The Spanish Tragedy

Caesar, not to praise him.” That was Mark Antony’s (a character and one of the main antagonist in William Shakespeare's tragedy Julius Caesar) first statement in his speech that completely turned a weeping mourning crowd into an angry mob. This crowd had just heard that news that their beloved leader Julius Caesar had been put to death. Brutus (a main protagonist in the tragedy) had spoke before Mark Antony and made them sad and mournful about Caesar's death: Mark Antony spoke after Brutus and…

There is one quote that really stood out, it was pronounced by Lady Macbeth “That death and nature do contend about them, Whether they live or die.” The reason why it stood out is because it shows the brutal mentality of the Macbeth’s. The Macbeth’s ended up killing Duncan, Banquo, and Macduff’s family. This is important because it shows how Macbeth didn’t get arrested, for killing multiple people. Macbeth is guilty of first degree murder for the planning and killing of Banquo, Duncan, and…

The complexity of disposition that is so central to the characters in Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet is exemplified best in King Claudius, a man whose ambition and envy leads him to murder his own brother, but whose conscience and morality complicate his intentions. The internal battle within Claudius, revealed in III. iii, muddles the reader’s initial impression of the usurper king, from a ruthless, Machiavellian murderer to a complex, conflicted character. While Claudius enjoys the lavish…

In the novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, sin and redemption is an occuring theme. The main character, Dorian Gray, commits plenty of sins and has the opportunities for redemption, however, when Dorian tries to atone for his wrongdoings he is unsuccessful. Dorians’ underlying intentions keeps him from redemption, due to his hedonistic views. In the beginning of the novel, Dorian is portrayed as a young and innocent boy that is easily influenced by Lord Henry, a character with a…

The Doctor, the Demon, The Magician, and the Spirit: Differences in the Distribution of Power between the Protagonists and their Assistants in Doctor Faustus and The Tempest Both written in the early seventeenth century, by two rival play writers, The Tempest and Doctor Faustus share many identical themes, yet they also show differences on some aspects. It is not known if Shakespeare and Marlowe intended these similarities to be noticed by the public, but the parallel notions in the plays…

Although Orestes was the main killer of Clytemnestra in Sophocles play Electra, he was not the main focus of the play His sister, Electra but what are the reasons that made her stand out? Electra is a complex character. Electra could be called insane by many but she was cunning and held strong ideals. Sophocles brought Electra to the fore because of her ability as a character to manipulate people and bending to her will as she was able to inspire to Orestes to carry out her revenge against their…

The novel The Picture of Dorian Gray written by Oscar Wilde is about the life of the character Dorian Gray. Dorian is a young and beautiful man who makes a Faustian pact that his self-portrait, drawn by painter Basil Hallward, would grow older as time past instead of Dorian. Throughout the story, Dorian commits many sins, for example, using his influence to ruin others’ lives and the murdering of Basil Hallward. However, Dorian’s appearance is still young and beautiful because the portrait…

Phonies, or a fake people are those with multiple identities. These people act different in public and private, or in different groups of people. Phonies have been criticized in literature for hundreds of years, but one of the most notable times, and possible the first time it was criticized was in Shakespeare's Othello. Shakespeare uses characters in Othello, such as Iago, Othello and Desdemona, to show how the worst of people usually have an extreme difference in their identities, while the…

An epic poem features heroic deeds and a character (typically considered a hero) that has a character flaw that is typically resolved by the end of the poem. In the epic poem, The Epic of Gilgamesh, the hero, Gilgamesh goes on a journey in which he begins to find himself. In order for Gilgamesh to find himself, he had to go through a tragic event which made him realize that he needed to change. The search for immorality is one of the main tops that this epic poem expresses. Immortality is having…

Honor is given to those who follow the domain’s moral cowardice, the conspicuous, howbeit, have lost all honor by those who are followers. One of the most prominent themes in To Kill a Mockingbird is lost honor. Honor means to have high respect and Mr. Dolphus Raymond lost his respect when he professed to love a colored woman, have mixed children with her, and chose to be surrounded by those who don’t share the same skin color as him. “He’s got a colored woman and all sorts of mixed chillun”…