Abstract This paper explains the imagery and poetic tools of the sonnet, as well as its ideas and meanings. Those elements are examined against other interpretations of the sonnet, and the author finally concludes that despite the poems initial difficulties in its understanding, it remains applicable in today's society.
Abstract This paper argues many points involving the influence of Lady Macbeth on the murders committed by Macbeth. It looks at how women influenced men in society, even in the days of Shakespeare, and how this theme was written about by the playwright.
From the Paper "The familiar quote ?Behind every great man there is a great woman.? Is used to describe the impact women make on the men with whom they accompany. Even in Elizabethan times, though women did not have the same rights as men they made an incredible impact on society. Since the beginning of time the will of a woman has always been in direct correlation with the actions of a man. In Macbeth, one of Shakespeare's most famous plays, Lady Macbeth supplies the fuel behind the fire of Macbeth's murders. Macbeth and his Lady share many traits but they also have many differences."
Abstract This paper briefly offers a line by line analysis of this sonnet. It shows that Shakespeare's "Sonnet 138" revolves around a narrator who takes a somewhat witty and sarcastic approach toward the necessary infidelities involved in his marriage.
From the Paper "The first line, ?When my love swears that she is made of truth,? opens with a clause, pushing the reader to find out what happens when she swears her honesty to him. The word "love" is not only in reference to his wife, but also to the fact that it is his love that is making him believe her, not her lies fooling him. The word "swears" also leads the reader to immediately question why the connotation seems so tense. The narrator then says, ?I do believe her, though I know she lies [emphasis added],? the word "do" connotes trying to convince himself of her faithfulness, fully knowing that it is not true. The word "lies" has two meanings here: the first that his wife is dishonest, and the second meaning that she lies with other men, adulterously."
Abstract This essay explores the relationship between Hamlet and his mother and how this is the key to his struggles throughout the play. It shows how Gertrude is the key to Hamlet's inextricable moral entanglement that prevents him from exacting justice.
From the Paper "Shakespeare's Hamlet is a man fraught with a plethora of moral dilemmas. At the heart of this is his sense of estrangement from all that is familiar to him in terms of his family's morality. Having a sense that his family is making a series of immoral judgements is disturbing enough in and of itself. What greatly compounds this unfavorable situation is the example his family is setting for himself (not to mention the nation of Denmark). However, the corruption most keenly felt by Hamlet is that of the one responsible for his own moral training: His mother."
Abstract This paper discusses how Kenneth Branagh's interpretation of the character, Iago, from Shakespeare's "Othello" differs from Shakespeare's original intention. The paper contrasts Branagh's portrayal of Iago as one who is fierce, dead serious and even brooding, with Shakespeare's Iago as one who is less serious and more intent on enjoying the hunt of Othello. The paper also discusses the movie version's emphasis on providing a motive for Iago's vengeance, while Shakespeare actually provides very little explanation of Iago's motivation.
From the Paper "Kenneth Branagh's interpretation of Iago lends a very different feel to the text than one might get simply by reading it. His portrayal of Iago is typically dead serious. There seems to be no smirk, no joy, in his undoing of Othello, rather he seems almost sulky, almost duty bound. Even if, in the action of the movie, he momentarily assumes a smile, in soliloquy that smile is immediately swept away to a sullen grimace. This frowning Iago is an unusual interpretation of Shakespeare's most notorious villain. From the text, one might assume that Iago enjoys the chase, enjoys the hunt of Othello, but the movie depicts it very much as a fierce competition. Part of this can be seen in the chessboard theme that runs throughout the movie?Iago's attempt to undo Othello is not some freewheeling intellectual exercise, but a disciplined competition."
Tags: villain, downfall, shakespearian, jealous, promotion, chess, theme, venetian, society
Abstract This paper examines how in the play "Othello" by William Shakespeare, the main character Othello starts the play as being the most powerful of all the characters and how this soon ends when he makes the mistake of trusting his 'friend' Iago. It analyzes how Iago deceives Othello causing Othello's downfall and how Iago becomes more powerful. It also looks at how this mistake leads to another as Othello dramatically ends the play by killing his innocent wife.
From the Paper "Iago intends to use Othello's positive qualities against him. What Iago means by "serve my turn upon him" is that he is going to make Othello believe that Desdemona has been unfaithful to him. The word "serve" has connotations of a prison sentence or punishment showing that Iago believes Othello deserves this cruel punishment. It also shows that Iago doesn't like him so much that he wants to personally inflict such punishment upon him even though he will personally put himself at risk he is willing to take this chance as he really doesn't like Othello. This quote is also showing that as Othello believes Iago then he does not believe in himself. He does not think that he is good enough for Desdemona as he feels that she will leave him for someone else easily."
Abstract This paper analyzes the main female characters in "Romeo and Juliet" and "A Midsummer-Night's Dream" and then discusses their similar and dissimilar qualities. In discussing their similarities, the paper notes that both Hermia of "A Midsummer-Night's Dream" and Juliet of "Romeo and Juliet" are strong and courageous females, and both will do anything for love. Among their differences, the paper cites their differences in age. The paper also points out that the major difference in the two plays, the outcome, has to do with the plot of the play and not the differences in the characters of Juliet and Hermia.
From the Paper "Hermia and Juliet share a major similarity in that they are both female characters devoted to love and willing to do anything to be with their lover. They are also both strong and courageous characters, though Hermia is more mature, while Juliet is younger and more naive. The major difference though, is the outcome for the two characters, with Juliet's love leading to her tragic death, and Hermia's leading to a happy ending. This difference is related not to the qualities of each character, but to their roles in the play, and to the type of play each character is part of. These similarities and differences will now be considered in more detail."
Abstract One of the most striking aspects of the female protagonists in Shakespeare's "The Tempest" and Chaucer's "The Knight's Tale" is their apparent lack of agency, or force of independent will, in the face of male dominance and control. This paper shows that women, as such, do not seem to exist in these tales. In other words, unlike the men of these tales, women do not act as individual people or fully-formed characters, either in the contemporary sense or even in the sense that "character" or "psychology" may have existed in their creators? respective ages and places. Rather, women in these texts only serve to act as objects or placeholders. This paper explains how they simply live, textually speaking, to serve and to reinforce male notions of honor and power or act as objects of male transfers of power.
From the Paper "Miranda's only power is her ability to arise pity and wonder in others. When she expressed her opinion about stopping the tempest, her father dismisses her with the query: "my foot, my tutor"? In other words, he is amazed that something from his body can have its own volition, namely a daughter, who is something lower than himself, a body part that he stands upon like a foot that cannot teach him anything, morally speaking, and can only cement his physical connections to the earth through generating marital alliances. Prospero forces Miranda to go to sleep when he is distracted, again against her own will. (1.1.) Eventually, her alliance with Ferdinand allows her father to return home to his customary place?her function in society as Prospero's prop and "foot" has been fulfilled."
Abstract This paper discusses how Shakespeare's characters always cause us to wonder, and how, in his play, "Henry IV Part I", it is interesting to consider how Hotspur and Hal's lives would have been changed had they become friends. It looks at how, certainly, both would have benefited greatly from the experience. Hal could have taught Hotspur to relax and enjoy life a little bit more, and Hotspur could have taught Hal how to be more serious about life, especially his duties as prince. By examining both characters, it shows how we can easily see how each character's weaknesses and strengths could have contributed to a friendship that may have achieved peace in a different way.
From the Paper "On the other hand, Hal is slow to move toward his position as prince. He prefers to spend time in the tavern with Falstaff and our first impression of him is that he is quite lazy. He has fun with his friends and even repays the travelers the money that was stolen from them. In essence, Hal does not seem to want to grow up. This is most obvious in the scenes at the tavern. Hal seems to be aware that the happiness he finds at the tavern is something he will not or cannot find in a courtly life. He can also be himself there. He can drink and have fun. He tells the others, "I am now of all humors that have showed themselves humors since the old days of good man Adam to the pupil age of this present twelve o"clock midnight? (II.v.82-4). Although we have no problem understanding why Hal likes his life at the tavern so much, we also realize that Hal is not exactly eager to fulfill his duties."
Abstract This paper discusses how William Shakespeare's "Hamlet, Prince of Denmark" is the timeless revenge tragedy of young Hamlet trying to avenge his murdered father. It looks at how many other subplots or hinted subplots are mentioned throughout the text and how one of these involves Gertrude, the mother of Hamlet, and her role in the elder Hamlet's death. It examines how some say that Gertrude's only faults in the play are marrying too quickly and too incestuously, while others argue that she had some or all of the knowledge of her husband's death. It attempts to show how, throughout the play, Gertrude seems very suspicious and how she does, indeed, have some knowledge of her late husband's murder.
From the Paper "From the beginning of the play, the reader becomes aware that something is not right with Gertrude's emotions. Clearly, she seemed to have loved the elder Hamlet before his death. Shakespeare even describes young Hamlet saying that Gertrude "would hang on [elder Hamlet] as if increase of appetite had grown by what it fed on" (1.2.144-146). In this passage, Gertrude seems as if she could not live without the man. Yet she marries her brother-in-law Claudius within a month of elder Hamlet's death. The question of her love for her dead husband has to be brought up when she marries his own brother! Also within months of elder Hamlet's death, she remarks about the death coldly, "all that lives must die, passing through nature to eternity"(1.2.72-73)."
Abstract This paper examines how the oft-repeated and most popular line in the play Macbeth, ?Fair is foul, and foul is fair,? is the playful chant of the three witches predicting the fate of Macbeth, as he rises and falls to power because of his greed and treachery. It looks at how this line in the play embodies the wholeness of Macbeth's demise, where his actions, which eventually led to his downfall, are characterized as a set of conflicting acts that bring about victory and defeat in his pursuit to become the king of Scotland. It also discusses how the role of paradox, that is, self-contradicting meanings, determines the behavior and actions of the main character in the play, Macbeth.
From the Paper "It can be noted that the line, ?Fair is foul and foul is fair,? is a two-fold statement, illustrating the rise and defeat in power of Macbeth. The first meaning of the statement, ?fair is foul,? is construed to illustrate Macbeth's rise to power, as the Three Witches prophesied that he would become Thane of Cawdor, and eventually, King of Scotland. The second part of the statement, ?foul is fair,? predicts the defeat of Macbeth in the end, when Macduff and Malcolm's forces curb his tyrannical rule. In addition to these meanings, the statement also provides an analysis of the powerful role Fate plays in the lives of the characters in Macbeth. Thus, "fair is foul" may be meant by the Three Witches as the future of Macbeth as determined by Fate; it is vital that Fate is best left alone to fulfill its designs than be interfered with human actions."
Abstract This paper examines how, within nearly all of the historical and current critical scholarship of Shakespeare's "Hamlet, Prince of Denmark", there is some emphasis on the misogynistic tendencies of the male characters, and specifically of Hamlet himself. It looks at how Prince Hamlet holds a special kind of prejudice against women and how he is given to the misogyny of a young man who has been mortally betrayed by his mother and, to some degree, his whole society. It attempts to show how his desperation and his anger toward the whole societal standard of gaining through marriage is evident throughout the work, and how title, power, and wealth are gained and exchanged through a system of intrigue that is determined through marriage, lust, and even murder.
From the Paper "It goes without saying that Hamlet feels inextricably connected to his treacherous mother. He is painfully aware of his own love for her and his desire to please her and at the same time is convinced, more boldly that she deserves only betrayal and hatred, in kind. He rejects her sexual advances through clenched teeth, angry with himself for wishing for the comfort of her body/approval/alliance, and burned by her chameleon nature. As he is aware that if he does not ally with her she will offer herself to the next person available to shield her from her crimes. He foretells his own death, as he contends with his connection to the treachery of his mother towards his father."
Abstract This paper examines how the Elizabethan dramatists Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare were contemporaries and how, for the latter part of Marlowe's dramatic career, they were rivals as well. It looks at how Marlowe's career as a playwright was cruelly cut short after the author was murdered in a tavern brawl, probably the result of his political intrigues. The paper shows that regardless of the reasons for Marlowe's untimely demise, the difference between the older Marlowe and the young Shakespeare had already become manifest in the characterization of the main protagonists of the two men's plays. It explores how Marlowe clearly influenced Shakespeare's early writings and how, while Marlowe used broad character brushstrokes to create a vivid narrative and caricature of human character and morality, Shakespeare created a new way of dramatically rendering the human character in shades of gray. In particular, it examines how both men used similar themes, such as the presence of "Jewish" values in a money-grubbing 'Christian' society.
From the Paper "All of Marlowe's protagonists are larger than life, from Barabas to Faustus and lastly to Tamburlaine, in the scope of their desires. They are both sustained and destroyed by their respective evils. Barabas? poisoning reflects the Jewish dietary laws that Shylock merely tacitly refers to, ?I will not eat with you,? in Act I of ?The Merchant of Venice.? Faustus is destroyed by his love of knowledge and power, just as Tamburlaine is destroyed by his desire to conquer the world.? All of these men stand outside of their societies, and reflect what is wrong with their societies?an over emphasis on money, scholasticism, and power respectively."
Abstract This paper examines how, through symbolism, allusions, and dialogue, Shakespeare reveals his attitudes concerning love, marriage, and gender roles in 16th-century society in his play, "The Taming of the Shrew".
From the Paper "One of William Shakespeare's best-loved comedies, The Taming of the Shrew takes audiences on a rather comprehensive journey through Renaissance social culture. Though the courtship between main characters Petruchio and Katherina is far from typical, it does offer insight into not only the customs and attitudes of Europeans in general but those of Shakespeare himself. Shakespeare seems to hold the same opinions as those of most men of the late 1500s?that love is generally very superficial and based on physical attraction; that marriage closely resembles a business proposition; and that women are nothing without their husbands or fathers to whom they must submit. Through literary devices ranging from witty dialogues and impassioned speeches to plentiful allusions and creative symbolism, Shakespeare reveals his attitudes concerning love, marriage, and gender roles in sixteenth-century society."
Abstract This paper explains that the way Shakespeare constructed the themes of racism in "Othello" and "The Merchant of Venice" can be analyzed using social-psychological theory because the racism towards Othello and Shylock is based purely on racial and religious differences between Othello, Shylock, and the Venetians. The author points out that Othello, the Moor of Venice, is referred to by other Venetians as the Moor or another derogatory, bestial name, "the thick-lips", "an old black ram", "a Barbary horse", and "the lascivious Moor", much more often than by his name, which, while not necessarily indicating racism, separates Othello from those around him. The paper concludes that Shakespeare's ability to characterize human nature is perfectly illustrated in the characters of the Christian Venetians, Othello, and Shylock.
From the Paper "Shylock is telling us that Antonio hates him because he is Jewish, however when considering Shylock's place in society and psychological theory, there is more to his hatred than just religion. Antonio also thinks Shylock is despicable because of his un-holy and sinful profession, even though Antonio and the other Venetians take advantage of his business. Shylock's job poses a threat to Christian values, but it is also slightly more significant that just that. The Christian Venetians feel threatened because they themselves are not being very Christian and ruining their society themselves; they are taking advantage of a money lender, and try to deny Shylock of the Christian virtue of mercy (IV.i.182-203)."
