... and question marks, "Stand, ho! Who is there?" (1:1:15), which further show the unease of the sentinels and the fact that they are very wary of the situation as well as what is yet to come. The setting of this scene further expands upon the drama of the opening. The play opens in the dead of night on the battlements of a Danish Castle, a harsh and cold image. We are informed by ... Barnardo, "'Tis now struck twelve", a time that can be referred to as the witching hour. An element of the supernatural is hinted at here, almost a ... revealed that what these sentinels fear, is in fact the ...

• Word Count: 1515
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... made with extreme simplicity--- I was still by nature solicitous to be neat. It was not my habit to be disregardful of appearance, or careless of the impression I made; on the contrary, I ever wished to look as well as I could, and to please as much as my want of beauty would permit. I sometimes regretted ... upon him in a cave, question his entire being saying, "What have we here, a man or a fish? Dead or Alive? A fish, he smells like a fish; a very ancient and fishlike smell; a kind of not-of-the-newest Poor John (salted fish, type of poor fare). A strange fish! Were I in England now...

• Word Count: 1755
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... knights have been rowdy and disruptive, Goneril manages to make herself look like a victim as she throws her father to the cold. She plays the role of the schemer throughout the play, the female equivalent of a male character named Edmund. In perhaps a fitting match, she later seeks an affair with him, ... . When Cornwall dies, she too approaches Edmund to become her partner, sending a letter and token of affection. In learning that Gloucester has survived the torture, she sends a servant to seek out and kill him. Regan's wicked desire to rule all shows that she is a character of greed ...

• Word Count: 1537
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... the main villain of the play, it looked as if the queen was making all the moves in the beginning, but if he hadn't have made a bet with Jachimo, Imogen never would have faced those odd situations. "I will wage against your gold, gold to it. My ring I hold dear as my finger, "tis part of it" (I.4.132&133). He wants Imogen dead ... after believing Jachimo's trickery, then becomes a bit of a woman-hater. Throughout most of the play, he's filled with hate and self-pity (somewhat) and at the end when all is revealed, Imogen actually takes him back. All that leaves him with ... up at his wif...

• Word Count: 1756
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... objective and real system of male sexual domination. Additionally, a woman as a whore has to die in the end, because men have underlying fear of them which is endorsed by society". This is explicit in The Tempest: Sycorax is not only dead before the play begins, but her absence allows her to be a victim of Prospero's defamatory recount.

Shakespeare's female leaders have an extraordinary ... amount of power; however, instead of being allowed to revel in it, their threat to the man requires them to relinquish their power or will, in ... order
to live harmoniously with them. A prim...

• Word Count: 2000
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... hard time believing that Hal has really changed. In act four, while the very sick King Henry IV is sleeping, Hal comes in and sits with him. Hal believes the King is dead so he takes the crown. King Henry IV awakens and believes the worst of Hal and goes back to believing that Hal is of detestable ... character. When Hal reenters with the crown and is approached by his father, Hal shows himself to ... at his wayward youth. King Henry V sentences Falstaff to death and gives all his other prior companions a salary to live off of. King Henry V recognizes the need for both clemency and cruel...

• Word Count: 1747
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... th"event" [IV.iv.41] (that inhibits him from action. It is arguably Hamlet's thoughts and scruples, which lead him to don the cloak of madness, which strongly suggests this view as procrastination. Most of Hamlet's soliloquies are, "transactions between himself and his moral sense effusions of ... from Hamlet, "But two months dead, nay, not so much, not two! / So excellent a King; that was to this / Hyperion to a satyr". [I.ii.138-140] This reveals the depth of emotion and turmoil within Hamlet's mind. This is also shown further at the end of Hamlet's soliloquies. Most ... it. Why Shake...

• Word Count: 1550
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... to the humour it keeps the comedy of the situation alive. She seems unfazed by the insult so the comedy element, although obscene, remains acceptable. The humour in Twelfth Night is aggressive in parts and Shakespeare's methods of extracting comedy are both amusing and controversial. The mockery of the church is highly controversial and he dares to speak ill of the dead through Feste. Because of the nature of the play ... he had to have festive humour also. Sir Toby and Sir Andrew inject this humour with their drunken banter, yet even the comedy between them turns aggressive towards the ...

• Word Count: 1722
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... is perhaps more perceptive than her husband, and thinks her plans through very carefully, and maybe even deviously. As this particular soliloquy goes on, the evil in Lady Macbeth is again emphasised. Her words become more rhythmic and what she says seems almost like an incantation. Poetic phrases like: ... "Hie thee hither,"" begin to appear, giving the audience the impression that Lady Macbeth is using black magic or evil hexes to gain her means. As she goes on, she becomes even more witch- ... act two, scene three, Lady Macbeth's actions are greatly disputed. When she is told, along ...

• Word Count: 2244
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School

... by law but also by eternal damnation. So even considering suicide emphasises her extremely troubled state of mind. It is clear to readers that the narrator is not approaching the loss in a positive way. She is going round in circles, claiming she is over her love and "existence could be cherished" but ... not "suffering" and "anguish". This makes the reader realise that in this case it is not true love, since the narrator is still chained to a lost lover. By saying that he is "cold in the dreary grave" it suggests that he can still feel the cold despite being dead, and shows readers that...

• Word Count: 1578
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... : she loves Romeo and she is already married. To end it all, she had to kill herself to live with Romeo for the rest of her life, which is what she wanted. A plan was devised, where Juliet would appear dead, and wake up in Romeo's arms. But with bad communication problems, that was impossible. Juliet faked her death, but Romeo thought she ... was actually dead, so he killed himself. By waking up, Juliet finds out that Romeo died and decided to end her life to be with her Romeo. In this case, it shows the tragedy of human existence because she was not allowed to be with an enemy that she ...

• Word Count: 1287
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... Shakespeare's' poems and plays show his love of nature and rural life which reflects his childhood. On November 28, 1582, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway of the neighboring village of Shottery. Hamnet, Shakespeare's son, died in 1596. In 1607, his daughter Susana got married. Shakespeare's other daughter, Judith, got ... a duel for killing Mercutio. It symbolized that Romeo was a decent person and really did not like to get involved in any of the brawls that the other teens started. When Escalus banished Romeo from Verona rather than putting him to death, Romeo is upset and goes to Fri...

• Word Count: 1461
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... . Juliet for example says, "Methinks I see thee, now thou art so low, as one dead in the bottom of a tomb." She sees Romeo dead in a tomb, which is where he eventually ends up in the end of the play, beside her. She talks about Romeo being so low in a tomb, he's dead, and she has foreseen it, before it has even happened. How could she have ... , fate may have been trying to do more than bring the two together. In Act V, scene iii, The Prince says, "A glooming peace this morning with it brings..." after the two are discovered dead and their marriage revealed by the Friar. The hatred and fe...

• Word Count: 2083
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... , and that this statue once belonged to a King that lived no more and had no more problems. The theme of death is simply summed up by the set "a cemetery of dead Kings. What is a better place to talk of Death than in the middle of the dead? Lighting was used creatively on Gibson when he stated that he would reconsider his plan to die and ... , like an army uniform. These army uniforms were illogical. It almost seemed like the characters walked out of an episode of "I dream of Jeanie-. The ridiculous and out of time setting will completely disturb the dead Shakespeare's soul. In Zeffirelli...

• Word Count: 2265
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... was fooled into thinkingthat Hero was cheating on him, he is full of grief because hebelieves Hero is dead. He agrees to marry Leonato's niece, who issupposed to look just like Hero, to make up his terrible mistake tohe family. After he marries the masked bride, he is happy to seeit is Hero. This certainly is a marriage of convenience. He didnot know ... it would not have mattered if he knew thebride to be. In a sense, Hero was resurrected from the dead andClaudio ends up being a very lucky guy. Most of the characters are fully developed, except Hero, so wecan identify with their grief ...

• Word Count: 2383
• Approx Pages: 10
• Grade Level: High School

... arrangements for him and Juliet. After he left Juliet begged the friar if he could make something up so she could leave her family and go to live with Romeo for the rest of her life. After a while the Friar thought of a potion that would make her look dead for 42 hours. In that time she was to be ... placed in a big vault where all the Capulets dead bodies go to rest in peace, By the time she awoke Romeo would be there ... to take her away from her family and Verona. In the mean time Friar Lawrence sent another Friar with a letter to Romeo saying he must be ... poison to kill himself. J...

• Word Count: 1482
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... he talks to Desdemona. Since Othello an Iago are watching from afar but are not able to hear what they are saying, he gives Othello the idea that Cassio and Desdemona are having an affair. This makes Othello jealous but isn't jealous enough to get angry at Desdemona or confront Cassio. ... doesn't let anybody explain himself or herself. Towards the end of the play after Othello suffocates Desdemona and kills her, Emilia shows up at the door. She freaks out about seeing Desdemona dead, and everyone else comes rushing in. She then speaks of how Iago planted the handkerchief in Cassio's pos...

• Word Count: 1285
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... by being princely, selfless or honorable. This puts into perspective why there is a divide between father and son and offers insights into their relationship. The tone of Hal's relationship with Falstaff is very different than his relationship with Henry. Much of this is because Henry and Falstaff are very different ... people. Falstaff is greedy, lazy, selfish, witty the opposite of Henry. Although one looks at Falstaff's personality traits as negative, their influences on Hal provide him with traits he would not have ever ... hear it? No. 'Tis insensible then/ Yea, to the dead. B...

• Word Count: 1571
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... that Polonibus knew of Claudius's crime. In Scene IV: The Queens Closet, with Polonibus hiding behind the curtain, Hamlet, thinking he is the King, drives his sword through the curtain and into the body behind and states "How now! / A rat? / Dead, for a ducat, dead!" (1507 line 24). He was also slow to ... killed by his friends. But at what cost? Failure would most likely result in a successful like death sentence issued by Claudius and at the very least, loss of public support, resulting in self-imposed banishment from his native land. Also, Hamlet's friends and colleagues do not know ...

• Word Count: 1642
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... character development expands immensely. Hamlet, in a fit of rage, demonstrates that he does possess the ability to act by killing Polonis. Polonis: "What, ho! Help, help; help!" Hamlet: "how now! Arat? Dead, for a ducat, dead!" Polonis: "O, I am slain"(Act 3, Scene4, line 23-25). This murder is ... what Hamlet expected to be the demise of Claudius, but is shocked to discover Polonis behind the curtain. Hamlet then turns his aggressions back toward Gertrude; ... consequently we learn why Hamlet is so upset with his mother as he says: "Such an act. That blurs the ... a thorn in Hamlets f...

• Word Count: 1332
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... live in happiness, or was it their own actions that caused their so-called inevitable deaths? In William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, it was the decisions of the main characters, Romeo and Juliet, which brought about their demise. Acts that are mistaken as fate, acts of selfishness and anger that are blamed ... , many people blame things on fate. Is it because they can't stand bearing a guilty conscience, or is it because they don't want to face the consequences themselves? Many people have tried to think and answer these questions but you wouldn't be able to without being able to th...

• Word Count: 1348
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography

... to Romeo. And with Romeo being in Mantua she feels more alone then ever. Distressed at the prospect of a false marriage and going mad she turns to Friar Laurence for advice. He offers her a sleeping potion to make her appear dead for 42 hours. During this time, the Friar would send a letter to Romeo to return to Verona in time for Juliet's awakening ... and take her with him back to Mantua. Juliet accepts the proposition and drinks the potion. Everything goes as planned until there was a delay in Friar Laurence's letter ... Verona in hopes of dying near his one and only. Disoriented an...

• Word Count: 1627
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... as soon as Cassio is dead. Unfortunately, Roderigo does not manage to kill Cassio (Act V, Scene 1) and Iago is forced to kill Roderigo anyway. He then tries to arrange for Bianca to be held responsible for the assault. Meanwhile, Othello believes Cassio dead and murders Desdemona. Deceptions have led to the death of Desdemona, unjustly. This is the undoing of Othello. This ... emphasises the great importance of deception as a theme in Othello. The character Othello is not redeemed until after the deceptions become apparent. When he learns that he was deceived ... , as was Roderigo, Othel...

• Word Count: 1345
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... atmosphere. With this understanding, Shakespeare inflicted a feeling of sympathy for those less fortunate. Shakespeare shows that our perception of others is not always the true picture. Certain parallels can be drawn between William Shakespeare's plays, "A Midsummer Night's Dream", and "Romeo and Juliet". These parallels concern ... a successful or happy ending. Comparing these two plays is useful to find how Shakespeare uses similar character types in a variety of plays, and the versatility of the themes which he uses. In "Romeo and Juliet", Juliet is young, "not yet fourteen", and sh...

• Word Count: 1822
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... ability to lead and become a king, his father still doubts him. As his father nears death, Henry assures him that he can handle the responsibility of being the next king. His father tells him two very important pieces of advise if Henry is to become a good and just king. He must listen ... rightful intentions. In Shakespeare's' Henry V, henry is faced with the monumental task of ruling the throne of England. Shakespeare has Henry go forth alone, with no known mentors. As his father is dead, and his old drunken acquaintance, Falstaff, is as good as dead. Although Henry abandoned Falsaff, h...

• Word Count: 1466
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School