... sort out the problem with Rosaline. He suggests that Romeo "examine other beauties" and that they go to the masked ball party hosted by the Capulets. Benvolio's character within the play is that of loyalty and honesty. Mercutio is also another friend that shares a fraternal bond with Romeo. This is especially true when he takes up the challenge with the violent Tybalt ... clear that their love is clearly different. They could have both chosen to sleep together without the blessing of marriage in front of God and the Church however they choose to do so making their love more then just si...

• Word Count: 1251
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... avoids his public responsibilities at all costs. His frequenting of the Boar's Head Tavern and keeping company with men of questionable character causes his father, King Henry, serious concerns, since Hal is heir to the throne. The Princes" character transformation unfolds in three distinct stages. The first stage of his transformation is when the Prince comes to the realization that his rebellious conduct must end and ... he must participate in his princely duties. As we see in Hal's soliloquy, it is quite apparent that he has given a great deal of thought to his somewhat lawless lifes...

• Word Count: 1276
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• Has Bibliography

... , such as with Bottom and Titania, and a symbolic love, such as with Lysander and Hermia representing chastity. The first character that represents chaotic love is Oberon. The intervention of Oberon with his magic juice speeds up the process of falling in and out of love, which makes it highly chaotic and eventually turns out to be comical. Not only does this affect the lover ... night; four nights will quickly dream away the time."" We get the impression that Hippolyta is very orderly when it comes to love. She is in fact quite domineering. This inexorably rubs off onto Theseus. Also wi...

• Word Count: 1370
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... so. In "Hamlet", Shakespeare actively rejects this expected plot line and focuses instead on Hamlet's delay and struggle to take action, as opposed to the actual act of vengeance. The character of Hamlet does not conform to the usual blood-thirsty protagonist who will stop at nothing until his desperate need for revenge is satisfied, as is expected by the audience ... he goes about avenging Polonius's death. The speed and resolution with which Laertes acts only works to highlight Hamlets unusual postponing of action, and his obvious separation from the expected template of a revenge trage...

• Word Count: 1503
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... not no how it feels. "He jests at scars that have never felt a wound". This informs the audience about Mercutio's character, that he has no time for love or more likely he is scared of love. This is a contrast with Romeo who needs love. We can tell this by how he wallows in his self pity ... he is in love although the audience are hesitant due to Romeo's relationship with Rosaline, where one minute he loved her and the next he loved Juliet. Juliet comes out on the balcony and says "Ay me!" Many people are not sure why she says this. I think she yawns as it is quite late after ... "And...

• Word Count: 1794
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• Grade Level: High School

... , because she is quite obviously a strong-willed, determined lady, and her ever-changing state of mind is one of the main focuses of the play. However, we cannot call Lady Macbeth "the embodiment of evil- just because she is a dominant character. I believe that the character of Lady Macbeth is not the embodiment of evil, but there are many reasons people believe that she is which must be considered ... be almost certain that she and Macbeth loved each other dearly once, and the demise of that love was more through the corruption and paranoia of Macbeth and the guilt of his wife than thro...

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

... 105-106). To Henry IV, this is a highly regarded way of proving oneself through bravery and regal duty. Hotspur, on the other hand, has his own voice when it comes to honor. Shortly after we hear the king's private praises of Hotspur, we hear Hotspur's fiery stance in reaction to the King ... for the audience a much different outlook on honor. Falstaff, Hal's fat and lazy companion, perhaps makes the most insightful distinction between men and their selfish use of honor. In a most memorable speech, after the battle at Shrewsbury, Falstaff brings to life a rather philosophic point: . Yea, ...

• Word Count: 1335
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• Grade Level: High School

... mourned, "which bewept to the grave did not go with true-love showers". His revulsion is so intense he thinks of suicide. Hamlet comes across as a very emotional and unstable character. He is clearly not the typical central character of a revenge tragedy which have resolute men of action. This contrasts to Shakespeare's slant on a revenge tragedy. The revenge tragedy was already popular with Elizabethan and Jacobean ... audiences so Shakespeare was reworking an established genre, developing and challenging the conventions of the genre. When Hamlet is informed of his father ... ...

• Word Count: 2065
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... 's sepulchral mood comes out clearly in the first lines, mainly through an accumulation of words evocative of death and decay: "graves, worms, epitaphs"17, as opposed to "comfort"18, which takes the same preposition ("of"), thereby underlining the contrast. What follows is a florid metaphor of the king's weeping "rainy eyes"19, which once again stresses what Johnston calls a strong "poetical" streakB in the character. Lines 11 ... to13 then encapsulate what is most typical of the king's idiolect: repetitive, analogous structures ("our lands"20, "our lives"21) and a markedly syndetic styl...

• Word Count: 1858
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... in battle is a woman. 
In A Midsummer Night's Dream, Titania rules and governs the fairies, sometimes in complete independence. In The Feminist Subtext of Shakespeare's Leading Ladies, Emily Squyer states that Oberon's success in gaining the boy is so that he can grow to be a prince who can ... dominance is stronger than his regard for Titania. Furthermore, his skirting around the situation at hand, with magic, humour and other nonsense, instead of engaging in a stimulating and fair discussion on balancing control and power with his wife, goes to show his ineptitude in serious matters...

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

... his character will round out as the play progresses. In his speech, "Tis sweet and commendable in your nature-(87), Claudius is already shown as an unfeeling, arrogant, and full of hubris. In this speech he seems to be mocking Hamlet's grief. This sets the stage for a much harsher interaction between Hamlet and Claudius when the time of reckoning comes. Again, here Hamlet is ... portrayed as more contemplative and grief stricken in this scene by making his first real soliloquy totally introspective and in his own mind. The Franco Zeffirelli film, while similar to the Olivier in setting,...

• Word Count: 1694
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• Grade Level: High School

... is very different for Hamlet, and this perhaps reflects the character of Hamlet himself, and the way in which he attempts to find his own sense of direction from confusion. The opening scene acts as a form of miniature play, which introduces many of the questions and issues that will be dealt with through the progression of the play. For example, is the ghost Hamlet's father, what ... marked by Horatio's sudden change in language. His long flowing speech suddenly becomes short broken sentences, demonstrating the fact that he is unnerved by the sudden re-appearance of the ghost, "But sof...

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

... orchestra. Widely used by composers from medieval times to the 18th Century, it comes from a family of instruments that had almost dropped out of the orchestra by Mozart's time. Only in recent years, with a revival of interest in early music, has it re-emerged as an instrument of the orchestra. PICCOLO This shrill piping instrument gets its name from the Italian ... named after the American composer of marches. Brass players control their instruments by means of valves, and have to master 'embouchure' - the technique of using the mouth muscles to create notes of different pitch. TRUMPET...

• Word Count: 2483
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• Grade Level: High School

... more than merely a homily for Elizabethan wives in her famous speech: She wins her husband's wager but the speech bespeaks a generosity of spirit beyond the call of two hundred crowns "(Nevo, Shakespeare for Students, 358). This leads to the idea that Katharina could have been a kind, gentle, ... For Katharina to be fully "tamed", she would have had to undergo a complete change in character in a very short amount of time. If, as readers, we simply rely on our own knowledge of human experience, Katharina's quick transformation seems false and unlikely. A common theme found throughout the ...

• Word Count: 1637
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... Ophelia's madness is through misfortune, and can be argued as the trigger from which Hamlet emerges out of his mad pretence, once he comes to find that she has died because of it. Why Shakespeare focuses on madness is not often clear, but the path of the play, the effect Hamlet's madness has on people and the events it activates leads towards the final ... small role politically, socially and economically. The subtle importance of Gertrude in Hamlet can be said to reflect the bearing of the female monarchy, whilst Ophelia is symbolic of the victimization of women in the Elizabethan era. ...

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

... a protagonist as a black man. He gives Othello an important duty. Shakespeare portrayed Othello as a commander in the army of Venice and he is the husband of Desdemona who is white and wealthy woman. Obviously, Shakespeare uses black man for the role of important character. Besides, Shakespeare creates a romantic relationship between black and white (Othello & Desdemona) but most people think that their relationship ... throughout the play. However, Othello described as a noble person he is a tragic hero of the play. He is a moor who commands the armies of Venice. He is dark skinned and...

• Word Count: 1299
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• Grade Level: High School

... and Celia. Orlando approaches Oliver with defiance and a confrontational attitude, arousing the audiences interest at this quarrel, and establishing his character: assertive, honest and bold, a character that every audience will like and take an interest in. Oliver also shows that he is adept in the wordplay matches the ... introducing the two principal women, Celia and Rosalind, who is in a melancholy mood, due to the banishment of her father. This scene interests an audience as it has a great variety of tone, character and action. When Celia bids her merry, her reply: "From henceforth ...

• Word Count: 1259
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• Grade Level: High School

... die in that man's company that fears his fellowship to die with us. This day is called the Feast of Crispian: he that outlives this d! ay, and comes safe home, will stand a- tiptoe when this day is named, and rouse him at the name of Crispian. He that shall see this day, and live old age, will yearly on this vigil feast his ... Richard's soul. More will I do: though a]1 that I can do is nothing worth; since that my penitence comes after all, imploring pardon. (Shakespeare 121) In another instance, Shakespeare exemplifies the king as an "echo of Protestantism" by having him speak directl...

• Word Count: 1970
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... the central part in Hamlet. Critics seem to cling to this detail, as if trying to save the status of Hamlet as a typical tragedy of revenge. From the definition of tragedy, there should be a flaw in the character of the main hero, who is a great personality that is engaged in a struggle that ends badly. If Hamlet ... people never raised any questions concerning Hamlet's delay. It is not obvious to most but for a few it is which causes this confusion concerning the character that was created by Shakespeare for a common observer. Hamlet is like a soldier that is thrown into a war who does...

• Word Count: 1340
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... points out the paradoxical nature of human action when it comes to making rational or emotion-driven decisions. Shakespeare places a huge emphasis on the distinction between making decisions based on reason or passion, and the positive or negative results that both polar ends yield. The characters often act out different degrees of reason and passion, and the consequences of their actions vary from extremely ... first Hamlet knows that he wants nothing more than to avenge his father, but with time he gains a sense of skepticism, even questioning whether the ghost is "damned- or not. Ham...

• Word Count: 1742
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... own abilities. However, despite the initial contradictions to their associated stereotypes, they all gradually regress into the social moulds and assumptions of the dominant social system of the time, making the play all the more tragic. In Othello, the main character after whom the play is named is presented as an honest, kind and respected black man, in service to the Venetian state ... up until her death, where she immediately becomes passive and obedient to Othello as he tries to suffocate her. Towards the end of Act IV she becomes quite nave and the audience is positioned to view h...

• Word Count: 1558
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... the harbor Cassio greets Des by grabbing her hand and Iago sees this as a plan in the making. Othello comes ashore and says there is to be a party tonight in honor of the Turks safety. As Roderigo gets even more upset he realizes that there is no chance in breaking up the marriage ... kill her when she awakes and pleads for her life, which Othello disregards and plans to still take her life. Des's servant then comes into the room to report of Roderigo being executed and tells him that Cassio is still alive. Othello tells Emilia that he has killed Des for the cheating that ... and Iago ...

• Word Count: 1520
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... Twelfth Night demonstrates exactly how Shakespeare uses a variety of traits in his characters to make themes more prominent throughout the entire play. Although it falls under the classification of a romantic comedy, little humor is present when the plot begins to unfold. The reader first comes upon the character of Duke Orsino, who is pining for the love of a woman named Olivia. Orsino's courtly love is ... typical of the Renaissance, as the object of his affections does not return his love. (Shakespeare's Characters, 470) As Shakespeare introduces other characters the reader finds tha...

• Word Count: 1772
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... male/female conflict. As the first act closes, Nora is attempting to control Torvald in order to protect Krogstad and thus maintain her own secrets. The most important moment of the play comes later, however, when the mail is delivered - and Nora knows that the damning letter from Krogstad will soon be opened. It is at that moment that Nora must most ... era, both Shakespeare and Moliere were uniquely original and explicit in their portrayal of women. Shakespeare's "Hamlet- is one of the most startling pieces of English literature in its rather dubious portrayal of the feminine sex, and...

• Word Count: 2278
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... 's words represent the individual that he is. Simcha had hoped that perhaps Duddy would use his potential for good, and not by means of immoral behaviour. The character of Simcha is very righteous and decent. Similarly, Desdemona in Othello has morals of good nature. Throughout the play she is referred to as "Fair- Desdemona. This represents her purity in body, mind and soul. In ... a discussion between herself and Emilia the topic of infidelity comes up. She is disillusioned at the fact that women would consider being unfaithful to their husbands ... any journey, whether it is evil or ...

• Word Count: 1542
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School