William Shakespeare´s plays have the reputation of being
among the greatest in the English language and in Western literature .
Traditionally, the 38 plays are divided into the genres of tragedy, history, and comedy; they have been translated into
every major living language ,
in addition to being continually performed all around the world.
Many have linked these plays to Aristotle's precept about tragedy: that
the protagonist must be an admirable but flawed character, with the audience
able to understand and sympathize with the character. Certainly, all of
Shakespeare's tragic protagonists are capable of both good and evil.
Common Features of the Shakespeare Tragedies
The Shakespeare tragedies share a number of common features, as outlined
below:
The fatal flaw: Shakespeare’s tragic heroes are all
fundamentally flawed. It is this weakness that ultimately leads to their
downfall. The bigger they are, the harder they fall. The Shakespeare tragedies
often focus on the fall of a nobleman. By presenting the audience with a man
with excessive wealth or power, his eventual downfall fall is all the more
tragic.
External
pressures: Shakespeare’s tragic
heroes often fall victim to external pressures. Fate, evil spirits and
manipulative characters all play a hand in the hero’s downfall.
Tragedies:
![*](file:///C:/Users/daritzel/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.gif)
![*](file:///C:/Users/daritzel/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.gif)
![http://www.shakespeare-online.com/graphics/bullet00.gif](file:///C:/Users/daritzel/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image004.gif)
![*](file:///C:/Users/daritzel/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.gif)
![http://www.shakespeare-online.com/graphics/bullet00.gif](file:///C:/Users/daritzel/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image004.gif)
![http://www.shakespeare-online.com/graphics/bullet00.gif](file:///C:/Users/daritzel/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image004.gif)
![http://www.shakespeare-online.com/graphics/bullet00.gif](file:///C:/Users/daritzel/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image004.gif)
![http://www.shakespeare-online.com/graphics/bullet00.gif](file:///C:/Users/daritzel/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image004.gif)
![http://www.shakespeare-online.com/graphics/bullet00.gif](file:///C:/Users/daritzel/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image004.gif)
![http://www.shakespeare-online.com/graphics/bullet00.gif](file:///C:/Users/daritzel/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image004.gif)
![http://www.shakespeare-online.com/graphics/bullet00.gif](file:///C:/Users/daritzel/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image004.gif)
![http://www.shakespeare-online.com/graphics/bullet00.gif](file:///C:/Users/daritzel/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image004.gif)
Julius Caesar
This tragedy is believed to have been written in
1599. It portrays the conspiracy against the Roman dictator of the same name,
his assassination and its aftermath. It is one of several Roman plays that
Shakespeare wrote, based on true events from Roman history, which also include
“Coriolanus” and “Anthony and Cleopatra.” Although the title of the play is
“Julius Caesar,” Caesar is not the central character in its action; he appears
in only three scenes and is killed at the beginning of the third act. The
protagonist of the play is Marcus Brutus and the central psychological drama is
his struggle between the conflicting demands of honor, patriotism and
friendship. The play reflected the general anxiety of England over succession
of leadership. At the time of its creation and first performance, Queen Elizabeth,
a strong ruler, was elderly and had refused to name a successor, leading to
worries that a civil war similar to that of Rome might break out after her
death.
Summary: Julius Caesar has returned
from successful campaigns in Gaul(France)and Hispania(Spain)and has also
deposed his most powerful ruler Gnaius Pompey. He has also secured Egypt
thereby ensuring a constant grain supply for Rome and is now the most powerful
man in the city. Jealous of his success, a group of powerful conspirators led
by Cassius, Casca and Metellius Cimber plan to assassinate Caesar before he
secures his power fully. To do this they win over Marcus Brutus, Caesar's close
friend and ally by convincing him that it is in the best interests of the Roman
Republic that it remains a Republic; with the power in the hands of the
citizens and thus the senators; rather than an Empire with all the power in
Caesars hands. Being an idealist who idolizes the Republic, Brutus is swayed
and accedes to aid them in their plot and agrees to assassinate Caesar in the
Senate building, where traditionally the entrants are required to doff all
armour and remove weaponry. Meanwhile, Caesar is unaware of the grim fate
awaiting him and confident in his power and popularity among the people, he
pays little heed to the bad omens perceived by his wife Calpurnia and to the
warnings of a Soothsayer who bids him to 'Beware the Ides of March'. As Caesar
enters the Senate, the conspirators fall upon and assassinate him by means of
daggers concealed in their garments, Caesar dies after mortal blows to his body
and upon perceiving the treachery of Brutus whom he considered among his
closest friends. Next, Marcus Brutus speaks to the clamouring citizens who
demand to know of the cause of death of their beloved hero. Brutus tries and
explains to them how killing Caesar was necessary for the Republic and how his
ambition threatened its continuity. Brutus's speech is followed by Marc Antony,
another one of Caesar's closest friends who questions the motives of the
conspirators in public and moves them to grief over the assassination. He
subtly sways the crowd and by the end has the crowd mobilized against the
conspirators. The next acts describe the hunting down of the conspirators one
by one by Antony and Octavian: Caesar's nephew and successor culminating in the
Battle of Phillipi before which the ghost of Caesar appears and taunts Brutus.
The play ends after Antony pays tribute to the deceased Brutus, lauding him as
the noblest Roman of all because he alone had acted out of patriotism for the
Republic rather than personal motives.
Histories
The histories were those plays based on the lives of English kings.
Therefore they can be more accurately called the "English history
plays," a less common designation.
Shakespeare was living in the reign of Elizabeth I, the last monarch of
the house of Tudor, and his history plays are often regarded as Tudor
propaganda because they show the dangers of civil war and celebrate the
founders of the Tudor dynasty. In particular, Richard III depicts the last
member of the rival house of York as an evil monster , a depiction disputed by
many modern historians, while portraying the usurper, Henry VII in glowing
terms. Political bias is also clear in Henry VIII, which ends with an effusive
celebration of the birth of Elizabeth. However, Shakespeare's celebration of
Tudor order is less important in these plays than his presentation of the
spectacular decline of the medieval world. Moreover, some of Shakespeare's
histories—and notably Richard III—point out that this medieval world came to
its end when opportunism and machiavelism infiltrated its politics. By
nostalgically evoking the late Middle Ages, these plays described the political
and social evolution that had led to the actual methods of Tudor rule, so that
it is possible to consider history plays as a biased criticism of their own
country.
List of
Shakespeare histories:
![*](file:///C:/Users/daritzel/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.gif)
![http://www.shakespeare-online.com/graphics/bullet00.gif](file:///C:/Users/daritzel/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image004.gif)
![http://www.shakespeare-online.com/graphics/bullet00.gif](file:///C:/Users/daritzel/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image004.gif)
![http://www.shakespeare-online.com/graphics/bullet00.gif](file:///C:/Users/daritzel/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image004.gif)
![http://www.shakespeare-online.com/graphics/bullet00.gif](file:///C:/Users/daritzel/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image004.gif)
![http://www.shakespeare-online.com/graphics/bullet00.gif](file:///C:/Users/daritzel/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image004.gif)
![http://www.shakespeare-online.com/graphics/bullet00.gif](file:///C:/Users/daritzel/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image004.gif)
![http://www.shakespeare-online.com/graphics/bullet00.gif](file:///C:/Users/daritzel/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image004.gif)
![http://www.shakespeare-online.com/graphics/bullet00.gif](file:///C:/Users/daritzel/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image004.gif)
![http://www.shakespeare-online.com/graphics/bullet00.gif](file:///C:/Users/daritzel/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image004.gif)
The Summary of
King John
This drama is one of the great history themed plays by William
Shakespeare. John is the weak son of King Henry II and brother of the late King
Richard the Lion heart. The plot covers the conflicts between family members.
And war between France and England. The consequences of the disputes result in
murder. The son of Richard the Lion heart,
Arthur, dies. Constance kills herself and Queen Elinor also dies. King John is
poisoned. Cardinal Pandulph, the Pope's legate, forges a peace agreement
between England and France, and John's son Henry becomes the next King of
England.
Comedies
"Comedy", in its Elizabethan usage, had a very different
meaning from modern comedy. A Shakespearean comedy is one that has a happy
ending, usually involving marriages between the unmarried characters, and a
tone and style that is more light-hearted than Shakespeare's other plays.
Patterns in the comedies include movement to a "green world", both
internal and external conflicts. Shakespearean comedies tend to also include:
• A greater emphasis on
situations, than characters.
• A struggle of young
lovers to overcome difficulty.
• Separation and
re-unification.
• Deception among
characters.
• Disputes between
characters, often within a family
• Multiple, intertwining
plots.
• Use of all styles of
comedy (slapstick, puns, dry humor, earthy humor, witty banter, practical jokes).
• Happy Ending.
List of
Shakespeare comedies:
![*](file:///C:/Users/daritzel/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.gif)
![http://www.shakespeare-online.com/graphics/bullet00.gif](file:///C:/Users/daritzel/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image004.gif)
![http://www.shakespeare-online.com/graphics/bullet00.gif](file:///C:/Users/daritzel/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image004.gif)
![http://www.shakespeare-online.com/graphics/bullet00.gif](file:///C:/Users/daritzel/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image004.gif)
![http://www.shakespeare-online.com/graphics/bullet00.gif](file:///C:/Users/daritzel/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image004.gif)
![http://www.shakespeare-online.com/graphics/bullet00.gif](file:///C:/Users/daritzel/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image004.gif)
![http://www.shakespeare-online.com/graphics/bullet00.gif](file:///C:/Users/daritzel/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image004.gif)
![http://www.shakespeare-online.com/graphics/bullet00.gif](file:///C:/Users/daritzel/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image004.gif)
![http://www.shakespeare-online.com/graphics/bullet00.gif](file:///C:/Users/daritzel/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image004.gif)
![http://www.shakespeare-online.com/graphics/bullet00.gif](file:///C:/Users/daritzel/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image004.gif)
![http://www.shakespeare-online.com/graphics/bullet00.gif](file:///C:/Users/daritzel/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image004.gif)
![http://www.shakespeare-online.com/graphics/bullet00.gif](file:///C:/Users/daritzel/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image004.gif)
![http://www.shakespeare-online.com/graphics/bullet00.gif](file:///C:/Users/daritzel/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image004.gif)
![http://www.shakespeare-online.com/graphics/bullet00.gif](file:///C:/Users/daritzel/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image004.gif)
![http://www.shakespeare-online.com/graphics/bullet00.gif](file:///C:/Users/daritzel/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image004.gif)
![http://www.shakespeare-online.com/graphics/bullet00.gif](file:///C:/Users/daritzel/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image004.gif)
![http://www.shakespeare-online.com/graphics/bullet00.gif](file:///C:/Users/daritzel/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image004.gif)
The Merry Wives of
Windsor the play by William Shakespeare
Summary of the plot or story:
Falstaff first deceives the wives. The wives, Mr. Ford
and Mistress Quickly and then deceive Falstaff. Falstaff gets into trouble
because he is insincere, pretending to be loves truck when all he is really
interested in is money. The ladies turn the tables on Falstaff, and he gets his
just deserts.
It is believed that The Merry Wives of Windsor was
first performed between 1600 and 1601. In the Elizabethan era there was a huge
demand for new entertainment and The Merry Wives of Windsor would have been
produced immediately following the completion of the play.
The most important characters in the drama are:
Sir John Falstaff and Mistress Ford, Mistress Page
All characters and plot are purely fictitious.
No comments:
Post a Comment