Then they were captivated by the notion of ‘star-crossed lovers’, and finally distraught when they witnessed the tragedy-stricken conclusion. And this story has the same emotional magnitude on us today as it did half a century ago. Carol Ann Duffy, gives an entirely different, more contemporary image of love in Rapture. Duffy’s poems are known to tackle issues in today’s society and develop a readers empathy with citizens often segregated from society. This collection absorbs the reader into a raw, honest state of lust, love and obsession.
Shakespeare shows through Duncan, who carries a legitimate power, that only direct threats to the kingdom are punished accordingly. Illegitimate power is also shown to result in manipulated relationships. Macbeth’s relationship with Lady Macbeth is evidence of this. They were both madly in love with each other in the beginning, Macbeth greeting his mistress tenderly and saying that she is his “dearest love” (1-6-57). However as the events unfold, they become allies more than lovers in their quest to claim the throne, and Macbeth is manipulated and encouraged to do wrong.
As Othello states boldly, “My services which I have done the signiory shall out-tongue his complaints.” Othello shows integrity, control and power. In Act 1 Brabantio arrives to kill Othello after discovering his "… daughter and the Moor are now making the beast with two backs." Othello maintains control and before anything happens he says “Hold your hands, both of you of my inclining and the rest. Were it my cue to fight, I should have known it without a prompter.” Othello demonstrates great power, influence and integrity in this scene. Jealousy is one of the main themes portrayed throughout Shakespeare’s ‘Othello’ and steadily intensifies as Iago consistently convinces Othello of his wife’s ‘wrongs’.
In the poem “Medusa” gender conflict through control is also illustrated when she says: “a suspicion, a doubt, a jealousy”. This depicts that she feels ownership over her husband and wants him to “be terrified” if he does not obey her commands. However, in “Les Grands Seigneurs” the narrator conveys that after she was “wedded, bedded … a toy, a plaything … wife” she is nostalgic for the first three stanzas to how men were towards her before she was married as she is now powerless. We can depict that there was less gender conflict before she was married. Moreover, in “Medusa” powerlessness is also portrayed when she rhetorically questions herself “Wasn’t I beautiful?
In MacBeth, we see a dramatization of man versus woman. It is, in fact, easy to view MacBeth as the victim of women; Lady MacBeth’s towering ambition, as well as the victim of the witches’ bad intentions. In support of this, Sigmund Freud suggested, as cited in Dr. Caroline Cakebread’s essay, “MacBeth and Feminism,” that Lady MacBeth’s singular raison d’etre is to overcome “the scruples of her ambitious yet tender-minded husband… She is ready to sacrifice even her womanliness to her murderous intention…” However, the feminist point of view seems to dismiss the notion of Macbeth as the victim of these multiple feminist plots, reminding us that it was he, MacBeth who killed Duncan, and Lady MacBeth who was left to sort out the mess. This male v. female power struggle is further intensified when viewed through the feminist lens, owing to the fact, described by Janet Adelman, that “In the figures of MacBeth, Lady MacBeth, and the witches, the play gives us images of a masculinity and femininity that are terribly disturbed.” (92). A feminist theory approach might have one interpret “Fair is foul, and foul is fair” as a clarion to the sexual ambiguity in the text.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to “Explorations of Powerplay”, an exhibition sponsored by Paramount and Bandai, that represents the complex interplay between people and power in various works. Our first and main part of the exhibition is William Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra. The tragedy explores how relationships between people can affect their relationships with power. Antony and Cleopatra is a perfect piece to explore powerplay, as it represents sexual powerplay, military powerplay and political powerplay. The sexual powerplay is between Antony and Cleopatra.
Wharton’s delivery of a suspenseful tale is brilliantly done by depicting the exploits of a cunning seductress through the eyes of her current prey. At first glimpse, the newly wedded Alice Waythorn is victim of being the mother of a child stricken with typhoid fever. Wharton’s introduction of Alice, in this manner, is conceivably a ploy at evoking a premature sense of sympathy from the reader. Mr. Waythorn himself is able to sense something a bit odd about Alice’s affection, but rationalizes the concern by comparing “Pros and Cons” which can be witnessed in the following passage: She was very fond of Lily-her affection for the child perhaps been her decisive charm in Waythorn’s eyes but she had the perfectly balanced nerves which her little girl had inherited, and no woman ever wasted less tissue in unproductive worry (1026). Though it seems callous at first glance, this indirect coldness to her daughter is perhaps
Shakespeare’s plays have often been acclaimed for his representation of the human condition. The play Othello focuses on relationships; between lovers, friends, masters and their servants, and enthralls the responder to express ideas of human nature. The intense relationship of Desdemona and Othello, and its ultimate destruction, is a centerpiece throughout the play that mirrors the downfall of Othello himself. This relationship exposes Othello’s weakness and its passionate nature is manipulated by Iago as a weapon to be used against the hero. The marriage between Desdemona and Othello is racked with controversy.
It shows this in certain quotes that describe and show off a character’s personality. It shows conflict that will unfold later on in the play and things that characters say display their personality and relationships with other people. In this scene Othello defends his love for Desdemona and why she has fallen in love with him, as her father believes he has used charms and spells to seduce her. Othello reveals to Brabantio that Desdemona fell in love with his stories of war and his differences to anyone she has ever met. This shows Othello and Desdemona’s devotion and commitment to each other and gives the audience an insight into the character of Othello and his origins and life of war.
Harry's theories act like a slow poison: They get into you, start reacting, and slowly but surely, they destroy you. Dorian, who enters the novel as an almost idealistic figure, is completely under the control of Lord Henry's string pulling wordiness by the end of the second chapter. However, before he controls him, he confuses him and leaves him questioning himself and his way of life. This is observable as Dorian responds "'Stop! [...] Stop!