Although times are changing and people are becoming more accepting, sickness and disability are still signs of weakness in modern day America. No matter the seriousness of the ailment, society generally associated it with a person’s lack of strength, even though they cannot control it. In addition, people regularly use sickness to cover up other emotions, such as guilt or anxiety, or to get out of doing something they do not want to do. Often, authors use illness in their works to demonstrate different aspects of the plot such as showing a character’s emotions or reflecting on the themes of the text. During many scenes in Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, he uses sickness to portray a number of things in a character, including weaknesses, worries, doubts, beliefs and emotions at the time of the respective scene; whether it’s Caesar’s epilepsy, Brutus claiming he’s sick to cover up his doubts about Caesar’s assassination or Brutus using sickness to imply that Portia is weaker, Shakespeare uses illness as an aid to deepen the plot of his ageless tragedy.
The first example of using illness to portray weakness in Julius Caesar is Caesar’s epilepsy or “falling sickness.” In the scene during Lupercal, Caesar’s weakness is demonstrated when Caesar says, “come on my right hand, for this ear is deaf” (I,ii,212), showing that he only has one good ear. In ancient Rome, any sort of physical disability was looked down on and immediately identified the person as powerless; therefore, Caesar was powerless and unable to rule Rome. Shortly after, Shakespeare again depicts Caesar‘s physical weakness in a conversation between Cassius and Casca’s when Casca exclaims, “He fell down in the market place and foamed at mouth and was speechless” ...
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...represent a number of different undesired traits. In his work, Shakespeare is attempting to remove the barrier between the sick and the healthy by showing that these people are one in the same, and that they should be accepting of each other because health is desired by all but not necessarily obtainable for all. Unfortunately, this blockade still exists in modern times, and many would argue that people are moving backwards, and becoming less accepting. Society fails to realize that the healthy and unhealthy share the earth and are both humans, neither is superior to the other and neither is in control of their well being. If Shakespeare had been successful in destroying this barrier and people were accepting of sickness and disability, society would be a happier, friendlier, and overall nobler place, but unfortunately, this great feat is still a work in progress.
The motif of a seemingly healthy exterior concealing inward sickness establishes meaning through foreshadowing and irony by demonstrating that it spreads throughout and ultimately rids itself of everything that conceals inward sickness. Corrupted thoughts throughout William Shakespeare’s Hamlet are based on greediness and the act of avenging a family member’s death.
What symptoms classify a person to be diagnosed as sick? A cough, a sore throat, or maybe a fever. Often times when individuals refer to the word ‘sick’, they neglect to mention a common disorder, one which takes a tremendous amount of personal determination, courage and strength in order to overcome. Mental illness took the author, Joanne Greenberg, down a path complete with obstacles, forcing her to battle against schizophrenia, a chronic brain disorder resulting in delusions, hallucinations, trouble with thinking and concentration as well as a lack of motivation. This complex piece of literature was originally composed to fight against the prejudice accusations associated with mental illness, while providing the semi-autobiographical novelist
Allusions to illness and disease weave into every scene of the play, and can be found referenced
William Shakespeare is widely known for his ability to take a sad story, illustrate it with words, and make it a tragedy. Usually human beings include certain discrepancies in their personalities that can at times find them in undesirable or difficult situations. However, those that are exemplified in Shakespeare’s tragedies include “character flaws” which are so destructive that they eventually cause their downfall. For example, Prince Hamlet, of Shakespeare’s tragedy play “Hamlet,” is seemingly horrified by what the ghost of his father clarifies concerning his death. Yet the actions executed by Hamlet following this revelation do not appear to coincide with the disgust he expresses immediately after the ghost alerts him of the true cause of his death. Thus, it is apparent that the instilled self doubt of Prince Hamlet is as the wand that Shakespeare uses to transform an otherwise sad story to an unfortunate tragedy.
William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is laden with tragedy from the start, and this adversity is reflected in the title character. Being informed of his father’s murder and the appalling circumstances surrounding the crime, Hamlet is given the emotionally taxing task of avenging his death. It is clear that having to complete this grim undertaking takes its toll on Hamlet emotionally. Beginning as a seemingly contemplative and sensitive character, we observe Hamlet grow increasingly depressed and deranged as the play wears on. Hamlet is so determined to make his father proud that he allows the job on hand to completely consume him. We realize that Hamlet has a tendency to mull and ponder excessively, which causes the notorious delays of action throughout the play. It is often during these periods of deep thought and reflection that we hear one of Hamlet’s famous soliloquies, which are obviously relative to Hamlet’s apprehensions and worries surrounding his current situation. The seven soliloquies throughout the play offer insight pertaining to the deteriorating mental state of Hamlet, and the circumstances which induce his decent into madness.
Shakespeare uses imagery pertaining to illness in the play when describing Macbeth to make it evident that he is mentally ill. ...
Hamlet, a Shakespearean character, constantly struggles in a battle with his mind. He leads a very trying life that becomes too much for him to handle. Hamlet experiences hardships so horrible and they affect him so greatly that he is unable escape his dispirited mood. In speaking what he feels, Hamlet reveals his many symptoms of depression, a psychological disorder. While others can move on with life, Hamlet remains in the past. People do not understand his behavior and some just assume he is insane. However, Hamlet is not insane. He only pretends to be mad. Because Hamlet never receives treatment for his disorder, it only gets worse and eventually contributes to his death.
While the diagnosis of mental conditions is considered a modern practice, people throughout history have suffered similar mental illnesses but have gone undocumented or unstudied. But even without scientific or psychological records, mental illness can clearly be derived from historical figures and works of art. As early as the 1600s, characters in literary pieces are known to depict characteristics of modern mental labels. During this time period, mental illnesses were generally credited to witchcraft or demonic possession. Though the explanations seem farfetched, the symptoms of what are now seen as neurological disruptions remain the same. In William Shakespeare’s seventeenth century play Macbeth, several characters portray indications of what could be the modern diagnosis schizophrenia.
... as it unfolds. It is saddening to see these characters fail again and again to understand each other, and themselves. Within our own lives however, we are not so different from the characters of the play. Many things are beyond our comprehension, and it is easy for suffering to arise when people are without understanding. Alas, Shakespeare has given us fair warning of the tragedy that could spring from incomprehension. It would be unwise to take this warning for granted; perhaps a pursuit of greater understanding will correlate with less tragedy among our lives.
Hamlet is considered a classic play that tells the story of revenge, written by, William Shakespeare. Before My Eyes is a novel, by Caroline Bock, that shows the truth behind believing what we want, not what we see. These two works have psychological illness in common. Hamlet and Barkley are both mentally ill; the Prince of Denmark is depressed and bipolar while the lonely and obsessive 21 year-old is schizophrenic.
From the beginning of the play, Shakespeare characterizes Macbeth to be a figure of power by things such as the defeat of the unloyal thane, and the gain of his title. Though Macbeth appears to represent an idea of power, Macbeth is proven to be a false aid to this perceived symbol of power through the witches involvement, animal nature controlling human nature, man being susceptible to temptation, all climaxing in Macbeth being a powerless, ineffective king. By examining Shakespeare’s imagery of illness, one can determine that Macbeth is a powerless figure that leads him to be an ineffective king.
Manipulation influences decisions and changes others’ thoughts. In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, manipulative language acts prominently between the characters. Brutus struggles to decide if the safety of the Roman Republic appears more important than his friendship with Julius Caesar. Cassius tries to persuade him to join the conspiracy that decides to kill Caesar. Envious of Julius Caesar’s power, the Senators believes that when Caesar becomes ruler, the change of government forever affects Rome. Brutus agrees that it seems for the best of Rome for Caesar never to become dictator, but he never wishes to change his opinion on his death. In a persuasive manner, Cassius sends anonymous letters to Brutus to convince him to join the conspiracy. The conspiracy consists of senators and aristocrats who gather to converse about the Julius Caesar’s assassination. Cassius nominates Brutus as the leader of the conspiracy in order to gain his vote. They decide to kill Caesar on “the Ides of March.” On the morning of March 15th, Caesar’s wife persuades him to stay home because of an eerie dream. Decius, a conspirator, convinces him that the dream retains good omens. In a rush to become king, Caesar goes to the Capitol where the conspirators murder him. Therefore, Antony begs to speak at his funeral where he convinces the plebeians that Caesar never means harm. At this point, Antony declares war on the Caesar’s killers. In the end, he defeats Brutus and Cassius, and the two conspirators kill themselves. In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare declares that language expresses a powerful weapon, and in the hands of a skilled person, it manipulates others through the use of foreshadowing, imagery, and verbal irony.
In Hamlet’s speech, Shakespeare’s efforts to target his Elizabethan audience develop the theme of the frailty of man. Shakespeare conveys this underlying theme of the play by subt...
	Shakespeare illustrated Caesar as a tragic hero by showing that he was a historical figure with a tragic flaw which lead to his death. Julius Caesar took over most of the Roman Empire and his events are very important to history. First, Julius Caesar is very historical because if he wasn’t then, we would not be talking about him today. As Cassius ironically said, "...How many ages hence /Shall this our lofty scene be acted over in states unborn..." (III,i,112-113). Secondly, Every tragic hero has a tragic flaw that leads them to their death and one of Julius Caesar’s flaw was arrogance. As Caesar himself said, "But I am constant as Northern Star.../There is no fellow in the firmament" (III,i,60-62). Finally, Caesar made a big mistake which lead him to his downfall when he didn’t take the soothsayer’s warning. Again this was the fact that Caesar was arrogant. The soothsayer said warning Caesar, "Beware of ides of March" (I,ii,23) then Caesar replied that the soothsayer was a fake, and to dismiss him.
mankind is argumentative, Shakespeare shows how the perceptions of human nature are influenced by the circumstances that surround events in society, due to the subjective perspectives of