The Gender Transformation of Caesar
The Gender Transformation of Caesar Shakespeare's Julius Caesar opens with the concurrent celebrations of Caesar's defeat of Pompey and the annual fertility festival of Lupercal. The coupling of the two historically separate events each celebrating distinct gender roles dramatically highlights the importance of gender characterization. Rome's patriarchal society demands a leader who embodies the virile spirit of the state with leadership marked by strength, courage, and constancy. Caesar quite fittingly assumes this role as he returns valiant and victorious from the battlefields; thus, in order to remove him the strong ruler of Rome, Caesar's enemies must retrench his masculinity. Roman society considers women as the embodiment of weaknesses, thinking that their physical, mental, and political inferiority make them of little use beyond reproductive purposes, explaining why aspirants to the throne feminize the identity of the masculine warrior figure to position him as unfit for the crown. The portrayal of the two female characters of the novel, Portia and Calphurnia, captures the prevailing stereotypical perceptions of women. Caesar's wife, Calphurnia, demonstrates women's predisposition towards fearfulness and superstition when she pleads with Caesar to remain at home after dreaming that a statue made in the likeness was Cesar pouring forth blood. Calphurnia establishes
How does Lady Macbeth change throughout the play, "Macbeth"?
How does Lady Macbeth change throughout the Play? "Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be What thou art promised;" These are the powerful opening lines of Lady Macbeth - the most infamous and indomitable female character in all of Shakespeare's many works, who defies the position of order and gender of her time and used power and ambition to achieve her dreams. Her opening scene in I.v where she is reading the letter from her husband, which proclaims the witches' prophecy, and the following soliloquy are the first exposure to her character, as it allows us an insight into her most intimate thoughts and feelings. At the idea of her husband being possibly made King she jumps straight to the conclusion that he will be, "and shalt be what thou art promised". This is shocking to the audience as her superstition shows her underlying hunger for power by the fact she takes three deranged, women on a moor as the literal truth - any excuse for her to rise in authority. Shakespeare's use of the witches adds drama because at the time the play was written, during the reign of James I, witchcraft and heresy were deemed punishable by death and to "consult with any evil sprit" was illegal under the 1604 Witchcraft Act, so they would have seen it as a scandal that Lady Macbeth believed the witches. She seems even more ruthless by the fact that automatically she presumes that they will
Why is Antony a more effective speaker than Brutus?
Why is Antony a more effective speaker than Brutus? Both Antony and Brutus uses the same persuasive devices in their speech. They both use repetition and rhetorical questions; however they also use other persuasive devices to make their speech effective. Though both are good speakers, what makes Antony more effective is that he appeals more to the Roman people's emotions rather then their rationality. Antony comes effectively halfway through Brutus's speech and carries Caesar's body with him. Already he has the crowd's attention. Though it seems that Brutus has won the public's opinion, Antony is able to persuade them to see it from his point of view. Brutus has tried to win the public by speaking in prose in order to make him seem equal to the plebeians; in contrast Antony speaks in verse which is more effective as it would sound much more interesting. He is also very careful and manipulative with his speech as he makes sure that he is able to go on with it long enough to sway the public's opinion towards him. Antony effectively uses repetition in his speech. Constantly he mentions Brutus to be an 'honourable man.' By repeating Brutus to be honourable, as the plebeians are convinced he is, Antony is able to make it sound worthless as it begins to sound tiresome and so causes the plebeians to question Brutus nobility. Antony also repeats the word 'ambition'. He reminds the
Explore the importance of the first of Macbeths soliloquies showing how Shakespeare creates its dramatic and poetic power
Explore the importance of the first of Macbeth's soliloquies showing how Shakespeare creates its dramatic and poetic power The soliloquies in Macbeth play a very important role in giving the audience an insight into what particular characters are thinking and the difference in views over the same subject. Allowing the audience to hear the inner thoughts of the character creates a bond between them and the character and also reveals hints of upcoming events and emotions. The first soliloquy in Shakespeare's Macbeth is of particular importance, firstly because it is the audience's first insight into Macbeth's mind. Macbeth finds himself fighting with his conscience over whether or not he should attempt to murder Duncan in order to become King. He creates an argument in which he debates the advantages and disadvantages of the assassination. During this speech, the audience is shown a side to Macbeth that contradicts our first impression of him, as a brave and fearless warrior. This soliloquy gives us a glimpse of the vulnerability of Macbeth and how neurotic he can be. Already, ideas of how the plot of Macbeth will follow are forming i.e. this soliloquy foreshadows the rest of the play. Macbeth's argument is structured into four parts. Each section has Macbeth thinking through the different kinds of reasons for and against the King's murder and Shakespeare uses different
How does Shakespeare create an effective villain through his presentation of Iago in the soliloquies?
How does Shakespeare create an effective villain through his presentation of Iago in the soliloquies? Over 400 years ago, the theatre was one of the most popular and novel forms of entertainment around. The leading role model here was William Shakespeare, with his 40 plays that captivated audiences the length and breadth of 16th and 17th century England. His plays are divided into three different genres: Comedy, Tragedy and History. In the era that Shakespeare's plays started to earn the recognition we now see he deserved, tragedies were seen as the more popular with plays like Titus Andronicus and King Lear. One of his more famous tragedies was "Othello," the tragic story of a young, valiant and well respected Moor, who is driven to suicide as a result of the exploitation of his fatal flaw. In this case, it is his jealousy of his wife Desdemona supposedly sleeping with Cassio. In this essay I will be analysing the villain in the play, Iago, and his soliloquies, the numerous solo speeches to the audience. These establish Iago as the main villain and allow him to reveal his inner most thoughts. Even today many people still enjoy re-enactments of Shakespeare's plays, either on stage or through television or films. This is because many of the themes Shakespeare based his plays on, relate to many modern day events. In his first soliloquy, it is the first time the audience sees
How does Act 1, Scene 1 of Othello prepare you for the rest of the play
Othello Essay GCSE English How Does Act 1, Scene 1 of Othello prepare the audience for the rest of the play? The play opens with two characters in mid-conversation, shrouded in darkness, in the middle of the night. They are out in the streets of Venice talking about a betrayal of trust between them. This immediately grabs the audience's attention and sets the theme for the rest of the play. The characters involved are Iago and Roderigo and this argument lets us know straight away that they are untrustworthy and we should expect to see more of this during the play. Roderigo is complaining to Iago about his behaviour after Roderigo has given him money. We do not know why he has given him money at this point which makes the audience want to find out more. One of the lines in the beginning of this scene is "Thou toldst me thou did hold him in hate" We do not know that it is Othello they are discussing at this point. Iago begins to tell Roderigo of his hatred for the Moor (Othello). He has been passed over for promotion and feels betrayed and let down. Othello has given the job of Lieutenant to a Florentine (Michael Cassio) and has given Iago the lesser position of Ancient. Roderigo is infatuated with the beautiful Desdemona and is madly jealous after learning that Othello is secretly marrying Desdemona. Iago is full of spite and jealousy because he has lost the promotion to
How does Shakespeare create dramatic tension in act 2 scene 2 of Macbeth?
How does Shakespeare create dramatic tension in act 2 scene 2 of Macbeth? Act 2 Scene 2 of Macbeth is a decisive scene in the play as it creates dramatic tension, conflict and controversy. There are many themes in this play: tragedy, the supernatural, love, dishonesty, betrayal and greed. Macbeth murdered Duncan to prove his masculinity for his wife and also his hunger for more power. Lady Macbeth wanted Duncan dead because of her greed and the witches' prophecies influence her. At the beginning of the play Macbeth is brave, content and loyal in contrast to his dark and sinister persona he adapts later on in the play. Whilst the main theme of Macbeth is one of tragic loss (in terms of the death of the King and indeed the loss of Macbeth's mental state), greed also proves to be an influential factor in the downfall of both Macbeth and his wife. It, ultimately, changed their actions and cost them their lives. At the beginning of the scene, Lady Macbeth is feeling confident. She says " What hath quench'd them hath given me fire", this indicating that she is feeling so powerful and inspired that nothing can stand in her way. Despite feeling confident, she feels agitated and remarks "Hark! Peace!" which demonstrates that she is concerned someone has been alerted to the couple's plans and will discover their wretched methods; this sudden feeling of concern contrasts with her prior
Mistaken Identity in Twelfth Night.
Anna Mason 9S Mistaken Identity in Twelfth Night Throughout "Twelfth Night" there is much foolery, fantasy and mistaken identity. These incidents have made the play more fun, interesting and surprising and have certainly given the play a few twists. Olivia and Viola-Cesario (I, v) The first and most important case of mistaken identity in my opinion, began in Act 1, scene 5, in Olivia's household. Viola-Cesario was sent by Orsino to try and "woo" Olivia for him but Viola, in love with Orsino herself, knew that she would not want to do this: "I'll do my best to woo your lady. [Aside] Yet a barful strife! Whoe'er I woo, myself would be his wife." (I, iv, l. 39-41). The two got on well although there was much verbal fencing, but by the time Viola-Cesario had left, Olivia feared she had fallen in love with "him". We learn this from Olivia's words after Viola-Cesario's departure: "Even so quickly may one catch the plague? Methinks I feel this youth's perfections With an invisible and subtle stealth To creep in mine eyes. Well, let it be." (I, v, l. 250-3) So, complications were forming already in just the first act: Olivia had fallen in love with the disguised woman, viola; Viola was in love with Orsino, who believed her to be a man; and Orsino was in love with Olivia, who despised him. A love triangle full of complications, lies and mistaken identity had formed.
How does Shakespeare use language to show the changes in Lady Macbeth's character?
How does Shakespeare use language to show the changes in Lady Macbeths character Macbeth was written during a time when James 1st was interested in the supernatural and the history of Scottish Monarchs. Infact, much of society was very interested in the supernatural however the supernatural was a very taboo subject to talk about. In those days, society had very little education and therefore they were very frightened of the supernatural so they kept very quiet about it. Shakespeare had to get permission from the king to write Macbeth because Macbeth contained violence between Monarchs and brutal situations such as real life situations, ambitions and greed. The themes in Macbeth are very thoughtful because they are still used in modern day television programs. In the play Lady Macbeth is so pivotal because she commands Macbeth to do all the physical bits and pieces such as killing King Duncan and Lady Macbeth does all the concealed work.. This is very clever of her because she doesn't get caught but she is the real mastermind behind all of this. Shakespeare probably wrote this play because he wanted to make people explore the supernatural. One of the themes in the story is greed. This theme is shown by Lady Macbeth of who wants all the power and wealth through her husbands masculinity. Another theme in the play is the supernatural, this is shown through the three witches of
Is Iago The Perfect Villain?
Othello Essay 'Is Iago the perfect villain?' Few Shakespearian villains radiate evilness and jealously quite as much as Iago, the unbeknown nemesis of the play's title character, Othello. In other plays written by the bard of Avon the villains can come across as one-dimensional- weak, personified by a flaw in their genetic make-up or unattainable ambition yet Iago is a far more complex and compelling character. True, he has the power to both betray and murder those he once worked alongside, but Iago isn't the complete cold-blooded murderer in the same sense of Macbeth or King Claudius from Hamlet. True, he meticulously plans the death of Cassio but he plans it to be by hands of Rodrigo, his puppet. In the end opportunity presents itself to Iago and he seizes the moment to stab Cassio in the back but the blow fails to kill him. Iago also reveals a moral conscience through his three soliloquy's which I will explore in more detail later. In short Iago is like no other of Shakespeare's villains which makes him an utterly compelling and absorbing character. And like the other characters in the play, Iago delights in absorbing us, the viewer... The tragedy of Othello was believed to have been first performed in the early 1600's and is one of Shakespeare's more famous plays. The play is also rich in historical context and features the Moorish race heavily, leading many to believe
