The Dramatic Importance of Antonio and Sebastian
Antonio and Sebastian are dramatically significant in the play for
several reasons. Shakespeare has used them to represent several
themes and human characteristics for comparison within the play. He
presents them in a number of ways and their relationships with other
characters are objects of great interest to the audience.
Although they are the representatives of the evil in human nature and
the lack of repent they also provide great humour in the play. Their
witty exchanges and mocking of other characters is unkind yet the
audience enjoys it. Gonzalo in particular suffers from their harsh
sense of humour,
Sebastian: ‘Look, he’s winding up the watch of his
wit; by and by it
will strike-’
At the same time as adding to the comedy, Antonio in particular is
adding to the dark side of the play as they often discuss murder
without even mentioning it as wrong. Sebastian displays weakness of
character in succumbing to Antonio’s plan and therefore represents
this as a flaw leading to outrageous consequences in an otherwise
respectable man. Here we may compare him with Macbeth who was also
persuaded by another allowing his hidden evil to surface.
With these characters I believe Shakespeare is aiming to prove that
money and birth alone cannot make a man who is essentially evil,
respectable. The pair are hungry for power unlike Caliban who also
plots to murder yet he believes riches and wealth are worthless. By
comparing them to him we realise that Caliban who is named
‘uncivilised’ has far more understandable reason to act t...
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...from these two which shows his weakness of character or
perhaps even plain stupidity. They were invited to his daughter’s
wedding in Tunis so they must be on fairly good terms with the king
yet even on the return journey they mock him by nastily blaming him
for the loss of his daughter in his rate. Sebastian says,
‘Sir, you may thank yourself for this great loss,’
This is very unkind to an already desperately upset man. Antonio and
Sebastian’s nastiness to others does not end here. They continually
mock others particularly Gonzalo and Adrian.
In conclusion, Antonio and Sebastian are both evil men who contribute
to the play in terms of plot direction, humour and in underlying
darkness. Their characters are colourful and interesting, representing
several flaws in human character and some of the plays themes.
“Why then, O brawling love, O loving hates / these violent delights have violent ends” is as dramatic as Shakespeare would get in his plays to attract his audience. Literary devices are used in The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet to grab reader’s attention into understanding Shakespeare’s language throughout his tragedies.
The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is a love story that has been read for hundreds of years and is still studied today. The story is about a young boy and a young girl who are in love with each other but both of their lives end in tragedy. Many of the play’s character’s actions affect the outcome of the play, but no character can be put to blame of the outcome. The one thing that these events can be credited to is fate. Fate did many things in the play, such as caused Romeo and Juliet to meet and it caused Romeo to believe Juliet was dead.
The vial brushes fingertips, one snatching the glass bottle. Contained within the crystal clear barrier dances the liquid with the property of fleeting death, and enchants two naïve lovers to an early parting in "The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare. Two star crossed lovers take the stage, bound by their endless love but separated by the ancient hate of their two families. In desperate endeavors to be able to spend their days together, terrible communication distorts their arrangements, and the horror of living without the other ends the lives of Romeo and Juliet. The characters of this play all contribute to the deaths of the two young lovers. Amongst the characters, Friar Laurence stands as the most to blame for the deaths of Juliet and her Romeo because of the secret the Friar keeps, his knowledge of the inevitable, and the encouragement and plotting of pitiable decisions.
Othello is noble, tender, and confiding; but he has blood of the most inflammable kind. Unfortunately, Othello was naïve enough to be swayed by Iagos misplaced trustworthiness and the accusations cause the entire play to unfold. Once someone brings up a sense of all his wrong doings, he cannot be stopped by considerations of remorse of pity until Othello has extinguished all that fuels his rage and despair. Othello is described as a “Moor” by his critics (Brabantio, Iago). A “Moor” is a slang word used for the dark skinned appearance of the Muslim people from the northwest part of Africa.
Perhaps the most fundamental theme of Shakespeare’s Macbeth is the inherent corruptibility of even a seemingly good man when ambition turns to greed, and Macbeth himself, as one would expect, exemplifies this concept throughout the play. While at the outset he is seen to be loyal to his king, generally considered trustworthy, and displaying numerous other laudable qualities, Macbeth ultimately succumbs to the influence of those around him and becomes unequivocally evil, setting aside all his previously held morals and coming to be driven only by his lust for power. This transition is brought about by a wide variety of factors and plays an integral role in the development of the plot. In his tragedy Macbeth, William Shakespeare employs multiple methods of characterization in order to highlight the protagonist’s transformation from hero to villain as a result of the influences of the people surrounding him, namely the Weïrd sisters, Lady Macbeth, and Macduff, including extensive foreshadowing, a general shift in tone corresponding with turning points in the plot, and the inclusion of long-winded soliloquies to mark a critical change in Macbeth’s character.
In William Shakespeare’s play, Othello, the power that Iago has over Emilia in their relationship helps manifest the unfairness of gender roles thus, leading to a distortion of the worth of women. The power that Iago has over Emilia hurts Emilia’s self-confidence. The distortion of the worth of women ultimately leads to misunderstandings in Emilia’s view of relationships.
This is a play about the bad ending that happens to those who are greedy for power. Macbeth may be good at war, but his knowledge of violence would not make him a good king. But how did a courageous man become so greedy for power over the people? His one big mistake was to believe in lies, a prophecy told by very weird-looking ladies. His second mistake was to begin lying to everyone and to keep faithful to a silly prophecy. His third mistake was to think that there was no way that to make his way to the top. But Shakespeare, like all famous authors, make things very complicated in the story. He shows there is a perfect place for lying without punishment, for those who still would like to use deception and duplicity after the scary consequences of this play. It is dramatic irony when Shakespeare shows Macbeth got the bad ending he deserved after believing in lies and becoming a liar himself, but the whole story of Macbeth is a lie! Like in Macbeth’s soliloquy in Act 5, this is a “tale full of sound and fury”, but definitely...
Lady Macbeth’s atypical and complex character directly challenged the archetypal principles and beliefs of the Jacobean era which as a result, drew major fascination through the ages. Lady Macbeth was Shakespeare’s device to not only stimulate audience’s emotions, but to also provide historical context and elicit dominant themes which reflected Jacobean society. Her ambiguous character and remarkable influences in the play raised a lot of controversy and fascination amongst both modern and Jacobean audiences. She can either be seen as linked to the witches in a feminist bid to overthrow the balance of power, or as a representation of the evil side of Macbeth. Nevertheless, it was her distinct characteristics and actions which ultimately catalysed the chain of conflicts of the play. Again, this reinforces her important role in the play.
Accidentally, incidentally, unintentionally, intentionally; no one ever really knows, but we are for certain one thing: “the heart isits own fate.” For Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, two star-crossed lovers in Shakespeare’s masterpiece play ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ this holds especially true. Romeo and Juliet’s “misadventure piteous overthrow” is fueled by their love for each other and their determination to be together, no matter what. Romeo and Juliet’s love with stands the hate surrounding them. Thus, fate is undoubtedly the most responsible influence for the two young lovers’ heartbreaking tragedy.
But whatever he did to Lancelot has made him very angry and disgruntled. And it develops the plot by starting off the main reason for this scene which is for Bassiano to get into the picture and for Gratiano to ask him if he can go to Belmont with him. It gets to this stage by Old Gobbo asking Bassiano if he will employ Lancelot, which he agrees to. It also tells of what to expect from Shylock in the later scenes, which is unheartedness and ruthlessness. My second soliloquy is taken from act 3 scene 2. In this scene Portia asks Bassiano to wait a few days to before he makes his choice on which casket to open in order to see if he will be able to marry Portia, but Bassiano refuses and wants to make his choice immediately.
Antonio originally requests to accompany Sebastian, but Sebastian declines on the grounds that his ill fate might negatively affect his companions. Sebastian regards himself as cursed by the shipwreck itself and the assumed loss of his sister – he wishes to have died alongside her, and he indicates that his voyage is “mere extravagancy (2.1.11)” without having a particular destination in mind. “She is drowned already, sir, with salt water, though I seem to drown her remembrance again with more (2.1.26-27)” provides the second example of a direct comparison being made between tears and salt water – for Sebastian, the sea represents the misfortune of loss, and perhaps, a representation of his cursed fate. For Viola, the sea represents uncertainty and hope – despite all evidence pointing towards her brother’s demise, she appears willing to at least entertain the notion that her brother remains
says that if he were to, “strike him dead I hold it not a sin”. In
As the great William Shakespeare once said, “Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.” Out of all of the plays that Shakespeare has written, they all have things in common and they all have things that are dissimilar. In the two plays Macbeth and The Tempest, there are many things that are the same and that are different. Two of these characters that can be compared and contrasted are Macbeth from the play Macbeth and Miranda in The Tempest. These characters, Macbeth and Miranda, within these two plays can be compared and contrasted in many different ways, three of these ways are their conscious, how they treat others, and their position in the kingdom.
William Shakespeare shows how two tradesmen can have completely different lives when others view them differently in the play The Merchant of Venice. In the play, Bassanio, Antonio’s friend, needs money to pursue his love. They seek a loan from Shylock, a Jewish moneylender in Antonio’s name. The contract is for three times the value of the bond in three months or else Shylock cuts off a pound of flesh from Antonio. While all this is happening, there are love plots going on. One of which is for Shylock’s daughter to elope with Lorenzo, a Christian. Later on, Antonio’s source of money, his ship, is reported sunken in the English Channel, dooming him to the loss of one pound of his flesh. There is a trial on the bond, and when it seems sure that Antonio will die, Portia, disguised as a doctor of laws legally gets Antonio out of the situation and Shylock recieves harsh penalties. Antonio and Shylock, two similar businessmen of Venice, are viewed differently and are treated oppositely to heighten the drama of the play and mold a more interesting plot.
This shows huge love and compassion and a great sense of goodness. Appropriately, this goodness does reap its rewards, as Ferdinand receives permission to marry Miranda later in the play based on these actions. In The Tempest, there are kind and forgiving characters such as Ariel Miranda, and Ferdinand. However, there are also brutal characters such as Caliban, Antonio, Sebastian, and -to some extent- Prospero.