Shakespeare?s 10 things Essay -- essays research papers

1. Betrayal and revenge 2. Metaphors of death-King Lear, Merchant of Venice, Othello 3. Humor- A Midsummer Night's Dream, As You Like It 4. Pastoral settings- Ling Lear, A midnight Summer's Dream 5. Madness and insanity- Othello, Midnight Summer?s Dream, King Lear 6. Reversal- the main character falls from a high place 7. Letters- King Lear, Merchant of Venice 8. Things are not as they appear- King Lear, Merchant of Venice, Midsummer Night?s Dream 9. The Father/Daughter Conflict-Midsummer, King Lear, Merchant of Venice 10. Justice- King Lear, Merchant of Venice The Father/Daughter Conflict- In Midnight Summers Dream, Egeus commands Hermia, his daughter, to wed Demetrius, whom she does not love. Against the advisement of the Duke Theseus, who recommends that, ''To you your father should be as a god", (Act I, Scene I, Line 48). Hermia wishes to marry Lysander. Egeus threatens his daughter with the penalty of death or exile. In The Merchant of Venice, Shylock?s daughter, Jessica, denies her faith and steals from her father in order to marry Lorenzo, a man of whom she is unequally yoked. In King Lear, the title character, ruler of Britain, attempts to divide his kingdom according to the profession of love by his three daughters: Goneril, Regan and Cordelia. Goneril and Regan profess undying love choosing the most melodic words, while Cordelia is speechless at the task, stating:..........Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave .....................My heart into my mouth: I love your majesty .....................According to my bond; nor more nor less. (Lines 93-95) King Lear becomes angry with Cordelia and banishes her. The other daughters begin to treat him viciously, Goneril slapping him at one point. Letters- Shakespeare uses letters as characters in the plays that serve to tie key factors together for cohesion and clarity. In the Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare uses a letter from Antonio to bring the culmination of events to a head at the end of the play, setting the stage for the courtroom scene. Antonio writes, "my ships have all miscarried"(314) He tells his friend of his troubles and beckons him to come see him one last time as he ultimately gives his life for his friend?s debt. If Bassanio does not go to the court proceedings, then his wife Portia has no cause to be in the court scene, which leads to A... ...ia?s life without her father would have been an unhappy one. She reflects in the first scene that it is this love and attachment that kept her celibate for so long. With the newly revived relationship and her father?s final recognition of Cordelia, she would not have been able to bear losing him again in the event of his demise. Although the image of Lear holding Cordelia seems horrific, it is actually quite pleasant to see that final image of him cradling Cordelia as a father would a beloved daughter. Shylock?s ill deeds do not go unpunished in The Merchant of Venice. The climactic courtroom scene where Portia tricks the Jew into submission give credence to Shakespeare?s theme of justice throughout each play. As the audience stomachs through each act, watching Shylock?s moods shift from rage to self pity and eventually to the brink of lunacy, they anticipate justice being served to the ill-famed character. The fact that Shakespeare uses a woman to mastermind and in effect hand over the sentence, cemented by the male judge, is another part of justice being served in that Jessica, Shylock?s daughter, was unable to stand up to her father and speak against his will.