Friar Laurence Essay As human beings, we often find ourselves wanting to blame somebody for someone’s mistake. That is the case of Friar Laurence. After rifting through the pages Romeo and Juliet, I believe that I have found adequate evidence that point to the fact that Friar Laurence was not the cause of the tragedy of Romeo and Juliette for he was nearly an advisor and somebody who tried to help both Romeo and Juliet to find their happy endings. It was the actions of Romeo and Juliet who led themselves to their own tragic demise, for they both have minds of their own. But I do believe the advice of Friar Laurence was well meaning but it was naïve in the assessment on how strong the feud is and shows that he did not foresee the punishments of a clandestine marriage.
For example, in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Macbeth was a king whose flaw was his vengeful nature, which led him to lose everything he had, including his life. In Julius Caesar, also written by William Shakespeare, the hero Brutus was a good man of high position whose flaw was being too trusting, and this led to his inevitable death as well. Nora, the protagonist in Ibsen's A Doll's House, does not fit into the role of a tragic hero. She didn’t have the “tragic flaw” the main characters of tragedies are supposed to have. The only real “flaw” that provided a weakness or limitation to her was the fact that she was born a woman.
He also shows a trait of caring towards Hamlet because he shows how worried he gets when Hamlet goes over to meet and talk to the ghost. He keeps his word to Hamlet plenty of times, the first being about the ghost. When Horatio tells Hamlet about the ghost, Hamlet makes Horatio swear by his sword because he doesn’t want anyone to know about the ghost or his plan to take revenge. Hamlet says to Horatio, “Never make known what you have seen tonight” (Ham 1.5.145). Hamlet trusts Horatio to keep this secret and that is exactly what Horatio does, he keeps his word with Hamlet and doesn’t tell a single soul, as he should.
In effect this makes a true friend, however some believe it was the Fool's constant remarks that drove Lear to madness. Some critics argue that The Fool actually is Cordelia or a representative of her. Others consider him to be an aspect of Lear's alter ego. Technically Shakespeare seems to use the Fool as a vehicle for pity or as a dramatic chorus. The Fools songs, riddles and jokes are a source of comic relief, used to break up the intensity of scenes.
Madness in Hamlet and King Lear The subject of madness is a major theme in two of Shakespeare’s most well-known tragedies, “Hamlet” and “King Lear”. In both of these plays, a character feigns insanity to carry out a motive - Hamlet and Edgar respectively. However, while it is made quite clear to the audience that Edgar is only pretending to be a mad beggar (“Whiles I may escape I will preserve myself, and am bethought to take the basest and most poorest shape that ever penury, in contempt of man brought near to beast”), it is somewhat less clear whether Hamlet has crossed the line and lost control of his “antic disposition”. Shakespeare gives evidence which suggests that Hamlet is sane by having three other men also witness the manifestation of the ghost of Hamlet’s father. If Hamlet were to have seen his father’s ghost by himself, there would be a greater argument for him being insane from the outset of the play.
Iago feels that the best way to do so is by manipulating Othello telling him that his wife is cheating on him with Cassio, who Iago coincidently hates as well. Iago reveals, “That thinks men honest that but seem to be so, and will as tenderly be led by the nose as asses are. I have ‘t. it is sengender’d. Hell and night must bring this monstrous birth to the worlds light” (Shakespeare 1.
He insults Polonius calling him a Whore-Monger. After this exchange Polonius remarks “Though this be madness, yet there is method in't” (II, II, 204). Meaning that Hamlet could be mad but that there seems to be intent behind his madness. When Rozencranz and Guildenstern visit Hamlet he receives them kindly until he learns they are spying for his mother. He then increases his feigned madness.
The downfall of Othello – The dramatic play Othello by William Shakespeare epitomises a tragedy, which is defined as “a literary work in which the main character is brought to ruin or suffers, especially as a consequence of a tragic flaw, moral weakness, or inability to cope with un-favourable circumstances”. Throughout the play it becomes evident that the ultimate downfall of Othello is caused by his own weaknesses in his personality and his vulnerability to those who have identified these weaknesses and prey upon them. Othello’s weakness is his trusting nature and his willingness to believe whatever he is told without question. The second character flaw is that he can be overcome by his uncontrollable jealousy. Desdemona is Othello’s wife who he is madly in love with and Iago preys upon Othello’s jealous personality and trusting nature to convince Othello of his wife’s infidelity resulting in the ultimate downfall of Othello – death.
More than these, I think Lear is motivated by his idea that he is a good man. One thing that supports is when Kent says “I’ll tell thee thou dost evil,” (Act I, Scene I, Line 175) and Shakespeare writes the king as reacting in a frenzy, going so far as to say “This moment is thy death,” (Act I, Scene I, Line 190). By portraying the king in this way, Shakespeare causes us to judge him as unstable and mental. While his actions thus far have been rash, him reacting in this way, and him banishing his daughter saying, “Here I disclaim all my paternal care, Propinquity and property of blood,” (Act I, Scene I, Lines 117-118). From these thing, it is made clear that Lear is not only rash and insecure but also thoughtless and stupid.
His disinterest in the world he knows is beautiful confirms the depressed state he is in. Hyperbole: Intentional exaggeration to create an effect. Example: “He would drown the stage with tears..” (William Shakespeare, Hamlet, 49) Function: The first player’s performance of the speech leaves Hamlet in an awed state. He then uses a hyperbole to say that if the player were to act out with the feelings that Hamlet himself had, “he would drown the stage with tears”. He uses this hyperbole to both show his admiration for the actor’s skill, and to reflect the passions that he is feeling toward his father’s death and his quest for