With specific reference to the two soliloquies, which we have studied in detail, show how Shakespeare reveals to the audience Hamlet's character, state of mind and his problems.
With specific reference to the two soliloquies, which we have studied in detail, show how Shakespeare reveals to the audience Hamlet's character, state of mind and his problems. The two soliloquies of which I studied were quite different as the one from act one scene two is very sad and lifeless whereas the soliloquy taken from act three scene one is calm and solemn. You can get a clear picture of the first soliloquy as being lifeless as Hamlet remarks "How, weary, stale, flat and unprofitable." Hamlet also seems to repeatedly mention the death of his father. "So excellent a king, that was, to this." "With which she followed my poor fathers body." Then in the second soliloquy Hamlet realises his father was murdered and begins to say that he wants to just fall asleep and wake up later on in life with all his troubles swept away. He also goes onto say that he is either going to lie back and give up or stand up and fight back for what he believes in. However the biggest similarity between the two soliloquies is that they both relate to death. The perception that we get from Hamlet from the two soliloquies was that in the first soliloquy Hamlet is in an open public place and doesn't care about the things he is saying and you know this by the amount of exclamation marks and the use of repeated vocabulary. "O, God! O, God!" "Fie on't! O, Fie!" Then you look at the second
Women in Macbeth
Literature is a mirrored image of different ideas and conditions of humanity. Similarly, Shakespeare's plays have frequently been argued to portray a more than biased gender viewpoint towards women. The story and relationships in Shakespeare's Macbeth promote his female characters, while portraying his male characters as the weaker sex. Men, being the more gullible characters, rely heavily on the women for advice, while women are the one in control of most situations. It can be stated that Shakespeare is a feminist writer. Women dictate the future for society in Macbeth. Despite Macbeths role as the main male character, he does not believe in himself; instead, he trust prophecies by female witches with who he has just met. First Witch: "All hail Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Glamis." Second Witch: "All hail Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor." Third Witch: "All hail Macbeth, That shalt be king hereafter." [Act 1, scene 3, lines 46-48] Macbeth's visits to the witches makes him think that he truly will succeed in becoming King, resulting in his committing murder upon murder to fulfill the supposed prophecy. Shortly after meeting the witches, Macbeth soon discovers that he has been awarded the titles "Thane of Glamis" and "Thane of Cawdor". It is proof enough for him that the witches prophecies are truths. So why doesn't he merely wait to become King as they
William Shakespeare's MacBeth.
William Shakespeare's MacBeth 'Thunder and lightning : Enter three witches.' The first scene of Shakespeare's classic "Macbeth". The story of a cowardly nobleman's rise to power, and his collapse to death. Can a person's ambition, in a dark world, lead them to murder, just to obtain power? I propose to respond to Shakespeare's "MacBeth" in a critical response to this play. "MacBeth" is the tragic tale of a frail man who must face murder just to earn power, but cannot cope with the side-effects it can bring. The key character is Macbeth. Macbeth is a noble man, who although may appear strong and brave is actually a very cowardly and frail man who needs lots of guidance, which is expressed very clearly throughout the play. Lady Macbeth, Macbeth's wife, plays a strong, masculine character in the play. She is more masculine than Macbeth himself. She guides Macbeth to help him climb the ladder to power, but she herself cannot handle the guilt either. Macbeth goes through several stages in the play, his original state, his tragic flaw, then his pre-death stage. These three stages help us understand how un-controlling Macbeth is of his own life, and how he was in a way bullied into his action. At the beginning when Macbeth is in his original state he is an anti-hero who has no strength in mind and relies on Lady Macbeth. He may be a soldier on the outside but on the
William Shakespeare's Macbeth
William Shakespeare's Macbeth William Shakespeare was born on April 23rd 1564 in Stretford-on-Avon. William Shakespeare died on April 23rd 1616, he was exactly 52. In 1606 William Shakespeare wrote the famous play "Macbeth", this play is one of Shakespeare's best-loved plays. Nowadays the play is performed many times every year and has been made into several films. Here is a list of the characters: Duncan, King of Scotland- A vulnerable and well-liked king that is brutally murdered by Macbeth so that he can realise the witches' prophecy and become king. He is killed while staying at Macbeth's own castle. Macbeth- The Main character, and is the Thane of Glamis, he ultimately becomes Thane of Cawdor. The witches predict that he will become king, but his friend Banquo's posterity will later have the crown. He kills Duncan to become king, murders Banquo and all of Macduffs family. He is brutally killed in the end by an unforgiving Macduff. Lady Macbeth- Macbeth's wife; she urges him to kill King Duncan so that he will have the crown. She later loses her resolve and courage and begins to sleepwalk because of the stress of the crime and later kills herself. Banquo- Friend of Macbeth and nobleman of Scotland. The witches predict that his sons will be the future kings of Scotland; Macbeth murders him because of this prediction. His ghost haunts Macbeth at his coronation
William Shakespeare's Macbeth
For one to fully understand Macbeth's decent into hell, one must define evil and have an idea of how the process of evil effects the decent. One may relate the process of evil to a virus. Evil is a thing that one chooses to come into their life, and if one does choose for it to be a part of their life, the person's life and themselves starts to fall into the wrath's of evil. The process of evil first must choose something or someone to infect. Then evil slowly, but eventually, will take over its victim. If evil does not over take it's victim, it will cause one of two things, the victim self-destruct or the victim will simply fall into death. During William Shakespeare's Macbeth, Macbeth encounters both of these things, which leads to his death and finally the last step of the process of evil, which is living in hell. At the beginning of Macbeth, the witches (which are the main source of evil in Macbeth) tell Macbeth that he will one day be king, which causes Macbeth to do anything he can to make this prophecy come true. For example, Banquo tells Macbeth, "You greet present grace and great prediction Of noble having and of royal hope, That he seems rapt withal. To me you speak not. If you can look into the seeds of time And say which grain will grow and which will not." It is here when Macbeth begins to experience evil. From this quotation one can see that Macbeth is so
William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is one of the world's greatest love stories. There have been many different interpretations of the play; one of the most famous interpretations of the play is the modern version produced by Baz Luhrmann (1996). The Baz Luhrmann's production captures the intensity and emotional hardship of the characters. It's surprising how much pain and sorrow this interpretation can inflict on the audience. Every aspect of the film adds something extra, such as; the sweeping orchestral music, action, violence and above all the atmospheric weather, which changes like a symbolic mood that passes through you. Although traditional and somewhat cliché, Zeffirelli's version made in 1968, sticks very much to the original text compared to Luhrmann's. Zeffirelli's interpretation has less violence and does not use music to set an emotion or atmosphere as much as Baz Luhrmann's. I am focusing on Act 3 Scene 1 from the Luhrmann's version of the play. This scene is the deaths of Mercutio, Romeo's best friend and Tybalt, Juliet's cousin. This is a pivotal scene in the play as it leads directly to Romeo's exile and ultimately to the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. Romeo's anger towards Tybalt for murdering Mercutio, leads him to kill Tybalt. From this point in the scene Romeo realises that he has ruined his life forever. "O, I am fortune's fool." Act
WHY IS ACT 1 SCENE 5 SUCH AN IMPORTANT SCENE IN ROMEO AND JULIET?
WHY IS ACT 1 SCENE 5 SUCH AN IMPORTANT SCENE IN "ROMEO AND JULIET"? Romeo and Juliet is a famous play of two young lovers and were written by Shakespeare-born in Stratford upon Avon in April 1564. He was the third and eldest son of John Shakespeare and Mary Arden. Shakespeare has also written other great tragedies for example Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth and Othello. The play Romeo and Juliet is all about love and family honour. Lovers (Romeo and Juliet) are caught between two worlds as their family's feud to death. Romeo and Juliet's love was destined for destruction. They did not imagine that their love would lead to the tragedies that it did. These two young people did nothing wrong except fall in love. The feud between the two families was one factor that contributed on the love of Romeo and Juliet being destined for destruction. "From ancient grudge break to new mutiny." The two families, Montague and Capulet, had many problems. There was hate between the two so much so that even the servants hated each other. This feud would have caused many problems for Romeo and Juliet. These two young lovers knew this and this is why they kept their marriage a secret. If their parents discovered their secret, they would have made their children's lives miserable. Romeo and Juliet would not have been able to see each other. Both of these families were very stubborn and there was
Why is Act One Scene Five of "Romeo and Juliet" an effective piece of drama?
Why is Act One Scene Five of "Romeo and Juliet" an effective piece of drama? Shakespeare makes Act One, Scene Five of "Romeo and Juliet" a very effective piece of drama. He uses dramatic devises such as monologues and a sonnet. He also uses a variety of language; some characters speak in poetry and others speak in prose. Also the way the scene is structured makes it an effective piece of drama. "Romeo and Juliet" is about the love between two people who are in feuding families and the tragedy that comes from their feuding. Romeo is in the Montague family and Juliet is in the Capulet family. Romeo and some of his friends gatecrash a Capulet party that has been set up for Juliet to meet a family friend called Paris who she is intended to marry. This is where Romeo and Juliet see each other for the first time and fall in 'love at first sight'. They agree to marry in secret the next day. Later on, Tybalt (a Capulet) kills Romeo's friend Mercutio. Romeo is made furious by this and kills Tybalt. Romeo is then banished from Verona. Meanwhile, Juliet is told she has to marry Paris but she doesn't want to because she is in love with Romeo and has already married him in secret. She goes to see Friar Lawrence who stops her from killing herself, but also gives her a way in which she can fake her own death. Friar Lawrence sends a message to Romeo telling him this. However, the message
Why is Act One, Scene Five of 'Romeo and Juliet' an effective piece of Drama?
Why is Act One, Scene Five of 'Romeo and Juliet' an effective piece of Drama? In this Essay I will be talking about all of the dramatic events that happen in this Scene and the language that is used. Also the use of dramatic devices, such as: scene shifts, the range of characters on the stage and the jumps from poetry to prose throughout the script. I will also talk about the ways in which the scenes are structured and of the changing moods that progress throughout. I will be saying how these will have an effect on the rest of the play or how it may affect the audience. This scene opens with the servants, we can tell these people are not as high class or as important by the way in which their lines are written. The lines of the servants are written in Prose and the more important characters are written in verse. However when one of the important characters is being humorous their lines are also written in prose just like the servants. We can tell from this scene that the servants are very rushed. They are clearing up after the feast that had just occurred and are preparing for their own party. 'Let the porter let in the Susan grindstone and Nell.' They all seem very flustered. This pert in the scene helps the rest of the play by setting the scene for the party which is the main event. Capulet is very excited when all of the people are coming into his party and he is
Why did Romeo and Juliet die?
Why did Romeo and Juliet die? Was it fate? Was it adolescent passion? Was it the feud? Was it fathers? What other causes? For many reasons people wonder why Romeo and Juliet died some people think it was by fate and some think it was their adolescent passion, this is what makes Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet one of the greatest love stories and also a great symbol for true love. Lets revise the story to analyse the cause of their death. As the story opens we can see that Romeo and Juliet's family the Montague's and the Capulets are feuding and at the beginning of the play it is said that the two families have been feuding for so long that the families have forgotten why they are actually fighting. The two families are disturbing the peace in Verona so much that prince Escalus himself had to break up a fight between the two families. In the beginning the story starts with Romeo who is in love with Rosaline but Rosaline does not show any feelings for Romeo and then coldly rejects Romeo, Romeo then tries to repair his broken heart by going to a party to take his mind off the pain. At this party he meets Juliet and immediately falls in love with her. Unfortunately Juliet happens to be a Capulet (as discussed before Romeo was a Montague and the two families are feuding) He makes a decision to marry her the next day. Friar Lawrence who is the priest marries the couple but
