William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare’s 1606 tragedy, Macbeth, is a drama depicting the destructive unbridled ambition and downfall of the tragic hero, a recognisable human flaw that contributes to the enduring value of the play. Along with the political context, Macbeth highlights that excessive and disproportionate hubris will have terrible, tragic consequences. In the beginning, Macbeth’s ambition has been fuelled by devious characters such as Lady Macbeth and the three witches; this reveals the hamartia of…

Macbeth, a Shakespearean tragedy about overgrowing pride and ambition, exhibits a theme of loss, and how each individual handles it in their own unique way. Even though Shakespeare demonstrates this through many characters, there is one which stands out remarkably: Macduff. Macduff is an intriguing character in this play, because he is the foil character of the protagonist, and yet we still root for him, due to Macbeth's harm inflicted upon Macduff which grows over the course of the play. After…

In Julius Caesar, written by William Shakespeare, the characters face numerous problems that they deal with in their own individual manners. Julius Caesar is well aware of his public image and he lets this influence his choices. Brutus is very aware of the power his decisions posses and therefore is very prudent. In contrast, the general public does not posses their own opinions making it nearly effortless to persuade them. Julius Caesar becomes so concerned with how he is seen by others…

True Love Defeated Othello, by William Shakespeare, illustrates Othello and Desdemona’s love and the tragedy behind it. They oppose to the will of Desdemona’s father and get married. However, Iago’s tricks leads Othello to murder Desdemona. Shakespeare points out that although Othello and Desdemona belong to different social classes, have different backgrounds and races, they still hold true love between each other. Othello and Desdemona, with different racial backgrounds, live in a time that…

The Macbeth Macdeath Extravaganza Ambition dictates action, forcing individuals to resort to drastic measures in order to achieve the power that they desire. In certain circumstances, those individuals choose to enact their plans from the shadows, manipulating others into committing heinous acts and forcing them to shoulder the entirety of the blame for such acts. Although the person who commits the crime is guilty, they are merely a pawn in someone else’s pursuit of power; they do not deserve…

Betrayal--it is something that quite a number of people dread, on account of its gravity and ability to truly hurt and shake someone to his or her core. A traitor can come in many shapes and sizes, from all walks of life; according to Shakespeare, however, those who are closest to an individual are also those who are most likely to break faith with the aforementioned individual. This is reflected in his quote, “There’s daggers in men’s smiles; the near in blood, the nearer bloody.” In context,…

There are universal themes in William Shakespeare’s plays, which can teach us a great deal. A frequent theme in all of Shakespeare’s plays is that violence, whether to oneself, or to others, achieves nothing, and thus that violence has no real power besides the power to destroy. There are many types of violence, be they mental, physical, and emotional. But whether you speak with violent thoughts, act with violent hands, or walk with violent ambition, all violence has the same intention, to…

Various actions I performed throughout my life were for the sole purpose of receiving what I want without outwardly asking for it. For the past few years, around the same time of the year, for example, I behave exceptionally well. Specifically around the holidays, when there is something that I really want my parents to get me, a series of events always transpire. First, I begin to do my chores when I am told, following with doing even more chores, ultimately to impress my parents. Then,…

In Shakespeare’s Othello, every character in the play is manipulated by ruthless Iago, allowed him to devise his evil plan to rank up in his line of work. Iago tells lies upon lies when talking to people, so they learn to trust him. Using this, Iago is capable of making everyone his puppet, which he manages to do. The most important theme of Othello is victimization, as without it, there would be no other way for Iago to exploit others. In Othello, there are two characters affected the most by…

At the beginning of the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, he is an admired general, committed husband, and trustworthy subject to the king. The first witch brings out Macbeth’s ambitious nature, but he struggles with assassinating the king. By attacking himself, Lady Macbeth sways him to execute the first of his destructive acts. Macbeth’s destructive actions root him to undergo fear and guilt, causing him to commit more horrid acts. He then becomes overly suspicious, suffering from…