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literary analysis of william shakespeare
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Two sisters, both alike in inhuman cruelty, in fair Albion where William Shakespeare lays the scene, from an old kingdom break to new mutiny, where unrighteous deeds make unrighteous hands unclean. From forth the fatal hearts of these two foes, these sisters do take each others lives. Or do they? In modern day screenplay writing, writers are introduced to the idea that one page of script is equal to one minute on screen. This same application is also used in playwriting. When Regan is carried offstage, she can be perceived by readers as both alive and dead at same time. The reader does not know the outcome of her fate until roughly four pages of script have passed between her getting carried offstage to the Gentleman running back onstage. For Goneril, she leaves two pages after Regan and is then found dead two pages later. What happened during those two minutes before Goneril? Goneril did not commit suicide; Regan, out of her love-torn jealousy for Edmund, was able to stab Goneril in the heart with a dagger before she herself died from poison.
It is not clear from the initial report that Goneril died by her own hand. The Gentleman who brings back the dagger exclaims to Albany:
‘T is hot, it smokes;
It came even from the heart of— O, she’s dead!
………………………………………………………..
Your lady, sir, your lady: and her sister
By her poisoned; she hath confess’d it (V.iii.114-115).
If the Gentleman is the same person who went off after Goneril when Albany ordered him to follow her, logically he would have reported that Goneril was the one who stabbed the dagger into her chest. This same character would have also been with Goneril when she died, having been ordered by Albany to “govern her” (V.iii.112) in case she did anything reckless. ...
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...sed him, just like how she used everyone else. Since Regan was not around to hear these claims, she still believes that Goneril loves Edmund. When Goneril comes between Regan and the man Regan loves, it is only a matter of time before either sister does something drastic.
There is something poetic of having the person, who is, arguably, one of the most formidable characters in Shakespeare’s work, die at the hands of her own blood. In many stories, the villain is killed by an act of love. Goneril, having a lack of empathy for anyone, could not be stopped until someone close to her was able to stab her in the heart. Regan could kill Goneril because no one else could, redeeming her character before she died as doing one good thing to make up for her other atrocities in the play. For never was a story of loves so weakend, than this of Goneril and her sister Regan.
Although Cohen provides a lot on insight about death in King Lear, I liked how Lawrence specifically focused on the suicide attempts and how they relate to the play. In a day and age where many people seem sensitive to talking about suicide, it was nice to see Lawrence’s openness in talking about it. I found that through his critique, I was able to consider suicide as a theme in King Lear, which I had been unable to address previously. The idea Lawrence suggested that really brought my attention to the theme of suicide was that death comes from outside the self. Although many people believe we have control over suicide, King Lear makes it apparent that while we can do things to speed up our deaths, we do not have full control over how and when we die since there is a force beyond us that influences our deaths. This is seen through Gloucester’s repeated attempts to kill himself. No matter how hard he tries to escape life on Earth, it appears that some other force has other plans for him. On the other hand, Goneril is successful at her suicide attempt because she has no feelings towards others. Unlike Gloucester, Goneril does not seek attention or purpose in her life, but would rather keep a low profile after killing Regan. Lawrence provides us with yet another way that Shakespeare highlights the predicament that comes with human existence. Ultimately, we only
The pursuit of power and constant struggle to maintain it leads to the deterioration of the mind. In the play Macbeth, Shakespeare demonstrates this concept through Macbeth’s struggle for power and his subsequent down fall. This is evident in his complete loss of honour and loyalty, his new found constitution of duplicity and his lack of value for life itself.
have committed suicide by stabbing herself with a knife. This was not like every story that has a “happily ever after” ending. Cordelia had been killed by her own sister’s plots and so was her father King Lear. Goneril and Regan were both liars and scornful, they had planned to kill their own family members just to get what they pleased for.
... her sister shows how ruthless she is, but also shows how desperate she is to feel loved by another man; this could reflect the neglect that she has gotten from her father or her husband – this again links to the character of Ammu who feels worthless in the eyes of her father. When Edmund is slained by Edgar in Act 5, Scene 3, Goneril goes into a state of despair and disbelief “thou art not vanquished.” This mirrors the reaction of Lear when he finds Cordelia dead so could be used by Shakespeare to show the similarities between Lear and Goneril who both crave power and love, but have ultimately been left with nothing. Her character is one that most people would not symphasise with; James W. Bell refers to her as a “devious little conspirator,” but there are many layers to her character that Shakespeare has added to show how no person is completely “good” or “evil.”
She decided that having her father live with her was more than she could bear and, therefore, ordered Oswald to both disobey and ignore Lear from that point onward in hopes that he would soon leave her home. Thus, Goneril is explicitly disobeyin...
[Macbeth] announces the King's approach; and she, insensible it should seem to all the perils which he has encountered in battle, and to all the happiness of his safe return to her, -- for not one kind word of greeting or congratulations does she offer, -- is so entirely swallowed up by the horrible design, which has probably been suggested to her by his letters, as to have forgotten both the one and the other. It is very remarkable that Macbeth is frequent in expressions of tenderness to his wife, while she never betrays one symptom of affection towards him, till, in the fiery furnace of affliction, her iron heart is melted down to softness.
While she elicits her evil character in the mere shadows of the play, in public, she is able to act as Duncan “honoured hostess”, enticing her victim, into her castle. When she faints immediately after the murder of Duncan, the audience is left wondering whether this, too, is part of her act. This c...
The Bard of Avon shows in his tragedy Macbeth an evil couple who face the dark hand of death - as a result of criminal deeds. Let us look closely at the growing, enveloping darkness of the play as it progresses.
The play “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare, involves a character, Lady Macbeth, whose character changes all through the entire play. She was a evil woman. A very manipulative person, whose selfishness was the reason why her character came to a downfall. At the start of the play, Lady Macbeth used her manipulative ways to persuade her husband of murder, convincing him murder was the only option in getting what he wanted. As the play advanced and the murders continued, Lady Macbeth started to wonder if the murders were even relevant. Regretfully, but yet understanding, Lady Macbeth committed suicide from the on going questions that led her to her insanity.
Goneril and Regan won over the kingdom by lying and exaggerating their love for their father because of greed. Lear travels to spend his first part of his retirement with his daughter Goneril. With him travels his fool and Kent disguised as Caius to follow Lear because he knows he is making the wrong decision. Because Gonerils love for her father is fake and insincere, she does not want him there and makes it so that he is treated terrible by her servants. Lear begins to see the greed, dishonesty, and evil in his daughter, Goneril, and leaves, outraged, to visit his other daughter Regan believing...
Hatred and desire fueled Goneril, Regan, and Edmund to lie in order to obtain their parents’ power leading to destruction within their family. Edmund’s hatred was continued by the reminder that he was only the bastard son of Gloucester driving him to lie to both of them ultimately ruining his father’s eyesight and his brother’s identity. Goneril and Regan got rid of their father while retained his power by lying about who loved him the most and took away his knights. From King Lear, Shakespeare concluded that greed and power are capable of ruining a family.
William Shakespeare’s infamous Tragedy of King Lear is as much about political authority as family dynamic. Although regarded as one of the most emotionally difficult, and portrays a world lacking of love, in which humanity is detached from any spiritual, higher being, there is still glimmers of goodness that can be discovered. While other discussions of King Lear focus on the bleakness and despair of the environment as well as the characters, especially Lear, it is arguable that this play is not an exemplification of a work lacking in morals, but of the reenchantment of charity, especially forgiveness as a pushback against the violence. Through this reading, a considerable amount of credit is given to Cordelia, and the powerful emotional impact she provides.
While at war with each other for Edmund 's love, jealousy and resentment surface between the two. Goneril plots to murder her own husband and kill her own sister, an act purely driven by greed and lust to win Edmund 's love and have complete control of the kingdom (Lind). Being so power-hungry, Goneril has no conscience, not even for her own flesh and blood. She is willing to fight and win at all cost while basing her theory of life on the "survival of the fittest" concept. Goneril and Regan show superior strength as strong women by being deceitful and cruel towards their father, husbands and finally each other, but their behavior caused everything to happen with dirty intentions, leading to their downfall of power and death (Teach). Shakespeare appears to paints all empowering women as conniving, selfish and evil. Well, "if the shoe fits," Goneril and Regan wear it
Henceforth, Lear's mirage of love proves be inaccurate. His eldest daughters Goneril and Regan, in the attempt to inherit the largest portions of land, deliver long-winded descriptions of their affection towards their father, which prove to be false as the play progresses. Goneril ironically claims that she loves her father "more than words can wield the matter; dearer than eyesight, space, and liberty; beyond what can be valued." Although she claims that words are not sufficient in describing her love for her father, her plethora of words that follow seems to contradict this proclamation. Regan, the middle sister, adopts her sister's usage of pathos as she competes for the largest area of land. However, when it is Cordelia's turn, her words are startlingly different from her sisters. In her declaration of love, Cordelia uses reason. Cordelia questions the sincerity of her sisters’ words. "W...