... , he could have avoided the catastrophes in his life. Critics may go on speaking of the grandeur of Shakespeare's achievement and of Lear as a character, but if the standard readings of the play were correct, a more honest reaction would resemble that of Groucho Marx, when, in a meeting almost ... but Shakespeare took pains to prevent us from wholly identifying with Lear's one-sided view of man as beast. Even Lear momentarily recognizes the diseased character of his imagination in this scene (4.6.130-31). Indeed, Lear's jaundiced view of women as all "centaurs" is immediately contradicted...

• Word Count: 8939
• Approx Pages: 36
• Grade Level: High School

... tragic gloom that he causes is only occasionally relieved by comedy, provided by Roderigo and the Clown. OVERALL ANALYSES CHARACTERS Othello Othello is a romantic character. He has not been born and bred in familiar England; instead he comes from the remote and mysterious Morocco. He has lived a life of ... the battlefield, Othello can be "led by the noseas asses are". Iago is just as negative about the finer qualities of character, not believing in any goodness or virtue. Reputation for him is "an idle and most false imposition". He considers love as "merely a lust of the blood and per...

• Word Count: 4125
• Approx Pages: 17
• Grade Level: High School