Shakespeare William Shakespeare, the Famous Playwright and

Shakespeare William Shakespeare, the famous playwright and the great poet was born in 1564 at Stratford-on-Avon in England. Though he never attended college he had a sound basic education. He went to London in his early twenties and during the next ten years he wrote some of the classical masterpieces like Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Othello and Hamlet. Shakespeare wrote a variety of plays from tragedy to comedy.

'The Merchant of Venice', 'The taming the Shrew' and 'The Tempest' are some of this well-known comedies while Macbeth, Othello, Julius Caesar are some of his best tragedies. By the time he was thirty-four he was regarded as one of England's leading playwrights. Shakespeare wrote thirty-eight plays and more than 150 sonnets. He died in 1616 at the age of fifty-two. [Michael Hart, 215]. Shakespeare was gifted with the ability to create beautiful phrases that are without parallel and they continue to be the most quoted.

Very often we notice that his plays reflect the social setup of the Elizabethan England. There is also a kind of philosophical touch in his plays. He is considered a literary genius, one whose accomplishments are yet to be matched in the annals of literature. Let us compare 'Othello' and 'Macbeth' two of his finest plays and see what they have in common and how they reflect the prevailing social climate. Both Othello and Macbeth are classical tragedies of Shakespeare.

Othello is considered as Shakespeare's revolutionary work with the underlying tone of racism imbued in it. The tragic end to the play is a symbolic defeat of the revolutionary bid to overcome racism, which was so rampant in the Elizabethan age. [Acadia University] It is pretty much evident from the play that Elizabethan society did not approve of inter-racial marriages. Othello who was praised for his valor is accused once he marries Desdemona. We find racial epithets throughout the novel the back as " a black ram"[i88], "the devil"[i91].

The racist remarks of Barbanzio are quite obvious, "run from her gardage to the sooty bosom of such a thing as thou (Othello) - to fear not to delight!" (I.ii.70). Of all other works 'Othello' in particular is considered to have a revolutionary impact particularly for its stark projection of racism. Shakespeare's plot clearly highlights the social climate that was prevalent during his time.

The attempt to dissolve racial differences by way of the marriage between Othello and Desdemona fails to the manipulations of the Villain 'Iago' who is moved by jealousy. Shakespeare also ascribes the insecurities of "Othello" to his race. 'Macbeth' on the other hand is a tragic play wherein greediness brings about the ruin. The play highlights the absence of discrimination on the part of Macbeth who blindly believes in the prophecies of the witches. We can also compare Macbeth's indiscriminate behavior to Othello's suspicion on his wife.

Like Othello who begins to believe in Iago, Macbeth also blindly believes the witches and goes to the extent of murdering his cousin.