This does not mean that she merits the terrible accusations flung at her by Othello, nor does she in any way deserve her death, but she is partly responsible for the tragic action of the play. Othello’s behavior and mounting jealousy are made more comprehensible if we remember what Elizabethan husbands might expect of their wives. (45) In the opening scene, while Iago is expressing his hatred for the general Othello for his selection of Michael Cassio for the lieutenancy, he contrives a plan to partially avenge himself (“I follow him to serve my turn upon him”), with Roderigo’s assistance, by alerting Desdemona’s father, Brabantio, to the fact of his daughter’s elopement with Othello: “Call up her father, / Rouse him: make after him, poison his delight [. . .]
This c... ... middle of paper ... ...n more so to Jacobean audiences. Historical Context Lady Macbeth was able to fascinate me by depicting female subordination in a patriarchal society. To me she was an advocate for provoking authority for her gender but succeeded through immoral means. Being able to intimately understand her feelings and ambitions from the play, she made me realise that women at the time, could be as ambitious and cruel as men, yet social constraints deny them the means to pursue these ambitions on their own because of their gender. Lady Macbeth’s complexity and atypical characteristics directly challenged the normality of Jacobean society and engaged and fascinated audiences with great effect.
Should people be allowed to break the set laws of society for their own desires? In the famous play “Romeo and Juliet” these laws have affected the main character Juliet in many ways. In this play these laws not only prevent her from having true happiness with Romeo, but they also force Juliet into a marriage that she does not even want. They even force her to have a fake her own death to be with her one true love; however, Juliet breaks these set laws though to have true happiness with the one she loves. Although Juliet goes against society, she does it in order to be happy with Romeo, avoid being wed to Paris, and not having to listen to her family.
Isabella is, in a sense, asking Mariana to perform the very act which she has not only been avoiding, but that she is disgusted by. The fact that Isabella would accept the Duke's plan without question, which she does, has caused critics to question how saintly she actually is. The Duke has also been criticized for conducting and carrying out his plan. After all, he is the Duke, and he could have stopped Angelo and saved Mariana from having to sacrifice herself if he would have simply removed his disguise. It seems to be odd that a character the audience is expected to revere would not try to solve this problem by a more respectable, and much more simple, solution.
Desdemona and Emilia can be perceived as a foil to each other because of their different beliefs for women’s roles in marriage. Her obedience toward her husband causes her to steal the handkerchief and give it to Iago, so he can falsely set Cassio up with it. Without Emilia, Shakespeare could not have exposed his view on women’s roles and marriage, and the storyline for his tragic play Othello could not have been achieved. Works Cited Shakespeare, William. Othello.
While Zamyatin felt that trust in society led to the decline of personal willpower, Sophocles argued that personal willpower provided a better alternative to trust in society. Antigone sticks to her morals, even in direct violation of laws established by the “Ship of State”. Sophocles paints a picture of human beings as the play toys of malevolent gods and goddesses; in the end sticking to morals is the only way to escape the malicious cycle that plagues Thebes. Ibsen provides middle ground between the others as Nora’s awareness of the pitfalls of an ideal society prompt her to seek new beginnings as an aware and thinking individual. In the final scene of A Doll’s House, Nora articulates to Torvald her motives for leaving him and abandoning their family: “I believe that before all else I am a reasonable human being, just as you are--or, at all events, that I must try and become one.
Ophelia wants to trust Hamlet and does not understand his antic disposition, but still tries to be loyal to him. However, the way Hamlet treats Ophelias contributes to her insanity and is arguably the most recognizable cause of her misfortune “Get thee to a nunnery,/...Or, if thou wilt needs marry,/ marry a fool,
There are many aspects of her character that can be interpreted in more than one-way, such as her attitude, appearance, and actions. Many critique the true motivation for Kate?s actions. Kate is not tamed within the play but liberated, taught to love, and taught how to enjoy life. Kate is stubborn, harsh, and cruel at the beginning of the play. When Hortensio describes her to Petruccio he calls her shrewd, ill-favoured, an intolerable-curst, and a froward (I.2.ll.
For her to look upon another man other than her husband would have been totally unacceptable. Whereas Jason marries another woman while he... ... middle of paper ... ... the Chorus, they condemn her for it, but, they can see and understand the reasons behind why Medea did what she did. For this reason at the end of the play the audience still has some sympathy for Medea, although severely diminished from that at the beginning of the play. The Chorus, in this play, guides the audience. In the end, it is up to the individual as to what reaction they have to the play, but the Chorus is there to, in a way makes this reaction more complicated.
When reading the play Gertrude's character is enigmatic. This leads a lot down to personal interpretation upon reading the play. We also have to take the culture of that period in time into consideration when examining Gertrude's character. Act 3 scene 4 emphasises this showing us two separate arguments for the portrayal of Gertrude's character. An interpretation that I would like to explore is Gertrude as an evil character in the play.