Early on in the play (Act 2 Scene 3) the audience enjoys the jovial atmosphere alongside the characters until Malvolio abruptly ruins the mood. “Have you no wit, manners, nor honesty, but to gabble like tinkers at this time of night?” Malvolio seems to relish scolding Sir Toby and the others as he includes the simile “gabble like tinkers” which proves he has taken the time to select the right words to insult them with. The audience dislikes him for disrupting the fun of the scene whilst it provides a specific motive for the conspirators to plot his deception. Shakespeare uses one detail about Malvolio to instantly turn the audience against him: Malvolio is a puritan. At the time the play was written, puritans were not popular with the general public because of their miserable rules against most forms of entertaintment.
This shows how unfair the targeting of Othello to be sabotaged was. These facts about the play tell us that Othello was targeted unjustly. The way Shakespeare writes Othello as being a noble and loyal man to those people of greater status in Venice such as the Senator, Brabantio, but is played by the strings of Iago, a standard class Venetian citizen. This shows how out of control Othello was of the whole situation that unfolds with Iago. Iago begins to tell Othello things that make Othello finally become doubtful of his wife’s faithfulness.
They are corrupt because they have social status but then they abused this power. Furthermore, the villains in both The Duchess of Malfi and Measure for Measure have the characteristics of Machiavellian villains. Per contra, Angelo is not like the villains in The Duchess of Malfi because he does not have an assistant to help him and does not have a personal vendetta against another in the play. He just wants to eliminate crime but, eventually, contradicts his own laws he is enforcing by asking Isabella to give her body to him sexually to save her brother: ‘You must lay down the treasures of your body To this supposed, or else to let him suffer: What would you do?’ (Act 2 Scene iv) This quotation tells us that; females of that day and age would have done exactly what they were told to do, on command if told to. We can see this by looking at the language of this quotation.
‘Men were deceivers ever.’ To what extent can it be argued that Shakespeare’s presentation of men’s attitudes to women in ‘Much Ado about Nothing’ allows for comedy? In Much Ado about Nothing, it can be equally argued that men’s attitudes towards women are actually used for comedy purposes, and it can be argued that their attitudes aren’t. For this argument, the relationship between Beatrice and Benedick at the start of the play can be seen as comical to the audience, as they both claim to dislike each other and take pleasure in making rude remarks to one another. On the other hand, the relationship between Hero and Claudio could be seen as quite dark to the audience, as there are accusations and trust issues between the two. The quote ‘men were deceivers ever’ comes from Act 2 Scene 3 of the play, from the song that Balthasar sings.
This play exhibits tragedy because, though Proctor had many opportunities to change his fate, he chooses his demise because his tragic flaw prohibits him from doing otherwise. John Proctor is the tragic hero of the play, “The Crucible.” He has a high social status in the town, yet, because of his tragic flaw, he cannot bring himself to prevent his own death and tragic downfall. Proctor exhibits these tragic traits, making this play a tragedy of self-respect prevailing over shame and public
Should not Shylock’s daughter Jessica be labelled a villain for her deceptive and larcenist actions and Antonio for his bigotry and obstinacy? And what of Bassanio; does he not selfishly and irresponsibly borrow money from Antonio, unable to afford to repay him, in order to further his personal wants? Each of these characters exhibits wanton villainous behaviour, with some performing more acts than others. They execute deceptive and vengeful acts in different forms, with most also being prejudiced in one way or another. Shylock could well be the ‘supposed’ villain of Shakespeare’s play, for he is Antonio’s enemy, and Antonio, being quite obviously the plays most prominent and most famous character, is quite possibly made out to be the main character of the play, rather than Bassanio, or even Shylock himself.
After hearing of Romeo’s banishment and being forced to marry Paris in the upcoming days, Juliet rushes to the Friar for advice. Although betraying Juliet, the Nurse’s decision to side with Lady Capulet was probably one of the smartest choices in the play. Unlike the Friar, the Nurse realized how outcome of Romeo and Juliet’s marriage could end badly. The Friar continues his irresponsible and childish actions by conjuring up a plan and potion in a matter of minutes. “Friar Lawrence, less ambitious and more desperate than his fellow manipulators, does not hope that Juliet’s death will dissolve the families’ hatreds but only that it will give Romeo and chance to come and carry her off” (Snyder).
You can tell that nobody takes them seriously, especially when Leonato shows no sign of gratefulness that he has captured two men by simply saying “go drink some wine” (Shakespeare 46) As we look into the theories of comedy for the play, it is clear that an option is Freud’s theory. He believes that the essence of comedy and laughter come at the extent of others. Comedy is often a disguised form of anger or aggression. We find ourselves, as well as some of the characters in the play, laughing at the fact that some of the characters are being manipulated into believing one thing from another. Much Ado About Nothing was a difficult play for me to understand at first, but after watching the play and going back and reading it again it definitely helped my understanding of the sarcasm happening by the characters.
The Merchant of Venice: The Dehumanizing Effects of Ignorance One cannot look at the dehumanizing effects when one does not play a role in the ignorant undertaking. In William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, the author writes about ignorance in a way that dehumanizes the people of Venice. Firstly, Shylock-a Jewish resident in Venice dehumanizes Antonio as an act of revenge and ignorance. Secondly, Antonio-a resident in Venice, shows ignorance towards the Jewish community which makes Antonio racist towards the Jews. Lastly, the Portia-the beautiful women looking for a Sutter, shows ignorance towards the men who so badly want her love.
They are described as vague, uncultured, unskillful, coarse, and people who have a cruel background. In other words, they are described as unintelligent and barbaric person. As the play goes, Othello’s character does not fit the racist description that is given by Iago and Roderigo. However, it is impossible for a reader to think that Othello is not being discriminated and criticized by the other characters. As a matter of fact, Othello is race because of his skin, lips, and secret marriage.