire. Following the assumption of the diadem by Constantine and Byzantine emperors continued to wear it as the supreme symbol of their authority. Although no specific coronation ceremony was observed at first, one evolved over the following century; the emperor Julian was hoisted upon a shield and crowned with a gold necklace provided by one of his standard-bearers. Emperors were crowned and acclaimed in a similar manner, until the momentous decision was taken to permit the Patriarch of Constantinople to physically place the crown on the emperor's head. Historians debate when this first took place, but the precedent was established by the reign of Leo II, crowned by the Patriarch Acacius in 473.
This ritual in
Ethan Hawke
Ethan Green Hawke is an American actor and director. He has been nominated for four Academy Awards and a Tony Award. Hawke has directed three feature films, three Off-Broadway plays, a documentary, he has written three novels. He made his film debut with the 1985 science fiction feature Explorers, before making a breakthrough appearance in the 1989 drama Dead Poets Society, he appeared in various films before taking a role in the 1994 Generation X drama Reality Bites, for which he received critical praise. Hawke starred alongside Julie Delpy in Richard Linklater's Before trilogy: Before Sunrise, Before Sunset and Before Midnight, all of which received critical acclaim. Hawke has been nominated twice for both the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Hawke was further honored with SAG Award nominations for both films, as well as BAFTA Award and Golden Globe Award nominations for the latter, his other films include the science fiction drama Gattaca, the contemporary adaptation of Hamlet, the action thriller Assault on Precinct 13, the crime drama Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, the horror film Sinister.
In 2018 he garnered critical acclaim for his performance as a protestant minister in Paul Schrader's drama First Reformed receiving numerous accolades including New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor and nominations at the Independent Spirit Awards and Critics' Choice Awards. In addition to his film work, Hawke has appeared in many theater productions, he made his Broadway debut in 1992 in Anton Chekhov's The Seagull, was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play in 2007 for his performance in Tom Stoppard's The Coast of Utopia. In 2010, Hawke directed Sam Shepard's A Lie of the Mind, for which he received a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Director of a Play. Hawke was born in Austin, Texas, to Leslie, a charity worker, James Hawke, an insurance actuary. Hawke's parents were high school sweethearts in Fort Worth and married young, when Hawke's mother was 17. Hawke was born a year later. Hawke's parents were students at the University of Texas at Austin at the time of his birth, separated and divorced in 1974.
After the separation, Hawke was raised by his mother. The two relocated several times, before settling in New York City, where Hawke attended the Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn Heights. Hawke's mother remarried when he was 10 and the family moved to West Windsor Township, New Jersey, where Hawke attended West Windsor Plainsboro High School, he transferred to the Hun School of Princeton, a secondary boarding school, from which he graduated in 1988. In high school, Hawke aspired to be a writer, but developed an interest in acting, he made his stage debut at age 13, in a production at The McCarter Theatre of George Bernard Shaw's Saint Joan, appearances in West Windsor-Plainsboro High School productions of Meet Me in St. Louis and You Can't Take It with You followed. At the Hun School he took acting classes at the McCarter Theatre on the Princeton campus, after high school graduation he studied acting at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh dropping out after he was cast in Dead Poets Society.
He enrolled in New York University's English program for two years, but dropped out to pursue other acting roles. Hawke obtained his mother's permission to attend his first casting call at the age of 14, secured his first film role in Joe Dante's Explorers, in which he played an alien-obsessed schoolboy alongside River Phoenix; the film was met with favorable reviews but had poor box office results, a failure which Hawke has admitted caused him to quit acting for a brief period after the film's release. Hawke described the disappointment as difficult to bear at such a young age, adding "I would never recommend that a kid act."In 1989, Hawke made his breakthrough appearance in Peter Weir's Dead Poets Society, playing one of the students taught by Robin Williams's inspirational English teacher. The Variety reviewer noted "Hawke, as the painfully shy Todd, gives a haunting performance." The film received considerable acclaim, winning the BAFTA Award for Best Film and an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture.
With revenue of $235 million worldwide, it remains Hawke's most commercially successful picture to date. Hawke described the opportunities he was offered as a result of the film's success as critical to his decision to continue acting: "I didn't want to be an actor and I went back to college, but the success was so monumental that I was getting offers to be in such interesting movies and be in such interesting places, it seemed silly to pursue anything else." While filming Dead Poets Society he auditioned for what would be his next film appearance, 1989's comedy drama Dad, where he played Ted Danson's son and Jack Lemmon's grandson. Hawke's next film, 1991's White Fang, brought his first leading role; the film, an adaptation of Jack London's novel of the same name, featured Hawke as Jack Conroy, a Yukon gold hunter who befriends a wolfdog. According to The Oregonian, "Hawke does a good job as young Jack... He makes Jack's passion for White Fang real and keeps it from being ridiculous or overly sentimental."
He appeared in Keith Gordon's A Midnight Clear, a well-received war film based on William Wharton's novel of the same name. In the survival drama Alive, adapted from Piers Paul Read's 1974 book, Hawke portrayed Nando Pa
