... seem to require the light of day rather than a setting in the darkest of all places at the darkest of all hours, but Shakespeare brilliantly combines this motif with the related symbols of the play to demonstrate the power of night and its correlation with love and vision. The reliance on different kinds of perception other than the sense of sight, as well as the power of the magic in the night forest, makes possible ... a happy ending for all four lovers by the end of the play. What begins in night as magic solidifies into reality with daylight. The darkness of night bequeaths peace an...

• Word Count: 1261
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... seem to require the light of day rather than a setting in the darkest of all places at the darkest of all hours, but Shakespeare brilliantly combines this motif with the related symbols of the play to demonstrate the power of night and its correlation with love and vision. The reliance on different kinds of perception other than the sense of sight, as well as the power of the magic in the night forest, makes possible ... a happy ending for all four lovers by the end of the play. What begins in night as magic solidifies into reality with daylight. The darkness of night bequeaths peace an...

• Word Count: 1268
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... . Unlike many of Shakespeare's plays, As You Like It seems to contain few references to the world outside the theatre; unlike the political history Shakespeare reworked in his "history plays," or the commentaries on kingship and power that pervade his tragedies, Shakespeare's comedy plays generally seem to be light-hearted works, meant to entertain and amuse, but not to provoke thought about anything more politically sensitive ... men and boys, so that Rosalind and Celia (as well as Phoebe and Audrey) would really have been played by youths in women's clothing; this puts the theme of cro...

• Word Count: 1477
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... no man exits that is not born of woman and Birnam forest would never rise from its roots, therefore, he is unstoppable. Who can impress the forest, bid the tree Unfix his earth bound-root? Sweet bodements! Good! Rebellious dead, rise till the wood Of Birnam rise, and our high-plac"d Macbeth Shall live the lease of nature, pay his breath To time and mortal custom ... . (4.1.95-100) After receiving the four apparitions, Macbeth is fearless. Without this dilemma, Macbeth decides ... finally killed, it is a very symbolic moment when his head is cut off. All the venom and evil in the play ar...

• Word Count: 1597
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... land. Twelfth Night, for example, takes place in Illyria, a semi-historical, semi-mystical place. Similarly, the forest in A Midsummer Night's Dream where the lovers retreat to, is a magical place, removed from the conventions of reality. In these enchanting locations, anything can happen and usually does. Having the plot unfold in these settings result in a light-hearted and comical story, which is better to present in a high school class than a tale of death ... and madness. Such a setting provides a heightened reality, not just for the characters in the play, but for the ... ...

• Word Count: 1601
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School