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Lady Macbeth Ambition

2 Pages 1004 Words
Introduction The play ‘Macbeth’ was written by one of the world’s greatest writer’s ‘William Shakespeare’. It is recognised as one of the most tragic stories that has ever been written. He uses numerous characters to develop the downfall of Macbeth. Characters such as Lady Macbeth is one of the most significant protagonists in the play as she manipulated Macbeth to...

Hamlet As An Archetype

4 Pages 1878 Words
Shakespeare's literary works are notorious for being complex in nature and with many layers of meaning hidden within characters actions, motifs, and the nature of the genre. Reality, like Shakespeare’s works but on an elevated level, is likewise very complicated and difficult to understand, because of this, it is often looked to literature and film to relate ourselves to fictitious...

Isolation and freedom in A Doll's House and Room

3 Pages 1513 Words
Both the 1879 patriarchal play 'A Doll's House' directed by Henrik Ibsen and Emma Donoghue's 2010 modern novel 'Room', challenge audiences to confront the conflict between submitting to isolation and finding freedom in oneself. Ibsen and Donoghue focus on protagonists whose desires extend further than their current circumstance. Ibsen challenges readers to examine the importance of freedom, using techniques in...

Love obstructed by pride, deception, and fear in Much Ado About Nothing

2 Pages 1010 Words
Throughout Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare, Beatrice and Benedick love takes an overwhelming course of ups and downs. In the book the people of Messina are rooting for them to build a relationship and eventually get married but Beatrice and Benedick have personal issues that’s hindering the true love they share for one another. Beatrice has a very...

Unchecked ambition corrupts in Macbeth

2 Pages 702 Words
Macbeth, once an honorable character, loyal to his kings and friends. Always praised by everyone around him because of his positive demeanour. However, as the play continues, Macbeth soon falls victim to the witches’ prediction and suffers from his fatal flaw which is the desire for power and position. Macbeth murders his King who sees Macbeth as a loyal soldier...

Symbolism in Catcher in the Rye & Streetcar Named Desire

4 Pages 1992 Words
The word symbol, derived from the Greek verb symballein, ‘to throw together’, is an animate or inanimate object that represents or ‘stands for’ something else.1 They use a concrete image to express implicit ideas or emotions, to be interpreted by the reader. In the 20th Century, for instance, the United States used Uncle Sam as an easily recognizable symbol in...

The Concept Of Suffer In The Play King Lear

2 Pages 754 Words
Through all the suffering, there is still hope in the world. Shakespeare introduces a society in his play King Lear in which no one can emerge victorious. The fact that tragedy makes no distinction between good and evil is evinced at the end of the play as although King Lear’s daughters are continuously contrasted, they are all lead to their...
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Portrayal Of British Society In Victorian Era In The Play Pygmalion

3 Pages 1232 Words
For many years, people have come to criticize other people’s aspects without being aware of why they are that way. In English society, especially during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, social status has always been viewed as something significant. In this society power was determined by the way the language was spoken, the more proper the more power. This play...

A Doll’s House: Marxist And Feminist Perspectives

4 Pages 1624 Words
Norway's Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House, published in 1879, is a play about Nora Helmer, who has committed a crime of forgery to repair her husband to good health. As a dramatic play, A Doll's House inspects the relationship between Torvald, her husband, and Nora, especially the limited social choices available to women and the roles and expectations placed on...

The Idea Of Taming And Women Roles In The Taming Of The Shrew

3 Pages 1179 Words
The Taming of The Shrew was one of Shakespeare’s earlier Elizabethan comedies, written in the early 1590s. Set in Renaissance Italy, it is likely that inspiration grew from popular English ballads and folktales, telling of shrewish wives tamed by their belligerent husbands. This relationship dynamic was common in this era, particularly in the male-dominated literary world. The play has recently...

Archetypal Characters And Ancient Myths In A Midsummer Night's Dream

4 Pages 1747 Words
Introduction to Archetypes and Myths in Shakespeare's Comedy “The course of true love never did run smooth” (Crowther, ed., 2005). Nor do dreams; a series of thoughts, images and sensations occurring in a person’s mind during sleep. A Midsummer Night’s Dream gives us a conscious fantasy, a doubting reality. The plot revolves around the desire for well-matched love and the...

Examples of Hamlet's Madness

2 Pages 1110 Words
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Madness can be defined as a severely disordered state of the mind usually caused by a mental disorder. Madness can arise in people who endure traumatic experiences and stress and cannot find a way to control their behaviour. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, whether or not Hamlet is truly mad is controversial. Hamlet is in an extremely fragile mental state after the...

The Concepts Of Time And Space In A Midsummer Night's Dream

2 Pages 948 Words
The spaces between reality and illusion in theatre are important for shaping the audience’s perceptions of the world. The Bell Shakespeare team describes this as “the ultimate ‘liminal spaces’, neither reality nor pure illusion”. William Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ explores the aspect of liminality by blurring the boundaries of the real word with fantasy. This is done through many...

Racism in a Raisin in the Sun

1 Page 639 Words
In Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin In the Sun, an African-American family living in a tiny, run-down apartment on the south side of Chicago, encounters barriers due to poverty and structural racism as they try to turn their dreams into reality. Sadly, the Younger family’s struggles with racial tensions in the 1950s are not unlike what Black Americans face today. In...

Victorian Era Literature: The Importance of Being Earnest

4 Pages 1954 Words
Section 1: Social, Political and Philosophical Context The Victorian era was one of great change and importance. The industrialisation of England during this time forever changed how and where people lived. The shift from rural to urban work accelerated with the rise of factories and the advancement of technology. The lower classes were overworked and suffered from horrible workplace conditions....

Revenge and Its Consequences in Hamlet

3 Pages 1255 Words
Introduction Revenge serves as a central theme in William Shakespeare's "The Tragical Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark," driving the narrative and influencing the characters' actions. This theme is deeply intertwined with the play's exploration of morality, justice, and the human psyche. Hamlet's quest for vengeance against his uncle, King Claudius, who has murdered his father, sets off a chain...

Macbeth Mental Illness

3 Pages 1255 Words
Reviewed double_ok
In the play, Macbeth, Macbeth himself wanted nothing more than power. He was so obsessed with power that he would go as far as committing murder to make sure that no one would get in the way of him and his throne. Throughout the play, Macbeth showed many symptoms of various mental health disorders. This proved that Macbeth committed these...

Identity Formation in Pygmalion and Complicated

3 Pages 1560 Words
What makes someone themselves? Is it their appearance, music taste, personality or the way others see them? Avril Lavigne explored the changing behaviour of her boyfriend around her and his friends through her hit song ‘Complicated’ and no she’s not dead folks. Her annoyance is expressed through the lyrics “the way you’re acting like somebody else gets me frustrated”. However,...
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Psychoanalytic Theory In Romeo And Juliet By William Shakespeare

2 Pages 1113 Words
Romeo and Juliet were undisciplined children. The characters , Romeo and Juliet, in the play 'Romeo and Juliet' by William Shakespeare, make rash decisions regarding their lives; which were influenced by, nature, their instinct, and nurture, how they were raised, effects decisions. Romeo and Juliet's decisions are evenly influenced by psychoanalytic theory and behaviorism because nature and nurture affect all...

Jealousy And Envy In Othello By William Shakespeare

2 Pages 918 Words
Jealousy is the main theme in the play Othello where Shakespeare portrays it using different characters throughout the play. The male protagonist Othello who is a bold and brave dark person selected as military general of Venice by the Duke of Venice. Female protagonist Desdemona is in love with Othello and is married to him. Her father is not happy...

Archetypal Symbols In The Play Much Ado About Nothing

1 Page 517 Words
An archetype is “a recurrent symbol or motif in literature, art, or mythology.” A symbol is “a thing that represents or stands for something else, especially a material object representing something abstract.” In the play “Much Ado About Nothing” by William Shakespeare, there are many archetypal symbols that can be found, such as horns, poetry, and masks. Those three symbols...

The Role Of Fate In Oedipus Rex By Sophocles

1 Page 631 Words
In Oedipus Rex, the subject of visual impairment and vision alludes to the information and knowledge or the absence of it that the characters endure. Destiny is another solid topic. In endeavoring to get away from his destiny, Oedipus just turns out to be all the more profoundly weaved with it – he is oblivious in regards to and bound...

Gender Roles in "Trifles"

2 Pages 901 Words
Introduction The one-act play "Trifles," written by Susan Glaspell in 1916, serves as a poignant exploration of gender roles and the societal attitudes towards women during the early 20th century. The narrative unfolds around the murder investigation of John Wright, with the male characters primarily focusing on tangible evidence while the female characters uncover the motive by observing domestic details....

The Theme Of Suffer In The Glass Menagerie And Ethan Frome

3 Pages 1278 Words
In Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, Oedipus, the honorable and esteemed king of Thebes, bringssuffering upon his people through his unwitting murder of his father. In an ironic sense, Oedipus Rex serves as a precedent for tragic works such as The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Willams and Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton, where the well intentioned actions of a singular character precipitate...

Fate Vs Free Will Macbeth

2 Pages 973 Words
It has been believed that the choices we make only elude fate and fate is only a manipulator that helps choose your path. In Shakespeare’s tragic play, Macbeth (1609), the main character falls from being a nobleman by the drive of his free will to act upon the fateful words of the witches’; Macbeth in no cause is under a...

The American Dream in Literature

2 Pages 1067 Words
Introduction The American Dream, a concept deeply embedded in the cultural fabric of the United States, has been a source of inspiration and disillusionment alike. This dream, often characterized by the pursuit of success, wealth, and social mobility, has been scrutinized and deconstructed by numerous literary works. Two seminal texts that offer a poignant critique of the American Dream are...

Doctor Faustus As A Renaissance Play

3 Pages 1254 Words
Renaissance, which literally implies revival or reawakening, is the title of a Europe-wide motion that has shut down medieval trame and conferences and liberated everyone in existence and culture. The change from celestial to human existence took place. The Renaissance person on which he assessed and gaged everything, richness, understanding and strength of understanding were the touchstones. Individualism and worldliness...

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