Forgiveness

In Shakespeare’s play The Tempest, forgiveness is an important theme. Prospero turns out to be a very forgiving man who has the power to hurt or even kill the people who have betrayed him in the past, but instead he rises above and forgives them.

                Prospero was wronged twelve years ago by his brother and the king and was forced to live on the island with his daughter. After he causes the tempest that brings the betrayers to his island, he casts spells on them during their stay.  After he casts spells on them and punishes them for a short time he forgives all of them, even those who plotted to kill him while on the island. He calls everyone to his home and forgives each of them individually. He forgives his brother for his ambition by saying, “You, brother mine, that entertained ambition,/ Expelled remorse and nature, who, with Sebastian/ Whose inward pinches therefore are most strong/ Would here have killed your king, I do forgive thee”(5.1.75-79). When he forgives all the people who have done him wrong, Prospero shows that he is a bigger person. It takes a lot to forgive someone for ruining not only your life but the life of your daughter. They were taken from their respectful situations and have been secluded from the world for twelve years. Prospero is even big enough to forgive Stephano and Trinculo who plotted with Caliban to murder him in his sleep. He simply says that they are stupid drunks and lets them go. This doesn’t seem realistic. What kind of man would be able to shrug off and forgive someone who wanted to kill them?   

It would be very easy for anyone to remain angry and hold a grudge for something like this but Prospero instead is able to rise above for the good of his daughter and forgive everyone. He wants the best for his daughter and by making amends he will restore her place in royalty in Naples. 

The Tempest, Neither Comedy or Tragedy

After reading a few of Shakespeare’s plays, The Tempest turned out to be very different from the previous plays I have read this semester. After reading seven other plays this semester it was easy to categorize them as either a tragedy or a comedy. The Tempest however, does not fit into either category. 

If I had to choose I would say that it fits into the comedy category simply because it ends in marriage. This being said there were not a lot of funny lines or funny characters in this play. I never found myself laughing out loud like I did in his other comedies. The majority of this play was neither funny nor tragic. No one died and no one was severely punished in the end. It was almost difficult to stay with this play simply because after I read a few of his plays, I got into the rhythm of either a tragedy or a comedy. Throughout the play I was trying to determine whether or not different aspects told me if this play was funny or tragic. Without being able to determine this play, certain scenes made me nervous. For example, when Prospero gives Ferdinand his permission to take Miranda, I didn’t believe that Prospero was simply looking to regain his position as Duke of Milan and to further Miranda’s standing. I thought that his bigger motive was to get revenge and hurt his evil brother and the King of Naples. I don’t know why I had such doubt in Prospero but I was nervous the entire time. Perhaps after reading Othello, I was used to a villain like Iago, and was expecting Prospero to be him.

Since The Tempest does not fit into the tragedy category or the comedy category, it made it difficult to follow for me.  I kept expecting funnier events or awful tragic events. Looking back at the play now, it is very interesting but during I was super confused and uneasy.

Miranda and Ferdinand’s Relationship

In the play by William Shakespeare, The Tempest, the love story between Miranda and Ferdinand happens very fast. The moment they see each other they fall in love. This love cannot be true because Miranda only remembers one other man in her life, her father.

 Miranda has been so sheltered and secluded that she doesn’t know what men are like. Miranda hasn’t had the experience or exposure to the opposite sex to form her opinions of what she likes or what she is looking for in a husband. “I do not know/ One of my sex; no woman’s face remember,/ Save, from my glass, mine own; nor have I seen/ More that I may call men than you, good friend,/ And my dear father”(3.2.49-52). She explains that she has no memory of another female or male other than her father. Miranda’s seclusion from the rest of mankind has inhibited her ability to figure out what she wants in a husband and therefore her love for Ferdinand is not true.  

Ferdinand on the other hand has been out in the world and knows what he is looking for in a wife. He explains that he has met many women in his life time. “Full many a lady/ I have ey’d with best regard” (3.2.39-40). Even though he has this idea of a future wife, he does not know Miranda at all. Although he knows is that she is beautiful and therefore what he feels for her is not love, but in fact lust.

It is hard to know if one has found true love. It takes a lot of time and looking. One must meet people to decide if they have the traits they find attractive or important in a spouse. Miranda has not had the time or exposure to determine her wants or needs from a future spouse. Ferdinand has had the exposure but has not had the time to get to know Miranda, therefore this relationship is not based on true love.  

                 

Emilia’s Role

Throughout the play of Othello, the character of Emilia goes through an important change. At the beginning of the play her character is very weak but as the plot thickens, her character shows herself to be strong.

Emilia starts out as an insignificant character. She is very simple and does not ask questions when he husband asks her to do things. At one point Iago, her husband, asks her to steal Desdemona’s handkerchief. Emilia knows that this handkerchief is important to Desdemona because Othello gave it to her as a gift. “I am glad I have found this napkin, / my wayward husband hath a hundred times/ Wooed me to steal it, but she so loves the token/ and give it to Iago. What will he do with it/ Heaven knows, not I. / I nothing but to please his fantasy” (3.3.297-306). Emilia admits that this is a strange task but does it anyways without questioning.  Stealing from her lady without having a reason does not paint Emilia out to be strong or caring.

As the play progresses, Emilia starts standing up for herself and standing up to Iago. Her feelings toward her husband change and she is no longer willing to do everything to please him. She even talks about cheating on her husband because she says that husbands cheat on their wives and why should the standards be different. She does not openly disclose whether or not she has cheated on Iago but she hints that she would. In the last act of Othello, Emilia shows herself to be strong and caring for Desdemona. She tells everyone what her evil husband did, even though Iago is screaming for her to shut up. “No, I will speak as liberal as the north. / Let heaven and men and devils, let them all,/ All, all cry shame against me, yet I’ll speak” (5.2.233-235). Emilia defies him and tells everyone that is was he who poisoned Othello’s mind and caused Desdemona’s death.  

                The development of Emilia’s character from weak to strong is significant. She is the one who opens everyone’s eyes to the truth. If she was not able to grow and stand up to herself and also for Desdemona, Desdemona would have died with people thinking she was unfaithful. This makes her growth as a character very significant.

Excessive Behaviors in Twelfth Night

                In William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, there are certain characters who display excessive behaviors. Count Orsino demonstrates excessive love, Olivia displays excessive grief and Sir Toby shows excessive drinking. All of these characters act in a way that is more than normal for the average being, and it makes their characters very annoying.

                Count Orsino claims to be madly in love with Olivia. Instead of simply stating his love for her and trying to gain her love in return, he sulks in his home listening to music and day dreaming. “If music be the food of love, play on;/ Give me excess of it, that surfeiting, / The appetite may sicken and so die. / That strain again!”(1.1.1-4). He is acting like a fool by spending all his time thinking about Olivia when she does not feel the same way for him. His surplus of love is annoying to witness.

                Another character who demonstrates excessive behavior is Olivia. Her brother has recently died and understandably she is in mourning. Any normal person would be upset and may spend time mourning. Olivia takes this to the next level. She decides to cover her face and not show it to anyone for seven years. “The element itself, till seven years’ heat, / shall not behold her face at ample view” (1.2.25-26). Seven years for the death of her brother. It is admirable that she is willing to do this for her brother but it is extreme. She is overreacting and it is annoying to witness her unnecessary behavior.

                Sir Toby also demonstrates excessive behavior. He enjoys drinking to an excess. This makes him an annoying character that has no respect for others. These characters all display excessive behaviors that are entertaining in the play, but in reality they would be very annoying people to spend time with. Their behaviors show that they are very self interested and car about themselves over anyone else.   

Shallow Love in Twelfth Night

In William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, there are many different characters who claim to be madly in love with another character. The love displayed in this play is very manipulated by shallow physical attractions. There are three people who change their affections quickly due to physical motives; Olivia, Orsino and Sebastian. This fast change of love proves that love in this play is shallow.

Olivia’s love is superficial because she claims to love Cesario, but when she finds Sebastian, her feelings change.  She shifts her love from Cesario to Sebastian within a matter of minutes. Even though she believes that Sebastian is Cesario, someone who is truly in love should be able to tell who they love.     

Orsino’s love for Olivia is also shallow. His love switches quickly to Viola when he figures out that she is a woman. This is comical and hypocritical of him because at the beginning of the play he claims that his love comes from within and women are incapable of loving that way.  His switch of love is awkward because he thought that she was a boy for so long and now he is going to marry her. This proves that Orsino’s love for Olivia is shallow because he goes back on his word to love her and switches to Viola. Sebastian’s love for Olivia is also shallow. He marries her simply because she is wealthy and beautiful.

                The love displayed in Twelfth Night, is not true love but rather shallow love. Olivia, Orsino and Sebastian all exhibit this superficial theme by either falling in love quickly or changing their affections quickly. This shallow love makes one question the realistic quality of this play. If love is so quickly shifted, how can it be true?

Malvolio: The Butt of Everyone's Joke

The character Malvolio is an annoying square in Shakespeare’s play Twelfth Night. He is the steward of Lady Olivia’s house and the other members of the household do not like him. Sir Toby, who is Olivia’s uncle, is a drunk and loves to laugh and party. Maria works in the house as well and likes Sir Toby. The two of them together decide to torment Malvolio and his party pooping ways. This household dynamic is like elementary school children who pick on the one who is a rule follower and tattle tale.

                At one point, a few people in the house are up very late drinking and carrying on and Malvolio comes in to break up the party. He threatens to tell Lady Olivia on Maria if she gives them any more to drink. “Mistress Mary, if you prized my lady’s favor/ at anything more than contempt, you would not give/ means for this uncivil rule. She shall know of it, by/ this hand” (2.3.120-23). This is the classic example of a tattletale threatening other children. He is such as square that it makes him extremely nervous to be around or witness people drinking and disobeying house rules.

                Because Malvoio threatens to ruin their fun, Maria, Sir Toby and Sir Andrews decide to pick on him and play a practical joke. They know that Malvolio loves Lady Olivia, so they decide to fake a note from her to him to make him believe that she loves him as well. When Malvolio receives the letter he is extremely excited and makes a fool of himself in order to receive Lady Olivia’s love. This makes one feel sorry for Malvolio. He is the little rule follower who no one likes and who is making a fool out of himself for nothing but his enemies’ enjoyment. He is the butt of everyone’s’ joke but he is not aware.

Meddling Parents

Throughout Hamlet, parents like to meddle in their children’s business and try to know everything going on in their lives.  They feel the need to control their children and spy on them if they are not able to figure out themselves. Polonius meddles in both of his children, Ophelia and Laertes’ lives and Gertrude and Claudius meddle in Hamlet’s life.

Gertrude and Claudius enlist the help of two of Hamlet’s friends to spy on him and figure out what is wrong with him. He has been acting strange and they know that he will not speak to them so they bribe his friends to gather information for them. “To draw him on to pleasures and to gather, So much as from occasion you may glean, Whether aught, to us unknown, afflicts him thus/ That, opened, lies within our remedy”(2.2.15-18).  Claudius asks his friends to figure out what is bothering Hamlet.

As for Polonius, he is the king of meddling. When Laertes leaves to go to Paris to study, Polonius sends a spy to ask about him and figure out what kind of mischief he is in. He enlists Reynaldo to travel to Paris and get information on his son. “Your bait of falsehood takes this carp of truth./ And thus do we of wisdom and of reach,/ With windlasses and with assays of bias/ By indirection find directions out”(2.1.62-65). He wants him to lead people into giving up what his son has been up to, whether it is going to brothels, drinking too much or gambling. He doesn’t have enough trust in his son to ask him so he must meddle and send in a spy. Polonius is also very meddlesome in Ophelia’s life. He treats her like she is a child and makes her tell him everything about her love relationship with Hamlet. She gives her father the love letters that Hamlet writes her and tells her father everything about Hamlet’s actions.

The parents in Hamlet are very meddlesome in their children’s’ lives and sometimes go about finding out what is going on in a sneaky way. Many children would feel an invasion of privacy and angry if they found out that their parents were using spies to track their actions and decipher their moods.

Helena’s Missing Backbone

In Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the character Helena is extremely annoying. She is hopelessly in love with Demetrius, a man who not only doesn’t love her back, but in fact despises her. Demetrius is in love with Hermia, one of Helena’s friends.

Demetrius makes it very clear to Helena that he does not love her, but she still follows him around like a little puppy. In one scene in the play he is telling her to stop following him and she responds by telling him she is his spaniel and that he can beat her but she will still love him. “And even for that do I love you the more. / I am your spaniel; and, Demetrius, / The more you beat me, I will fawn on you” (2.1. 203-305). Her love is completely hopeless. Her character has no backbone at all! It is said earlier in the play that he once told her that he loved her, but once he met her friend he changed his mind. This guy is a total jerk! He led one girl on and then dropped her quickly as soon as he found a prettier one. Helena should see this. She needs to grow a backbone and call him out for what he has done to her, but instead she allows it and degrades herself.

It is hard not to feel a little sympathy for how pathetic she is, but at the same time she whines all the time and it just gets annoying. Helena’s self confidence and respect has been shattered and she makes no attempt to build it again. “No, no, I am as ugly as a bear; / For beasts that meet me run away for fear./ Therefore no marvel though Demetrius/ Do, as a monster, fly my presence thus” (2.2.100-103). She is so pathetic that she gives excuses for Demetrius’s actions, saying that she is so ugly that she does not blame him for running away. This much whining gets very annoying and it is hard to feel sorry for her.

Helena, simply put, does not have a backbone. She cannot stand up to a jerk that has used her and ran away and ignored her. She needs to get some self respect and stand up for herself and stop acting like a little puppy. It is very pathetic and obviously not working out for her.         

Overlooking Women

While reading Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, I found it interesting how women were completely overlooked and pushed aside. There are only two women in this play, each has a meaningful roles. They each attempt to console and protect their husbands from the danger that they feel is in the future.

Calphurnia is the wife of Caesar and her role is very important. Calphurnia has a dream one night, and in the dream it spells out the impending destruction of Caesar. “She dreamt tonight she saw my statue, / Which, like a fountain with a hundred spouts, / Did run pure blood. And many lusty Romans/ Came smiling and did bathe their hands in it“(Act 2. Scene 2. 76-79). Here Caesar is explaining to Decius the dream she had. He makes her out to be a silly woman who had a bad dream, and is taking it too far. The moment Decius gives Caesar his opinion of what the dream means, Caesar dismisses Calphurnia and states that he is ashamed that he ever considered her fears. It is interesting here because Calphurnia is clearly worried about her husband, and is begging him not to go. He brushes her off very easily not knowing that if he would have listened to her, he would not be murdered that day.

The other female character who is disregarded is Portia, the wife of Brutus. Being the ideal wife that she is, she asks her husband to confide in her and tell her what is bothering him. “Tell me your counsels. I will not disclose ‘em/ I have made strong proof of my constancy/ “(Act 2. Scene1. 300-301). He refuses to confide in her and this causes her a great sadness that eventually leads to her suicide. It is important for everyone to talk to someone and work out moral dilemmas. Brutus does not realize the importance of companionship and ignores Portia’s requests.

These women could have significantly changed the lives of Caesar and Brutus if only they were not overlooked and in fact given a second thought. This aspect is why I found these interactions to be so interesting.

Katharina and Petruchio’s Modern Flirting

In Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew, Katharina is a very nontraditional, harsh speaking woman for this time period.   During this time period women had very little power. Women were expected to be well-mannered, gracious and pure entities. Katharina does not embody this ideal because she is so outspoken and has a great temper. There are many instances in the play where she speaks to men with great disrespect and sass and this causes her to be considered unconventional and shrewish. However, in her first conversation with Petruchio, Katharina’s remarks would be considered par today.

  Their conversation starts with Petruchio going on and on about how mild and virtuous Kate’s reputation is.  She starts off from the beginning with very sassy remarks. He tells her that he feels moved to woo her, and she begins by making remarks about him being moveable.

Moved? In good time! Let him that moved you hither

Remove you hence. I knew you at the first

You were a movable.  (Act. 2. 1. 195-196).

She is being hard on him and tells him to go away. Then she calls him a piece of furniture. Katharina is being very sassy and she is playing hard to get. This would not be considered so unusual in modern times when flirting is more acceptable. Petruchio answers her furniture remark with a sexual innuendo. Their conversation is filled with a combination of feisty remarks that are filled with sexual innuendos. When one first reads this section, it seems that these two characters are fighting and being very rude toward each other. After interpreting what they are really saying it is comical and one realizes how they are actually flirting.

                In the time period that this play takes place the ideals and standards for women were very different from today. Women were expected to be quiet and obedient to all men and being sassy was not considered desirable. The interaction between Katharina and Petruchio would be considered more acceptable in modern conversations.  

Richard III, A Masculine Overload

     In Shakespeare’s tragedy, Richard III, the main character is a malevolent scheming man who manipulates his peers and family members to further advance his social and political standing. In Ian Frederick Moulton’s article “A monster Great Deformed”: The Unruly Masculinity of Richard III, he explains that Shakespeare used Richard to embody the maximum masculine being. During a time when England was being ruled by a woman, the gender roles seemed to be blurred and many men were taking the roles of women and vice versa. This character is a response to this occurrence, Shakespeare created a character that was to embody all things masculine and repel all things feminine. This makes Richard’s selfish plots and also his physical deformity explicated by his exaggerated masculine embodiment.


     In Richard’s opening soliloquy he shows his disgust with this shift from masculine aspects to feminine characteristics. “Our stern alarums changed to merry meetings, Our dreadful marched to delightful measures. Grim-visaged war hath smoothed his wrinkled front, And now instead of mounting barbed steeds to fright the souls of fearful adversaries, he capers nimbly in a lady’s chamber to the lascivious pleasing of a lute” (Act 1. 1. 7-13). It seems as though he is celebrating the war is over, but he is mocking a world that is satisfied with feminine aspects and without war. In his article Moulton explains as to why Richard’s deformity is considered masculine, “In the absence of strong masculine royal authority, English manhood, unruled and untamed, turns to devour itself. It is this unregulated, destructive masculine force that is personified in the twisted and deformed body of Richard III” (Moulton, 258). Richard is all masculine because he chooses to be. He chooses to work towards personal power rather than love or honor. He is selfish to no end and will kill his own family to achieve his goals. Also in his opening soliloquy he brags about setting up his own brother to be jailed so that the list of men between him and the throne is shorter.

     Richard does evil and manipulative things to move his way up the political hierarchy. What motivates make him to makes these decisions, makes him the epitome of masculinity. This can be realized in Richard’s opening soliloquy, and by reading Moulton’s article.

Sources:
Moulton, Ian F. ""A Monster Grea Deformed": The Unruly Masculinity of Richard III." Shakespeare Quarterly 47.3 (1996): 251-68. Web.
Shakespeare, William, and David M. Bevington. Richard III. Toronto: Bantam, 1988. Print.