CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION 2 3 11 11 13 1( 22 2( 3* )3 )/ *( ,1 ,) ,( (1

II. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE III. ON SHAKESPEARIAN TRAGEDIES IV. FEMALE CHARACTERS IN THE SHAKESPEARIAN TRAGEDIES 1. Titus And !ni"us 2. R!#$! %nd &u'i$t 3. &u'ius C%$s% ). H%#'$t *. Ot+$''! ,. Kin- L$% (. M%".$t+ /. Ant+!n0 %nd C'$!1%t % 2. C! i!'%nus 13. Ti#!n !4 At+$ns V. CONCLUSIONS VI. REFERENCES

I. INTRODUCTION
The dramatic work of Shakespeare is impressive even numerically speaking: he wrote 37 plays: many - and of many kinds. In his works there are almost one thousand characters !elonging to different eras various people distinct social classes or statuses. These characters are represented !y women and men young people adults and old ones !y lovers and life-weary people !y heroes and villains and also !y intelligent or poor spirited people. The human typology enlisted !y the playwright is endless and offers a new perspective at each new reading. Shakespeare"s work presents variety !ut is still a unitary one presenting different tendencies and a remarka!le internal coherence altogether. #othing is randomly selected in the $ard"s work% all characters and all events are present and happen for a reason. The main themes the literary motifs and sym!ols of all tragedies are punctured !y the same humanistic spirituality specific of the renaissance period and in all we find the same tragic e&pression of human condition. The importance of women"s presence in Shakespearean tragedies is shown !y their surprising multi-sided personalities% many times women prefer showing their honor in a !loody am!itious manner rather than e&posing traditional feminine values in general and womanly love in particular. These characters are at the root of many reactions and changes in situation as they stand for power and influence over the other characters. Sometimes women in Shakespeare"s tragedies are seen on one hand as provocative moody constantly struggling for power cunning daring mischievous or even violent. 'n the other hand they appear as loving and loyal to their men wanting to know truth and force of character heavenly divine gracious in !ehavior and sometimes dominated controlled and influenced !y other characters. In order to !est illustrate the character of women in Shakespeare"s tragedies it is of utmost importance to outline that the feeling which acts as an engine in these women"s lives is love. (eople"s feeling of love oscillates !etween shallowness and deepness and women almost always situate themselves near the limits of the two e&tremes. To watch deep into their soul trying to decipher their personality from the perspective of a love relationship !ehavior means getting closer !oth to the feeling of ma&imum purity of love and to that of its most hum!le ways of e&pressing itself temporarily chained !y a com!ination of circumstances. Shakespeare clears out such situations managing to give life to some admira!le human portraits which illustrate a large register of feelings !y descri!ing women"s !ehavior. )*hen truth is separated !y +

falsehood through a more or less fortunate and e&pected event, 1 tragedy invades the scene and the readers and spectators understand why some women deserve to !e respected while others can"t !e seen as anything else !ut as the !earers of some erotic masks set on top of clay !odies incapa!le of loving and strictly dominated !y a mean interest.

II. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

The Chandos portrait, artist and authenticity unconfirmed (National Portrait Gallery, London). 2

- complete authoritative account of Shakespeare.s life is lacking% much supposition surrounds relatively few facts. /is day of !irth is traditionally held to !e -pril +3% it is known he was !apti0ed on -pril +1 1213 in Stratford-upon--von *arwickshire. The third of eight children he was the eldest son of 4ohn Shakespeare a locally prominent merchant and 5ary -rden daughter of a 6oman 7atholic mem!er of the landed gentry. /e was pro!a!ly educated at the local grammar school. In 128+ he married -nne /athaway the daughter of a farmer. /e is
1

-pud. 9umutriu 7orneliu : Arheologia dramelor shakespeariene volume II Comediile chapter III p. 1+2 $ucure;ti <ditura -== +>>1 + http:??en.wikipedia.org?wiki?Image:Shakespeare.@pg

supposed to have left Stratford after he was caught poaching in the deer park of Sir Thomas =ucy a local @ustice of the peace. Shakespeare and -nne /athaway produced a daughter Susanna in 1283 and twins - a !oy and a girl - in 1282. The !oy died 11 years later1. Shakespeare apparently arrived in =ondon in a!out 1288 and !y 12A+ had attained success as an actor and a playwright. Shortly thereafter he secured the patronage of /enry *riothesley 3rd <arl of Southampton +. The pu!lication of Shakespeare.s two fashiona!ly erotic narrative poems ) enus and !donis B12A3C and )The "ape of Lucrece B12A3C and of his )#onnets Bpu!lished 11>A !ut circulated previously in manuscriptC esta!lished his reputation as a gifted and popular 6enaissance poet. Shakespeare.s professional life in =ondon was marked !y a num!er of financially advantageous arrangements that permitted him to share in the profits of his acting company the =ord 7ham!erlain.s 7ompany later called the Ding.s 5en and its two theatres the Elo!e Theatre and the $lackfriars. /is plays were given special presentation at the courts of <li0a!eth I and 4ames I more freFuently than those of any other contemporary dramatists were. It is known that he risked losing royal favour only once in 12AA when his company performed Gthe play of the deposing and killing of Ding 6ichard IIG at the reFuest of a group of conspirators against <li0a!eth. They were led !y <li0a!eth.s unsuccessful court favorite 6o!ert 9evereu& +nd <arl of <sse& and !y the <arl of Southampton. In the su!seFuent inFuiry Shakespeare.s company was a!solved of complicity in the conspiracy3. -fter a!out 11>8 Shakespeare.s dramatic production lessened and it seems that he spent more time in Stratford. There he had esta!lished his family in an imposing house called #ew (lace and had !ecome a leading local citi0en. /e died on -pril +3 1111 and was !uried in the Stratford church. /e was granted the honour of !urial in the chancel not on account of his literary fame !ut for purchasing a share of the tithe of the church for H33> Ba considera!le sum of money at the timeC. - monument on the wall nearest his grave pro!a!ly placed !y his family features a !ust showing Shakespeare posed in the act of writing. <ach year on his claimed !irthday a new Fuill pen is placed in the writing hand of the !ust. W! 5s -lthough the precise date of many of Shakespeare.s plays is in dou!t his dramatic career is generally divided either into three periods Bas presented in the following pagesC 3 or into four periods Bthe first period involving e&perimentation although still clearly influenced !y or
1

-pud. (rotopopescu 9rago; : Shakespeare viaa i opera chapter 3 $ucharest editura <urosong I $ook 1AA8 + -pud. 6oth -ndrei : Shakespeare o lectur sociologic $ook 'ne chapter 1 p. 2 : +7 7lu@ : #apoca editura 9acia 1A88. 3 -pud (rotopopescu 9rago; op. cit. chapter 2. 3 -pud. =eviJchi =eon : Literatura Englez de la nceputuri p n la !"#$ volume II p. 33 $ucharest 1A7A

imitating 7lassical models% the second period in which Shakespeare appears to achieve a truly individual style and approach% a third darker period in which he wrote not only his ma@or tragedies !ut also the more difficult comedies known as the Gpro!lem playsG !ecause their resolutions leave trou!ling and unanswered Fuestions% and his final period when his style !lossomed in the romantic tragicomedies-e&otic sym!olic pieces which while happily resolved involve a greater comple&ity of visionC These divisions are necessarily ar!itrary ways of viewing Shakespeare.s creative development since his plays are notoriously hard to date accurately either in terms of when they were written or when they were first performed. 7ommentators differ and the dates in this article should !e seen as plausi!le appro&imations. In all periods the plots of his plays were freFuently drawn from chronicles histories or earlier fiction as were the plays of other contemporary dramatists. First Period (158 ! 1"##6

Shakespeare.s first period was one of e&perimentation. /is early plays unlike his more mature work are characteri0ed to a degree !y formal and rather o!vious construction and often styli0ed verse. Kour plays dramati0ing the <nglish civil strife of the 12th century are possi!ly Shakespeare.s earliest dramatic works. 7hronicle history plays were a popular genre of the time. These plays )$enry %, (arts I II and III Bc. 12A>-12A+C and )"ichard %%% Bc. 12A3C deal with the evil results of weak leadership and of national disunity fostered for selfish ends. The cycle closes with the death of 6ichard III and the ascent to the throne of /enry LII the founder of the Tudor dynasty to which <li0a!eth !elonged. In style and structure these plays are related partly to medieval drama and partly to the works of earlier <li0a!ethan dramatists especially 7hristopher 5arlowe. <ither indirectly through such dramatists or directly the influence of the 7lassical 6oman dramatist Seneca is also reflected in the organi0ation of these four plays in the !loodiness of many of their scenes and in their highly colored !om!astic language. Senecan influence e&erted !y way of the earlier <nglish dramatist Thomas Dyd is particularly o!vious in )Titus !ndronicus Bc. 12A>C a tragedy of righteous revenge for heinous and !loody acts which are staged in sensational detail. *hile previous generations have found its violent e&cesses a!surd or disgusting some directors and critics since the 1A1>s have recogni0ed in its horror the articulation of more contemporary preoccupations with the meanings of violence. Shakespeare.s comedies of the first period represent a wide range. )The Comedy of &rrors Bc. 12A+C an uproarious farce in imitation of 7lassical 6oman comedy depends for its 2

appeal on the mistakes in identity of two sets of twins involved in romance and war. Karce is not so strongly emphasi0ed in )The Tamin' of the #hre( Bc. 12A+C a comedy of character. )The T(o Gentlemen of erona Bc. 12A+-12A3C depends on the appeal of romantic love. In contrast )Lo)e*s La+our*s Lost Bc. 12A2C satiri0es the loves of its main male characters as well as the fashiona!le devotion to studious pursuits !y which these no!lemen had first sought to avoid romantic and worldly ensnarement. The dialogue in which many of the characters voice their pretensions ridicules the artificially ornate courtly style typified !y the works of the <nglish novelist and dramatist 4ohn =yly the court conventions of the time and perhaps the scientific discussions of Sir *alter 6aleigh and his cohorts. This period also includes his most important plays concerned with <nglish history his so-called @oyous comedies and two ma@or tragedies. In this period his style and approach !ecame highly individuali0ed. The second-period historical plays include )"ichard %% Bc. 12A2C )$enry % , (arts I and II Bc. 12A7C and )$enry !efore that of the )$enry )Bc. 12AAC. They cover the span immediately % plays. )"ichard %% is a study of a weak sensitive self-

dramati0ing !ut sympathetic monarch who loses his kingdom to his forceful successor /enry IL. In the two parts of )$enry % , /enry recogni0es his own guilt. /is fears for his own son later /enry L prove unfounded as the young prince displays an essentially responsi!le attitude towards the duties of kingship. The mingling of the tragic and the comic to suggest a !road range of humanity !ecame one of Shakespeare.s favorite devices. 'utstanding among the comedies of the second period is ) ! ,idsummer Ni'ht*s -ream Bc. 12A2-12A1C. Its fantasy-filled insouciance is achieved !y the interweaving of several plots involving two pairs of no!le lovers a group of !um!ling and unconsciously comic townspeople and mem!ers of the fairy realm nota!ly (uck Ding '!eron and Mueen Titania. These three worlds are !rought together in a series of encounters that veer from the magical to the a!surd and !ack again in the space of only a few lines. Su!tle evocation of atmosphere of the sort that characteri0es this play is found also in the tragicomedy )The ,erchant of enice Bc. 12A312A8C. The 6enaissance motifs of masculine friendship and romantic love in this play are portrayed in opposition to the !itter inhumanity of a 4ewish usurer named Shylock whose own misfortunes are presented so as to arouse understanding and sympathy. *hile this play undou!tedly deals in the currency of <uropean anti-Semitism its e&ploration of power and pre@udice also ena!les a humanist critiFue of such !igotry. The type of Fuick-witted warm and responsive young woman e&emplified in this play !y (ortia reappears in the @oyous comedies. The witty comedy ),uch !do a+out Nothin' Bc. 12A8-12AAC is marred in the opinion of some critics !y an insensitive treatment of its female characters. /owever Shakespeare.s most mature comedies )!s .ou Li/e %t Bc. 12AAC and 1

)T(elfth Ni'ht Bc. 11>1C are characteri0ed !y lyricism am!iguity and the attraction of !eautiful charming and strong-minded heroines such as 6osalind. In ) !s .ou li/e %t, the contrast !etween the manners of the <li0a!ethan court and those current in the <nglish countryside is drawn in a rich sweet and varied vein. Shakespeare constructed a comple& pattern !etween different characters and !etween appearance and reality. /e used this pattern to comment on a variety of human foi!les. In that respect ) !s .ou Li/e %t is similar to )T(elfth Ni'ht, in which the comical side of love is illustrated !y the misadventures of two pairs of romantic lovers and of a num!er of realistically conceived and clowning characters in the su!plot. Net there is a darker side even to these plays. In ) T(elfth Ni'ht, the conventional resolution is disrupted !y the e&clusion of 5alvolio a figure who has served as the !utt of the comic su!-plot. 6ather than participate in the concluding scene of forgiveness and reconciliation he storms off stage with the words G%*ll +e re)en'*d on the (hole pac/ of you0G1 . -nother comedy of the second period is )The ,erry 1i)es of 1indsor Bc. 12A7C% this play is a farce a!out middle-class life in which Kalstaff reappears as the comic victim. Two ma@or tragedies differing considera!ly in nature mark the !eginning and the end of the second period. )"ome and 2uliet Bc. 12A2C famous for its poetic treatment of the ecstasy of youthful love dramati0es the fate of two lovers victimi0ed !y the feuds and misunderstandings of their elders and !y their own hasty temperaments. 'n the other hand )2ulius Caesar Bc. 12AAC is a serious tragedy of political rivalries less intense in style than the tragic dramas that followed. Se$o%d Period (1"#1 ! 1"#8& Shakespeare.s second period includes his greatest tragedies and his so-called dark or !itter comedies. The tragedies of this period are the most profound of his works and those in which his poetic idiom !ecame an e&tremely supple dramatic instrument capa!le of recording the passage of human thought and the many dimensions of given dramatic situations. ) $amlet Bc. 11>1C his most famous play goes far !eyond other tragedies of revenge in picturing the mingled sordidness and glory of the human condition. The tragism of the situation he is faced with is the trigger for a dramatic e&ploration of /amlet.s self-dou!t an introspective torment that leads him to the !rink of suicide in perhaps the most famous Shakespearean line of all 3To +e, or not to +e, that is the 4uestion3+.
1

%he &omplete 'orks o( 'illiam Shakespeare : )Twelfth #ight, -ct L Scene I 337 p. 118. %he &omplete 'orks o( 'illiam Shakespeare : )/amlet, -ct III Scene I 28 p. 188.

-s /amlet recogni0es his hesitancy is akin to the sleep of o!livion: !nd thus the nati)e hue of resolution %s sic/lied o*er (ith the pale cast of thou'ht, !nd enterprises of 'reat pith and moment 1ith this re'ard their currents turn a(ry, !nd lose the name of action5. Through such density of character and language the play commands the affection and attention that is still accorded it today. 6thello Bc. 11>+-11>3C portrays the growth of un@ustified @ealousy in the protagonist 'thello a 5oor serving as a general in the Lenetian army. The innocent o!@ect of his @ealousy is his wife 9esdemona. In this tragedy 'thello.s evil lieutenant Iago draws him into mistaken @ealousy in order to ruin him. )7in' Lear Bc. 11>3-11>1C conceived on a more epic scale deals with the conseFuences of the irresponsi!ility and mis@udgement of =ear a ruler of early $ritain and of his councilor the 9uke of Eloucester. The tragic outcome is a result of giving power to his evil offspring rather than to his good offspring. =ear.s daughter 7ordelia displays a redeeming love that makes the tragic conclusion a vindication of goodness though a !leak resolution !ecause 7ordelia dies. This conclusion is reinforced !y the portrayal of evil as selfdefeating e&emplified !y the fates of 7ordelia.s sisters and of Eloucester.s opportunistic son. )!ntony and Cleopatra Bc. 11>1-11>7C is concerned with a different type of love namely the middle-aged passion of the 6oman general 5ark -ntony for the <gyptian Fueen 7leopatra. Their love is glorified !y some of the most sensuous poetry written !y Shakespeare In ),ac+eth Bc. 11>1C Shakespeare depicts the tragedy of a great and !asically good man who led on !y others and !ecause of a defect in his own nature succum!s to murderous am!ition. Three other plays of this period suggest a !itterness that these tragedies more successfully contain !ecause the protagonists do not seem to possess greatness or tragic stature. In Troilus and Cressida Bc. 11>+C the most intellectually contrived of Shakespeare.s plays the gulf !etween the ideal and the real !oth individually and politically is skillfully evoked. In )Coriolanus Bc. 11>8C another tragedy taking place in antiFuity. ) Timon of !thens Bc. 11>7C is a similarly !itter play a!out a character reduced to misanthropy !y the ingratitude of his sycophants. $ecause of the uneven Fuality of the writing this tragedy is considered to !e colla!oration Fuite possi!ly with Thomas 5iddleton. The two comedies of this period also are dark in mood. In the +>th century these plays gained the name of Gpro!lem playsG !ecause they do not fit into clear categories or present easy
1

%he &omplete 'orks o( 'illiam Shakespeare : )/amlet, -ct III Scene I 81 : A> p. 188.

resolution. )!ll*s 1ell That &nds 1ell Bc. 12A8-11>3C and ),easure for ,easure Bc. 11>3C are !oth plays that Fuestion accepted patterns of morality without offering the comfort of solutions. T'ird Period (1"#8 ! 1"1(& The final period of Shakespeare.s work comprises his principal romantic tragicomedies. Towards the end of his career Shakespeare created several plays that through the intervention of magic art compassion or grace often suggest redemptive hope for the human condition. These plays are written with a severe tone differing considera!ly from his earlier comedies !ut they end happily with a reunion or final reconciliation. The tragicomedies depend for part of their appeal upon the lure of a distant time or place and all seem more o!viously sym!olic than most of his earlier works. To many critics the tragicomedies signify a final ripeness in Shakespeare.s own outlook !ut other authorities !elieve that the change reflects only a change in fashion in the drama. The romantic tragi-comedy )Pericles, Prince of Tyre Bc. 11>1-11>8C concerns the title character.s painful loss of his wife and the persecution of his daughter. -fter many e&otic adventures (ericles is reunited with his loved ones. In ) Cym+eline Bc. 11>A-111>C and )The 1inter*s Tale Bc. 111>-1111C characters suffer great loss and pain !ut are reunited. (erhaps the most successful product of this particular vein of creativity however is what may !e Shakespeare.s last complete play )The Tempest Bc. 1111C in which the resolution suggests the !eneficial effects of the union of wisdom and power. Shakespeare.s poetic power reached great heights in this !eautiful lyrical play and in (rospero.s surrender of his magical powers at its conclusion some critics-perhaps fancifully-have seen Shakespeare.s own relinFuishment of the theatre.s Grough magicG. Two final plays sometimes ascri!ed to Shakespeare presuma!ly are the products of colla!oration. - historical drama )$enry %%% )Bc. 1113C was pro!a!ly written with the <nglish dramatist 4ohn Kletcher as was )The T(o No+le 7insmen )Bc. 1113% pu!lished posthumously 1133C.

Liter)r* Re+,t)tio%

Shakespeare.s reputation as perhaps the greatest of all dramatists was not achieved during his lifetime1. Though his contemporary $en 4onson declared him Gnot of an age !ut for all timeG + Bwhen Shakespeare diedC early 17th-century taste found the plays of 4onson himself or Thomas 5iddleton or Krancis $eaumont and 4ohn Kletcher eFually worthy of praise. 'nly in the 6estoration period-some 2> or more years after Shakespeare.s death-did his reputation !egin to eclipse that of his contemporaries. This is not to say that the late 17th- and early 18th-century theatre treated his plays with anything like reverence. The 6omantic 5ovement particularly the writings of Samuel Taylor 7oleridge and 4ohann *olfgang Eoethe did much to shape !oth Shakespeare.s international reputation and the account of his achievement that has persisted ever since. 6omantic authors claimed Shakespeare as a great precursor of their own literary values: his work was cele!rated as an em!odiment of universal human truths an uneFualled articulation of the human condition in all its no!ility and variety. In later Lictorian $ritain this view was married to the moralistic Gcivili0ingG mission of educationalists and empire !uilders while -merican writers looked to Shakespeare as a foundation stone of their own distinct cultural identity. The years since *orld *ar I have if anything cemented these positions: the esta!lishment of institutions such as the 6oyal Shakespeare Theatre in $ritain and the Kolger Shakespeare =i!rary in the Onited States has ensured that his work has remained a central icon of *estern culture 3. The claim that his plays have the power to transcend their historical moment and speak to all humanity now underlies an insistence on Shakespeare.s continuing relevance to our own situation: as the title of a seminal !ook !y 4an Dott put it Shakespeare is Gour contemporaryG3. #evertheless there have always !een dissenters. *riters of the stature of =eo Tolstoi and Eeorge $ernard Shaw were prepared to offer devastatingly negative @udgements on the plays and their author while others have advanced eccentric theories designed to prove that such great plays could not have !een written !y someone of Shakespeare.s o!scure origins and limited education. In their own way recent Shakespearean scholars have also contri!uted to a demythologi0ing of the !ard that some think threatens the security of his reputation. Net even as the focus of such activities Shakespeare remains central to the work of literary critics to theatre throughout the world to *estern accounts of national and cultural identity. These are not positions he will !e allowed to surrender easily.

1 +

-pud. /ugo Lictor : 'illiam Shakespeare p. 3+ (aris =i!rairie internationale 1813. 4onson $en : &tre cititor in Shakespeare i opera lui p. 18 $ucharest <.=.O. 1A13 3 -pud. $augh 7. -l!et : 7A Literar) *istor) o( England vol. II #ew Nork -ppleton 7entury 7rofts Inc. 1A38. 3 Dott 4an : 7Shakespeare+ contemporanul nostru, $ucharest <ditura pentru =iteratura OniversalP 1A1A.

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III. ON SHAKESPEARIAN TRA-ED.

Shakespearian tragedies have almost invaria!ly !een taken as the writer"s greatest achievement most likely !ecause in pagan and in 7hristian times tragedy was accepted as the no!lest of poetic achievements and !ecause The $ard is and has for long !een held to !e the world"s greatest dramatic poet. Taking into account the process of creation the date ByearC when the works were written is relevant as it leads to the sole chronology of the creational process% !ut this chronology must !e associated with the social changes that took place at the time and with the life of the author which was influenced !y these transformations. 7onsidering the literary genres to which the theatrical works of Shakespeare !elong to the latter have !een : and still are very often : divided into three groups: the history plays the comedies and the tragedies. This division was made from the very !eginning with the 11+3 edition. -ndrei 6oth1 prefers to use another type of division the one which includes : !esides the fore-mentioned : another distinct group of the plays which are neither tragedies nor comedies !ut hold elements of the two ma@or genres within themselves. 5any tend to name the plays !elonging to this category )tragi : comedies, !ut 6oth prefers not to as he considers that within these plays the tragic and the comic can !e found in different proportions. /. $. 7harlton sees Shakespeare as coming )to the plays as a psychological naturalist or rather as a natural psychologist, as giving an impulse to each of his characters !y placing within their uniFue distinctive personality a certain )accumulated e&perience of humanity, which tends )to operate in real life,+.

IV. FEMALE CHARACTERS IN THE SHAKESPEAREAN TRA-EDIES

'ne of the things that have always drawn my attention a!out Shakespeare.s works is the idea of power through authorship. In a Shakespeare play the goal is not to !e the !iggest strongest person in the play. #or is it to !e the luckiest or smartest. 'verwhelmingly the ma@ority of his plays reFuire the a!ility to write and rewrite history personality or circumstance for success.
1 +

-pud. 6oth -ndrei : op. cit., p +A. 7harlton /. $. : Shakespearian %raged) p 3 7am!ridge 7am!ridge at the Oniversity (ress 1A11

11

=ooking at the authorship of women in Shakespeare.s earlier plays contrasted with their authorship in his later ones gives an interesting glimpse into the difference of his earlier and later heroines as well as a tantali0ing glimpse at a change in the man himself. Shakespeare.s earliest heroines find power in the use of words: they write the future to take !ack the power pillaged from them !y the men in the plays. =avinia in ) Titus !ndronicus, finds authorship Band ultimately her only moment of powerC in writing the names of her mutilators in the dirt. )"ichard %%%,.s 5argaret leads the women of the play into a realm of power through their a!ility to curse the men. -nd Datharine in )$enry , practices her <nglish and uses her small knowledge of it to pull from /al a confession of his own !um!ling a!ility with language. $ut somewhere along the way the power of Shakespeare.s women changes. -s early as )Lo)e*s La+our*s Lost, Shakespeare planted the seed of the later physicality of women.s power. Indeed his later heroines rely less on the inactive power of words and more on the proactive power of reinvention of the self through costume. In ) Lo)e*s La+our*s Lost the women deceive men !y switching trinkets so that the men Gwoo !ut the sign of sheG. $ut it is not until later in his career that this power is fully recogni0ed. 6osalind takes it to the e&treme in ) !s .ou Li/e %t, rewriting the play and controlling destinies B!oth hers and 'rlando.s as well as that of (hoe!e and TouchstoneC through her costume. ,erchant of enice ,.s (ortia uses the power of words to rewrite the ending of a tragedy !ut she does so in male costume. *ithout her disguise her argument would have remained unheard !y the court and the rings Band her su!seFuent power over her hus!andC would have remained BliterallyC in his hands1. -nd it is perhaps here that we find the late Shakespeare one more cynical and more sensitive to the patriarchal arrangement of power. Shakespeare.s sentiment towards women.s authorship seems to have changed% in his later years he seems to have stopped !elieving that women could merely use language to find power. The older and argua!ly wiser $ard recogni0es that in order for society to hear them women must first !ecome men. This does not strip them of their power !ut strips society of its fairness. In the end Shakespeare seems to have reali0ed the predicament of women in a patriarchal society: (ortia didn.t need to !ecome a man to use language% she needed to !ecome one for the men to hear her. Thus the logic of women must !e disguised as men.s in order for it to !e applied and Shakespeare not only recogni0es this in his later plays he focuses on it pulling from himself a feminist critiFue of his society. 1. TITUS ANDRONICUS (15 /&
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-pud. 9ash Irene - 7'omen,s 'orlds in Shakespeare,s -la)s7 p. 8+8 #ewark Oniversity of 9elaware (ress 1AA7

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The first act of the play has the setting in "ome, +efore the Capitol where the two sons of the late <mperor of 6ome Saturninus and $assianus ask the masses to decide who should succeed to the throne. Titus enters with his four living sons% he also !rings as captives Tamora Mueen of the Eoths her three sons and -aron the 5oore. 9espite a desperate plea from Tamora Titus orders following 6oman custom that Tamora"s oldest son !e ritually sacrificed in e&change for Titus"s own death. 5arcus offers Titus the scepter of 6ome !ut the latter refuses and states instead that Saturninus should !e emperor !ecause he is the eldest son% Saturninus returns the favour !y taking =avinia Titus"s daughter as his empress. $assianus revolts claiming that =avinia is his of right. Titus kills him. It is only after his other sons plead with him that Titus even allows 5utius to !e !uried in the family tom!. /umiliated !y the loss of =avinia Saturninus announces that he will instead take Tamora as empress. The new emperor thus declares a love-day and invites everyone to the court for a feast. Titus offers to organi0e a hunt for him the ne&t day and Saturninus accepts. -ct II B"ome. 8efore the palace.C -aron re@oices that Tamora is now the empress. !rawl takes place !etween 7hiron and 9emetrius Tamora"s sons who argue over which of them deserves =avinia"s love. -aron counsels them to !oth rape her the ne&t day. *hen Titus Titus"s sons Saturninus Tamora $assianus =avinia and 5arcus gather the ne&t day for the hunt 7hiron and 9emetrius reaffirm their intention to pluc/ a dainty doe to 'round. -way from the others -aron !uries a !ag of gold under a tree. Tamora finds him. The couple is spotted in their physical intimacy !y $assianus and =avinia who proceed to insult Tamora. 7hiron and 9emetrius enter and sta! $assianus to death in defense of their mother"s honor. *hen Tamora wants to sta! =avinia too her sons stop her wishing to keep her alive until they have satisfied their lust on her. Tamora assents ignoring =avinia"s heartrending reFuest that Tamora kill her immediately instead. -aron leads Saturninus to the pit where Tamora hands him the letter -aron had previously written and which incriminates Muintus and 5artius as $assianus"s murderers.. Titus tries to free his sons !ut they are taken away !y Saturninus to await e&ecution. 7hiron and 9emetrius enter with a ravished =avinia whose hands and tongue have cut off in order to prevent her from revealing the perpetrators of the crime. They leave her alone in the wilderness. The girl is discovered !y 5arcus% =avinia tries to flee in shame from her uncle !ut he stops her and decides to !ring her to her father even though he is sure that such a sight will !lind Titus. -ct III ("ome. ! street.) Titus !egs the @udges who are leading his sons away to spare their lives for the sake of his was efforts and age !ut they ignore him. ! stone is soft as (a9: tri+unes more hard than stone.5 Then =ucius unsuccessfully attempts to free his !rothers and is
1

%he &omplete 'orks o( 'illiam Shakespeare : )Titus -ndronicus, -ct III Scene I 32 p. 12>.

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!anished. Titus calls him a lucky man for escaping the (ilderness of ti'ers that 6ome has !ecome. 5arcus enters with the ravished =avinia and all !reak down in tears. Then -aron enters with a message: if Titus cuts off one of his hands the <mperor will spare his sons. 5arcus and =ucius argue that they should sacrifice their hands !ut while Titus sends them off for an a&e he gets -aron to cut off his hand. - !anFuet is set out. Titus tries to decipher the mimed actions of =avinia. *hen 5arcus kills a fly Titus shows himself sympathetic for the parents of the fly. 5arcus humours him !y saying that it is a !lack fly like -aron. Titus reacts with delight which convinces 5arcus that he is mad. .o)/ $elp, 'randsire, help0 my aunt La)inia ;ollo(s me e)ery(here, % /no( not (hy. Good uncle ,arcus, see ho( s(ift she comes0 !las, s(eet aunt, % /no( not (hat you mean.5

T%T<# !N- ,!"C<#. .6<NG L<C%<# P<"#<&- 8. L! %N%!+ -ct IL =avinia gets a !ook which young =ucius is carrying 'vid"s ,etamorphoses. She turns through its pages until she reaches the story of (hilomela and Tereus BTereus rapes his sister-in-law (hilomela and then cuts off her tongue so that she cannot reveal the crimeC which she shows to her father and uncle to indicate what has !een done to her. /olding a staff with her mouth and guiding it with her stumps she then writes ) #tuprum B=atin for rapeC Chiron, -emetrius., The story of (hilomela and Tereus is )heightened and over changed under other names and mi&ed up with the repast of -treus and Thyestes and many other incidents, 3. 'n Titus"s orders young =ucius delivers weapons from his armory to 7hiron and 9emetrius along with a scroll !earing the Fuotation of /orace stating: The man of upri'ht life, and free from crime, has no need of the ,oore=s >a)elins or arro(s. ? 'nly -aron understands the insult. -aron defends his offspring and claims that !lack is the !est colour. /e kills the nurse to keep
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%he &omplete 'orks o( 'illiam Shakespeare : )Titus -ndronicus, -ct IL Scene I 1 : 3 p. 123. http:??a!soluteshakespeare.com?pictures? - Painted and en'ra)ed +y Thomas 7ir/. 3 /a0litt *illiam : &haracters o( Shakespear,s -la)s : 9ou!tful (lays p +31 =ondon 4. 5. 9eut I Sons #ew Nork <. (. 9utton I 7o.. 1A31. 3 %he &omplete 'orks o( 'illiam Shakespeare : )Titus -ndronicus, -ct IL Scene I 7A. p. 123.

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the secret of the child safe and then decides to return to the Eoths. Saturninus is furious a!out the arrows he has found for they have advertised his crimes to all of 6ome. =ucius has gathered an army of Eoths and is already advancing towards 6ome. Saturninus flies in panic !ut Tamora calms him down !y promising him she can persuade Titus to discourage =ucius"s war efforts. She sends -emilius to the Eoth camp to ask =ucius to go to a meeting at the house of Titus. -ct L The Eoths promise to follow =ucius"s lead into !attle. - Eoth soldier discovers the fugitive -aron along with his !a!y in an a!andoned monastery and !rings him !ack to camp. -aron makes a !argain with =ucius to preserve the child in e&change for knowledge of all the horrors that have occurred. -fter =ucius swears !y the gods -aron reveals the parenthood of the child the rapist of =avinia the murderers of $assianus his own trickery to get Titus"s hand% finally he takes credit for every act saying: !nd (hat not done, that thou hast cause to rue, 1herein % had no stro/e of mischief in it@5 The 5oore goes on to list the other crimes he has committed in life claiming his sole regret is that he does not have the chance to commit ten thousand more. =ucius is so horrified that he decides to preserve -aron for a death as cruel as possi!le. Tamora and her sons appear to Titus in disguise masFuerading as revenge and her attendants 6ape and 5urder. She says to Titus that she will punish all his enemies if he will convince =ucius to attend a !anFuet at Titus"s house. Titus agrees on condition that 6evenge leave 6ape and 5urder with him B7hiron and 9emetrius in disguiseC. Opon Tamora"s departure Titus slits their throats with =avinia holding the !asin to catch their !lood. /e grinds their !ones to dust and makes a paste of it with their !lood and finally takes a dish out of them which is to !e served to their mother. Titus asks Saturninus if Lirginius should have slain his daughter !ecause she had !een raped% Saturninus responds that a girl should not survive her shame. -t this Titus kills =avinia. The emperor is horrified !ut Titus claims that her real killers are 7hiron and 9emetrius. *hen Saturninus calls for them to !e !rought out Titus replies that they are already present in the dishes from which Tamora has already eaten. *ith this revelation he sta!s the empress. The emperor kills Titus. =ucius kills the emperor and speaks up to defend his actions !y citing all the crimes that have !een committed against the -ndronici. 5arcus asks for the @udgment of the 6oman people who end in naming =ucius as governor. /e accepts after which tri!ute is paid to Titus"s corpse. -aron is !uried !reast-deep and left to starve to death and Tamora"s corpse is thrown to the !easts. )This holocaust of !lood and terror looks like a talented !eginner"s attempt to outdo The #panish Tra'edy. /owever its som!er style and careful plotting make it a very good revenge
1

Idem -ct L Scene I 1>A : 11> p 111.

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tragedy though modern readers of Shakespeare find it fare repulsive. -aron the 5oore is a villain modeled after Tam!urlaine and $ara!as of 5arlowe though not too successfully and the !lank verse is closest to 5arlowe than to Dyd !ut seldom rises to stirring poetry. If the play means anything !eside entrail-twisting horrors it is the relentless triumph of #emesis which engulfs all who live !y the sword.,1 Tamora is the Mueen of the Eoths mother of 7hiron and 9emetrius. Though her very first speech shows her to !e a caring mother who has an appreciation of the no!ility of mercy: Arue the tears % shed ! mother=s tears in passion for her son: !nd if thy sons (ere e)er dear to thee= 6, thin/ my son to +e as dear to me02 Tamora is associated with !ar!arism savagery and unrestrained lasciviousness. Indeed Tamora e&hi!its e&treme ruthlessness particularly when she encourages her sons to rape =avinia and says that she knows not the meaning of pity. <ven though she is opposite in everything to the archetypal victim =avinia feminist theorists like to cast her in the position of a victim of a male law of order. In this light she !ecomes the dart!oard for misogynistic fear of se&ual appetite. =avinia is the only daughter of Titus -ndronicus% she spurns Saturninus.s offer to make her his empress !ecause she is in love with $assianus. She is !rutally raped and disfigured !y 7hiron and 9emetrius in the forest during the hunt. Thereafter she is a mute and horrifying presence constantly on stage complement to her father.s loFuacious sufferings and accomplice to his !loody vengeance. 9eprived of every means of communication and ro!!ed of her most precious chastity she comes across as one of Shakespeare.s most incapacitated heroines. Net as she is physically pared down her narrative and thematic importance escalates drawing our attention to the importance of pantomime on the stage. The rape of =avinia is undou!tedly the central and most horrific crime of the play which is why other adaptations of the play have the alternate name of GThe 6ape of =avinia.G Kor this reason her character invites especially careful scrutiny. )This tragedy it is true is framed according to a false idea of tragic which !y an accumulation of cruelties and enormities degenerates into the horri!le and yet leaves no deep impression !ehind.,3 0. ROMEO AND 1ULIET (15 5&
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D%08 M% tin S. in http:??a!soluteshakespeare.com?Fuotations %he &omplete 'orks o( 'illiam Shakespeare : )Titus -ndronicus, -ct I Scene I 1>2 : 1>8 p. 13> 3 /a0litt *illiam op. cit. p. +32.

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"omeo and 2uliet is the only tragedy which Shakespeare has written entirely on a love-story. It is supposed to have !een his first play and it deserves to stand in that proud rank. There is a !uoyant spirit of youth in ever line in the rapturous into&ication of hope and in the !itterness of despair. It has !een said of "omeo and 2uliet !y a great critic that Qwhatever is most into&icating in odour of a southern spring languishing in the song of a nightingale or voluptuous in the first opening of a rose is to !e found in this poem". The description is true% BRC it has the sweetness of the rose it has the freshness too% if it has the languor of the nightingale"s song it has also its giddy transport% if it has the softness of a southern spring it is as glowing and as !right. There is nothing of a sickly and sentimental cast. 6omeo and 4uliet are in love !ut they are not love-sick. <verything spares the very soul of pleasure the high and healthy pulse of the passions: the heart !eats the !lood circulates and mantles throughout.,1 (rologue. -rgua!ly Shakespeare.s most famous play !egins with a (rologue which esta!lishes that this play will !e a tragedy and that the children of two feuding families 6omeo of the 5ontague family and 4uliet of the 7apulet family will !oth love and die in the course of this play. -ct I. Sampson and Eregory servants to the 7apulets and -!raham and $althasar servants to the 5ontague family start a street fight which is @oined !y $envolio B5ontagueC and Ty!alt B7apuletC. 7apulet is keen for (aris to marry his daughter 4uliet and plans a party to !e held later that night. 6omeo and friends decide to turn up uninvited 6omeo hoping to see 6osaline whom he still pines for. =ady 7apulet discusses the idea of marriage to (aris with 4uliet. 4uliet keeps her options open. The #urse wishes 4uliet every possi!le happiness. 5eanwhile 5ercutio attempts to cheer a lovesick 6omeo up telling him to !e rough with love if need !e. -t the 7apulet.s party 6omeo who is disguised !y a masFue BmaskC falls in love with 4uliet on sight. 7apulet stops Ty!alt from attacking 6omeo at his party telling him there will !e other opportunities. $oth 6omeo and 4uliet learn that they are each enemies of the other.s family... - (rologue sung !y a choir dramati0es the conflict !oth 6omeo and 4uliet feel !etween their love for one another and their loyalty to their respective families.

/a0litt *illiam op. cit. p. 1>>.

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"6,&6, 2<L%&T, N<"#& etc., 1%T$ T$& G<&#T# !N- T$& ,!#7&"#. 1 -ct II. Ignoring the danger 6omeo scales the 7apulet.s wall to !e near 4uliet the woman he cannot forget. Onnoticed in 4uliet.s orchard 6omeo learns of 4uliet.s love for him. -fter declaring their feelings for each other the two decide to marry. 4uliet will send 6omeo a messenger in the morning to make plans for their wedding. The very ne&t day we meet 6omeo.s friend Kriar =aurence. /e wonders how 6omeo can forget 6osaline so Fuickly !ut agrees to marry the two since he hopes this marriage it will end the long running 5ontague ? 7apulet feud. 6omeo catches up with his friends 5ercutio and $envolio. 4uliet.s messenger the #urse arrives and the wedding is set for later that day. The #urse !rings 6omeo GcordsG or ropes which will allow 6omeo to clim! into 4uliet.s !edcham!er as her hus!and later that night. -ct II ends with 6omeo and 4uliet.s marriage. -ct III. $envolio and 5ercutio B!oth 5ontaguesC meet Ty!alt B7apuletC. Ty!alt attempts to provoke 6omeo into fighting. 5ercutio fights Ty!alt and is killed. 6omeo then kills Ty!alt. <scalus the (rince of Lerona !anishes 6omeo from Lerona threatening death should he ever return. 4uliet learns of 6omeo killing Ty!alt and despite !eing torn !etween her loyalty for her family and 6omeo mourns her hus!and 6omeo.s !anishment. 6omeo learns of the !anishment order reali0ing he will not !e a!le to see 4uliet again. *e learn that 6omeo has spent the night with his 4uliet. 4uliet who is now already secretly married to 6omeo learns that she is to marry (aris. She tries to fight her father.s wishes failing to dissuade him. 4uliet decides to commit suicide if all else fails. -ct IL. (aris reveals that the wedding will occur on Thursday. 4uliet is cold to (aris. Kriar =aurence tells 4uliet to take a potion simulating death allowing 6omeo to take her away
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http:??a!soluteshakespeare.com?pictures? - Painted +y 1illiam ,iller. &n'ra)ed +y Geor'e #i'mund and 2ohn Gottlie+ ;acius.

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unopposed to 5antua since everyone will think she is dead at the 7apulet.s ancient vault or !urial ground. 7apulet makes plans for 4uliet.s wedding. 4uliet who has decided to drink Kriar =aurence.s potion no longer opposes the wedding delighting 7apulet. /earing this good news 7apulet who is keen to have 4uliet marry (aris decides to move the wedding forward. It will now !e on *ednesday morning not Thursday as previously planned. 4uliet succeeds in sleeping alone which allows her to take the potion in privacy. 4uliet worries a!out the Kriar.s intentions !efore the potion takes effect and she falls asleep. =ady 7apulet and the #urse are !usy making preparations for the wedding. It is 3 o.clock in the morning and now 7apulet hearing music announcing (aris. arrival tells the #urse to wake 4uliet. The 7apulet.s learn that their daughter 4uliet is dead. The wedding preparations are changed to those of a funeral.

2<L%&T 6N T$& 8&-. ;"%!" L!<"&NC&, C!P<L&T, L!-. C!P<L&T, P!"%#, ;"%!", N<"#&, ,<#%C%!N# etc.5 -ct L. In 5antua 6omeo learns of 4uliet.s death deciding to risk his own life !y returning to Lerona at once to see 4uliet one last time. 6omeo also !uys some poison from a local -pothecary. Kriar 4ohn e&plains to Kriar =aurence that his letter informing 6omeo that 4uliet is not dead did not reach 6omeo. Kriar =aurence tries again to inform 6omeo of his plan and heads off to the 7apulet !urial cham!er where 4uliet will soon awaken. (aris mourns his !ride that never was. 6omeo arrives opening 4uliet.s coffin to look at his love one last time. (aris fights 6omeo whom he !elieves is desecrating 4uliet.s grave. (aris

http:??a!soluteshakespeare.com?pictures? - Painted Gottlie+ ;acius.

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+y 2ohn 6pie, ".!. &n'ra)ed +y Geor'e #i'mund and 2ohn 1A

dies 6omeo placing him !eside 4uliet. 6omeo takes his poison kisses 4uliet and dies. Kriar =aurence arrives too late.

"6,&6 !N- P!"%# -&!-B 2<L%&T, !N- ;"%!" L!<"&NC&. 5 4uliet now awakens asking for her 6omeo. Kriar =aurence leaves leaving 4uliet alone. 4uliet kisses 6omeo and sta!s herself dying. The (rince 7apulets and 5ontagues arrive $althasar and Kriar =aurence e&plaining all. <scalus scolds the two families who finally end their feud. The play ends with the (rince summari0ing this tragic love story. 4uliet8 the daughter of 7apulet and =ady 7apulet is a !eautiful thirteen-year-old girl. 4uliet !egins the play as a naSve child who has thought little a!out love and marriage !ut she grows up Fuickly upon falling in love with 6omeo the son of her family"s great enemy. $ecause she is a girl in an aristocratic family she has none of the freedom 6omeo has to roam around the city clim! over walls in the middle of the night or get into swordfights. #evertheless she shows ama0ing courage in trusting her entire life and future to 6omeo even refusing to !elieve the worst reports a!out him after he gets involved in a fight with her cousin. 4uliet"s closest friend and confidant is her #urse though she"s willing to shut the #urse out of her life the moment the #urse turns against 6omeo. /aving not Fuite reached her fourteenth !irthday 4uliet is of an age that stands on the !order !etween immaturity and maturity. -t the play"s !eginning however she seems merely an o!edient sheltered naSve child. Though many girls her ageTincluding her motherTget married 4uliet has not given the su!@ect any thought. *hen =ady 7apulet mentions (aris"s interest in marrying 4uliet 4uliet dutifully responds that she will try to see if she can love him a response that seems childish in its o!edience and in its immature conception of love. 4uliet seems to have

http:??a!soluteshakespeare.com?pictures? - Painted

+y 2ames Northcote, ". !. &n'ra)ed +y Peter #imon +>

no friends her own age and she is not comforta!le talking a!out se& Bas seen in her discomfort when the #urse goes on and on a!out a se&ual @oke at 4uliet"s e&pense in -ct I scene IIIC. 4uliet gives glimpses of her determination strength and so!er-mindedness in her earliest scenes and offers a preview of the woman she will !ecome during the five-day span of "omeo and 2uliet. *hile =ady 7apulet proves una!le to Fuiet the #urse 4uliet succeeds with one word Balso in -ct I scene IIIC. In addition even in 4uliet"s dutiful acFuiescence to try to love (aris there is some seed of steely determination. 4uliet promises to consider (aris as a possi!le hus!and to the precise degree her mother desires. *hile an outward show of o!edience such a statement can also !e read as a refusal through passivity. 4uliet will accede to her mother"s wishes !ut she will not go out of her way to fall in love with (aris. 4uliet"s first meeting with 6omeo propels her full-force toward adulthood. Though profoundly in love with him 4uliet is a!le to see and critici0e 6omeo"s rash decisions and his tendency to romantici0e things. -fter 6omeo kills Ty!alt and is !anished 4uliet does not follow him !lindly. She makes a logical and heartfelt decision that her loyalty and love for 6omeo must !e her guiding priorities. <ssentially 4uliet cuts herself loose from her prior social mooringsT her #urse her parents and her social position in LeronaTin order to try to reunite with 6omeo. *hen she wakes in the tom! to find 6omeo dead she does not kill herself out of feminine weakness !ut rather out of an intensity of love @ust as 6omeo did. 4uliet"s suicide actually reFuires more nerve than 6omeo"s: while he swallows poison she sta!s herself through the heart with a dagger. 4uliet"s development from a wide-eyed girl into a self-assured loyal and capa!le woman is one of Shakespeare"s early triumphs of characteri0ation. It also marks one of his most confident and rounded treatments of a female character.1 )"omeo and 2uliet is a love-story !ut in Shakespeare"s day love included many comple& rituals. <arly in the middle ages a cult has developed called 7ourtly =ove which focused on a curious etiFuette that !ecame a kind of parody of 7hristian e&perienceR $y Shakespeare"s time the convention had !ecome more middle-class was much freFuently liked to eventual marriage and the move overtly se&ual aspects of such relationships were more fully e&plore. So Qlove" in "omeo and 2uliet covers the three different forms of convention. Kirst the orthodo& (etrarchan convention of 6omeo"s love for 6osaline at the !eginning of the play. Second the less su!limated love for which the only honoura!le resolution was marriage represented !y the main theme of the play. Third the more cynical perspective that we get in 5ercutio"s comments and perhaps in those of the nurse as well.,+
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-pud /a0litt *illiam op. cit. p. AA. F 0$8 N! t+ !1 in http:??a!soluteshakespeare.com?Fuotations.

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(. 1ULIUS CAESAR (15

&

-ct I (! street in "ome.) *orkmen of various trades are making holiday to see 7aesar and to re@oice in his triumph. Tri!unes Klavius and 5arullus are not pleased with the adulation 7aesar is receiving and drive away the vulgar from the streets. #either is $rutus pleased with 7aesar"s growing power and is ve&ed of the late with passion and conceptions only proper to himself. Since he cannot see himself so well as !y reflection his friend 7assius will !e his glass and discover to himself which he doesn"t yet know of. $rutus loves the name of honour more than he fears death he has a strong sense of his duties and that is why he cannot or rather won"t see that 7aesar-the-man is no different from 7assius. -nd this man has now !ecome a god: and 7assius is a wretched creature and must !end his !ody if 7aesar carelessly !ut nod on him. Their secret conversation is interrupted !y shouting and applauses that seem to confirm their suspicions. These applauses must !e for some new honours that are heaped on 7aesar. Indeed -ntonius offered 7aesar the crown again and again three times in a row and he refused it thrice. #ever till tonight never till now did people go through a tempest dropping fire : either there is a civil strife in heaven or else the world too saucy with the gods incenses them to send destruction. Indeed it is a strange-disposed time: !ut men may !uild things after their fashion clean from the purpose of the things themselves. The 6omans well deserve this fate for their fathers" minds are dead and they are governed with their mothers" spirits% their sufferance show them womanish% their senators tomorrow mean to esta!lish 7aesar as a king. Then it must !e tomorrow morning. If only they could win the no!le $rutus to their partyU /e sits high in all the people"s hearts. ' !ut three parts of $rutus to theirs already% and the man entire upon the ne&t encounter yields him theirs. -ct II. Since 7assius first turned $rutus against 7aesar the latter has not slept and fears that 7aesar may !e growing too powerful have !een torment him all night. /is hesitations are a good sign for the conspirators 7assius and 7asca included since in the morning when they call on him they easily persuade him to @oin them. Krom that point he takes control: 7icero although the silver hairs will purchase them a good opinion will !e left out% -ntonius although a shrewd contriver should outlive 7aesar or else their course will seem too !loody to cut the head off and then hack the lim!s - like wrath in death and envy afterwards: for -ntonius given to sports to wildness and much company is !ut a lim! of 7aesar. 'nce decided they carefully plan the !loody deed. $rutus will not eat nor talk nor sleep. /e must have some sick offence within his mind which !y the right and virtue of her place his wife (ortia - (ortia accustomed to !eing $rutus"s confidante is upset to find him so reluctant to speak his mind when she finds him ++

trou!led. $rutus later hears that (ortia has killed herself out of grief that -nthony and 'ctavius have !ecome so powerful - ought to know of. Opon her knees she charms him !y her oncecommended !eauty !y all his vows of love why he is heavy. Should she know no secrets that appertain to himV Is she herself !ut as it were in sort or limitation - to keep with him at meals comfort his !ed and talk to him sometimesV 9oes she dwell !ut in the su!ur!s of his good pleasureV If it !e no more (ortia is $rutus"s harlot not his wife. She grants she is a woman% !ut withal a woman well-reputed - 7ato"s daughter. 7ouldn"t $rutus @ust accept she is stronger than her se& !eing so fathered and so hus!andedV /ow weak a thing of heart of woman isU ' $rutus he heavens speed him in his enterpriseU and (ortia can only !e a helpless witness. 7alphurnia invests great authority in omens and portents. She warns 7aesar against going to the Senate on the Ides of 5arch since she has had terri!le nightmares and heard reports of many !ad omens. #evertheless 7aesar"s am!ition ultimately causes him to disregard her advice like (ortia is worried a!out the fate of her !eloved and warns 7aesar to stay inside and not go to the senate. 7aesar would !e a !east without a heart if he should stay at home today for fear. *hy not send 5arcus -ntonius to the senate-house and he shall say 7aesar is not well todayV Indeed 7aesar will not come today: cannot is false% and that % dare not falser% he will not come today. The cause is in his will : he will not come% that is enough to satisfy the senate. -s for the truth of it @ust for 9ecius he confides that 7alphurnia had a terri!le nightmare foretelling a cruel fate. $ut this dream is all amiss interrupted% it was a vision fair and fortunate: his statue spouting !lood in many pipes in which so many smiling 6omans !athed signifies that from him great 6ome shall suck reviving !lood. -nd then the senate have concluded to give this day a crown to mighty 7aesar. If he will send them word he will not come their minds may change. $esides it were a mock apt to !e rendered for some to say )!reak up the senate till another time when 7aesar"s wife shall meet with her !etter dreams., If 7aesar hide himself they shall whisper )7aesar is afraid., There are also others who try to warn 7aesar that there is danger awaiting for him. -rtemidorus is reading a paper to !e su!seFuently handed over to 7aesar in a last attempt to warn him to !eware of a group of conspirators which he even names. -ct III. 7aesar is sta!!ed !y several conspirators and at last !y $rutus. )<t tu $ruteV, 1 =i!ertyU KreedomU Tyranny is deadU KatesU *e will know your pleasures. : That we shall die we know% it is !ut the time and drawing days out that men stand upon. *hy he cuts off twenty years of life cuts off so many years of fearing death: grant that and then is death a !enefit. If so the conspirators are 7aesar"s friends to have a!ridged his time of fearing death. The citi0ens are waiting for the no!le orators. The firs one to speak is the no!le $rutus:

%he &omplete 'orks o( 'illiam Shakespeare : )4ulius 7aesar, -ct

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8e patient till the last. "omans, countrymen, and lo)ers0 hear me for my causeB and +e silent, that you may hear: +elie)e me for mine honourB and ha)e respect for mine honour, that you may +elie)eB censor me in your (isdomB and a(a/e your senses, that you may +etter >ud'e. %f there may +e any in this assem+ly, and dear friend of Caesar=s, to him % say that 8rutus=s lo)e for Caesar (as no less than his. %f, then, that friend demand (hy 8rutus rose a'ainst Caesar, this is my ans(er, C Not that % lo)ed Caesar less, +ut that % lo)ed "ome more. $ad you rather Caesar (ere li)in', and die all sla)es, than that Caesar (as dead, to li)e all free men@ !s Caesar lo)ed me, % (eep for himB as he (as fortunate, % re>oice at itB as he (as )aliant, % honour him: +ut as he (as am+itious, % sle( him: there is tears for his lo)eB >oy for his fortuneB honour for his )alourB and death for his am+ition. 1ho is here so rude that (ould not +e a "oman@ %f any, spea/B for him % ha)e offended.5 $rutus pauses for a reply% it has all !een an act of @ustice and the mo! are convinced that 7aesar was the tyrant and $rutus is the no!lest of the 6omans. $ut -ntonius knows how to handle the crowd attacking not $rutus directly !ut Fuestioning his credi!ility. The crown is shaken for there is much reason in what he is saying. -ntonius adds up more reason to support 7aesar"s lack of am!ition while directing the crowd"s anger towards the !loody murderers. -nd what reason could !e more powerful than 7aesar"s will. /is hesitation in revealing it only inflates the spirits: 1e=ll hear the (ill: read it, ,ar/ !nthony.2 *ith the crowd now off for $rutus and company"s !lood -ntonius tells the angry mo! the contents of the will which has in favour of the people of 6ome. #othing can stand now in the way of the senseless and revenge-thirsty crowd and innocent victims fall one !eing 7inna the poet who is going to 7aesar"s funeral as a friend. -ct IL. $oth parties weight their chances and keep council. Though -ntonius and 'ctavius lay honours on the man to ease themselves of diverse slanderous loads he shall !ut wear them as the ass !ears gold to groan and sweat under the !usiness either led or driven as they point the way. Kor the time !eing however -ntonius and 'ctavius decide they should @oin forces and go sit in council for they are at the stake and !ayed a!out with many enemies.

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Idem Idem -ct IL Scene II 133 p. 2A8.

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*hen love !egins to sicken and decay it uses enforced ceremony. There are no tricks in plain and simple faith: !ut hollow men like horses hot at hand make gallant show and promise of their mettle% !ut when they should endure the !loody spur they fall their crests and like deceitful @ades sink in the trial. *hat should they do a!out itV $rutus would like to listen to a song while thinking of his wife (ortia who died a strange death: impatient of her hus!and"s a!sence and grief that young 'ctavius and 5arcus -ntonius have made themselves so strong she swallowed fire. $rutus then goes to sleep and is visited !y the ghost of 7aesar who says that he will appear again at (hilippi:
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.rutus Let me see, let me see:D%s not the leaf turn*d do(n 1here % left readin'@ $ere it is, % thin/. 8"<T<# !N- T$& G$6#T 6; CE#!" F...G $o( ill this taper +urns0D$a0 1ho comes here@ % thin/ it is the (ea/ness of mine eyes That shapes this monstrous apparition. %t comes upon me:D!rt thou anythin'@ !rt thou some 'od, some an'el, or some de)il, That ma/*st my +lood cold, and my hair to stare@ #pea/ to me (hat thou art. 0host Thy e)il spirit, 8rutus .rutus 1hy com*st thou@ 0host To tell thee, thou shalt see me at Philippi. .rutus 1ell: Then % shall see thee a'ain@ 0host/ !y, at Philippi. FGhost )anishes.G2

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http:??a!soluteshakespeare.com?pictures? - Painted +y "ichard 1estall, ".!. &n'ra)ed +y &d(ard #cri)en. %he &omplete 'orks o( 'illiam Shakespeare : )4ulius 7aesar, -ct IL Scene III 7+ : 82 p. 1>2.

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-ct L. $rutus will never go !ound to 6ome% he !ears too great a mind. The !attle starts. There is a cold demeanour in 'ctavius"s wind and so a sudden push gives them the overthrow. In another part of the field 7assius is enclosed !y -ntonius. *ord comes that $rutus is taken. $ut no enemy shall ever take alive the no!le $rutus: the gods defend him from so great a shameU -s promised the ghost of 7aesar has appeared to $rutus this last night here in (hilippi fields: he knows his hour is come. /e runs on his sword and dies: he only overcame himself and no man else has honour !y his death. The !attle is now over and though his enemy -ntonius pays tri!ute to the honoura!le $rutus: This (as the no+lest "oman of them all: !ll the conspirators, sa)e only he, -id that they did in en)y of 'reat Caesar: $e only, in a 'eneral honest thou'ht, !nd common 'ood to all, made one of them. $is life (as 'entle: and the elements #o mi9=d in him that Nature mi'ht stand up !nd say to all the (orld, HThis (as a man0=5 )Shakespeare has in this play and elsewhere shown the same penetration into political character and the springs of pu!lic events as into those of everyday life. Kor instance the whole design to li!erate their country fails form the generous temper and overweening confidence of $rutus in the goodness of their cause and the assistance of others. Thus it has always !een. Those who mean well themselves think well of others and fall a prey to their security. That humanity and sincerity which dispose men to resist in @ustice and tyranny render them unfit to cope with the cunning and power of those who are opposed to them. The friends of li!erty trust to their professions of others !ecause they are themselves sincere and endeavour to secure the pu!lic good with the least possi!le hurts to their enemies who have no regard to anything !ut their own unprincipled ends and stick at nothing to accomplish them. )+ If 7assius is taken as a conspirator we may as well say that (ortia !y !eing aware to the conspiracy is an accomplice. )The scene !etween $rutus and (ortia where she endeavours to e&tort the secret of the conspiracy from him is conceived in the most heroical spirit and the !urst of tenderness in $rutus : .ou are my true and honoura+le (ifeB !s dear to me as are the ruddy drops That )isit my sad heartI :
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%he &omplete 'orks o( 'illiam Shakespeare : )4ulius 7aesar, -ct L Scene L 18 : 72 p. 11>. /a0litt *illiam op. cit. p. +7. 3 %he &omplete 'orks o( 'illiam Shakespeare : )4ulius 7aesar, -ct II Scene I +87 : +8A p. 2A>.

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is @ustified !y her whole !ehaviour. (ortia"s !reathless impatience to learn the event of the conspiracy in the dialogue with =ucius is full of passion. The interest which (ortia takes in $rutus and that which 7alphurnia takes in the fate of 7aesar are discriminated with the nicest precision.,1 /. HAMLET (1"#0& -ct I. Shakespeare.s longest play and the play responsi!le for the immortal lines GTo !e or not to !e: that is the Fuestion:G and the advice Gto thine own self !e true G !egins in 9enmark with the news that Ding /amlet of 9enmark has recently died. 9enmark is now in a state of high alert and preparing for possi!le war with Noung Kortin!ras of #orway. - ghost resem!ling the late Ding /amlet is spotted on a platform !efore <lsinore 7astle in 9enmark. Ding 7laudius who now rules 9enmark has taken Ding /amlet.s wife Mueen Eertrude as his new wife and Mueen of 9enmark. Ding 7laudius fearing Noung Kortin!ras of #orway may invade has sent am!assadors to #orway to urge the Ding of #orway to restrain Noung Kortin!ras. Noung /amlet distrusts Ding 7laudius. The Ding and Mueen do not understand why /amlet still mourns his father.s death over two months ago. In his first soliloFuy /amlet e&plains that he does not like his mother marrying the ne&t Ding of 9enmark so Fuickly within a month of his father.s death. =aertes the son of =ord 7ham!erlain (olonius gives his sister 'phelia some !rotherly advice. /e warns 'phelia not to fall in love with Noung /amlet% she will only !e hurt. (olonius tells his daughter 'phelia not to return /amlet.s affections for her since he fears /amlet is only using her... /amlet meets the Ehost of his father Ding /amlet and follows it to learn more. /amlet learns from Ding /amlet.s Ehost that he was poisoned !y Ding 7laudius the current ruler of 9enmark. The Ehost tells /amlet to avenge his death !ut not to punish Mueen Eertrude for remarrying% it is not /amlet.s place and her conscience and heaven will @udge her. /amlet swears /oratio and 5arcellus to silence over /amlet meeting the Ehost: *amlet %T (afts me still.D Go on, %*ll follo( thee. 1arcellus .ou shall not 'o, my lord. *amlet

/a0litt *illiam op. cit. p. +8.

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$old off your hand. *oratio 8e rul*d, you shall not 'o. *amlet ,y fate cries out, !nd ma/es each petty artery in this +ody !s hardy as the Nemean lion*s ner)e.D FGhost +ec/ons. #till am % call*dBDunhand me, 'entlemenB F8rea/in' from them. 8y hea)en, %*ll ma/e a 'host of him that lets me: % say, a(ay:DGo on, %*ll follo( thee.5

$!,L&T, $6"!T%6, ,!"C&LL<#, !N- T$& G$6#T. 2 -ct II. (olonius tells 6eynaldo to spy on his son =aertes in (aris. (olonius learns from his daughter 'phelia that a !adly dressed /amlet met her studied her face and promptly left. (olonius !elieves that /amlet.s odd !ehaviour is !ecause 'phelia has re@ected him. (olonius decides to tell Ding 7laudius the reason for /amlet.s recently odd !ehavior. Ding 7laudius instructs courtiers 6osencrant0 and Euildenstern to find out what is causing /amlet.s strange Gtransformation G or change of character. Mueen Eertrude reveals that only Ding /amlet.s death and her recent remarriage could !e upsetting /amlet. *e learn more of Noung Kortin!ras. movements and (olonius has his own theory a!out /amlet.s transformation% it is caused !y /amlet.s love for his daughter 'phelia. /amlet makes his famous speech a!out the greatness of man. /amlet plans to use a play to test if Ding 7laudius really did kill his father as Ding /amlet.s Ehost told him.

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%he &omplete 'orks o( 'illiam Shakespeare : )/amlet, -ct I Scene IL 78 : 88 p. 177. http:??a!soluteshakespeare.com?pictures? - Painted +y $enry ;useli, ". !. &n'ra)ed +y "o+ert The(.

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-ct III. The Ding.s spies 6osencrant0 and Euildenstern report to Ding 7laudius on /amlet.s !ehavior. /amlet is eager for Ding 7laudius and Mueen Eertrude to watch a play tonight which /amlet has added lines to. Ding 7laudius and (olonius listen in on /amlet.s and 'phelia.s private conversation. To +e or not to +e, C that is the 4uestion: C 1hether Htis no+ler in the mind to suffer The slin's and arro(s of outra'eous fortune, 6r to ta/e arms a'ainst the sea of trou+les, !nd +y opposin' end them@ J To die, C to sleep, C No moreB and +y a sleep to say (e end The hearCache, and the thousand natural shoc/s That flesh is heir to, Htis a consummation.5 )/amlet is a name% his speeches and sayings !ut the idle coinage of the poet"s !rain. *hat then are they not realV They are as real as our own thoughts. Their reality is in the reader"s mind. It is (e who are /amlet. This play has a prophetic truth which is a!ove that of history. *hoever has !ecome thoughtful and melancholy through his own mishaps or those of others% whoever has !orne a!out with him the clouded !row of reflection and thought himself )too much i" th" sun,% whoever has seen the golden lamp of day dimmed !y envious mists rising in his own !reast and could find in the world !efore him only a dull !lank with nothing left remarka!le in it% whoever has known )the pangs of despised love the insolence of office or the spurns which patient merit of the unworthy takes,% he who has felt his mind sink within him and sadness cling to his heart like a malady who has had his hopes !lighted and his youth staggered !y the apparitions of strange things% who cannot well !e at ease while he sees evil hovering near him like a spectre% whose powers of action have !een eaten up !y thought he to whom the universe seems infinite and himself nothing% whose !itterness of soul makes him careless of conseFuences and who goes to a playas his !est resource is to shove off to a second remove the evils of life !y a mock representation of them : this is the true /amlet.,+ /amlet suspects 'phelia is spying on him and is increasingly hostile to her !efore leaving. Ding 7laudius decides to send /amlet to <ngland fearing danger in /amlet since he no longer !elieves /amlet is merely lovesick. The Ding agrees to (olonius. plan to eavesdrop on /amlet.s conversation with his mother after the play to hopefully learn more from /amlet. The play /amlet had added lines to is performed. The mime preceding the play which mimics the Ehost.s description of Ding /amlet.s death goes unnoticed. The main play called GThe 5urder of
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%he &omplete 'orks o( 'illiam Shakespeare : )/amlet, -ct III Scene I 21 : 88 p. 188. H%9'itt8 Wi''i%# op. cit. pp. 73 -72.

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Eon0agoG is performed causing Ding 7laudius to react in a way which convinces /amlet that his uncle did indeed poison his father Ding /amlet as the Ehost previously had told him... /amlet pretends not to know that the play has offended Ding 7laudius. /amlet agrees to speak with his mother in private. Ding 7laudius admits his growing fear of /amlet and decides to send him overseas to <ngland with 6osencrant0 and Euildenstern in order to protect himself. -lone Ding 7laudius reveals in soliloFuy his own knowledge of the crime he has committed Bpoisoning Ding /amletC and reali0es that he cannot escape divine @ustice. Mueen Eertrude attempts to scold her son !ut /amlet instead scolds his mother for her actions. Mueen Eertrude cries out in fear and (olonius echoes it and is sta!!ed through the arras Bsu!division of a room created !y a hanging tapestryC where he was listening in. /amlet continues scolding his mother !ut the Ehost reappears telling /amlet to !e gentle with the Mueen. Kor her part Mueen Eertrude agrees to stop living with Ding 7laudius !eginning her redemption.. -ct IL. Ding 7laudius speaks with his wife Mueen Eertrude. /e learns of (olonius. murder which shocks him% it could easily have !een him. Mueen Eertrude lies for her son saying that /amlet is as mad as a tempestuous sea. Ding 7laudius now scared of /amlet decides to have /amlet sent away to <ngland immediately... /e also sends courtiers and spies 6osencrant0 and Euildenstern to speak with /amlet to find out where /amlet has hidden (olonius. !ody so they can take it to the chapel. /amlet refuses to tell 6osencrant0 and Euildenstern where (olonius. dead !ody is hidden. /e calls 6osencrant0 and Euildenstern lapdogs revealing his true awareness that they are not his friends. /amlet agrees to see Ding 7laudius. /amlet continues to refuse to tell 6osencrant0 and Euildenstern where (olonius. !ody is. /amlet is !rought !efore the Ding. The two e&change words clearly circling each other each aware that the other is a threat. /amlet tells Ding 7laudius where (olonius !ody is. Ding 7laudius ominously tells /amlet to leave for <ngland supposedly for /amlet.s own safety. *ith /amlet gone Ding 7laudius reveals his plans for /amlet to !e killed in <ngland freeing Ding 7laudius from further worry from this threat. Noung Kortin!ras marches his army across 9enmark to fight the (olish. /amlet laments that he does not have in him the strength of Noung Kortin!ras who will lead an army into pointless fighting if only to maintain honor. /amlet asks himself how he cannot fight for honor when his father has !een killed and his mother made a whore in his eyes !y !ecoming Ding 7laudius. wife. The death of (olonius leaves its mark on 'phelia who !ecomes mad from the grief of losing her father. =aertes storms Ding 7laudius. castle demanding to see his father and wanting @ustice when he learns that his father (olonius has !een killed. Ding 7laudius remains calm telling =aertes that he too mourned his father.s loss. /oratio is greeted !y sailors who have 3>

news from /amlet. /oratio follows the sailors to learn more. Ding 7laudius e&plains to =aertes that /amlet killed his father (olonius. 9eciding they have a common enemy they plot /amlet.s death at a fencing match to !e arranged !etween =aertes and /amlet. =aertes learns of his sister 'phelia.s death !y drowning. )2phelia There=s fennel for you, and colum+ines:Dthere*s rue for youB and here*s some for me:D(e may call it her+C'race o* #undays:Doh, you must (ear your rue (ith a difference.DThere*s a daisy*:D% (ould 'i)e you some )ioletsB +ut they (ithered all, (hen my father died:D They say, he made a 'ood end,D F#in's. ;or +onny s(eet "o+in is all my >oy,D Laertes Thou'ht and affliction, passion, hell itself, #he turns to fa)our, and to prettiness. 2phelia !nd (ill he not come a'ain@ C!nd (ill he not come a'ain@ No, no, he is dead, Go to thy deathC+ed, $e ne)er (ill come a'ain. $is +eard as (hite as sno(, !ll fla9en (as his poll: $e is 'one, he is 'one, !nd (e ca*st a(ay moan: Gramercy on his soul0 !nd of all Christian souls0* % pray God. God +e (i* you0 Laertes -o you *see this, 6 God@ F&9it 6pheliaG.5 -ct L. /amlet and /oratio speak with a cheerful 7lown or gravedigger. /amlet famously reali0es that man.s accomplishments are transitory BfleetingC and holding the skull of Norick a childhood @ester he remem!ered creates a famous scene a!out man.s insignificance and ina!ility to control his fate following death.

)%he &omplete 'orks o( 'illiam Shakespeare : )/amlet, -ct IL Scene L 178 - 1A8 p. 7>+.

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7%NG, K<&&N, L!&"T&#, 6P$&L%! etc.5 . -t 'phelia.s !urial the (riest reveals a widely held !elief that 'phelia committed suicide angering =aertes. /amlet fights =aertes over 'phelia.s grave angered !y =aertes e&aggerated emphasis of his sorrow and !ecause he !elieves he loved 'phelia much more than her !rother. /amlet e&plains to /oratio how he avoided the death planned for him in <ngland and had courtiers. 6osencrant0 and Euildenstern put to death instead. /amlet reveals his desire to kill Ding 7laudius. Summoned !y 'sric to fence against =aertes /amlet arrives at a hall in the castle and fights =aertes. Mueen Eertrude drinks a poisoned cup meant for /amlet dying !ut not !efore telling all that she has !een poisoned. /amlet wins the first two rounds against =aertes !ut is sta!!ed and poisoned fatally in the third round. <&changing swords whilst fighting /amlet wounds and poisons =aertes who e&plains that his sword is poison tipped. #ow dying /amlet sta!s Ding 7laudius with this same sword killing him. /amlet dying tells /oratio to tell his story and not to commit suicide. /oratio parts with his friend !y saying: No( crac/s a no+le heart. Good ni'ht, s(eet prince, !nd fli'hts of an'els sin' thee to thy rest2 /amlet recommends Noung Kortin!ras as the ne&t Ding of 9enmark. Noung Kortin!ras arrives cleaning up the massacre. /oratio promises to tell all the story we have @ust witnessed ending the play.

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http:??a!soluteshakespeare.com?pictures? - Painted +y 8en>amin 1est, President ". !. &n'ra)ed +y ;rancis Le'at. )%he &omplete 'orks o( 'illiam Shakespeare : )/amlet, -ct L Scene II 1> : 11 p. 71+

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)If the dramas of Shakespeare were to !e characteri0ed each !y the particular e&cellence which distinguishes it from the rest we must allow to the tragedy of $amlet to praise of variety. BRC new characters appear from time to time in continual succession e&hi!iting various forms of life and particular modes of conversation. The pretended madness of /amlet causes much mirth the mournful distraction of 'phelia fills the heart with tenderness and every personage produces the effect intended from the apparition that in the first act chills the !lood with horror to the fop in the last that e&poses affectation to @ust contempt.,1 It is common throughout Shakespeare.s plays for a woman to have a leading role. (articularly in his comedy.s we freFuently see a woman take on the strongest character while often in his tragedy.s he has a male play the isolated tragic hero. In the tragedy $amlet we find two women Mueen Eertrude and 'phelia each !eing given uniFue personalities which influence the outcome of the story% we can find many similarities in these female characters. Mueen Eertrude is a vital character to the main plot of the play. She is important within her social class yet shows little depth or self-assertiveness. <ach woman is easily controlled !y another character in !oth of these cases a male. *e see how Shakespeare uses their su!missive natures to !ring out the strengths of the characters more vital to the su!plot and in doing so adds interest !y allowing the less important people to intensify. Mueen Eertrude in /amlet appears to !e Fuite shallow. She must have some depth however for she was once worthy of the love of a great king. Shakespeare does not go into great detail on Mueen Eertrude.s personality. The audience can assume Eertrude was once a stronger woman. If she were not her actions would not !e such a disappointment for /amlet. This assumption is !ased on his reaction to her hasty marriage. It may have !een unlike Eertrude to respond to the pressures of another influence as she did with her hus!and.s !rother. /er commitment to him angered /amlet who wanted her to grieve longer over the death of his father. Shakespeare does not try to e&plain her character nor does he try to rationali0e her actions. Eertrude su!mits to the stronger personality of another character and is superficial in her actions. /er su!missiveness shows her weakness. Though her character is important to the plot Shakespeare has given more depth to the characters of the su!plot. Shakespeare created an interesting pro!lem for himself with the character of Eertrude. -s a dramatist he needed to nourish the conflict !etween his characters in order to keep the heat and pressure up to the point where the action was ready to e&plode at any moment. -t the same time he created a character that sits in the middle of the conflict and seems intent in defusing it at every turn. That character is Eertrude. She is !oth mother and peacemaker in a !lended family that has @ust come into an unsta!le e&istence. *hen we first see her she takes on the unofficial
1

&!+ns!n8 S%#u$' in http:??a!soluteshakespeare.com?Fuotations.

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task of reconciling her new hus!and"s enthusiasm for his recent alliance with her son"s apparent mourning for his recently deceased father. 'ne assumes that 7laudius" announcement in that scene that /amlet is ne&t in line for succession to the throne comes a!out as one of the terms of the agreement that created the alliance. It is certainly an e&pression of 7laudius" willingness to honor his new wife"s affection for her son. Eertrude is thoughtful and sensitive in her attempts to intervene. She is not simply an unwitting victim of her circumstance. *hat sa!otages Eertrude"s attempts to contain the conflict !etween 7laudius and /amlet is the fact that she is not entirely in the know. 7laudius is not entirely forthcoming to Eertrude as a result of his deceit whereas /amlet is taciturn. The dramatic irony that increases the poignancy of her position has to do with the fact that we are continuously aware of covert actions against /amlet that 7laudius has kept from Eertrude: the intention to have the <nglish e&ecute /amlet upon his arrival there the !aiting of =aertes" foil with poison etc. It is in fact one of these covert actions Bas usual kept from EertrudeC that causes her undoing. In effect Eertrude does not know what she has married and the gradual reali0ation provides one way to chart her tra@ectory through the action of the play. To !egin with there is the fact of 7laudius" role in her former hus!and"s demise. *hile it appears clear that Eertrude was not involved in the murder of the former king the issue still seems to generate discussion. In particular some argue that this was not Shakespeare"s original intention and that he waffles on the Fuestion.1 'phelia 36 rose of ,ay0 #(eet 6phelia03 in /amlet plays an important role that strongly influences the outcome of the play. 'phelia is controlled !y her father and the king. The control they have over her eventually leads to her madness. It is her cra0ed reaction to her father.s death eventually resulting in her suicide which most strongly affects the plays outcome. + 'phelia is influenced and controlled !y those around her. She is una!le to e&press her deep feelings !ecause of their control. /aving to restrain her emotions leads to her madness. She cannot therefore su!mit without tormenting herself. /er madness is !ased partly on the mental torment that comes from this restraint and it is !ecause of her madness and suicide we see the other main characters change. She has a ma@or influence on /amlet and his return to sanity. She also influences =aertes. /is grief at her death leads him to plot the murder of /amlet. 'phelia.s madness also influences the Mueen. Opon learning of 'phelia.s death Eertrude seems to !e in a state of confusion over the loss of this innocent girl. 'phelia.s madness and eventual death came as a result of the pressure and control her father and the king had over her. -t her father.s death she lost her identity completely and along with that her sanity.

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-pud. $am!er =inda : &omic 'omen+ %ragic 1en p. 72 Stanford Oniv. (ress Stanford 1A8+. -pud. Shakespeare,s %ragedies An Antholog) o( 1odern &riticism8 ) /amlet (sychoanalysed, p. 27 : 28 <dited !y =awrence =erner /armondsworth (enguin $ooks 1A13

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It is freFuently argued that the women characters in $amlet are drawn in fainter lines than their male counterparts. Interpreters of the work are therefore urged to sharpen their image through speculation. They feel o!liged to produce answers to the seemingly unresolved Fuestions that surround them: *as Eertrude having an affair with 7laudius prior to her hus!and.s murderV *as she a colla!orator BconspiratorC in that murderV /ad (olonius commonly !aited his traps with his own daughterV /ow deeply involved were /amlet and 'pheliaV 9id /amlet love 'pheliaV 9espite his protestations for and against BGI love thee not.G...GI loved 'phelia. Korty thousand !rothers could not with all their Fuantity of love 5ake up my sum.GC or possi!ly !ecause of them there was considera!le speculation on !oth sides. /ere are two e&amples of contradicting opinions from Lictorian actresses writing at almost the same time. Two of Shakespeare.s women though all from a variety of situations play important roles that determine the conclusion of his play. *hile each character is different in individual ways they share similar Fualities. They are alike in whether they portray a strong or weak character. *e have seen this in the weak character of Eertrude and in the strong character of 'phelia. It is the a!ility we have to see this connection !etween the characters that helps us define a continuous theme in Shakespeare.s work a theme where in he uses women either to influence or !e influenced upon. *. OTHELLO (1"#/& -ct I. Shakespeare.s famous play of love turned !ad !y unfounded @ealousy !egins in Lenice with Iago a soldier under 'thello.s command arguing with 6oderigo a wealthy Lenetian. 6oderigo has paid Iago a considera!le sum of money to spy on 'thello for him since he wishes to take 'thello.s girlfriend 9esdemona as his own. 6oderigo fears that Iago has not !een telling him enough a!out 9esdemona and that this proves Iago.s real loyalty is to 'thello not him. Iago e&plains his hatred of 'thello for choosing 7assio as his officer or lieutenant and not him as he e&pected. To regain 6oderigo.s trust Iago and 6oderigo inform $ra!antio 9esdemona.s father of her relationship with 'thello the G5oorG which enrages $ra!antio into sending parties out at night to apprehend 'thello for what must o!viously !e in $ra!antio.s eyes an a!use of his daughter !y 'thello. Iago lies that 6oderigo and not himself was responsi!le for angering $ra!antio against 'thello Iago telling 'thello that he should watch out for $ra!antio.s men who are looking for him. 'thello decides not to hide since he !elieves his good name will stand him in good stead. *e learn that 'thello has married 9esdemona. $ra!antio and 6oderigo arrive $ra!antio accusing 'thello of using magic on his daughter. 'thello stops a fight !efore it can happen !ut 32

'thello is called away to discuss a crisis in 7ypress much to the anger of $ra!antio who wants @ustice for what he !elieves 'thello has done to his fair 9esdemona. The 9uke is in council with several senators discussing their enemy the Turks. $ra!antio complains to the 9uke that 'thello !ewitched his daughter and had intimate relations with her. 9esdemona is !rought in to settle the matter% 'thello meanwhile e&plains how he and 9esdemona fell in love. 9esdemona confirms this and the 9uke advises $ra!antio that he would !e !etter off accepting the marriage than complaining and changing nothing. The 9uke orders 'thello to 7ypress to fight the Turks with 9esdemona to follow accompanied !y the trusted Iago. 6oderigo despairs that his Fuest for 9esdemona is over now that she is married !ut Iago tells him not to give up and earn money instead% soon 9esdemona will !ore of 'thello. -lone Iago reveals his intention to continue using 6oderigo for money and his hatred of 'thello B'thello picked 7assio and not Iago for his lieutenantC. Iago e&plains that his plan is avenge 'thello is to suggest to 'thello that 7assio is sleeping with 9esdemona B'thello.s wifeC. -ct II. Several weeks later in 7ypress 5ontano and several others are awaiting 'thello.s arrival !y !ark or ship. *e learn that a terri!le storm has largely !attered and destroyed the Turkish fleet which no longer poses a threat to 7ypress. Onfortunately there are fears that this same storm drowned 'thello as well. 5ontano reveals his high praise of 'thello which is shared !y many. 7assio who has arrived sings 9esdemona.s praises. 2thello ,y fair (arrior 0 3esdemona ,y dear 6thello0 2thello %t 'i)es me (onder 'reat as my content, To see you here +efore me. 6 my soul*s >oy0 %f after e)ery tempest come such calms, ,ay the (inds +lo( till they ha)e (a/en*d death0 !nd let the la+ourin' +ar/ clim+ hills of seas, 6lympusChi'hB and duc/ a'ain as lo( !s hell*s from hea)en0 %f it (ere no( to die, *T (ere no( to +e most happyB for, % fear ,y soul hath her content so a+solute,

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That not another comfort li/e to this #ucceeds in un/no(n fate.5 - ship is spotted !ut it is 9esdemona and Iago.s not 'thello.s. Iago suspects that 7assio loves 9esdemona and slyly uses it to his advantage. Iago tells 6oderigo that he still has a chance with 9esdemona !ut 7assio whom 9esdemona could love is in the way. Dilling 7assio Bwho !ecame 'thello.s lieutenant instead of IagoC will leave 9esdemona to 6oderigo Iago slyly e&plains. 'thello finally arrives to everyone.s great relief. Iago decides to tell 'thello that 7assio is having an affair with 9esdemona.s so Iago will !e rewarded whilst 7assio will !e punished.

-&#-&,6N!, 6T$&LL6, %!G6, C!##%6, "6-&"%G6, &,%L%! etc.2 - /erald announces cele!ration that Gour no!le general 'thelloUG has defeated the Turkish fleet calling on all to cele!rate this great triumph and also to cele!rate 'thello.s GnuptialG or wedding to the fair 9esdemona. Iago learns more of 7assio.s high regard for 9esdemona and Iago manipulates 7assio into drinking too much since he is certain 7assio will do something he will regret. *ith 7assio gone Iago tells 5ontano of 7assio.s drinking pro!lem turning 5ontano.s high regard for 7assio into dust. Iago also tells 6oderigo to attack 7assio. This happens and 7assio wounds 6oderigo and then 5ontano who was trying to !reak up the fight. 'thello is now awake and 7assio.s name ruined. 'thello though he loves 7assio has no choice !ut to demote him from his position as his lieutenant. #e&t Iago comforts 7assio !y suggesting he speak with 9esdemona who could put in a good word for him with 'thello. Iago comforts a wounded 6oderigo telling him he has won !y ruining 7assio.s name. Iago has his wife <milia ensure

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)%he &omplete 'orks o( 'illiam Shakespeare )'thello, -ct II Scene I 18+ : 1A3 pp. 8+7 : 8+8. http:??a!soluteshakespeare.com?pictures - Painted +y Thomas #tothard, ".!. &n'ra)ed +y Thomas "yder

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9esdemona and 7assio will talk so 'thello can see his wife talking with 7assio allowing Iago to convince 'thello that 9esdemona is !eing unfaithful... -ct III. 7assio tells Iago that he has arranged to meet 9esdemona Iago helping 7assio to do this. Iago.s wife <milia tells 7assio that 'thello would like to reinstate him as his lieutenant !ut the fact that 7assio.s fight is pu!lic news prevents 'thello from doing this immediately. <milia tells 7assio that she can arrange a meeting with 9esdemona. Sometime later 7assio speaks with a very sympathetic 9esdemona who assures him that 'thello still very much loves 7assio. Kurthermore 9esdemona resolves to keep putting in a good word for 7assio until he is again 'thello.s lieutenant. -t a distance Iago manipulates 'thello !y first suggesting shock and then hiding his out!ursts from 'thello. This guarantees 'thello.s attention as Iago plants seeds of dou!t in 'thello.s mind a!out 9esdemona.s fidelity especially where 7assio is concerned. Iago leaves 'thello almost convinced that his wife is having an affair with 7assio. 'thello now complains of a headache to 9esdemona which results in her dropping a straw!erry patterned handkerchief 'thello.s first gift to her. <milia picks this up gives it to Iago who decides the handkerchief could help his manipulation if he ensures 7assio receives it. Iago arranges to place the handkerchief near 7assio.s lodgings or home where he is certain to find it and take it as his own unaware that it is 'thello.s gift to 9esdemona. furious 'thello returns to Iago certain his wife is faithful and demanding proof from Iago of 9esdemona.s infidelity. 6eluctantly and hesitantly Iago tells 'thello he saw 7assio wipe his !row with 9esdemona.s handkerchief. 'thello is convinced cursing his wife and telling Iago who is now promoted to lieutenant to kill 7assio. 'thello will deal with 9esdemona. 9esdemona worries a!out her missing handkerchief and comments that if she lost it it could lead 'thello dou!ting her fidelity. <milia when asked a!out 9esdemona.s lost handkerchief lies denying having seen the handkerchief she picked up and gave to Iago. 'thello enters% asking 9esdemona for the very same handkerchief and 9esdemona assures him that the handkerchief is not lost and will !e found. 9esdemona now tries to change the su!@ect to 7assio !ut 'thello continually stresses the value the handkerchief has to him this leading to 'thello angrily ordering his wife away. 7assio arrives 9esdemona telling him that her attempts to help him are not going well. Iago claims total ignorance to the cause of 'thello.s fury. 7assio gives 'thello.s handkerchief which he found to his suspicious mistress $ianca who reluctantly starts to copy its patterning Bpresuma!ly its straw!erry motif ? designC for him. -ct IL. Iago fans the flames of 'thello.s distrust and fury with 9esdemona.s supposed GinfidelityG !y first suggesting 9esdemona shared her !ed with 7assio and then that her giving away the handkerchief is no !ig deal when Iago knows e&actly how hurtful to 'thello giving away this sentimental gift is. #e&t Iago suggests to 'thello that 7assio will G!la!G or gloat to 38

others a!out his conFuest of 9esdemona !efore telling 'thello that 7assio !oasted to him that he did indeed sleep with 9esdemona. 5eeting later with 7assio Iago cunningly talks to 7assio a!out 7assio.s mistress $ianca each smile and each gesture made !y 7assio infuriating a hidden 'thello who thinks 7assio is talking a!out sleeping with 9esdemona B'thello.s wifeC. #e&t $ianca B7assio.s mistressC arrives angrily giving !ack the handkerchief 7assio gave to her. This infuriates 'thello since as Iago puts it 7assio not only received 'thello.s handkerchief from his wife !ut then gave it away to his whore B$iancaC as if it were worthless. 'thello decides to kill 9esdemona !y strangulation in her !ed Iago.s idea. Iago pledges to kill 7assio. =odovico arrives announcing that 'thello is to return home and 7assio is to !e the ne&t Eovernor of 7ypress. 9esdemona.s @oy for 7assio enrages 'thello leaving =odovico and Iago to wonder how much 'thello seems to have changed and leaving poor 9esdemona to wonder how she offended the man she truly loves...'thello Fuestions <milia as to whether 9esdemona was unfaithful to him. -nnoyed that <milia.s answers suggest nothing has happened !etween 9esdemona and 7assio 'thello dismisses her comments as those of a simple woman. 'thello meets 9esdemona 9esdemona !ecoming increasingly upset with her hus!and.s anger towards her an anger she cannot understand. 'thello eventually reveals to 9esdemona that her infidelity is the source of his anger 9esdemona pleading her innocence on deaf ears. <milia and 9esdemona discuss 'thello.s strange !ehavior. <milia is certain some evil fellow has twisted 'thello to !elieve 9esdemona has !een unfaithful not reali0ing that this evil man is her own hus!and Iago. *e learn that Iago has !een pocketing 6oderigo.s gifts to 9esdemona which never reached her. Kearing 6oderigo will learn this Iago tells 6oderigo that 7assio must die since Iago !enefits if ever man dies. =odovico tries to calm 'thello down. 'thello orders 9esdemona to !ed to await him later an order 9esdemona dutifully o!eys out of love for 'thello. <milia notices that 'thello is much calmer now and tells 9esdemona her !ed has !een made with her wedding sheets as reFuested. 9esdemona asks to !e !uried in those same sheets should she die !efore <milia a hint of trou!le ahead BKoreshadowingC. <milia is !arred from @oining 9esdemona in her !edcham!er angering her. 9esdemona depressed recalls a song BThe *illow SongC of a maid who was similarly a!used !y her hus!and and sings it. 9esdemona and <milia talk a!out infidelity. 9esdemona would not !e unfaithful to her hus!and B'thelloC for all the world% the more cynical and worldly <milia would for the right price. -ct L. Iago and 6oderigo wait in a street to am!ush 7assio. Iago tells 6oderigo how to kill him. Iago does not care which ends up dead. Iago is worried that a!out 6oderigo.s increasing Fuestioning of what happened to @ewels that were given to him to pass on to 9esdemona... 6oderigo attacks 7assio !ut 7assio wounds 6oderigo instead. Iago from !ehind sta!s 7assio wounding him in the leg. 'thello hearing 7assio.s cries is pleased announcing that he too will 3A

soon kill B9esdemonaC. =odovico and Eratiano and Iago reappear Iago claiming total innocence to 7assio.s in@uries even though he inflicted them. Sei0ing 6oderigo Iago sta!s and wounds him Gin revengeG for wounding his GfriendG 7assio. Eratiano and =odovico tend to 7assio.s wound. $ianca 7assio.s mistress arrives Iago cleverly laying suspicion for 7assio.s in@uries on his innocent mistress making Iago less suspicious. 'thello enters 9esdemona.s !edcham!er B!edroomC trying to convince himself that he is killing her for her own good. /e kisses his still asleep wife one last time: 2thello/ %t is the cause, it is the cause, my soul,D Let me not name it to you, you chaste stars0D %t is the cause.DD.et %*ll not shed her +loodB Nor scar that (hiter s/in of hers than sno(, !nd smooth as monumental ala+aster. FTa/es off his s(ord. .et she must die, else she*ll +etray more men. Put out the li'ht, and thenDD Put out the li'ht@ %f % 4uench thee, thou namin' minister0 % can a'ain thy former li'ht restore, #hould % repent me:D+ut once put out thy li'ht, Thou cunnin'*st pattern of e9cellin' nature, % /no( not (here is that Promethean heat That can thy li'ht relume. 1hen % ha)e pluc/*d thy rose, % cannot 'i)e it )ital 'ro(th a'ain, %t needs must (ither: C %*ll smell thee on the tree.D F7issin' her. 6 +almy +reath, that doth almost persuade 2ustice to +rea/ her s(ord0D6ne more, one more. D 8e thus (hen thou art dead, and % (ill /ill thee, !nd lo)e thee after: 6ne more, and that*s the last: #o s(eet (as ne*er so fatal.D5 6T$&LL6, -&#-&,6N! %N 8&-, !#L&&P.2

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Idem -ct L Scene II 1 : +> p. 82+. http:??a!soluteshakespeare.com?pictures - Painted +y 2ames Graham. &n'ra)ed +y 1illiam Leney

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9esdemona awakens !ut 'thello will still kill her telling her to pray so her soul will not die when she does. 9esdemona again asks what wrong she has committed 'thello telling her that she gave 7assio his handkerchief !y which he means he thinks she had an affair with him. 9esdemona pleads her innocence telling 'thello to !ring 7assio over to prove she did not give away her handkerchief. 'thello says he confessed and is dead 9esdemona.s fear and surprise prompting 'thello to !elieve she does care for him. 'thello kills 9esdemona. <milia !anging on the door outside cannot stop this. =ater <milia is let in revealing Iago has killed 6oderigo and 9esdemona who was thought dead murmurs her last !reaths !ut loyally does not say 'thello killed her. 'thello tells <milia he killed her and <milia despite Iago.s attempts to remove her reveals the truth a!out the handkerchief% she found it and then gave it to Iago. Iago now in trou!le sta!s his wife <milia and escapes. <milia dies singing the G*illow SongG !efore critici0ing 'thello for killing his loving wife. =odovico 5ontano 7assio and the now captured prisoner Iago soon appear 'thello sta!!ing Iago !ut not killing him !efore having his sword removed. =odovico is disappointed that 'thello a man so honora!le has reverted to acting like a slave. 'thello tries to argue that killing his wife was a no!le action !ut it falls on deaf ears. =odovico learns that 'thello and Iago plotted 7assio.s death. =odovico reveals letters in the dead 6oderigo.s pocket proving 7assio was to !e killed !y 6oderigo. Iago proudly confirms that 7assio did find the handkerchief in his !edcham!er !ecause Iago placed it there to !e found. 'thello reali0ing what he has done kills himself with a concealed weapon and lies himself on top of his wife: 2thello #oft youB a (ord or t(o +efore you 'o. % ha)e done the state some ser)ice, and they /no( itB C No more of that. J % pray you, in your letters, 1hen you shall these unluc/y deeds relate, #pea/ of me as % amB nothin' e9tenuate, Nor set do(n au'ht in malice: then must you spea/ 6f one that lo)ed not (isely, +ut too (ellB 6f one not easily >ealous, +ut, +ein' (rou'ht, Perple9ed in the e9tremeB of one (hose hand, Li/e the +ase %ndian, thre( a pearl a(ay "icher than all his tri+e, of one (hose su+dued !l+eit unused to the meltin' mood, -rop tears as fast as the !ra+ian trees 31 Feyes,

Their medicina+le 'um. #et you do(n thisB !nd say +esides, that in !leppo once, 1here a mali'nant and a tur+an=d Tur/ 8eat a enetian and traduced the state, % too/ +y th=throat the circumcised do', !nd smote him J thus. others a!road.
9esdemona is the daughter of the Lenetian senator $ra!an0io. 9esdemona and 'thello are

F$e sta+s himself.5

7assio is placed in charge of Iago and =odovico leaves to discuss this sad matter with

secretly married !efore the play !egins. *hile in many ways stereotypically pure and meek 9esdemona is also determined and self-possessed. She is eFually capa!le of defending her marriage @esting !awdily with Iago and responding with dignity to 'thello"s incomprehensi!le @ealousy. 9esdemona is a more plausi!le well-rounded figure than much criticism has given her credit for. -rguments that see 9esdemona as stereotypically weak and su!missive ignore the conviction and authority of her first speech B)5y no!le father ? I do perceive here a divided duty, WI.iii.17A:18>XC and her terse fury after 'thello strikes her B)I have not deserved this, WIL.i.+31XC. Similarly critics who argue that 9esdemona"s slightly !i0arre !awdy @esting with
Iago in -ct II scene i is either an interpolation not written !y Shakespeare or a mere vulgarity

ignore the fact that 9esdemona is young se&ual and recently married. She later displays the same chiding almost mischievous wit in -ct III scene iii lines 11:83 when she attempts to persuade 'thello to forgive 7assio. B$ianca is a courtesan or prostitute in 7yprus. $ianca"s favorite customer is 7assio who teases her with promises of marriage.C 9esdemona is at times a su!missive character most nota!ly in her willingness to take credit for her own murder. In response to <milia"s Fuestion: )6, (ho hath done this deed@ 9esdemona"s final words are: No+ody, % myself. ;are(ell. Commend me to my /ind lord. 6, fare(ell2.
Emilia is Iago"s wife and 9esdemona"s attendant. - cynical worldly woman she is deeply

attached to her mistress and distrustful of her hus!and. The play then depicts 9esdemona contradictorily as a self-effacing faithful wife and as a !old independent personality. This contradiction may !e intentional meant to portray the way 9esdemona herself feels after defending her choice of marriage to her father in -ct I scene III and then almost immediately
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)%he &omplete 'orks o( 'illiam Shakespeare )'thello, -ct L Scene II 33A : 331 pp. 821 : 827. Idem +7 : 3> p. 823.

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!eing put in the position of defending her fidelity to her hus!and. She !egins the play as a supremely independent person !ut midway through she must struggle against all odds to convince 'thello that she is not too independent. The manner in which 9esdemona is murdered Tsmothered !y a pillow in a !ed covered in her wedding sheetsTis sym!olic: she is literally suffocated !eneath the demands put on her fidelity. Since her first lines 9esdemona has seemed capa!le of meeting or even rising a!ove those demands. In the end 'thello stifles the speech that made 9esdemona so powerful.1 Tragically 9esdemona is apparently aware of her imminent death. She not 'thello asks <milia to put her wedding sheets on the !ed and she asks <milia to !ury her in these sheets should she die first. The last time we see 9esdemona !efore she awakens to find 'thello standing over her with murder in his eyes she sings a song she learned from her mother"s maid: #he (as in lo)eB and he pro)ed mad !nd did forsa/e her. #he had a son' of (illo(. ... !nd she died sin'in' it. That son' toni'ht 1ill not 'o from my mindB+ =ike the audience 9esdemona seems a!le only to watch as her hus!and is driven insane with @ealousy. Though she maintains to the end that she is )guiltless , 9esdemona also forgives her hus!and B-ct L Scene II 133C. /er forgiveness of 'thello may help the audience to forgive him as well. )There are those who say that one cannot understand 9esdemona till Iago is understood% that Iago"s native wickedness lies at the root of the play. It is a pro!a!le supposition and argua!le. $ut I think with natural diffidence that Shakespeare"s idea was not that. The deepest source of all the worries and guilt of the play lay in 9esdemona"s e&traordinary innocence of the world and the sin of the world. It is on seeing that innocence and !y play upon it that Iago conceives and carries out his plot.,3

". KIN- LEAR (1"#5&

-ct I. Shakespeare.s dark tragedy Ding =ear !egins with the fictional Ding of <ngland Ding =ear handing over his kingdom to daughters 6egan and Eoneril whom he !elieves truly love him. Ding =ear intends to stay with each daughter consecutively accompanied !y one
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-pud 7harlton /. $. op. cit. pp. 112 - 1+> I!idem -ct IL Scene III +7 - +8 R 3> - 31 p. 83A. 3 St!14! d A. : !!5$ in http:??a!soluteshakespeare.com?Fuotations.

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hundred loyal knights. -ngry that 7ordelia his youngest daughter does not appear to love him as do Eoneril and 6egan =ear !anishes his youngest daughter 7ordelia and Dent the servant who attempts to defend her. 7ordelia leaves and is taken !y the Ding of Krance as his Mueen. <dmund the loved !ut illegitimate son of the <arl of Eloucester plots to have his elder !rother <dgar.s reputation ruined. <dmund tricks his father Eloucester into !elieving that <dgar wanted to kill him. The disrespectful Eoneril conspires to have her guest and father Ding =ear driven out of her house.

L&!", C6"N1!LL, !L8!N., G6N&"%L, "&G!N, C6"-&L%!, 7%NG 6; ;"!NC&, -<7& 6; 8<"G<N-., 7&NT, !TT&N-!NT# etc.5 &ordelia/ 1hy ha)e my sisters hus+ands, if they say They lo)e you, all@ $aply, (hen % shall (ed, That lord (hose hand must ta/e my pli'ht shall carry $alf my lo)e (ith him, half my care, and duty: #ure, % shall ne)er marry li/e my sisters, FTo lo)e my father all.G Lear 8ut 'oes thy heart (ith this@ &ordelia !y, my 'ood lord. Lear #o youn', and so untender@ &ordelia
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http:??a!soluteshakespeare.com?pictures C Painted +y $enry ;useli, ". !. &n'ra)ed +y "ichard &arlom.

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#o youn', my lord, and true. Lear Let it +e so:DThy truth then +e thy do(er: ;or, +y the sacred radiance of the sunB The mysteries of $ecate and the ni'htB 8y all the operation of the or+s, ;rom (hom (e do e9ist, and cease to +eB $ere % disclaim all my paternal care, Propin4uity and property of +lood, !nd as a stran'er to my heart and me $old thee, from this, for e)er.D5 Dent who has now disguised his identity to serve Ding =ear earns Ding =ear.s respect !y defending his name. Eoneril offends Ding =ear and dismisses fifty of his knights. =ear starts to reali0e 7ordelia was not so disrespecting. =ear decides to leave for 6egan where he is sure to !e treated properly. =ear instructs Dent to deliver several letters to Eloucester. The Kool teaches =ear several riddles. -ct II. *e learn of possi!le conflict !etween evil sisters 6egan and Eoneril. <dmund further manipulates <dgar. Eloucester learns from <dmund of <dgar.s plan to kill him and !elieves it. Dent and 'swald Eoneril.s steward fight. Dent is placed in stocks emphasi0ing @ust how little =ear.s name is now respected !y daughters 6egan and Eoneril. <dgar now alone and disguised descri!es his fate of living in hiding. Showing complete disregard for Ding =ear.s authority Dent remains in stocks. =ear tells 6egan how much Eoneril has hurt him. 6egan in consultation with Eoneril allows =ear to stay !ut without a single follower. =ear decides not to stay with either daughter... -ct III. The Ding of Krance may well invade <ngland. Dent sends a messenger to 7ordelia to keep her aware of Ding =ear.s plight. =ear !raves the elements against a storm no dou!t sym!olic of his tortured soul. Eloucester lets slip to his traitorous son <dmund that the army of Krance is poised to invade guaranteeing Eloucester.s own future suffering. *e learn more of a potential conflict !etween 6egan and Eoneril centering on their hus!ands. =ear is !rought out of the elements. Lear 1hy thou (ert +etter in a 'ra)e, than to ans(er (ith thy unco)ered +ody this e9tremity of the s/ies.D%s man no more than this@ Consider him (ell: Thou o(est the (orm no sil/, the +east no hide, the sheep no (ool, the cat no perfume:D $a0 here*s three of us are sophisticated0D

)%he &omplete 'orks o( 'illiam Shakespeare )Ding =ear, -ct I Scene I AA : 111 p. 881.

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L&!", 7&NT, ;66L, &-G!", -%#G<%#&- !# ! ,!-,!N, !N- GL6#T&", 1%T$ ! T6"C$.5 Thou art the thin' itself: unaccommodated man is no more +ut such a poor, +are, for/ed animal as thou art.D 6ff, off, you lendin's:DComeB un+utton here.D FTearin' off his clothes. 4ool Prithee, nuncle, +e contentedB *tis a nau'hty ni'ht to s(im in.DNo( a little fire in a (ild field (ere li/e an old lecher*s heart,Da small spar/, all the rest of his +ody cold.DLoo/, here comes a (al/in' fire.2 =ear e&plains that nature.s physical torment of him distracted him from the pain his daughters have given him. <dgar Eloucester.s legitimate son makes his appearance disguised as Gpoor Tom.G 7ornwall 6egan.s hus!and and <dmund speak. -fter implicating his father Eloucester as a traitor against 7ornwall <dmund is rewarded for !etraying his father Eloucester !y receiving his father.s title as the new <arl of Eloucester. 7ornwall tells <dmund to seek out his father saying Ghe may !e ready for our apprehensionG or punishment. =ear and company find solace and safety in a farmhouse. =ear showing signs of madness holds a mock trial to punish his daughters addressing two @oint stools as if they were 6egan and Eoneril. Dent leads =ear to 9over where he will !e safe. Eloucester is captured and tortured first having his !eard ripped away and later !eing made !lind. Ona!le to !ear 7ornwall.s !rutality any longer a servant wounds 7ornwall. -ct IL. Eloucester now !lind reali0es in his suffering his mistakes especially a!out his son <dgar. Eloucester meets Gpoor TomG not reali0ing it is <dgar in disguise. <dgar leads his father to the cliffs of 9over where his father wishes to commit suicide.

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http:??a!soluteshakespeare.com?pictures C Painted +y 8en>amin 1est, President ". !. &n'ra)ed +y 1illiam #harp. )%he &omplete 'orks o( 'illiam Shakespeare :)Ding =ear, -ct III Scene IL 1>3 : 117 p. A>1.

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The 9uke of -l!any renounces his wife Eoneril reali0ing that he has !een on the wrong side... The 9uke of 7ornwall B6egan.s hus!andC is now dead. The rivalry for <dmund !y 6egan and Eoneril intensifies. Dent wonders how 7ordelia can !e so good and her sisters so evil. The Ding of Krance will not oversee the !attle a!out to !egin. 7ordelia is saddened !y what she learns of Ding =ear.s plight. 7ordelia has her men search for her father. *ith the !attle almost a!out to start we learn -l!any has switched sides again supporting Eoneril and 6egan.s forces against the invading Krench. 6egan worries more a!out her sister.s intentions for <dmund more than the !attle that lies ahead. <dgar continues to lead his father to the cliffs of 9over where he tricks him that he miraculously survived his fall. =ear learns of Eloucester.s !lindness. <dgar kills 'swald when he attempts to kill Eloucester. 'swald.s letter which comes from Eoneril reveals instructions for <dmund to kill her hus!and The 9uke of -l!any so she may marry him. 7ordelia finds her father =ear who deeply regrets how he treated her. -ct L. 6egan and Eoneril put <dmund on the spot !y demanding he choose for once and for all which one of them he loves. -l!any decides to fight on 6egan and Eoneril.s side !ut only to fight an invading power BKranceC. 7ordelia.s forces lose to Eoneril and 6egan.s and 7ordelia and =ear are taken prisoner. 7aptured Ding =ear tries to comfort 7ordelia. -l!any congratulates his allies !ut now turns on them. <dgar fights his !rother <dmund mortally wounding him. Eoneril kills herself and poisons sister 6egan. <dgar reveals his true identity to Eloucester who dies from a heart una!le to take !oth grief and @oy. -l!any and the dying <dmund try to prevent =ear and 7ordelia !eing hanged !ut are too late for 7ordelia. Edmund $e hath commission from thy (ife and me To han' Cordelia in the prison, and To lay the +lame upon her o(n despair, That she fordid herself. Al5an) The 'ods defend her0 8ear him hence a(hile. F&dmund is +orne off. &nter Lear, (ith Cordelia dead in his armsB &d'ar, 6fficer and others. Lear $o(l, ho(l, ho(l0D6, you are men of stonesB $ad % your ton'ues and eyes, %*d use them so That hea)en*s )ault should crac/:D#he*s 'one for e)er0D 37

% /no( (hen one is dead, and (hen one li)esB #he*s dead as earth.D5

L&!", 1%T$ C6"-&L%! -&!- %N $%# !",#B &-G!", !L8!N., !N- 7&NT. "&G!N, G6N&"%L, !N- &-,<N-, !LL -&!-.2 =ear howls with pain his loss of 7ordelia. Dent is finally recogni0ed for his loyalty !y =ear. =ear una!le to take further pain dies. -l!any is left to restore order following this tragedy. (. MAC2ETH (1"#5& -ct I. -lso known as GThe Scottish playG Shakespeare.s dark grim tragedy !egins with Three *itches in Scotland deciding to meet again after a !attle !eing fought near!y. Thunder storms and the desolate heath paint a gloomy picture setting the tone of this play and defining an imagery of nature at war with itself a recurring theme in this play... 5ac!eth is introduced as the !rave man who led Ding 9uncan.s forces to victory against the traitorous Thane of 7awdor 5acdonwald and The Ding of #orway in a !attle that could have gone either way were it not for 5ac!eth.s leadership. *e learn that 5ac!eth killed 5acdonwald himself in !attle. Ding 9uncan over@oyed decides to make 5ac!eth his new Thane of 7awdor. The previous Thane of 7awdor will !e e&ecuted. !st 'itch 8an4uo, and ,ac+eth, all hail0 1ac5eth #tay, you imperfect spea/ers, tell me more: 8y #inel*s death, % /no( % am thane of GlamisB
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)%he &omplete 'orks o( 'illiam Shakespeare )Ding =ear, -ct L Scene III +23 : +13 pp. A++ : A+3. http:??a!soluteshakespeare.com?pictures C Painted +y 2ames 8arry, ".!. -ra(n and en'ra)ed +y ;rancis Le'at.

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8ut ho( of Ca(dor@ the thane of Ca(dor li)es, ! prosperous 'entlemanB and, to +e /in', #tands not (ithin the prospect of +elief, No more than to +e Ca(dor. #ay, from (hence

,!C8&T$, 8!NK<6, !N- T$& T$"&& 1%TC$&#.5 .ou o(e this stran'e intelli'ence@ or (hy <pon this +lasted heath you stop our (ay 1ith such prophetic 'reetin'@D#pea/, % char'e you. F1itches )anish. .an6uo The earth hath +u++les, as the (ater has, !nd these are of them: 1hither are they )anish*d@ 1ac5eth %nto the air: and (hat seem*d corporal, melted !s +reath into the (ind.D*1ould they had staid02 The Three *itches esta!lish their malicious nature !efore meeting 5ac!eth and $anFuo. The Three *itches tell 5ac!eth that he will !e GThane of ElamisUG GThane of 7awdorUG and Gking hereafterG or !ecome the Ding of Scotland. $anFuo learns that his descendants shall !e kings. $anFuo is suspicious of the Three *itches remem!ering that they often trick men. 5ac!eth initially agrees !ut when 6oss and -ngus tell him he has !een made the new Thane of 7awdor 5ac!eth in a very important aside BsoliloFuyC remarks GElamis and Thane of
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http:??a!soluteshakespeare.com?pictures C Painted +y $enry ;useli, ".!. &n'ra)ed +y 2ames Cald(all. )%he &omplete 'orks o( 'illiam Shakespeare )5ac!eth, -ct I Scene III 1A : 8+ p. 81>.

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7awdor: ? The greatest is !ehind.G 5ac!eth now first Fuestions $anFuo.s on his feelings a!out his descendants !ecoming kings and then starts thinking of killing Ding 9uncan to make prophecy fact !ut later hopes fate alone will spare him the need to kill. 5ac!eth meets Ding 9uncan thanking him for his new title. The also loyal $anFuo receives nothing. Ding 9uncan remarks how he completely trusted the previous Thane of 7awdor. Ding 9uncan announces that his son 5alcolm will !e the new (rince of 7um!erland. 5ac!eth sees 5alcolm as a threat to what he now takes seriously as his destiny to !e king a ma@or turning point in 5ac!eth.s changing morality. 5ac!eth makes this clear !y famously asking in an aside Bprivate speechC for the stars to hide their fires least they reveal his dark and deadly purpose or intention to kill Ding 9uncan. =ady 5ac!eth learns !y letter from 5ac!eth of the Three *itches. prophecies for her hus!and eagerly em!racing them as fact. Kearing 5ac!eth is too compassionate and weakwilled to do what needs to !e done Bkilling Ding 9uncanC she famously asks the gods to remove from her all signs of compassion and femininity replacing these with cold remorseless ruthlessness. =earning from a messenger that Ding 9uncan will stay at their castle =ady 5ac!eth enthusiastically greets this news suggesting that she already has plans to kill Ding 9uncan. 5ac!eth and =ady 5ac!eth decide to speak again on the issue of the prophecies 5ac!eth still uncertain of the need to kill Ding 9uncan. -t 5ac!eth.s castle Ding 9uncan arrives whilst =ady 5ac!eth plays the most perfect of hostesses. Ding 9uncan asks for the Thane of 7awdor B5ac!ethC who is not yet present. - guilt-ridden 5ac!eth wrestles with his conscience certain that he should not kill Ding 9uncan yet guiltily having to remind himself of all the reasons why it would !e wrong. 5ac!eth decides against murdering his Ding !ut =ady 5ac!eth !elittles him for not !eing a!le to murder threatening to take away her love for him if he does not. This threat wins 5ac!eth over and =ady 5ac!eth outlines her plan to kill Ding 9uncan in his sleep while he is a guest at their castle. -ct II. $anFuo and son Kleance arrive at 5ac!eth.s castle. $anFuo is trou!led !y the Three *itches. prophecy and tells 5ac!eth this. 5ac!eth pretends not to take the Three *itches seriously. =earning from $anFuo that Ding 9uncan is asleep 5ac!eth alone follows an imaginary dagger to Ding 9uncan.s !edcham!er where he will kill him in his sleep. =ady 5ac!eth has drugged Ding 9uncan.s guards allowing 5ac!eth to kill Ding 9uncan unchallenged. =ady 5ac!eth was to have killed the Ding !ut his resem!lance to her late father means 5ac!eth does the deed instead. - !ell frightens =ady 5ac!eth and 5ac!eth too is nervous !ut he announces that he did indeed kill Ding 9uncan. 5ac!eth recounts that the two guards cried out G.5urderU.G and later G.Eod !less usU.G =ady 5ac!eth telling her hus!and not to 2>

fret over such things and the fact that is conscience prevented him from saying G.-men .G as one of the guards had done. =ady 5ac!eth tells her hus!and a little water will wash away their guilt and the two retire to their !edroom when knocking is later heard. 5acduff =enno& the source of the knocking in the last scene arrive at 5ac!eth.s castle. #ews of Ding 9uncan.s death reaches all at 5ac!eth.s castle. =ady 5ac!eth faints and 5ac!eth in rage kills the two drunken guards after claiming that they o!viously killed their Ding. These actions largely free 5ac!eth and =ady 5ac!eth from suspicion. Ding 9uncan.s sons 5alcolm and 9onal!ain are introduced !oth men wisely deciding to flee 5ac!eth.s castle as a precaution against their own murder. 5alcolm will head for <ngland 9onal!ain for Ireland. 6oss speaks with an 'ld 5an who descri!es various unnatural acts happening in Scotland perhaps the single most significant scene for the theme of nature at war with itself which relates to the idea of a natural order !eing distur!ed !y the death of a king a prevalent theme throughout this play. *e learn that Ding 9uncan.s two sons have fled leaving 5ac!eth to !e crowned the new Ding of Scotland. 5acduff who later !ecomes instrumental in 5ac!eth.s downfall has significantly snu!!ed 5ac!eth.s coronation at Scone to go to Kife instead. - tone of increasing despair for Scotland !egins in this scene... -ct III. $anFuo is fearful that the Three *itches. prophecies are !ecoming true Fuestioning whether 5ac!eth played most foully for it or killed Ding 9uncan to make prophecy fact. 5eeting with 5ac!eth 5ac!eth continuously asks $anFuo of his travel plans and those of his son. -lone 5ac!eth fears that $anFuo.s sons will mean his dynasty will !e short-lived% only he will !ecome Ding of Scotland and not his sons who will !e replaced !y those of $anFuo.s lineage. 5ac!eth arranges for several 5urderers to discreetly kill $anFuo and Kleance to ensure his sons and not $anFuo.s !ecome future kings. =ady 5ac!eth and 5ac!eth speak in private. 5ac!eth is again plagued !y a guilt we thought may have vanished. =ady 5ac!eth attempts to strengthen 5ac!eth.s resolve. The 5urderers kill $anFuo !ut his son Kleance escapes and survives. The Three *itches. prophecy of $anFuo.s sons !ecoming kings has not !een thwarted !y 5ac!eth. 5ac!eth and a lady are entertaining at their castle. The Kirst 5urderer arrives announcing that $anFuo is dead !ut Kleance has lived. 5ac!eth immediately reali0es the conseFuences of this Bhis descendants may not !ecome kingsC. 5ac!eth famously sees $anFuo.s Ehost at his party causing =ady 5ac!eth to finish their party early to prevent further suspicions a!out 5ac!eth.s sanity and a!out their role in recent events BDing 9uncan.s death whilst a guest at their castleC. 5ac!eth makes his famous speech a!out !eing too covered in !lood to stop killing. /ecate clearly in a position of command over the Three *itches scolds her 21

su!ordinates for helping an unappreciative 5ac!eth. /ecate instructs the Three *itches to make preparations for her plan to use illusion and the Three *itches. prophecies against 5ac!eth. The Three *itches eager to placate BpleaseC their master eagerly make preparations doing as they are told. *e see =enno& and a =ord discuss affairs in their kingdom. *e learn from their conversation that an army is !eing formed in <ngland to fight 5ac!eth. -ct IL. - ma@or turning point in the play.

T$"&& 1%TC$&#, ,!C8&T$, $&C!T&, Lc.5 !st 'itch #ho(0 7nd 'itch #ho(0 8rd 'itch #ho(0 All #ho( his eyes, and 'rie)e his heartB Come li/e shado(s, so depart. F&i'ht 7in's appear, and pass o)er the sta'e in orderB the last (ith a 'lass in his handB 8an4uo follo(in'. 1ac5eth Thou art too li/e the spirit of 8an4uoB do(n0 Thy cro(n does sear mine eye+alls:D!nd thy hair,
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http:??a!soluteshakespeare.com?pictures - Painted +y #ir 2oshua *"eynolds, ". !. &n'ra)ed +y "o+ert The(.

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Thou other 'oldC+ound +ro(, is li/e the first:D ! third is li/e the former:D;ilthy ha's0 1hy do you sho( me this@D! fourth@D#tart, eyes0 1hat0 (ill the line stretch out to the crac/ of doom@ !nother yet@Da se)enth@D%*ll see no more:D !nd yet the ei'hth appears, (ho +ears a 'lass 1hich sho(s me many moreB and some % see, That t(oCfold +alls and tre+le sceptres carry: $orri+le si'ht0DNo(, % see, *tis trueB ;or the +loodC+olter*d 8an4uo smiles upon me, !nd points at them for his.D5 4ust as the Three *itches prophesied 5ac!eth.s ascendancy to !ecome Ding in -ct I Scene III here they prophesies his downfall with the Three -pparitions Bvisions ? ghostsC. The first -pparition tells an eager 5ac!eth that he should fear 5acduff saying G!eware 5acduff% ? $eware the Thane of Kife.G The Second -pparition reassures 5ac!eth that Gnone of women !orn ? Shall harm 5ac!ethG and the Third -pparition tells 5ac!eth he has nothing to fear until GEreat $irnam woodG moves to Ghigh 9unsinane hillG near his castle. 5ac!eth decides to kill 5acduff to protect himself from him and takes the -pparition.s words to mean he is safe from all men since they are all !orn naturally and that only the moving of a near!y forest to his castle an unlikely event will spell his doom. #e&t 5ac!eth demands to know a!out $anFuo.s descendants learning to his anger that they will still rule Scotland rather than 5ac!eth.s descendants. 5ac!eth learns that he cannot kill 5acduff so instead has his entire family murdered. =ady 5acduff ;the scene in her castle provides our only glimpse of a domestic realm other than that of 5ac!eth and =ady 5ac!eth. She and her home serve as contrasts to =ady 5ac!eth and the hellish world of InvernessC is greeted !y 6oss =ady 5acduff e&pressing her anger at !eing a!andoned !y 5acduff for little reason when in her eyes% 5acduff has done nothing reFuiring him to flee. 6oss leaves and after =ady 5acduff tells her son that his father is dead and was a traitor a 5essenger warns =ady 5acduff to flee !ut 5ac!eth.s 5urderers succeed in killing =ady 5acduff.s son. The scene ends with =ady 5acduff fleeing for her life. 5alcolm and 5acduff discuss how Scotland under 5ac!eth.s rule has !een plunged into despair. 5alcolm tests 5acduff.s integrity !y descri!ing himself as unfit to rule. -fter 5alcolm disgusts 5acduff with increasingly sordid descriptions of his lust and greed 5acduff tells 5alcolm that like 5ac!eth he too is not fit to rule Scotland. This delights 5alcolm who e&plains that he was lying% he

)%he &omplete 'orks o( 'illiam Shakespeare : )5ac!eth, -ct IL Scene I 1>8 : 1+2 p. 872.

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descri!ed himself so negatively to test 5acduff.s integrity. *e learn that a large army is gathering to defeat 5ac!eth. -ct L. =ady 5ac!eth.s insanity !ecomes clear. Kirst her 9octor and a Eentlewoman discuss =ady 5ac!eth.s sleepwalking and talking to herself and then we the audience see this for ourselves. =ady 5ac!eth makes her famous speech that she cannot wipe away the !lood on her hands Bor her guiltC indicating that her !attle to suppress her guilty conscience has failed completely. 5ac!eth.s enemies gather near his castle at 9unsinane as 5ac!eth strongly fortifies his castle. *e learn that 5ac!eth.s hold on Scotland is less than a!solute. 5ac!eth prepares to defiantly fight his enemies armed with the prophecy that he will only !e defeated when the near!y $irnam *ood moves on his castle. 5ac!eth now learns of the ten thousand strong army against him. Seyton confirms this !ad news and 5ac!eth donning his armor prepares to fight his enemies recalling the $irnam *ood prophecy once more as a source of comfort. *ith his troops loyally around him 5alcolm orders each man to cut down a !ranch from the near!y $irnam *ood as his army now camouflaged under an um!rella of $irnam *ood head towards 5ac!eth.s castle at 9unsinane. 5ac!eth laughs off his enemies. num!ers certain of the $irnam *ood prophecy and eFually certain that his fortifications should laugh off any attack. *e hear a women.s cry later learning that =ady 5ac!eth is dead. 5ac!eth coldly shrugs the news that his once Gdearest chuck G is dead with complete apathy. 5ac!eth learns that $irnam *ood or rather 5alcolm.s forces are moving on his castle. 6eali0ing what this means 5ac!eth nonetheless defiantly sets off to meet his destiny. 5alcolm.s men drop their leafy camouflage and the !attle !egins. 5ac!eth fights Siward killing him. 5ac!eth is now confronted !y 5acduff a man he has consciously avoided and one he refuses to fight. 5ac!eth famously e&claims that he has lived a charmed life and is una!le to !e killed !y a man naturally !orn. 5acduff now e&plains that he has !orn !y 7aesarian section and the two men fight 5ac!eth dying and order !eing restored when 5alcolm is hailed as the new Ding of Scotland. =ady 5ac!eth is 5ac!eth"s wife a deeply am!itious woman who lusts for power and position. <arly in the play she seems to !e the stronger and more ruthless of the two as she urges her hus!and to kill 9uncan and sei0e the crown. -fter the !loodshed !egins however =ady 5ac!eth falls victim to guilt and madness to an even greater degree than her hus!and. /er conscience affects her to such an e&tent that she eventually commits suicide. Interestingly she and 5ac!eth are presented as !eing deeply in love and many of =ady 5ac!eth"s speeches imply that her influence over her hus!and is primarily se&ual. Their @oint alienation from the world occasioned !y their partnership in crime seems to strengthen the attachment that they feel to each another. =ady 5ac!eth is one of Shakespeare"s most famous and frightening female 23

characters. *hen we first see her she is already plotting 9uncan"s murder and she is stronger more ruthless and more am!itious than her hus!and. She seems fully aware of this and knows that she will have to push 5ac!eth into committing murder. -t one point she wishes that she were not a woman so that she could do it herself. This theme of the relationship !etween gender and power is key to =ady 5ac!eth"s character: her hus!and implies that she is a masculine soul inha!iting a female !ody which seems to link masculinity to am!ition and violence. Shakespeare however seems to use her and the witches to undercut 5ac!eth"s idea that )undaunted mettle should compose Nothin' +ut males,1 These crafty women use female methods of achieving powerTthat is manipulationTto further their supposedly male am!itions. *omen the play implies can !e as am!itious and cruel as men yet social constraints deny them the means to pursue these am!itions on their own. In the violence of her am!ition =ady 5ac!eth renounces womanly love for the spirit of murder: )Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thou'hts, unse9 me here ... Come to my (oman*s +reasts, !nd ta/e my mil/ for 'all+ )This woman values the world of men a!ove everything else% at various points in these plays she urges the hero !eyond the limits of decency in his struggle for power in that world. =ady 5ac!eth is the opposite of the 4ungian feminine. Instead of connecting us to natural fertility family love or a sense of the !ody they represent fanaticism according to the dogma of Gman-honor-fight.G In Shakespearean tragedy as we have seen the feminine is not necessarily congruent with the 4ungian feminine% the dialectic is not necessarily !etween the world of men and the world of *oman. $ut in tragedies like /amlet 'thello and -ntony and 7leopatra the feminine is always 'ther to the male Self if not thematically then circumstantially.,3 =ady 5ac!eth manipulates her hus!and with remarka!le effectiveness overriding all his o!@ections% when he hesitates to murder% she repeatedly Fuestions his manhood until he feels that he must commit murder to prove himself. =ady 5ac!eth"s remarka!le strength of will persists through the murder of the kingTit is she who steadies her hus!and"s nerves immediately after the crime has !een perpetrated. -fterward however she !egins a slow slide into madnessT@ust as am!ition affects her more strongly than 5ac!eth !efore the crime so does guilt plague her more strongly afterward. $y the close of the play she has !een reduced to sleepwalking through
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)%he &omplete 'orks o( 'illiam Shakespeare 9 )5ac!eth, -ct I Scene LII 71 : 7+ p. 813. )%he &omplete 'orks o( 'illiam Shakespeare+ )5ac!eth, -ct I Scene L 3> : 31 R 37 : 38 p. 3 $am!er =inda op. cit. pp A> : A1.

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the castle desperately trying to wash away an invisi!le !loodstain. 'nce the sense of guilt comes home to roost =ady 5ac!eth"s sensitivity !ecomes a weakness and she is una!le to cope. Significantly she BapparentlyC kills herself signaling her total ina!ility to deal with the legacy of their crimes. The Three *itches - Three )!lack and midnight hags, who plot mischief against 5ac!eth using charms spells and prophecies. Their predictions prompt him to murder 9uncan to order the deaths of $anFuo and his son and to !lindly !elieve in his own immortality. The play leaves the witches" true identity unclearTaside from the fact that they are servants of /ecate we know little a!out their place in the cosmos. In some ways they resem!le the mythological Kates who impersonally weave the threads of human destiny. They clearly take a perverse delight in using their knowledge of the future to toy with and destroy human !eings. Throughout the play the witchesTreferred to as the )weird sisters, !y many of the charactersT lurk like dark thoughts and unconscious temptations to evil. In part the mischief they cause stems from their supernatural powers !ut mainly it is the result of their understanding of the weaknesses of their specific interlocutorsTthey play upon 5ac!eth"s am!ition like puppeteers. The witches" !eards !i0arre potions and rhymed speech make them seem slightly ridiculous like caricatures of the supernatural. Shakespeare has them speak in rhyming couplets throughout Btheir most famous line is pro!a!ly -ou+le, dou+le, toil and trou+le, ;ire +urn and cauldron +u++le5C which separates them from the other characters who mostly speak in !lank verse. The witches" words seem almost comical like malevolent nursery rhymes. 9espite the a!surdity of their )eye of ne(t and toe of fro',+ recipes however they are clearly the most dangerous characters in the play !eing !oth tremendously powerful and utterly wicked. The audience is left to ask whether the witches are independent agents toying with human lives or agents of fate whose prophecies are only reports of the inevita!le. The witches !ear a striking and o!viously intentional resem!lance to the Kates female characters in !oth #orse and Ereek mythology who weaves the fa!ric of human lives and then cut the threads to end them. Some of their prophecies seem self-fulfilling. Kor e&ample it is dou!tful that 5ac!eth would have murdered his king without the push given !y the witches" predictions. In other cases though their prophecies are @ust remarka!ly accurate readings of the futureTit is hard to see $irnam *ood coming to 9unsinane as !eing self-fulfilling in any way. The play offers no easy answers.
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)%he &omplete 'orks o( 'illiam Shakespeare+ )5ac!eth, -ct IL Scene I 1> : 11 p. 873. Idem 13.

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Instead Shakespeare keeps the witches well outside the limits of human comprehension. They em!ody an unreasoning instinctive evil. /.ANTHON. AND CLEOPATRA (1"#"& 5ark -nthony one of the three rulers of the 6oman <mpire spends his time in <gypt living a life of decadence and conducting an affair with the country"s !eautiful Fueen 7leopatra. *hen a message arrives informing him that his wife Kulvia is dead and that (ompey is raising an army to re!el against the triumvirate -ntony decides to return to 6ome. In -ntony"s a!sence 'ctavius 7aesar and =epidus his fellow triumvirs worry a!out (ompey"s increasing strength. 7aesar condemns -ntony for neglecting his duties as a statesman and military officer in order to live a decadent life !y 7leopatra"s side. The news of his wife"s death and imminent !attle pricks -ntony"s sense of duty and he feels compelled to return to 6ome. Opon his arrival he and 7aesar Fuarrel while =epidus ineffectually tries to make peace. 6eali0ing that an alliance is necessary to defeat (ompey -ntony and 7aesar agree that -ntony will marry 7aesar"s sister 'ctavia who will solidify their loyalty to one another. <no!ar!us -ntony"s closest friend predicts to 7aesar"s men that despite the marriage -ntony will surely return to 7leopatra. In <gypt 7leopatra learns of -ntony"s marriage and flies into a @ealous rage. /owever when a messenger delivers word that 'ctavia is plain and unimpressive 7leopatra !ecomes confident that she will win -ntony !ack. The triumvirs meet (ompey and settle their differences without going to !attle. (ompey agrees to keep peace in e&change for rule over Sicily and Sardinia. That evening the four men drink to cele!rate their truce. 'ne of (ompey"s soldiers discloses to him a plan to assassinate the triumvirs there!y delivering world power into (ompey"s hands !ut (ompey dismisses the scheme as an affront to his honor. 5eanwhile one of -ntony"s -generals wins a victory over the kingdom of (arthia. 'ctavia Bshe is 'ctavius 7aesar"s sisterC marries -ntony in order to cement an alliance !etween the two triumvirs. She is a victim of -ntony"s deception and her meekness purity and su!mission make her the paradigm of 6oman womanhood and 7leopatra"s polar opposite.C depart for -thens. 'nce they are gone 7aesar !reaks his truce wages war against (ompey and defeats him. -fter using =epidus"s army to secure a victory he accuses =epidus of treason imprisons him and confiscates his land and possessions. This news angers -ntony as do the rumors that 7aesar has !een speaking out against him in pu!lic. 'ctavia pleads with -ntony to maintain a peaceful relationship with her !rother. Should -ntony and 7aesar fight she says her affections would !e painfully divided. -ntony dispatches her to 6ome on a peace mission and 27

Fuickly returns to <gypt and 7leopatra. There he raises a large army to fight 7aesar and 7aesar incensed over -ntony"s treatment of his sister responds in kind. 7aesar commands his army and navy to <gypt. Ignoring all advice to the contrary -ntony elects to fight him at sea allowing 7leopatra to command a ship despite <no!ar!us"s strong o!@ections. -ntony"s forces lose the !attle when 7leopatra"s ship flees and -ntony"s follows leaving the rest of the fleet vulnera!le. -ntony despairs condemning 7leopatra for leading him into infamy !ut Fuickly forgiving her. Eros The 4ueen, my lord, the 4ueen. :ras Go to him, madam, spea/ to himB $e is un4ualitied (ith )ery shame. &leopatra 1ell then,D#ustain me:D60 Eros ,ost no+le sir, ariseB the 4ueen approachesB $er head*s declin*d, and death (ill seiMe herB +ut .our comfort ma/es the rescue. Anthon) % ha)e offended reputation B ! most unno+le s(er)in'. Eros #ir, the 4ueen. Anthon) 6, (hither hast thou led me, &'ypt@ #ee, $o( % con)ey my shame out of thine eyes 8y loo/in' +ac/ on (hat % ha)e left +ehind *#troy*d in dishonour.5 /e and 7leopatra send reFuests to their conFueror: -ntony asks to !e allowed to live in <gypt while 7leopatra asks that her kingdom !e passed down to her rightful heirs. 7aesar dismisses -ntony"s reFuest !ut he promises 7leopatra a fair hearing if she !etrays her lover. 7leopatra seems to !e giving thought to 7aesar"s message when -ntony !arges in curses her for her treachery and orders the innocent messenger whipped. *hen moments later -ntony forgives 7leopatra <no!ar!us decides that his master is finished and defects to 7aesar"s camp.

)%he &omplete 'orks o( 'illiam Shakespeare+ )-nthony and 7leopatra, -ct III Scene YI 3+ : 23 p. A37.

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-#T'#N 7=<'(-T6- <6'S 7/-65I-# I6-S etc.1 -ntony meets 7aesar"s troops in !attle and scores an une&pected victory. /e sends his friend"s possessions to 7aesar"s camp and returns to 7leopatra to cele!rate his victory. <no!ar!us undone !y shame at his own disloyalty !ows under the weight of his guilt and dies. 7onvinced that his lover has !etrayed him -ntony vows to kill 7leopatra. In order to protect herself she Fuarters herself in her monument and sends word that she has committed suicide. -ntony racked with grief determines to @oin his Fueen in the afterlife. /e commands one of his attendants to fulfill his promise of unFuestioned service and kill him. The attendant kills himself instead. -ntony then falls on his own sword !ut the wound is not immediately fatal. /e is carried to 7leopatra"s monument where the lovers are reunited !riefly !efore -ntony"s death. 7aesar takes the Fueen prisoner planning to display her in 6ome as a testament to the might of his empire !ut she learns of his plan and kills herself with the help of several poisonous snakes. 7aesar has her !uried !eside -ntony. 7leopatra is the Fueen of <gypt and -ntony"s lover. - highly attractive woman who once seduced 4ulius 7aesar 7leopatra delights in the thought that she has caught -ntony like a fish. In matters of love as in all things 7leopatra favors high drama: her emotions are as volatile as they are theatrical and regardless of whether her audience is her handmaid or the emperor of 6ome she always offers a top-notch performance. -lthough she tends to make a spectacle of her emotions one cannot dou!t the genuine nature of her love for -ntony. Shakespeare makes clear that the Fueen does love the general even if her loyalty is sometimes misplaced. The assortment of perspectives from which we see 7leopatra illustrates the varying understandings of her as a decadent foreign woman and a no!le ruler. -s (hilo and 9emetrius take the stage in -ct I scene i their complaints a!out -ntony"s neglected duties frame the audience"s understanding of
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http:??a!soluteshakespeare.com?pictures - Painted +y $enry Tresham, ". !. &n'ra)ed +y Geor'e #i'mund and 2ohn Gottlie+ ;acius.

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7leopatra the Fueen for whom -ntony risks his reputation. *ithin the first ten lines of the play the men declare 7leopatra a lustful )gipsy , a description that is repeated throughout the play as though !y a chorus. 7leopatra is la!eled a )wrangling Fueen, a )slave, an )<gyptian dish, and a )whore,% she is called )Salt 7leopatra, and an enchantress who has made -ntony )the no!le ruin of her magic,. $ut to view 7leopatra as such is to reduce her character to the rather narrow perspective of the 6omans who standing to lose their honor or kingdoms through her agency are most threatened !y her. 7ertainly this threat has much to do with 7leopatra"s !eauty and open se&uality which as <no!ar!us points out in his famous description of her in -ct II scene ii is awe-inspiring. $ut it is also a performance. Indeed when 7leopatra takes the stage she does so as an actress elevating her passion grief and outrage to the most dramatic and captivating level. -s <no!ar!us says the Fueen did not walk through the street !ut rather $op forty paces . . . !nd ha)in' lost her +reath, she spo/e and panted, That she did ma/e defect perfection, !nd +reathless, pour +reath forth.5 *hether whispering sweet words of love to -ntony or railing at a supposedly disloyal servant 7leopatra leaves her onlookers !reathless. -s -ntony notes she is a woman 1hom e)erythin' +ecomesDto chide, to lau'h To (eep. 2 It is this a!ility to !e the perfect em!odiment of all thingsT!eauty and ugliness virtue and vice Tthat 7leopatra stands to lose after her defeat !y 7aesar. $y parading her through the streets of 6ome as his trophy he intends to reduce her character to a single !ase elementTto immortali0e her as a whore. If -ntony cannot allow his conception of self to e&pand to incorporate his defeats then 7leopatra cannot allow hers to !e stripped to the image of a !oy actor : s4uea/in' Cleopatra . . . %=th= posture of a (hore.I 7leopatra often !ehaves childishly and with relentless selfa!sorption% nevertheless her charisma strength and indomita!le will make her one of Shakespeare"s strongest most awe-inspiring female characters. )7leopatra says <no!ar!us is to !e understood in terms of her )variety,. /e means that she is a surprising person her moods are changea!le and her personality many:sided. $ut 7leopatra is also various as an element in the drama. She is more than one kind of character which may !e why she provokes so much disagreement amongst critics. BRC there are three
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)%he &omplete 'orks o( 'illiam Shakespeare+ )-nthony and 7leopatra, -ct II Scene II +33 - +31 p. A33. Idem -ct I Scene I 3A - 2> p. A+2. 3 I!idem -ct L Scene II +18 : +1A p. A1+.

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7leopatras. -t one level she is the em!odiment of <gypt and the sym!ol of our antihistorical e&perience. -t another lever she represents the 'ther as against -nthony"s representation of the Self. -s such she appears indifferent to the destiny of the male Self% here as in other Shakespearian tragedies the hero"s encounter with this apparently indifferent 'ther is an important part of his tragi-heroic adventure. -nd finally 7leopatra is a character like -nthony himself facing failure and defeat motivated !y the desire to contain or rise a!ove her losses.,1 )'f all Shakespeare"s historical plays !nthony and Cleopatra is !y far the most wonderful. There is not one in which he has followed history so minutely and yet there are few in which he impresses the notion of angelic strength so much - perhaps none in which he impresses it more strongly. This is greatly owing to the manner on which the fiery force is sustained throughout and to the numerous momentary flashes of nature counteracting the historic a!straction.,+ 2. CORIOLANUS (1"#8& )7oriolanus is the man of action seen in action and among the heroes of the maturer canon uniFue in this. /e is the younger man a fighter and a !rilliant one !ut effectively no more. /e is at heart : and despite his trials remains to the end : the incorrigi!le !oy.,3 'ne of Shakespeare.s final tragedies Coriolanus cannot !e considered one of his greatest plays and it has never !een one of his more popular. It lacks depth !oth metaphysical and psychological% though structurally sound its characters are not multi-dimensional and it lacks !oth the great poetic strength and the capacity to surprise that the !est of the tragedies possess. It is nevertheless a solid play united in structure and theme--the playwright is very much in command of his characters one feels although this sense of control may actually weaken the play: The dramatis personae never seem a!le to escape the iron structure that the plot imposes. (erhaps Shakespeare.s most overtly political play more so even than the histories Coriolanus takes as its hero a man completely lacking in political gifts--a stu!!orn soldier !rought down !y an overweening pride and an ina!ility to compromise with the forces that seek his downfall. - representative of the patrician class of 6ome 7oriolanus. prowess in !attle would seem to make him an ideal hero for the masses% however he utterly lacks the common touch and his fear of popular rule allows him to !e construed as an enemy of the people. Set in the immediate aftermath of 6ome.s transition from monarchy to repu!lic Bindeed we are told that 7oriolanus played a part in the e&pulsion of the last king TarFuinC the play portrays its hero
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$am!er =inda op. cit. p. 32. 7oleridge Samuel Taylor in http:??a!soluteshakespeare.com?Fuotations. 3 9ay 5artin S. in http:??a!soluteshakespeare.com?Fuotations..

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as trapped !etween two worlds--he is a kingly figure !orn to command% yet at the same time he finds himself inha!iting a repu!lican political reality that--though he himself has helped to create it--he cannot endure. Thus his fate of e&ile is appropriate% he truly has no place in the new political life of his city. Though 7oriolanus is himself unsu!tle preferring to e&press himself directly Bindeed this contri!utes to his downfallC he is surrounded !y craftier more manipulative characters. /is close friend 5enenius serves as the perfect foil% for though he shares 7oriolanus.s aristocratic sensi!ilities and suspicion of the ple!eian class 5enenius.s smooth tongue and talent for compromise ena!le him to skate through the difficulties that de!ilitate 7oriolanus. 5enenius.s counterparts on the ple!eian side are the two tri!unes Sicinius and $rutus whose talent for demagoguery and manipulation of the masses ena!le them to turn the people of 6ome against 7oriolanus--an easy task given the hero.s propensity for violent out!ursts. 5eanwhile his Lolscian counterpart the great general Tullus -ufidius is similar to 7oriolanus in temperament !ut has a resentful streak that leads him to !etray 7oriolanus when he feels himself to !e eclipsed in glory. The most significant figure in 7oriolanus.s life however is his domineering mother Lolumnia BLolumnia is a 6oman no!lewoman and the mother of 7oriolanusC. She is devoted to her son and delights in his military e&ploits having raised him to !e a warrior% he in turn often allows himself to !e dominated !y her iron willC. -s a woman she lacks the a!ility to achieve power on her own in the male-dominated 6oman society% she also lacks a hus!and through whom she might indirectly en@oy pu!lic clout. Thus Lolumnia raises her son to !e a great soldier and it is her am!ition more than his that puts him on the disastrous track toward the consulship. 5oreover Lolumnia.s controlling nature constitutes a ma@or cause of 7oriolanus.s fatal childishness% and while his legendary stu!!ornness holds sway in every other situation she alone can overcome it and convince 7oriolanus to spare 6ome - and thus unwittingly set his doom in motion.1 ;olumnia #ay, my re4uest*s un>ust, !nd spurn me +ac/: 8ut, if it +e not so, Thou art not honestB and the 'ods (ill pla'ue thee,

-pud /a0litt *illiam op. cit. pp. 2+ : 22.

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C6"%6L!N<#, !<;%-%<#, %"G%L%!, 6L<,N%!, .6<NG ,!"C%<#, !L&"%!, !N!TT&N-!NT#.5 That thou restrain*st from me the duty (hich To a mother*s part +elon's.D$e turns a(ay: -o(n, ladies0 let us shame him (ith our /nees. To his surname Coriolanus *lon's more pride Than pity to our prayers. -o(n: !n end: This is the last:D#o (e (ill home to "ome, !nd die amon' our nei'h+ours.DNay, +ehold us: This +oy, that cannot tell (hat he (ould ha)e, 8ut /neels, and holds up hands, for fello(ship, -oes reason our petition (ith more stren'th Than thou hast to deny*t.DCome, let us 'o.2 Structurally the play falls into three main divisions which overlap the five acts. The first shows 7oriolanus at his heroic !est in the Lolscian war and culminates in his triumphant return to 6ome. The second portion traces his failed attempt at the consulship his fall from grace and his !anishment. The third witnesses 7oriolanus.s return to 6ome at the head of the Lolscian army reaches its clima& when Lolumnia convinces him to spare 6ome and then follows the great soldier to his death in -ntium at the hands of the @ealous -ufidius.

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http:??a!soluteshakespeare.com?pictures - Painted +y Ga)in $amilton. &n'ra)ed +y 2ames Cald(all. )%he &omplete 'orks o( 'illiam Shakespeare )7oriolanus, -ct L Scene III 113 : 177 pp. 1>>+ : 1>>3.

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1#.TIMON OF ATHENS (1"#8& Timon of !thens focuses doggedly on one main topic at the e&clusion of almost all others: does money !uy friendshipV Is material well-!eing ine&trica!ly linked to ties of love and friendshipV Timon is wealthier than all his friends and he en@oys sharing his !ounty. /is GfriendsG seem to include a whole set of people who stick around to see how long his !ounty can possi!ly last. -pemantus seems to think that Timon.s friends are all worthless flatterers yet he too hangs around admittedly without eating or accepting gifts. Timon.s wealth is particularly uniFue% his generosity seems to !enefit from an almost magical !ounty which he seems to !e a!le to e&pend without end which maintains itself without effort at new acFuisition. Net not forever. /e must mortgage his lands to pay for gifts and his feasts and !orrow money from his friends to !uy them gifts. Timon relies on a system of intangi!le !onds which he is astonished to see fall to pieces when he needs loans from his friends. Onlike Timon they all refuse to lend him money on the !asis of his friendship alone. -pemantus.s commentary contrasts with Timon.s idealistic !eliefs. -pemantus provides his point of view throughout the !anFuet scene and he takes the opposite tack of Timon at every stage. /e !elieves people are naturally greedy and villainous not generous% he thinks generosity is not a mark of socia!ility !ut an effort to influence others and gain a return later. Net !oth men.s !eliefs circle around the idea that one.s possessions or lack thereof determine one.s interactions in society and the way one thinks of oneself. <&changes of commodities are the only transactions in this play. In fact money is the only thing that seems to have any power of reproduction Bsome of the lords mull over Timon.s money and its a!ility to magically reproduceC. /ence e&changes of money take on a certain perverse or depraved role standing in for a!sent heterose&ual relations. Similarly the play draws on the ancient portrait of usury as a depraved form of unnatural G!reedingG of money for interest. Timon.s reaction to his fall is a curious one. =ike many of Shakespeare.s heroes Timon is a self-a!sor!ed character who must learn a lesson in order to grow as a person and carry on. Net he fails in this task going simply from one e&treme !ehavior to another. In the !eginning he isolates himself from the other -thenian lords !y setting himself up as a god of generosity. =ater when he loses his money he isolates himself in the wilderness and curses mankind with enthusiasm eFual to that with which he praised it previously. <ven after his sense of the innate kindness of friendliness human nature has proven false Timon.s egocentrism remains solid as a rock and the sense of his separateness remains. /e dies alone even managing to !ury himself and carve his own epitaph. 13

Timon is an am!iguous figure however. *hen he leaves -thens he declares that mankind can !e reduced to greed for money and nothing else. $ut do we agree with him entirelyV 'r is response out of proportion with the actual slights he has sufferedV Timon !egins the play as a generous !ut foolish man and appears to end it as an angry and foolish man. /e storms out of the city !ecause of the cruel !ehavior of a few men taking them as a sign of the rottenness of all humanity. Net people seem to line up outside his cave to prove otherwise. Klavius who echoes Timon.s generosity !y sharing his remaining funds with Timon.s servants proves himself an honora!le man in Timon.s eyes. -pemantus and Timon seem to argue yet at !ase they also seem to en@oy each other.s company. -nd -lci!iades in a su!plot involving a condemned friend which may have !een one of the casualties of an un-revised play prepares to attack -thens in order to reha!ilitate Timon.s honor in the city. If so many people like Timon including the senate who seeks to lure him !ack to -thens then can his insistence that mankind is evil !e thoroughly @ustifiedV Alci5iades 1hen % ha)e laid proud !thens on a heap,D %imon 1arr*st thou *'ainst !thens@ Alci5iades !y, Timon, and ha)e cause.

T%,6N, !LC%8%!-&#, P$".N%!, !N- T%,!N-"!.5 %imon The 'ods confound them all in thy con4uestB and thee after, (hen thou hast con4uer*d0 Alci5iades
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http:??a!soluteshakespeare.com?pictures? - Painted

+y 2ohn 6pie ".!. &n'ra)ed +y "o+ert The(. 12

1hy me, Timon@ %imon That, +y /illin' of )illains, thou (ast +orn to con4uer my country. Put up thy 'old: Go on,Dhere*s 'old,D'o onB 8e as a planetary pla'ue, (hen 2o)e 1ill o*er some hi'hC)ic*d city han' his poison %n the sic/ air: Let not thy s(ord s/ip one: Pity not honour*d a'e for his (hite +eard, $e*s an usurer: #tri/e me the counterfeit matronB %t is her ha+it only that is honest.5 In fact after Timon dies and -lci!iades arrives at the gates of -thens the senators use an interesting argument to try to convince him not to attack. They e&plain that those who were cruel to Timon and to -lci!iades make up only a small portion of the population and will !e easy to single out and punish. So the play concludes with the suggestion that villainy is not a universal phenomenon as Timon thought !ut one apparently limited to Timon.s greedy friends. /ence we are left with an inconsistent message. The hero if Timon is that makes !ad decisions when he has great wealth Bto take loans in order to give giftsC and he makes !ad decisions when he loses his money Bto leave the city and curse humanityC. /e hardly has time within his e&treme !ehavior to learn anything and he dies !efore he can !egin to find a meaning !etween his various strong reactions. 9oes Timon.s plight teach us to distrust generosity as we have seen its recipients are ungrateful flatterersV Is the play against friendship showing Timon.s acFuaintances to !e largely driven !y greedV $oth Fuestions can !e answered positively yet proof for the opposite also e&ists. The conclusion like Timon.s !ehavior everything seems largely am!iguous. The play concerns itself with the connection !etween ties of affection : the relationships !etween men - and monetary !onds% this is the reason why women are )characteristically sketched,+ !ecause )men are the things themselves,3. )The play seems to !e an undeveloped study of three reactions to in@ustice. -pemantus is the philosophic misanthrope a hater of mankind on general principles and without a proper @ustification. -lci!iades is the normal man angered to his mistreatment and trying to right the world. /is victory at the end faintly suggests Shakespeare"s usual conclusion% like a Kortin!ras

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)%he &omplete 'orks o( 'illiam Shakespeare )Timon of -thens, -ct IL Scene III A8 : 113. /a0litt *illiam op. cit. p. 31. 3 )%he &omplete 'orks o( 'illiam Shakespeare )Timon of -thens, -ct IL Scene III

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or like a /enry LII he is the restorer of normal and @ust social and political order. Timon has !een forced !y man"s ingratitude to flee human society and detest mankind.,1

3. CONCLUSION
In tragedy the characters are overcome !y the powers opposed to them and the pleasure found in this genre is that concerning the aesthetic. <ven though tragedy ends in death the author points out the fact that his heroes" deaths are the inevita!le outcome of primary universal law as the law of Eod in earlier tragedies. In later works he !egins to discover this divine law in nature and in the end Shakespeare discovers the human nature visi!ly making morality. 5any have linked most of Shakespeare"s plays to -ristotle.s precept a!out tragedy: that the protagonist must !e an admira!le !ut flawed character with the audience a!le to understand and sympathi0e with the character. 7ertainly each of Shakespeare.s tragic protagonists is capa!le of !oth good and evil. The playwright insists always on the operation of the doctrine of free will% always the BantiChero is a!le to !ack out to redeem himself. $ut the author dictates they must move unheedingly to their doom. "omeo and 2uliet !ntony L Cleopatra and 6thello could all !e considered love tragedies. These tragedies differ from the other tragedies in that the lovers are not doomed through any fault of their own !ut !ecause of some !arrier in the world around them. In these tragedies death is almost a kind of consummation of their love -- as if love can not properly succeed in a tragic world. )#othing will !e said of Shakespeare.s place in the history either of <nglish literature or of the drama in general. #o attempt will !e made to compare him with other writers. I shall leave untouched or merely glanced at Fuestions regarding his life and character the development of his genius and art the genuineness sources te&ts interrelations of his various works. <ven what may !e called in a restricted sense the .poetry. of the four tragedies -- the !eauties of style diction versification -- shall pass !y in silence. 'ur one o!@ect will !e what again in a restricted sense may !e called dramatic appreciation% to increase our understanding and en@oyment of these works as dramas to learn to apprehend the action and some of the personages of each with a somewhat greater truth and intensity so that they may assume in our imaginations a shape a little less unlike the shape they wore in the imagination of their creator. Kor this end all those studies that were mentioned @ust now of literary history and the like are useful and even in various degrees necessary. $ut an overt pursuit of them is not necessary here nor is any.,+
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9ay 5artin S. in http:??a!soluteshakespeare.com?Fuotations. $radley -. 7. Shakespearean %raged), Third <dition =ondon 5acmillan 1A>3

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The genre of tragedy is rooted in the Ereek dramas of -eschylus B2+2-321 $.7. e.g. the 6resteia and Prometheus 8oundC <uripides Bca. 38>V-3>2 $.7. e.g. ,edea and The Tro>an 1omenC and Sophocles B3A1-3>1 $.7. e.g. 6edipus "e9 and !nti'oneC. 'ne of the earliest works of literary criticism the Poetics of the Ereek philosopher -ristotle B383-3++ $.7.C includes a discussion of tragedy !ased in part upon the plays of -eschylus <uripides and Sophocles. *hile Shakespeare pro!a!ly did not know Ereek tragedy directly he would have !een familiar with the =atin adaptations of Ereek drama !y the 6oman Bi.e. =atin-languageC playwright Seneca Bca. 3 $.7.-12 -.9.% his nine tragedies include a ,edea and an 6edipusC. $oth Senecan and 6enaissance tragedy were influenced !y the theory of tragedy found in -ristotle.s Poetics. 7lassical Tragedy: -ccording to -ristotle.s Poetics tragedy involves a protagonist of high estate BG!etter than weGC who falls from prosperity to misery through a series of reversals and discoveries as a result of a Gtragic flaw G generally an error caused !y human frailty. -side from this initial moral weakness or error the protagonist is !asically a good person: for -ristotle the downfall of an evil protagonist is not tragic B5ac!eth would not FualifyC. In -ristotelian tragedy the action Bor fa+leC generally involves re)olution Bunanticipated reversals of what is e&pected to occurC and disco)ery Bin which the protagonists and audience learn something that had !een hiddenC. The third part of the fa!le disasters includes all destructive actions deaths etc. Tragedy evokes pity and fear in the audience leading finally to catharsis Bthe purgation of these passionsC. 5edieval tragedy: - narrati)e Bnot a playC concerning how a person falls from high to low estate as the Eoddess Kortune spins her wheel. In the middle ages there was no GtragicG theater per se% medieval theater in <ngland was primarily liturgical drama which developed in the later middle ages B12th centuryC as a way of teaching scripture to the illiterate Bmystery playsC or of reminding them to !e prepared for death and Eod.s 4udgment Bmorality playsC. 5edieval GtragedyG was found not in the theater !ut in collections of stories illustrating the falls of great men Be.g. $occacio.s ;alls of %llustrious ,en 7haucer.s ,on/*s Tale from the Canter+ury Tales and =ydgate.s ;alls of PrincesC. These narratives owe their conception of Kortune in part to the =atin tragedies of Seneca in which Kortune and her wheel play a prominent role. 6enaissance tragedy derives less from medieval tragedy Bwhich randomly occurs as Kortune spins her wheelC than from the -ristotelian notion of the tragic flaw a moral weakness or human error that causes the protagonist.s downfall. Onlike classical tragedy however it tends to include su!plots and comic relief. Krom Seneca early 6enaissance tragedy !orrowed the Gviolent and !loody plots resounding rhetorical speeches the freFuent use of ghosts . . . and 18

sometimes the five-act structureG BNorton !ntholo'y of &n'lish Literature 1th ed. vol. I p. 31>C. In his greatest tragedies Be.g. $amlet 6thello 7in' Lear and ,ac+ethC Shakespeare transcends the conventions of 6enaissance tragedy im!uing his plays with a timeless universality. 5ost modern theorists !uild upon the -ristotelian notions of tragedy. Two e&amples are the Lictorian critic -.7. $radley B#ha/espearean Tra'edy 1A>3C and #orthrop Krye BThe !natomy of Criticism 1A27C. -. 7. $radley divides tragedy into an e9position of the state of affairs% the !eginning growth and vicissitudes of the conflict% and the final catastrophe or tragic outcome. $radley emphasi0es the -ristotelian notion of the tra'ic fla(: the tragic hero errs !y action or omission% this error @oins with other causes to !ring a!out his ruin. -ccording to $radley GThis is always so with Shakespeare. The idea of the tragic hero as a !eing destroyed simply and solely !y e&ternal forces is Fuite alien to him% and not less so is the idea of the hero as contri!uting to his destruction only !y acts in which we see no flaw.G $radley.s emphasis on the tragic flaw implies that Shakespeare.s characters !ring their fates upon themselves and thus in a sense deserve what they get. It should however !e noted that in some of Shakespeare.s plays Be.g. 7in' LearC the tragedy lies less in the fact that the characters GdeserveG their fates than in how much more they suffer than their actions Bor flawsC suggest they should. 1 #orthrop Krye distinguishes five stages of action in tragedy: 1C &ncroachment. (rotagonist takes on too much makes a mistake that causes his?her Gfall.G This mistake is often unconscious Ban act !lindly done through over-confidence in one.s a!ility to regulate the world or through insensitivity to othersC !ut still violates the norms of human conduct. +C Complication. The !uilding up of events aligning opposing forces that will lead ine&ora!ly to the tragic conclusion. G4ust as comedy often sets up an ar!itrary law and then organi0es the action to !reak or evade it so tragedy presents the reverse theme of narrowing a comparatively free life into a process of causation.G+ 3C "e)ersal. The point at which it !ecomes clear that the hero.s e&pectations are mistaken that his fate will !e the reverse of what he had hoped. -t this moment the vision of the dramatist and the audience are the same. The classic e&ample is 'edipus who seeks the knowledge that proves him guilty of murdering his father and marrying his mother% when he accomplishes his o!@ective he reali0es he has destroyed himself in the process. 3C Catastrophe. The catastrophe e&poses the limits of the hero.s power and dramati0es the waste of his life. (iles of dead !odies remind us that the forces unleashed are not easily contained% there are also ela!orate su!plots Be.g. Eloucester in 7in' LearC which reinforce the impression of a world inundated with evil. 2C "eco'nition. The audience Bsometimes the hero as wellC recogni0es the
1 +

-pud $radley -. 7. Shakespearean %raged), Third <dition =ondon 5acmillan 1A>3 Krye #orthorp Anatom) o( &riticism< 4our Essa)s #ew 4ersey (rinceton Oniversity (ress 1A27 chapter 2.

1A

larger pattern. If the hero does e&perience recognition he assumes the vision of his life held !y the dramatist and the audience. Krom this new perspective he can see the irony of his actions adding to the poignancy of the tragic events.1

3I. REFERENCES
A. WORKS OF -ENERAL SCOPE4 $am!er =inda Comic 1omen, Tra'ic ,en Stanford Stanford Oniversity (ress 1A8+ $anta; -ndrei ),anual de literaturN en'leMa Oi americanN $ucure;ti <ditura Teora 1AA3 $ateson K. *. ! Guide to &n'lish Literature #ew Nork 9ou!leday I 7ompany Inc. 1A12 $radley -. 7. )#ha/espearean Tra'edy: Lectures on $amlet, 6thello, 7in' Lear, ,ac+eth , =ondon 5acmillan 1A>3. $urgess -nthony #ha/espeare $ucure;ti <ditura /umanitas +>>+ 7aufman - $lumenfeld 'dette #tudies %n ;eminist -rama Ia;i <ditura (olirom 1AA8. 7a0amian =ouis and =egouis <mile ! $istory of &n'lish Literature =ondon 4. 5. 9eut and Sons =td. 1A71 7harlton /. $. #ha/espearian Tra'edy 7am!ridge at the Oniversity (ress 1A11 7oleridge S. T. #ha/espeare Criticism, =ondon '&ford Oniversity (ress 1A31 7o0ma 9iana )&9perimentul homo feli9 J un studiu sha/espearian 7lu@- napoca <ditura 7asa 7PrJii de ZtiinJP +>>2 9aiches 9avid Critical !pproaches to Literature =ondon =ongman 1A12 9aiches 9avid ! critical $istory of &n'lish Literature =ondon 6onald (ress 1A82 9ash Irene 1omen=s 1orlds in #ha/espeare=s Plays #ewark Oniversity of 9elaware (ress 1AA7 9umitriu 7orneliu !rheolo'ia -ramelor #ha/espeariene $ucure;ti <ditura -ll +>>1 Krost 9avid The #chool of #ha/espeare. The %nfluence of #ha/espeare in &n'lish -rama 7am!ridge at the Oniversity (ress 1A18 Krye #orthorp !natomy of Criticism: ;our &ssays #ew 4ersey (rinceton Oniversity (ress 1A27 Eheorghiu 5ihnea )#cene din )iaPa lui #ha/espeare $ucure;ti <ditura pentru =iteraturP 1A18 Erigorescu 9an )#tudii de LiteraturN &n'leMN, $ucure;ti Erai ;i Suflet : 7ultura #aJionalP +>>3 Erigorescu 9an )#ha/espeare Qn cultura romRnN, $ucure;ti <ditura 5inerva 1A71 /anJiu <caterina !n'loC#a9on and ,edie)al Literature "e)isited 'radea <ditura OniversitPJii din 'radea +>>3 /a0litt *illiam Characters of #ha/espeare=s Plays =ondon Eeorge $ell I Sons 1A82 /ugo Lictor 1illiam #ha/espeare (aris =i!rairie Internationale 1813 4onson $en #ha/espeare Oi opera lui $ucure;ti <. =. O. 1A13 Dnight E. *ilson #tudii #ha/espeariene $ucure;ti <ditura Onivers 1A72 Dnights =. 7. #ome #ha/espearian Themes =ondon 7hatto I *indus 1A13 Dott 4an #ha/espeare, contemporanul nostru, $ucure;ti <. =. O. 1A13
1

-pud idem.

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=eviJchi =eon %storia Literaturii &n'leMe Oi !mericane $ucure;ti <ditura -ll <ducation 1AA8 =eviJchi =eon #tudii #ha/espeariene 7lu@-#apoca <ditura 9acia 1A71 =eviJchi =eon Literatura en'leMN de la Qnceputuri pRnN la 5S?T, curs litografiat Oniversitatea din $ucure;ti 1A7A 5aurois -ndr[ %storia !n'liei, $ucure;ti <ditura (oliticP 1A7> 5PlPncioiu Ileana ina tra'icN $ucure;ti <ditura 7artea rom\neascP 1A78 5ihPescu Klorin $amlet, prinPul melancoliei $ucure;ti <ditura 6o0marin 1AA7 5uir Denneth #ha/espeare=s #ources: Comedies and Tra'edies =ondon 5ethnen I 7o. =td. 1A27 'laru -le&andru #ha/espeare Oi psihiatria dramaticN 7raiova <ditura -ius 1AA7 'mesco Ion $amlet sau ispita posi+ilului $ucure;ti <ditura 7artea 6om\neascP 1AAA (rotopopescu 9rago; #ha/espeare C )iaPa Oi opera $ucure;ti <ditura <urosong I $ook 1AA8 6Pdulescu 5ihai #ha/espeare, un psiholo' modern $ucure;ti <ditura -l!atros 1A7A 6oth -ndrei #ha/espeare, o lecturN sociolo'icN 7lu@-#apoca <ditura 9acia 1A88 ]anc Eheorghe $amlet Qntre )ocaPie Oi datorie moralN 7lu@-#apoca <ditura 9acia +>>+ YYY The Cam+rid'e Companion to ,edie)al &n'lish Theatre <dited !y 6ichard $eadle 7am!ridge 7am!ridge Oniversity (ress 1AA2 YYY The Cam+rid'e Companion to &n'lish "enaissance -rama 7am!ridge 7am!ridge Oniversity (ress 1AA> YYY )The Cam+rid'e Companion to 6ld &n'lish Literature <dited !y 5alcom Eodden and 5ichael =apidge 7am!ridge 7am!ridge Oniversity (ress 1AA1 YYY #ha/espeare=s Tra'edies J an antholo'y of modern criticism /amondsworth (enguin $ooks 1A13 YYY The Lon'man !ntholo'y J 8ritish Literature, =ondon =ongman !y =ongman Eroup B5anufactured !yC third edition volumes 1- 1$ and 17 +>>1 YYY The Pen'uin Guide to Literature in &n'lish, =ondon (enguin $ooks +>>1 2. LITERAR. WORKS4 Shakespeare *illiam The 1or/s of 1illiam #ha/espeare 'athered in one )olume =ondon The Shakespeare /ead (ress 'dhams (ress =td. I $asil $lackwell 1A37 Shakespeare *illiam Tra'edies Lol I and II =ondon 9avid 7amp!ell (u!lishers 1AA+ : 1AA3 YYY The Complete 1or/s of 1illiam #ha/espeare, '&ford The Shakespeare /ead (ress 1AA1 YYY #ha/espeare, 6pere Complete Lol 1 -11 $ucure;ti <. (. =. O. 1A22 - 1A13

C. OTHER SOURCES4 http:??en.wikipedia.org?wiki?Image:Shakespeare.@pg. http:??en.wikipedia.org?wiki?Image:Shakespeare^signature.@pg. 71

http:??encarta.msn.com?media^31121173A?<li0a!ethan^*riters.html http:??a!soluteshakespeare.com?trivia?!iography?shakespeare^!iography.htm http:??a!soluteshakespeare.com?pictures?shakespeare^pictures.htm http:??a!soluteshakespeare.com?trivia?Fuotes?Fuotes.htm

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