distortion catches the reader’s eye and holds it. Distortion can come in many forms. One form of distortion is overemphasis. William Shakespeare distorts feelings and emotions in his play King Lear by making them excessive. Characters feel deeper and react quicker, usually in response to those hurt feelings. King Lear exaggerates feelings and violence to further the effectiveness of the themes of betrayal and familial problems. Hate and jealousy seem to be Lear’s most frequent emotions. He rages…
The Tempest and the Power Needed to Rule The main motif of the play The Tempest, written by William Shakespeare (ca. 1611), is the power that a ruler can exert over his fellows and followers. In the play, this ruler is given form in the main character Prospero, the Duke of Milan, who was overthrown by his brother Antonio and the rival Duke of Naples Alonso, and exiled to a deserted island somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea. Over the course of the play, Prospero uses power in a variety of ways…
The tremulous falsetto of Pauline Hansen tells the Senate chamber we’re in danger of being swamped by Muslims. Prefacing this statement with the reminder that she made the same claim twenty years ago about Asians, highlights the brazen substitution of one imaginary hobgoblin with another. Casting a broad stroke through her own credibility, Hanson boasted of a prediction which has conspicuously failed to materialize. Abject failure didn’t dampen her confidence. Quite the opposite, in fact.…
but they forget he is the cause of the deaths and displacement of millions. The same applies to King Lear and Gloucester, both of whom are blinded by their children’s true nature. Therefore, they make foolish decisions which comes back to haunt them and help them realize their mistakes. In the play, “King Lear”, Shakespeare tries to portray the idea that blindness…
arthurian poem “Yvain, The Knight of the Cart” Chretien de Troyes depicts courtly love as a necessity for success. Multiple characters rely on love to further their goals, and to remain functional in society. Yvain depended on love as motivation on his quest, while Laudine used courtly love to establish a new heir to the fountain. Either way courtly love was necessary for the characters to strengthen their position and establish themselves in society. Laudine utilizes Yvain’s love to…
Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream love is fleeting, mad and marvelous. All of the characters have different views on love. Some believe it is worth giving everything for and others believe it is worthless. The characters spend a night in a forest where they go through a roller coaster of emotions. The mischievous Oberon and Puck are the culprits for causing this roller coaster for the other characters. Lysander is a character that will do anything for love because it can go by so quickly.…
Ambiguous Empathy: A Character Analysis “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view”(Lee, Harper). In looking through the perspective of another, we learn to empathize with those around us. Many times, if ambiguities are presented, it becomes easy to assume the worst and express sympathy. Writers often utilize ambiguity to provoke empathy within their stories. Through the creation of pathos in the play, Death and the Maiden, author Ariel Dorfman…
Comparing the Flaws of Lear and Gloucester Those in positions of high Authority, are seen as strong, powerful, and independent individuals, however, this power can create a negative effect on the holder and lead to several disadvantages. In the play “King Lear” by William Shakespeare, the tragic flaws in the personalities of Lear and Gloucester lead to the loss of their authority as they place their trust in the hands of the wrong people. Shakespeare shows that those with a higher authority…
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word has evolved in its spelling but gained its modern spelling and interpretation in 1671, “Insidious cunning, deceit, treachery”. This seems to be a fitting word to describe the character of Richard who serves as our main character, though he is also the villain of the play. He backstabs people who are friends and family, and has little regard for others lives when it contradicts his own will. His plans are subtle and sly, enough to give him…
on a fantastic land called Westeros where several houses try to seize power over the Seven Kingdoms and reach the iron throne, from which the former king rules. This first book is where most of the main characters are introduced throughout the narration, which is consisted in small pieces of the tale narrated in first person by a lot of characters, each episode…