William Shakespeare, one of the greatest writers of all time, uses Hercules as a persona of excellence throughout his play, "Much Ado About Nothing". Hercules, in Greek mythology, is a hero known for his strength, courage and legendary adventures. This gives the impression that Shakespeare liked the tales of Hercules.
In order for us to understand what he meant by using Hercules' name and amount of background would need to be known.
The first time Shakespeare uses Hercules name is with his character Benedick. This takes place in Act two, Scene One:
Benedick: "...I would not marry her though she were endowed with all that Adam had left him before he transgress'd. She would have made Hercules have turn'd spit, yea, and have cleft his club to make the fire too."
Shakespeare uses this to connect with the one of the tales of Hercules. When a centaur (part man and horse) by the name of Nessus captured Deianeira, Hercules shot the centaur with a poisoned arrow. With the centaur's dying breath he gave Deianeira a vial of his poisoned blood telling her she could use it to rekindle Hercules' love for her if it ever faded. Hercules fell in love and married Deianeira (Hercules second wife). One day when she felt that his love was fading, she made him a robe that was dipped in the blood of the centaur. When Hercules received the gift from his wife he was overjoyed and put it on, almost immediately his skin started to burn and he caught on fire. The club that is mentioned is Hercules' weapon. Benedick says Beatrice would harm him, even if he used a weapon, he wouldn't be able to stop her, even though she may not mean any harm.
Shortly after Benedick spoke of Hercules, Don Pedro mentions his name but for good use instead of the unhappy end of Hercules.
Don Pedro: "...I will in the interim undertake one of Hercules' labours, which is, to bring Signior Benedick and the Lady Beatrice into a mountain of affection th' one with th' other. I would fain have it a match, and I doubt not but to fashion it if you three will but minister such assistance as I shall give you direction.
Often through great literature, there is an epic hero. In the Odyssey, Homer tells the journey of one man’s journey home from the Trojan War. The protagonist of the epic poem Odysseus is often regarded as a great hero. However, Odysseus is not quite the glorious soldier that people often see him as. Odysseus shows that he is an antihero through his pride, disloyalty, and bloodthirstiness.
In this research paper, I will address the changes that occurred within the ecosystem of Yellowstone National Park since the reintroduction of the grey wolves. The paper will consist of four sections; the first section will include the history behind the extirpation and subsequent reintroduction of the gray wolf in Northern America. The second section will explore the political controversy that surrounds the reintroduction of the gray wolf in Yellowstone. The third section will contain discuss the gray wolf and its impact on the ecosystem of Yellowstone. I will conclude my essay by explaining how the gray wolves act as climate change buffers in Yellowstone amidst global warming.
Robbins, Jim. Last Refuge: The Environmental Showdown in Yellowstone and the American West. New York: Morrow, 1993. Print.
A large portion of Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” greatly focuses on the relationship between Benedick and Beatrice: two characters who provide comedic relief and romance. Even from the beginning of the play, their bantering rapport shows a deep connection, a fact known by everyone in the play but them. Their relationship between each other is what strengthens each other’s character, and the more the story progresses, the more we see the changes of each character. Both are very round characters, since they both go through a huge transition. This is most evidently seen in Benedick, who shows a huge change due to his new found romance, because his love for Beatrice not only changes his
“All About Wolves, The Wolves and Moose of Isle Royale.” IsleRoyaleWolf. n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2012.
In 1922 the federal government passed a law that allowed wolves in Yellowstone National Park to be hunted. In just four years later the last wolf was hunted. In 1995, the gray wolf was reintroduced to the park. The government started off by introducing 31 wolves in the Montana and Wyoming parts of the park. Now 116 wolves now live and more then 75 pups.
Myths and religious doctrine are generally recognized as two entirely different things. Myths are usually referred to as a fictitious story or a half-truth; often they are stories shared between groups of people that are part of a cultural society. Religion is a set of beliefs concerning the cause, and purpose of the universe, and often containing an ethical code dictating appropriate human conduct. Although they differ in certain aspects, they still hold similarities. Comparable to parables within the Bible, myths have different versions which are both motivating, as well as entertaining. There are not only parallels to the idea of the stories but specific tales hold similar morals and equivalent characters.
At the beginning, Benedick’s attitude is negative towards women in general. He swears he will never marry, as he is very critical of women and does not trust any of them not to cheat on him. He seems to oppose with Beatrice in a competition to outwit, outsmart, and out-insult each other. Obviously he has been in some sort of past relationship with Beatrice because when he meets her at the masked ball, she describes him as a selfish pig. We can infer that Benedick has some kind of deep feelings for her because after she insults him he is hurt and says, “Will your grace command me any service to the world’s end? I will go on the slightest errand now to the Antipodes that you can devise to send me on. I will fetch you a toothpick from the furthest inch of Asia . . . do you any embassage to the pigmies, rather than hold three words’ conference with this harpy” (II.i.229–235). This blatantly means that he does not wish to talk to her.
The wolves’ were hunted in late 1800 s’ and early 1900‘s in the United States because farmers wanted more land for their cattle’s to graze upon. As farmers were moving out west they felt threaten that the wolves would hunt their cattles so the farmers thought that the best solution would be to take them out of the picture. This was possible because at the time there were no government regulations on hunting....
This love story of Benedick and Beatrice, we are shown a love/hate relationship they have for each other. Beatrice doesn’t hold back as she verbally insults Benedick even prior to his arriving by stating “It is so, indeed: he has no less than a stuffed man: but for the stuff, ---well, we are all mortal”. () I can only laugh as this relationship is so witty, candid and such a play on words that are used as almost like a weapon. One has to question why there is such hatred between Beatrice and Benedick, because we know that he is a war hero and respect as such. I think Shakespeare wanted their bantering back and forth to almost be a flirtatious relationship, but neither wants to admit it how they truly feel. This deflection of real feelings is another example of deception that carries on in this play. Their verbal exchanges are harsh but in reality, the truth of their relationship is being hidden behind these words as though they were wearing masks. There is a strong connection between these two when Beatrice was exchanging words with Don Pedro about Benedict when she said “indeed, my lord, he lent it me awhile; and I gave him use for it, a double heart for his single one: marry, once before he won it of me with false dice, therefore your grace may well say I have lost it”.
Shakespeare undoubtedly creates a coherent distinction between Beatrice and Hero, the two main female characters, in such a way that allows the audience to irrefutably note their differing dispositions. Hero, “a face without a voice” (Cook 8), is characterized by her passivity and inability to assert herself, whereas Beatrice, whose speech “might seem [like] a serious violation of Messina's conventions of gender” (Cook 7), is characterized by her witty and unconventional independence that ultimately delineates the sure separation between her and women of 16th Century Europe. Almost immediately, one can observe Beatrice's acerbic demeanor towards one of the main male characters, Signior Benedick. As the messenger is informing Beatrice...
Hercules was adventurous manly because of what he was sentenced to do. Hercules was driven mad by the goddess Hera, and in frenzy he killed his own children. To atone for his crime he was sentenced to perform a series of tasks or labors for his cousin Eurytheus, the king of Mycenae.
Hamlet. Romeo. Othello. These men not only star in some of Shakespeare’s finest plays, but they are all classic examples of tragic heroes. A tragic hero is one who is courageous and admired but who has a tragic flaw that leads to his downfall. Othello was one of the greatest military men of the time. He was highly respected among his superiors for both his military prowess and level headed nature. This was a man who could be in the heat of a battle and would remain collected. Though this great hero also had great shortcomings. Othello was naive, jealous, and concerned with public appearance. Othello is truly a dynamic character. As the play continues and his jealous increases, Othello gradually changes from a flawless military general into
William Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello puts on exhibit an obvious hero and other not-so-obvious heroes. Let us examine them all in this essay.
Aristotle and Shakespeare lived ages apart, but Aristotle had a great affect on Shakespeare's plays. In Shakespeare’s tragic play, Macbeth, the character of Macbeth is consistent with Aristotle's definition of the tragic hero.