Riverside Shakespeare Company

William Shakespeare, known as “Bard of Avon”, was and is still regarded as the greatest writer in the English language. He is often called England’s national poet. Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright, actor, dramatist, and many other theatre occupations. His works within the arts have diversified from over 38 plays, 154 sonnets, narrative poems, and verses all being translated into several living languages. Famous plays like Romeo & Juliet and Henry have been idolized within the arts for…

Revenge in Shakespeare’s Hamlet William Shakespeare 's, Hamlet, is one of the greatest tragedies ever written. Applying Aristotle 's view of a tragedy, Shakespeare creates an ideal tragic hero through his main character, Hamlet. According to Aristotle, a tragic hero must be of a high stature, possess a tragic flaw, and this flaw must ultimately lead to their own downfall. These characteristics of an Aristotelian tragic hero are all present within the protagonist, Hamlet. Hamlet is a prince, thus…

The plays written after Hamnet’s death show just how grief stricken Shakespeare was over the death of his son and those plays are now referred to as “The Great Tragedies.” It is important to note that the only comedies that Shakespeare wrote during this time of grief were All’s Well that Ends Well and Measure for Measure; both “problem plays” that ultimately are not very funny. Up until this point in…

tragic deaths, Hamlet by William Shakespeare, slowly but surely not only deteriorates the city of Denmark but also sets free the once poisoned and corrupted city. As Shakespeare closes the play the audience is reassured, even through death, that “life is...indestructibly powerful and pleasurable” as said by Friedrich Nietzsche, who helps connect the ending of Hamlet by bringing his philosophical ideology to prove such a statement. With that of the mind of Shakespeare, even though several…

In life and in literature, a person’s surroundings and the situations that they encounter can affect their mental state. This is exemplified in Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Hamlet claims to be feigning insanity throughout the entire play, but there are many factors that suggest that he is, in fact, mad. The death of young Hamlet’s father, King Hamlet, is what initially causes his sanity to fall into a downward spiral. Though the relationship between the King and his son is unclear, King…

William Shakespeare was well known for the main characters of his plays using their tragic flaws to create their own downfall. In this play, we see a different kind of tragic hero. Macbeth is pushed by his mentally unstable wife to commit the murder of the beloved King Duncan, and even though Macbeth has always been known as a great warrior, he can’t use these skills for evil no matter how much he craves power. Before the idea of power was brought to him, Macbeth was a noble and loyal soldier…

themselves should fear to seize thee; therefore, be double damn’d” (Shakespeare 4.2.). In this context, Othello exclaims that by denying her infidelity, Desdemona claims to be a being of heaven and therefore will be double damned and denied by both heaven and hell in the afterlife. Furthermore, the contrast of the use of the religious extreme opposites is present in the line “heaven truly knows that thou art false as hell” (Shakespeare 4.2.). Although the context implies hell as false, using…

relentlessly utilizes animal analogy to condemn his daughters, Shakespeare uses animal imagery to undercut the belief of human exceptionalism. As Höffele indicates, the captain’s attribution of the act of murder to human employment in Act V, Scene iii expressly signifies that the final crime in King Lear is not the result…

In life some people are born into high status filled with luxury and other advantages, but it is up to them to maintain their power during difficult situations. In Shakespeare’s King Lear, Shakespeare has created Lear and Gloucester’s character based on the concept of nothing. Both Lear and Gloucester experience being on the top with power politically, physically, emotionally, and familially, then they hit rock bottom evening them out to nothing. Politically, Lear and Gloucester start off…

question this claim due to their analysis of the trial. They consider Shylock’s loss in the trial to be the downfall of a poor protagonist, suggesting that Merchant is a tragedy. However, these skeptics blame it on the Christian defendants in court. Shakespeare portrays Shylock as a self-destructive character, affirming that The Merchant of Venice is a comedic play, and reinforces its anti-Semitic message by suggesting that Jews create their own problems. Shylock unintentionally gives Portia…