Act I : Scene I

It is noteworthy that Claudius observes merrymaking to interpellate the people of the country, which is his ISA so that the people cannot perceive the vulnerability of the state and the criminality of the usurper. However, in reply to Horatio, Hamlet says, “it is a custom More honor'd in the breach than the observance” (1.4.15-16).

During the fourteenth century, the control of the church weakened, and the church officials were no longer seen as nobility. Despite being poor, the parson in The Canterbury Tales displayed a hardworking and caring demeanor. Chaucer further explains the parson’s character by mentioning, “that first he wroughte, and afterward he taught” (499). The parson’s involvement in society can be mirrored by not only modern day preachers and church leaders, but by teachers as well. Teachers take the knowledge from their education and convey this wisdom onto students, much like the parson. The qualities of today’s working class can be seen through Chaucer’s depiction of the plowman. Indicating the importance and humility of the plowman’s work, Chaucer establishes his significance in society. Our farmers, factory workers, and construction workers show the same persistent work ethic as the plowman, which exemplifies that they are the foundation of the American society. Where class and social status does not determine acceptability, the Canterbury Chapel is common ground for all the pilgrims to pray and make what they want out of the experience. A

However, the plebeians possess a more fickle nature. Their fallacy is evident as they are easily manipulated to change their opinion of Coriolanus. Hence, they portray misleading, false notions to Coriolanus when agreeing to “let him be consul” (Act 2 Scene 3 Line 145). There is also an establishment of a “mob mentality”, whereby the plebeians are influenced to adopt this fickle nature as a whole. This emphasizes the fallacy of the plebeians.

When the play opens, the audience witnesses Coriolanus, or Caius Martius, as he was known before Corioles, being very dismissive to the people of Rome. He goes so far as to insult the Plebians the moment he steps into the scene calling them “rogues” and says that they must “make themselves scabs”. One can definitely see that he is not very pleasant to anyone. Coriolanus admits that it would be better to “hang ‘em” than to fulfil the Plebians wishes for more grain.

"But, as it were, in sort or limitation, To keep with you at meals, comfort your bed, /And talk to you sometimes? Dwell I but in the suburbs/Of your good pleasure? If it be no more, /Portia is Brutus's harlot, not his wife," (II, I, 305-310).

There are different viewpoints on the way slaves were treated in Imperial Rome. Caenis in the story is first portrayed as a faithful and respectful slave, claiming "I know how to keep my mouth shut, any sensible slave does!" (Davies, p.17) This restricted form of life is backed up by this quote by a primary

In The Merchant of Venice and As You Like It, cross-dressing is central to both the complication and the resolution of the plots. It is strongly evident in these plays that in an Elizabethan, as well as a modern context, the concept of gender is not a definitive way to determine place in society. By analysing how early and modern culture define gender, how this then applies to the two plays and then relating it all back to a contemporary influence illustrates how there still is blurred gender lines evident in society.

The play starts with two roman officials, Murellus and Flavius, who order many commoners in the middle of the day to return back to work. Many of these people are in the streets celebrating Caesar's triumph against Pompey. Murellus reminds the commoners, a cobbler, in particular, of the time when they used to cheer for Pompey’s victorious returns from battle, however, due to recent differences in opinion,

In the opening scenes, Shakespeare displays to his audience the affluent society of Illyria, where aristocracy is its major component, festivity is the social norm, and leisure is the way of life. Orsino and Olivia, elegant and wealthy members of the nobility, are at the center of people’s discussion—they seek love; Sir Toby and Sir Andrew, the rich knights ranked high in the social hierarchy, “care not for good life” (II.iii.34)—they seek pleasure. However, the Illyrian society of aristocratic customs and sense of licence is established upon the laborious work of those who are excluded from the indulgence in festivity, and whose financial ability and social status do not afford this social liberation.

As Paul Strohm has stated, the issue of falling between the classes as an Esquire en Service was clearly a powerful force in Chaucer's life. A lack of classification in a society based almost entirely on the concept of rigid class structure is an alien concept in feudal society, and yet, as Strohm states, "Chaucer's stratum of gentlepersons 'en service' eludes confident characterization" (13).

For far too long the wily merchants from Verktus and Westgate have plundered the small independent cities, towns, and farm villages scattered about the lush moorlands of their goods. Some merchants would force the farmers to sell their goods at very low prices

Not everyone strives to become part of something that they are not, but those who do must be very careful about their methods. Hamlet and Love’s Labor’s Lost have characters that view their political and social statuses differently. Almost unsurprisingly, the same people who strive unsuccessfully to attain membership into something they are not are often taken advantage of by their higher class friends. Scholarship about friendship in the early modern period explains how people of a higher class abuse the trusting friendship of their subordinates, usually for their own self-serving benefit. However, in these plays there appears two different kinds of reactions to this manipulation, which provokes questions about Shakespeare’s intent and what he truly believes about effective manipulation of social status. In Hamlet, Claudius’ friendship with Polonius, who is generally accepted to be an old fool, aligns with common cultural conventions. However, the friendship in Love’s Labor’s Lost between Don Adriano de Armado and his young pageboy Moth, “shifts away from the inherited code [of friendship]” (Lochman 11). Though the friendships between these two groups of men contain unique components, one similarity lies in their respective successful or misguided use of words as a means to elevate their social class within their friendship. Shakespeare manipulates the way characters use their words in order to highlight attempts at either striving to belong in or criticizing a higher

This passage, taken from William Shakespeare’s play Antony and Cleopatra, shows Octavius Caesar discussing with Lepidus about what they should do about Antony whom Caesar thinks at this moment in the play is currently frolicking with Cleopatra, the pharaoh of Egypt, instead of doing his duties. The passage also contains accounts from Caesar about the man Antony once was as well as his vivid opinion on Antony’s current state. This essay will analyse the language, form and the tone of Caesar the passage as well as examining its significance in relation to the rest of the play.

Written during the 1st century A.D., the Satyricon is often referred to as the first Roman novel. The novel has only survived for us in fragments, and for this reason it is impossible for the modern reader to reconstruct its plot completely. However, the Satyricon serves as an invaluable source of information about the daily life and language of the Roman populace. Petronius deliberately reproduces plebeian language and slang, offering a rare insight into everyday Roman life, which polished and refined works leave absent. Petronius focuses on the large social gap between the freed slaves and scholars of the time and how superstition can show that gap. The main scene that superstition is shown is during Trimalchio’s Feast.

Roman playwright Plautus’s comedic play “Brothers Menaechmus” depicts the tale of a brother in search of his lost twin and the chaos that ensues before he is able to locate his sibling. To fully be able to analyze and understand his works, one must first research the history of Titus Maccius Plautus and recognize the origin from whence all his plays come. Upon closer inspection, a rather interesting dichotomy emerges in Plautus’s work – that of the clever ‘bad’ slave vs. the comparably dumb ‘good’ slave. One would find it very difficult to read Plautus without also noticing the overarching theme of low social status slaves, who – through wit and adroitness – manage to usurp their masters and manipulate those over them.