'The Fool is more important to the play than he may at first seem.' By considering the dramatic presentation of the Fool, evaluate this view. The Fool is more than just a jester who is present to provide some comic relief in the tragedy of King Lear; like many of Shakespeare’s fools, he is shown as a highly intelligent character who the audience likes not just for his entertainment, but his insightfulness. Therefore, he is central both to the plot, as he criticises and advises Lear, potentially setting his later clarity into the motion, and to the audience’s understanding of the characters in the play. The first impression most have of the Fool is that his presence serves as form of comic relief, in order to set a lighter tone to the play; however, because of this, his death is crucial to the bleak ending of the play.
His comment comes across as sarcastic as he is mindful, and perhaps jealous, of the fact that his lover’s father wishes her to marry another man - Demetrius. This therefore makes the play a dramatic comedy as although the sarcasm may be amusing; the multiple love obstacles the characters must overcome make it dramatic. Next, Lysander’s insults accentuate the genre of the play, ‘upon this spotted and inconstant
This is where one realizes how well Shakespeare shows characterization towards Oberon being manipulative because he orders Puck to put the love in idleness flower on someone with Athenian clothing, he used the same flower on Titania while she slept to help him get the Indian boy, and his reaction to finding out Titania fell in love with an ass. ‘Thou shalt know the man by the Athenian garments he hath on.’ –Oberon (2.1.163) (2.1.164) This line shows that Oberon is manipulative because he is ordering Puck to go out and retrieve the love in idleness flower for him so he can use it for his own use. The love in idleness flower is basically a love potion because one just has to rub the petals on the eyelids of someone sleeping and the first living thing the victim sees when they wake up is whom they fall in love with, no matter the circumstances. Puck, being the loyal servant he is does find someone in Athenian clothing but little did he know that it was none other than Lysander, Hermia’s love. Oberon is especially manipulative towards Puck because he knows that Puck is his loyal servant and will do anything for him no matter what it is, so he takes advantage of it.
They are both imaginary figures which might be the reason why they are given the power to modify human’s fate and lifestyle. Titania evolves Nick Bottom’s life as she treats him like a king or her equal because of her husband and Puck’s prank. After Titania is released from her delusion, she is disgusted by Bottom’s visage and abandons him in the middle of the forest. On the other hand Bottom believes that all of the event was a dream and creates a ballad about his dream. Oberon who initiates the pranks not only changed Bottom and Titania’s lives but also Lysander, Hermia, Helena, and Demetrius.
Early on in the play (Act 2 Scene 3) the audience enjoys the jovial atmosphere alongside the characters until Malvolio abruptly ruins the mood. “Have you no wit, manners, nor honesty, but to gabble like tinkers at this time of night?” Malvolio seems to relish scolding Sir Toby and the others as he includes the simile “gabble like tinkers” which proves he has taken the time to select the right words to insult them with. The audience dislikes him for disrupting the fun of the scene whilst it provides a specific motive for the conspirators to plot his deception. Shakespeare uses one detail about Malvolio to instantly turn the audience against him: Malvolio is a puritan. At the time the play was written, puritans were not popular with the general public because of their miserable rules against most forms of entertaintment.
Joey Wong 9K “Lord, what fools these mortals be!” To what extent do the human characters in ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ suggest Puck is correct? Set in ancient Athens, William Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream utilises the universal emotion of human love to explore the place of imagination in the ordered world. The foolishness of the young lovers Lysander, Demetrius, Helena, and Hermia corresponds to Puck’s exclamation ‘Lord, what fools these mortals be!’ Yet the fairies, Titania and Oberon, act equally as foolish as the lovers, contradicting Puck’s statement that it is only humans that are fools. Furthermore, the mechanicals, the Athenian King and Queen Theseus and Hippolyta are arguably not as foolish as the young lovers, but mature characters thereby also disagreeing with Puck’s statement. All characters are foolish to an extent, some more than others, but this foolishness in turn assists them in the process of becoming mature and learning the importance of characters and rationality.
Shakespeare and Marlowe use trickery and deception to present their characters with certain qualities. Prospero is presented as powerful and vengeful at the beginning by conjuring the tempest using magic to trick the characters on board. Throughout the play he becomes wiser and leans the values of forgiveness of those who have deceived him. Faustus is a character that is put in the position of power and doesn’t use it for valid purposes. He’s useless tricks display vanity and indicate his wastefulness to the audience.
Othello says to her “It gives me wonder great as my content to see you here before me. O my soul’s joy!” (2.1.199-200). These beautiful and loving words are soon changed to hostility and rage with the thought of Desdemona’s betrayal. Both Desdemona and Hero are accused of being unfaithful through presented “ocular proof”, they are both disgraced by the leading male role, and they are young and inexperienced in the ways of love and both women are extremely forgiving after they have been mistreated by their suitors. Much Ado about Nothing was written by William Shakespeare as a comedy, but it could have very well been turned into a tragedy comparable to Othello.
‘Men were deceivers ever.’ To what extent can it be argued that Shakespeare’s presentation of men’s attitudes to women in ‘Much Ado about Nothing’ allows for comedy? In Much Ado about Nothing, it can be equally argued that men’s attitudes towards women are actually used for comedy purposes, and it can be argued that their attitudes aren’t. For this argument, the relationship between Beatrice and Benedick at the start of the play can be seen as comical to the audience, as they both claim to dislike each other and take pleasure in making rude remarks to one another. On the other hand, the relationship between Hero and Claudio could be seen as quite dark to the audience, as there are accusations and trust issues between the two. The quote ‘men were deceivers ever’ comes from Act 2 Scene 3 of the play, from the song that Balthasar sings.
TITLE “A critical response to Ralph Berry’s “Shakespeare and the Awareness of the Audience” based on William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. The essay includes: * A: A summary of Ralph Berry’s argument. * B: An evaluation of the effectiveness of the argument. CRITICAL RESPONSE * A. Renowned Shakespearean critic Ralph Berry, in his critique of William Shakespeare’s most-widely recognized and appraised comedies, Twelfth Night Or What You Will, entitled “Shakespeare and the Awareness of the Audience”, seeks to highlight the audience’s response to the play in its entirety, arguing moderately well and exploring the character of Sir Toby, Maria and Malvolio, and the joke that has been taken too far.