A ship is “bleed and calm’d” when the wind is taken out of it’s sails, and this reflects how Iago feels at being passed over promotion by Othello. Furthermore, reiterating the point that Iago displays utter contempt for Othello, Iago states that he has to continue with being his “Moorship ancient.” Iago here has used a pun on the respectful word “worship”. His pun mocks both Othello’s race and character. Possibly the only point throughout the play, where Roderigo is perceptive, is where he
'Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.' Shakespeare's plays were written to be performed to an audience from different social classes and of varying levels of intellect. Thus they contain down-to-earth characters who appeal to the working classes, side-by-side with complexities of plot which would satisfy the appetites of the aristocrats among the audience. His contemporary status is different, and Shakespeare's plays have become a symbol of culture and education, being widely used as a subject for academic study and literary criticism. A close critical analysis of Twelfth Night can reveal how Shakespeare manipulates the form, structure, and language to contribute to the meaning of his plays.
Hence the following parallels can be drawn: Lear-Gloucester, Edmund-Goneril/Regan, Edgar-Cordelia. However, the characters are not exact replicas of their parallels. Through the use of parallels, the playwright is able to accentuate faults in the characters through their corresponding characters. How is Gloucester like Lear? Both the kind and the earl are gullible.
In William Shakespeare’s play, King Lear, Lear’s initial division of his empire between his two selfish daughters, and the banishment of his loyal daughter, cause a rupture in the Chain of Being. Even after abdicating his power, Lear still pretentiously commands others in an authoritarian and kingly way. As the plot progresses, the deterioration of his mind parallels the degeneration of his kingdom. However, Lear still finds wisdom in his madness because he is humbled and reduced to his natural state, unmodified by his superficial regality. After he abdicates his power, Lear still acts authoritarian and kingly, despite having no real power.
Shakespeare fostered his own tradition of women who control events in their plays – sometimes aided by disguise sometimes relying on sheer force of wit and wisdom. How far do you agree with this statement in relation to ‘much ado about nothing’? In much ado about nothing we are shown the culture and tradition of Elizabethan society at the time. We are shown the roles of men and women in society and the roles of different people in different classes. We are shown these aspects through Shakespeare’s use of comedy.
Upon his characterisation of the protagonist, Prospero, Shakespeare leaves various parallels between Prospero and himself through Prospero’s creation of the enigma that is the tempest. A parallel is also made apparent between Prospero and James the 1st in that they were both rulers by divine right and delved into peculiar philosophies. Shakespeare utilises the tempest as an allusion within an illusion. The political relevance of the tempest is very lucid; he addresses the political instability amongst the nobles of the play as a connotation to the current political problems in Jacobean England. The short terse sentences along various repetitions and imperatives serve to denote calamity in the ship.
Thesis: Shakespeare explores of the concepts of illusions through the uses of clothing and love, perception in the cases of Gloucester’s ocular blindness and Lear’s mental blindness, and the use of nature and the importance of nurture to reinforce the presence of the theme of appearance versus reality in King Lear. Intro Material: Harriet Dye begins her essay by telling readers about the “rich texture of King Lear”, saying how others have made attempts to investigate the “complex orchestration” of King Lear, and in the hope that the investigation of the sums will illumine “the magnificence of the whole”. Argumentative Units: • Illusions - Cordelia “stands in direct contrast to Lear’s tragic flaw – his inability to recognize the inner truth unless it is clothed with outer show.” - “There is no discrepancy between Cordelia’s real self and the self she exhibits to others.” - Edmund “makes Edgar appear to be something he is not. Edmund distorts the real image of Edgar to serve his own evil purposes.” Edmund creates an illusion for Gloucester. - “Edgar, the good son in disguise, pretends to lead his blind father to his death at the cliffs of Dover.
By setting this foundation, Shakespeare goes on to argue the value of genres that show imagination and irrationality and their ability to tell more truth than reality and rationality. Using the night, Shakespeare proves that in the worlds of dreams, there is more light, more truth, than day. By presenting a false and wavering love Shakespeare illuminates to the audience just to what extent the larger questions, truths, and ideas can be answered within the world of imagination in contrast to the world of reality. Shakespeare opens the play opens with a problem of love inequality. We see the lovers Lysander, Hermia, and Demetrius, who have a love triangle problem such that the two males are in love with the same woman.
Oscar Wilde knew the upper class, and he knew that the lives they lead were so dry, boring, concerned with manners and customs, and so perfectly earnest that it was almost inhuman. It is being earnest that the play mainly focuses on, as may be surmised from the title. Characters who lie to get gains are rewarded with love, and are later shown to have been lying at all. Jack, in saying that his name is Earnest, is found to be telling the truth at the revelatory end of the story, and Lagernon’s lie of being Jack’s brother is also found to be true when they find Jack’s real parents. In this way, the ‘earnestness’ of these two men is shown.
Ambition encourages Macbeth on the destruction of natural balance by fantasizing about the rewards that he will receive once he reaches his prophesized goal. Shakespeare connects clothes with titles, since they all can cover up flaws for the owner. It becomes a representation of what people are. This is hinted when Macbeth suggests, “Let’s briefly put on manly readiness, and meet i’th’ hall together” (Macbeth 2.3.133-134). This quote shows a sense of pride.