Othello: the Abnormalities in the Play

Oyebode stresses out that it is essentially not that important whether Hamlet was mad or not. Shakespeare used perception of real madness by psychiatrists and general public to serve it as a model. Then his characters reinforced definition of madness by themselves through literary and theatric representation. Although this book focuses on Hamlet and King Lear, it is a good source to understand which tools Shakespeare utilizes to convey madness to his readers and audience. I will analyze Macbeth in terms of the tools that Shakespeare used in other

In conclusion, Plato argued that comedy blends pain with pleasure and Shakespeare has blended these two elements in order to challenge the Elizabethan audience’s view of women. The Elizabethan audience would have been able to see this by the fact that Petruchio is not serious about the taming because he does not use physical violence against Katherina. However, modern audiences would view this very differently as Petruchio resorts to psychological torture, which affects Katherina much more. The play is clearly a comedy as the characters are one-dimensional and are mostly static, meaning that the play was designed to be unrealistic. However, there is a definite element of cruelty that runs throughout the play that is used in order to make both modern and Elizabethan audiences take notice in order to challenge society’s treatment of women.

Reason and love in A Midsummer Night’s Dream Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is often read as a dramatization of the incompatibility of “reason and love” (III.i. 127), yet many critics pay little attention to how Shakespeare manages to draw his audience into meditating on these notions independently (Burke 116). The play is as much about the conflict between passion and reason concerning love, as it is a warning against attempting to understand love rationally. Similarly, trying to understand the play by reason alone results in an impoverished reading of the play as a whole – it is much better suited to the kind of emotive, arbitrary understanding that is characteristic of dreams. Puck apologises directly to us, the audience, in case the play “offend[s]” us, but the primary offence we can take from it is to our rational capacity to understand the narrative, which takes place in a world of inverses and contrasts.

No Tragic Flaw in Hamlet It was my observation after reading Hamlet, that the play and its main character are not typical examples of tragedy and contain a questionable "tragic flaw" in the tragic hero. I chose this topic because Hamlet is a tragedy, but one that is very different from classical tragedies such as Medea. I also found quite a lot of controversial debate over the play and its leading character. While reading through my notes, I found that, according to Aristotle, "the tragic hero will most effectively evoke both our pity and terror if he is neither thoroughly good nor evil but a mixture of both; and also that the tragic effect will be stronger if the hero is better than we are in the sense that he is of higher than ordinary moral worth. Such a man is exhibited as suffering a change in fortune from happiness to misery because of a mistaken act, to which he is led by his hamartia ("error of judgment") or his tragic flaw."

To strengthen his message, Shakespeare draws parallels between the cynical ‘voice of reason,’ Theseus, and the nobles in his intended audience. Thus, said nobles might see how little good Theseus’s cynicism ultimately did him, and that, as he was wrong in disbelieving in the fairies’ power over the lovers, he might be wrong in disbelieving the worth of imagination and plays, and their power over the world of cool reason. Works Cited Shakespeare, William. Edited: Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Macbeth is Not Well-intentioned "Macbeth is a well-intentioned character whose downfall is caused solely by the evil advice and influence of other characters." To what extent do you consider this statement to be true? In William Shakespeare's, Macbeth, Macbeth is a character whose downfall is caused by a number of factors. Despite Macbeth being portrayed as a brave, masculine soldier, he is easily persuaded by his wife, Lady Macbeth and the witches who deliver prophecies to Macbeth. Macbeth, while being a victim of this influence, constantly hides his inner ill-intentions and makes tragic and consequential decisions that result in his subsequent downfall.

(Shakespeare, and Alexander, Act 1, scene 1, line 64). One may think that he is an honest person but as it turns out, Iago feels that Cassio is ignorant and not well suited to be g... ... middle of paper ... ...of the wrongs they commit to them end up having far much worse outcomes even for the avenger. This is clearly brought out in Othello through Iago and what he faces after his revengeful acts against Othello. Othello, who is a noble hero, is also brought down as a result of revenge. The revengeful nature has to be conquered and tamed if man is to proceed in life, acts of forgiveness and love must instead replace the urge to avenge a misdeed.

Shakespeare added a character of this nature to displays the fact that many are not what they seem. Iago, similar to a devil feels no remorse for the trouble caus... ... middle of paper ... ...feels no remorse for his complications he caused. The handkerchief is a prime example of this. He uses the handkerchief and his knowledge of the importance of it to Othello to create chaos. While Iago further pushed Othello into believing his stories about Desdemona’s unfaithfulness, he states, “Her honor is an essence that’s not see: they have it very oft that have it not” (Act I, Scene I, Lines 16-17).

And Claudius is right that such “madness in great ones must not unwatched go” (III.i.end). For the madman, precisely because he does not accept society’s compromises and because he explores its conventions for meanings they cannot bear, exposes the flaws which “normal” society keeps hidden (70). Phyllis Abrahms and Alan Brody in “Hamlet and the Elizabethan Revenge Tragedy Formula” consider the madness of the hero to be completely feigned and not real: Hamlet is a masterpiece not because it conforms to a set of conventions but because it takes those conventions and transmutes them into the pure gold of vital, relevant meaning. Hamlet’s feigned madness, for instance, becomes the touchstone for an illumination of the mysterious nature of sanity itself (44-45). Hamlet’s first words in the play say that Claudius is "A little more than kin and less ... ... middle of paper ... ...y Martin).

I believe that the Problem is actually ours. Perhaps the real issue is not Hamlet's hesitation, but our unwillingness to understand it. In an ironic maneuver, Shakespeare has Hamlet tell us about the self-destructive power of a tragic flaw: So, oft it chances in particular men, That for some vicious mole of nature in them, As, in their birth--wherein they are not guilty, Since nature cannot choose his origin-- By the o'ergrowth of some complexion, Oft breaking down the pales and forts of reason, Or by some habit that too much o'er-leavens The form of plausive manners, that these men, Carrying, I say, the stamp of one defect, Being nature's livery, or fortune's star,-- Their virtues else--be they as pure as grace, As infinite as man may undergo-- Shall in the general censure take corruption From that particular fault: the dram of eale Doth all the noble substance of a doubt To his own scandal. Believers that virtuousness (or enlightenment) guarantees right conduct, take note! The key to Hamlet's flaw, the stuckness that has puzzled so many readers, is lodged, not in the beginning, but in the end--the place of maximum emphasis--of the "to be or not to be" soliloquy, the most famous dramatic monologue... ... middle of paper ... ...udies of Imagination.