Mr Rochester uses the gypsy disguise to expose Blanche as a spoilt, shallow brat, and using the disguise he tries to uncover Jane's true feelings. Suspicious of the gypsy, Jane eventually reveals Mr Rochester and "the play is played out". This incident reminds us that though he is one of the upper class, he is more intellectually orientated and genuine than the others. The theme of acting is accentuated by the playing of charades as entertainment for the houseguests. The party go to great lengths to perfect the
In the play ‘Educating Rita’ cruelty and cynicism feature a great deal. One of the main characters, Frank, is cynical. Frank’s personality portrays him as a miserable old man who cannot see the good in anybody, including Rita. For example, Frank thinks that Rita is only trying to change herself because it will look good to others when they meet her rather than seeing that she is really trying to change her life for the better, not for selfish reasons. When Frank is on the phone to Julia he refers to Rita as “some silly woman” and this portrays him to be cynical because even though he has never met Rita he is already making assumptions about her in a negative manner.
‘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.
Like Cordelia, the Fool is honest, but his comical language masks his honesty. The Fool enters the play while Cordelia exits, which most Shakespearean scholars suggest that the Fool is a spiritual twin that connects with Cordelia-“Prithee, nuncle, keep a schoolmaster that can teach thy fool/to lie: I would fain to learn to lie”-because he leads Lear onto the road of sanity and truth and when Cordelia reenters she represents his heart and sanity that have been reborn-“Ay, madam; in the heaviness of his sleep/we put fresh garments on him.” However, when the Fool enters the play, he wastes no time and reminds Lear of “nothing.” Indeed, there is a subversion of values, by dividing his kingdom he has become the “all licens’d Fool.” The Fool also tells Lear that he has become “an O without a figure,” because he has given away his scepter, his rod-which represents his manhood-and his whip which suggest that he has become the child to his daughters. The Fool like Edmund is a luminal character because he is sui generis. He cannot be labeled because he is a wise man and a Fool. Throughout the play he is marginalized because he is a Fool, but since he is the Fool no one pays attention to him and he uses this title as an advantage to speak of the truth.
These works have a similar villain. Tybalt of Romeo and Juliet is similar to Don John in Much Ado About Nothing in that both characters do not approve of the lover‘s relationships and wish to break them up. Furthermore, Romeo and Juliet are similar to Claudio and Hero, who are the leading couples in each play. The comic relief in each play is the watch in Much Ado About Nothing and the servants in Romeo and Juliet. Also, Mercutio and Benedick are both scornful of love.
In Act II where there is a party in Leonatos house Beatrice talks to a masked man and tell awful things about Benedick to him. “He is the prince’s jester: a very dull fool…” This is telling u that Beatrice knows that the masked men is Benedick but she wants to make him feel bad. After that Benedick explodes and go talk with Don Pedro. “But that my Lady Beatrice should know me, and not know me! The prince’s fool!
“Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain,” advice that would have served Polonius well. Both L. Frank Baum's Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Shakespeare’s Hamlet had had a common theme, lying and deception. Lies and deceit affect each central character of Shakespeare’s Hamlet as they develop on social, psychological and moral levels. Prince Hamlet, the protagonist, is morally opposed to deception and constantly craves truth. Hamlet's apparent psychological state as the play progresses changes from that of a scholar, to that of a madman, though contradictorily this change is in itself a deceptive act.
Him being drunk in this scene allows Shakespeare to develop his character both positively and negatively through an example of malapropism. He mishears a question asked of him by Olivia and ultimately confuses the word ''lethargy'' with ''lechery.'' Although the result of this is comic, it is also quite a crude joke and is an example of 'bad comedy'. This shows that Toby has a rude, inappropriate side to him. The reader second guesses their first opinion of him and sees a selfish side to him, as he is drunk at his cousins funeral with no regards to other peoples feelings.
The Fools songs, riddles and jokes are a source of comic relief, used to break up the intensity of scenes. The Fool appears to have a deceptively simple part in the play when in actual fact his role is of key significance. The Fool and Lear have a fascinating relationship throughout the play. Lear seems to depend on his Fool increasingly to be his voice of reason or his conscience, because he reminds Lear of all his mistakes and manipulates his feelings into realising them. This is a great irony as the King who is supposed to be wise is in-fact a fool, yet the Fool himself is full of
Iago believes “bewixt my sheet He’s [Othello] done my office”, meaning Othello has had sexual relations with his wife, Emilia. Iago’s pride has been severely bruised, he now feels displaced in his private life by Othello and in his working life by Cassio. Reading on in the play, Othello seems to be a very moral character, a complete contrast to Iago. We see how in love Othello is with Desdemona and as an audience we find it very hard to believe that this is true, Othello would never do such a thing.