Shakespeare Midterm

there atomic number 18 many sources by dint of with(predicate) Shakespe ares ferwork forcets, As You interchangeable It, Merchant of Venice, and altogethers Well that Ends Well. such as cope, pride, irony, and marriage. All three ladders are keep d avowdies beca sp give notice essentially the extol that so alludes the protagonists in the beginning of the play somehow unites them toward the bar of the play by convey of every mis- indistinguishability operator, in the case of Roselind and Orlando in As You standardised It or capital of Montana and Bertram in Alls Well that Ends Well, albeit the latters approvemaking is a forced loved by the King (whom capital of Montanas physician father heals of fistula), as Bertram writes to Helena while hes at war, When thou canst get the ring upon my finger, which never shall come off, and show me a child begotten of thy body that I am father to, then call me husband (Shakespeare III. i. 55-58). The purpose of this essay stem w ill be to explore these issues of love as they apply to the main(prenominal) characters and come to a revelation on the love between them and the mount of its destruction or affirmation through Shakespeares device of mis-identity so, identity and love will play a dual role in this essay along with high authorities such as royal line or fate. As You Like It As You Like It is unrivaled of Shakespeares comedies.The focus of the play revolves around the theme of love and identity either the changing of the main characters identities or their dramatic use of mis-identity to other main characters. The main protagonists, Rosalind and Orlando, fall in love, but collectable to circumstance (such as their identities and their fates as destined by higher authorities) are unavailing to unite until the end of the play. The play begins with Rosalinds banishment into the woodland of Arden (along with her friend Celia and a clown) and with Orlandos own fleeing of his brothers plot of groun d to murder him.Thus, the beginning of the play is in direct opposition to the finishing of the play the beginning of the play is ab by banishment and betrayal and the end of the play is well-nigh unification through love thus it is the theme of love that unites each of these three Shakespearean plays. To the characters in As You Like It, the most important, and magnateful thing in life is love and through love the reader comes to understand the concept of fate. It is the power of love that drives Rosalind to rationalize up as a man in order to prevail being detected as herself from royal house.While she is Ganymede (a man) she approaches Orlando and has him practice wooing Rosalind with him, thus staying genuine to Shakespeares idea of mixing comedy with love and in the process revealing certain truths about the characters (such as their feelings for unmatched other and their destiny with each other). Thus, the beginning of the main lovers courting is d unmatched through th is misappropriation of identity by way of a royal idea of what love should be countered with Shakespeares idea of what love is as seen with the mounting feelings his protagonists have with each other.It seems that the message that Shakespeare is trying to lift with these two characters is that love flourishes under the most drastic of circumstances two lovers fleeing or banished from home and yet through disguise are notwithstanding able to find true love. As Jacques states in As You Like It, All the worlds a stage, And all the men and women merely players They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages. (Shakespeare II. vii. 39-143). This charges intended meaning emphasizes love (although Shakespeare does poke fun at the intention of the play with this passage as well as Rosalinds final speech or epilogue which requests the earreach to enjoy the play at their disposal but not more than warrants undo attention). The end of the play sees Hyman the god of marriage (another pun in the play, making savoir-faire to virginity) unite Orlando and Rosalind, Oliver and Celia, Silvius and Phebe and even Touchstone and Audrey.Thus, while the beginning of the play has a start in banishment and gloom, the final act of the play is distinguished in love, and in finding love, each character reveals their true identity thus suggesting to the reader that love can only come if a person is honest with themselves about who they are. Merchant of Venice The heros injustice that is confronted in The Merchant of Venice, is that of Antonios (hero) to loan sharks (the villain). This play is one of Shakespeares task plays.The plot synopsis is that a young man, Bassanio wants to hurt Portia but is unable to due so because of lack of funds (Hankey 431). He asks his friend Antonio for the money, and in turn, Antonio asks moneylender for a loan. The prejudice of the play is appoint in Antonio having spat on Shylock and called him a Jew thus the focus for the play is set between the loan and these two principle characters. It is through Antonios own actions, as one can pull from the text, that his family relationship with Shylock is doomed.The tension of the play is further doomed as Shylocks daughter Jessica runs away to convert to Christianity in order to get married her lover Lorenzo thus Shylocks vengeance is twofold one for getting his money back and the other for seeking vengeance from religion. Although the better points of the play are dealing with vengeance and the scenes between Shylock and Antonio are very suspenseful, the point of the play is that love prevails despite the urgency of an opponent powerful force (thus keeping this play linked with the opposing royalty force as seen in As You Like It).Bassanio chooses the correct malarkey box in order to marry Portia according to her fathers will and thus, the point of the play where the suitor is involved is resolved. However, Bass anio still is manifold with the tension between Antonio and Shylock since it was for Bassanio that Antonio loaned money from Shylock. It is Antonios haste in agreeing to such a deal that the play is focused upon. This play is alter with smaller plot constituents that add to the definition of this being a problem play.The turns which the play makes during the come nearion of the plot makes the play point towards being a tragedy, it is not until the end of the play that the theme of love can actually be applied With Bassanios engagement and Antonios getting out of his deal with Shylock. Portia (in disguise as a man) asks Shylock to show benevolence in her famous speech, The quality of mercy is not strained(Shakespeare IV,i,185), this invocation comes to no avail however and Shylock is determined to extract his jab of flesh.In the end love reigns as the court decides that since Shylock is unable to extract the flesh without shedding any blood, he must free his property half to the government and half to Antonio. In a question of fairness, Antonio will have the principle amount given to Jessica and Lorenzo thus, the theme of love wins at the end for Bassanio gets Portia and Jessica marries Lorenzo and Shylock. Thus, when Shylocks daughter comes forward with her true feelings and her love, she gains power.Thus, the link between love and power and the revelation of love through true identity is found. Indeed the theme of love is found in plenty in The Merchant of Venice with the correlating couples. In a particularly quixotic scene Lorenzo speaks of Jessica (Skylocks daughter), Beshrew me but I love her warm For she is wise, if I can judge of her, And fair she is, if that mine eyes be true, And true she is, as she hath proved herself, And therefore, like herself, wise, fair and true, Shall she be position in my constant soul. Shakespeare II, vi, 51-57.It is found in this play that Shylock is a naysayer when it comes to the subject of love it would be p rudent then to state that because of Shylocks predisposition on the theme of love, his negative attitude about it, as revealed in the court case in the presence of the plays caste of characters, Some men there are love not a gaping pig, some that are mad if they recognize a cat, and others when the bagpipe sings i the nose cannot contain their urine. (Shakespeare IIII, i, 47-50) that the end that Shylock meets with (having to convert to Christianity and losing his property) is in direct relation to his sentiments about love.The issue that Shakespeare presents them with the financial and religious destruction of Shylock is that love conquers all. Alls Well that Ends Well The them of Alls Well that Ends Well is one that is definitely defined as love, albeit, a rather dishonest start to love. Bertram is make to marry Helena after her father cured the kind of an illness. Although Helena is very more than in love with Bertram, as she reveals, T were all one, That I should love a brig ht particular star, And think to wed it, he is so above me. (Shakespeare 1. 1. 98).Bertram seeks refuge in war and tells Helena that the marriage isnt very a marriage since they have not slept together and thus do not have any hopes of having children. Helena seeks to remedy this situation. This play, (as with the previous plays written about in this paper) exudes the cleverness of women bandaging up as men in order to gain access to information or dressing up as women (as Helena does, dressing up as her amah Diana) in order to have power and information. Thus, Bertram is seduced by Helena/ Diana and make a proper husband of by his wife in fact the play ends on Bertrams lines, love her dearly, ever, ever dearly. (Shakespeare V. iii. 354) which are made in reference to Helena. This romantic view is littered throughout modern-day art such as movies and music. The concepts to most adults of adolescent suicide is alarm and a little unreal. (Hodgdon 342) To the eyes of fellow y oung lovers, this tale could be seen as the very definition of modern teen angst.There are taken for granted(predicate) examples throughout the play as to why this evaluate had been given, and remains used to this day. One way that a play may be seen as a tragedy, as Nevo wrote, is by way of inquiring morality in the interpretation of the spectator. Nevo 244) This means that, while the audience watches the play, it uses its own ideals of law, order, and society to judge the actions of its characters. The actions of Romeo are seen by the audience as falling against the contemporary ideals of right and wrong. Romeo is a character who longed for a classic girl, accepted an invitation to a party under false pretences, allowed for his love of Rosaline to be completely forgotten at the sight of Juliet, and who, in a number of extreme rage and wanton revenge, slays the cousin of his new bride (this rage is in like manner seen in Othellos character when he believes Desdemona is chea ting on him).Thus, love reigns at the end of this play as well as it had in the end of As You Like It. Conclusion The themes of the plays have been made obvious Love. Through the use of disguises, the women of the play are able to help themselves into positions of power through the gaining of information that would not be known to them without the ruse (as with Jessica disguising herself in order to persuade her father, Roselind in order for Orlando to woe her, and Helena in order to gain access to Bertrams bed) (Kimbrough 30).The plays end, each in their own accord, on scenes of love and rejoicing for the characters who have found love (this means that since Shylock did not find love, he could not rejoice). Thus, love is the element of consistency in each play, and it is with love that the plays are able to progress from one scene to the next until the end of the play finds the main characters happy.