Secret of William Shakespeare Works Essay Example
Secret of William Shakespeare Works Essay Example

Secret of William Shakespeare Works Essay Example

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  • Published: September 28, 2021
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The two factors that owe to the popularity of William Shakespeare work are; how he approaches universal themes and ability to portray the human characters. The aim of this essay is to focus on how he contrasts and compares different characters as they are depicted in his major tragedies. The theme which is acting as a connecting link is madness. Our interested tragedies to verify this theme of madness are: Othello, King Lear, Macbeth, and Hamlet. As it will be detailed below a reader will realize that this is a fascinating theme and made Shakespeare to recurrently write it on his work (William Shakespeare Plays | Shakespeare Tragedies Comedies, 2016). Each of the four tragedies have one character possessed with madness even though there are other secondary ones who display this theme of madness. In the tragedy of hamlet, w

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e have Ophelia whose lunacy contrasts with hero’s feigned madness. Othello gets mad because of sadistic Lago and Machiavellian. King Lear articulates out two mad characters that are Lear and Edgar, the former being desperately mad and the second pretend to be insane. Finally in Macbeth both the lady Macbeth and the hero are no in doubt mad.

Thesis statement

This analysis will be primary be looking into the pattern of madness followed (Hamlet and Madness Thesis, 2016). Are the madmen displayed here psychologically individualized, or just victims of cosmological disorder? Do we have a formula that can fit all of them or identify uniqueness in there madness? And how each of them gets the madness problem? And whether it is a harmful to an individual? Are we supposed to think lunatic people are void of reasoning an

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feelings? The essay will respond to this questions and other which may be of similar categories.

Hamlet

The story revolves around the prince who embarks to his home land due to death of his father and to find the fathers’ throne has been taken away by his uncle. His mother has not been able to recognize the late husband who had just passed away. The ghost spirit appears to hamlet and assures him the father was killed by his uncle and should take revenge. This makes him to put on an antic disposition aiming to fulfill the ghost command. People like Claudius and he queen get surprised about the strange behavior of hamlet, it appears as it is artificial madness encroaching him. They welcome close friends of hamlet to check out the cause of his strange behavior. Reciprocation to this from hamlets was to confound them just like the case of Polonius, and the kings’ counselor thinks the stranger behavior is due to the desperation of the love he had for Ophelia who is Polonius daughter. Claudius is helped by Ophelia to discover the stranger behavior of hamlet, which is rudely acting and responding to her, “What a noble mind is here overthrown” (Hamlet's Antic Disposition - Is Hamlet's Madness Real?, 2016).

Hamlet pursues a certain interview together with his mother, who had allowed Polonius to have listened to their talk. Polonius who had hid himself behind an arras ends up being killed by Hamlet, who pretends to have madness. He entreats the mother to quite from the relationship she had with Claudius, and again the ghost reminds hamlet not to include revenge to Gertrude. The mother senses

aspect of madness to hamlet as she can’t see who he is talking to. Laertes comes after getting news that his father has died and to amazement finds his sister has gone mad due to the same thing, she later drowns herself in a brook, and at the burial of this sister hamlet reappears and is attacked by Laertes., and hamlet leaves announcing the love she had for Ophelia.
Analyzing this madness of hamlet, it is a mask to achieve his plan of revenging, in fact a “stalking-horse” a tool he uses to criticize the society (Help, H., 2016). When talking to Horatio, his words are sound and coherent and appears like totally sane, but the soliloquy he gives out are full of sorrow and grief which and doubts his sanity. It is surprisingly how a man preoccupied with mental and sensitive parts to his body should think about suicide. Hamlet undergoes suffering in his mind than in body and wishes, “would melt, thaw, and resolve it”. We sum this by saying that hamlet displays the traits of self-division from the beginning of the play. According to him all come to be of no use as from his soliloquy “how weary, stale and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of this world!” (Help, H., 2016).

Othello

Othello comes from another culture to Venice and brings new values which are different from the known ones in Venice. He encamps in this new land with mystery and myths of the sea clinging to him, one gets a reminder of the qualities associated with water at the middle age and renaissance of the madness and civilization. Sea had been viewed

to be the source of mystery and anyone who travels by sea “the land he will come to” and, “once he disembarks, the land which he comes,” become like the unknown symbols (Shakespeare's Othello: Madness through Jealousy, the Tragedy of Othello's Misguided Love for Desdemona, 2016). This steers more the race of Othello and the adventurous life he lives in since it emphasizes on mystery which engulf him.
The ugly Othello gets dominated by jealousy and bitterness and murders his innocent wife. He extensively rolls his eyes and gnaws his nether lip, and rudely talks to the wife, as it could be done by one from a barbarian country to do. This is madness depiction of a man. In analyzing the madness behind Othello, we realize villainous Lago has steered this character and behavior, and as it is written by Bradley wrote, “Othello’s nature is one piece” Lagos villainy has made him be far from the human world and this maps him to have some madness. He is a replica of the cool blooded rational thinking and the scientific parameters which had occupied men’s mind by the 16th and 17th centuries. We can see that the deeds issued to Othello by the villains in this tragedy are disastrous, for the ensign will practice “upon his peace and quiet, even to madness” the worst of the cases of madness in this one of Othello which has driven him into desperation. Lago has ruined the Othello’s mind with vague terms to statements of menace like, “it was not for your quiet nor you’re good….” (Spark Notes: Othello: Act IV, scene I, 2016).

Madness can be shown by the confusion

of the brain at first, he enquire “why did I marry” and finally laments “farewell the tranquil mind….Othello’s occupation gone” his thought get more confused and the coherent speech he has degenerates gradually to contradictory and poor ideas. In concluding the madness of Othello comes out from sexually eagerness and Desdemona which Lago is expert in and reduces him to.

King Lear

The original sources of the tragedy king Lear don’t contain sentiments of madness, but after Shakespeare has coined these sources he feigns Edgar with madness in the story. the main character who is Lear gets angered when he comes to understand how the two daughters are misusing the powers they have and leaves at night in a company with his fool, and they are followed by Kent and ends up wondering in a desolate health. The suffering that Lear undergoes makes him to rage madly at the two daughters (An Analysis of the Theme of Madness in King Lear, a Play by William Shakespeare | Kibin, 2016).
Lear is one of the cases where madness is open to the audience, and he the character who gets possessed with madness in the play. This madness is natural, in that the king gets mad due to the unbearable stress and physical suffering and is the one that causes his madness. The play depicts him as monarch, and temperament, rashes in taking actions, superficial in making his judgments. Great pity knocks at Lear as he isn’t competent enough to decide on the best person who loved him the most, he doesn’t the spirit of discernment to understand and differentiate true love from false love. You can’t give out kingship

and yet you want to retain, title and authority.

Ironically, Lear doesn’t want to be reminded of the things going wrong on his arbitrary decision and this later force him to swallow the truth through getting mad. Gets rejected by his daughters and gets too stressed to the level of his wits begin to turn as he himself confesses. He thinks of solving issues with daughters amicably and not harshly as he calls Edgar and the fool to be like court officers while addressing the daughters. Finally the climax of his madness is seen when he is dressed with wild flowers, he no longer has any line of reasoning and completely distracted by hallucinations. He has learnt some lessons the hard way and now the meaning of being patient “thou must be patient”, (Madness in Shakespeare, 2016).

Macbeth

His madness is first depicted when he gets much disturbed by the death of Duncan and reveals it. He shrinks from the violent needed to seize the throne and much willing be patient and wait, “if chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, without my stir?” the period when Duncan is ripe and sufficient for the seat when Macbeth is ripe for murder (Spark Notes: Macbeth: Important Quotations Explained, 2016). Macbeth has lot of thoughts when he thinks about murder and he longs for power and fulfillment as he worries about the repercussions of acts, “if it were done when ‘tis done, then‘t was well it was done quickly: if the assassination could trammel up the consequences, and catch with it success;”
The actions of interfering with Duncan’s life cause things like madness. The quotes, “he has seen

a bleeding dagger leading him on and has heard a voice cry against the deed” these hallucination come from the tormented mind of Macbeth, and the first signs of the madness to make him bolder (Enjoying "Macbeth" by William Shakespeare, 2016). His madness is associated with the high ambition he has for leadership, freedom and security to high extend of good and evil. Additionally the issue of having no children to inherit his property is among the factors causing his madness to skyrocket.

Conclusion

Most of the works of Shakespeare has depicted that madness can be of various types. People can feign to mad in order to achieve some targets on their lives for personal gains. Some people in the society can make other behavior like as if they have madness, as it is the case of Othello and Lago. To sum up all instances of madness are resulting to negative results in the society and have no benefits at all.

Cited work

  • An Analysis of the Theme of Madness in King Lear, a Play by William Shakespeare | Kibin. (2016). Kibin.com. Retrieved 6 November 2016, from https://www.kibin.com/essay- examples/an-analysis-of-the-theme-of-madness-in-king-lear-a-play-by-william- shakespeare-wtVq5anc
  • Enjoying "Macbeth" by William Shakespeare. (2016). Pathguy.com. Retrieved 6 November 2016, from http://www.pathguy.com/macbeth.htm
  • Hamlet And Madness Thesis. (2016). Icpo.pro10.pnp.gov.ph. Retrieved 6 November 2016, fromhttp://icpo.pro10.pnp.gov.ph/index.php?option=com_k2&view=itemlist&task= user&id=21242
  • Hamlet's Antic Disposition - Is Hamlet's Madness Real?. (2016). Shakespeare-online.com. Retrieved 6 November 2016, from http://www.shakespeare- online.com/plays/hamlet/antichamlet.html
  • Help, H. (2016). Explore the theme of madness throughout Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, using specific examples throughout the play. | eNotes. eNotes. Retrieved 6 November 2016, from http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/explore-theme-madness-throughout- hamlet-by-william-444272
  • Madness in Shakespeare. (2016). Web.uvic.ca. Retrieved 6 November 2016, from http://web.uvic.ca/~mbest1/ISShakespeare/Resources/WorldView/LearMadness.html
  • Shakespeare's Othello: Madness through Jealousy, the

Tragedy of Othello's Misguided Love for Desdemona. (2016). HubPages. Retrieved 6 November 2016, from http://hubpages.com/literature/Shakespeares-Othello-Madness-through-Jealousy-the- Tragedy-of-Othellos-Misguided-Love-for-Desdemona

  • SparkNotes: Macbeth: Important Quotations Explained. (2016). Sparknotes.com. Retrieved 6 November 2016, from http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/macbeth/quotes.html
  • SparkNotes: Othello: Act IV, scene i. (2016). Sparknotes.com. Retrieved 6 November 2016, from http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/othello/section7.rhtml
  • William Shakespeare Plays | Shakespeare Tragedies Comedies. (2016). Storyboard That. Retrieved 6 November 2016, from http://www.storyboardthat.com/articles/e/types- of-shakespearean-plays
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