A look at the theme of moral responsibility in William Shakespeare's "Hamlet", "MacBeth" and "King Lear", focusing on the characters of Malcolm, Cordelia and Hamlet.
Abstract The paper examines the similarities between the three characters Malcolm, Cordelia and Hamlet. It looks at how all are the children of kings and all have been usurped and attempts to determine what moral responsibility each holds towards their kingdoms and how this is manifested in the plays. It discusses the idea of legitimacy and how only the righful heir can truly rule a kingdom and how any subversion of this "rule" leads to chaos and discord. It also goes on to examine the ways in which the responsibilties of the three characters in question differ from each other, asking whether it is possible to arrive at a definitive conclusion of how Shakespeare presents the theme of moral responsibility in his work.
From the Paper "The whole tragedy of MacBeth seems designed to illustrate that this is the only possible outcome if the natural heir is usurped: we could conclude from this that Malcolm's moral responsibility, and indeed the responsibility of any such "natural" heir, is to reassert his own right to the throne in such circumstances. But can this view of moral responsibility be extended to the other two characters in question: Hamlet and Cordelia?"
Abstract This paper explains that Shakespeare's "Othello" follows Aristotle's principles for creating the perfect tragedy. It has a plot that is easily remembered and structured to arouse pity and fear within the audience, with importance placed on the action, and events turning upon surprises. The author points out that the suffering of Othello meets the essential requirements to be considered a tragic hero. The paper stresses that, in "Othello", the reader witnesses the genius of Shakespeare; Othello changes from a loving husband and great warrior to a jealous, murdering husband. The reader loves him, hates him, and then feels sorry for him.
From the Paper "Additionally, Iago also tells Roderigo that Othello "Is of a constant, loving, noble nature,/And, I dare think, he"ll prove to Desdemona/A most dear husband? (II.i.280-3). In reaction to Othello's character, A. C. Bradley states, "Othello's mind, for all its poetry, is very simple. He is not observant. His nature tends outward. He is quite free from introspection, and is not given to reflection. Emotion excites his imagination, but it confuses and dulls his intellect . . . he has little experience of the corrupt products of civilised life, and is ignorant of European women" (Bradley). Our first impression of Othello is a positive one. This fact will help us to feel pity for Othello later in the play."
Abstract Shakespeare's "Hamlet" is a play about revenge and indecision. Because Hamlet's father is wronged, Hamlet himself spends most of the play deliberating on the subject of his revenge against his uncle Claudius, who has killed his father, married his mother, and assumed the throne. This paper examines Hamlet's quest for vengeance by examining the text itself, as well as secondary sources, and concludes that Hamlet's delay in taking vengeance is primarily based on his indecision, his self-interest, and his desire to protect Gertrude.
From the Paper "In putting on the play to mock Claudius, Hamlet takes a step towards making his vengeance complete, but he loses something of his own nature in the process. ?Forced to master his opponent's craft of smiling villainy, he becomes not merely an actor but also a dramatist, ingeniously using a troupe of traveling players, with their ?murder in jest,? to unmask the king's own hypocritical show?? (Neill, p. 314). This is just playing at real revenge, though. Hamlet does eventually kill Claudius and rid the throne of this usurper, and it is tragic that he dies in the process of doing this. Vengeance could have been carried out with less of a tragic risk to his own personal safety if it had been less personalized and brooded over for a lesser period of time."
Abstract This paper examines Hamlet's quest for vengeance by looking at the text directly and taking cues from secondary sources. It concludes that Hamlet's delay in taking vengeance is primarily based on his indecision, his self-interest, and his desire to protect Gertrude.
From the Paper "Shakespeare's Hamlet is a play about revenge and indecision. Because Hamlet's father is wronged, Hamlet himself spends most of the play deliberating on the subject of his revenge against his uncle Claudius, who has killed his father, married his mother, and assumed the throne. Hamlet's adherence to the patriarchal ideals is supported throughout the play by the appearance of his father's ghost, which appears as a sort of dream-like interruption of the quotidian reality in which Hamlet might deny the filial duty to avenge his father. This ghost spurs the prince on to seek revenge, even when Hamlet seemingly wants to get on with his life and save his soul in the process."
Abstract To consider the role of women in Shakespeare's plays and Shakespeare's attitude toward women, the play, "Richard III", is discussed. This includes an analysis of the three major female characters in the play, showing the roles of women in the society of the time and suggesting Shakespeare's own view of women.
From the Paper "Queen Margaret shows herself to be one of the strongest women of the play in some ways. This is mainly by being the only woman that Richard is not able to fool. Her continuing anger over her dead husband and son is also a sign of her loyalty to them. This can be compared to Lady Anne who is initially angry about the death of her husband, but then quickly agrees to marry Richard. This action by Lady Anne suggests that women are fickle. In contrast, Queen Margaret never gives up being loyal to her husband and son, despite circumstances. This shows a strength that many women of the play do not have. At the same time though, this loyalty by Queen Margaret does not do her any good and only results in her constant unhappiness. The point that seems to be made is that a strong woman actually suffers, and that it is better to be fickle. While Lady Anne is fickle, she actually does achieve happiness. At the same time, she does not gain the respect of the audience."
Tags: society, queen, margaret, elizabeth, lady, anne
A discussion on whether Malcolm's words "this dead butcher and his fiend-like queen" are an adequate obituary for Macbeth and his wife in William Shakespeare's "Macbeth".
1,116 words (approx. 4.5 pages), 0 sources, 2002, $ 38.95
Abstract This paper examines how at the end of William Shakespeare's "Macbeth", once Malcolm has gained his rightful place on the throne, he describes the fall of Macbeth and his dead wife as "this dead butcher" and "his fiend-like queen" respectively. It debates whether this is too harsh a description or whether is it suitable enough considering the atrocities they had committed.
From the Paper "From the start, we are witness to the violent nature of Macbeth in the Captain's account of the battle: ?[Macbeth] unseemed him from the nave to the chaps.? He is also praised as a brave soldier and a valiant nobleman. From then on, events occur which only help to bring out the evil nature of Macbeth, and we see his ambition and evil thoughts build up in the play. The first of such events is his meeting with the witches, where they inform him of the honours and kingship he will obtain. Although he is slightly sceptical at first, he becomes noticeably excited when Rosse brings news that he is now Thane of Cawdor: he becomes "rapt" as Banquo observes, ignoring his companions in his deep and evil thoughts that have almost instantly taken over his mind: "why do I yield to that suggestion/ Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair"? "
Abstract This paper emphasizes specific passages in the story where the lawyer is given the opportunity to create positive action, but instead chooses the passive aggressive route. The author finds that the lawyer is like Hamlet in that his melancholy temperament leads him to over-think the situation instead of taking action.
From the Paper "Herman Melville's short story, Bartleby the Scrivener, has many complex themes that are interwoven into the tale of a lawyer and his odd employees. The oddest employee is one by the name of Bartleby. The story is told from the perspective of a lawyer on Wall Street. The Lawyer, who is never named, is a very complex and interesting character, perhaps even more interesting than the character of Bartleby. Though the Lawyer is the voice for the story, he is not a highly reliable narrator. The Lawyer's view of himself, as well as the other characters, is often skewed and contradictory. The story could be said to be a tragedy due to the pathetic death of Bartleby at the end of the story. Though Bartleby does die and the scene is of a tragic nature, the true tragic figure is not Bartleby, but instead is the Lawyer. The Lawyer, much like the tragic hero of Hamlet, suffers from fits of melancholy, which cause him to hesitate instead of taking action where action is necessary. The story is riddled with examples of his inaction, hesitation, and passiveness, due to his melancholy temperament."
Abstract This paper introduces, discusses and analyzes the play, "Hamlet", by William Shakespeare. Specifically, the paper looks at whether Hamlet is truly insane and what makes him the consummate tragic hero.
From the Paper "Hamlet is a tragic hero because his actions lead to his downfall, and the downfall of many around him. He recognizes that he has character flaws that will ultimately lead him to jealousy, despair, and death, in fact, he notes, "I am very proud, revengeful, ambitious, with more offences at my beck than I have thoughts to put them in, imagination to give them shape, or time to act them in. What should such fellows as I do crawling between heaven and earth?" (Shakespeare 2049). Hamlet recognizes that he has character flaws, but he is powerless to act on them, and so, he self-destructs by the end of the play, taking many other characters with him. Tragic heroes also exhibit characteristics that endear themselves to the audience, and Hamlet has many of these characteristics."
Abstract This paper discusses four different productions of "Othello" and examines whether the costumes in each production adequately reflect the personalities of each of the characters and the era in which they lived.
From the Paper "Designing costumes for Othello, in whatever form--play, ballet or opera, presents a few problems from the outset. First, of course, is the necessity for the costume to enhance the feeling of paranoia of Othello, a Moor in a Caucasian society. Second, Iago needs to be malevolent without being evil personified; he is, perhaps, simply overly worldly and overly ambitious, as is his wife, Emily. And third, Desdemona has to be understandable in the context of her own time, and of ours. While it may have been usual then for a woman to trust even when reason would tell her not to, it isn?t so today."
Abstract This paper examines how William Shakespeare's poetic language uses certain aspects of the English language to convey the feeling of his words and how among these techniques are meter, rhyme, reference, and figurative language. At the same time, he also uses the iambic pentameter in interesting ways to stress meaning and point to key phrases, thoughts, or ideas. It discusses two of Shakespeare's sonnets and examines their qualities to see exactly how the Bard brings these things into dramatic effect. For simplicity, the sonnets used are sonnets "Twelve" and "Seventeen".
From the Paper "The first technique of note when dealing with the writings of Shakespeare writings is his use of rhyme. In the sonnets in question, meter and rhyme are used interestingly. Sonnet twelve starts out in an interesting way in that it does not rhyme in the traditional sense. The key words of note here are, "come" and "tomb", and "deserts" and "parts", in comparison, every other line ending in both sonnets ends in traditional rhyme, such as, "eyes" and "lies", or "age" and "rage". However, Shakespeare does not abandon rhyme entirely for the opening of sonnet twelve, he does something entirely different. Here he uses words that rhyme only to the human ear. In other words, on script, they do not appear to rhyme. But, when said out loud, they have the similarities of rhyming words."
Abstract This paper examines how, throughout history, enthusiasts have come up with theories about Hamlet' sanity and how, for most, the conclusion they have come to is that Hamlet was mad and just went on a killing spree. It explores whether Hamlet's actions throughout the play are those of a mad man, whether he really meant to kill Polonius or whether he thought he was killing Claudius.
From the Paper "The second issue is whether or not Hamlet actually meant to kill Polonius or if he actually thought that Claudius was behind the arras. It is said that Hamlet acted very irrationally when he stabbed his sword through the curtain. However, after looking at the situation it seems that it was anger and not irrationality that made Hamlet carry out this action. He is having an intense fight with Gertrude and she actually fears he will kill her so she cries out for someone to help her. Behind the arras a voice screams out for help and Hamlet recognizing that someone is spying on him and her, he then stabs his sword to where the voice came from. Now Hamlet was probably familiar with both his uncle's voice and with Polonius? voice and because the person behind the curtain had spoken we could assume that if Hamlet could not tell whom the voice belonged to, he could probably figure out that it was not Claudius."
Discusses the common misinterpretation of William Shakespeare's use of true-to-life character illustrations in order for him to demonstrate performance.
Abstract This paper shows that, despite Shakespeare's genius in his play, "Othello", it becomes virtually unmistakable that the author is presenting a cautionary tale of love and desire. The paper argues that, through his creations, their plight, and various techniques, Shakespeare conveys his sentiments about women, forewarning the reader about the perils of devotion, passion, and the danger of being wholly embroiled by these emotions.
From the Paper "Iago's right hand fop, Roderigo, exhibits those same embroiled emotions which bind him to that "viscous cycle" of the play, making him a prime example of the fate due to characters consumed by passion. His desires, however, are more single-minded as Othello's and easily established, for this reason his tragic star will burn the brightest and shortest. First note on Roderigo: He is no better than Iago, he is a lackey and a villain, a fool. ?Natural law for Iago, as for Edmund of King Lear, is Hobbesian ? a matter of animal appetites promoted by cleverness, with the strongest and the shrewdest winning out? (Snyder 27). This is also true with Roderigo."
Abstract A close look at the status of women in 17th century England by examining the works, "Hamlet" and "Macbeth". The paper looks at how women are portrayed in a select few of Shakespeare's works. In doing so, the writer attempts to get an overall feel for Shakespeare's thoughts on the role of women in society. It also brings to light the historical presence of women's roles in Shakespeare's society and uses evidence from this time period to discover what may have been the pattern of thought behind these works, which are so revered in today's society.
From the Paper "Throughout the Elizabethan period in England, the role of women in society teetered between the traditional and the innovative. This melting pot of female roles was strongly encouraged by Shakespeare in the only way that was allotted him for this time period. Through parody, tragedy, and subtle innuendo the Bard seems to tell of the coming of the equality of women. Or does he? Perhaps there are reasons other then a sense of woman’s equality that inspired Shakespeare to write of women in the manner that he did."
Abstract This paper is based on Hamlet's treatment of the women in his life. It discusses the roles Ophelia and his mother Gertrude play in his life and how their relationships affect him. The writer compares and contrasts Hamlet's relationships with Ophelia and Gertrude in order to display how they ultimately affect his actions and personality.
From the Paper "Shattered by his mother's repugnant decision to marry Claudius so soon after her husband's death, Hamlet becomes extremely cynical, even neurotic, about women in general, showing a particular obsession with what he perceives to be a connection between female sexuality and moral corruption. He urges Ophelia to go to a nunnery rather than experience the corruptions of sexuality and exclaims of Gertrude, "Frailty, thy name is woman" (1.2.146). At first glance, this quote seems just to be calling his mother fragile. If one looks deeper into the meaning though, he will realize that Hamlet is saying that his mother was not strong enough to resist marrying again. "A little month; or ere those shoes were old. With which she follow"d my poor father's body?. married with mine uncle.? (1.2.147-151) He scorns Gertrude because he is disgusted that she married his uncle, thinks that she married too soon after his father's death, and believes that she has ruined his chances of love with Ophelia as a result of her immediate and corrupt incestuous marriage. The swift marriage of Gertrude and Claudius suggests an ongoing affair and disloyalty to Hamlet's father. Also, because Ophelia is ignoring him and rejecting his love, Hamlet believes she could easily deceive and betray him like his mother. The swift marriage of the two suggests an ongoing affair and disloyalty to Hamlet's father. Hamlet, upon seeing how his own mother could be capable of such betrayal to her husband, now fears that all women are capable of the same thing. Ophelia, already ignoring him and rejecting his love, could as easily fool and betray him."
Abstract This paper discusses the depictions of Antony's and Cleopatra's respective conflicts, and how those depictions portray the value of romantic love. The discussion begins with Antony's conflict, which is a struggle between reason and emotion, mind and heart. This conflict is a central theme to the play and is even manifest in a geographic and political sense as the struggle between the Western world of Rome and the Eastern world of Egypt. The discussion moves to Cleopatra and shows that she is at the center of the same struggle and is motivated, just as Antony, to choose between political power and love. The paper concludes with an examination of Shakespeare's message about the value of romantic love.
From the Paper "Cleopatra is portrayed to us as a woman of sublime beauty. She is seductive to such a degree that she is considered an enchantress and is referred to as a witch. Her majesty is described in vivid terms in a narration by Enobarbus; one of Antony's most trusted lieutenants (II.ii.196-210). He describes the golden decks of her barge, purple sails and silver oars. He compares her visage to Venus, and mentions her as surrounded by young servant boys and ladies. His description brings to us the enchanting quality of Cleopatra's presence, and her subsequent hold upon Antony."
