A Doll's House, a Tragedy? A tragedy, according to the New Oxford American Dictionary, is a play that has a melancholic ending that concerns the downfall of the main character. Aristotle defined it as “[A play] with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish its catharsis of such emotions... Every tragedy therefore must have... Plot, Characters, Diction, Thought, Spectacle, [and] Melody.” Famous tragedies include Julius Caesar and Macbeth. A Doll's House, by Henrik Ibsen, cannot be considered a tragedy because although it meets some of the requirements of Aristotle's definition, it does not fit the complete profile of this literary style.
Despite the general opinion that “Hamlet” contains the weakest women in Shakespeare’s works, the unraveling of the main plot can only be attributed to them. The first case in which we see woman as the catalyst of the play is with Gertrude being one of the main motivations for Claudius murdering his brother. Once Hamlet died, Claudius and Gertrude quickly exchanged wedding vows, maintaining the stability of Denmark during the unexpected death of King Hamlet. Hamlet continuously alludes that he knows what Claudius has done, and seeks to make him feel remorseful for his actions. He achieves this goal through a reenactment of Hamlet’s death, and the exchange of everlasting love between ‘Hamlet’ and ‘Gertrude’, played by the actors at Elsinore.
Petruchio, a wealthy and unmarried gentlemen from Verona, wishes a wife. Katherina is incredibly ill tempered and somewhat childish, however her large dowry is an irresistible temptation to Petruchio and he marries her against her vicious protests; however, due to her unfavourable temperament, he soon finds everything about her displeasing(?) and begins to ‘tame the shrew’. This taming is unconventionally achieved by (and so adequately described as) "kill[ing] a wife with kindness" (4, 1, 174). “I pray you, husband, be not so disquiet.
The Zeffirelli version of Shakespeare's Hamlet is an example of a successful portrayal, creating emotions of discontent and passion for the audience. The overall direction of this production is effective because of the cast and scenery. Franco Zeffirelli does a fantastic job of depicting discontent throughout the move. To begin, he adds in a scene technically not in the play: Hamlet Sr.'s funeral. Hamlet stares as his mother behaves melodramatically.
This creates a potential struggle to men not only for the balance of good and evil but also the ideology of sanity. Perhaps man's deception of Venetian women (femininity) being of 'perfection' and of 'spirit quiet and still' led to conceivable struggles (I.3.95-97) between the masculine characters ideology of women. Women are powerful. Just because women were restricted by society's standards, it did not mean they restrained themselves to mutual silence. In (IV.2.195) we discover that Emilia responds to Iago's commands repulsively.
Sofia Salahpour Howerter ENGWR 300 14 June 2012 Hamlet’s Love for Ophelia In the play, Hamlet and Ophelia share various scenes together in which it is confusing to determine whether Hamlet’s love for Ophelia is true or if it is just an act of madness. Hamlet claims to love her at some points but at the same time contradicts himself and denies ever loving her in the first place. I believe that in this play, Hamlet truly did love Ophelia, but then after the incident of his father’s deaths he sees and understands certain situations in which cause him to lose his respect towards women, which ultimately leads to Hamlet no longer loving Ophelia. Hamlet shows he once loved Ophelia by his love letters; however, we can clearly see he stops loving her because of his actions towards Ophelia such as calling her horrible things, denying ever loving her, and not showing any remorse for killing her father. In the play, Hamlet is portrayed as a very philosophical character that thinks and analyzes every situation to the extreme.
First, black is used as a color designation for the darkest hue, “an old black ram” (I.i.88); white, as the opposite, designates the lightest hue: “white ewe) (I.i.89). Second, black is used to designate a Moor, a Negro.” (The Rhetoric of Black and White Othello, Doris Adler, 1974) Othello must go through a great deal in order to have the society view him not just based on his skin color, but the content of his character, and here is where his relationship with Desdemona, in addition to his acts as General and his ownership of property help out. “Othello solves his semiotic dilemma - how to manifest his
By the end of this play, we see how Nora’s secret changes the relationship between the couple, as she violates the stereotypical role-play as a wife and mother in her era, which generates her inspirational growth. Nora, the main character, was first introduced as a very sheltered, immature, and optimistic woman. Helmer we see as proud of his male role in society and in the household, father-like towards his wife, and greatly cares for his appearance in others eyes. When speaking to each other, Helmer communicates to Nora as if she was his child instead of his wife. He does this by things such as calling her nicknames with negative characteristics, such as his little lark, spendthrift and featherhead.
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. Othello’s downfall is caused by his own weakness due to his trusting nature and willingness to believe anything he is told. Early in the play, it becomes evident that Othello is blind to Iago’s evil when Iago says “I am not what I am” (I.i,65). This statement foreshadows Othello’s downfall as it is his trust in Iago, which causes it. Othello believes Iago’s lies and always listens to his advice throughout the play.
Desdemona’s innocent, loyal, and honorable traits contribute to the theme that things are not always as they seem due to Othello’s failure to recognize them in his moments of jealous accusation. Desdemona’s most obvious trait is that of innocence. It is shown clearly throughout the whole play through her religious faith, dedication to Othello and her disbelief in any act of betrayal. In the beginning of the play, Othello too is dedicated and in love with Desdemona. Although, by Act IV of the play Othello is convinced, by Iago, that Desdemona is a “whore” and dishonorable to their marriage.