Shakespeare Essays
Theme of Blindness in King Lear
Theme of Blindness in King Lear In Shakespearean terms, blinds means a whole different thing. Blindness can normally be defined as the inability of the eye to see, but according to Shakespeare, blindness is not a physical quality, but a mental flaw some people possess. Shakespeare’s most dominant theme in his play King Lear is that of blindness. King Lear, Gloucester, and Albany are three prime examples Shakespeare incorporates this theme into. Each of these character’s blin...
Time and Fate in Romeo and Juliet
Time and Fate in Romeo and Juliet Romeo and Juliet, said to be one of the most famous love stories of all times, is a play anchored on time and fate. Some actions are believed to occur by chance or by destiny. The timing of each action influences the outcome of the play. While some events are of less significance, some are crucial to the development of this tragedy. The substantial events that inspire the conclusion of Romeo and Juliet are; the Capulet ball, the quarrel experien...
Tragedy in MacBeth
Tragedy in MacBeth Everyone who is mortal has at least one flaw. Some are more serious than others. For example, some people have addictions to gambling, while other people can’t remember to put the milk away after they use it. After a while though, a person’s flaws come back to haunt them. The tragedy MacBeth is no exception to this. In it, many of the character’s die. And the reason is that they have a flaw, that would eventually lead to their downfall. Not e...
Troilus and Cressida and Othello Love Tokens
Troilus and Cressida and Othello - Love Tokens One Glove’s Just That—a Glove. But Given in Love, a Strawberry’s Blood. William Shakespeare wrote a huge number of plays in his life, most of which are categorized as a comedy, history, tragedy, or romance. While most are not strictly any single one of these, the designation of a play as belonging to one of these categories can change how one reads the work. Troilus and Cressida, one of Shakespeare’s lesser-known works,...
Twelfth Night Analysis of Fools
Twelfth Night - Analysis of Fools A fool can be defined in many meanings according to the Oxford English Dictionary On Historical Principles. The word could mean “a silly person”, or “one who professionally counterfeits folly for the entertainment of others, a jester, clown” or “one who has little or no reason or intellect” or “one who is made to appear to be a fool” (word originated from North Frisian). In english literature, the ...
Twelfth Night Critical Commentary of Major Themes and An Analysis of Language
Twelfth Night - Critical Commentary of Major Themes and An Analysis of Language The plays tittle refers to the carnivalesque spirit of abandon that surrounded renaissance Twelfth Night festivities. In which the normal rules and order of social life were suspended or else deliberately reversed, “serious issues and events mingled perplexingly with revelry and apparent madness.” Closer textual and language analysis provides a detailed demonstration of these ideas, the comedi...
Twelfth Night Language and Dramatic Conventions
Twelfth Night - Language and Dramatic Conventions In the play “Twelfth Night,” Shakespeare explores and illustrates the emotion of love with precise detail. According to “Webster’s New World Dictionary,” love is defined as “a strong affection or liking for someone.” Throughout the play Shakespeare examines three different types of love: true love, self love and friendship. “Twelfth Night” consists of many love triangles,...
Twelfth Night
Twelfth Night In Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night”, it is clearly evident that the fluctuation in attitude to the dual role and situation and tribulations imposed upon the character of Viola/Cesario ends up in a better understanding of both sexes, and thus, allows Viola to have a better understanding for Orsino. Near the opening of the play, when Viola is adopting her male identity, she creates another self, like two masks and may decide to wear one or the other wh...
Why Lady Macbeth is more Guilty
Why Lady Macbeth is more Guilty THROUGH THE VIEW OF A READER, THE REASONS WHY MACBETH IS MORE GUILTY BY HIS ACTIONS THEN LADY MACBETH IS BY HERS. Macbeth is a very exciting story containing all kinds of plots and murders. The characters that are killing and are planning murders are all very deceiving and treacherous. Two of the most dangerous criminals in this play are Lady Macbeth and her husband. Together they commit the most dreadful murder by killing the King; Duncan. This...
The Character of Macbeth
The Character of Macbeth Macbeth is presented as a mature man of definitely established character, successful in certain fields of activity and enjoying an enviable reputation. We must not conclude, there, that all his volitions and actions are predictable; Macbeth’s character, like any other man’s at a given moment, is what is being made out of potentialities plus environment, and no one, not even Macbeth himself, can know all his inordinate self-love whose a...
The Finger of Blame in MacBeth
The Finger of Blame in MacBeth Macbeth is a very exciting story containing all kinds of plots and murders. The characters that are killing and are planning murders are all very deceiving and treacherous. Two of the most dangerous criminals in this play are Lady Macbeth and her husband. Together they commit the most dreadful murder by killing the King; Duncan. This is why it is difficult to determine which one of these two is more guilty, because they each do their own part in co...
The Hamlet in Me
The Hamlet in Me Whether we are planning to build a boat or hoping to write a good essay, the only way to go about these tasks is to make a detailed plan of all the steps that need to be taken in order to get the desired result. If you spontaneously decide to build a boat, the result may be a plywood tub that leaks from all sides, let alone hold anyone in it. Hamlet, a seventh century story put to life through the amazing writing of Shakespeare, is a play that shows how meticu...
The History of William Shakespeare
The History of William Shakespeare William Shakespeare, the best-known figure in Renaissance literature, if no t all of literature, was born April 23, 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, a town near London. His father John Shakespeare, held many jobs, from leather goods salesman to ale taster, culminating in a position as Stratford’s High Bailiff, or town mayor. Shakespeare’s mother, Mary Arden Shakespeare, had eight children with John. Because Shakespeare&...
The Merchant Of Venice Antonio
The Merchant Of Venice - Antonio Antonio is a wealthy merchant in the city of Venice. Although central to the play, Antonio is portrayed by Shakespeare as an ‘outcast’. It seems that Antonio is chronically depressed and is not involved in the social atmosphere that is thriving in Venice. - “In sooth, I know not why I am so sad: It wearies me; you say it wearies you; But how I caught it. Found it, or came by it, What stuff ’tis made of, whereof it is...
The Merchant of Venice Anti Semitism
The Merchant of Venice - Anti-Semitism William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice contains many examples that insult Jews because they were the minority in London in Shakespeare’s time. Although many parts of the play could be interpreted as offensive in modern times, Elizabethan audiences found them comical. The majority of London’s population at the time was anti-Semitic because there were very few Jews living there. Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice supports a...
The Power of Langauage in Othello
The Power of Langauage in Othello In Othello, Shakespeare explores the relationship between words and events. Spoken thought, in the play, has all the power of action; speaking about an event will make that event become reality for those who hear - it will affect reality as if that event had taken place. Shakespeare demonstrates the power of words poignantly through Othello’s monologues. Othello struggles with the reality that Iago creates for him. When Othello speaks, he ...
The Role of Enobarbus in Acts I and II of Antony and Cleopatra
The Role of Enobarbus in Acts I and II of Antony and Cleopatra In Shakespeare’s tragedy/history/Roman play Antony and Cleopatra, we are told the story of two passionate and power-hungry lovers. In the first two Acts of the play we are introduced to some of the problems and dilemmas facing the couple (such as the fact that they are entwined in an adulterous relationship, and that both of them are forced to show their devotion to Caesar). Along with being introduced to Antony an...
The Sanity of Hamlet
The Sanity of Hamlet Method in the Madness: Hamlet’s Sanity Supported Through His Relation to Ophelia and Edgar’s Relation to Lear In both Hamlet and King Lear, Shakespeare incorporates a theme of madness with two characters: one truly mad, and one only acting mad to serve a motive. The madness of Hamlet is frequently disputed. This paper argues that the contrapuntal character in each play, namely Ophelia in Hamlet and Edgar in King Lear, acts as a balancing argument to th...
The Taming Of The Shrew Analytic Play Review
The Taming Of The Shrew - Analytic Play Review The Taming Of The Shrew by William Shakespeare is probably one of Shakespeare’s earliest comedies. Its plot is derived from the popular ‘war of the sexes’ theme in which males and females are pitted against one another for dominance in marriage. The play begins with an induction in which a drunkard, Christopher Sly, is fooled into believing he is a king and has a play performed for him. The play he watches is what ...
The Taming of the Shrew Humour
The Taming of the Shrew - Humour In The Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare creates humour through his characters by creating false realities (as demonstrated by Petruchio’s behaviour and attire in the scene of his wedding) and by the use of subterfuge and mistaken identity (shown in the final scenes with the transformation of Kate and Bianca’s respective personas). He also uses irony quite extensively, especially towards the end of the play (as can be seen in the final ‘wage...
The Taming of the Shrew Mistaken Identity
The Taming of the Shrew - Mistaken Identity The Taming of the Shrew In Shakespeare’s comedy, “The Taming of the Shrew,” one of the main ways that the theme is shown is by mistaken identity. The main theme of this play is that what a person is really like is more important than how they appear to be. This is shown by Petruchio’s relationship with Katherine; the changing roles of Tranio, Lucentio, and Hortensio; and the true characters of Bianca and Kathe...
The Taming of the Shrew
The Taming of the Shrew The Taming Of The Shrew by William Shakespeare is probably one of Shakespeare’s earliest comedies. Its plot is derived from the popular ‘war of the sexes’ theme in which males and females are pitted against one another for dominance in marriage. The play begins with an induction in which a drunkard, Christopher Sly, is fooled into believing he is a king and has a play performed for him. The play he watches is what constitutes the main bo...
The Tempest Slavery
The Tempest - Slavery Slavery occurs on a widespread basis in The Tempest. Occurrence of slavery to many of the characters, all in different ways, helps to provide the atmosphere for the play. The obvious slaves are not the only slaves, as Prospero has basically got everybody entranced when he wants, to do whatever he wants with them. He can also control the way that they think. The first and most obvious slave is ariel. Ariel is an airy spirit who is p...
The Tragedy of Hamlet
The Tragedy of Hamlet Arguably the best piece of writing ever done by William Shakespeare, Hamlet the is the classic example of a tragedy. In all tragedies the hero suffers, and usually dies at the end. Othello stabs himself, Romeo and Juliet commit suicide, Brutis falls on his sword, and like them Hamlet dies by getting cut with a poison tipped sword. But that is not all that is needed to consider a play a tragedy, and sometimes a hero doesn’t even need to die. Not ever...
The madness of prince Hamlet
The madness of prince Hamlet In Hamlet, Prince of Denmark the protagonist exhibits a puzzling duplicitous nature. Hamlet contradicts himself throughout out the play. He endorses both of the virtues of acting a role and being true to oneis self. He further supports both of these conflicting endorsements with his actions. This ambiguity is demonstrated by his alleged madness, for he does behave madly, only to become perfectly calm and rational an instant later. These inconsistenci...