Description of Great Characters from Great Plays

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William Shakespeare is considered one of the greatest play writers of all time. He had extraordinary talent and is widely known for his plays. The ironic part though, was the fact that Shakespeare only went to grammar school, he didn’t have any further education and never went to a private school. Yet, with great plays, there are always great characters within these plays. First off, in Macbeth, a play about an ambitious man named Macbeth who is told by a witch that he will be king someday, so he kills the current king, Duncan, and takes the throne, however he gets paranoid that his throne will be taken away from him so he starts having other people killed and he himself gets killed in the end. Another play by Shakespeare is The Tempest which is about the King of Milan, Prospero, and his daughter Miranda living on an island far from home because twelve years ago, the kings brother along with the king of Naples, took his throne. “He explains that twelve years previous to this day - the day of the

Tempest, that is - Prospero was the Duke of Milan and held the position now occupied by his brother Antonio.” (William, Shakespeare). Both of these plays have great characters; however, some are more favored than others. In Macbeth, it is hard not to feel sorry for Banquo because he gets everything taken away from him even though he is brave and noble. In The Tempest, Miranda is favorable because she is so innocent and immature, which makes her charming and funny. In both Macbeth and The Tempest, Miranda and Banquo both have different roles in their plays, they have similar qualities, and they have different outcomes in the end of their plays.

To begin, Miranda from The Tempest, and Banquo from Macbeth, both have their own separate rol...

... middle of paper ...

...milar because they are both innocent in their roles and actions and they are also caught in the middle. Lastly, they both have different endings. Miranda having a happily ever after and Banquo getting killed and reappearing as a ghost. Miranda and Banquo are both very important characters from two very important and popular Shakespeare plays.

Works Cited

Als, Hilton.. "STORMY WEATHER ; The Theatre." New Yorker, The. 29 Sep. 2008: 92. eLibrary. Web. 13 Jan. 2014.

Bell, Millicent. "Macbeth and Dismemberment." Raritan 3(2006):13. eLibrary. Web. 13 Jan. 2014.

Jericho, Jeremy.. The Tempest. Barron's, 2004. eLibrary. Web. 12 Jan. 2014.

Scott, Robert Owens. Macbeth. Barron's, 2004. eLibrary. Web. 12 Jan. 2014.

William, Shakespeare. Comedies of William Shakespeare: The Tempest: Act I. MacMillan General Reference, 1963. eLibrary. Web. 12 Jan. 2014.

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