The play consists of a series of treacheries and conspiracies against authority. At the center of this power struggle is Prospero, who is the protagonist. He is driven by vengeance after he is deposed by his brother Antonio and he wants to get his throne back. A deeper analysis of the play reveals that Prospero uses his magical powers to manipulate and control others, benefit only himself and achieve his goals. At first glance of the play Prospero can be seen as a character who uses his power for the benefit of other characters.
“The real persuaders are our appetites, our fears, and above all our vanity. The skillful propagandist stirs and coaches the internal persuaders” (Hoffer 1). Persuasion not only comes from outside forces but also our inner voices, whether it be greed, vanity, or honor, and a skilled persuader will use those traits to twist people to their will. In the 15th century play, Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare, Cassius and the other manipulative conspirators con Brutus into helping them in their plot to destroy Caesar. In William Shakespeare’s Renaissance drama Julius Caesar, the conspirators persuade Brutus to assassinate Caesar.
Laura Niemi Dr. Tait ENG 450 21 October, 2012 Othello The analysis of this play doesn’t begin with Othello, but it does start with the fact that Iago is the evil person portrayed here. He plays on Othello’s thoughts and emotions which makes Othello absolutely insane. He uses the passion that Roderigo has for Desdemona as a dagger to play on his unending nerves. He also uses Cassio’s character of love as well as drink against the lieutenant, along with Desdemona’s chastity against her. His plan of action was almost complete if he was able to murder Cassio.
Hamlet starts to act as a madman to avenge the death of his father by his uncle. Ophelia on the other hand, goes mad after the death of her father. Shakespeare uses both these characters to affect the main plot in the play and their relationships with other characters. Many people debate whether Hamlet’s madness is real or fake. Shakespeare incorporated the theme of madness to serve a motive for Hamlet in order to deceive others.
Iago, the perpetrator in the play, misuses his position and power to satisfy his own needs, leading to the imbalance of society and his own demise. The audience begins to uncover his motives, through Shakespeare’s use of language, and writing techniques, which questions the ethical basis of authoritative figures, which leads their depravity. Through Shakespeare’s play, he explores the traditional belief that the exploitation of power for personal gain leads to the destruction of the community and the individual. This concept has been seen throughout history and continues to keep Shakespeare relevant to modern audiences. “Those in possession of absolute power can not only prophesy and make their prophecies come true, but they can also lie and make their lies come true.” (Hoffer, E, 2009) Power as its own entity is unsoiled but when a man is given the chance to hold great power, his innermost desires impinge on his decisions and judgments, causing him to become engrossed with his own supremacy.
The deception comes in the form of fake madness. There is aim, there is purpose. Deception appears like a tool and is part of the overall strategy of the deceiver. Furthermore, deception can be found in the staging of The Murder of Gonzago which is Hamlet’s attempt to catch out Claudius in his guilt. What is curious for this particular play is that in
This statement, supported with ambitious desires and a thirst for power, the Scottish thane planned to kill the king to become one. Shakespeare uses a variety of soliloquies to show the changing thoughts of Macbeth. The “dagger” soliloquy centralises the change in his rational thinking and changes his perspective towards the king. Macbeth is a man who logically thinks of everything that he does. In this speech however, we see an insight in Macbeth’s mind which is confused and distorted as he gathers his thoughts on whether to kill the king.
Caliban is like the Evil Angel. Early in the play, he incites Prospero to seek revenge on Alonso for his part in the conspiracy to usurp his title. As the play progresses, Caliban becomes more like Mephistophilis. It becomes apparent Caliban is used as a slave by Prospero, just as after Faustus makes his deal with Lucifer, Mephistophilis fulfills all of Faustus' wishes, whims, and desires. Wagner could be the foundation for
In the second soliloquy, Iago continues with his sinister scheming as plots how Cassio’s flirtatious personality could be employed to get back at Othello. Iago deceives Othello, without any solid proof, to believe that Emilia is unfaithful. Othello becomes entangled in Iago’s deception to the extent that he does not listen to Desdemona when she denies the allegations (Shakespeare and Honigmann 42). Iago can be credited for his diabolical prowess that allows him to confuse the minds of other characters. To make matter worse, Iago embezzles funds belonging to his own friends without the smallest amount of guilt.
• In Act 2 Scene 3, after the brawl has happened between Cassio, Roderigo and Montano, Iago is put in a position of power when he is asked to speak about what happened to cause this brawl, he pretends as though it hurts him to tell of what Cassio did but in reality we know that he is lying and is manipulating Othello. • After the brawl, Iago talks to Cassio and advises him to go and ask for Desdemonas help to get his position back, Iago says: Our generals wife is now