Vanity, which is one of the seven deadly sins, is a product of evil, which is quite prominent in the play. ... Turned away by both Regan and Goneril, Lear rages against a storm, and bellows "I am a man more sinned against than sinning" (Act III, scene 2, 56-57). ... Blindness in King Lear is the inability to see past deception and see people for the way they truly are. ... Gloucester was unable to see past Edmunds schemes, and a mere letter was enough to convince him that Edgar was plotting against him, "O villain, villain! ... Shakespeare may have also been alluding to the need for socia...

• Word Count: 1402
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

Although Lear is perceived as "a man more sinned against than sinning" (p.62), the treatment of the main characters encourages the reader to reflect on the presence or lack of justice in this world. ... King Lear's sin was that he disrupted this chain of being by relinquishing his throne. ... For these "sins" he is punished when Goneril and Reagan turn on him and Cordelia dies. ... However, Holloway (1961) suggests that Lear suffers more for his "sins" than seems reasonable. Holloway sums up this concept as follows: "the world can be to mankind, and has been to Lear, a rack: a sc...

• Word Count: 1734
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

He then goes on to compare him with his own son's capacity, Yea, there thou makest me sad and makest me sin In envy that my Lord Northumberland Should be the father to so blest a son, A son who is the theme of honour's tongue; (I.1.78-81) His son Hal, as we know from Richard II, has been spending most of his time in taverns accompanied by a group of common scoundrels. ... (III.2.18-21) Not only does he say he is changed and promises the king to be more himself, he makes a vow to seek out Hotspur and redeem himself for his past actions. ...

• Word Count: 1335
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

When Iago learns he has been discovered, he turns to real coward ness and stabs his own wife, committing the same sin as Othello. ... This makes the story a great model for comparison of the treatment of women in the present time and in the past time when the story takes place. ...

• Word Count: 1363
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

Therefore it can be said that in Shakespearean society, since evilness was a product of the innate human sin of greed, then evilness itself was also inherent to a person's nature. ... In the field of psychology, there is a hypothesis known as the "Nature Versus Nurture" theory (Berger p53) that theorizes human's behavior as a combination of a person's past experiences, the natural traits they inherit and the environment in which a person interacts with others. ...

• Word Count: 1501
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

"Lady Macbeth is the embodiment of evil and we are not meant to feel any sympathy for her."" Discuss this statement with reference to the play. The play "Macbeth" was written by William Shakespeare in the Jacobean era. Judging by the plays themes of Scottish monarchy, loyalty to the crown and...

• Word Count: 2244
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School