Loyalty in Shakespeare's Two Gentleman of Verona
In Webster's Dictionary, loyalty is defined as the quality or state or an instance of being loyal and loyal is defined as an unswerving in allegiance. In Elizabethan England, loyalty was believed to be the ultimate test of a gentleman's character, that only those who passed this test could be considered the perfect Elizabethan gentleman. Shakespeare believed this too. In, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, loyalty is a very prevalent theme throughout the comedy.
In Act I, the friendship of Proteus and Valentine is quickly established. Valentine is leaving Verona to continue his education in the court of the Duke of Milan, leaving his friend behind. Proteus' passion for Julia has caused him
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Scene IV. Lines 69-74).In this Valentine has demonstrated his unconditional loyalty to Proteus. Unfortunately, loyalty does not seem to mean the same to Proteus. When he first sees Silvia, Proteus falls immediately in love. His dual disloyalty is revealed when he express, "She is [Silvia] fair; and so is Julia that I love, - That I did love, for now my love is thawed, Which, like a waxen image 'gainst a fire, Bears no impression of the thing it was. Methinks my zeal to Valentine is cold, And that I love him not as I was wont. O, but I love his lady too too much; And that's the reason I love him so little" (Act II. Scene IV. Lines 209-216).
Loyalty to others, for Proteus, seems to be little more than a shallow emotion, which he manipulates for the sake of appearances. Clearly, the only loyalty, which sufficiently motivates Proteus, is to himself. Unaware of Proteus' desire for Silvia, Valentine confides to him that because the Duke will not sanction their marriage, the two lovers have decided to elope. Rather than honor his friendship, Proteus chooses to inform the Duke of the
The dictionary defines the word loyalty as a strong feeling of support or allegiance. Schools across the nation stand every morning, put their hands on their hearts and pledge their loyalty to their country. The novel Ship Breaker is about a young boy named Nailer who works to break ships apart in a futuristic society. His mom died and his father, Richard, became an addict leaving them very poor and reliant on Nailer’s income. One day, Nailer is walking the beach with his friend Pima recovering supplies after a hurricane, there they find a massive clipper ship with one survivor inside. The girl inside, Nita, was fleeing capture from her family’s enemies and shipwrecked. Soon after, Richard Lopez and his crew found Nailer, Nita, and Pima and captured them, planning to sell Nita to her enemies. With a stroke of luck, the three manage to escape from Richard. Nailer and Nita fled to New Orleans with an unfaithful member of Lopez’s crew. While in Orleans, the trio finds work, allies, and an escape from Nita’s enemies. Then, Nita is captured by the enemy who has allied with Richard Lopez. In response, Nailer set out on the clipper ship of his dreams to find her, and unknowingly, to find himself. True loyalty doesn't come with any ties, it is unconditional and without hesitation. In Paolo Baciagalupi’s Science Fiction book Ship Breaker, use of symbolism and conflict tell the story of Nailer Lopez and his journey to find that loyalty doesn't just lie in family, it's who has your
Loyalty is a type of love that has to do with trust for a person or group. Shakespeare shows loyalty for the Capulets when he wrote,”Here comes two/ of the house of Montagues./ My naked weapon is out. Quarrel! I will back thee.”(1.1.30-32). This quote shows the loyalty the Capulets have for their household. This scene displays
Loyalty is trait that every person in the world should have. An example of loyalty is when
Shakespeare's good characters, in the play King Lear, are considered good because they are loyal even when they are disguised from or unrecognizable by those to whom they owe loyalty. In addition, their loyalty does not waver even when they are banished or mistreated by those to whom they are loyal. Cordelia, Edgar and Kent are all characters that exemplify this goodness and unwavering loyalty.
Loyalty is heroic. Loyalty is defined as faithfulness or devotion to a person, cause, obligations, or duties. In Homer's Odyssey one can see loyalty in many forms. Odysseus is loyal to the gods whom he realized held his life in their hands. Penelope was loyal to Odysseus, while trying not to offend the rude suitors. Telemachus was loyal to a father whom he only knew from the stories he had been told. Time and time again we see loyalty in the strongest sense, complete fidelity in time of uncertainty.
What is loyalty to you? Is it keeping a secret that could possibly destroy a relationship? In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, there are many different ideas as to what loyalty is interpreted. Readers can explore ideas and connections based on family, love and friendship.
As I’ve said before, loyalty had both positive and negative outcomes. Romeo and Juliet might not have met if it weren’t for Romeo’s friends urging him to gatecrash the ball. As he was loyal he did not argue, however he probably had an ulterior motive: to catch a glimpse of Rosaline, who he thought he was in love with. If Juliet’s Nurse had not been devoted to Juliet, she would have told the Capulet’s which could have resulted in Romeo and Juliet’s end a lot sooner. On the other hand, you could argue that loyalty lead to both of their deaths, with the reasoning that had Romeo not been so attached to Mercutio he would not have killed Tybalt when Tybalt fatally injured Mercutio. If he had not slain Tybalt, he would not have been banned from Verona, and in turn they might have thought of a different plan than the one they eventually chose which was wrought with complications and took both of their lives. If Juliet had not trusted Friar Laurence so greatly, she might have thought of a more foolproof
An example of loyalty can be directly taken from William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”. However, Shakespeare’s play showed that loyalty can be taken to extremes and result in conflict and tragedy. The biggest case of this “extreme loyalty” was brought out in Romeo’s suicide after thinking that Juliet was dead. As Juliet was so loyal to Romeo, she faked her own death to get out of marrying Paris. Even though she was somewhat forced into that position, it was still an irrational act. Romeo makes it worse by committing suicide on seeing what he thought was Juliet’s dead body. His loyalty was so extreme that he wanted to join her in death. While pressure from both their families drove them to their final deadly decisions, it was their extreme, irrational loyalty to each other that caused the tragic deaths of both Romeo and Juliet. Although to the reader it might seem absolutely illogical to commit suicide to get out of a marriage in order to
Loyalty has always been seen as a commendable trait, not only in human beings but in any creature, all through history. Soldiers have admired their enemies for their loyalty to fallen comrades, thousands of stories have been written about the intense loyalty animals portray for their owners, and even companies in the workforce look for loyalty in potential employees. Loyalty has been seen as something that distinguishes the trustworthy from the untrustworthy, and something that sets the great apart from the good. The archetypal hero commonly has a cause, whether it be another person or personal beliefs, that they are loyal to, and this unwavering loyalty is what makes them appear so highly in the eyes of the reader. Loyalty can be found in practically any work of literature, but within The Torah, The Odyssey, and Inanna is the idea that true loyalty, although a rare attribute, is the key to a successful relationship.
Loyalty is perhaps the most important characteristic a person can possess. Loyalty is defined by Google as “giving or showing firm and constant support or allegiance to a person or institution.” In the books Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by Stone , this definition is exploited both in a positive and negative way. In Romeo and Juliet loyalty is a characteristic that both characters acquire along their journey and it has an ennobling effect on them. While in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight , Sir Gawain is displayed as being a loyal man, but then he becomes perfidious because of his selfish way and it cost him his respect and nobleness.
Thematic Statement 1- Loyalty and love for one’s family inspires boldness to defend such things. “That was below your heart. Can you guess what I’m doing?” “Cutting out my heart.” “You took mine when I was ten; I want yours now. We are lovers of justice, you and I- what could be more just than that?” The Count screamed one final time and fell dead of fear. (Goldman 349) After his father was wrongfully killed, Inigo’s love for his father and desire to defend his honor led him to want to defeat the six-fingered man. This quote shows us that people can be driven by love to do things to protect or avenge the ones we love. Inigo’s whole life revolved around the idea of conquering the man who killed his father. In the end we know that Inigo defeated the six-fingered man and by that he showed his father that he did not fail him.
Loyalty is the act of showing support and guidance to someone a person cares for. Shakespeare wrote the play King Lear with many occasions of disloyalty. The betrayal between characters most likely had significancte into England during in that time period. There were many events of tragedy that was corresponding to King Lear. In addition to the tragedy, very few characters stayed loyal to the people who were supposed to the most. Most of the survivors of the tragic King Lear were the only characters who showed loyalty to a main character of the story. Therefore, Shakespeare incorporated the use of death of disloyal characters to show the lack of dependability and greed of power of many in the
Fisher, Jerilyn, and Ellen S. Silber. "Reading Between the Lines: Connecting with Gertrude and Ophelia in William Shakespeare's Hamlet." Women in Literature: Reading through the Lens of
Forsaking sacred doctrines and immersing the individual self into the corruption of the political realm saw the Elizabethan period discard all tradition loyalties allowing a usurper to assume the throne. While Shakespeare’s illegitimate king henry IV of England exhibits great tactility and exuberance in ensuring that war no longer “shall daub [England’s] lips with her own children blood”, the transpiration of internal uncertainty becomes inaugurated in the supreme reign of the celestial predecessors, House Plantagenet and the doctrine of the divine right. Henry’s poetically versed soliloquy elaborates on the anxieties surrounding the stability and legitimacy of his kingly position egotistically coveting for “A son that is the theme of Honour’s
Loyalty is being faithful to commitments and obligations. On the other hand there are many ways to display loyalty. One can be loyal to a person, political party, country, religion, or cause. The list is seemingly endless. William Shakespeare’s play King Lear exhibits many forms of loyalty, but one that shines particularly is loyalty to ones selfish needs. However there is a limit to loyalty which most over look. The characters Cordelia, the emotional King Lear, and the vile Edmund all manifest their loyalty to their own self, and all meet their demise. The limit to loyalty is death.