Shakespeare Essays

  • Hamlet Or Amleth

    1380 Words  | 6 Pages

    Amleth versus Hamlet Hamlet is a classic story written by one of the biggest authors in history, William Shakespeare. But it is interesting to know that Hamlet is based off a story written by Saxo Grammaticus titled Historia Danica. Even though both stories have a number of comparisons, there are also many differences. However, when choosing which storyline is better, the latter one wins. Hamlet has moments which catapult it to extraordinary drama, making readers, like myself, more eager to read along.

  • Controversy Over "Who Wrote Shakespeare?"

    483 Words  | 2 Pages

    William Shakespeare has been known to be one of the best and well-known poets and play writers, but is he the one who truly wrote all of the works? Everyone, up to 1857, thought that Shakespeare was Shakespeare and no one questioned it. But, Delia Salter Bacon published a story called The Philosophy of the Plays of Shakespeare Unfolded, in which she says that other people might have been the author of the plays in which Shakespeare got credit for. The Oxfordian theory discusses that Edward de Vere, or the 17th Earl of Oxford, wrote the plays and poems originally accredited to Shakespeare. The first proposed theory of this was by John Thomas Looney in 1920, as saying that Vere would be the more probable contestant for the writings than any other alternative.

  • Summary of 'Shakespeare's Got Game'

    541 Words  | 3 Pages

    Summary: “Shakespeare’s Got Game” In the article “Shakespeare’s Got Game,” by Alicia Zadrozny we learn that Shakespeare is considered to be a major inspiration for modern day rappers and lyricists. Shakespeare was a popular poet and playwright. Even if writing styles and ‘norms’ have changed, Shakespeare has still left his mark on the modern English language. Shakespeare invented the language we see today whether you know it or not. The article states, “If you have ever used the words bloodsucking, dewdrop, watchdog, zany, and humpbacked, you can thank Shakespeare because he invented them” (Zadrozny 1).

  • Theme of Love in Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet'

    1087 Words  | 5 Pages

    William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the «Bard of Avon». His surviving works, including some collaborations, consist of about 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. From the inception of the tragedy by William Shakespeare «Romeo and Juliet» was more than one century, but now the audience excited, watching the fate of the lovers of Verona, and the actors who have a role in the tragedy, see it as the brightest event in his life.

  • How Do Shakespeare and Browning Explore Love in Their Stories?

    2110 Words  | 9 Pages

    Shakespeare wrote his masterpieces in the Elizabethan times. I will be writing the comparison points between Romeo and Juliet to The Laboratory, written by Robert Browning. Robert too is a well known, successful, English poet and has written some fantastic and famous poems, including The Laboratory which is now being used as a GCSE year 10 piece of work. He produced his work during the Victorian times. Comparing the Elizabethan times and Victorian times that Shakespeare and Browning wrote their poems/plays, I’ve noticed something in particular, they were very similar.

  • The Theme of Love in Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' and Bradstreet's 'To My Dear and Loving Husband'

    1593 Words  | 7 Pages

    Explore the ways Shakespeare presents strong feeling of Love in 'Romeo and Juliet' and one or more poems from the Anthology of love poems. Throughout history love has been one of the strongest emotions known to mankind. William Shakespeare in ‘Romeo & Juliet’ portrays how love a powerful influence on anyone under it grasps. Shakespeare made R&J to be performed to the public whereas as 'To my Dear and loving husband' by Anne Bradstreet and ‘sonnet 180' by Shakespeare himself were both made to read aloud. Shakespeare uses a combination of techniques to show a true heartedness of love between Romeo and Juliet in Act 1 Scene 5 and Act 2 scene 2.

  • "Discomfit" in Shakespeare

    1491 Words  | 6 Pages

    Trista Fortuna Power Hides in Defeat : Analysis of Henry lV: Part One William Shakespeare is an important landmark in English literature. He is known not only for his timeless language, but his ability to use just the right combination of words to create a certain scene. With his use of prolific language and immaculate sense of self, Shakespeare has derived a way to surpass the test of time. In Henry IV: Part One, Shakespeare utilizes the word “discomfited” to forge a connection between King Henry IV, Earl of Douglas, Sir Walter Blunt, and Hotspur. The word “discomfit” bears a great significance to the play’s theme examined through the ideas of Shakespeare’s irony, choice of diction, and chiasmus.

  • In Romeo & Juliet Act 3 Scene 1 How Does Shakespea

    515 Words  | 3 Pages

    Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is one of the world’s greatest love stories in literature. It is written by Shakespeare and especially in act 3 scene 1 Shakespeare cerates tension not just for the audience but also for the characters. Shakespeare uses many different techniques to create drama and the tension; he uses high levels of emotion and violence. He does this by creating a sense of danger and fear in these scenes which contain excitement and emotion. The three things he uses to create tension are going to be mentioned in the conclusion.

  • Imagery & Symbolism in Macbeth

    794 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Imagery and Symbolism in Macbeth With its eye-opening plot and interesting cast of characters, William Shakespeare's play, Macbeth is one of the greatest works one could ever read. But, above all, the aspect of the play is most impressive and overwhelming with imagery and symbolism that Shakespeare so brilliantly uses. Throughout the play , the author depicts various types of imagery and symbolism instances that , eventually , lead to the downfall of the main character , Macbeth. Instances of imagery and symbolism are seen throughout the play. Imagery and symbolism are unavoidable features in William Shakespeare's Macbeth.

  • Aristotle’s Take on Macbeth

    4144 Words  | 17 Pages

    Aristotle’s Take on Macbeth Hanad Elmi The play Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare is known as one of the greatest tragedies ever wrote. Also, Aristotle is known as one of the greatest philosophers, he used his own description of a tragedy to measure how good a tragedy really is. According to Aristotle, a tragedy must consist of a plot, characters, diction, thought, spectacle, and song or melody. Whether Macbeth is a good tragedy or not completely depends on these categories. In most peoples eyes the plot is the most important, it is the structure of incidents in a cause-and-effect chain.

  • Relationship Between Romeo and Juliet

    1821 Words  | 8 Pages

    How does Shakespeare explore different representations of love in Romeo and Juliet and in a selection of his sonnets The idea of endless love; "till death do us a part" is evident in Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. His characters, known for their deep infatuation with one another have turned into world renowned heroes and heroines and their idea of love has turned into a international phenomena. Shakespeare uses the relationships of different characters to embody different forms of love. The theme of love is almost certainly the most common theme in all literature and Romeo and Juliet is no exception. The theme of love is predominant throughout the play Romeo and Juliet, but there are also many similarities and differences between Romeo and Juliet and the 154 Shakespearean sonnets.

  • Romeo and Juliet: A True Love Story or A Story of Civil Conflict?

    708 Words  | 3 Pages

    Is Romeo and Juliet a true love story or a story of civil conflict? One of the many questions arose with Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is ‘Is Romeo and Juliet a true love story or a story of civil conflict’. There is not just one straightforward answer to this question. My following essay will describe both sides of this argument and provide my own justification. Romeo and Juliet is the most famous romantic play in English Literature by William Shakespeare.

  • Romeo & Juliet - Love[Importance of ]

    790 Words  | 4 Pages

    Romeo and Juliet is possibly the most famous love story in traditional English literature. This means that love is obviously the most important theme of the story. Shakespeare, I believe, focuses not on real love (other than in the later chapters of the story) but more on a forceful version of infatuation, specifically the type that cultivates blazing passion in a matter of seconds, as is what happened between Romeo and Juliet. In the play, love (read infatuation) is a violent, rapturous and overpowering impulse that overrides everything else. In the course of the story, the strength of the feelings between Romeo & Juliet compels them to defy everything that was important - their traditions, their values (Juliet - My only love, sprung from my only hate!

  • Representation of Romantic Love in Shakespeare and Browning's Works

    1499 Words  | 6 Pages

    Sonnet 18, one of Shakespeare’s most famous sonnets, has its first line competitive with Shakespeare’s line "Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?” Sonnet 130, also created by Shakespeare, is a pleasure to read purely for its simplicity and bluntness of expression. It is also one of the few sonnets that show Shakespeare write humorously. Porphyria’s Lover, which was first published in 1836, is Robert Browning’s most shocking and dramatic monologues. The dramatic monologue is a fictional speech, which captures a moment right after a main event. As for When We Two Parted, a poem by Lord Byron, (George Gordon Byron) published in 1813, is a poem of a heart break, conveying strong feelings and emotion simplistically, but full of meaningful vocabulary.

  • sonnet 130 & 132

    1457 Words  | 6 Pages

    Sonnets were usually fourteen line poems written by William Shakespeare. These sonnets were written in 1609 as “a Booke called Shakespeare’s Sonnetts” which consisted of 154 sonnets. Shakespeare’s sonnets were the last of his non-dramatic works which printed in 1609. Sonnets 127-152 were written to the poet's mistress expressing his strong love for her. When a comparison is made between William Shakespeare “Sonnet 130” and “Sonnet 132”, they both talk about the love of a mistress.

  • How William Shakespeare Affected Literature and Language

    1423 Words  | 6 Pages

    in the second half of the twentieth century in England, we are faced with the infuriating fact that Shakespeare is still our model.” - Peter Brooke As a poet of the Renaissance, Shakespeare wrote in the style and the language of his time. Shakespeare, along with other poets of the Renaissance, helped to bring back the writing style of the ancient Greeks. This style of poetry is called a sonnet and consists of fourteen-lines of verse. Shakespeare along with the other poets during the Renaissance also helped in establishing the use of iambic pentameter as well as other forms of poetry. The change to a more modern form of poetry began before Shakespeare.

  • William Shakespeare: Sonnet 116

    865 Words  | 4 Pages

    Tawnya Petry November 16, 2014 English 302 Paper #1 Sonnet 116: The Perseverance of True Love “Sonnet 116” is one of the most well-known and treasured poems by William Shakespeare. The theme of “Sonnet 116” is that true love will always persevere. Although poems about true love are often viewed as simplistic or overused, “Sonnet 116” avoids cliché by being filled with passion and romantic expression. The speaker addresses the definition of true love, what it is not, and the unchanging characteristics of that love, which is then enacted through the tone, structure and imagery. “Sonnet 116” is a Shakespearean sonnet whose content genre is a love poem.

  • Sonnet 29 Essay

    1070 Words  | 5 Pages

    Sonnet Essay; Sonnet 29 In the Elizabethan era, William Shakespeare was one of the most famous authors of his time, who still lives among us today in his works of literature. Shakespeare is famous for his sonnets and plays which are, for the most part, always dramatically tragic. Shakespeare had utilized his ability as an amazing author because writing in sonnet form during his time was a very popular form of expressing one’s love among men in the upper class of society. Shakespeare was one of the most talented writers of all time, and Sonnet 29 portrays his talent because it contains a theme and literary devices that come together in the standard sonnet form. The emotional state of the speaker in Sonnet 29 is one of depression.

  • Why Study Shakespeare?

    856 Words  | 4 Pages

    2) Great Stories Marchette Chute, in the Introduction to her famous retelling of Shakespeare’s stories, summarizes one of the reasons for Shakespeare’s immeasurable fame: William Shakespeare was the most remarkable storyteller that the world has ever known. Homer told of adventure and men at war, Sophocles and Tolstoy told of tragedies and of people in trouble. Terence and Mark Twain told comedic stories, Dickens told melodramatic ones, Plutarch told histories and Hand Christian Andersen told fairy tales. But Shakespeare told every kind of story – comedy, tragedy, history, melodrama, adventure, love stories and fairy tales – and each of them so well that they have become immortal. In all the world of storytelling he has become the greatest name.

  • William Shakespeare - The Master Storyteller

    329 Words  | 2 Pages

    2) Great Stories Marchette Chute, in the Introduction to her famous retelling of Shakespeare’s stories, summarizes one of the reasons for Shakespeare’s immeasurable fame: William Shakespeare was the most remarkable storyteller that the world has ever known. Homer told of adventure and men at war, Sophocles and Tolstoy told of tragedies and of people in trouble. Terence and Mark Twain told comedic stories, Dickens told melodramatic ones, Plutarch told histories and Hand Christian Andersen told fairy tales. But Shakespeare told every kind of story – comedy, tragedy, history, melodrama, adventure, love stories and fairy tales – and each of them so well that they have become immortal. In all the world of storytelling he has become the greatest name.