William Shakespeare
1564 - 1616
arguably the most heralded poet and dramatist of all time.
Little is known about William Shakespeare - some critics even claim that he was merely a front for another playwright. What is known, however, is that he was universally popular in his own time and his works have been heralded as the finest ever examples of the use of the English language.
Shakespeare was adept at crafting words and sentences... more »
Essays
Shakespeare and Freudian theory Hamlet and Titus -- This essay attempts to discover how Freud’s psychoanalytical accounts of human nature can bring us to a deeper understanding of the family relationships at work in Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Titus Andronicus.
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Masters of Disguise and Language -- Evaluates the influence of Homer on Shakespeare centralizing on the use of physical, verbal, and emotional disguises in the characters to impel forward the plot line of the story and enhance themes
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Marginalisation of Principle Characters in Othello by William Shakespeare -- Othering at work in Othello
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Othello or Othe(r)llo: A vacillation Between the Familiar and the Alien -- This essay challenges the popular view of Othello as a villain, and examines this in the context of Said's theory of Orientalism.
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Sound in Shakespeare's 'The Tempest' -- An academic exercise that takes a formalistic approach (focusing specifically on the use of sounds) to William Shakespeare's play.
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Marginilisation of Characters in Othello -- An analysis of the ways in which principal characters are marginalised in Shakespeare's Othello
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Iago as a dramatic construct of deceit and revenge. -- Year 12 lit essay. 'The character of Iago in Shakespeare's play Othello, is said to be the ultimate dramatic construct of deceit and the epitome of an unquenchable desire for revenge.' Refers Sir Francis Bacon http://essayists.8m.com/essays.html.
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What Could Have Been: The Role of the Theatrical Character in Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and Henry IV, Part 1 -- Examining the role of the most theatrical characters in three plays by Shakespeare.
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Power and Being in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra -- A short essay on the duality in the main characters'attitude and behaviour.
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Sonnet 130 Appreciation Essay -- Techniques and meaning of Shakespeare's 130th sonnet; my mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun.
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The Tragic and Pitiful King Lear -- I will discuss the idea that is King Lear a tragic hero or not
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Presenting Taming Of The Shrew To A Modern Day Audience -- Presenting Taming Of The Shrew To A Modern Day Audience
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"King Henry & Prince Hal: Machiavellian Monarchs" -- Shakespeare's Prince Hal in 1 Henry IV as a machiavellian character
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Setting in The Tempest -- The significance of setting in Shakespeare's play, with reference to the construction of the worlds of art and reality
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Power in Relation to Class, Gender and Race in Othello -- Othello is a play about human nature and relationships. By studying these human relationships, differences in race, gender and class suggest that Venetian society consists both of empowered and disempowered groups
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Significance of the Opening and Closing Scenes of The Tempest -- Through the deconstruction of the court system in the tumultuous opening scene, and its eventual superior reconstruction in the closing scene, Shakespeare is able to better develop and display inherent character traits in the major roles
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Upon the Heath There Are No Stars -- Analysis of King Lear IV.vi. 142-184
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Henry the 4 port 1 - Does Hal undergo real change, or is it marely for political purposes -- an analysis of Hal figure and the comparison to Hutspur and Falstaff
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Madness in Hamlet: Hamlet and Ophelia -- Discusses the dramatic significane of the 'mad' scenes in Shakespeare's play.
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The Action in of Macbeth and Reality in History -- Examines the relationship between the tragedy of Macbeth and historical reality.
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To what extent is the character of Brutus a tragic hero in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar? What does this reveal about his character? -- The concept of Brutus as a tragic hero in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar in the Shakesperann and classical sense.
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Select Review On Romeo and Juliet -- Three Short Essays on Shakespeare's Characters
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William Shakespeare and Existentialism -- Shakespeare and existentialism
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"Thriftless Ambition" -- “Time and hour run through the roughest day”, (I, 4, 164), or do they? Is this only true when one can bask in “the death of each day’s life [?]” It is “thriftless ambition that will raven up thine own life’s means
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The sonnets 1_17 of shakespeare -- my essay will grapple with a general analysis of these sonnets
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Who is Responsible? -- Tells of the major blame to the demise and degeneration of Macbeth.
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Why is the First Act of Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ so Important? -- This essay looks at the significance of Act 1 of Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet', analysing how Shakespeare set's up the crutial aspects which make this a wholly gripping and exciting play, and also includes some history on the play itself.
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An Analysis of Iago's Manipulation of Each of the Characters in Othello -- The essay describes in detail Iago's manipulation of Cassio, Desdemona, Emilia, Roderigo, and Othello.
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Othello's Character Development -- A study of Othello's character developement from a respectable general into a jealous murderer based on four major extracts.
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Degradation of Macbeth -- To compare and contrast Macbeth we see in Act 1 and Act 5.
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Appearance vs. Inner Value in The Merchant of Venice -- In the Merchant of Venice, elegant outward appearances are used to mask a thing's true worthlessness, and these beautiful facades are often mislead people.
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Representation of Gender Within Shakespeare's Othello -- Women are always victims because it is men who determine social organisation. Considers the ways in which the representation of men and women in Othello supports or challenges this assumption.
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Love in Shakespeare's Twelfth Nght -- Examines how Shakespeare uses his main characters to present the theme of love.
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King Lear as a tragic hero -- I will discuss the idea that is King Lear a tragic hero or not
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The Path of Forgiveness in the Tempest -- In the Tempest, Prospero's initial desire to wreak revenge upon his enemies through insanity brought on by guilt is eventually overridden by his realization that he really desires reconciliation, which he will only achieve through forgiveness.
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Character Analysis of Romeo and Juliet -- Brief notes on the major characters.
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Who or What is to Blame for the Tragedy -- Investigates whether 'fate' ro the behaviour of Romeo is to blame for the tragedy in the play.
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Othello - Act 11 Scene 11 -- Critical analysis of the scene and an assessment of its importance in the play.
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kings and fools in King lear -- The tragedy of this play is shown through the daughters of the king, the fool
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Who is the Third Murderer? -- A look into the possible identity of the Third Murderer found in Macbeth.
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The funeral orations in Julius Caesar -- The funeral orations of both Brutus & Antony after Caesar's death
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Manhood's Significance in Macbeth -- The theme of manhood is examined as displayed in Shakespeare's Macbeth.
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A Critical Commentary on the "Porter Episode" in Macbeth -- This essay critically evaluates the importance and dramatic purpose of the"Porter Episode" (Act II, Sc. iii) in Macbeth by William Shakespeare.
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Fools in Shakespeare's Comedies -- The purposes and classifications of the fools and clowns Shakespeare uses in his comedic plays.
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Inversion as a Literary Device in William Shakespeare's "King Lear": Examining the Play's First Two Acts -- Essentially, inversion, expressed powerfully and with great beauty, is a key element in the play's first two acts.
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Inversion as a Literary Device in William Shakespeare's "King Lear" -- Shakespeare's play, "King Lear," relies heavily on the concept of inversion to create the irony that adds so much to its dramatic impact.
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Texts
Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day?
Sonnet XVIII: Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Sonnet CXVI: Let Me Not to Marriage of True Minds Admit Impediments
Links
Shakespeare's Life and Times Home Page -- thorough exploration of the context informing Shakespeare's work
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Mr William Shakespeare and the Internet -- Good Shakespeare resources and links, including unique items of interest
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The Shakespeare Classroom -- Teaching and learning resources including study questions and materials for studying Shakespeare as well as a short list of links.
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Shakespeare Resource Center -- Play synopses, biography (including Shakespeare's will!) and a section on Elizabethan England.
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Shakespeare Plays Presented by the Electronic Literature Foundation -- Full text of all of Shakespeare's plays including concordances, and quotes.
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Rivendell's Drama Page -- Shakespeare -- Background and biography and eight excellent essays analysing Shakespeare in general and specific Shakespeare texts.
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Shakespeare's Life and Times Home Page -- useful resources on the social and political context
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Surfing with the Bard -- Shakespeare classroom, including well organised and presented links to summaries and criticism for the most widely-studied of his plays.
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Shakespeare Magazine -- Shakespeare news and events and useful teaching resources which present interesting ways of reading Shakespeare's plays.
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Slelected commentaries on Shakespeare's sonnets -- A selection of notes and commentaries on all the "154 sonnets of Shakespeare"
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Notes on William Shakespeare by Michael Peverett -- Essays on King John, The Merchant of Venice, King Lear, etc
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Complete Works of William Shakespeare -- All Shakespeare's works in English and a good selection translated to German.
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Absolute Shakespeare -- Absolute Shakespeare, the essential resource for William Shakespeare's plays, sonnets, poems, quotes, biography and the legendary Globe Theatre.
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Brief History of Western Culture -- http://geocities.com/mpeverett/shakespeare.htm ... Essays on 3H6,KJ,MV,KL
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Poetic Works of Shakespeare -- Big Collection of Shakespeare's Sonnets and Poems. Also, contains poems, literary works and quotes from many other poets, writers and famous people.
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Double Dutch Discords -- Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet set to contemporary music.
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Rethink - The Coming Age: Macbeth and the Birth of the Modern World -- Four part essay on Macbeth describes the metaphorical transition from the feudal to the secular.
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