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Love in Shakespeare's Romantic comedies
The different types of love shown in different Shakespeare plays
Love in Shakespeare's Romantic comedies
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Shakespeare’s play, A Winter’s Tale, has many magical and mystical elements throughout. A Winter’s Tale is true to form as one of Shakespeare’s romances. There are tragic scenes in the beginning with a romantic and joyful twist at the end. One such question raised in this play is whether Hermione, Queen of Sicily truly died and resurrected or was alive throughout the play.
It is hard to take a position on either fronts of this question because Shakespeare uses many mystical elements that play into the very question itself. Hermione, wife of Leontes King of Sicily, is accused by her beloved husband of adultery at the beginning of the play. Leontes is distraught and will not listen to anyone about the innocence of his wife. He orders his pregnant wife to be lead away to jail. While in jail Hermione gives birth to a daughter named Perdita, whom Leontes believes is the birth of the adulterous relationship that he accuses. Hermione and Leontes’ only son falls ill and soon dies, which is what is told to cause the death of Hermione. Her friend Paulina, the level-headed, hopeful and magica...
Shakespeare's play of “Romeo and Juliet” is well known, and leaves the audience asking: Who is to blame for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet? Most of the play’s characters closely related to Romeo and Juliet carry some responsibility, but there are three characters or groups who had the greatest influence on the story’s outcome. Friar Laurence could be blamed for marrying them and keeping it secret. Juliet’s nurse encouraged Romeo’s pursuit of Juliet, even helping Juliet sneak out to marry. Last and most deserving of blame, however, are the parents, Lord and Lady Capulet and Lord and Lady Montague. If not for the family feud and hatred, Romeo and Juliet would’ve lived, not tasting the bittersweetness of death.
In the story “ The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet “ the main characters get themselves in a pickle by falling in love knowing that their families are sworn enemies. Soon Romeo kills Juliet's cousin by accident, Juliet drinks a potion, some words get twisted and at the end both of the lovebirds end up dead. At the end of the story both families are devastated that both of their children pass away, but there are also many unanswered questions. The most asked question in the story is “ Who's to blame? ” and overall I believe everyone has a little part in influencing their death, but I believe that one person is to blame for most of this and I believe that it is the mother and father of Juliet.
Fate is responsible because of Shakespeare’s incorporation of allusions and foreshadowing, language, and the characters’ actions. Some people may indict a single character for the crime, such as Friar Laurence. Friar Laurence could have been held accountable because of the blunders in his plan for Juliet to fake her death. This plan was foolish, forcing a young child to drink a potion of an uncertain substance. “...And, if thou darest, I’ll give thee remedy.” (Document C) Friar Laurence was oblivious to the effects of his actions, resulting in a tragic occurrence. What others may not realize is that this event was foreordained to happen because of Fate. It was by simple chance that Juliet came to Frair for assistance in the first place. Therefore, Fate controlled all of the characters’ actions throughout the story and there would not have been atrocious affairs without the destiny for them to appear in the
Throughout the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, the two lovers make their own personal choices that impact both their lives in a very tragic way. While the readers are hoping that Romeo and Juliet will end up together, their impulsive behaviors lead to death. Juliet's impulsive behavior to fake her own death without clarification that Romeo had received the friar's letter caused Romeo to kill himself.
The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is a love story that has been read for hundreds of years and is still studied today. The story is about a young boy and a young girl who are in love with each other but both of their lives end in tragedy. Many of the play’s character’s actions affect the outcome of the play, but no character can be put to blame of the outcome. The one thing that these events can be credited to is fate. Fate did many things in the play, such as caused Romeo and Juliet to meet and it caused Romeo to believe Juliet was dead.
As a child did you ever dream of having a relationship like Romeo and Juliet? Believed to be one of the most romantic loved stories ever wrote, the question still arises as to whether it was really fate that killed them at the end, or their continuous bad choices throughout the play that ultimately ended in death? In Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, throughout the story they both made many detrimental decisions that have always been long debated as whether it was fate or just bad choices. Believing in fate has been deliberated for many years and to whether or not fate played a role in what ultimately happens to Romeo and Juliet or could their poor choices have contributed more than fate alone.
The character that carries the biggest blame is Fate. The first place Fate is mentioned is in the prologue in document A. “From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life” (DBQ: Project, 2013). This quote points the blame at fate because it implies that Romeo and Juliet's love was fatal and they were star-cross’d lovers. Fatal in Shakespeare's time meant that something was caused by fate and it also related to death. In document E, block one which is taken from Act V
Many can be blamed for the deaths of the young couple in the play Romeo and Juliet written by William Shakespeare. Romeo and Juliet are still young and very impulsive, they should not be blamed for their tragic end. They were driven by their love for each other. However, the influence of other characters combined with fate contributed to their untimely end. Furthermore, the lovers were suffering consequences from their destructive family feuding which kept them apart. Unfortunately for them, they were also receiving poor advices from both Friar Laurence and the Nurse despite their good intentions. Shakespeare wants the audience to see that the adults are to blame because of their foolish and childish actions. Romeo and Juliet’s disastrous ending was a combination of misleading advices, poor decisions, and tormenting situations from which there was no escape.
Romeo and Juliet are the most distinguishable characters to blame. They fell in “love” too quickly. Romeo saw Juliet, and then he immediately said “Did my heart love till now?” (I.IV.51) He proclaimed his love for Juliet moments after his first glimpse of her. Because of their hasty declaration of love, it’s difficult for anyone to believe it was true love. Some may argue that their willingness to take their own lives indicate that their feelings are real; however, Shakespeare’s use of time suggests otherwise. From their meeting scene until they decided to get married was in a span of about three hours. Their rash decision obliviously contributed to their deaths, but it wasn’t just them whose decisions pushed them to such drastic measures.
Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet in a way that showed many factors leading to their death, so it would be questionable to whether it was a specific role that was played to end both of their deaths, or multiple. Although, their families are rivals, Romeo and Juliet should be able to love each other without getting torn apart by their own family. First, I thought everyone was responsible for both Romeo and Juliet’s death, because Shakespeare wanted the audience to think that, but now I believed it was all led to Juliet.
The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet brings out the theme of fate and how people should not make irrational bad decisions without thinking about the outcome. Throughout Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the characters’ own impetuous and free will , not fate, bring about the deaths. Characters repeatedly used fate as an excuse by saying the series of events were completely out of their control. In contrast, everything could have been avoided if the characters just decided to think rationally. By having them blame fate, Shakespeare is asserting that people need to take responsibility for their own actions. They should realize it is their own choices that affect the future, not fate. People’s destinies can be changed, and it is not predetermined by an all-powerful
The idea of altering perception is a fundamental one in “The Winter’s Tale”, and art is seen as the way to make this alteration occur. While it is clear to the reader from the very beginning that Hermione is in fact innocent, Shakespeare introduces the reader to Leontes’s persistence to clearly show the beginnings of the conflict brewing. Despite Hermione’s clear innocence, Leontes has been written as a character so belligerent to ever see what is universally accepted as true in nature. The result is a conflict clear to the reader—a conflict of nature on its own merit, a question of truth, versus art, where perception is inherently flawed. Shakespeare creates a truly paranoid, conflicted character in Leontes, which works to make his objectivity, his desire to make truths out of falsities, even more apparent. Leontes speaks to the audience passionately upon his discovery, but his passion sounds so melodramatic, especially when we as readers a...
Fate is one reason why their love will be a tragedy. Fate plays a big role in Shakespeare’s story, and is mentioned many times throughout. The prologue reflects on fate, what’s to come of the lovers, and how their story will end. In the prologue, Shakespeare writes, “The son of one enemy and daughter of the other, victims of unfavorable fate, commit suicide. Their unfortunate pitiful deaths” (Prologue.5-10). This proves that nothing good will happen because both the families’ children end up dying at the end.
Relationships Between Men and Women in The Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare The Winter's Tale was written in 1611, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The play is one of Shakespeare's romance titles, though it could be more justly referred to as a 'tragi-comedy' due to the instances of accusation, death, repentance and reunion. To successfully study how Shakespeare presents relationships between men and women in The Winter's Tale there are four main relationships to examine - Hermione and Leontes, Paulina and Antigonus, Perdita and Florizel, and Leontes and Paulina.
William Shakespeare, born in 1594, is one of the greatest writers in literature. He dies in 1616 after completing many sonnets and plays. One of which is "A Midsummer Night’s Dream." They say that this play is the most purely romantic of Shakespeare’s comedies. The themes of the play are dreams and reality, love and magic. This extraordinary play is a play-with-in-a-play, which master writers only write successfully. Shakespeare proves here to be a master writer. Critics find it a task to explain the intricateness of the play, audiences find it very pleasing to read and watch. "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" is a comedy combining elements of love, fairies, magic, and dreams. This play is a comedy about five couples who suffer through love’s strange games and the evil behind the devious tricks. This play begins as Theseus, the Duke, is preparing to marry Hippolyta. He woos her with his sword. Hermia is in love with Lysander. Egeus, Hermia’s father, forbids the relationship with Lysander and orders her to marry Demetrius. Demetrius loves Hermia, but she does not love him. On the other hand, Helena is in love with Demetrius. To settle the confusion, Theseus decides that Hermia must marry Demetrius or become a nun. In retaliation to her father’s command, Hermia and Lysander run away together. Amidst all the problems in the human world, Titania and Oberon, the fairy queen and king, continually argue about their various relationships that they have taken part in. (Scott 336) Titania leaves Oberon as a result of the arguments. Oberon is hurt and wants revenge on Titania. So he tells Puck, Oberon’s servant, to put a magic flower juice on her eyelids while she is sleeping. This potion causes the victim to desperately in love with the first creature that they see. Oberon’s plan is carried out, but the potion is also placed on Lysander’s eyes. Lysander awakes to see Helena, who is aimlessly walking through the woods, and instantly falls in love with her. She thinks that he is making fun of her being in love with Demetrius, so she leaves and Lysander follows. This leaves Hermia to wake up alone. Puck now has journeyed to the area where several actors are rehearsing. He uses his magic to turn one of them into a donkey, in hopes that Titania will awake to see it.