The Importance Of Secondary Characters In Shakespeare's As You Like It

Disguise is one of Shakespeare's favorite ploys found in varying degrees in each of the mentioned works. Through it he alters the identity of an individual (frequently female character, though not always) and uses this disguise to heighten irony, develop theme, and enhance subtle comic innuendo. In As You Like It, Shakespeare develops specific ironies where the dialogue takes on new meaning when the true identity of the speaker (or hearer) is placed over the dialogue. By having characters in disguise, Shakespeare opens the door for all kinds of comic twists from the shepherdess in love with the "shepherd" Ganymede who is really a girl (Rosalind) to Orlando sharing feelings of love to Ganymede who is really Orlando's love Rosalind in disguise. The difficulty in maintaining a disguise or hidden identity is shown in the desire to say and experience things in the one identity than can only be accomplished by the alter identity which compounds the verbal comedy in the mistaken meanings of what is being said. In Measure for Measure, the Duke uses disguise and mistaken identity to reveal the truth about Angelo's character. At the same time this disguise provides comic moments as Lucio speaks of the Duke to the Duke while unaware of the Duke's identity.

Love is an important theme in most of Shakespeare’s play, including in Romeo and Juliet because love is a stronger force than all the animosity and forces of fate in Romeo and Juliet. In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare’s play, Shakespeare explores Romeo’s change in attitude to love between Rosaline and Juliet. In Act 1 Scene 1 Shakespeare introduces us to Romeo’s passionate desire towards Rosaline through the use of oxymoron, monologues and vivid imagery. In contrast, in Act 2 Scene 2, when Romeo is addressing Juliet, his language shifts through the use of light, religious and mythical imagery to reflect his newly found romantic love to Juliet.

Many Elizabethan bedsides were haunted from “the terrors of the night”. Back then their ghosts were nothing like the pasty blobs we call ghosts now. Theirs were quite gruesome. Ghostly visitations were claimed to have been very unpleasant. Not only this, but they claimed it cast them into a state of spiritual confusion.

At the beginning of the play, Romeo is infatuated with Rosaline. When Montague’s nephew, Benvolio, comes home from a fight with the Capulets’ servants, his aunt Lady Montague tells him about how her son Romeo, has been in a melancholic mood, walking alone in the gardens. Benvolio promises Lady Montague that he would find out what is troubling his cousin, Romeo. Not one who is interested in fighting, Romeo is preoccupied by what he thinks is love and begins to confide in Benvolio that he is madly in love

Characters in this play have experience love in different ways; starting with Claudio that falls in love with Hero from the first time he sees her, and decided to get married. “In mine eye she is the sweetest lady that ever I looked on,” (1,1,168) it would seem that the love Claudio has for Hero is a result of first attraction on looks, however, Claudio’s character seems to be immature and inexperienced. Later in the play, when Claudio is suspicious of her, he instantly forgets the love he had for her, and that love turned to a full of hatred. On the other hand, Hero’s willingness to forgive Claudio is just as disturbing as Claudio’s rejection of her. She does not fight for her pride after what Claudio did to her but instead marries him willingly. “And when I lived, I was your other wife, And when you loved, you were my other husband,” (62, 5, 4) this line shows how forgiving and innocent Hero is as a character.

In the play, As You Like It written by William Shakespeare, as well as the short story “Let Me Promise You” by Morley Callaghan, both playwright, and author are trying to convey the idea of a strong emotional bond between certain characters. In Shakespeare’s play, we see how Celia and Rosalind, two cousins, have been inseparable ever since a young age and will do anything for one another. In Callaghan’s short story, Alice has strong feelings towards George, waits restlessly by the window, and despite their differences, she still tries to please him. The theme that these two works show is unconditional love. The playwright and author are trying to illustrate what one will do for another even though the situation and conditions might be though.

Inherent within humanity is the need to belong, in which an individual must accept one another in order to achieve a greater sense of connectedness and identity. This is firstly evident in Shakespeare's As You Like It whereby the ideas of love are used to reveal how relationships are fundamental to one's sense of belonging. Act 1 Scene 3 explores belonging and not belonging through love and nature as it establishes the plot at the mark of separation from court and country by Rosalind and Celia breaking the sense of belonging to place. Celia and Rosalind convey a strong bond evident in Celia’s plea to her father, Duke Frederick, to keep Rosalind at court rather than banishing her to the Forest of Arden. Conventions of love are evident

The use of minor characters in Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, enhances the audience’s understanding and development of the plot. With examples of minor characters such as Ross, Malcolm and the Witches it can be seen how their interactions with the main characters can ultimately influence certain aspects within the plot. Not only do they provide a commentary for the audience but are also able to stir up conflict among the other characters.

Shakespeare thus portrays Romeo and his love as an infatuation. This infatuation is evident in how instantaneously Romeo falls out of love with Rosaline and into love with Juliet. At one stage, Rosaline was the “precious treasure of his eyesight”, yet Romeo’s embodiment of perfection was, a few scenes later, his notion of defectiveness. This therefore reveals to the audience the instantaneous and reckless path of the two lovers, as well as the fickleness of adolescent “love”, diminishing at the sight of

As both characters seem to feel love and adoration between each other, attention on   Romeos abrupt love and obsession with Rosaline poses the subject of Romeos possible lack

Six deaths; one illiterate servant. In every situation, whether literally or metaphorically, some things can hold the power to keep it all together, or conversely, make it all fall to bits. Some things, be they scheming pastors or gawky cousins, can have as much power in a story as anything else; be the X factor. Moreover, a detail so seemingly minor as a servant not being able to read an invitation is also a detail contributing to “Romeo and Juliet”’s status as one of the greatest tragedies ever written. The said detail proving the secondary characters in William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” are just as important to the overall story and tragic ending. Characters in the play whose actions are normally kept subdued or used as devices to increase tension or add relief have some of the biggest roles in the story, progress the plot through sustaining the Romeo-Capulet feud, and add substance and structure to the play by exemplifying the main themes of the story at times more so than Romeo and Juliet themselves. Tragic endings may not have tragic beginnings, or even clear beginnings for that matter, and the power of secondary characters is often undermined when it comes to putting the pieces of the story together.

What would a play be if the main character were to talk on and on without giving other characters time to speak or what would a play be if the main character had no enemies or friends? The obvious answer is boring, so Shakespeare as a playwright, writing to make money, added secondary characters to develop Hamlet as a character, give the audience a break, entertain the audience, and provide external conflict. The secondary characters allow us to know the context of the character's actions and to better connect with the character.

To act is to breath life into a story that is otherwise a corpse, filled with the paradox of potential energy. Also known as one of the most difficult crafts to master, acting is many things, but overall the skill of adapting words into a visual experience that audiences then digest and carry with them as they continue in their own lives. When a non-actor thinks about acting, one may assume it is an easy job, but the conscious psychological work (skilled) actors put forth in their performances is no easy feat, especially if they are able to come across so authentically that viewers assume acting is easy. However, acting is difficult, and even more difficult when playing a role that was adapted from a novel, as scholar Dudley Andrew asserts in his chapter “Adaptation” in James Naremore’s book “Film Adaptation.” He points out that because the novel has a large fan base before it is adapted, there is also a group of people waiting to scrutinize the film once made. This, in turn, grants the novel a greater sense of superiority over the adaptation, because viewers- fans of the novel- assume that the film will be worse.

“The course of true love never did run smooth,” comments Lysander of love’s complications in an exchange with Hermia (Shakespeare I.i.136). Although the play A Midsummer Night’s Dream certainly deals with the difficulty of romance, it is not considered a true love story like Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare, as he unfolds the story, intentionally distances the audience from the emotions of the characters so he can caricature the anguish and burdens endured by the lovers. Through his masterful use of figurative language, Shakespeare examines the theme of the capricious and irrational nature of love.

Gender identity and its roles in 17th and 19th century England were regarded as rigid fact — definite and unyielding. The adherence to these social protocols was of utmost importance. Masculinity was viewed as being dominant, assertive, and bold, whereas femininity involved beauty, obedience, and chastity. The theatre became a method of challenging this rigid social concept. Both William Shakespeare’s As You Like It and Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest explore these public values through their characters. Wilde and Shakespeare’s use of gender reversals satirize the traditions of social order, marriage, and gender responsibilities at the time, thereby revealing that gender is not absolute.