King Lear

Hamlet is a world lacking in absolutes. Shakespeare places his characters into situations that reveal the gray areas of their moralities and force them to reevaluate what they consider right and wrong, while never providing a satisfactory answer himself. But Shakespeare always has something final to say about human nature, and in this play full of duality, one of the many binaries reveals a theme: although Shakespeare emphasizes Hamlet’s desire to uphold tradition in the face of corruption, he…

Shakespeare’s plays are known to display countless themes, some of which manifest through the body of the works as a whole. There is a dichotomy between appearance and reality in Shakespearean works. The idea that people or things in the world are often not what they seem, falls at the heart of all his plays. The false appearances of the characters often lead to the climax. The reality is the truth of what exists, but the appearance is merely what someone makes something look like. There are…

Margarette Bailon Ms. Massa AP English Literature Period 4 Set during one of the most well known historical events, Robert Bolt's infamous play A Man For All Seasons, explores the power that religious beliefs and the law hold over society and the struggle to maintain control over both aspects of life. The central character, Thomas More, deeply contrasts the antagonist of the play, Thomas Cromwell, in his understanding of power. More as a man with a strong sense of self and as a righteous…

Macbeth said was, "I have begun to plant thee, and will labour / To make thee full of growing”- Duncan to Macbeth (1.4.29-30). The use of a metaphor in this quote builds a deeper understanding and imagery displaying that the king truly see’s Macbeth as a potential successor; the king will make sure that he does grow and gains power by planting the seed - © 2016 Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. The second literary device that Shakespeare used is foreshadowing in the quote “The prince of Cumberland!…

pride,Handle you. Oedipus fate was sealed by his actions of pride and determination. His pride of conquering the sphinx led him to the marriage of Jocasta ,his Mother . He was Blinded by his pride to the concept that perhaps he was the murderer of King Laius ,his Father . Pride prevented him to Believe and makes him blind to see the truth. We shall not be afraid of knowing the truth Because that truth is already Destined to us and the Fate that is given to each one of us is coming from God. We…

help Creon to realize his tragic flaw and understand his place in society and in the universe. The cause of Creon’s downfall, his hubris manifests when he king refuses to listen to others while also believing that he can change the fate that Tiresias prophesizes. Indeed, Creon can never acknowledge…

Can a murderer be a hero? Many would argue no, but such a response can be both incomplete and close-minded. While a character such as Brutus, from within Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, can very easily be judged as being evil due to a superficial deconstruction of his actions, his true character is found only upon deeper analysis. Brutus does suffer from what appears to be an objective lack of morality; however, further analysis of his motives, his internal conflicts, and…

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.…

As Hamlet’s story begins, we see that he consciously slips into madness; After some time, we can see that his hallucinations start getting more and more real, which we can assume as to him becoming actually mad. We could say that in his eyes, the means justified the ends, and he had his ends very clearly objectified, but as the progress of achieving the ends occurs, the ends became blurry and his actions insane, which lead me to believe he was a little.. off and, undoubtedly, depressed even…

After a prophecy stating that he will become king is revealed to him, Macbeth is skeptical until one aspect of the prophecy becomes a reality and he is named Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth’s political ambitions to become king are then stirred to life and his downfall is begins. He plots ways to ensure that the prophecy does in fact come true and is spurred to action by his ruthless wife…