who hides and what is hidden? how does deceit function in the world of the play, and how does it help the play comment on life in general? a central motif in the play is trickery or deceit, whether for good or evil purposes. counterfeiting, or concealing one's true feelings, is part of this motif. everyone seems to lie; good characters as well as evil ones engage in deceit as they attempt to conceal their feelings: beatrice and benedick mask their feelings for one another with bitter insults; don john spies on claudio and hero; don pedro and his 'crew' deceive benedick and beatrice.
This is ironic, because in act two of Othello Iago’s scheme to undo the moor starts to involve more people. He begins to use Cassio, manipulate Othello, and persuade Roderigo into doing things, which will benefit no one but himself in the end. Iago uses Cassio because he wants to make him look bad in front of Othello, since he took Iago’s qualified position of lieutenant. One way Iago does this is by getting Cassio drunk. Even though Cassio did not want to drink, Iago managed to convince him to share a container of wine.
His words in the monologue convince the court that he did not use witchery to get Desdemona to marry him. The power of language and persuasion is used in Act 3 Scene 3 by Iago when he uses negative language to plant seeds in Othello’s mind of Desdemona’s unfaithfulness. Iago goes on to ask leading questions, “Did Michael Cassio, when you woo’d my lady, know of your love…Indeed?” leading Othello to ask more questions about Iago’s suspicions repeating Iago’s words such as “Indeed?” Shakespeare uses the technique of repetition when he has Othello use Iago’s words in his own speech in order to portray the shift in power from Othello
Alexander mention in his article that the only characters in the play who regard Hamlet as mad is the king and his henchman, even those were full of doubts and we can see this through the king speech when he ordered his henchman to go and talk with Hamlet and know from him why he puts on this confusion, this implies that the king understand Hamlet's strange behavior as feign and not real madness. Even Polonius; though he is the first person to declare that Hamlet is mad and has lost his mind, and the purpose of his madness is due to his love with Ophelia, yet he declares that Hamlet is clever by saying: "Thought he is mad, but there is method in it" (II.ii.203-4). This implies that Hamlet has purpose or plan for his madness; he assures that he is pretending. He ends his article by illustrating his point of view: There need no doubt, then that Hamlet's madness was really feigned.. . .
Patriarchy not only shows in commitment relationship like marriage, but also takes place in family relationship like father and daughter. When Egeus angry declares his right over Hermia and strongly denies her love for Lysander, As she is mine, I may dispose of her- Which shall be either to this gentleman Or to her death - according to our law Immediately provided in that case. (Act I, scene i, lines 40-44) Like Theseus in the first part of the play, Egeus illustrates a model of a father, who wants to gain every rights of his daughter. He points out the idea of
Shakespeare shows through Duncan, who carries a legitimate power, that only direct threats to the kingdom are punished accordingly. Illegitimate power is also shown to result in manipulated relationships. Macbeth’s relationship with Lady Macbeth is evidence of this. They were both madly in love with each other in the beginning, Macbeth greeting his mistress tenderly and saying that she is his “dearest love” (1-6-57). However as the events unfold, they become allies more than lovers in their quest to claim the throne, and Macbeth is manipulated and encouraged to do wrong.
“Prospero is a colonialist tyrant.” “Prospero is the hero of act 1 scene 2.” How far do you agree or disagree with these definitions? Prospero strikes the audience as a suspicious character that the audience are wary of, due to the unknown magic used to cause the storm in the first scene of the play. We learn this when Miranda runs up to her father, Prospero, and exclaims ‘If by your art…you have put the wild waters in this roar, allay them.” He is introduced to us as a mysterious protagonist, as act one scene two opens up with the revelation that a natural disaster had nothing to do with the shipwreck previously. This is the first time where we see Prospero’s power, and to the great lengths of how he can manipulate earthly physical elements, even so as to harm others. One could say that ‘tyrant’ is the most fitting word to identify with Prospero.
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.
In the book Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare, the entire plot of the play stems from multiple tricks that characters play on each other. Shakespeare is suggesting that tricking people is not right or wrong, for the outcome of the tricks can be beneficial or destructive, or just plain harmless. One example of how deception might be bad is when Don John, bitter about being the “backup Prince,” used trickery to get revenge. When he learned about Claudio’s feelings for Hero and their plan to marry, he was provided with great opportunity to strike everybody at once. Don John decided to spoil Claudio’s love for Hero and sabotage their marriage.
Pavankumar Bukkapatnam Prof. Hisayasu English 21 January 2015 The Tempest Formalist Analysis In The Tempest, multiple perspectives have been offered regarding the characters, especially Prospero, in Shakespeare’s work. Prospero is regarded for some as a gracious forgiver, especially working on the facts that he frees Ariel, and sympathizing with Caliban, especially after his (Prospero’s) rape of Miranda. He also can be viewed as an oppressive colonizer who had enslaved Caliban and Ariel without any mercy. However, a close examination of the utilization of sound in the play, in addition to the analysis of rhetorical devices, support a more nuanced perspective of Prospero, one that the play seems to apply to the world. The analysis of the work tends to come to a conclusion about power itself, and how it is artificially increased through noise.