She threatened Macbeth, ‘live a coward in thine own esteem’ (Act 1 Scene 7), by questioning his manhood and calling him a coward. She seemed to be in control and took leadership over her husband usually dictating his actions. She had him in the palm of her hand. The one time when Macbeth decided to do what was right and stand up to his wife he failed and still went along with her plan. The one time when we knew that Lady Macbeth was still human and still had feelings was towards the end of the play when the guilt drives her mad and she commits suicide.
‘CONFLICT IS AT THE HEART OF MACBETH’ Choose two examples of conflict within the play, Macbeth, and explore how each is used to develop Shakespeare’s purpose. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, conflict is definitely at the heart of the main character Macbeth. This is portrayed though the conflicting dynamics of the play, such as ambition, gender, corruption and deception, appearance vs. reality and duality. Shakespeare has implemented a broad array of language conventions, characterisation and structures in order to enhance these ideas. Firstly, ambition is a major internal conflicted … within Macbeth.
Richard III laughs as he ruses Lady Anne into believing that he killed her husband and father because of her beauty. “Was ever woman in this humor wooed?” Richard when he’s alone, he mocks her because she fell for his hoax. Richard was actually a very smart man and very deceiving at the same time. The beginning of act 1 starts with this heartfelt speech of Richard speaking of how he feels about his brothers and how he will reach the top. Richard is bitter, deformed, not loved, and sickened by peace, so he will set his brothers up for their death and rise up.
But it isn’t just a role reversal in her behaving as a man might. Lady Macbeth is more indecent and conniving because she has maintained her manipulative feminisms which ironically diminish her husband, making him appear weak and without resolve. In the end when she finally confronts her own conscience to know how horrible she has been, the Lady collapses, disintegrates and disappears. How awful. Over and over and over again Lady Macbeth challenges her husband’s manhood and his will to kill and seize Duncan’s throne in Act I:
Ben Waller Mrs. Callaham Honors English II November 15, 2013 Antigone The tragic hero in the play Antigone is the main character Antigone. She stands up for what she believes in and faces the punishment that she doesn't deserve. Creon wants Antigone and her sister to die because he is afraid they are going to steal the thrown from him, but in the end everything turns to the worst. Antigone dies with a clean conscience after burying her brother even though she knew she would die. Antigone was born into the royal family.
Hamlet portrays falsity when using rage against Ophelia after discovering she has been apart of a plot of revenge. He uses this as an opportunity to deny his love for her and degrade her until she felt horrible about her self. “I did love you once but you should have not belived me; for virtue cannot so inoculate our old stock but we shall relish of it. I loved you not.”(3.1.114-119). It becomes clear that Hamlet did truly love Ophelia, yet hid it because he was a coward.
Richard at the beginning of the play reveals his plot to kill his brother Clarence in order to eliminate successors to the throne. Act 1 Shakespeare’s use of pun in the line ‘Brother, farewell,’ is said by the Duke of Gloucester with such earnestness that it is interpreted as a simple departure by George, however, there is an underlying message of ‘rest in peace Clarence’ which is later exposed in Richard’s aside. In Act 5, after the brutal death of Richard, pondering how England has remained under a time of tyranny and betrayal, with the use of alliteration, Richmond says as a part of his ending speech “brother blindly shed the brother’s blood”. This, while emphasising the greed of Richard where he has lost all morality and killed his biological brother in order to gain power, further emphasises Shakespeare’s indirect intention to bring forward the theme of karma. It also targets Elizabethan audience obliquely as it displays Shakespeare as an authentic man who believes in fate.
Shakespeare uses a good range of language devices to show Macbeths shifts in power throughout the play. Techniques such as symbolism, emotive language and masculine iambic pentameter along with many others that I will be talking about were used effectively by Shakespeare. Firstly in act 1, scene 5 symbolic gesture is employed by Shakespeare to represent his plot of power shifts and the
So he plots his revenge on Othello by manipulating Roderigo's love for Desdemona (Othello's wife) and attempts to destroy Othello's life and everything he has worked for. In The Crucible envy is represented by a girl named Abigail Williams, who is envious of Elizabeth Proctor also known as the wife of John Proctor (the love of her life). She envies the love that John has for Elizabeth and attempts to destroy her and their marriage. She accuses Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft in attempt of getting rid of her. Then tries to win over John, but he is faithful now and then turns her plan against her in attempt to save his wife.
Hamlet in his first soliloquy demonstrates his disgust that his mother has allied herself in love and in politics with her late husband’s brother, so soon after his death, “frailty, thy name is woman... to post with such dexterity to incestuous sheets”. Claudius is clearly established as the villain in Hamlet, murdering his own brother and then plotting to kill Hamlet. He lies and is deceitful toying with the notion that the appearance of things is not their reality. The audience is privy to the ‘reality’ of Claudius ‘deed’, and of his guilt, through an aside, climactically stating, “then is my deed to my most painted word. O heavy burden!”.