William Shakespeare

Andy Warhol once said, “They say that time changes things, but actually you have to change them yourself. ” Two hundred fifty years passed between the original Romeo and Juliet and the premiere of West Side Story on Broadway in 1957. However, time did not change the message of the story, simply the creators unique … Read more

Shakespeare lived and wrote in the Elizabethan age, a time when his society was branching out and making itself known throughout the world by colonizing other cultures. Great Britain was reaching for new heights of power. In the play Shakespeare questions the value of this new concept of British imperialism. The Tempest  is called Shakespeares … Read more

In Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare the role of deceit is played to the fullest to achieve the farcical effect that Shakespeare intended to put on true love. Nearly every character is effected in one way or another by this never ceasing deceit. Deceit is used to make characters fall into love, out … Read more

In the tragic play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, a particular deterrent in Hamlet’s quest to be rid of his regal uncle is his procrastination. This act of murder intended to set the future right is Hamlet’s sole responsibility, ordered by his deceased father. Hamlet’s main target throughout the play is for Claudius to commit suicide. … Read more

The sonnet, being one of the most traditional and recognized forms of poetry, has been used and altered in many time periods by writers to convey different messages to the audience. The strict constraints of the form have often been used to parallel the subject in the poem. Many times, the first three quatrains introduce … Read more

It is Monday morning and I have slept in, thanks to Thanksgiving. In fact, it’s twelve o’clock and I am free for the afternoon. As usual, I sit in front of the . television after I clean myself up, staring endlessly at the screen with my finger clicking on the remote. I realize that I … Read more

If one reads Shakespeare’s Othello, they can come to the conclusion that it might be one of the his most tragic plays ever written by Shakespeare. Romeo and Juliet, is probably the most famous of his tragic plays, but Othello, has characteristics that, I think make it even more tragic then his other plays, and … Read more

It is curious to note the role of women in Shakespearean literature. Many critics have lambasted the female characters in his plays as two-dimensional and unrealistic portrayals of subservient women. Others have asserted that the roles of women in his plays were prominent for the time and culture that he lived in. That such contrasting … Read more

Shakespeare wrote many different forms of literary works and one of them is comedy. At the end of his professional life he had written four famous comedies which were later called his “romances”. Shakespeare’s comedies were not primarily love stories but they all included a love plot. His romances all had the happy ending of … Read more

In Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night”, it is clearly evident that the fluctuation in attitude to the dual role and situation and tribulations imposed upon the character of Viola/Cesario ends up in a better understanding of both sexes, and thus, allows Viola to have a better understanding for Orsino. Near the opening of the play, when Viola … Read more

Iago is a “moral pyromaniac. ” Harold C. Goddard writes that Iago consciously and unconsciously seeks to destroy the lives of others, especially others with high moral standards (Goddard 76). However, Iago is more than just a “moral pyromaniac,” he is a moral pyromaniac whose fire is fueled by pure hatred. He is a hungry … Read more

A Mid-summer Nights Dream’ is evidentially concerned with the series of hindrances in the course of true love. Shakespeare reverses the categories of reality and illusion, portraying to the audience with a comic edge that when overcome with the illusion of love couples become blind to the misfortunes that are bound to cross their path. … Read more

William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 is part of a group of 126 sonnets Shakespeare wrote that are addressed to a young man of great beauty and promise. In this group of sonnets, the speaker urges the young man to marry and perpetuate his virtues through children, and warns him about the destructive power of time, age, … Read more

Why is it that we as human beings feel the need to blame someone for every negative situation, which occurs? If we really look at the situation with any great depth, we may discover that an almost endless amount of things may be ‘blamed’ for the tragedy. Blaming an individual is pointless – only fate … Read more

William Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, is mainly based on the assassination of Julius Caesar. The character who was in charge of the assassination was ironically, Marcus Brutus, a servant and close friend to Julius Caesar. After examining Brutus’ relationship to Caesar, his involvement in the conspiracy, and his importance to the plot, … Read more

Othello is a play that evokes many emotions from a readers mind. The mood is changing, yet throughout, it demands a lot of contempt for the villain, Iago. Beginning with act one, there is an immediate setting for suspicion which will remain characteristic throughout the whole story. There is a touch of happiness for the … Read more

The play Macbeth is a very tragic one. It is about the downfall of a hero who is led by temptation to mass murder and cruelty. Shakespeare uses various styles and techniques to display very evidently how Macbeths character develops as the story progresses, and thus we see how Macbeth turns from good to evil, … Read more

The relationship between master and slave is embraced by Shakespeare in his play The Tempest. Conflicts and complexities of authority are portrayed by the characters Prospero and Caliban. As one gains power, the other loses it. In the play, Prospero rises to power, while Caliban loses it. The legitimacy of Prospero’s authority over Caliban is, … Read more

The ancient grudge between the two families affects the whole city because they have to live in this atmosphere created by the two families fighting. In the movie, this effect was seen to full because it showed the two house’s servants starting a fight and then everyone else moving to the side, running into their … Read more

Hamlet promises to the ghost of his father to kill the man who killed former King Hamlet. From that day, Hamlet has been trying to figure out a way to kill Claudius, his uncle, and present King of Denmark. It takes Hamlet a long time to kill him, speaking that he had at least one … Read more

Othello, written by William Shakespeare is the story of Othello, the protagonist and tragic hero of the play. A Moor commanding the armies of Venice, he is a celebrated general and heroic figure whose “free and open nature” will enable Iago to twist his love for his wife Desdemona into a powerful jealousy. Iago is … Read more

The love theme in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is confusing but at the same time entertaining. The love triangle involving Viola, disguised as Cesario, is in love with Orsino. Orsino is in love with Olivia. Olivia, however, loves Cesario. Orsino tries to woo Olivia with the language of love; however, his many attempts fail because the … Read more

Hamlet. Is he an insane madman or a revengeful, scheming, genius? There are many conflicting ideas and theories on this subject, and hopefully this paper may be of some assistance in clearing up the confusion. The paper is divided into three separate analytic sections beginning with the beginning of Hamlet’s so called madness, and why … Read more

A great tempest arose that drove a certain ship, bound to Naples from Tunis, off its course and onto an uncharted island. The storm had been magically called up by Prospero, one of the two human inhabitants of the island, in order to bring the vessel to shore. Prospero had once been the mighty Duke … Read more

In both Crime and Punishment and Othello there is a theme of necessary balance. Crime and Punishment’s theme that man must be balanced in order to function properly is very similar to Othello’s theme that, tragically, jealousy is destructive, even to the one that holds it. In Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov’s extreme intellectualism caused him … Read more

The Taming Of The Shrew by William Shakespeare is probably one of Shakespeare’s earliest comedies. Its plot is derived from the popular ‘war of the sexes’ theme in which males and females are pitted against one another for dominance in marriage. The play begins with an induction in which a drunkard, Christopher Sly, is fooled … Read more

Was the man we know as Shakespeare really the author of the “Shakespearean Works”? We know little about the man called Shakespeare, Did he really write the plays, or is he just a man that got confused within history? (Sobran 44) There is not even a correct spelling of this mans name, Some of the … Read more