Essays on Plays

1673

The Problem of Male Maturity in Much Ado About Nothing

3 pages / 1685 words

Elizabethan men are not entirely different from some modern men, especially when it comes to their views on marriage, love, and sex. Many men still continue the double standard of expecting their partners to be virginal while they themselves are free to be sexually experienced....

Much Ado About Nothing

1674

Trickery and Deception in Much Ado About Nothing

2 pages / 1116 words

“Though those that are betrayed Do feel the treason sharply, yet the traitor Stands in worse case of woe” (Cymbeline, III.iv). Shakespeare’s carefully crafted world of deception and trickery within Much Ado About Nothing thrives on deceitful characters-both malicious and virtuous-whose manipulation of information affords...

Much Ado About Nothing

1675

Conventional and Unconventional Relationships in Much Ado About Nothing

4 pages / 2113 words

Much Ado about Nothing focuses on the emotional development of two relationships that endure various levels of deception. Although both couples marry at the end of the play, the deception that occurs during the play exploits the emotional instability of Benedick and Claudio: “One deception...

Much Ado About Nothing

1676

Death and Discordance in Moonlight

4 pages / 2030 words

In Harold Pinter’s Moonlight, discordant scenes create a state of transition for the characters, who are facing the death of family patriarch Andy. Throughout the play, Pinter sets up scenes which would not fit logically into a linear story. Old friends reappear and converse with...

Book Review Moonlight Plays

1677

Character Portrayal of Don John in Much Ado About Nothing

4 pages / 1835 words

In Much Ado About Nothing, love is fickle and volatile. Several pairs of characters fall in and out of love at nearly a moment’s notice and a few accept their emotions without question. Many complex events cause these sudden emotional changes to come about. Each...

Much Ado About Nothing

1678

Benedick and Beatrice Relationship: a Modern View

3 pages / 1496 words

William Shakespeare’s Much Ado about Nothing, brimming with metaphors and figurative clowning walks the line of comedy and tragedy. As Shakespeare flexes his exemplary wit which brands his work as so signature and formulaic; he brings probably the most memorable characters in the play; Beatrice...

Much Ado About Nothing

1679

Antagonistic Relations Between Benedick and Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing

4 pages / 1813 words

Although set in Messina, Italy, the conventions in Much Ado About Nothing are those of Elizabethan England, where marriage was seen as a business transaction and family stability was vital. This idea is explored through the fate of Hero, who has little say in who...

Much Ado About Nothing

1680

Homosociality in Much Ado About Nothing and The Merchant of Venice

3 pages / 1370 words

Although considered light and delightful entertainment, Shakespeare’s plays of comedy often address serious issues confronting Elizabethan values of propriety and social decorum. Anti-Semitism, death and homosexuality are frequent themes woven in his plays and the latter is addressed in Much Ado About Nothing and The...

Merchant of Venice Much Ado About Nothing William Shakespeare

1681

The Meaning Behind Portia's Trick in Merchant of Venice

3 pages / 1537 words

It is often observed that William Shakespeare’s comedies feature some uncomfortable scenes that leave audiences unsure as to whether characters are participating in harmless, theatrical farce or a meaner brand of mockery that borders on the cruel. Such scenes involve trickery that seems funny enough...

Merchant of Venice

1682

The Merchant of Venice as an Example of a New Comedy

4 pages / 1844 words

As a playwright, William Shakespeare has few, if indeed any, colleagues of equal renown. He skillfully created works of incredible diversity; some tragic, others historical, and yet others comedic. Of this last genre, Shakespeare’s play, The Merchant of Venice is an example. Through an excerpt...

Merchant of Venice

1683

The Relationship Between Father and Daughter in The Merchant of Venice

3 pages / 1322 words

Despite the lack of a strong paternal figure in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, two separate father-daughter relationships play an integral role in the central plot of the play. The strained relationship of Venetian moneylender Shylock and his daughter Jessica, as well as the nonexistent...

Merchant of Venice

1684

Questioning Anti-semitic Ideas in The Merchant of Venice

2 pages / 1086 words

The Merchant of Venice has been interpreted over time as both a defense and an attack on Jews. (“Shylock”) While it would seem improbable that Shakespeare was forward thinking enough to completely reject the anti-Semitic sentiment of his time, the play is too complex to...

Merchant of Venice

1685

The Role of Daughter and The Historical Context

3 pages / 1660 words

The daughters of Elizabethan England were predominantly subject to their father’s wishes. This is particularly evident in terms of the main female character, Portia, who must obey her father even after his death: Made-to-order essay as fast as you need it Each essay is customized...

Merchant of Venice

1686

Socisl Dilemma in The Merchant of Venice

3 pages / 1672 words

There is a method to the madness that is Shakespearean Comedy. Every Comedy has an outline and “The Merchant of Venice” is no exception. This highly social dilemma centers on the pursuit of love and money and concludes with the joyous acquisition of just that....

Merchant of Venice

1687

The Construction of Portia's Character in The Merchant of Venice

2 pages / 912 words

In The Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare crafts a dynamic female character uncommon to his collection of plays. Portia, the lovely and wealthy heiress, exemplifies stereotypical feminine qualities but also exhibits independent and intelligent thought. Most of Shakespeare’s female roles function as static characters designed to...

Merchant of Venice

1688

Anti-semitism as a Major Controversy in The Merchant of Venice

3 pages / 1340 words

Enter the Jew. In this way does Shakespeare usher the character Shylock into his play The Merchant of Venice, and here begins the greatest controversy that plagues this work. The Elizabethan era, the time in which Shakespeare lived, was a time brimming with hostility toward...

Merchant of Venice

1689

The Fluidity of Justice in Shakespearean Comedy

6 pages / 2853 words

In ‘The Motives of Eloquence’, Lantham describes Shakespearean drama as the art of “superposition”. One arc of action is performed over others so that “[d]ramatic motive is stronger than ‘real’, serious motive”. The justification of a characters action occurs as theatre. “Drama, ceremony, is always...

Merchant of Venice

1690

The Contrast of Two Cities in The Merchant of Venice

5 pages / 2222 words

In “The Merchant of Venice”, William Shakespeare explores the cities of contrast which are Venice and Belmont. These two locations in Italy are so antithetic to each other that even characters’ behaviours fluctuate from city to city because of this disparity between them. This Shakespeare...

Merchant of Venice

1691

The Racial Question in The Merchant of Venice Based on The Prince of Morocco

4 pages / 2056 words

Art reflects the social context it was created in, and so can be useful in determining social opinions of different time periods. Live theatre is no different, and the way minority characters were written and portrayed on stage can be valuable to understanding how they...

Merchant of Venice