Shakespeare Essays and Term Papers
Last update: August 27, 2014-
Gender Roles in Shakespeare
It is a peculiar feature of Shakespeare's plays that they both participate in and reflect the ideas of gender roles in Western society. To the extent that they reflect existing notions about the 'proper' roles of men and women, they can be said to be a product of their society. However, since they have been studied, performed, and taught for five hundred years, they may be seen as formative of contemporary notions about the
Rating:Essay Length: 1,846 Words / 8 PagesSubmitted: November 12, 2009 -
Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare
In “The Merchant of Venice” by William Shakespeare, Shylock is portrayed as an attractive villain. It is the relationship between Shylock and Antonio, Shylock and his daughter, Jessica, and his selfishness through his attitude to material possessions that make him an attractive villain, he is portrayed as an attractive villain, and I am going to look at the extent that this is true in “The Merchant of Venice.” Shylock is portrayed as a stereotypical Jew
Rating:Essay Length: 639 Words / 3 PagesSubmitted: November 13, 2009 -
William Shakespeare’s Hamlet
I am not a big fan of the 1990 movie version of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, starring Mel Gibson. I feel that while it stands alone as a very well made movie and contains great acting performances throughout, I think that it strays too far from the original text and layout of the play. The omissions and transposing makes the play weaker, and while it is a great screenplay, it fails in comparison to Shakespeare’s original
Rating:Essay Length: 743 Words / 3 PagesSubmitted: November 13, 2009 -
Shakespeare’s Play Tempest
In Shakespeare’s play, "The Tempest," an underlying theme of barbarism versus civilization appears. Shakespeare creates characters that exemplify symbols of nature or nurture. The symbolism of the characters is derived from their actions. These actions show Shakespeare’s view of the uncivilized and the civilized, as well as help the reader develop his own opinion of each side. In this whimsical play, Prospero, the former Duke of Milan, after being supplanted of his dukedom by his
Rating:Essay Length: 850 Words / 4 PagesSubmitted: November 14, 2009 -
King James’s Influence on Shakespeare
King James the First James Charles Stuart was born on June 19th, 1566 at Edinburgh Castle in Scotland. He was the first Stuart king of England. He became James VI of Scotland in 1567 at a tender age of just 13 months after his mother, Mary queen of Scots, was forced to abdicate. When James's cousin, Elizabeth I, died in 1603, James became King James I of England and ruled both England and Scotland until
Rating:Essay Length: 679 Words / 3 PagesSubmitted: November 15, 2009 -
Othello by William Shakespeare
Throughout the book “Othello” by William Shakespeare, Othello expresses a great amount of love. Whether the love was over lust or true love that is for the reader’s of this book to decide. Each reader interprets this novel differently. Othello asked to be remembered as “one who loved not wisely but to well.” This is a very accurate quote. Shakespeare’s whole novel Othello was based on this quote in the story. You will see
Rating:Essay Length: 514 Words / 3 PagesSubmitted: November 17, 2009 -
How Does Shakespeare Portray the Nature
How does Shakespeare portray the nature of love in “A Midsummer Nights Dream”?‘A Mid-summer Nights Dream’ is evidentially concerned with the series of hindrances in the course of true love. Shakespeare reverses the categories of reality and illusion, portraying to the audience with a comic edge that when overcome with the illusion of love couples become blind to the misfortunes that are bound to cross their path. The most basic part of Shakespeare’s plays is
Rating:Essay Length: 1,387 Words / 6 PagesSubmitted: November 17, 2009 -
William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar
In William Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar", honor is displayed as a prominent theme throughout the play. Honor is having great respect for others, regardless of their status in society; and performing great deeds not for personal gain but for the good of others. Marcus Brutus is an example of an honorable man; Caius Cassius, however, is not. When Brutus joined the conspiracy against Caesar, he did it solely for the good of Rome. Unlike all the
Rating:Essay Length: 364 Words / 2 PagesSubmitted: November 17, 2009 -
Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
In Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare, the function of Feste the clown appears insignificant, but in reality his role has immense significance in the overall development of the play and other characters. The clown is used as an independent observer that exploits the foolish actions and faults of others. Throughout the epic play, we observe how Feste's true humor along with the foolishness of other individuals becomes the focal contribution of his role to the
Rating:Essay Length: 552 Words / 3 PagesSubmitted: November 17, 2009 -
Shakespeare Glisters Is Not Gold
All that glitters is not gold; an idiom derived from Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. In a note written by Portia, she writes, “all that glisters is not gold,” and very well it appears so (2.7.65). For a better understanding of this quote, we must understand who the message was intended for. When Shakespeare wrote The Merchant of Venice, the year was 1558- right at the beginning of the Elizabethan Era. Queen Elizabeth rein
Rating:Essay Length: 1,501 Words / 7 PagesSubmitted: November 18, 2009 -
Explore the Ways That Shakespeare Makes Act 1 Scene 5 of Romeo and Juliet Dramatically Effective
Romeo and Juliet is a tragic story of love set in Verona. At the start of the play, the audience see a prologue, which informs them that the story is going to end in tragedy. The play is filled with huge contrasts of emotions. At the start of the play we see a fight between the Montague’s and the Capulet’s filled with violence and hatred when the play is actually about love. This contrast between
Rating:Essay Length: 1,232 Words / 5 PagesSubmitted: November 20, 2009 -
Understanding Shakespeare
Understanding Shakespeare: The Power of Footnotes and Paraphrase Objectives: The students will… 1. Compare Shakespeare’s language to a moderately familiar foreign language. 2. Apply the techniques of reading a foreign language to reading Shakespeare. 3. Translate Shakespeare’s English into modern English by means of class discussion, teamwork and individual study. Methods: The teacher begins by presenting an identifiable text to the students in a foreign language. The students are to identify this text through the
Rating:Essay Length: 541 Words / 3 PagesSubmitted: November 20, 2009 -
The Poetics by Aristotle & Hamlet by Shakespeare
Poetics and Hamlet Centuries ago, Aristotle laid down guidelines for criticizing dramatic works in his Poetics. This paper considers whether that structure is adequate for analyzing William Shakespeare’s Hamlet that was composed after Aristotle. The Poetics is too short to go into great detail, so we’ll have to use only the most basic of his definitions and guidelines for what dramatic works should entail. He begins by discussing poetry, then moves to tragedy, which he
Rating:Essay Length: 396 Words / 2 PagesSubmitted: November 22, 2009 -
Who Was Shakespeare?
This question is one that has bothered the literary world for some time, however, there is very little doubt in my mind that William Shakespeare was not, indeed, from Stratford-upon-Avon and was, in fact, Sir Francis Bacon, the English philosopher, essayist, and statesman. The most important reason for this is that we know very little about the Stratfordian Will Shakespeare, and what we do know is discouraging to prove that he, indeed, write the works
Rating:Essay Length: 472 Words / 2 PagesSubmitted: November 22, 2009 -
Shakespeare’s Richard 3 Analysis
Shakespeare’s Richard III It is arguable that William Shakespeare was one of the best authors and writers in the history of the world. Many hold strong to that statement as others reject that. But, in Richard III, Shakespeare gave the appearance of Richard as a sick twisted individual, while in historical background he was given a different image. Richard III was the reigning king’s, King Edward IV, younger brother. Richard displayed courage and nobility to
Rating:Essay Length: 836 Words / 4 PagesSubmitted: November 22, 2009 -
Gender Roles in Shakespeare
Gender Roles in Shakespeare It is a peculiar feature of Shakespeare's plays that they both participate in and reflect the ideas of gender roles in Western society. To the extent that they reflect existing notions about the 'proper' roles of men and women, they can be said to be a product of their society. However, since they have been studied, performed, and taught for five hundred years, they may be seen as formative of contemporary
Rating:Essay Length: 1,849 Words / 8 PagesSubmitted: November 22, 2009 -
William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Hamlet William Shakespeare’s Hamlet was first performed around the year 1600. Since then, it has proven to be one of the most enduring stories ever created by Shakespeare. This epic tragedy has been adapted to film dozens of times and has seen legendary actors such as Richard Burton and Laurence Olivier take the lead role. In 1996, another version of Hamlet made its film debut under the direction of Kenneth Branagh who also plays the
Rating:Essay Length: 986 Words / 4 PagesSubmitted: November 22, 2009 -
How Does Shakespeare Use Conflict in Hamlet as a Way of Exploring Ideas?
How does Shakespeare use conflict in Hamlet as a way of exploring ideas? An individual’s response to conditions of internal and external conflict is explored throughout literature. In his play, Hamlet, Shakespeare delves into the themes of appearance versus reality, lies versus deceit, rejection versus self doubt and tragedy, and in doing so attacks the frivolous state of humanity in contemporary society. In order to explore these themes, however, he uses several forms of conflict
Rating:Essay Length: 2,459 Words / 10 PagesSubmitted: November 23, 2009 -
Shakespeare - Macbeth
Shelly Moy AP LIT 4th hour Shakespeare draws an amazing psychological portrait of a man who became a villain by means of ambition, desire and an imbalance of good and evil. “Macbeth” is a play composed of the disintegration of a noble man’s world. The play begins by offering the audience Macbeth, a war hero, with a high regard from Duncan, the king of Scotland. By the end of the play Macbeth transforms into a
Rating:Essay Length: 701 Words / 3 PagesSubmitted: November 24, 2009 -
Shakespeare's Ancestry
SHAKESPEARE'S ANCESTRY As a brief introductory detail it should be mentioned that, during the sixteenth century, there were many families with the name Shakespeare in and around Stratford. "Shakespeare" appears countless times in town minutes and court records, spelled in a variety of ways, from Shagspere to Chacsper. Unfortunately, there are very few records that reveal William Shakespeare's relationship to or with the many other Stratford Shakespeares. Genealogists claim to have discovered one man related
Rating:Essay Length: 6,125 Words / 25 PagesSubmitted: November 25, 2009 -
William Shakespeare's Hamlet
In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, the character of Hamlet has many relationships with all characters. The theme human relationships is very strong in this play. A human relationship is a logical or natural association between two or more people. Hamlet has many of these associations with King Hamlet's Ghost, Gertrude, Claudius, Ophelia, Polonius, Horatio, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Many of his relationships are just and unjust according to the character's flaws and feelings. The ghost of King
Rating:Essay Length: 1,715 Words / 7 PagesSubmitted: November 25, 2009 -
William Shakespeare’s Macbeth
In William Shakespeare's Macbeth, the prophecy of three witches drives the noble Thane's ambition beyond that of morality. His relationships with others, his dignity, and his sense of self-worth are all sacrificed for the title of King. The witches' prophecy inflates Macbeth's ambition and ego, causing him to take destiny into his own hands. Happiness, however, did not foresee his gain and eventually ruin was all that found him. At the beginning of the play
Rating:Essay Length: 529 Words / 3 PagesSubmitted: November 25, 2009 -
Year 10 Shakespeare Macbeth Coursework
Year 10 Shakespeare Macbeth coursework. The play begins with “brave Macbeth! Well he deserves that name”, but by the end of Act 5 he is called “this dead butcher” Explore the presentation of Macbeth at key moments in the play, and explain how and why you react this way towards him. At the beginning of the play Macbeth it begins with “ brave Macbeth! Well he deserves his name” but by the end of the
Rating:Essay Length: 1,746 Words / 7 PagesSubmitted: November 27, 2009 -
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare has stood the test of time so well that even now we study and speak of him. More than four hundred years after his birth, he is held in the highest regard as the world’s greatest poet and playwright. Even the prominent society was respectful of him in his own time. “Over the span of his fifty two years, from a relatively obscure background, he achieved fame, wealth and status without ever losing
Rating:Essay Length: 1,368 Words / 6 PagesSubmitted: November 27, 2009 -
With Reference to the Plays Context, Explore the Techniques Used by Shakespeare to Establish the Mood and Plot of Hamlet in Act one, Scene one?
With reference to the plays context, explore the techniques used by Shakespeare to establish the mood and plot of Hamlet in Act One, Scene One? In Act One, Scene One “Hamlet”, there are many different techniques used by Shakespeare to establish the mood and plot of the ply. These techniques are used to effectively establish the setting of the play, the weather, and the general mood of the play, which in the context of Hamlet
Rating:Essay Length: 1,611 Words / 7 PagesSubmitted: November 27, 2009