Do you consider that Malcolm possesses the necessary qualities and skills to be a good monarch?
Kingship (Malcolm) Do you consider that he possesses the necessary qualities and skills to be a good monarch? To be a good king, God must pick you. In Elizabethan times, everyone believed that to be a king, you had to be blessed by the Right of Kings - which comes from God. The Elizabethans followed many orders, this being one of them. The murder of a king is far worse than any other kind of crime as you destroy God's order ad also the structure of society. "Confusion now hath made his master piece. Most sacrilegious murder hath broken ope The Lord's anointed temple." The kings were measured on how great they were, this makes it possible for us to compare Duncan, Macbeth and Malcolm. This is the test, which Malcolm provides in Act 4 Scene 3. This play was written for King James 1 in memory of King Edward. King Edward has powers unlimited and could cure - these qualities were supposed to be inherited by the next kings to come. I believe that Malcolm had these skills (as portrayed in Act 4 Scene 3). He also was witty and sharp to think of a test for Macduff. Duncan was a righteous king - he was picked by God, and whoever he picked next would be righteous too. This was Malcolm, not Macbeth. The public would have agreed with Malcolm taking the throne and not Macbeth as God had picked Duncan, and then he picked Malcolm. Another good point about Duncan and then Malcolm to
Shakespeare's Hamlet as a Tragedy.
Shakespeare's Hamlet as a Tragedy Hamlet, the story of a young prince who seeks to revenge his father's death by killing his uncle, Claudius, is one of the most favorite and complex Shakespearean tragedies. Hamlet is unsettled by Claudius taking over the throne and his mother's hasty remarriage but does nothing except verbalize this discontent. Encountering the ghost of his dead father, who tells Hamlet that he was murdered by Claudius, gives reason to Hamlet to seek revenge; however, Hamlet continually postpones his actions and, this being his tragic flaw, leads to his downfall. Shakespeare's Hamlet is the classic example of a tragedy as defined by A.C. Bradley. Bradley says that a Shakespearean tragedy is the story of a hero who encounters significant suffering. The hero, a man of high status and an "exceptional being" who inspires "fear or calamity" in others, often compares himself or his situation to happier times and struggles with an internal dilemma. The tragic hero brings about his own downfall through his actions, or his tragic flaw, and his destruction affects those around him. Shakespeare also occasionally uses abnormal conditions of the mind, such as insanity, and includes the supernatural, such as ghosts. The supernatural elements are always placed in close relation to the hero and only confirm existing movement. Hamlet's character is disturbed and unsettled
Hegemony is everything - The Tempest.
Jermaine Johnson English 155c Due: September 25, 2003 Hegemony is everything In the Tempest Shakespeare gives the reader his typical romance. As in any good romance you have heroes and villains, and with Shakespeare characters can reveal both roles. In the case of Gonzalo, the councilor to the king (Ferdinand), the reader is introduced to one of the few well-tempered, good-hearted characters in the story. He's loyal, optimistic and has no apparent dark side in him. His good nature is made most apparent in his description of an ideal commonwealth. As in most commonwealths, it had its apparent advantages, but most would argue that the disadvantages supersede the positives. This paper will suggest that regardless of the advantages or disadvantages of Gonzalo's commonwealth, its purpose was to show what the island could have been possible without the struggle for hegemony, and more importantly how that struggle for hegemony parallel's Shakespeare's society, and society today. The advantages of Gonzalo's commonwealth are multiple in my eyes. The island as the reader knows it is filled with people who do not want to be there. Gonzalo, in his optimistic nature, describes a way to make a commonwealth that would accentuate the positives of the situation. In his commonwealth, society would be completely opposite to the way they knew it, and quite frankly the way society
Discuss the representation of religious and racial differences in 'Othello' and 'The Jew of Malta'.
Discuss the representation of religious and racial differences in 'Othello' and 'The Jew of Malta'. Religion and race are both familiar themes in Elizabethan literature; Shakespeare and Marlowe among other playwrights included many characters of different races and religions throughout their theatrical work. In this essay I will attempt to explore the idea of representation of race and religion in two of the set plays. The plays I am studying are 'Othello', by William Shakespeare and 'The Jew of Malta' by Christopher Marlowe. I intend to look at the representation of race in 'Othello' and the problems it poses for the characters and how Othello is perceived because of his race and I will also look at the representation of Barabas's religion in 'The Jew of Malta' how he is portrayed as a Jew and how the other characters are portrayed in opposition to him. 'Othello' was written between 1601 and 1604; it was first performed in 1604 and first published in Quarto form in 1622. It was not the first play to portray a black character, Shakespeare wrote Aaron, an evil Moor, into Titus Andronicus. Moor's were not uncommon in Britain at the time of the play but they were still seen as second class citizens. 'The Jew of Malta' was written between 1589 and 1591 and first published in 1633. Jews were common in Renaissance literature, often to portray villains, as Jews were not well liked
Othello as a Tragic Hero.
Othello as a Tragic Hero Ever since it's definition by Aristotle as early as 250 B.C., the medium of tragedy is prominent throughout the course of classical literature and can be seen as a traditional hallmark of many great works produced over the centuries. Among other mediums such as comedy and chronicle, tragedy is diversely shown across the literary spectrum ranging from Sophocles' Oedipus Rex to Elizabethan theater as portrayed in plays such as Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet. Simply defined, tragedy always entails the death of the protagonist. As a common standard in tragedy, the protagonist, or "tragic hero" is of high standing who is faced with some opposing force whether internal or external. "Tragedy is the imitation of an action; and an action implies personal agents, who necessarily possess certain distinctive qualities both of character and thought; for it is by these that we qualify actions themselves, and these- thought and character- are the two natural causes from which actions spring, and on actions, again all success or failure depends...." This excerpt from Aristotle's Poetics illustrates an aspect of tragedy upon which many works, including Shakespeare's Othello, are based. In Poetics, Aristotle expresses the writer's obligation to create what is known as a "tragic hero" in all forms of tragedy. He further explains that this persona must be dominated by a
Shakespeare seems to suggest that Duncan's acquiescent and innocent nature and Macbeth's extreme violence make ineffective leaders. An ideal leader on the other hand, has a balance between the "king-becoming graces" and necessary violence.
Shakespeare seems to suggest that Duncan's acquiescent and innocent nature and Macbeth's extreme violence make ineffective leaders. An ideal leader on the other hand, has a balance between the "king-becoming graces" and necessary violence. Duncan, the beloved and respected king of Scotland whom Macbeth murders in order to become king is the model of a virtuous and benevolent ruler. His death symbolizes the destruction of the great chain of being (http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/macbeth/canalysis.html). He however is not an effective leader. His over trusting and gullible nature prevents him of seeing what was bound to happen. His tendency to make snap decisions is his hamartia, which leads to his downfall. After he is informed of Macbeth's victory in battle he rewards him with the title, "thane of Cawdor" without realizing that he is an ambitious person who is willing to destroy anything on his path to get what he desires. Macbeth started out as a good leader and seemed to be worthy of the title, "thane of Cawdor." According to the bloody sergeant, he bravely fought against Macdonwald, the rebel and the Norwegians. He was referred to as "valiant cousin" and "worthy gentleman" (1.2 24). During act 2 however, Macbeth looses his values as a good leader and becomes a ruthless murderer, going on a massive killing spree. A true king, according to Malcolm should be able to
"Compare Luhrmann's and Shakespeare's versions of the last scene- the death of Romeo and Juliet. How do both versions create tension and sympathy in the audience?"
"Compare Luhrmann's and Shakespeare's versions of the last scene- the death of Romeo and Juliet. How do both versions create tension and sympathy in the audience?" The two versions are very different because of the huge time differences and how Shakespeare had to use his imagination to create atmosphere rather than relaying on modern media techniques such as lighting, sounds and special effects. The main characters in Shakespeare's version of Romeo and Juliet in the last scene are Paris, Balthazar, Romeo, Juliet and Friar Lawrence. In Baz Luhrmann's version of Romeo and Juliet he misses out scenes, which were originally in Shakespeare's version. Baz Luhrmann misses out vital scenes, for example when Paris and Romeo have a fight. This scene was the original from Shakespeare's version of the play. The fight scene between Romeo and Paris was essential because it tells us what Romeo encountered before he got to Juliet and where she was laying. "I do defy thy conjuration and apprehend thee for a felon here." Another important character is Friar Lawrence he went to the tomb and found Romeo dead, Friar Lawrence was also there when Juliet was waking up from her deep sleep. "Romeo! O, pale! Who else? What, Paris too? And steeped in blood? Ah, what an unkind hour is guilty of this lamentable chance!" In Shakespeare's time there wasn't much in the way of technology, Shakespeare's time
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Title: A Midsummer Night's Dream Author: William Shakespeare Date of Publication: 1600 Historical information about the period of publication: The 1600's were a time when North America was being colonized and starting to become a country. Shakespeare was in his prime and writing many plays during his time. Biographical information about the author: Shakespeare was born in 1564 in Stratford-on-Avon, a prosperous market town in Warwickshire, England. When he was eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway, who was much older than him, and they had three children. By the time of his death in April 23, 1616, he had written three dozen extraordinary plays and over 150 poems. Characteristics of the genre: The play is a combination of Comedy, fantasy, and romance. Characteristics of these genres include making the reader laugh, in the case of comedy, wonder and imagine, in the case of fantasy, and feel deep down, in the case of romance. Plot Summary: The play starts out when the Duke of Athens, Theseus, is going to marry Hippolyta, the Queen of the Amazons. During the celebrations, Egeus walks in with his daughter, Hermia, and 2 young men. Egeus wishes Hermia to marry Demetrius (who loves Hermia), but Hermia is in love with Lysander and refuses to marry him. Theseus gives Hermia until his wedding to consider her options, warning her that disobeying her father's wishes could result in
The Role of Gender in Shakespeares King Lear
Kirby Southerland November 11, 2012 English 2010 The Role of Gender in Shakespeare’s King Lear The famous tragedy, King Lear, was written by William Shakespeare between 1603 and 1606 and later revised. [Originally titled The True Chronicle of the History of Life and Death of King Lear and His Three Daughters and later The Tragedy of King Lear, which was a more theatrical version, many modern editors shorten the title, though most insist that each version has its individual integrity that should be preserved.] Lear’s daughters, Goneril, Regan and Cordeila, are three of the main characters in the play. [The daughters are all treated differently, as Goneril and Regan flattered their father in elaborate terms, Lear’s youngest daughter Cordelia was straight forward and honest, though she felt she did not need to express her love for him in elaborate ways in public, and because of her silence, she was banished from the kingdom.] The mistreatment of women in general by all of the men in the play, but mainly by the king himself, is evident throughout King Lear, with the description of them being “promiscuous and disloyal,” and thus their role in the play was very miniscule. Cordelia is the exception to the promiscuous and disloyal stereotype, as she is portrayed as being a more ideal daughter, by the standards set by Shakespearean times, though according to
Richard III: A Four Act Spider and One Act Human
O’Neil Catherine O’Neil September 27, 2012 Shakespearian Tragedy Dewitt Henry Richard III: A Four Act Spider and One Act Human Scholars have debated about the essence of the tragic figure in Shakespeare’s tragedy Richard III, Richard, Duke of Glouchester and later King Richard III, toes the line between misunderstood human and complete monster. Richard does not appear as a human until the end of the play in Act V; until his downfall in the last fifth of the play, Richard has no qualities, relationships, or singular moments of conscience that qualify him as a feeling, full-fledged human as opposed to villain. In Acts I-IV of Richard III, Richard is seen as inhuman due to his lack of guilt over any of the murders he is behind, the way he ebbs and flows with his loyalties, and the lack of maternal love the Duchess of York feels toward him; because of this the audience is not able to feel that his death would cause any pain upon society. It is only in his failings in Act V that the audience is given a glimpse at his human qualities and immediately before his death begins to feel that there is something more to him and behind his plans than the villain façade he has had on during the previous four acts. If Richard had died at the end of Act IV, the audience would lack any feel of loss or grief. Richard is not burdened in the slightest by the murders he has either