An overview of Shakespeare’s Macbeth

Shakespeare’s Macbeth recounts the tale of a man and how ambition for greater things drives him to his end. As the story progresses, the reader is introduced to the character’s wife, Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth reveals herself to be a very complex character that continues to push her husband to do whatever it takes, eventually … Read more

The theme of jealousy in the play Othello

Othello, written by William Shakespeare is the story of sexualized jealousy. Jealousy and envy take a toll on the story from beginning to end. Jealousy is the “green-eyed monster” that is inherently unreasonable. Othello, as well as, the other characters feature jealousy as the dominant motive for their actions. Shakespeare portrays sexual and romantic jealousy, … Read more

Prophecy, guilt, remorse, and ambition – Macbeth

In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the three major themes that are carried out in perhaps the greatest of Shakespeare’s tragedies is prophecy, guilt, remorse, and ambition. These themes are the ideas that Shakespeare explores dramatically in the experience of the characters in Macbeth, and they define the play. Macbeth explores its own issues alongside other Shakespeare plays, … Read more

The Corruption of Power

In the play ​Macbeth​, Shakespeare uses the expectations of manhood to introduce the changes in Macbeth’s character throughout the play, in order to convey the corrupting influence of power. The different themes shown in this play can help an audience to not only better understand the text, but also learn from the experiences mentioned. Society … Read more

Disastrous imagery in Sonnet 19

In Sonnet 19, William Shakespeare uses disastrous imagery, deliberate metrical inversions, and assertive diction in order to imply that he is in control despite Time’s massive power. By illustrating examples of substantial destruction, Shakespeare accentuates the power Time holds in the natural world. Shakespeare begins Sonnet 19 by emphasizing the extent of power which Time … Read more

Comparative essay of Romeo and Juliet’s death scene in Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’

Introduction For this essay, I have selected the final scene between Romeo and Juliet in Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet (1996) in which both characters die. I decided to choose this scene as I felt there was a lot of analysis that could be taken from things like the lighting, decorations/ props, and the costumes. … Read more

Hamlet – a symbol of honour

Hamlet is, indisputably, a play full of devastating events and situations that make it a Shakespearean tragedy. Although Hamlet is manipulated by his surroundings, he is ultimately heroic because he overcomes his tragic flaw of the inability to act: he succeeds in getting revenge while eliciting catharsis from the audience. Hamlet is a tragic hero … Read more

Merchant of Venice & Midnight at the Dragon Cafe – social inequality

Have you ever felt mistreated due to the differences in people everyday living in society? In the play, The Merchant of Venice, written by William Shakespeare and the novel, Midnight at the Dragon Cafe, written by Judy Fong Bates, the theme of social inequality is prevalent. To begin, the experiences of Lancelot vs Antonio show … Read more

Mercy in The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare

In the play The Merchant of Venice, written by William Shakespeare, there are two characters who are both merchants. These two characters are Shylock, the Jewish character, and Antonio, the Christian. The two display great hostility towards one another at the beginning of the play and by the end Antonio displays a more merciful behavior … Read more

Was Shakespeare critical of sexism & anti-Semitism? (Merchant of Venice/Romeo & Juliet)

William Shakespeare as one of the greatest writers in English Language addresses many different problems which have only been exposed as major societal problems since the emergence of sociology. Sociological problems such as sexism and anti-Semitism are evident, common topics through Shakespeare’s plays. With specific reference to ‘The Merchant of Venice’ and ‘Romeo and Juliet’, … Read more

Harry Jaffa – Shakespeare (Tempest, Macbeth, Merchant of Venice, Measure for Measure)

Harry Jaffa begins his article by saying that Shakespeare is the only known poet who has written both tragic and comedy plays. He says there is no direct evidence that shows if Shakespeare was influenced by Socrates or not because his work has intelligibility to it. He quotes Leo Strauss when drawing a connection between … Read more

How Shakespeare portrayed the inner lives of the characters in Hamlet

This essay will examine the way in which Shakespeare has portrayed the inner lives of the characters within Hamlet. This essay will primarily examine the characters of Hamlet and Claudius and discuss how their soliloquys and speech give insight into their individual thought process. This essay will discuss the characters from a psychoanalytic approach and … Read more

Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130

And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare; As any she belied with false compare… Shakespeare’s sonnet 130 was firstly published in 1609 and while many consider his 154 known sonnets to be written in a sequence, Barber claims that these were “not, in fact, such a production, indeed not one production at … Read more