Abstract This paper compares and contrasts two WilliamShakespeare plays: "Antony and Cleopatra" and "Romeo and Juliet." It provides biographical details of Shakespeare's life. It also looks at the common themes of political and romantic issues in the two plays, the lyrical poetry of both plays and the different appeal of both plays.
Tags:WilliamShakespeare, plays, Antony and Cleopatra, Romeo and Juliet
Abstract This paper discusses the submissive victim role played by Desdemona in 'Othello' by WilliamShakespeare, and how it is the central aspect of Othello's demise. She is privately inquisitive as to why Othello is angered at her, but she cannot properly stand up to her husband and fend off the allegations set against her by Iago. This provides the various episodes of jealousy and rage that will culminate in the destruction of their marriage.
From the Paper "In this drama study, the character Desdemona in Othello by William Shakespeare will be analyzed for her various submissive roles as the wife of Othello. In many ways, she does portray a victim role, as she is clearly unaware of the seriously necessity to confront her husband. Although she is at once penetrating in her thoughts about her husband inwardly, she does not publicly surmise the danger of her husband's anger throughout much of the play. In essence, Desdemona is a submissive victim role character that cannot reveal the plot set against her by the vicious Iago. "
Abstract This paper reviews WilliamShakespeare's tragic play, "Othello" through character analysis and descriptions of the play. The paper is a lively summary of the play, spiced with quotes from the theatrical play.
From the Paper "William Shakespeare's tragic play, Othello, pits an outsider ? Othello, a Muslim, black, war hero ? against a villainous, cunning European, Iago. The play opens in Venice, a city of law, order and high culture, with the recent marriage of Othello to Desdemona, a beautiful, white, European woman. Their marriage has stirred controversy in Venetian society, for it was both uncommon and somewhat scandalous for a white woman to marry a black man. Iago, the antagonist of the tragedy, jarred by the recent advancement of Cassio to lieutenant, a position that he believed rightfully belonged to himself, determines to destroy Othello's marriage and wreak havoc on his life. However, the setting transforms quickly to the island of Cyprus where Othello is newly stationed, placing him out of his secure environment and aligning him for Iago's successful manipulation of his marriage. "
Tags:othello, william, shakespeare, character, analysis, theatre, english, tragic, literature
Abstract This paper details author Sheldon Zitner's discourse and evaluation of WilliamShakespeare's comedic Elizabethan play "Much Ado About Nothing." Beyond the plot and character analysis Zitner asserts that the play lacks accessibility to the memory unlike some of Shakespeare's more studied and performed romantic comedies.
From the Paper "Besides Shakespeare's literary control, Zitner points out the fact that "Much Ado About Nothing" makes no claim on class distinction like most other romantic comedies. I deeply agree with Zitner's thought since I did not feel heavy class distinction between the characters when I read the play. For instance, Dogberry is portrayed as being ingratiating and terribly unpleasant, which impedes justice rather than upholding the law. Although Leonato has some rank, he, unfortunately, has little ability. The play merely hints at Hero's lower class."
Tags: literature, criticism, view, perception, language
Abstract This drama study historically critiques the theme of political corruption as it evolves in the play, "The Tempest", by WilliamShakespeare. The paper analyzes the various characters of this play to illustrate how the struggle for power is complex and that power and greed are the basis of corruption. The paper also points out that ,although Prospero dissolves the aggression set against him in the play, Shakespeare uses "The Tempest" to reveal a commentary on political intrigue and corruption that reflects the historical Elizabethan monarchal class system and the politics of Shakespeare's times.
Abstract This paper reviews the play 'Twelfth Night' by WilliamShakespeare with a special focus on the relationship between the characters Cesario, or Viola in disguise, and Maria, Lady Olivia's lady-in-waiting.
From the Paper "William Shakespeare's middle-period comedy, 'Twelfth Night', is one of several plays he wrote that deal with mistaken identity, gender, and facade. In the play, young Viola, a girl who has high social status by birth, is involved in a shipwreck and must survive in a new and strange world with only her wits and her wiles. Viola disguises herself as a boy, Cesario, and finds employment and shelter with a wealthy nobleman, Orsino. Finding herself falling for Orsino, Viola also finds that her new employer is smitten by a fellow member of the aristocracy, Lady Olivia, who in turn falls for "Cesario," who she does not realize is young Viola. One of the interesting relationships in this play is that found between Viola and Olivia's young lady-in-waiting, Maria."
Abstract This paper suggests that, in WilliamShakespeare's "Othello", racial discrimination could have been the unconscious motivation in the plotting against Othello. The play was published around the time when people of color were just making their way into the British scene. The author points out that Othello is the only person or character of color in the cast. The paper also describes other key characters, Desdemona, Iago and Roderigo, and their interactions with Othello, which forms the core of the drama. The author emphasizes that Shakespeare's characters are very real and so true to human nature that, centuries later, they seem to represent mankind today.
From the Paper "As a product of her time and circumstances, Desdemona should be a typically and stereotypically weak and submissive daughter to Branbanzio and wife to Othello. She is the young and sexual daughter of a prominent Venetian citizen who falls for the marvels and tales of courage of Othello. Her comfortable life allows her to pursue a dream husband and also assert her independent will and influence over him when she wants to. Women in those days, as represented by Shakespeare's characters in this play, are subjugated to men."
Tags: blackamoors, racial epithets, power venetian tricks
Abstract This paper explains that Iago, from WilliamShakespeare's play, ?Othello,? is probably one of the best evil characters ever created. The author points out that he is an interesting case study because he is proud of his evilness and plans to use it to his utmost abilities to bring Othello down. The paper relates that another aspect about Iago's character that makes him so detestable is that he really has no reasonable excuse to hate Othello so much; he is not crazy, but rather is smart and clever, two characteristics that make him even more dangerous.
From the Paper "Another characteristic of Iago that is unforgettable is his cleverness throughout the entire play. Iago must know Othello well because he demonstrates that he knows just the right things to say to Othello to spur his anger and jealousy. Robert Heilman claims, ?Wit is Iago's instrument to compensate for what he does not have. He perversely hates and yet lusts after what he does not have . . . and he undertakes to disparage it, minimize it, debunk it, and destroy it.? Once he knows what it is he wants to do, he has no trouble achieving his goal. Critic Harold Bloom states that Iago's ruination of Othello is in some ways too subtle for criticism to paraphrase. Iago suggests Desdemona's infidelity by at first not suggesting it, but hovering near and around it.? This is all too true."
Abstract This paper explain that the use of animal imagery in WilliamShakespeare's "Othello, the Moor of Venice" reflects the base instincts, which bring about the tragedy of the main character and his innocent wife. The author points out that negatively characterizing Othello as an animal might imply that he is as base and beastly as Iago, but his honor and nobility throughout the rest of Act I makes the reader doubt that Othello is the animal. The paper concludes that comparing the characters to animals suggests that the play is not about race, politics or social convention but rather about the predator and the prey, which is something deeper and more innate than the trappings of society. The paper includes several quotations.
From the Paper "The innocent and good Cassio is deceived into believing himself a beast because of the machinations of Iago. Knowing that Cassio cannot tolerate alcohol, Iago encourages him to get drunk and orchestrates a fight in which Cassio appears the violent aggressor. Such behavior, especially because it interrupts the marriage bed of Othello and Desdemona, is perceived negatively by Othello who dismisses Cassio from his service. Cassio then likens himself to an animal, disparaging the effect of alcohol that "put an enemy in their mouths ....transform ourselves into beasts!""
An analysis of the character flaws that lead to calamitous falls of Othello and Oedipus in Sophocles' "Oedipus the King" and WilliamShakespeare's"Othello".
1,125 words (approx. 4.5 pages), 2 sources, 2006, $ 44.95
Abstract This paper discusses Oedipus's and Othello's character flaws or weakness in the two plays, Sophocles' "Oedipus the King" and WilliamShakespeare's"Othello". The paper describes the two plays as classic dramatic tragedies, in the sense that the audience experiences fear and pity as they witness the hero undergo a huge and disastrous change. It then suggests that in both plays one crucial reason for this calamitous fall is character flaws or weaknesses in the protagonists, Oedipus and Othello.
From the Paper "Discuss Oedipus's and Othello's character flaws or weaknesses Sophocles' Oedipus the King and Shakespeare's Othello are two plays with much in common. Both are classic dramatic tragedies, in the sense that the audience experiences fear and pity as they witness the hero undergo a huge and disastrous change. Moreover, in both plays one crucial reason for this calamitous fall is character flaws or weaknesses in the protagonists, Oedipus and Othello. This paper will examine and compare the character flaws and weaknesses of these two protagonists. Both plays begin with their protagonist in a very good position."
Abstract This paper studies Shakespeare's usage of evil in his plays. The essay attempts to reveal the function of this device by analyzing its usage in seven Shakespeare plays: "Macbeth", "Henry VI", "Hamlet", "Julius Caesar", "Richard III", "King Lear" and "Othello". The author includes complete character and plot summaries, and supports his theses with quotes from the texts.
From the Paper "'Fair is Foul and Foul is Fair'. Unfortunately for Steve Bartman and the 2003 Chicago Cubs, this famous phrase does not apply to baseball playoffs. William Shakespeare wrote this line to describe the relationship between good and evil in his play Macbeth. By casual definitions, good is right and evil is wrong. However, Shakespeare operated with larger concepts that go beyond passive terminology. In his works, balance, harmony, justice and righteousness represent good. Evil is represented by disorder, temptation, corruption and immorality. There is inherent tension created when these principles collide."
Abstract The paper discusses how WilliamShakespeare is one of the most famous playwrights of English literature today. He is still one of the majestic emblems of the British people and one of the great representatives of his time. The paper explores his limited biography and explains that little is known for certain about his life. The paper illustrates how Shakespeare experienced one of the most turbulent periods in history and describes in detail the era in which he lived. The paper looks at "Othello", one of Shakespeare's most acclaimed works.
From the Paper "Despite rigorous research made to complete Shakespeare's biography, little is known for certain about his life. He was born at Stratford-upon- Avon in April 1564. His family was rather prosperous and highly regarded in town. However, by 1582, he had married Ann Hathaway, a woman eight years older than him; a fact that especially at that time stirred some controversy, as it was considered to be against the moral values of the era. Nonetheless, they had three children. The records show scarce evidence of his existence until his arrival in London in 1585. "There is no tradition, not universally accepted, that he fled From Stratford because he was in trouble for deed stealing, and had fallen foul of Sir Thomas Lucy, the local magnate; another that he was for some time a school master." (Shakespeare, 7)"
This paper analyzes the use of comedy in WilliamShakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" as presented in the play-within-a-play, 'The Most Lamentable Comedy and Most Cruel Death of Pyramus and Thisby', in Act V.
Abstract This paper describes WilliamShakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream as preposterous, and arsy-versy. The author points out that, by using the rude mechanicals, Shakespeare seems to be arguing that arsy-versy can turn even the most lamentable tragedy into a roaring comedy. The paper relates that an example of arsy-versy of one of the rude mechanicals is called Snug the Joiner, whose rhetoric is so slow and disjointed that he asks for his lines written in advance. The author also then discusses Titania as an example of preposterousnous, explaining that she is the fairy goddess who falls deeply in love with Bottom despite his having an ass for a head of which he is unaware. The paper concludes that the backwards reaction to the events of the play-within-the-play points to Shakespeare's message that people are insensitive to their own follies and yet are very perceptive of the same follies found in others.
From the Paper "As the play begins, the preposterousness of the presentation is immediately shown in the prologue, which the rude mechanicals took great care to write so as not to offend the court. Peter Quince's delivery of the prologue presents a message opposite from the intended one. "If we offend, it is with our good will," he says, unfortunately telling the court that his intent is to offend. "All for your delight," he later says, "we are not here". The players then continue to present their play in a rather backwards manner; by making it crystal clear to the court that what they see in front of them isn't real."
Abstract The following paper compares and contrasts the themes, poetic techniques, choices of description and unique individual styles of the following poets and poems: WilliamShakespeare's 'Sonnet 29' and Christopher Marlowe's, 'The Passionate Shepherd to his Love', Michael Drayton's 61 and Sir Philip Sidney's 20,WilliamShakespeare's, Sonnet I and Walter Raleigh's, A Farewell to False Love,Sir Philip Sidney's 7 and WilliamShakespeare's, Sonnet 18,WilliamShakespeare's, Sonnet 55 and WilliamShakespeare's, Sonnet 71.
From the Paper "These two poems share one common theme, the happiness that their love brings them. But these two poems achieve this in very different ways. Marlowe's poem reads as a love poem. He is addressing his love and telling her how good life will be if she will be his love. At the same time he is also telling himself how much he needs her love. Marlowe does this simply by focusing on what life would be like. He focuses on all the pleasures that will come. In the first section he says that they will gather all the pleasures that are offered. He is referring here to how his life is not complete without her love and how everything will be more beautiful and more appreciated if she is there. He describes everything as perfect and calm. Phrases such as "melodious birds", "fragrant posies", "pretty lambs" and "silver dishes" all add to the feeling of contentment. The lines "a gown made of the finest wool, which from our pretty lambs we pull" is very meaningful. The fact that he describes the lambs that the wool will come from as "pretty" is interesting, as is the choice of the word "pull". Pull does not reflect the same contentment as it is a more forceful term....."
Abstract This paper discusses the influence of WilliamShakespeare on twenty first century theatre. Shakespeare was a great English playwright, dramatist and poet who he lived during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. He is considered to be the greatest playwright of all time. The paper shows that no other writer's plays have been produced so many times or read so widely in so many countries as his. Shakespeare had a tremendous influence on culture and literature throughout the world and he contributed greatly to the development of the English language. The paper examines how many words and phrases from Shakespeare's plays and poems have become part of our speech. It shows that Shakespeare's ideas on subjects such as romantic love, heroism, comedy and tragedy have helped shape the attitudes of millions of people. His portrayals of historical figures and events have influenced our thinking more than what has been written in history books. The world has admired and respected many great writers, but only Shakespeare has generated such enormous continuing interest. The paper discusses his different works for theatre. Costumes trends, audiences and sets are also discussed. It also discusses the formation of Globe theatre by Shakespeare.
Outline:
Abstract
Background
Life of Shakespeare Shakespeare Career
Shakespeare's Influences on Theatre
Costumes and Sets
Audience and Plays
Globe Theatre
Structure of the Globe
Shakespeare and the End of the Globe
Development of Theatre
Conclusion
From the Paper "Everything had to be conveyed to the audience through words and there is little doubt that the audience had better memories and perhaps higher powers of attention than people do today, so that they took in and retained the information given to them. The majority people in Shakespeare's day could not read or write so they had to rely on word of mouth and on memory; this is in evidence in Romeo and Juliet when the Servant is sent to bid Capulet's guests to dinner. He can't read the list which he has been given and he asks Romeo to read it to him; he hears it read once and then goes off to find the guests; yet, there are well over thirteen people on the list so his memory must have been extremely retentive."
Tags: James, Burbage, Romeo, and, Juliet, Pyramus, Thisbe, Hamlet
