How does Henry change through Henry V? Henry is presented as a multi-layered character, having many different sides to him. We experience his remarkable change from being an irresponsible, reckless prince who then witnesses his father’s passing, and discovers the intelligent, courageous side of him that was born to rule. The novel begins with him being reckless and time wasting, but he matures to become witty, patriotic and sarcastic, yet still compassionate- the ideal traits for a perfect king. Even his name expresses a lot about him.
This is clear when Edmund plots against his own father; Gloucester and half-brother; Edgar to get hold of his father’s property. All of the efforts he put to destroy the relationship between Gloucester and his legitimate son, Edgar reveals his jealous envious, vengeful, and ambitious character. He could not handle the injustice in the society and he wanted to change his position in his life. He was envious, jealous, and vengeful from his half- brother, Edgar. Envious because Edgar was the legitimate son of Gloucester that everyone in the society accepted him as who he is.
|Claudius and his True Intentions | | | |A brief essay on the motifs of Claudius from Hamlet | | | |3/2/2013 | | | |RamonJoseph Alaysa | Ramon Alaysa English 4AP Mrs. Quassy 3/2/13 Claudius and his True Intentions In the infamous play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Claudius, the manipulative and conniving new king, rises and falls due to his one fatal flaw, his thirst for power. In order to obtain this power he murdered his own brother the former ruler of Denmark, stepped onto the throne, and married his brother’s wife Gertrude. Although his goal has been achieved, his anxiety, the form of fear in losing his power, and his multiple dominating effects on characters of the play has led to his plot in killing Hamlet resulting with Claudius lying on his own death bed. Nevertheless, Claudius’ intentions were not of good will but of evil and in the end costs him is own life. Claudius's chief interest is in achieving and retaining power as the king of Denmark.
In his play King Henry IV Part I, Shakespeare explores three different interpretations of honor, and ultimately asserts the importance of a realistic honor. Hotspur is Shakespeare’s depiction of the most extreme interpretation of honor, and it is shown to be crippling. In the first scene that we meet Hotspur, one sees exactly how intense his honor is. He is incensed that the king has refused to ransom his cousin Mortimer, and believes that Henry IV is actively antagonizing him, which leads Hotspur to feel as though he had insulted the honor of the Percy family. He describes the importance of honor and declares that “… it were an easy leap / To pluck bright honor from the pale-faced moon,” (1.3.206-207) as though he really would be willing
/ Such men as he be never at heart’s ease / Whiles they behold a greater than themselves, / And therefore are they very dangerous.” This passage tells of Julius Caesar's fears he has of Cassius. Shakespeare uses Caesar's description of Cassius to show, that in both Caesar and Cassius, there are many characteristics of False Nobility. Both men were raised into nobility from their parents, therefore inheriting their social status as nobles. Using their elevated status as nobles, Cassius and Caesar then went on to exert their superiority over the common folk: through their patronizing of other people; and lack of passions. Their
My Last Duchess by Robert Browning is a dramatic monologue, which involves a Duke who perceives himself to be a great man, when in reality, the reader sees him as a man with poor morals. The reader suspects that the Duke sees himself in a more positive image than what he actually is perceived as. While the Duke sees himself as controlling and mistreated, the reader sees him as jealous and controlling. The Duke sees himself as powerful and mistreated this is shown within the dramatic monologue. “(since none puts by/ The curtain I have drawn for you, but I)” (9-10) The Duke reveals that he alone controls access to his late wife’s portrait.
When Macbeth is told that he is to be king, his ambition and greed arouse. The crown now becomes his deepest desire, and what seemed unrealistic and out of reach, is now within his grasp. These feelings are clearly expressed by Macbeth himself in the first Act: “The Prince of Cumberland – that is a step on which I must fall down or else o’erleap, for in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires; let not light see my black and deep desires.” Macbeth wishes with all his might to be king, and is even willing to evade at any cost every obstacle that lies in his way. Macbeth’s weak personality allows his wife, determined and manipulative, to convince him to do as she
The protagonist of Shakespeare’s Richard 111 incontrovertibly commits acts of evil throughout the play: the deaths of Clarence, Hastings, Rivers, and of course the -Princes. However, to judge Richard simply as a villain ignores the full complications of his character and the implications of the society in his actions. Richard lives in a time of moral anarchy and social upheaval; the war of the roses causes Richard to grow up in a world where morals and conscience are cast aside for wealth and power. Other than the greed Richard has for, and the enjoyment that Richard gets from chasing the throne, Richard’s main reason for the throne is because he cannot “play the lover”, and this is born so much from his deformity as the society around him. Ultimately it cannot be said that Richard is not a villain, but it would be ignorant and indeed naïve to suggest that his rise and fall were explicitly of his own inherently evil fashioning.
Macbeth Essay In the Shakespearian play Macbeth, Macbeth’s view of life changes radically throughout the play. In the beginning of the play, Macbeth’s character is brave, ambitious and loyal in his protection of the king. Before the second act, Macbeth’s ambition turns to greed and his greed leads to poor decisions and increasingly callous behaviour. In the end, Macbeth delivers his “Tomorrow and Tomorrow” speech having lost or killed everything in life that matters to him and reaching an all-time low stating that life it is not worth living. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth’s character is that of a courageous solider having great loyalty toward the king.
One can look at Macbeth’s actions as the play unravels and see that he is clearly headed down a path towards disaster resulting from one source: his ambition. It is his desire to become king that overpowers his good nature and pushes him to break all moral boundaries. Prior to his encounter with the three witches, Macbeth was a trustworthy man; one loyal to his King, wife and friends. But with the news of his future, a secret desire for power emerges and controls him as the play continues. For instance, in act 1, scene 7, Macbeth’s ambition has become to great for him to handle: “To prick the sides