Tragedy is said to be further represented in Shakespeare’s use of opposites or antithesis. Suggested in Romeo’s oxymoronic prophetic- “Here’s much to do with hate, but more with love. Why then, O brawling Love! O loving hate” (I i.162-164) Along with omnipresent motifs of light and darkness, youth and age. Overall this scene of opposites is set within context of the lovers that are opposites in family caught in a feud that ultimately leads to tragedy.
Moreover, the different mediums enable the audience to explore the performative nature of identity and the individualistic nature of ambition and how the different contexts respond to and portray this. Ambition and identity in Richard the Third are overwhelmingly portrayed in a negative light, ultimately resulting in dire consequences; in an Elizabethan context individualism and ambition reflected a person striving to grasp what was not due to them - ultimately, opposing God’s will. Richard, in the play, is represented as both villain and protagonist. We are made aware of Richards duplicitous nature and his evil aspirations as early as Act 1 Scene 1 where he states “I am determinèd to prove a villain” a self referential (and metadramatic in nature) pun which brings about questions of determinism and free will, themes that are explored throughout the play; there is ambiguity around whether or not Richard actually has autonomy over his nefarious deeds, which he goes about plotting. In keeping with his Elizabethan context, Shakespeare can not be seen to oppose the chain of being, the hierarchical chain of the period where a king was at the top,
However, Shakespeare presents Benedick’s change in a more positive and light-hearted manner, whilst Macbeth’s change revolves around negativity and wrong-doing as the approach to each individual genre is different, where comedies are humorous and happy, whilst tragedies are gloomy and grief-stricken. INTRO: The opening scene of the play, ‘Much Ado About Nothing’, is significant as Shakespeare introduces the genre of the play as a romantic comedy through the comic names given to Benedick and Beatrice by each other. Beatrice nicknames Benedick as “Signor Mountanto”, which uses sexual innuendo expressing their love hate relationship, created by the definition of the word ‘montanto’ (technical term for an upward thrust in fencing). This insulting, but hilarious comment would have only been understood by the Shakespearean audience. Opposing this, Benedick personifies disdain in the form of Beatrice, by calling her “Lady Disdain”, suggesting that she is in fact, the epitome of disdain or contempt.
How does Shakespeare use the interactions between the central character and two other characters to explore key ideas? Character interaction as a language technique is constant through the tragedy of Macbeth, and is thoroughly presented throughout the play by William Shakespeare, to evoke meaning and influence opinions. Shakespeare uses the interactions between the titular character, Macbeth, and other characters, namely Lady Macbeth and Duncan, to explore the key ideas of the corrupting power of unchecked ambition, notions of leadership, and the issues that arise between the relationships between men and women. The tragic focus of the play, Macbeth, descends into murder and betrayal, and this consequently eventuates in his downfall. In Macbeth, ambition is presented as a dangerous quality, and can tarnish even the purest of souls.
However, the most incredible of all these passages is found in Act 4, Scene 1, Lines 164-177, where Macbeth contemplates his inner thoughts to himself. Here, Macbeth speaks to time, providing the audience with a more in depth image of its importance. Also, Macbeth’s diction is short and fierce, further pushing the play’s theme of insanity slowly taking over Macbeth’s mind. Lastly, the passage faultlessly illustrates Macbeth’s fatal flaw of ambition slowly ruining his inner being. With these things taken into account, it will be effortless for one to show just how lovely this passage is
Hamlet explores the universal concerns of humanity with the utilisation of symbolism and metaphors to emphasise hardship from an eloquent, divergent perspective. Simultaneously, the application of allusions (and biblical allusions) reinforces human adversity from a context-driven perspective. Furthermore, Shakespeare’s exploitation of soliloquys within the play provides the audience with an understanding of characters’ feelings and emotions, which further exacerbates readers’ superficial knowledge. The play hamlet elucidates contextual concerns of human adversity in the Renaissance through
A very good example of black humor can be found at the very beginning of the story itself: Montresor’s had "vowed revenge" against Fortunato, but he decided to mask his real feelings by outwardly appearing friendly towards him. "I continued as was my wont, to smile in his face." This grim irony of situation results in harsh 'black humor' with Montresor remarking sarcastically, this helps us have a more clear understanding of the story as well of making it more interesting, as, even though we have been told from the beginning that he’s going to kill Fortunato, there is a constant feeling of mystery and doubt that
Furthermore, in his mini-soliloquy in Act 3 Scene 1 Macbeths says the murder of King Duncan “put rancours in the vessel of my peace”. This shows he is being tormented with a constant reminder of his crime and sins and this can be perceived as guilt coming out by the audience. Another line from one of Macbeth’s soliloquies after killing Duncan is “things bad begun make strong themselves by ill” this shows that whilst he feels guilty for the serious crimes he has committed he has convinced himself that killing more will make his conscious strong again and not as vulnerable to guilt. In Act 3, Scene 3 of Hamlet, Claudius has a similar problem
This lets the audience gain an understanding of the motifs such as evil intentions, thoughts and counterparts in the human nature behind both corresponding literature. Earthly desires erupt from aspects of human nature as we gain the tendency to ponder on malignant thoughts. Shakespeare’s use of archetype in the play Othello examines this concept. He has manifested one of literature’s most complex archetypical villains, Iago, as a vehicle to convey the harsh and self-centred human nature that lies within us. Having not received the promotion, recurring motifs such as jealousy, greed and revenge overcloud Iago’s mind.
William Shakespeare conveys a recurring motif throughout the tragedy ‘Othello’ of the power that Jealousy and Revenge have on influencing the characters decisions, and the danger of Appearance versus Reality. This motif is evident as Iago, the psychotic antagonist, performs a soliloquy during Act 1 Scene 1, where he explores these key concerns and main ideas of deception, betrayal and arrogance, which are typical of the play as a whole. Shakespeare uses thematic concerns and language techniques to show how Iago’s ambiguous personality and manipulative nature emphasise the main messages portrayed. Firstly, the power of Jealousy is used in the play to convey the motivation behind Iago’s vengeful plot and to foreshadow a betrayal later on: “We cannot all be masters, nor all masters cannot be truly followed”. Iago’s jealousy of Othello is shown by the envy of him being a master, In context, Othello was a Moor, the racial prejudice in the Elizabethan era was that a Moor was considered inferior to Venetian men; this would’ve made Iago insecure as he failed to be promoted by someone of a lower social class than him, thus leading to his cynical plan; “cannot be truly followed” this shows Iago’s pessimistic nature as he foreshadows his betrayal as one of deception, rather than directly abandoning Othello, telling the audience that Iago will follow him, but not faithfully, and with plan to deceive.