Shakespeare Essays (Examples)

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Shakespeare's Plays: Henry the IV Part I, Hamlet, a Midsummer Night's Dream
Henry the IV, Part I

Act 1, Scene 1, Lines 78-90.

KING HENRY IV: Yea, there thou makest me sad and makest me sin In envy that my Lord Northumberland Should be the father to so blest a son, A son who is the theme of honour's tongue; Amongst a grove, the very straightest plant; Who is sweet Fortune's minion and her pride: Whilst I, by looking on the praise of him, See riot and dishonour stain the brow Of my young Harry. O that it could be proved That some night-tripping fairy had exchanged In cradle-clothes our children where they lay, And call'd mine Percy, his Plantagenet! Then would I have his Harry, and he mine.

This scene sets delineates the conflict between father and son. The King has found Henry to be enough of a disappointment that he wishes his….

Shakespeare's Richard II
PAGES 9 WORDS 3064

Shakespeare's Richard II
One of the most interesting dynamics explored within illiam Shakespeare's drama Richard II is the dichotomy inherent in the way that kingship structures subjectivity. The play, set within medieval Europe, takes place during the time when the king was largely seen as a divine agent of God himself. Therefore, among his subjects, the king was viewed in much the same way that God was, while his subjects were viewed in much the same way that common people are viewed in respect to a divinity as omniscient and omnipotent of God. The dichotomy existent in this relationship is that the subjects are essentially powerless, while the king is all-powerful. Yet this particular play is an anomaly in this conventional medieval view of the nature of kingship and subjectivity because Richard II's actions are anything but akin to God's. He is selfish, impecunious, and at times immoral -- which leads….

Also, in his play, the Enchanted Island, Dryden expands on the prologue from Troilus and Cressida. However, this time Shakespeare is a king whose poetic monologue unveils contemporary anxieties about royal succession (Dobson 74). In this sense, Shakespeare is depicted in this particular play as an old Hamlet (Ibid.), a royal ghost, and a direct reference to contemporary royal turmoil.
This was only the first of Shakespeare's many posthumous appearances on stage as a dramatic character. Shakespeare's metamorphosis into a character in one of his plays represents an endeavor with double meaning. On the one hand, Shakespeare's appearance is synonymous to authority as his direct involvement in his own writings brings a sense of realism and authenticity. On the other hand, by creating a dramatic character out of the writer, he also becomes involved in the process of reviving his works. However, there is more to this transformation. Shakespeare's authority….

Shakespeare's Sonnet 130
Analysis of Shakespeare's "Sonnet 130"

William Shakespeare was a renowned poet and playwright who wrote 38 plays and more than 154 sonnets. Among these sonnets is Sonnet 130 (My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun) in which he describes the features in his mistress that he admires. This sonnet is interesting due to the nature of the comparisons. While many would use metaphors to boast that their beloved's features are far more beautiful than anything known to man, Shakespeare contends that his beloved's features are nothing like the beautiful things that are found in nature. Through his use of imagery, Shakespeare is able to detail the things that he admires in nature despite the fact that his mistress does not embody any of those qualities.

The sonnet begins with the line "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun" (Shakespeare, n.d., line 1) which out of context could insinuate….

Shakespeare's Richard II
Careful analysis of John Locke's Two Treatises of Government reveals the author's fairly rigid attitude towards the constitution, right and responsibilities of a political state. hen applying Locke's well defined principles to Henry Bolingbroke's overthrow of Richard II for rights to the throne of England in the late 14th century in Shakespeare's Richard II, several parallel situations are found which Locke primarily refers to in a hypothetical sense. hen examining Shakespeare's work from an erudite perspective, one may perceive that in many ways, Bolingbroke and Richard II's struggle for power -- along with the surrounding circumstances of the political state and the lot of its commoners -- actually mirror several circumstances which Locke portrays in his book. By interpreting the events in Shakespeare's drama through the mandates outlined in Two Treatises of Government, it becomes apparent that Locke would have willingly sanctioned Bolingbroke's usurpation of the throne as….

Namely, it demands us to consider the anomaly potential in Shakespeare's socioeconomic modesty as it compared to his great vocabulary wealth. And in doing so, it draws us into a keener awareness of the courtly life about which Shakespeare wrote with such remarkable acuity and into a similar appreciation for the colorful, frequently playful, representation of commoners in his plays. The intermingling of such figures denotes something of Shakespeare's own journey, and warms us to the ideas that perhaps it was this commoner who would ultimately leave the modern world with one of the widest windows available into Elizabethan and Jacobean England. Thus, even if there is both cause to suggest that we don't have sufficient evidence to be assured of his authorship and cause to suggest that we have shreds of evidence connecting this authorship to figures such as Marlowe, Bacon or de Vere, the cause of evidence….

(Shakespeare 1994)
The play stands out from many aspects. However, there are some elements which make it one of the most important of Shakespeare's works and one of the most acclaimed. The tragedy comes from the eventual incompatibility between true love and the code of honor. Convinced by Iago's evil plan that his wife was unfaithful, Othello the Moor of Venice becomes blind to any explication and swears revenge. In the end, every one of the characters finally pays for his deed, although Desdemona appears to be the one pure presence of the play that is sacrificed in the midst of revenge. The story of the Othello is relevant because it showed a deep psychological and analytical approach on the character, a characteristic which is present in the drama of Hamlet. Moreover, Shakespeare builds his characters as mere peons in Iago's hands who, through thorough manipulation managed to influence them….


The Epilogue, focus of much allegorizing, alludes to the parallel between Prospero's abandonment of his art, and the actor's abandonment of his role when he steps forward to ask for applause"(F. Kermode, 49)

Prospero does not give away his ability to use magic, only because he has found redemption and he has put things right. It is a symbolic gesture, an attempt to make the reader and the individual member of the public a magician in his turn, a magician of his own mind, first of all.

The theatre has always had a more emphasized social value than any other type of literary fiction, primarily because of its ability to be acted out in front of people, as if it were happening for real. The impact is so strong, that it allows people to release their emotional tension and to make merry together with the characters of the play. It is a….

Reflecting the greater audience sympathy stirred in Five Kings and its cinematic incarnation Chimes at Midnight, the Welles saga ends with Hal pardoning Falstaff for disturbing his coronation, thus showing a more loving tribute to Falstaff than utterly rejecting him, as in the original Shakespeare.
Falstaff's potentially seditious views of honor and the importance of the individual's life over sacrificing it for the collective are thus validated very clearly in Welles' work. In Shakespeare these perspectives are raised, but however attractive Falstaff may seem as a character, they cannot be endorsed by the playwright because to do so would invalidate the entire English system of government. Falstaff's humor and pacifist values, even his value of self-preservation resonate more with contemporary American views of iconoclasm and individualism. Thus by making Falstaff the centerpiece of Five Kings, Welles was also making an implicit claim for the need for a uniquely American form….

Imbalance, even in love, can produce negative and unwanted effects that affect more than two people.
The tempest is another Shakespearean play that is set both in the real and fantastic world. The two real are interwoven and deliberately confusing. The action of the play is swinging back and forth in time. Prospero, the Duke of Milan, is recounting for his daughter Miranda the events that led to their living on an island. The description is like he plunges deep, in a level of suppressed memories: Thou hadst, and more, Miranda. But how is it / That this lives in thy mind? hat see'st thou else / in the dark backward and abysm of time? / if thou rememb'rest aught ere thou camest here, / How thou camest here thou mayst (Shakespeare, 1136).

Prospero, who has suffered the injustice of his brother trying to usurp him and take his place on….


However, disorientation can be either debilitating or empowering. In the case of Shakespeare -- and arguably all enaissance people of greatness -- the new concepts and materials were liberating, at least, and in fact enabled them to create works of lasting value. The world is familiar with Shakespeare: who can name one playwright from the Middle Ages? "Anonymous" was responsible for the Everyman plays, plays that say little to modern people. The interplay between the civilized and the savage, possible for Shakespeare but not for the dramatists before him, may have been disorienting and may have presaged the seemingly eternal questions of 'us' and 'other' we still grapple with, but without doubt, that interplay made for lasting drama with eternal meaning.

eferences

Cefalu, Paul A. (2000) ethinking the discourse of colonialism in economic terms: Shakespeare's "The Tempest," Captain John Smith's Virginia Narratives, and the English esponse to Vagrancy. Shakespeare Studies, January 1.….

Shakespeare's Play "All's ell that ends well" -- a Critique
Conflict between generations is a theme prevalent in many of Shakespeare's tragedies, histories, and comedies. Romeo and Juliet struggle against their parents' feud and values. Hamlet battles within himself to deal with the ethics of his father's order for revenge. Hal and his biological father, Henry IV, work out an uneasy coexistence, while the Prince simultaneously resolves his relationship with his spiritual father, Falstaff. In A Midsummer Night's Dream, the mainspring of the plot is the willingness of Lysander and Hermia to go against the wishes of Egeus. In such works audience sympathy is usually with the younger generation, which often embodies a tolerance and understanding unrestricted by narrow beliefs and codes of behavior.

In All's ell That Ends ell, however, wisdom lies with the older characters, who frequently harken back to past years as a better, happier time. All's ell presents….

Shakespeare's Foreshadowing In Tragedy And Comedy
Shakespeare is popularly known as "The ard" for good reason: he excels at his literary craft, applying all the techniques and tools of drama at his disposal with a certain regularity. One of these important tools necessary for any truly coherent play is foreshadowing, or the appearance of elements early in the play that subtly predict the future direction of the plot, action, or symbolism. In all of his plays, Shakespeare uses foreshadowing extensively, both in the dialogue and in the situations he creates. This is as true of his comedies as of his tragedies and histories. y looking at any group of his works, one can find many examples of foreshadowing. For example, in the trio of King Lear, Hamlet, and Much Ado About Nothing, we can see that quite nearly the entire play is prefigured in the themes and dialogues of the first….

Shakespeare and omantic Love
Clearly one of the most influential writers in the English language that has survived and prospered in contemporary times is William Shakespeare. Despite some of the controversy of whether he actual wrote what is attributed to him, or the other theories of the origination of his writing, no one can deny that he holds a place in literature that few, if any, have attained. The classic stories and phrases of Shakespeare permeate contemporary society -- young love epitomized by omeo and Juliet, treachery and false betrayal in Othello, and even the way the universe and nature conspire against the human condition in The Tempest. To begin to understand Shakespeare, though, it is first necessary to have a basic understanding of his time period -- Elizabethan England (roughly 1558-1603). Also called the "Golden Age" in English history, this time period was the height of the English enaissance and….

Shakespeare
Iago's Character in Othello

This paper analyzes Iago's speech to Roderigo in "Othello," by illiam Shakespeare. Specifically, it discusses what the speech reveals about Iago's character.

Does the play ultimately seem to suggest that Iago is right? Iago is a tortured character who displays many different and unhealthy psychological traits. He ruins the lives of those around him, and the play clearly shows he is a jealous, unhappy, and scheming man who cannot be happy, so he decides no one else can be happy, either. He is central to the play because he causes so much death and unhappiness. It is clear his garden needs to be tended for a long, long time to make it healthy.

Iago's Character in Othello

Iago could be one of Shakespeare's most evil and frightening villains. He has no remorse, and is totally consumed with his own hatred of Othello. It colors everything he does in the play,….

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6 Pages
Essay

Literature

Shakespeare's Plays Henry the IV Part I

Words: 1983
Length: 6 Pages
Type: Essay

Shakespeare's Plays: Henry the IV Part I, Hamlet, a Midsummer Night's Dream Henry the IV, Part I Act 1, Scene 1, Lines 78-90. KING HENRY IV: Yea, there thou makest me sad…

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9 Pages
Essay

Mythology - Religion

Shakespeare's Richard II

Words: 3064
Length: 9 Pages
Type: Essay

Shakespeare's Richard II One of the most interesting dynamics explored within illiam Shakespeare's drama Richard II is the dichotomy inherent in the way that kingship structures subjectivity. The play, set…

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4 Pages
Term Paper

Literature

Shakespeare's Ghost as a Character

Words: 1289
Length: 4 Pages
Type: Term Paper

Also, in his play, the Enchanted Island, Dryden expands on the prologue from Troilus and Cressida. However, this time Shakespeare is a king whose poetic monologue unveils contemporary…

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2 Pages
Essay

Literature

Shakespeare's Sonnet 130 Analysis of Shakespeare's Sonnet

Words: 763
Length: 2 Pages
Type: Essay

Shakespeare's Sonnet 130 Analysis of Shakespeare's "Sonnet 130" William Shakespeare was a renowned poet and playwright who wrote 38 plays and more than 154 sonnets. Among these sonnets is Sonnet 130…

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4 Pages
Essay

Government

Shakespeare's Richard II Careful Analysis of John

Words: 1219
Length: 4 Pages
Type: Essay

Shakespeare's Richard II Careful analysis of John Locke's Two Treatises of Government reveals the author's fairly rigid attitude towards the constitution, right and responsibilities of a political state. hen applying…

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5 Pages
Thesis

Literature

Shakespeare Authorship the Question of

Words: 1793
Length: 5 Pages
Type: Thesis

Namely, it demands us to consider the anomaly potential in Shakespeare's socioeconomic modesty as it compared to his great vocabulary wealth. And in doing so, it draws us…

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7 Pages
Term Paper

Literature

Shakespeare William Shakespeare Is One

Words: 2796
Length: 7 Pages
Type: Term Paper

(Shakespeare 1994) The play stands out from many aspects. However, there are some elements which make it one of the most important of Shakespeare's works and one of the…

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7 Pages
Term Paper

Physics

Shakespeare Land of Enchantment From

Words: 2360
Length: 7 Pages
Type: Term Paper

The Epilogue, focus of much allegorizing, alludes to the parallel between Prospero's abandonment of his art, and the actor's abandonment of his role when he steps forward to ask…

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6 Pages
Essay

Literature

William Shakespeare's Henriad and Orson

Words: 1847
Length: 6 Pages
Type: Essay

Reflecting the greater audience sympathy stirred in Five Kings and its cinematic incarnation Chimes at Midnight, the Welles saga ends with Hal pardoning Falstaff for disturbing his coronation,…

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11 Pages
Research Proposal

Mythology

Shakespeare Two of Shakespeare's Comedies

Words: 2917
Length: 11 Pages
Type: Research Proposal

Imbalance, even in love, can produce negative and unwanted effects that affect more than two people. The tempest is another Shakespearean play that is set both in the real…

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5 Pages
Term Paper

Drama - World

Shakespeare at First Glance Shakespeare's

Words: 1775
Length: 5 Pages
Type: Term Paper

However, disorientation can be either debilitating or empowering. In the case of Shakespeare -- and arguably all enaissance people of greatness -- the new concepts and materials were liberating,…

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image
10 Pages
Term Paper

Literature

Shakespeare's Play All Well That Ends Well

Words: 3407
Length: 10 Pages
Type: Term Paper

Shakespeare's Play "All's ell that ends well" -- a Critique Conflict between generations is a theme prevalent in many of Shakespeare's tragedies, histories, and comedies. Romeo and Juliet struggle against…

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8 Pages
Term Paper

Family and Marriage

Shakespeare's Foreshadowing

Words: 2983
Length: 8 Pages
Type: Term Paper

Shakespeare's Foreshadowing In Tragedy And Comedy Shakespeare is popularly known as "The ard" for good reason: he excels at his literary craft, applying all the techniques and tools of drama…

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2 Pages
Essay

Literature

Shakespeare and Romantic Love Clearly One of

Words: 890
Length: 2 Pages
Type: Essay

Shakespeare and omantic Love Clearly one of the most influential writers in the English language that has survived and prospered in contemporary times is William Shakespeare. Despite some of the…

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image
3 Pages
Term Paper

Literature

Shakespeare Iago's Character in Othello This Paper

Words: 1089
Length: 3 Pages
Type: Term Paper

Shakespeare Iago's Character in Othello This paper analyzes Iago's speech to Roderigo in "Othello," by illiam Shakespeare. Specifically, it discusses what the speech reveals about Iago's character. Does the play ultimately seem…

Read Full Paper  ❯