Our hero walks on the cliff's edge of sanity and insanity through out his single-minded task of bittersweet revenge, drifting closer to the edge with every turn of the page. ... How does one forgive a mother for killing the father? ... Dr Samuel Johnson in an article of critical thinking notes, "Ophelia is treated with wanton cruelty"(2). ... How easily the pious King Claudius dismisses the death of his brother. ... Wolfgang VonGoethe writes this of his maddening, "How he winds, turns, agonizes, advances, and recoils, ever reminded, ever reminding himself, and at last almost loses hi...

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

S Bethell suggests how 'Antony has a foot in both worlds.' ... The audience understand how 'bewitched' Antony is by Cleopatra. ... R.Terry discusses how honour held both multiple and significant meaning during the renaissance. Terry writes, 'Renaissance men had to cope with the old and medieval code of honour and the tensions of a new one.' ... We can see by the end of Act 2 Antony is struggling with the typical Roman view of honour and is beginning to lose the respect of his soldiers and fellow triumvir, he would rather drink. ...

• Word Count: 1678
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography

To understand how far Shakespeare exceeded other writers, a comparison of their supernatural characters is necessary. ... At least six or seven years pass before he writes Hamlet. ... Even then, it couldn't insist on his carrying out the task. ... Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player, And then is heard no more: it is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing (Shakespeare v. 2. 19-28). ... Shakespeare's state of mind is best expressed at this point when Prospero reveals how man has at last attained dominion over the forces of evil (Schill...

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

He is prevented from this drastic step only by a faith which teaches him that God has 'fix'd/ His canon 'gainst self-slaughter' (I. ii. 131-2). ... Hamlet realizes that his strength and opportunity are of no avail until he feels morally right in following through on his vengeful task. ... Unable to see the god in things, Hamlet views the, world, God's own creation, as merely a place of corruption: 'How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable, / Seem to me all the uses of tis world!' ... He writes to Horatio of his dramatic escape from the voyage to...

• Word Count: 1879
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School