Prospero says that the magic “shall dissolve” (4.1.171) and “leave not a rack behind” (4.1.173), revealing that he will give up on magic. He then realizes that his time is short and that he is getting old, so he decides to “still [his] beating mind” (4.1.180) and think about his decision on revenge. At certain parts of Prospero’s monologue, he does not speak in iambic pentameter. The lack of iambic pentameter when he says “Bear with my weakness. My old brain is troubled” (4.1.176) suggests his old age and state of tiredness.
This play goes to show the flaws and attributes of Macbeth’s character. In the play Macbeths says “My thought, whose murder is yet fantastical, shakes so my single state of man that function is smothered in surmise, and nothing is, but what Is not” (1.3 . 139- 142) . His thoughts are tending towards the murderer, he is hinting that things may not always as they seem. This quote shows the reader that Macbeth is thinking of others but he is
King Lear has a large cast of characters that can be classified as either loyal or deceitful. By the End of Act 1 the dissemblers Goneril and Regan have deceived King Lear, whereas in the secondary plot Edmund betrayed his half-brother Edgar and deceived his father, the Earl of Gloucester. As Goneril and Regan have profited, Edmund too intends to possess his sibling’s share by deception. In his soliloquy, Edmund reveals his character and his plan for advancement. On meeting Gloucester he draws attention to the letter by seeming to want to hide it.
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.
“To be or not to be, that is the question; whether’ tis nobler in the mind to suffer...” (Shakespeare Act 3, Scene 1). This quotation proves Hamlet becomes inferior to others and the environment through his madness, causing him to express himself explicitly towards others. Hamlet’s madness not only causes his loved ones lives but it allows his “end” to come because he accepts every challenge from his opponent. Hamlet’s madness not only affects him but Ophelia, who is mentally torn apart by Hamlet. Ophelia was once flawless, but since her encounter with Hamlet she has fallen into the same madness and wants to kill herself.
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.
By saying these words to her he is crassly calling her a harlot, and making to appear that he never really loved her. Ophelia made one decision and that was to love Hamlet, and now he is using her actions to make her feel inferior and sinful. Up to this point in the play, Shakespeare depicted Hamlet as a mad man hell-bent on avenging his fathers suspect death, however: his cruel outburst at Ophelia is not a turning point in the story in which he goes from being a hero to being a cold-hearted oppressor. Hamlet tells Ophelia that she will have to ‘marry a fool’ because ‘wise men’ would know better than to marry her; he yells at her ‘get thee to a nunnery’, and yet the way it fits into the plot makes it seem almost expected. As the plot progresses Ophelia begins to lose her mind, resulting in her eventually suicide, but at no point his Hamlet called out for his harsh words against her in a significant way.
Macbeth’s servant informs him of the approaching soldiers, MacDuff among them, and Macbeth’s boldness disappears. This can be seen when he says, “I am sick at heart/ when I behold—Seyton, I say! — this push/will cheer me ever or disseat me now” (5.3.19-21). This is when he first challenges his delusions, Macbeth no longer thinks of himself as invincible. Macbeth instead begins to realize that losing his throne is highly possible.
Act 3 Scene 4 is the main turning point for Hamlet’s madness. The scene begins with a confrontation between Gertrude and Hamlet. Gertrude: “Hamlet, thou hast thy father much offended” Hamlet: “Mother, you have my father much offended” The use of stichomythia in this conversation creates a sense of violence between the characters. It also confirms to the audience that Hamlet’s madness is still a performance, because he can respond quickly and with wit. When this is juxtaposed with Ophelia’s legitimate insanity, it becomes clear that Hamlet is still performing.
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.