It may be hard to read Shakespeare for some, but for others who can take the time and understand the “ingredients” that it took to create this amazing play, love it and bask in it. Red, sticky, and warm. Three words that make a reader think of blood. Macbeth is said to be Shakespeare’s bloodiest play, with blood being used approximately a hundred times throughout the play. Blood means death, death means drama.
Lady Macbeth: Shakespeare’s Modern Day Medea Author and critic Judith Cook explains, “Lady Macbeth…has continued to intrigue and puzzle most commentators [and] critics over the centuries” (120). Lady Macbeth’s character is intriguing in that she is strong, persuasive, and committed, and Shakespeare understood the importance of presenting interesting characters. Former British professor Emrys Jones writes, “Much of Shakespeare’s power comes from his skill in choosing subjects that arouse interest and attention” (15). Shakespeare was a man who took what was popular at his time and adjusted those stories to create his works. In the case of Macbeth, critics have long recognized that Shakespeare borrowed extensively from Holinshed’s Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1577).
Reality of Good vs. Evil in Shakespeare’s The Tempest William Shakespeare is known for including numerous types of themes and implausible ideas within his trendy and well liked poetry and plays. Often, Shakespeare composes his works in a fashion which presents easy to understand words and phrases, as in his most popular tragedy, Hamlet. In addition, many of Shakespeare’s plays and poems are descriptive of love and affection. However, not all of Shakespeare's works are romantic comedies or heartfelt sonnets.
William Shakespeare created stories with so much detail and commotion that he was able to get inside of his audience heads, almost always without their consent or knowledge. In Henry IV, one of the most recurring themes is honor. To demonstrate honor, I think of a strong moral character and adherence to ethics and principles, which encompasses a large amount of other characteristics and qualities that I will explore. Shakespeare’s writing ability allows us to explore the many facets of honor he had woven into the play. Throughout the play, different characters expose the audience to both positive and negative examples of honor through various scenarios.
‘The Tragedy of King Richard the 3rd’ was a revolutionary play of its time due to its appeal of all classes ranging from the noblest Queen to the street pheasant. King Richard also explores the concept of what it means to be evil; Pacino’s film reflects this giving an insight on the faces, motives and free will of Richard. Shakespeare’s integrity lies in his accessibility to an audience and his ability to explore values within his plays. King Richard is a man who presents copious ideological characteristics and also throws into confusion many traditional values set into the mindsets of the Elizabethan and post-Elizabethan peoples. The opening lines of the play have Richard speak directly to the audience in the form of a soliloquy ‘Now is the winter of our discontent, made glorious by this son of York,’ this metaphor is a direct link to the character of Richard, a man who is discontent.
Without Shakespeare, a conversation between friends may not be the same. The phrases that appear in everyday conversation such as, “break the ice” and “heart of gold” would not be at our disposal if it were not for the literary genius of Shakespeare. The website, http://www.pathguy.com/shakeswo.htm, contains an ample list of phrases and terms invented by Shakespeare. He coined countless terms, such as the much over-used “swag” and the always hilarious knock-knock joke. Many parts of the English language derived from the writings of Shakespeare.
Dramatic Devices In “Othello” Shakespeare’s “Othello” is a classic example of dramatic devices at work, and while so many devices were identifiable in the play, I am going to focus on two. First, Othello is a paradigm of a tragic character, with several traits presented in evidence of his catharsis, although I shall spotlight upon his hubris. The love shared between Othello and Desdemona is a rare and brilliant one, but ends wretchedly because of Othello’s unwillingness to act out of love instead of conceit. “Othello” is one of the most famous tragedies in all of literature, and with good reason; a few of which will be given here. As evidenced by other great tragedies, the main character, that the audience has come to feel a connection with, must experience a downfall, and lose all he has worked for in life.
Every individual has his or her personal likes and dislikes in literature. For some, William Shakespeare is a godsend to the literary world and the Adam of the modern-day English language. For others, he is no more than the devil in Elizabethan dress. One thing that cannot be disputed about him, however, was his was his ability to develop round, multidimensional characters within his plays. It doesn’t matter if we have in mind the villainous Iago, the love struck Romeo, or the treacherous wife of Macbeth.
What results is one of the play’s most recognized scenes wherein Hamlet and Gertrude exchange in a befuddled discourse that examines blame, love, hate and guilt. In all of Shakespeare’s venerable works, and especially this incredible play, I have always been fond of this scene and the emotional fireworks that not only galvanize the drama but provide some of the finest moments for a pair of actors to establish their credibility on stage. In Franco Zefferelli’s 1990 film adaptation of Hamlet, this scene is played out by two astounding talents as they inhabit the skin and soul of both Hamlet and Gertrude, sprawling a gamut of emotional reactions that centralize Shakespeare’s potency in the realm of great drama. As when Hamlet first enters, he plays coy and sarcastic before exploding in rage to murder the man hiding behind the arras. Though he discovers that his victim is, in fact, not whom he was intending to kill, Hamlet’s volatile reaction sends the scene into a frenzy paralleling his heightened emotional state.
Macbeth has become one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays, and has been enjoyed and speculated over by many. The supernatural element of the play, which appeals to both the modern and Shakespearean audience, adds to the dramatic effect of the plot and to the general imagery of the play. His inclusion of witches would shock an audience of his day, while teasing a modern audience with the big question their presence imposes- Is Macbeth acting of his own desire? It is not known whether Shakespeare intended this question to surround the play, but nevertheless it is one of the reasons for it’s reputation as one of his better plays. The way a play looks on stage is as important as how it is written.