Lear praises nature which he feels that is his goddess. He prays for Goneril’s sterility or if she had a child, that it might live to return the scorn and contempt upon her which she had shown to him. Apart from this, he also makes invocations for the wind to increase during the storm scenes: ‘Blow winds, and crack your cheeks! Rage! Blow!’ Although the play is set in a pagan setting, Lear prays to the gods to expose criminals and later throughout the play, for the wellbeing of Cordelia and it is through these cries of help that we can notice that no matter how much the king prayed for righteous justice to be served that his prayers remained unanswered.
Oedipus put his time in so the city would be plague free. Teiresias whom is a blind prophet was called in to help Oedipus. “All things are known to you… My Lord Teiresias we turn to you as our only hope” (9). When Oedipus first meets Teiresias the audience thinks the king wants to help Thebes from the plague and will do anything to figure it all out. “We are pleading.
“THE FOOL HELPS KING LEAR SEE CLEARLY”. This is the hypothesis I have chosen for many reasons. Firstly, because it expresses knowledge and understanding of the plot. The play, ‘King Lear’ helps us to understand many different themes which would have been relevant to both everyday life and the isolated lives of the royal or wealthy, and would probably apply to the lives of the people who lived in the time of the play’s setting. We are taught to understand themes like sight and blindness, and foolishness through the fool’s character.
Sophocles has subliminally paints human with a high degree of fallibility but has also highlighted the aptitude of human spirit. As the play begins, we see that Oedipus is put on a pedestal line by his “suppliants”(p.1) as he delivered them from the “songstress”(p.2) curse. Indeed at the very start of the play we sense that there is a display of “human wit”(p.2), however as the play gradually unfolds we get to the conclusion that
Iago Although Iago is clearly the antagonist throughout the play, Shakespeare cleverly also utilizes the character as a confidante. His soliloquies to the audience lay out his intent and planning of the plot to the audience; to seek revenge on Othello. In addition to helping the audience understand Iago’s twisted thoughts, I believe that Shakespeare’s intent in writing in these brilliant soliloquies was to make the audience feel that they were part of the play and involved in the plot. We learn early on the relationship between Iago and Roderigo. Roderigo discloses his trust for Iago in the opening lines of the play.
Oedipus Rex is a play written by a Greek tragedy playwright Sophocles in 430 B.C. (Sophocles pg v). It is a story which transcends time and is still hold value when comparing common themes such as power and fate. In the world of Oedipus fate is a reoccurring theme which he cannot escape. In many ways the idea of fate is introduced by several characters in the play.
Alfieri immediately draws the audience into the play. Alfieri speaks to the audience directly, through his role as the chorus. They see him as someone they can believe, because he is part of them. He is also on the outside looking in. Through Alfieri’s appearance and informal language he manages to draw the audience in by running his fingers through his hair and grinning “You wouldn’t have known it, but something amusing has happened”.
As readers can see, he had been regarded as hero once. He leaved Corinth in order to protect who he had believed to be his natural parents; he figured out the riddle and saved the Thebes; he ruled the country sincerely; when the country suffered from disease, he tried his best following the oracles given by Apollo’s shrine. However, because of these good deeds Oedipus have done, he gradually found out who he really was and finally realized the oracle given when he was born came true; the oracle mentioned that he would kill his natural father and married his natural mother. As a result of discovering all of the horrible prophecies have been fulfilled, Jocasta, Oedipus’s wife and his wife as well, hanged herself. Oedipus discovered Jocasta’s body, but already died.
Language in Shakespeare's Tragedy The presentation of language in King Lear compliments Aristotle theory on the purpose of stylistic elements of language in a Shakespearean tragedy. In essence, these function in attaining a deeper insight in the action, feelings and motives of the characters. In the play, Shakespeare’s use of diction is crucial in creating a timeless dramatic world that has its own space, time, history and mythological background according to one critic. This world is a combination of both ancient Britain as well as the seventeenth century. This observation can be confirmed as factual as Shakespeare’s choice of words and sentence construction differ from the ordinary language.
He also uses a metaphor to convey his opinion that the need for love is as great as the need for food. When Orsino bemoans his love for Lady Olivia, he requests that “If music be the food of love, play on”, wishing for “excess of it” so that “The appetite may sicken and so die”. This is to be taken metaphorically as Orsino expressing his love sickness. This opening quote sets up that both that he is melodramatic and that he thinks he loves Olivia at the very start. Shakespeare uses it as opening lines to introduce the idea of love being harmful and painful from the very beginning of the play, truly making it a theme throughout the play.