Throughout Act III, the audience is presented with numerous different forms of madness. ... In Act III, scene 2, Lear is calling to the gods ("blow winds, crack your cheeks ."), beckoning them to wreck havoc on the world and punish humanity for their cruelty. ... All of this is what drives Lear to the brink of insanity, with the storm being a physical rendition of what is going on inside his head. ... Arguably, he is probably the wisest character in the play with a very strong connection to the King. ... King Lear is the tale of a world gone completely mad. ...

• Word Count: 1691
• Approx Pages: 7

So Shakespeare packed his works with popular beliefs about the supernatural. ... The passage of years replaced it with seriousness and later with pessimism. ... The Ghost in Hamlet is an excellent example of the skill with which Shakespeare had in forming his supernatural characters with Elizabethan beliefs. ... They possess most of the powers that Elizabethans believed they possessed including the ability to raise storms and command the winds (Dayan 309). ... All authority is taken form the spirits in The Tempest and the power to harm is gone. ...

• Word Count: 1725
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Nor do we find him forward to be sounded, but with a crafty madness, keeps aloof-(41). The Prince of Denmark does confess there is something amiss, but his old friends do not yet see that the thing gone awry is his father's death and not his mind. Hamlet though, has become disillusioned with mankind and slowly slips into the clutches of madness. ... Dr Samuel Johnson in an article of critical thinking notes, "Ophelia is treated with wanton cruelty"(2). ... Wolfgang VonGoethe writes this of his maddening, "How he winds, turns, agonizes, advances, and recoils, ever reminded, ever remi...

• Word Count: 1514
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Therefore be gone Without our grace, our love, our benison" (Act I, Sc I, Ln 265-267). ... Fortunately, Edgar revealed Goneril's evil intents to Albany with a note outlining her deceitful plans. Upon realization, Albany demonstrated his dismay by saying "O Goneril, You are not worth the dust which the rude wind Blows in your face" (Act IV, Sc II, Ln 29-31). ... The same ideology can be held for people in life with power as well. If people become understand those around them, seek advice, and think with a clear mind, they can avoid being blinded, and carry their power wit...

• Word Count: 1503
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School