William Shakespeare Essays (Examples)

illiam Shakespeare
Should Shakespeare's ork Be Translated?

Shakespeare has been the lord of writing for centuries. His work, full of wit and puns has not been replaced by any other writer so far. However, the language used in Shakespeare's work has been the reflection of the then literary language which was full of flavor and richness and suited the culture of estern world then. The question is whether Shakespeare retains its meaning when translated into other languages. There are two different schools of thought on this subject. ith research, it has been proved that Shakespeare loses its essence when translated in any other language and turns into a mere story with no melody attached to it.

There are two aspects of translating Shakespeare's work; one is converting it into simple English which is the main weapon of the modernizers and the second one is converting it into other regional languages like Urdu, Persian,…

She declares that a man who snatches what he desires is actually a true man. Lady Macbeth burdens herself by seducing his husband into committing the murder afterall. Although, initially she has the strength and potential to deal with the task of abetting in a murder and thinks she will be able to forget all about it once she becomes the Scottish Queen but eventually conscience overpowers her vices. She dies of guilt and anguish.
(iii) Banquo

Like Macbeth, Banquo, is also a nobleman of Scotland and a general in rank.To some extent through Banquo and Macbeth, the writer has offered a comparison of choices made by men in similar circumstances. When Macbeth was foretold of his rule on Scotland, so was Banquo made aware that his descendants would one day be wearing the crown. Like Macbeth, Banquo is a man of high rank and status and hence of an ambitious nature.…

William Shakespeare's play Hamlet puts across a series of concepts related to treachery, honor, and impulsiveness. In spite of the fact that they initially appear to be very different in nature, Hamlet (the central character), and Laertes are more similar than one might be inclined to think. The two are principally concerned about avenging their fathers and believe that nothing can stop them from reaching their goal. In spite of their determination they are both imprudent and this reflects in a series of mistakes that they make in their attempt to accomplish their goals. Anger is one of the principal concepts that influence them in losing control and it is the eventual reason for their death.
Although anger is enough to influence both characters in losing their minds, Hamlet is somewhat different from Laertes because of his tendency to over think each step that he makes. Laertes is prepared to abandon…

" Again, the poet employs repetition (of the word "fair") to emphasize his point. Moreover, "chance" and "changing" provide some alliteration, which is otherwise rare in this particular Shakespeare sonnet.
Line nine begins with the word "But," to herald a shift in tone: the speaker went from listing summer's deficiencies to pointing out the particular qualities of his lover that make her superior. The speaker focuses almost exclusively on her "eternal summer" that "shall not fade," (line 9). She will never lose possession of "that fair," or her beauty, and even Death cannot claim her (lines 10, 11). In line 12 the speaker takes partial responsibility for her immortality, for "in eternal lines" she "growest" in stature.

True to the sonnet form, lines 13 and 14 end with rhyming words; in this case, "see," and "thee." The rest of the poem has an alternating rhyme scheme: ABABCDCDEFEF. Moreover, in Sonnet 18 the…

The ironic twist is the play of what is to be expected to be said and what is actually said (or, going back to the argument, what is expected from love and what actually occurs): It begins: "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun; / Coral is far more red than her lips' red"
From here the sonnet continues with a much less pleasing list of the qualities about this mistress, who is definitely very far from the ideal perfection noted in the Petrarchan sonnets. The distinction between the two sonnet approaches increases in the last of the couplets when Shakespeare makes his final argument and explains why he has been using such lesser quality comparisons all along: "And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare/as any she, belied with false compare."

In other words, is it not better to have the best of what is real beauty…

The friar puts on an act pretending he does not know what is actually happening. Therefore we have make believe within the play. The irony can be found once again, this time in the fact that Juliet will go to church just like she was supposed to only in a different hypostasis.

Not as a bride but as a corpse. Thinking that she will actually kill herself ultimately and that the solution provided by the friar is only a pale sign of what will follow makes the scene stronger in terms of psychological tension. The church and its representative are key elements in the act. As the place suited for a marriage ceremony, the church is the location where a new beginning ought to take place. Juliet however despises this potential new beginning and she prefers to annul it, first through a s symbolical gesture and than through a real one.…

William Shakespeare's 1597 history play Henry IV, Part 1 involves Henry Bolingbroke (King Henry the fourth) and his struggle to maintain his throne, like the rebellions throughout the land. Although the rebellion initially appears to show the progress and conditions change of the king's son, Hal, and his peculiar friend, Sir John Falstaff, who gets actively involved in assisting Henry. Falstaff's character is especially intriguing when he prefers to use logics rather than morality with the purpose of being successful. Harry Percy (Hotspur) contrasts Falstaff and eventually comes to be defeated due to his employing an honorable attitude in combat. Comment by Nathaniel Hodes: successful in what sense? surviving the war? anything else? Comment by Nathaniel Hodes: Good. Now follow up these two points with a thesis statement that unites them. What is the play telling us about honor or morality?
The play rotates around the character of Hal, but the…

Shakespeare allows us to see Macbeth's good nature, which also illustrates how easily man can fall once he allows his passions to have free reign.
In Hamlet, Claudius is also driven by ambition and he ranks a close second to Iago as men whose hearts are tainted with evil. His ultimate desire is to be king and then to remain king and he will stop at nothing to achieve that goal. Of course, the wicked deed of killing his own brother becomes more grotesque than that of Iago or Macbeth because of the sheer lack of soul a man must have to commit such an act. Claudius admits that he will do what it takes to retain the throne and he resorts to all sorts of dubious behavior to accomplish this. He also asks Rozencrantz and Guildenstern to use their:

Companies

To draw him on to pleasures, and to gather

So much as…

Shakespeare's Characters:
The commencement of illiam Shakespeare's work can be traced to the latter quarter of the fifteen hundreds when he started writing and performing plays. In his work, Shakespeare basically considered the current issues, which contribute to debates among scholars on whether his works should be regarded as contemporary writing or universal philosophical statements. His focus on current issues was mainly geared towards reconstructing the existing political and social concerns and universal concepts and issues. Notably, one of the major issues raised by scholars regarding his work is the significance of historical depiction. Some scholars argue that Shakespeare's historical depiction of his characters should not be overlooked. This depiction plays an important role in understanding the characters themselves as well as gaining important insights from his works. In this case, Shakespeare's characters fall into two major categories i.e. heroes and heroines and villain characters.

Analysis of Shakespeare's Characters:

Shakespeare's works provide…

illiam Shakespeare's Othello that support the view that Iago, the chief antagonist and primary arch-villain of the play, has been imbued with and personifies a supernatural malevolence to fuel his hatred of the protagonist, Othello. This interpretation of Iago's characterization, however, is tempered by his all too human reasons for being possessed of such a fury towards his enemy: the former believes Othello has slighted him for a military promotion and eventually comes to suspect that the latter may have had a sexual relationship with his wife. Despite such seemingly concrete, logical reasons for despising another, Shakespeare takes great pains to employ devices of description, actions, and dialogue, which support the interpretation that Iago is an infernal creature whose verbal and physical manifestations seem to be aligned with evil incarnate, or at least directly juxtaposed with those of providence. Closer examinations of passages involving Iago and his methods of…

Shot-by-Shot Analysis of Mercutios Death in Romeo + Juliet (1996)The scene begins with a low angled shot as Tybalt leaps into frame from a balcony to beat Romeo lying off screen out of frame below him. Shot two is over the shoulder of Tybalt, or rather over the hip, and shows Romeo in the sand being kicked by Tybalt. Shot three is a cut to Mercutios face full in frame as he looks on in disbelief. He is a friend to both housesMontagues and Capuletsbut Romeo is his best friend and he cannot understand why Romeo will not fight back. He does not know yet that Romeo is married to a Capulet. The camera pans down quickly to show Mercutio reaching for his gun and holding it up to his face as he considers intervening. Shot four shows Tybalt continuing to savagely beat Romeo and is again over the shoulder…

Shakespeare's Othello: Is it a tragedy according to Aristotle?
Aristotle and tragedy

Aristotle defines tragedy as imitation of an action that is serious and has a certain dramatic and complete magnitude. Tragedy to Aristotle is something that is:

"A form of drama exciting the emotions of pity and fear. Its action should be single and complete, presenting a reversal of fortune, involving persons renowned and of superior attainments, and it should be written in poetry embellished with every kind of artistic expression. (Poetics, Part IX)

Aristotle saw tragedy as a simulation of an event that aroused pity and fear in the individual and, by doing so, served as a form of catharsis in the individual could identify with the plot and feel a certain sort of purging or relief (VI.2).

In fact, it is this sense of purging that most distinguishes the tragedy from the comedy or epic (for instance) in that it is the…

"
Here, though ordsworth has once again assumed his place apart from the natural world, he denotes that it is of value to return to this beautiful space in his memory when he is in need of emotional or psychological respite. And ultimately, this reinforces the romantic imperative of distilling the human experience within its context. For ordsworth, the context of modernity invokes a greater appreciation for man's inextricable bond to the natural world.

For Shakespeare, a pre-romantic prerogative toward leaving one's own stamp on the world seems to drive the perspective of Sonnet 116. So is this evidenced by his closing remarks, which states rather definitively, "If this be error and upon me proved, I never writ, nor no man ever loved." Both with regard to the way that Shakespeare characterizes the everlasting nature of true love and the way that he references his own role in the world as a…

ork Cited

Antony and Cleopatra. Retrieved September 30, 2005 from:

http://www-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/cleopatra/full.html

Brown, Lenora Inez. "Enter the Body: omen and Representation on Shakespeare's Stage." American Theatre. May 01, 2001. Retrieved September 30, 2005 from HighBeam Research Library eb site.

Desmet, Christy. "omen's Matters: Politics, Gender, and Nation in Shakespeare's Early History Plays." Comparative Drama. September 22, 2000. Retrieved September 30, 2005 from HighBeam Research Library eb site.

Hunt, Maurice. "Shakespeare's Venetian paradigm: stereotyping and Sadism in The Merchant of Venice and Othello." Papers on Language & Literature. March 22, 2003. Retrieved September 30, 2005 from HighBeam Research Library eb site.

Julius Caesar, The Life and Death of. Retrieved September 30, 2005 from:

http://www-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/julius_caesar/full.html

Othello, The Moore of Venice. Retrieved September 30, 2005 from:

http://www-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/othello/full.html

Starks, Lisa S. "Like the lover's pinch, which hurts and is desired: The Narrative

of Male Masochism and Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra." Literature and Psychology. December 22, 1999. Retrieved September 30, 2005 from HighBeam Research Library eb site.

Steen,…

Antony offered Caesar a diadem, but Caesar refused it, saying Jupiter alone is king of the Romans, "possibly because he saw the people did not want him to accept the diadem, or possibly because he wanted to end once and for all the speculation that he was trying to become a king" (Julius1 pp). In Shakespeare's account, Antony says at the funeral, "I thrice presented him a kingly crown, hich he did thrice refuse. as this ambition? Yet Brutus says he was ambitious, And sure he is an honourable man" (Julius III.ii)
orks Cited

Julius Caesar. orld of Education. Retrieved August 30, 2005 at http://library.educationworld.net/s26/index.html

illiam Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Retrieved August 30, 2005 at http://www.entrenet.com/~groedmed/jc.html

Julius1 Caesar: Historical Background. Retrieved August 30, 2005 at http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/caesar.html

Shakespeare
Othello (1)

My noble father,

I do perceive here a divided duty:

To you I am bound for life and education;

My life and education both do learn me

How to respect you; you are the lord of duty;

I am hitherto your daughter: but here's my husband,

And so much duty as my mother show'd

To you, preferring you before her father,

So much I challenge that I may profess

Due to the Moor my lord.

(Othello, Act 1, Scene iii, lines 179-188)

Desdemonda's character is defined early in Shakespeare's Othello. She plays a supportive role, allowing the nature of Othello's character to emerge clearly by the end of the play. Here, Desdemonda defends both herself and her husband. The passage tells the audience much about gender roles and norms in Elizabethan society, as Desdemonda speaks of her father as the "lord of duty," and refers to a similar "duty" to her husband. Women are defined in terms of their relationships…

Shakespeare delays the entry of his tragic hero until the second scene of Othello, creating dramatic irony and suspense. He also allows the audience to first perceive Othello from the eyes of Iago and Roderigo, thus emphasizing their roles in the coming course of action. Although it is unclear whether Iago and Roderigo are honest men this early in the play, the fact that they fail to name the title character leads the audience to suspect that these two men might be up to no good. Furthermore, their characterization of Othello raises curiosity in the mind of the audience. The introduction of Othello in Scene 2 of the first act relieves this dramatic tension. Othello is poised, regal, and, as we soon see in scene 3, popular; the Duke clearly favors him over Brabantio. Othello is portrayed as a sympathetic character early in Shakespeare's play.
Othello is only referred to as…

Shakespeare's Othello
Iago's view of sexual desire contrasted with Othello's

In the play Othello, William Shakespeare is showing the conflict of sexual desire between a man and woman. This is taking place, when Othello (a military commander) marries a woman named Desdemona. However, her father (Roderigo) is upset about this relationship. The reason why, is because he has heard some negative rumors about Othello from Iago (his aide). Iago, was supposed to be promoted to lieutenant, but was passed over by Othello for an inexperienced soldier. This creates a conflict between the two with Othello, by telling Roderigo a number of stories about their relationship. Once this occurs, is when Roderigo will do anything to kill Othello. ("Plot Overview," 2011)

Then, there was news that the Turks have invaded Cyprus and Othello was order to the region (by his superiors). Iago returned to his unit and began to use the sexual desire that…

Shakespeare
The Character and Relationship of Macbeth and his Lady

In Act 1, Scene V of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth reads a letter from her husband and then reflects on his character. Use this letter and speech as a focal point for analyzing their relationship. What does the letter tell you about his view of the world? What does her subsequent speech tell you about hers? Stay with these few pages of the text and examine as many of the words and phrases as possible.

It seems from the text that Lady Macbeth loves her husband and wants the best for him, but she also believes that he will not be able to do what is required. The letter introduces her to the message from the weird sisters who, as the reader knows, are witches who are, throughout the tale telling Macbeth of his fate. At the end of the opening letter she is…

Thus, Shakespeare's poems have shown that they deal with timeless topics, topics that have proved their worth over time, such as love, passion, and writing. Throughout time, however, Shakespeare's reputation of a writer did, indeed, change. hile he was known as a businessman and patron of the arts during his life, it is suspected that he was not celebrated for his masterful writing until after his death ("Shakespeare Biography"). Today, however, Shakespeare is recognized as the premiere master of creativity and language who wrote in English. Indeed, Pressley and the Shakespeare Resource Center argue that "illiam Shakespeare's legacy is a body of work that will never again be equaled in estern civilization," suggesting that his works "still reach across the centuries as powerfully as ever." Indeed, Shakespeare is not only remembered for the plays and poetry that have changed the scope of English literature, but he is today remembered as…

And while it may seem silly upon first reading or seeing the play, it is clear that a Midsummer Night's Dream also has quite serious ideas. Scholars have noted that the play includes a cultural critique of the Elizabethan era in which it is set (Lamb 93-124). Other critics have noted that the play may contain quite subversive ideas regarding the fluid nature of sexual identity (Green 369-370). Whatever way you choose to interpret a Midsummer Night's Dream, the play's goofy characters, outrageous situations, and rich language have ensured the play's status as a classic work of English literature.
ibliography

Casey, Charles. "Was Shakespeare Gay? Sonnet 20 and the Politics of Pedagogy."

College Literature, Fall 1998. 29 November 2007. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3709/is_199810/ai_n8827074.

Gibson, H.N. The Shakespeare Claimants: A Critical Survey of the Four Principal

Theories Concerning the Authorship of the Shakespearean Plays. New York: Routledge, 2005.

Green, Douglas E. "Preposterous Pleasures: Queer Theories and a Midsummer Night's

Dream."…

"
Perhaps because of this reference to contemporary political ideals, the romance of Shakespeare seems more archetypal than the immediately relevant sociological commentary of "est Side Story." Bernstein's musical is unapologetically topical, dealing with the 1950s obsession with juvenile delinquency and even common theories to explain it, as in the song "Gee Officer Krupkie" which suggests alternatively that delinquency is caused by society, psychology, and also a young thug being "no damn good." hile Shakespeare's conflict between young desires and old hatreds and resistance to change could apply to a variety of contexts, from ancient times as in the case of Pyramus and Thisbe, to the lovers of Brooke's history of Italy, to New York City gangs, to Bosnia, Bernstein's specific focus on the linguistic differences between Puerto Ricans and whites in their speeches and songs, the significance of juvenile crime in American society, and specific cultural ideals like that of…

Shakespeare
Final Opportunity for Reflection and riting

Identifications:

"Stand and unfold yourself"

This quote comes from Shakespeare's Hamlet. Francisco and Bernardo are two guards standing watch in the middle of the night at the castle Elsinore. This is the second line of the play, spoken by Francisco in response to Bernardo's question of who goes there. It is an important part because it sets the tone for the rest of the play. Much of the story involves secret presences and the knowledge that people are being watched. This happens with Polonius as he is stabbed by Hamlet and with Hamlet when he is being watched by his uncle/stepfather. Uncertainty about being alone and who or what may be around lends to the overall confusion and mania of the characters which invariably leads to the tragedies which each of the characters then experience.

"tis the sport to have the enginer / Hoist with his own petard"

Hamlet…

Shakespeare, Sonnet 57
A Reading of William Shakespeare's Sonnet 57

Shakespeare's Sonnet 57 begins with a striking metaphor: "being your slave." Shakespeare does not soften the image by using a simile to suggest he is "like a slave" -- he is already a slave because he is in love. Structurally any Shakespeare sonnet consists of three quatrains and a concluding couplet, in which the quatrains in some way speak to each other, ramifying or deepening the argument in some way. Here the striking opening metaphor of servitude is ramified and toyed with throughout the quatrains. But intriguingly the final couplet of the sonnet sidesteps all the imagery of slavery and servitude to redefine the terms of the lover's situation as described in the earlier body of the sonnet. I intend to show how the metaphor of slavery used in the first three words of the sonnet is unwritten by the last two…

She states, "I nothing but to please his fantasy," and she does not speculate that her "wayward husband" might have any malicious intent with one of Desdemonda's most precious items. Emila's unfailing trust in her husband is frustrating in light of Iago's deceit, and makes her seem even more remarkable of a character. Even when Desdemonda asks "here should I lose that handkerchief, Emilia?" Emilia does not mention how badly Iago wanted his hands on the item. In the closest thing to a lie that Emilia tells, she replies, "I know not, madam," (III, iv).
Ultimately, Othello's jealous rage startles Emilia and helps her grow as a character. In one of her boldest moments in the play, Emilia states, "They are all but stomachs, and we all but food; To eat us hungrily, and when they are full, they belch us. Look you, Cassio and my husband!" (III, iv). However,…

A broader music discourse of English culture of early modern is reflected in the use of music dramatically with unrelenting relations between excess, music and feminine (Dane 435). Christian and platonic thought presents music ideologies which are conflicting and are being contented by the British writers of the early modern: Semantic indeterminacy and sensuous immediacy are presented by music and also the divine order earthly embodiment presented by music. A feminism depiction is seen here whereby the Pythagorean harmony is the positive aspect of music or its masculine aspect and the cultural dissonance is the negative attribute or the feminine aspect. The marginalities are expressed through the singing of Ophelia which is allowed to be not only literal but also dissonance figuratively. Jacobean and Elizabethan stages gender types inspires Ophelia representation. omen's song cultural constructions is problematic through Ophelia singing which lets the 'woman out', her disturbing feminine energy…

Shakespeare's "Hamlet" is perhaps one of the most famous and hotly debated literary artifacts ever written. However, because literary critics and historians have discussed the work so often, it is easy to forget that Shakespeare wrote his tragedy as a play to be performed in the context of an Elizabethan production, to an Elizabethan audience. It is a refreshing antidote to some of more modern textual analysis of this performed text, which views the central character as a kind of an early existentialist, to consider "Hamlet" in light of its original audience.
Stephen Greenblatt's book Hamlet in Purgatory attempts to accomplish this. Greenblatt advances the theory that Hamlet, rather than simply being a tragedy about a man who could not make up his mind, is really about a man wrestling with the shifting religious climate of early Protestant England, a country still in great religious flux. Greenblatt states that for Protestant…

To better describe the problem of a conflict of individual and society, Almereyda referred to the tragedy "Hamlet." Hamlet was one who decided to oppose existing evil, but being the child of the society he lived in, his inner contradictions, unconfident and stereotyped nature didn't allow his will to make a definite decision. Almereyda succeeded in transforming Hamlet from a medieval prince, into the modern hero, into representative of generation-X, filmmaker student. Still modern Hamlet has a more cynic and arrogant character, he is more stereotyped and cowardly. Hamlet of Manhattan's Denmark Corporation, played by Ethan Hawke, looks more like a spoiled white American teenager, than a noble Dutch prince, whom he was presented by Shakespeare. Modern Hamlet is quite different from the person of action, his actions are substituted by his thoughts and by his desire to escape from reality and be forgotten in his own world, where…

Shakespeare's Hamlet contains messages that are relevant to modern society, including the problem of revenge and the disturbing nature of death and the afterlife. These themes repeat themselves throughout Hamlet and are dealt with by the play's protagonist, Prince Hamlet of Denmark. Issues of revenge and death shape Hamlet's character and color his perception of life and the people around him. His encounter with the specter of his late father early in the play brings Hamlet into intimate contact with death and the afterlife. Physical reminders of death also drive home this theme of the play, such as the decaying bodies in the cemetery and Yorick's skull. Closely related to the theme of death is that of revenge, for death is the ultimate outcome of vengeful retribution and the primary motivation for the play's protagonist. King Hamlet's ghost demands that his son exact revenge on Claudius: "If thou didst ever…

Moreover, and this is where the tone takes its turn, the poet derides summer for its temporary nature. In all of its delighted qualities, the poet suggests, it is a fleeting sensation compared to the lasting statement of her loveliness. Again, we find that exaggeration is a common feature of the love poem. In this instance, there is an overly grand sentiment in the characterization of the subject and, likewise, a decidedly biased disparaging of the summer season as a counterpoint. Here, the poet observes, "And every fair from fair sometimes declines / By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimmed. /

But thy eternal summer shall not fade."

The poet's tone is thus ultimately one of worshipful affection. There is some combination of love and lust which drives the poet's description and which leaves us little doubt that the speaker is either courting or showering this woman.

Point-of-View:

This produces our discussion on point-of-view.…

It is the same in the Bible with the tragedy of King Saul, the first King of Israel. He has turned his back on God, but continues to seek advice before battling against the Philistines. For help, he sees a medium, or witch, and asks her to summon the spirit of the recently deceased prophet-priest Samuel, who used to help Saul he was serving God. In the same way as the ghost wearing the Kingly cloak appears before the prince, a ghost in a priestly robe appears before Saul., and "Saul knew that it was Samuel." Saul asks this spirit for advice, becomes terrified, and takes his own life in the battle the next day. David, the new king, mourns the death of Saul, just as Fortinbras does with Hamlet. Yet, the Geneva Bible adds with the Corinthians: "It was Satan, who to blind his eyes took upon him…

Shakespeare's play Macbeth, women play influence Macbeth a brave vibrant soldier, ready die king, a murderer? Discuss witches predictions portrayed Jacobean era ambitious Lady Macbeth husband deranged.
illiam Shakespeare's play Macbeth provides an intriguing account involving concepts like greed, the influence women have on men, and the overall idea of human nature in dubious circumstances. Macbeth is the central character and he comes to employ deceiving attitudes as he becomes more and more overcome by greed. hile it is actually normal to see a person being obsessed with power and coming to act in disagreement with principles he or she previously believed in, Macbeth is also significantly influenced by women who he interacts with and it is only safe to say that they play an important role in making him commit regicide.

Macbeth is somewhat dependent to women, not from a sexual point-of-view, but from a point-of-view involving him wanting to…

Shakespeare's Sonnet # 138
Shakespeare's "Sonnet 138"

illiam Shakespeare's "Sonnet 138" provides audiences with the opportunity to get a more complex understanding of the speaker's relationship with the Dark Lady and concerning the insecurities that come to dominate his thinking as a result of him growing older. It seems that this relationship has become platonic and it influenced the speaker to experience an emotional detachment as he concentrates on turning a blind eye to what goes on around him -- he simply prefers to ignore the fact that she lies to him and that she is cheating on him with other men. The sonnet actually puts across a psychological study with regard to ideas like love, adultery, and acceptance of one's position in the world.

The speaker focuses both on himself and his mistress in trying to provide audiences with a thorough account about their affair. Even with the fact that the…

Shakespeare and Blake
A prevalent issue in English literature is how social status affects individuals. Two writers that are able to explore the negative aspects of social status are William Shakespeare and William Blake. In Shakespeare's Othello, the Moor of Venice, social status plays a major role in determining who does or does not get promoted within the military; this determination, in turn, leads to rebellion on the part of Iago who is both angry and jealous after being passed up for promotion. On the other hand, Blake's poems of the same title, "The Chimney Sweeper" from Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience, highlight what children of lower social classes must endure for the benefit of their families. Through their respective works of literature, Shakespeare and Blake demonstrate the lasting impact that social striation has on individuals.

Othello, the Moor of Venice is a dramatic play that focuses on Othello's…

Shakespeare's play, Romeo Juliet, film version: note defend effective ineffective. Do unknown young actors, Leonard hiting Olivia Hussey, opposed recognizable stars, made film appealing? Please explain
Although some might be inclined to believe that it is impossible to compare two works of art because they should each be analyzed from different points-of-view, it is only safe to consider that illiam Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet needs to be compared with the film that was inspired from it. One of the first things that the director needed to take into account was that the play that he wanted to screen contained a particularly powerful storyline and the actors thus needed to be prepared to express its full intensity. Franco Zeffirelli decided to cut some of the play's major parts and in spite of the fact that he created a less dramatic piece he managed to create a motion picture that was successful…

hile Shakespeare attracted his fair share of criticism during his day, it is also clear that many of his contemporaries as well as the general public viewed Shakespeare's work in a positive light. For example, Callaghan (2004) points out that, "hile we do not know how much Shakespeare was paid for the plays he furnished his company, it is clear that the greatest part of the handsome fortune Shakespeare had started to amass as early as the 1590s came from his share in the profits of his company rather than from his plays" (405). This relative affluence apparently helped to provide a sort of comfort zone for Shakespeare that allowed him to write when and what he wanted and for whatever audience he desired in ways that contributed to his ultimate success as a playwright as well as the enduring qualities of his works. For instance, Callaghan adds that, "For…

Shakespeare Never Read Aristotle?
Or, the dynamic forms of catharsis and tragic flaws in Shakespeare's plays

Shakespeare's most beloved plays are his tragedies. If one were to list his best and most popular plays: Othello, Romeo & Juliet, Hamlet, King Lear, and so forth, one would find the list comprised almost entirely of tragedies. So it would not be amiss to say that much of the modern literary conception of theatrical tragedy is shaped and influenced by Shakespeare. At the same time, the definitions of the tragic form as understood at the roots of theatrical history (in Greco-Roman times) continue to be part and parcel of the official comprehension of tragedy. Many critics have sought to fore Shakespeare into the mold of tragedy defined in Aristotle's Poetica, and many others have rightfully protested that he was not cast from that mold, and that in fact he owes little to it. Speaking…

The rhyme scheme of this sonnet follows Shakespeare's usual structure, wherein the quatrains all have an independent alternating rhyme (ABAB CDCD EFEF), and the final two lines form an heroic couplet (GG). This adds to the feeling of receiving discrete steps of an argument, and enhances the divisions of the versification. There is also a noticeable prevalence of "l's and "s's in the poem, particularly in the first and third quatrains. these sounds make up the basics of the word "lies," which is itself used as a rhyme and is repeated in the poem, and which forms one of the major themes of the sonnet. In this way, the alliteration subconsciously reinforces the meaning and feel of the poem. There are also instances of repeated words, such as "love" in the lines "O love's best habit is in seeming trust, / and age in love, loves not to have..." (lines…

Shakespeare used Music in his orks
illiam Shakespeare (1564-1616), English playwright and poet, is recognized all over the world as the greatest dramatist of all times. His plays have been performed more times than those of any other dramatist and have been translated in almost every major language. (Kastan) hile many aspects of Shakespeare's plays have been discussed and analyzed, it is perhaps not so widely known that music has also played an important role in many of his plays. In this paper we shall review the historical background of music in the Shakespearian era and discuss how and why music was used in Shakespeare's works. The type of music used by the playwright as well as some examples of music in specific plays shall also be described.

Historical Background of Music in the Shakespearian Era

The 16th century in which Shakespeare was born was a period when England was emerging as…

This suspicion becomes even more ironically clear as we read further. As we progress with the analysis of the protagonist's description of his love we find even more apparently negative comparisons. For example, he states that that in comparison to perfumes his "mistress reeks" and that music has a much more "pleasing sound" than her voice. He also states that she is no goddess in the lines,

I grant I never saw a goddess go;

My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground

However in the final couplet of the sonnet there is a dramatic change of tone and a radical change in our perception of the loved one. The final two lines read as follows.

And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare

As any she belied with false compare.

These two lines should be carefully considered as they ironically overturn the meaning and intention of the metaphorical comparisons that have been…

Shakespeare's play Macbeth, there are several themes that can relate today's modern society. But, one in particular wills mostly likely stand the test of time of all future societies. The theme of nature is use throughout the play and in the play it means that something will occur by the nature of things is set up. For example, in Act I, there is darkness all around the witches and during the time of the play, people associated darkness with evilness. So, the nature of the setting in Act I gave the audience the impression something evil was going to happen. And, today's modern audience would still get the same impression due to the nature of the setting.
Also, in Act I, there is thunder and lighting, which indicates a disturbance in nature. People of today still feel that way about thunder and lighting. In Act II, darkness is all over…

Christopher Marlowe's "Doctor Faustus" vs. illiam Shakespeare's "Henry IV, Part 1"
Christopher Marlowe's "Doctor Faustus" and illiam Shakespeare's "Henry IV, Part 1" are both two of history's most notable plays. Even with the fact that Marlowe has had a serious influence on Shakespeare, there are a series of differences between the two plays and one is likely to observe how each playwright employs a different attitude in speaking about the same concepts. "Doctor Faustus," for example, is a play that centers on a single character while "Henry IV, Part 1" is more complex and provides audiences with several characters as they progress and develop into individuals that are very different from how they were initially.

In contrast to Marlowe, Shakespeare focuses on humanizing his characters and on actually influencing audiences to identify with them. Marlowe only wants spectators to maintain their roles throughout the play, as he concentrates on presenting Faustus' character…

Characterization of Ophelia in Shakespeare's Hamlet
In illiam Shakespeare's play Hamlet, the character of Ophelia is perhaps the most tragic, as her wishes and desires are constantly sublimated in favor of the scheming characters around her. Essentially she is used as bait for Hamlet, and when her father dies, she is left to her own madness and death (a death whose circumstances leave open the possibilities of accident or suicide). By examining the characterization of Ophelia in Shakespeare's Hamlet, it will be possible to see how the play uses her conversations to heighten the tragedy of her death and subsequently implicate the other characters, and especially Polonius and Gertrude, more fully in her breakdown and death, thus revealing the destructive nature of gender stereotypes and the social roles they reinforce.

Before examining the character of Ophelia in more detail, it will be useful to briefly examine previous critical work on the subject…

he's gone forever! / I know when one is dead, and when one lives; / he's dead as earth." (King Lear V.iii.256-260)
Titus Andronicus is the central figure and tragic hero of the homonymous play by William hakespeare. He is a General of Rome and father to Lavinia and Lucius. He is a brave solider of Rome who has spent the last ten years of his life fighting Rome's enemies. Although very successful and praised for his heroic acts, Titus Andronicus now feels incapable of assuming the role his country had envisioned for him. Moreover, despite the fact that in the beginning he is seen as a model of piety, and praised for his adherence to tradition and custom, it is precisely this inflexibility - "For now I stand as one upon a rock / Environed with a wilderness of sea, / Who marks the waxing tide grow wave by…

Shakespeare and the manner in which he wrote and the theatre of his times.
In this modern world that we live in today we still do not forget the one great playwright William Shakespeare, and this is because of the fact that his work is unique and unmatched to any other. His lifetime, as we are convinced, was full of activity regarding his literary works. ut the truth is that we know very little about how he grew up and how he got married. We do however know that it was from the 1597 that he started an active life in acting, in which he performed before the queen. It was in London that he learned how to manage the theatre. It was not long after this that he flourished into an expert playwright whose work would touch the hearts of all who read it (1).

Analysis:

William Shakespeare was born on…

William Shakespeare has written a number of love sonnets. In general, these tend to be less conventional than the typical romantic poem, where love is praised above all things as the purpose of life and relationships. Instead, Shakespeare tends towards a more realistic sense of loving despite imperfection and despite life's challenges. To some degree, the same is true of Sonnet 116, which begins with the line "Let me not to the marriage of true minds/admit impediments. Love is not love…" When read for its deeper meaning, it becomes clear that Shakespeare is not denying the realities of life together for romantic partners; he admits that there will be difficulty. The central point of the poem, however, is contained in these lines, implying that true love is solid and unchanging, regardless of any changes or challenges that might be found in the environment or conditions surrounding it.
In the first…

illiam Shakespeare's Hamlet, there are several distinct characteristics of misery and madness that abound in both Hamlet and Ophelia. Their lunacy each stems from similar sources of grief, but the true evolution of their madness is methodically different due to their gender and their status in Elizabethan society.
Throughout Hamlet, Ophelia appears in a mere five scenes and is only one of two females present in the play and therefore stands not to pose as a prominent member of the play. Ophelia's father, Polonius, whom is the chief advisor to the new King Claudius, and a highly respected man, demands that his daughter tell Hamlet that she can no longer be with him even though she desperately is in love with him.

I would not, in plain terms, from this time forth have you so slander any moment leisure as to give words or talk with the Lord Hamlet. Look to't,…

Henry the Fifth and the Ideal of a Monarch
Shakespeare's history plays are based mostly in fact yet have the insertion of beliefs and systems that where truly his own. In Shakespeare's Henry V can be seen a culmination of his goals of monarchical character development. Though the character King Henry does not always closely resemble his slightly more carefree youth, Prince Hal as seen through the story of his father, Henry V has aged into what Shakespeare thought to be the ideal king. (Losey 539) Shakespeare, through Henry V paints a vivid picture of a conscience driven monarch with a heart for life, god and country. Though some criticize the nationalistic romanticism of Henry's depiction the message of literature is meant to both entertain the viewer and make him or her think and Shakespeare clearly has this goal in both history and humor.

Throughout the drama Henry is depicted as very…

Machiavelli and Shakespeare:
The Influence of Machiavelli on Shakespeare's Plays

The Italian enaissance-era philosopher and political adviser Nicolo Machiavelli is one of the most famous and infamous writers on the subject of politics. Despite the common use of the synonym Machiavellian for evil, Machiavelli's seminal tract The Prince was considered so ground-breaking because of his emphasis on the practical nature of holding principalities versus a philosophy of the divine right of kings. Cunning rather than religion was the reason leaders triumphed, according to Machiavelli. Machiavelli was not necessarily opposed to democracy but rather advocated strong-armed techniques because simply from the prince's perspective that these methods were superior in holding territories. Machiavelli offered hard-headed words of wisdom versus ethical theories. Machiavelli's unsentimental and irreligious attitude towards kingship was very controversial at the time and influenced many of the depictions of villains in the Elizabethan playwright William Shakespeare's plays, including Julius Caesar, Macbeth and…

“One is not born but rather becomes a woman.” This famous statement by the French existential feminist Simone de Beauvoir highlights the fact that gender, as opposed to physical sex, is something into which someone is socialized, not which exists as a universal construct (Butler, 1988, p. 519). The 20th century feminist theorist Judith Butler took De Beauvoir’s thesis one step further to argue that gender is a performance not connected to the physical body at all and both men and women can effectively perform the female role. This notion is not as radical and contemporary as it may seem. As the film Shakespeare in Love highlights, in Elizabethan times, women were considered to be inferior beings, incapable of acting on stage at all. The film is a highly fictionalized version of life on the Elizabethan stage, and its final, climatic scene is that of a young woman named Viola…

Duke of Gloucester
Shakespeare's ichard III, The Duke of Gloucester, may not bear much resemblance to the real king in character and appearance but in this play, he is certainly the most dominant and a fully developed figure that serves as both the protagonist and villain of the play. For critics, it is hard to decide whether ichard III can actually be called a tragedy because here the protagonist appears less a tragic figure and more a vain, cruel and malicious king who was ruthlessly ambitious and killed people not for the love of his country, as most other tragic kings did, but advance his own objectives.

It is widely believed that Shakespeare's ichard III was based on Sir Thomas More's description of the king. Other historians have often described him as a courageous and warm king, a description widely different from the image we get from Shakespeare's play. In this play,…

Hotspur considers that being a victor is one of the important things that someone can possibly think about and constantly thinks about winning battles. One can observe how his passion for combat is an advantage and a disadvantage at the same time, as this means that he takes decisions primarily based on his honor. Prince Hal puts more thought in the actions he performs and this yet again proves that he is especially concerned about the consequences of his actions.

Shakespeare wants audiences to develop special relationships with each of the two characters and thus presented them in different episodes of the play in a highlight their personalities to a greater degree. Even with the fact that it is obvious that Hal's character needs to become more organized, most people are probable to feel a stronger connection with him as a result of his warmth, humor, and eventual courage. It is…

Jealousy in Othello
Othello, by William Shakespeare, is a play demonstrating that we all have strengths and weaknesses and that while the best of us will focus on people's strengths, the worst of us will not only not weaknesses but use them in destructive ways. Throughout the play, the weakness of jealousy, directly or indirectly, brings the destruction and downfall of all the major characters, including not only Othello and his bride Desdemona, but Iago, his wife Emilia, Roderigo and Cassio.

Othello is particularly vulnerable because, being a Moor, he is somewhat an outsider (Weller, PAGE). He is accepted as a leader in society and as a great military man, but he is aware of his differences. He used them to charm those around him, wooing and winning the beautiful Desdemona and then defending her marriage to others, but the villain of the play, Iago, knows that it can be easy to…

Poetry of Othello
Emilia is the person speaking, and she is the wife of Iago. She is speaking to Desdemona, and she is discussing the faults of men, and how they tend to blame them on women. Desdemona replies that one must not counter bad with bad, thus reiterating the meaning of the play.

Emilia.

But I / do think / it is / their hus / bands' faults

If wives / do fall. / Say that / they slack / their duties

And pour / our trea / sures in / to for / eign laps;

Or else / break out / in pee / vish jeal / ou sies,

Throwing res / traint upon / us; or / say they / strike us,

Or scant / our form / er hav / ing in de / spite

Why, we / have galls; / and though / we have / some grace,

Yet have / we some /…

Othello's final speech in Act five of the play, paying close attention to poetic elements as well as imagery within the passage.
The analysis should be clearly focused and based on evidence found within the text. The essay should reflect a clear understanding of the play based on in-depth reading of the play for broader issues and intent by the author.

Othello's final speech redeems him even after he murders his wife and is duped by Iago. His eloquence and his ability to use words to his advantage make him a persuasive character in this tragic play.

To understand the final speech by Othello within the content of the play, first one needs to understand Shakespeare's writing style within this play and his development of his character, Othello. The play, Othello is considered a tragedy play. In particular, this type of play usually uses prose that can measure a collapse of some…

Titular Cymbeline's stubborn and self-willed daughter Imogen embodies the spirit of feminism as she seeks simply to marry the man she loves. In the patriarchal society in which Cymbeline is set, Imogen is by law and in custom the king's property until she is wed. Essentially, Imogen is an object in every sense of the word. Posthumus Leonatus likewise views his beloved as an object of his own, albeit in a far different manner than that which Imogen's father recognizes her. An object, as Winnicott frames it, is something that has use or value in its utility for the subject. Given that Cymbeline enjoys the titular role in Shakespeare's play, it is safe to say that Imogen is suitably objectified and also that the playwright may be making deft commentary about the nature and consequences of objectification. An object is, after all, also empowered because of the power it has…

Hamlet
The play "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare contains a rich diversity of issues and relationships, some of the greatest of which concern those between father and son. These relationships, most notably those between Hamlet and the late King Hamlet, Fortinbras and Old Fortinbras, and Polonius and Laertes, demonstrate a number of significant, unique characteristics as well as several themes that are both timeless and universal.

The first evidence of father/son conversation occurs when the Ghost appears to Hamlet in Act One Scene V. The father's spirit imparts essential information to Hamlet about the circumstances of his treacherous murder at his brother's hands, which in turn precipitates Hamlet's long agonising and plotting. Despite the initial dramatic impact of Hamlet being addressed by a ghost, the conversation reveals that the relationship is effectively typical, in that the father enlightens and guides his son. However, it is also exemplary and exceptional in that the father…

Shakespeare is often revered as one of the world's greatest authors. His works, which have now become legend, are the subject of intense study and review. In many instances, many of today's popular motion pictures, dramas, and movies have used elements of Shakespeare's work. Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were mainly comedies and histories, genres he raised to the peak of sophistication and artistry by the end of the 16th century. He then wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, and Macbeth, considered some of the finest works in the English language. Many of these tragedies have been adapted for modern viewing. Hamlet, Othello, and Macbeth, for instance, have seen multiple motion picture releases and have captivated generations. In addition, many of Shakespeare's tragedies have become common works on Broadway, further justifying their importance in English literature.…

Shakespeare After All -- Contrapunctual Love in "A Midsummer's Night's Dream"
In the introduction to her text, Shakespeare after All, scholar Marjorie Garber engages in the paradoxical task of making an argument that essentially Shakespeare's plays have no 'argument.' Garber states that although the different characters may argue amidst themselves, Shakespeare's plays take no final position as to what is the correct moral approach to life. Arguments about human behavior are submitted "contrapunctually" in Garber's phrase. For example, the reaffirmation of the patriarchal order and patriarchal control of marriage in "A Midsummer's Night's Dream," as expressed by Hermia's father in Act I of the play, is subverted by the marriage between Hermia and her beloved Lysander. Yet conventional gender dynamics are affirmed contrapunctually affirmed through the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta, as well as the newly submissive Titania to the antics of Oberon.

For example, one seamless or non-Garber-like reading of the…

Shakespeare's Othello
A lot of genres throughout history have been tested over time among which 'tragedy' has been the most favorite one. Tragedy reveals a debacle tale of a good or valuable person through misinterpretation and fatal mistakes along with the production of misfortune and awareness on the protagonist's part and arousal of fear and sympathy on the audience's part. Aristotle, an ancient Greek thinker, is considered to have been the key ruling forces of tragedy. 'Poetics,' a masterpiece literature is considered to be the key authority that defines a true misfortune (Aristotle, 1968, pgs 33-35).

A character filled with tragedy must lift the story plot in every tragedy and that hero has to accomplish particular rules to be called a tragic hero. Aristotle presents some rules of a tragic hero which state that the character should not be displayed fleeting through an excellent fortune to a bad one; while the antagonist…