Despite the notion of a utopian society, absolute perfection ceases to exist simultaneously with the human race. Mistakes have inevitably plagued humans since the commencement of civilization, but it is the accountability for these failures, not...

William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is filled to the brim with images of various sorts from nature to darkness to blood. It is near impossible to read a page from the script without coming across imagery of some kind or another. Because his writing...

Drama is the performance of a narrative by actors on stage, and differs from prose fiction in that it is interpreted and presented by others rather than the individual viewer. The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, is a drama that illustrates a...

Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth portrays the protagonist Macbeth, as a good man undone and led astray by his ‘vaulting ambition’ as well as external pressures, from his wife and the witches. In the context of this play, ‘good’ is defined as a man...

Shakespeare’s Macbeth, written in 1623, and Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, written in 1953, are both historical plays based on a character’s extreme behaviors that have stemmed from evil desires and ulterior motives. Miller and Shakespeare set...

Hao 11F William Shakespeare’s play ‘Macbeth’ and Kevin Macdonald’s film ‘The Last King of Scotland’ both highlight the destructive nature of ambition when it is not guided by its moral constraints. Both the play and film demonstrate that making...

It is often debated as to whether the three witches in Shakespeare’s Macbeth represent instruments of fate or whether they are simply manipulating and toying with Macbeth and influencing him to act in certain ways. However, Orson Welles, in his...

Throughout much of Macbeth, its titular protagonist is concerned with his future. He kills Duncan so that he can become king, he kills Banquo to protect his throne, and he goes to the witches to help him learn how to protect his life. Most of...

The purpose of this essay is to discuss Shakespeare’s intention in using medical detail within his plays. The use of medical allusion is a frequent occurrence in Shakespeare’s works, touching upon a wide variety of topics in the sphere of physic;...

As far back as Plato’s theory of imitation it has been asserted that “the poet always copies an earlier act of creation from reality or from other literary representations” (Carter 49). When Shakespeare wrote A Midsummer Night’s Dream around 1595...

Here we shall attempt at analyzing the judgements made by different characters of authority under different circumstances, limited to Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure and Antony and Cleopatra, and their consequences. People of authority in both...

The language of the body in Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure furthers one of the main tensions of the plot, namely, the manifold nature of having a body. First, that one’s state as a person is determined by one’s physicality, and vice versa. One’...

While the connection between Machiavelli and Marlowe is distinctly articulated in the preface to the latter's Jew of Malta, the parallels between Machiavelli's Prince and Shakespeare's Measure for Measure are less explicitly expressed, but...

In Shakespearean plays, the female roles are consistently more complex than the male ones, and though the protagonists are often male, the action is frequently directed by a woman. Though the female characters are often perceived to have a...

'Different audiences respond to Isabella in different ways.' Show how Shakespeare's presentation of Isabella could lead to a wide range of responses.

The mere mention of Isabella's name appears to strike indignant fear into the heart of the...

What dramatic interest has Shakespeare created through his portrayal of the Duke in Act 3?

In order to answer this question, it is necessary to study the character of the Duke and how he is developed in Act 3. The Duke acts principally as an...

Contrast the opening soliloquy of Act II sc. iv with that which closes sc. ii.

Angelo's soliloquy in sc. Ii immediately follows his first meeting with Isabella, whereas the speech to which sc. Iv opens precedes her second visit. Understandably, we...

Isabella is the strongest female character in "Measure for Measure." She debates with Angelo on an equal level and is not undermined by his authority. Her strength as a character derives from several sources; her chastity being one of the most...

In the words of nineteenth-century critic F. S. Boas, “Measure for Measure” is undeniably a “problem play”, meaning that it is a play that centres around certain moral or philosophical issues. However, as well as simply being a play about...

Shakespeare’s plays employ many allusions to religious stories and beliefs. Hamlet and Measure for Measure, for example, both address religious themes and incorporate religious imagery. However, Shakespeare’s personal religious beliefs have never...

Critics continue to debate the precise genre of Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure, because even at closer inspection it refuses to be neatly classified. To brand it a simple “comedy” would be to overlook the unnerving sense of disquiet at the end...

In virtually all of Shakespeare’s plays, members of both high and low society are represented, and often the interplay between these two classes offers some kind of moral commentary on an issue. This common set up is found in Shakespeare’s Measure...

‘Measure for Measure’ features female characters from various backgrounds, representing the whole of Viennese society. Women from the upper-classes, such as Isabella, are featured alongside their lower class compatriots, such as brothel keeper...

One possible analysis of Shakespeare’s Measure of Measure follows a natural progression of criminal justice over the course of the play. Angelo’s hardline punishments in Act One reflect the eye for an eye, measure for measure justice of the Old...