Abstract This essay analyzes William Shakespeare's final play, "The Tempest." The essay explores the organic nature of Shakespeare's art and poses a thesis regarding themes of colonization and homogeny in Shakespeare's final work. Art, Drama and Literature all begin as a great artistic tempest, but without a powerful agent like Prospero or Shakespeare and helpful sprite like Ariel or the muse, it would be difficult to tie the artistic tempest into a feasible order. This essay attempts to look at "The Tempest" from a colonial perspective and explain how diverse entities come to merge into one cohesive mass.
From the Paper "Somewhere in the shadows of every masterful creation, there lurks a steadfast draftsman with an extraordinary proclivity to build things formerly unimagined. A pivotal moment dividing substance from nonexistence resides at the fundamental core of all things real. In Shakespeare's The Tempest, chaos serves as a facilitator of order. Following Antonio's rebellious usurpation of power, a merciless storm dispels his ambition. Antonio and the subjects of Alonso are left to redefine a gravely ruptured social hierarchy and erect a government philosophy when they find themselves heedlessly discarded on a sparsely inhabited island. Performed in 1611 at the height of British colonization, The Tempest functioned "as a fascinating tale that served as a masquerade for the creation of a new society in America" (Takaki 142). Completed at the end of his career, The Tempest brilliantly epitomizes the organic nature of Shakespeare's art by cultivating his various genres into one adeptly seasoned play."
Abstract This paper examines the first of Shakespeare's sonnets. It explains the technical aspects of the sonnet and also its major themes and concepts. The first part paper focuses on explaining the sonnet in order to make it more readily understandable. It shows how Shakespeare crafted the idea that it is a tragedy if the beauty of the world is not perpetuated through reproduction. The second part of the paper follows-on from the first part and offers an in-depth analysis of the sonnet. It looks closely at the tone of the sonnet, cultural influences and the concept of profusion.
From the Paper "Indeed, there are a multitude of other Biblical and cultural references in sonnet 1 that are very important in allowing us to understand the poem effectively. In the second-from-last line, we see a reference to gluttony one of the seven deadly sins. There is also an allusion to Isaiah [32.5]. In Shakespeare's medieval culture, the rose of beauty was an often-quoted symbol. Similarly, the central concept of the sonnet (i.e. the dynastic obligation to produce heirs) was heavily rooted in medieval culture. Shakespeare so immerses us, the reader, in such cultural references that one wonders whether he is really intending to make a political point in this sonnet rather than just generally musing over a young man's inability to procreate."
Abstract This undergraduate literature paper analyzes three novels and how they can be related to situations happening in today's world. This paper focuses on and compares both King Lear and Paradise Lost. It also reviews the nature of evil portrayed by writers through their characters in both Paradise Lost and Marlowe's Dr. Faustus.
Abstract Madness in Shakespearean plays has distinct and multiple meanings and purposes. On one level, the madness of insanity is clearly felt in the tragedies like "Lear". On another, madness is also felt in the frenetic pace of impossible situations and comedic errors in judgment as is found in "Twelfth Night". Madness is, then, both tragic and comedic. But, it is much more than that. Madness represents a loss of control, of being borne by unnatural impulses, drivesa nd, perhaps, voices. Being mad is to not be yourself, it is to have lost touch with humanity, with life and with reality. The mad are excused from the rules of man and at the same time, tragically bound by them. For some, in madness is found freedom. Lear is wrapped, tightly, within a horrible prison created by his inability to see through the duplicitous daughters and embrace the one person in his life that loves him enough to refuse him. His madness, in the end, is what sets him free of the binds that his daughters and his pride had him in. The madness, however, is like the release from an intense and long-term drug addiction, it is horrible to watch, but leaves Lear in a better state afterward, free of poisons. Madness also allows otherwise straight-laced, bound by social rules (which were oppressive in Elizabethan England), to freely express inner passions, make mistakes and be fools in the eyes of others without fear of recourse, as is the case with nearly every character in "Twelfth Night". It is the purpose of this paper to examine the nature of madness in the Shakespearean context, how it plays out in both King Lear and Twelfth Night, and the meaning behind the madness in both works.
Abstract In assessing William Shakespeare's play "Othello", the reader can witness that this play has the elements of thought and character that Aristotle promoted as the mark of a play that followed true tragic form. This paper demonstrates how Shakespeare's "Othello" is indeed representative of the tragic play when compared against Aristotle's definition as stated in Poetics.
Abstract In comparing and contrasting the Laurence Olivier version of "King Lear" in 1984 with the Peter Brook version in 1971, the author notices a number of variables in the body language of the actors and their clothing. There are several similar elements that both renditions share, as might be expected and quite a few different aspects and approaches, especially regarding the respective physical portrayals of their characters by the respective actors and actresses.
Abstract In Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream", the characters all have an opportunity to reveal the varied and peculiar faces of love. In all of these portrayals of love, Shakespeare invariably situates a perfect contradiction. In doing this, "love" is revealed as more ridiculous than romantic and the faces of love in this play are often unrecognizable.
Abstract In this work, "The Tempest" is subject to a New Critical analysis that yields interesting results with respect to its religious symbolism and political paradoxes. This paper will argue that the form of "The Tempest" is rather one of unresolved stresses and (quite literally) disharmony.
Explores the character of two main characters in the play "Much Ado About Nothing", Beatrice and Benedick, and the changing nature of their relationship.
1,150 words (approx. 4.6 pages), 1 source, 2002, $ 44.95
Abstract One of the most engaging and entertaining comedic couples in any of the works of Shakespeare, is that of Beatrice and Benedick in "Much Ado About Nothing". Both Beatrice and Benedick are essences, they are the progenitors of the cliches of the woman-hater turned lover and the ice-queen turned golden-heart. Both of them experience a very similar sequence of events, both work with their respective tutee's in love in the same way, and both come to realize their love for each other through tricks played upon them by their own friends. In this, Benedick and Beatrice are really the true soul-mates of the story in that they truly seem to be of the same cloth and of the same heart - two halves of the same whole. Their change from enmity to love covers the course of the entire play and, in many ways, is much more engaging, funny, entertaining, and ultimately rewarding than that of Hero and Claudio. It is the purpose of this paper to explore that relationship as it changes over the course of the play, "Much Ado About Nothing".
Abstract "Othello" is tragic story whose action when viewed through the perspective of human relations can be seen as result of the racial issues that fester in the minds of the characters.
Abstract From the beginning to end there is corrupting force of power in Shakespeare's play, "Hamlet". It begins with Hamlet seeing the ghost of his father who asks him to obtain vengeance for his death. It ends with all the main characters of the play dying. Each act points toward the goal of Hamlet to get vengeance for his father's death even when Hamlet pretends to be mentally ill. The character of Hamlet is one of strength and perseverance that is determined to obtain his goals regardless of whom may be hurt in the process. Each act in the play shows how the corrupting force of power leads to the final end as Claudius dies.
Abstract The purpose of this paper is to show whether the two lead female characters in Shakespeare's "Othello" and Melton's "Paradise Lost"-Desdemona and Eve respectively-can be considered tragic figures. To make a determination, it is first necessary to define what it means to be a tragic figure within the context of Elizabethan and 17th century literature.
Abstract This essay discusses how the characterizations of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are enhanced by contrast in the scenes that precede and follow the murder of Duncan in Act 11. Macbeth undergoes a frightening change in his fortune -- a change for which he himself bears at least a partial responsibility. Lady Macbeth is directly involved in this transition.
Abstract This essay will argue that Shakespeare's use of this device in "Twelfth Night" is much more complex and significant than in "Comedy of Errors", as it is central to the theme of blurring gender roles in the play. As will be seen, Viola's transvestite impersonation of the male Cesario creates a site of gender confusion that challenges our understanding of the major characters and, in a broader sense, subverts the audience's certainty as to the nature of love and the permeability of gender lines.
Abstract This paper analyzes the influence of William Shakespeare's personal life in his poetry. Born in England, Shakespeare was deeply influenced by the formation and growth of the theatre, which made him write blank verse. His separation from his wife for more than twenty years affected him profoundly and he wrote sonnets, which are known for their discussion of unrequited love, impediment in love, absence of lover, etc.
