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.
William Shakespeare's play Macbeth is a five-act drama that shows a clear example of how pride, greed, and power can alter a man's actions and personality. The taste of power blinds the story's main character, Macbeth. Sparked by Lady Macbeth, he becomes heartless and cruel as he kills anyone who is a threat to his power due to his paranoia of losing the throne. This fear ironically leads to his downfall and loss of the throne. The theme of the story is deceit and evil and how they affect a man's decisions. Critics pose interesting views concerning the identity and significance of the mysterious third murderer.
Macbeth is William Shakespeare's darkest and arguably his most tragic play. It begins with a brave, honest man named Macbeth, who was married to a wicked, malicious woman. As the play progresses the swap of these characters' personalities quickly unfolds. Because Macbeth's ambition had been spurred on by his wife and Lady Macbeth had no outlet for her grief and sorrow the reversal of roles begin. By the end of the play they fully trade roles, Lady Macbeth fully descends into madness riddled with guilt and Macbeth turns into a tyrant devoid of virtue. As the events of the play unfold, they assume each others role and make choices that consequently lead them down a path riddled with chaos and insanity that they cannot escape.
Among the greatest gifts that the renaissance produced was the eloquent and incredible Shakespearean plays. Written mostly in the 1590s these plays have been performed and admired countless times; entertaining mass audiences by providing interesting tales that explore the depth of human insights and the different universal themes. Among the many Shakespearean plays Macbeth, written in 1606, stands out with its short composition but multiple themes. This tragedy narrates the tale of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s quest to grasp ultimate power by ignoring their morals and succumbing to their dark desires, which ultimately leads to their downfall. This tragic play portrays the desires, needs, and temptations that accompany ambition in men and women. However the ambition in Macbeth is blind, it does not abide to the morals, but it allows space for dark actions as means necessary for accomplishment. Blind ambition serves as the main driving force that drives Macbeth to subdue to his dark desires, defy his noble behavior, and ultimately his downfall.
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.
In the early 1600’s, William Shakespeare penned an Aristotelian tragedy ‘Macbeth’ which provides his audiences both then and now with many valuable insights and perceptions into human nature. Shakespeare achieves this by cleverly employing many dramatic devices and themes within the character of ‘Macbeth’. Macbeth is depicted as an anti-hero; a noble protagonist with a tragic flaw that leads to his downfall. This tragic flaw of Macbeth’s, heavily laden with the themes of ‘fate or free will’, and ‘ambition’, is brought out by Shakespeare in his writing to present us with a character whose actions and final demise are, if not laudable, very recognisable as human failings.
William Shakespeare was born in Stratford upon Avon in 1564. One of the most influential writers of all time, still remembered today for his enigmatic plays. The zeitgeist of England in the 17th century did nothing but intensify his success. In an age of acute paranoia and a morbid fascination surrounding the supernatural, plays like Macbeth' were the forbidden fruit craved for by the public of that era. Also as feminism was yet to be invented Macbeth' was also controversial in relation to the character of Lady Macbeth, and her almost masculine temperament. In a time where men were the dominant gender, Lady M's domineering character was intriguing. Shakespeare's plays are grouped into three categories; histories, tragedies and comedies. Macbeth is ultimately a tragedy. He was thought to have written The Scottish Play' for King James I, who had a personal interest in witchcraft and the supernatural. In this essay I intend to explore Macbeth and Lady Macbeths fall from grace and the deterioration of their relationship throughout the play.
As Shakespeare’s tragic tale of ambition unfolds, the two central characters, Lady Macbeth and the title character Macbeth, undergo a dramatic shift of dominance in their relationship. In the beginning of the play the couple act as a team, plotting the death of Duncan to further their mutual bloodthirsty ambition. Lady Macbeth soon shows her power over Macbeth when she questions her husband’s manhood and devotion to her when he gets cold feet. As Macbeth’s confidence slowly grows and the witches proclaim positive futures for him he begins to separate himself from his wife, planning Banquo’s assassination without telling her, and no longer being susceptible to her insults. By the end of the play the roles have completely switched and Lady Macbeth spirals into guilt-fueled insanity as Macbeth prepares to battle to keep his throne. This essay will explore the relationship between Macbeth and his wife, paying particular attention to the scenes previously mentioned.
“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 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.
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 Tragedy of Othello William Shakespeare’s, The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice, from the sixteenth century is an excellent example of Renaissance humanism. “A poet of unparalleled genius, Shakespeare emerged during the golden age of England under the rule of Elizabeth I.”(Fiero 3:98) He produced comedies, tragedies, romances and histories. According to Webster’s pocket dictionary, a tragedy is defined as a form of drama in which the protagonist comes to a disaster, as through a flaw in character, and in which the ending is usually marked by pity or sorrow. I would like to concentrate on the character Iago and the theme of deceit.
It stresses absences, contradictions, and the inability of language to connect one human being with another because our language has no stability. For example, Macbeth can be looked at as a strong character but also a weak character. The drama states,” King: ‘What he hath lost, noble Macbeth hath won’” (Shakespeare 8). Macbeth was a great war hero, but, when looked from a different angle, he was only great under the command of someone else. He follows the direction of his wife, the Captain, and the witches, all of whom push him to do things to get power When Macbeth finally takes control of the kingdom, he kills Banquo on his own then everything falls apart and the people try to dethrone him. Also, during the Renaissance period it was uncommon for women to try to advance themselves in anyway. The drama states,” Lady Macbeth: ‘What cannot you and I perform upon/ The unguarded Duncan? what not put upon/ His spongy officers, who shall bear the guilt/ Of our great quell?’” (Shakespeare 21). Lady Macbeth is trying to convince her husband to kill Duncan in order for him to become king. Following this line of thinking, she, in effect, would become part of royalty thus advancing her life and power. And, Macbeth is done with the war and death when he returns, yet it still follows him. The drama states,” Macbeth: ‘The rest is labor, which is not used for you./ I’ll be
The main theme of Macbeth-the destruction wrought when ambition goes unchecked by moral constraints-finds its most powerful expression in the play's two main characters. Macbeth is a courageous Scottish general who is not naturally inclined to commit evil deeds, yet he deeply desires power and advancement. He kills Duncan against his better judgment and afterward stews in guilt and paranoia. Toward the end of the play he descends into a kind of frantic, boastful madness. Lady Macbeth, on the other hand, pursues her goals with greater determination, yet she is less capable of withstanding the repercussions of her immoral acts. One of Shakespeare's most forcefully drawn female characters, she spurs her husband mercilessly to kill Duncan and urges him to be strong in the murder's aftermath, but she is eventually driven to distraction by the effect of Macbeth's repeated bloodshed on her conscience. In each case, ambition helped, of course, by the malign prophecies of the witches is what drives the couple to ever more terrible atrocities. The problem, the play suggests, is that once one decides to use violence to further one?s quest for power, it is difficult to stop. There are always potential threats to the throne?Banquo, Fleance, Macduff?and it is always tempting to use violent means to dispose of them.
says that if he were to, “strike him dead I hold it not a sin”. In
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.