He’s useless tricks display vanity and indicate his wastefulness to the audience. The Tempest is a problem play; Prospero is presented with the opportunity for spiteful revenge but realises the importance of forgiveness. Doctor Faustus is a morality play; he never realises the importance of repentance and banishes any opportunity to save himself, which results in his eternal damnation in hell. In the first act of the play, the audience is confronted with a magic fuelled spectacle. We see Prospero with the help or Ariel conjures the tempest.
The whole play is about how “nothing is but what is not” (1.3.145). The witches' lines in the first act: "Fair is foul, and foul is fair: Hover through the fog and filthy air" are often said to set the tone for the rest of the play by establishing a sense of confusion. Indeed, the play is filled with situations where evil is depicted as good, while good is rendered evil. The witches contribute a colossal amount to the collapse of Macbeth’s character. If they had not aroused Macbeth’s curiosity with the prophecies of glory, he would not have been tarnished with evil deeds.
In the play Measure for Measure we see Shakespeare use contrast through and between the characters to show good and evil, but also to show how it isn’t as simple as that. We see how the ‘God like’ Duke can be seen in simple terms as good and the ‘Satan’ like Angelo seen in simple terms as evil; however, both could be seen as the opposite i.e. Duke as evil and deceiving and Angelo as good. The fact that both of the characters are confusing and hard to pin point could shows how the characters are not as easy to understand as first thought. In the play there is a huge contrast between the God like figure of the Duke and the ‘fallen Angel’ or ‘Satan’ character of Angelo, again as mentioned above on a simple level as ‘good and evil’.
A paradox is aimed to create an understanding when two self contradictory phrases are juxtaposed and hence, it is used to underline a specific statement for which the audience may perceive as an insight for future events, a motif, a theme or even a countless entendre. Throughout the play Macbeth, Shakespeare is able to incorporate various paradoxes into his play most notably ‘’fair is foul and foul is fair’’. The use of this paradox opens a threshold and highlights imperative themes in the play such as good and evil, depicted by the witches, empowerment and masculinity portrayed by Lady Macbeth, and also, loyalty and treachery in relation to King Duncan. The paradox also reveals several motifs of the film, and an insight into certain characteristics. The paradox, ‘’fair is foul and foul is fair’’ appears as a rhyming couplet at the end of Act 1, it also acts as a double entendre, as it can be perceived as that the witches are describing themselves, their appearances our foul, though their prophecies are appealing and hence, fair for Macbeth.
Like a foul for one can be fair for the other. It is a paradox that signifies that there is no significant of good and bad things as their role can be reversed. This quote is predicting the evil that will cloud Macbeth’s judgements. 2. What is the significance of Shakespeare beginning the play with the witches?
The unifying function of the paradox is sustained by Shakespeare on different levels in the play, through techniques such as juxtaposition and irony. At first reading, the witches seem to insinuate that what appears good is evil and what appears evil can be good, implying that noble values of goodness and beauty are reversed in the confused atmosphere (“fog and filthy air”). The really frightening word is “is”. According to the three witches what is fair – good, beautiful, right – is foul – ugly, shameful, wicked. The two things are identical.
However, not all of Shakespeare's works are romantic comedies or heartfelt sonnets. In fact, some of his works of literature prove to contain evil undertones which accompany his main ideas. For example, while including power and control as a theme in The Tempest many characters are forced into a virtual power struggle for their independence and control of the island. As a result, good vs. evil is born into The Tempest forcing one another to abuse their power, in hopes of prospering and ruling out in the end. Even though Shakespeare opens The Tempest with thunder and lightning, evil was present before the play ever began.
Hamlet essay The individual grapples with “The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune”. How does Hamlet symbolise human adversity within the play? In the play hamlet, William Shakespeare reflects the human struggle between emotion and logic demonstrating the individual conflict experienced when facing the “slings and arrows” of life. Shakespeare’s characters reflect the Elizabethan contextual concerns with logic, reflecting the humanist values of the intellectual of the time, contrasted with passion of the individual when faced with daily conflicts within the amoral society of Hamlet’s Denmark. Hamlet explores the universal concerns of humanity with the utilisation of symbolism and metaphors to emphasise hardship from an eloquent, divergent perspective.
How Is Imagery Used to Conclude the Tragedy of Othello in Act V, Scene II Shakespeare uses different types of imagery in Othello. In this particular scene, he uses religious, environmental and mythological imagery to conclude the tragedy in Act V, Scene II as well as the opposing ideas of light and dark. These themes are used to foreshadow the downfall of Othello and to create a more established atmosphere of hopelessness and tragedy for the audience. Shakespeare uses religious imagery a use of dramatic irony to help prove that Desdemona is pure and true, and because of this, will go to heaven, even if Othello believes her to be untruthful. It is introduced in this scene in Othello’s soliloquy where he says “flaming minister”.
In literature does evil ever triumph, but do they not conquer? Someone once said “In literature, evil often triumphs, but never conquers,” which in another word means that evil might win in some way but over all evil will never triumph. In William Shakespeare's play MAcbeth we see representations of the quote been valid. As well as in Arthur Millers novela Death of a Salesman which also gives genuine examples of the quote beem correct. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth the protagonist Macbeth is a noble and honorable Thane that gets misguided.