Abstract The paper examines the claim that Othello's own weakness of character is responsible for his downfall. It uses Othello's feelings of jealousy and his low self-image as examples of this claim. It traces the way Othello's personality changes through the play in response to Iago's plot. The paper also looks at the animal imagery used in the play to describe the characters.
From the Paper "Othello is an accomplished military leader who has the trust and admiration of the duke and the senate, as well as that of Desdemona and her father, Brabantio. But his greatest battle and tragic failure takes place within him, his weakness of character, especially his response to the temptations of jealousy by the vile promptings of Iago, his ensign. Othello is prepared for the most difficult fights with strong opponents, but not when his opponent is his own reaction.
Despite his high rank in the military and the Venetian society, Othello remains insecure within himself and suddenly realizes his small self-regard when Iago dubiously suggests that fresh, young and beautiful Desdemona and his newly-stalled lieutenant Cassio are having a secret love affair. Othello becomes conscious of his perceived liabilities, namely his being a black man with "thick lips" and his being older than Desdemona, which perhaps make him not that attractive to her:"
Abstract A paper which discusses the hero/antihero motif used in literature. The writer uses the Shakespearean play, "Hamlet", as a backdrop to discuss the various aspects of the motif and to dissect its components. The term "hero" is defined and shows that the heroism depicted in America today is different since the September 11 terror attacks.
From the Paper "The use of the hero motif in the play is a key factor to its success. The entire plot of the story is based in Hamlet's courage and handling of the death of his father and the revenge that he seeks. However, the revenge is a while in coming because of Hamlet's very real human traits that cause him to hesitate when it comes to the murder of his uncle. The process of hero motif action is played out in this work and it is the foundational basis of the story itself. If one were to remove all elements of the hero and the anti-hero the story would have no plot and would never have been considered complete. "
Abstract This essay studies William Shakespeare's play, "Julius Caesar". It approaches the antagonism of both Caesar and the conspirators and the motivations of the conspirators. The themes of political achievement and popular responsibility are also discussed.
From the Paper "Caesar was popular on the streets. His popularity was his source of power. Manipulation is a vice of politicians; on the converse side, influence is a political virtue. These are characteristics of Caesar. Because of his popularity, he can do anything he wants, as the Plebes rule Rome indirectly. This sets the stage for the political statement of the play. As there is an order set, this pure democracy of Rome is one of a kind. The people cast no votes as a whole, but only the elite. However, the approval of the Plebes is the primary concern of all politicians in Rome. This power of the people, however, is flexible in an uneducated society, as is most of Rome. Those who ran the politicians could easily be persuaded by those they ran (i.e. the politicians), who offered supremacy to Caesar."
Abstract A paper which presents a detailed discussion about the role of women in "Richard III" by William Shakespeare. The writer of this paper brings forth the roles played by females as well as a discussion about the impact they bring to the work both in emotional as well as movement areas of their life. The paper shows how the women in the real life of Richard III were strong and intelligent but Shakespeare chose to portray them with personality traits he needed for the play.
From the Paper "In the real life of Queen Margaret she played a marginal role in the life of Richard III but in the play she was a key and central figure to the Kings rise to power and fame. She was a presenter of truths through her visions. Instead of being the strong and capable woman that she was in real life Shakespeare had her a constantly crying woman because she felt her cause was lost. One of the reasons he may have placed her in the position that he did was because it allowed him to write some things he wanted the audience to understand without having to create entire scenes for them and hire more actors to carry out the scenes(Rackin pg 47). "
Tags: Yorkist, partisan, Elizabeth, Queen, Margaret
Abstract This paper introduces and discusses "As You Like It" by William Shakespeare. Specifically, it illustrates how Jaques' speech informs the readers of the play's intent, and how the binary relationships in the play add to its meaning and performance.
From the Paper "We also learn more about Jaques, the pessimistic grumbler who is the opposite of Rosalind and Celia, two of the optimists of the play. Almost all the characters chide Jaques about his attitude at some time or other during the play. Jaques is the anchor role that keeps this romantic comedy from becoming too buoyant and unbelievable. He is sour, and keeps the action from becoming too sappy. He is the melancholy character, opposite of the witty and laughable Touchstone, the jester. Shakespeare knew that you cannot have only positive and funny characters to get the point of the play across, you need to balance them with the cynicism of a character like Jaques to really create a realistic portrayal of his themes and issues. Touchstone is a jester, but so is Jaques in his own way. His consistent pessimism is as ridiculous as Touchstone's jesting."
Abstract This paper examines the various aspects of Iago's character in Shakespeare's play, "Othello". It focuses on his seemingly conflicting emotions and feelings for Othello and describes how his latent homosexuality leads him to cause the breakdown of Othello's marriage.
From the Paper "Many readers who have enjoyed Shakepeare's literary works credit the character Iago in Othello as his most wicked villain. His most intriguing characteristic is the fact that he does not really convince the reader on his true motives for creating the havoc he inspires in the play (http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/othello/canalysis.html, 2). His plethora of reasons for hating various characters in the play are too loud and muddled, one minute expressing his hatred for Othello, his irritation over his wife Emilia, his envy of Cassio, his desire for Desdemona, etc. This paper endeavours to provide another motivation that truly drives Iago to create havoc in the relationships between other characters. It is Iago's latent homosexuality, ultimately for Othello (http://www.geocities.com/corrinenefurness/othelloquestion3.htm, 3) yet also transferred to Cassio, which drives Iago to divide the marriage of Othello and Desdemona and distance any would-be rivals from Othello's confidence."
Abstract The paper shows that the story of the original sin was a vitally important one for Christians throughout history, and in the extensively Christian world for which William Shakespeare wrote, its absolute truth went unquestioned. The paper discusses how in many ways, the play "Othello" may be seen as a political, emotional, and tragic response to the same questions of knowledge, culpability and death that this creation myth inspires. It shows how the serpent, Iago, convinces the original and ideal man to rebel against god in search of knowledge that he ought not have, and which will only destroy him: Thus Othello falls from strength and purity to weakness, depravity, and death.
From the Paper "Act III, Scene III, is by far the most loaded and pivotal scene in the play. It is in this scene that Othello is truly seduced to take the forbidden fruit in his hand and to let that "green-eyed monster" of jealousy to run loose in his heart. Like a newly created creature, at the beginning of the seen he is a lighthearted 16 year old bridegroom. Certainly he has seen his share of the world, won battles and undergone dire straits, but he is still in many ways childlike and innocent. "
Abstract This paper examines the literary comments on Shakespeare's famous character Hamlet. It reflects on critiques of Hamlet through different eras, and their own influence and interests are a result of their time. The paper describes Hamlet is a universal character throughout the ages and as interpretations of future generations look inside and outside of him and express their own perceptions and their own era.
From the Paper "Willlam Hazlitt largely comments on the contemporariness and universality of Hamlet's character: that although Shakespeare wrote the play more than 500 years ago, we have come to know the character of the tragic Prince quite well. Not only because we read about him in school, but also ? and more ? because we know his thoughts as we do our own. (Hazlitt 1900) His sayings and speeches are not only real but are as real as our own thoughts when we ponder and despair over our or others? misfortunes and grief. Each of us becomes Hamlet, in Hazlitt's view, whenever we bear the weight of reflection (Hazlitt), when the sun in us is made dim by "envious mists" in our hearts, whenever the world looks nothing better than a "dull blank", when our love is despised, or when sadness sticks to us and makes our mind sink within. Hazlitt goes on and on in graphically describing the extremely painful condition of Hamlet's soul in many different but familiar ways that each of us recognizes in ourselves. He says that we think and refer to this particular play most often because it is full of ? reflections on human life? itself. His agonies and helplessness seem to transfer to ?the general account of humanity.? He views Hamlet as a "great moralizer" who rationalizes about his own feelings and experience and Hazlitt hails the play once again as the most remarkably ingenious and original and for its "unstudied" development of character."
Abstract The writer of this paper presents five elements that must be analyzed to understand and underline the Romantic nature of this composer's work. Firstly, one must consider the "storytelling" use of the sonata form of the Fantasy. Secondly, one must consider the way in which the sonata was considered by the composer to be an Overture, a work that gives a "summary" or a miniature of a larger story or musical work. Thirdly, the tone color of the music must be analyzed. And fourthly and fifthly the timber and texture the work must also be reflected upon to understand the opulent quality of the music that renders it characteristic of the Romantic period during which Tchaikovsky composed music.
From the Paper "According to the musicologist E.T.A. Hoffman, the Romantic period of Western music was characterized by the ?fantastic, idealistic, and marvelous.? He states that such qualities are associated with the ?romance, a medieval tale or poem about heroes or events written in one of the languages descended from Latin.? (Cited in Grout & Palisca 563) Tchaikovksy's choice to use the story of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" as the title of his Fantasy underlines the importance of Romantic thought in the orchestration of the composition. Rather than simply expanding upon or working within sonata form, defined as ?an ambitious work in several movements for one or two solo instruments,? "
Abstract This paper presents a character analysis of Helena in the Shakespearean play "All's Well That Ends Well". Often criticized for her manipulative deeds and lack of feminine attributes, Helena's personality is explored by focusing on her feminine and masculine traits and by analyzing her motives. Shakespeare's use of literary devices such as foreshadowing is also explored.
From the Paper "In Shakespeare's plays, we often find the female characters to be more powerful and unique in their attributes than the ones that existed in actual 17th century English society. This is exactly the impression we get from the character of Helena in "All's well that ends well", as the woman refuses to be bound by moral and societal restrictions and passionately seeks fulfillment of her desires. Not only that, we also notice that Helena, though lower in social standing than her husband Bertram, doesn?t take into account the status barriers and being fully aware of her rights as a wife tries to win her husband over despite his persistent rejection. The theme of ethics and morality dominantly overshadows the entire play with readers being forced to analyze and judge every person's motives and every situation in the light of twisted sense of morality that Helena possessed. Helena's character has been a constant source of conflict among critics as Levin (1930) writes, ?Some regard her as a genuine romantic heroine--resourceful, yes, but also virtuous, feminine, charming, and modest. She never behaves cynically, and her motives are above reproach . The alternative view is that Helena mercilessly pursues Bertram. Whether she is at first motivated by love, sex or ambition she sets out to trap Bertram, succeeds, and--when he flees her--captures him again. She gets the husband she deserves, a spoiled aristocrat." (Levin, pg. 131)"
Abstract This paper focuses on the characters on Claudius and Hamlet and their "life experiences". The writer shows that expectations are dangerous as they consist of a mixture of emotion and reason, and ultimately effect our perception of appearance and reality. Different scenes of the play are analyzed as to how the characters react when expecting certain events to occur and things do not turn out as expected.
From the Paper "Through the telling of Hamlet, Shakespeare presents to us a very important idea about life: more often than not, we let our expectations have too much influence over our perceptions of situations. Even if we do not fall into the conflict of emotion versus reason, our expectations can still blind us as they decide the internal outcome of a situation before it even happens."
Abstract This paper analyzes sonnets nine and ten, written by William Shakespeare, which have a central theme of love and passion. The paper looks at how the sonnets develop with the use of vernacular language in the poet's own style. It also discusses the words, phrasing, tempo, style and flow of both sonnets.
From the Paper "Shakespeare is one of those gifted writers whose work is seen as having a particular aspect and his commission of his art is exemplary of the world in his day, yet one cannot fail to ask what his motivations are that he should tell the youth to seek out a wife and multiply his seed.
Then in sonnet ten he turns around as if to say it doesn"t matter. What are his motivations then, his mind changes from one sonnet to the other is it perhaps that he does not want the boy to be unhappy in his pursuit of a wife""
From the Paper "Kenneth Branagh's film of Shakespeare's Hamlet is remarkable for the use of the entire, uncut text of the play and for its elaborate design. Despite the director's commitment to the full text, however, he shows an even more remarkable lack of faith in the power of the language and acting and, in fact, visually supplements the text at certain points in ways that underline his uneasiness with leaving anything unshown. The visual strategy devised for this film is revealed in many places to be based on reasonable considerations of how the look of the piece can enhance its meanings. But even when the best intentions govern the choices the film fails in almost every respect because the production design, costumes, and art direction seem to be there for their own sake rather than to serve the drama."
From the Paper "William Shakespeare's The Tempest is categorized along with other plays written near the end of the playwright's life, plays that are considered difficult to classify so that they are called tragicomedies, showing that there is a mixture of both comedy and tragedy inherent in their structure and characterizations. Ferdinand and Miranda are the lovers in this play, but they represent more than merely youthful desire and serve as pawns in a larger game being played by Miranda's father, Prospero. At the same time, Prospero always protects his daughter, and his encouragement of their romance should be seen in the context of a doting father wanting the best for his daughter in spite of his dedication to exacting revenge and regaining his place in the outside world.
Prospero has been given considerable power as a magician..."
Abstract This paper discusses the more complex character and motives behind Macbeth's actions which characterize him as a tragic hero. The paper shows that Shakespeare's Macbeth must have seemed like nothing more than a butcher to his victims but upon careful analysis of the text, one realizes that Macbeth was not fully evil, but a potentially great man who was led to evil through errors and forces beyond his control.
From the Paper "In the culmination of Shakespeare's Macbeth, Malcolm refers to Macbeth as "this dead butcher". Superficially, Macbeth is nothing more than a butcher ? he murdered his king, his kinsmen, even innocent women and children. From Malcolm's perspective, Macbeth is no more than a heartless killer gone mad, Key lines in this play show that Macbeth is not heartless or a butcher. Macbeth had a potential for greatness, but tragic errors led to his downfall ? both in his death and his "fall from grace". Macbeth also experiences intense remorse for what he has done. The character of Macbeth is a tragic hero."
