Abstract
An examination of how Iago's character changes and develops through different sections of the play. The writer claims that Iago is the main driving force in this play, pushing Othello and everyone else towards their tragic end.

From the Paper
"Perhaps the most interesting and exotic character in the tragic play "Othello," by William Shakespeare, is "Honest" Iago. "Iago in external appearance or in his characteristic traits, he is the man who deceived and betrayed Desdemona, Cassio, and Othello" (White 203). Through some carefully thought-out words and actions, Iago is able to manipulate others to do things in a way that benefits him and moves him closer toward his goals. "

Tags:shakespeare, play, drama, iago, othello

Abstract
An analysis of Shakespeare's famous play, "Hamlet", concentrating on the storyline and characters. The author discusses Hamlet's contemplative nature and shows its importance. The author feels that if Hamlet was able to put aside his thoughts earlier, Claudius would have been killed in the second act, and the play would be about forty-five minutes long. But the author of this paper believes that Shakespeare does not make Hamlet's rational thoughts disappear until Act III, at the death of Polonius, making Hamlet one of Shakespeare's longest plays. He feels that Shakespeare uses the death of Polonius to show what happens to a man when he kills another human being. In this play, the author says, the murder of Polonius starts a chain reaction of the rest of the deaths the tragedy has to offer.

From the Paper
"There are people in this world who are thinkers and dreamers, who think things through completely before anything gets done. And there are people who get things done without thinking too much before hand. In Shakespeare's Hamlet, the main character, Hamlet, is a complex character who thinks about everything to the point where things don't get accomplished. Throughout the play, the audience can see that Hamlet is a procrastinator, and he cannot kill Claudius, even when he has numerous chances to do so. The key moment in the play when Hamlet's mindset changes is when he mistakenly kills Polonius. Shakespeare decided to include the murder of Polonius to show that by killing a man, Hamlet's mindset has changed and his rational instincts are gone, allowing him to finally avenge his father's death by killing Claudius."

Tags:death, Hamlet, killing, Shakespeare, tragedy, character, Polonius, Claudius

Abstract
This paper discusses how the differences in the two characters can be seen in their roles as avengers in the play, how they deal with this role, their personal characteristics, their ability to react spontaneously and their relationships with Ophelia.

From the Paper
"One of the major similarities between Laertes and Hamlet is in their role as avengers in the play. Laertes takes revenge against his father Polonius' death, where he immediately assumes Claudius is responsible and returns from France immediately to revenge the death. Hamlet also has a role as an avenger, where his father's ghost speaks to him, telling him Claudius is responsible for his death and asking him to "revenge his foul and most unnatural murder" (I,iv).
The major difference between Laertes and Hamlet is how they deal with their role as avengers. Laertes on learning of his father's death reacts immediately, by speaking of revenge, "I dare damnation: to this point I stand, that both worlds I give to negligence, let come what comes; only I'll be revenged most thoroughly for my father" (IV,v). In contrast, Hamlet, on learning of his father's murder is asked by the ghost of his father to revenge the death. He hesitates and procrastinates, wishing he had not been asked to complete such a task, "the time is out of joint. O cursed spite, that ever I was born to set it right!" (I,iv). It is ultimately this indecision and hesitation of Hamlet's that leads to the tragedy of the play."

Tags:second, difference, characters, responses, avengers, will, vowing, revenge, ghost, murder, action

Abstract
This paper shows how the Oedipus complex theory can be applied to Hamlet, the main character of "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare and the issues that he faces concerning his mother and girlfriend. The paper shows that the intense rage that Hamlet projects onto Queen Gertrude (his mother), Ophelia (his girlfriend) and women in general compiles this version of Oedipus complex triangle. Hamlet finds himself strangely drawn to the act of matricide whether or not he blatantly expresses it, because he partially blames his mother for the circumstances leading up to his father's death, although he has a strange sexual affinity towards her. The paper describes how Hamlet releases his frustration about his father's death indirectly on Ophelia while raising to the surface strong undercurrents of an Oedipal complex with Gertrude as its center.

From the Paper
"According to psychoanalysis, a male child's dual view of his mother as the Madonna and the whore (her relationship with the father) is not abnormal. Men have a preoccupation with virginity as well as an urge to engage in dirty activities with the whore. Unfortunately, Hamlet fails to detangle the complicated web he has mentally and emotionally intertwined them in, and he ends up causing them to incur mental and physical damage. His feelings about Polonius' death have much to do with using Ophelia as a vehicle for him to feel as though he forced the same agony of grief upon his mother that he had to endure when his father died."

Tags:incest, Freud, King, Claudius

Abstract
A thorough analysis of whether the character of Hamlet can be considered to be sane or insane. The paper looks at several examples and scenes of the play in order to examine this question and concludes that Hamlet was not insane, but it was simply a cover-up to confuse his enemies.

From the Paper
"In both theatrical and academic circles alike a common topic of conversation is whether or not the character of Hamlet in William Shakespeare's masterpiece is insane or simply feigning insanity. Throughout the years since this play was first produced many theatre artists have made the strong choice to define Hamlet as insane. This choice is decidedly wrong. Hamlet is not insane. The Danish Prince is merely pretending such so that he might understand the deception revolving around him more clearly while developing a strategy of revenge."

Tags:danish, prince, Claudius, Polonius

Abstract
This paper will seek to understand the play "Richard the III" by Shakespeare in comparison with Josephine Tey's novel, "Daughter of Time". A making a comparison and contrast between the main characters of each of these stories, we can see how the authors characterize their stories.

Abstract
This paper looks at the characters of Hamlet and Laertes explains why they are so similar. By doing so, this paper compares and contrasts Hamlet's and Laertes' love for Ophelia, the avenging their fathers' deaths and their attitudes and actions.

From the Paper
"In Shakespeare's play Hamlet many similarities are created between Hamlet and Laertes which clearly define Laertes as Hamlets foil. These two characters are mirrors of each other which act in opposite manners when confronted with similar circumstances. They are very contrasting characters, one being outward and the other inward; where Hamlet is verbal, Laertes is physical and where Hamlet is private, Laertes is overly confronting. They are both confronted with emotions such as love and hate along with situations of betrayal which lead to the ultimate tragedies in the play. Due to the sequence of events which occur within Shakespeare's play Hamlet it is evident that Hamlet and Laertes are two very comparative characters which is demonstrated through the love they share for Ophelia and their actions to avenge the death of their fathers."

Tags:death, foil, hamlet, laertes, love, ophelia

Abstract
This paper details the background of Elizabethan England in Shakespeare's time, in which there were many rigid standards for social customs and marital traditions, but the Reformation was encouraging women to be more independent and to control their own lives, resulting in the emergence of a new "Renaissance woman." It is this conflict of ideas that is played out in "The Taming of the Shrew" and an understanding of the times as put forth in this paper, along with parallel examples from the text, adds to a richer understanding of the play.

From the Paper
"Contrary to young Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, the average age for brides of the time was twenty-four, and for grooms it was twenty-seven, but the legal age of consent for girls was twelve, for boys fourteen (Mack 54). Although Kate's age is never mentioned in the The Taming of the Shrew, one can assume that she is probably close to this age, if not a bit older. It is frustrating for her to be single, when Bianca has so many suitors, and her anger at Baptista for helping Bianca to obtain a husband is understandable. When she accuses him of favoritism, and declares that, because of him, she will have to "lead apes into hell," she actually is citing a common conception of the period. When a younger sister married before an older one, it was customary for the elder sister to dance barefoot at the wedding to avoid becoming a spinster. It also was believed that the eternal fate of an "old maid" was leading apes into hell (Charlton 87)."

Tags:Renaissance, Reformation, play, woman

Abstract
This paper presents and discusses five possible reasons why Hamlet delays his revenge on Claudius even though Hamlet discovers early on that Claudius poisoned Hamlet's father.

From the Paper
"William Shakespeare's Hamlet is one of the most fascinating and complex plays ever written. Young Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, is a man of intelligence and education, but the death of his father the king motivates him to seek revenge against his uncle Claudius. His uncle had succeeded Hamlet's father to the throne of Denmark and commits incest by marrying the King's widow Gertrude. Although Hamlet discovers early in the play that his uncle Claudius had poisoned his father, he delays his revenge until several acts later in the play."

Tags:revenge, Shakespeare

Abstract
The essay explains the different aspects of romantic love through an explication of Sonnets 116, 130 and 138. According to the author, the three types of love are, respectively, real love, ideal love, and lying love. The poems emphasize different aspects of love, but all three kinds are required for love to stand the test of time.

From the Paper
"In Sonnet 116, Shakespeare makes several claims about ideal love. As described in this poem, ideal love is permanent. If someone is truly in love with another, his love will never end. Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,/ But bears it out even to the edge of doom (ln. 10-11). This love, according to Shakespeare will never wither away or be broken down by any obstacle (ln. 6). Nothing can stand in the way of this feeling, true and strong. Ideal love will also never change, even as the possessors do. As they change, they will still love each other just as strongly, or even more so (ln. 2-3). This is the most important and most difficult aspect of reaching ideal love. Though many believe they have achieved it, they fall short as they come to realize that as they learn more about each other, they drift apart."

Tags:lies, beauty, false, comparison, flattery