Lovable Villians
argumentative Essay
625 words
Within most modern movies and shows there is a villain in which the audience either feels bad for, or actually likes. These are very complex and interesting characters who usually have a relatively bad past. Shakespeare portrays a lot of these same qualities within his plays and most of his villainous characters are likable as well. This quality is translated into the modern day in all forms of entertainment. "The frequency with which these moments (sympathy and empathy) occur in the plays allows audience's to understand and identify with the villain, but renders these characters more difficult to classify and harder to hate." (Marino). In the following essay, the ideas of the villains within Othello, Midsummer Night's Dream, and Hamlet will be compared and contrasted. The villain in Othello is Iago, and needless to say, he is extremely intelligent. Comparatively, in Midsummer Night's Dream and Hamlet, the villain is intelligent. In contrast, however, they do not seem to be as intelligent as Iago is. Iago has everything pretty much worked out and though he does seek revenge for past wrongs, he usually does not let that get in the way of what he thinks needs to be done. Such a situation is when Cassio is in a fight with Roderigo outside of Bianca's house, and in the dark Iago simply kills Roderigo in cold blood. Algernon Swinburne says of Iago, "An Iago is abnormal : his wonderful intelligence, omnipotent and infallible within its limit and its range, gives to the unclean and maleficent beast that he is the dignity and the mystery of a devil." (Swinburne). There isn't really a villain within Midsummer Night's Dream, more like there are multiple tricksters, Puck being the foremost of these. Puck is almost a cute character that... ... middle of paper ... ...any times it seems like they completely control what they are doing, but other times it is seen that other forces are at work. It just remains to be examined what exactly these forces are and where they come from. Works Cited Bradley, Andrew Cecil. Shakespearean Tragedy; Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth. N.p.: Macmillan and Co., 1922. Print. Evans, Robert C. “’This Sport Well Carried Shall Be Chronicled’: Puck as Trickster in William Shakespeare’s ”A Midsummer Night’s Dream.“ N.p.: University at Montgomery, 2010. Print. Kastan, David Scott. “His semblable is his mirror”: Hamlet and the Imitation of Revenge. N.p.: EBSCO, 2002. Print. Marino, Kelli Rae. “Someone, Anyone”: Contemporary Theatre’s Empathetic Villain. N.p.: University of Arizona, 2008. Print. Swinburne, Algernon Charles. Three Plays of Shakespeare. N.p.: Harper and Brothers, 1909. Print.
In this essay, the author
- Compares the ideas of the villains within othello, midsummer night's dream, and hamlet.
- Compares othello's villain, iago, with midsummer night dream and hamlet, but they aren't as intelligent as he is. he seeks revenge for past wrongs but does not let that get in the way.
- Compares puck to the other villains in midsummer night's dream in that he cares about what is going on and is actually trying to fix some things.
- Analyzes how hamlet's villain, iago, is selfish and cares about nothing but his own life and pleasures. claudius is willing to live with what he has done to be with the queen and rule the kingdom.
- Explains that shakespeare's tragedies were well written and each tragedy has a link to the next in composition and style. the villains portray the image of both doing action and having action done to them.
- Cites bradley's shakespearean tragedy; lectures on hamlet, othello, king lear, and macbeth.
Related
- analytical
- Fortinbras as Foil for Shakespeare's Hamletanalytical essayBradley, A.C. "Shakespeare's Tragic Period--Hamlet." Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth. Toronto: MacMillan, 1967.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how hamlet is thinking about all the time he has wasted by procrastinating. he sees everything around him taking shape, all except his own actions.
- Analyzes how fortinbras is used as a foil for the main character, hamlet. both have lost their fathers to untimely deaths.
- Analyzes how the audience learns that fortinbras is a young, driven, and ambitious prince who is willing to risk everything for what he must do and achieve.
- Explains bradley, a.c., danson, lawrence, and rose, mark. "symbola and emblemata in hamlet."
1032 wordsRead More - Foils as Reflections of Hamletanalytical essayBradley, A.C. "Shakespeare's Tragic Period--Hamlet." Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth. Toronto: MacMillan, 1967.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that foils are minor characters that set off or accent the main characters of a play through similarities and differences.
- Analyzes how laertes represents hamlet's rage and the revenge he seeks. their anger is precipitated through the untimely death of their fathers, while leartes prefers to indulge in a parisian lifestyle.
- Analyzes how polonius represents the more guarded and paranoid side of hamlet. both men are suspicious of other people's motives and are ready to believe the worst in their loved ones.
- Analyzes how ophelia's character brings out some emotions in hamlet that are not reflected by any of the other foils.
- Opines that hamlet's role alone isn't enough to steal the show. the foils in this play bring his character to life while adding mystique, emotion, action and intensity to the story.
- Cites bradley, a.c., danson, lawrence, bloom, and manning on shakespeare's tragic period--hamlet.
1055 wordsRead More - A discussion of villains from the texts Othello, Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Hamlet by William Shakespeareanalytical essayIn a story, there will always be a villain or a protagonist, which makes the story what it is. Without the conflicts or problems that the villains start, there really wouldn’t be any stories, or if there were they would be boring because nothing dramatic would happen in them. William Shakespeare wrote many plays that had villains or protagonists in them, and because of this his plays were very appealing to the audience to sit and watch them. Some of the plays that Shakespeare wrote include the texts Othello, Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Hamlet, all which have a villain or protagonist in the story line.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that shakespeare wrote many plays that had villains or protagonists in them, which appealed to the audience to sit and watch.
- Analyzes how iago is the villain of shakespeare's play othello. he represents evil and cruelty for its own sake.
- Analyzes how puck, or robin goodfellow, can be thought of as a villain even though he isn't purposefully doing wrong in shakespeare's play midsummer night’s dream.
- Analyzes how claudius, from the text hamlet, is the most awful evil villain of the three texts discussed. he does something awful to the king, which is also his brother, just so he can become the king of denmark.
- Explains that shakespeare wrote many plays that had villains or protagonists in them, including iago, puck, and claudius. each play has its own villain, or evil character.
- Describes the works of jameson, lee, jarret, brittney, lopez, vincente, and amanda mabillard.
725 wordsRead More - Othello’s Copious Imageryanalytical essayKernan, Alvin. “Othello: and Introduction.” Shakespeare: The Tragedies. Ed. Alfred Harbage. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1964.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how othello's deliberation on the mode of death for his wife, suffocation, involves considerable imagery. he reflects, with mythical and nature imagery, that when he puts out her light
- Analyzes the proliferation of imagery in shakespeare's play, othello: the harbrace theatre edition.
- Analyzes how iago's hold over othello is illustrated by the language shakespeare puts into their mouths.
- Analyzes how othello's self-estimate is consistent with the release of unsuspected grossness of language and imagery in the riverside shakespeare.
- Analyzes how maynard mack comments on the imagery of darkness and how it supports the evil schemes of the ancient.
- Introduces brown, russell, ferguson, swisher, and kernan, alvin, to shakespeare's othello: the harbrace theatre edition.
- Explains that spurgeon, caroline, and wilson, h.s., on the design of shakespearean tragedy.
1923 wordsRead More - The Horrendous Evil Within Shakespeare's Macbethanalytical essayWarren, Roger. Shakespeare Survey 30. N.p.: n.p., 1977. Pp. 177-78. Rpt. in Shakespeare in the Theatre: An Anthology of Criticism. Stanley Wells, ed. England: Oxford University Press, 2000.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how lady macbeth is greater and lesser than her husband. she has a hardness which he lacks, but she has none of his subtlety and perception.
- Analyzes how macbeth is a play about the eclipse of civility and manhood, the temporary triumph of evil; when it ends, virtue and justice are restored, and the time is free.
- Compares the fall of macbeth to the fall of satan in everybody's shakespeare: reflections chiefly on the tragedies.
- Argues that if we accept scene v of act iii as canonical, we must accept it as a prologue to act iv.
- Analyzes how macbeth's evil coexists with traces of good in the play.
- Explains campbell, lily b., and clark, w.g. and aldis wright, eds. the complete works of william shakespeare.
- Cites fergusson, francis, knights, maynard, and wilson, h. s. on the design of shakespearean tragedy.
1962 wordsRead More - Variety of Evils in Shakespeare's Macbethanalytical essayWarren, Roger. Shakespeare Survey 30. N.p.: n.p., 1977. Pp. 177-78. Rpt. in Shakespeare in the Theatre: An Anthology of Criticism. Stanley Wells, ed. England: Oxford University Press, 2000.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how lady macbeth is greater and lesser than her husband. she has a hardness which he lacks, but she has none of his subtlety and perception.
- Analyzes how macbeth is a play about the eclipse of civility and manhood, the temporary triumph of evil; when it ends, virtue and justice are restored, and the time is free.
- Analyzes how shakespeare's "macbeth" manifests a rich variety of evils by the main characters and the witches.
- Analyzes how l.c. knights in shakespearean tragedy delineates the specific type of evil within the tragedy.
- Analyzes how the evil interpretation of macbeth's main characters may be exaggerated when critical commentary on the play began to flourish in the eighteenth century.
- Explains campbell, lily b., and clark, w.g. and aldis wright, eds. the complete works of william shakespeare.
- Cites fergusson, francis, knights, maynard, and wilson, h. s. on the design of shakespearean tragedy.
1962 wordsRead More - Deep Evil in Shakespeare's Macbethanalytical essayWarren, Roger. Shakespeare Survey 30. N.p.: n.p., 1977. Pp. 177-78. Rpt. in Shakespeare in the Theatre: An Anthology of Criticism. Stanley Wells, ed. England: Oxford University Press, 2000.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how lady macbeth is greater and lesser than her husband. she has a hardness which he lacks, but she has none of his subtlety and perception.
- Analyzes how macbeth is a play about the eclipse of civility and manhood, the temporary triumph of evil; when it ends, virtue and justice are restored, and the time is free.
- Analyzes how francis fergusson describes the evil course of action in "macbeth as the imitation of an action."
- Analyzes how l.c. knights in shakespearean tragedy delineates the specific type of evil within the tragedy.
- Analyzes how the evil interpretation of macbeth's main characters may be exaggerated when critical commentary on the play began to flourish in the eighteenth century.
- Explains campbell, lily b., and clark, w.g. and aldis wright, eds. the complete works of william shakespeare.
- Cites fergusson, francis, knights, maynard, and wilson, h. s. on the design of shakespearean tragedy.
1962 wordsRead More - Villains in Shakespeareanalytical essayAdams, John. "Who is the main villain in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream?" enotes. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2014. .
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes the similarities and differences in the plots of hamlet, othello, and a midsummer night's dream, but the villains or antagonists are important to them.
- Analyzes how hamlet, one of shakespeare's most popular plays of all time, has a combination of two villains.
- Concludes that villains are just as important to the story as the characters in a midsummer night’s dream.
- Explains adams, john, and kravchuk, michael. "hamlet – hamlet the villian." music, art, literature. n.p., 2013.
675 wordsRead More - Midsummer Night's Dream: Shakespeare vs. Michael Hoffmananalytical essayPuck, or Robin Goodfellow, is established in the play as the jester to the King of Fairies, Oberon. He first appears in Act 2, Scene 1 when he and another fairy discuss the disagreement between Oberon and Titania are having. The fairy gives us some indication of Puck's character as she describes how Puck “frights the maidens of the villagery” and “Misleading the night wanderers” (Act 2.1, line 35). When Titania refuses to give up the boy servant that Oberon wants, he comes up with a plan to steal the child, and enlists Puck's help to do so. Oberon is fully aware of Puck’s desire to have a good time at the expense of others, but trusts him with the task of retrieving the flower to make Titania fall in love with “Lion, Bear, Wolf, or Bull.” (Act 2.1, line 180) The idea here is to convince Titania to hand over the changeling boy while she is infatuated with a beast. Being attracted to mischief, Puck seems excited to be tasked to this adventure, and claims to return “Within forty minutes” (Act 2.1, line 176) so that they can get started on their plan.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how midsummer night's dream transformed into a cinematic production by michael hoffman has not changed in its basic plot and dialogue, but the setting and some character traits have.
- Analyzes how puck, or robin goodfellow, is established in the play as the jester to the king of fairies, oberon.
- Analyzes how puck describes his harmful behavior as if it is all logically consistent, but doesn't think he takes anything too far. the humor in the play comes across in a subtle manner.
- Analyzes how puck has a more overt sense of humor in the movie version of a midsummer nights dream.
- Analyzes how hoffman's transformation of puck from a subtle comedic character into an overt one enhances the story and makes the film version more enjoyable.
- Analyzes how nick bottom is the main character in a midsummer night's dream. he is a common weaver, but believes he is an actor.
- Analyzes how bottom's humor is presented in an overt fashion, and often in a way where bottom himself is not aware of it.
- Analyzes how hoffman's adaptation of a midsummer night’s dream brings a classical play to modern audiences and makes it an exciting and humorous experience.
1439 wordsRead More - kourtneyanalytical essay“Romeo and Juliet” is one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays. The antagonists in Shakespeare’s plays are usually easy to pick out, however in “Romeo and Juliet” it is not quite as clear because there are so many. An antagonist can be referred to as the villain in a story or play, or an opponent going against the protagonists. In other words, the antagonist is known as the “bad guy”. Since “Romeo and Juliet” doesn’t have one dominant villain, many different characters play the role as the villains in many different ways.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the antagonists in shakespeare's plays are easy to pick out, but in "romeo and juliet" it is not quite as clear because there are so many.
- Analyzes how capulet is one of the main antagonists in "romeo and juliet" and explains how he proposes to marry paris without her consent.
- Analyzes how tybalt is the second main antagonistic character in "romeo and juliet" and explains that if he had not challenged romeo to a dual, none of this would have happened.
- Analyzes how the nurse acts as an antagonist in "romeo and juliet".
- Concludes that capulet, tybalt and the nurse are antagonistic character or villains in "romeo and juliet".
565 wordsRead More