The Standards and Values by which the Court of Malfi Lives Essay

Throughout the history of the world, honor has been an important part of life. In literature, as well, honor plays an important role in many plots and the development of almost any character. Shakespeare’s play Much Ado About Nothing is no exception. In this comedy about love and marriage, honor is revealed as the primary reason for many of the actions taken by several different characters. When Claudio breaks off his wedding with Hero, he does it because he believes she is not chastised as she claims to be and in being such, she would dishonor him as well as her father if the marriage were to proceed as planned. The play is an accurate depiction of the honor code and the different standards for men and women of the time in regards to

This derives from the play as a recount of historical events with a known outcome and a medium for propaganda in support of the monarchy, an avid determinist. Nevertheless, the aforementioned tension is prevalent throughout and epitomised by the paradoxical pun ‘I am determined to prove a villain’. Uttered with a tone of poise and self-assuredness, the term ‘determined’ implies a conscious statement of purpose and a preordained villainy. Thus Richard is aligned with the stock character of the Vice, an instrument of predestination, and the innovative Machiavel, an advocator of humanism. Despite this, the ultimate decline of Richard is consequential of the reign of determinism. The directly antithetic correctio ‘I am a villain. Yet I lie, I am not’ yields an implicit self-doubt and acknowledgment of an inability to fulfil his humanist purpose. Providentialism thus displays precedence over self-determination. This is in direct contrast to Pacino’s docudrama, composed for a secular modern American audience disengaged with traditional notions of determinism. A greatly diminished and altered portrayal of Margaret, the primary instrument of determinism in the play, is expressive of this. Pacino devalues her curses by reducing her to a ‘sort of ghost of the past’. A frenzied montage of informative discourse and the activity of the play complete with

Shakespeare’s play, The Merchant of Venice, is a complex play which forces the reader to really delve into some of the contradictory values revealed. He uses the characterisation of women in the play- Jessica, Portia and Nerissa- to show reveal some contradictory values at the time, such as the idea of independence and freedom in women. When we study Portia’s character, we can see both values in her- in her speech and in her actions. We are also able to see independence in Nerissa, though her role in the play is small- and in Jessica we are consistently shown the value of freedom- in her speech, and in her actions in running away.

The opinions of Antonio and Leonato differ by many standards of their own. This is happening during the wedding of Hero and Claudio and it happens after the shaming. An example of this is when Leonato said “Hence from her, Let her die”(Shakespeare 70). When Leonato says this he is at a wedding for his daughter hero, but has become enraged when he hears false

Honor is an entity that is synonymous with dignity, respect, and admiration. Life itself can be seen as a great pursuit of honor. However, although human kind is enjoined in this pursuit, there exists considerable variability among perceptions of how it is protected and gained. Shakespeare explores these perceptions as he brings our attention to the idealistic and exuberant world of the courtier. Being at the apex of the social pyramid, courtiers abide by a stringent structure of ideologies and philosophies whose foundation rests on acting with honor and sprezzatura. Whereas honor is bestowed upon and achieved, sprezzatura, a form of social elegance and grace, is a skill to be mastered by the courtier. As Shakespeare intricately weaves the dynamic characters of Claudio, Benedick, and Hero in Much ado About Nothing, he allows the reader to obtain a closer examination of the struggle of the courtier in interpreting honor and exuberating sprezzatura.

In the play Othello there are many different lesson that we can learn as a reader of this play. Throughout the play, we see many tricks being pulled by Iago who tricks Othello into believing that Desdemona has cheated on him. Othello then becomes insanely jealous, and we see him kill Desdemona who is innocent of the crime she has been accused of. We then see Othello overcome with remorse and regret, and he kills himself. Throughout this play, there are many themes that are universal and timeless. Racism, gender stereotypes, jealousy, and marriage are a few themes that we encounter while reading this play. However, there is one lesson that I would like to point out that comes from this play. The lesson deals with a person’s reputation and how their reputation can sometimes not be a reflection of who they really are. In Othello the idea of reputation comes to the reader in Act 2 Scene 3 when Iago gets Cassio drunk and Roderigo provokes him into a fight. When the noise from the fight forces Othello out of his bed, Cassio loses his Lieutenant job and has hit the point of rock bottom. Cassio says,” Reputation, reputation, reputation! Oh, I have lost my/ reputation! I have lost the immortal part of myself, and what/ remains is bestial. My reputation, Iago, my reputation!” (O, II, III, 241-243). Cassio is devastated because his reputation is his lifeline. He relies on his name to guide his military career and his aspiring political position. Cassio feels like he has lost himself,

Because Hurston writes about the abuse Delia has suffered, the reader is sympathetic to her situation and does not take issue with her action of threatening Sykes. Sykes also tells Delia, “ ‘Ah been hatin’ you fuh years’ ” (298). Hurston does not disclose why Sykes despises Delia, but she reveals that he is also physically abusive to his wife, creating additional sympathy for Delia. This is Delia’s first rebellion against Sykes’ tyranny, and the first Hurston illustrates that Delia may have a dark side that conflicts with her goodness.

Yet the atmosphere of the play may render Malvolio’s aspirations less unreasonable than they initially seem. The feast of Twelfth Night, from which the play takes its name, was a time when social hierarchies were turned upside down. That same spirit is alive in Illyria: indeed, Malvolio’s antagonist, Maria, is able to increase her social standing by marrying Sir Toby. But it seems that Maria’s success may be due to her willingness to accept and promote the anarchy that Sir Toby and the others embrace. This Twelfth Night spirit, then, seems to pass by Malvolio, who doesn’t wholeheartedly embrace the upending of order and decorum but rather wants to blur class lines for himself alone.

King Lear follows the domestic troubles of two families and their subsidiary workers over the course of a few days in eighth century Britain. Throughout the play King Lear and his fellow nobleman, Gloucester, make several poor judgements based on tradition that send their familial relations in a downward spiral. In the paper Natural Justice and King Lear, Paul M. Shupack analyzes this phenomena and states “So long as people could persuade themselves that tradition defined what was natural and just, and so long as kings saw their role was to enforce traditional rights, the tension between law and morals remained hidden”(Shupack 67). Here Shupack recognizes that eighth century noblemen like Lear and Gloucester tended to approach justice traditionally. In the context

However, even with the abundance of educational, legal, and social issues, the bias in the courtroom was one of the legal issues found in the play, by creating a court that is filled with members who have a clear bias towards one side of the argument, the other side is misjudged and has a lesser chance of

I think this is a particularly interesting point since it is the Duchess who defies the conventions of nobility as well. I completely agree with you that she behaves the most nobly of the characters, treating her servants and the lower class well, forgiving her executioners, and retaining her dignity despite the psychological torture her brother inflicts on her. However, she also chooses to defy the expectations of her class when she marries Antonio and starts a family with him. Not only does she defy her class expectations but she also directly defies her brothers' will, and therefore defies society's expectation of her to do whatever her male family members command. I think the Duchess exemplifies what it truly means to be noble, which is

Here, readers interpret that appearance is synonymous to laws and natural urges to reality. On a seeming level, there are several instances throughout the play in which appearances deny the truth of a situation. This is encapsulated in the concept of dramatic irony. Ironic cases of mistaken identity appear in the play, such as the Duke's disguise and Lucio's unintentional denouncement of him as emphasizing that “cucullus non facit monachum…” to his face. Meaning that “a hood does not make a monk”, Isabella's switch with Mariana to seduce Angelo, and Angelo's mistaking the pirate's head for Claudio's. In each case, characters misunderstand a situation based on its appearances. However, there are deeper contradictions between appearance and reality. One illustration is the hypocritical Do-As-I-say-not-as-I- do approach that Angelo demonstrates. This is the obnoxious side of dissimulation, which allows the least virtuous characters to seem the most upstanding. The opposite scenario, however, is found in Isabella's personal dilemma: in order to “…redeem…” her brother Claudio, she must appear to disregard her religious vows and “…[yield] up [her] body to [Angelo’s]

      Within Measure for Measure, the character of Angelo can be seen as a case study of will over moral nature. Angelo, a deputy, is given the Dukes authority to act in his behalf while the Duke is away. The story unfolds as Angelo uses the agency he's been given in ways that many men in authoritative positions have done. It is interesting to follow his line of thought and to realize that this is a man who is not unlike many others. The main conflict between Isabella and Angelo is a contemporary problem. Measure for Measure is a unique opportunity to investigate the personality types of the characters involved in the conflict, and the study of these complex characters can give meaningful insights into

It is worthwhile to take a close look at the marriage and trial plots in The Merchant of Venice. The antagonists of the respective plots have similar goals; they seek access to power and privilege. However, the types of power they seek is very different. The methods they use of gaining power are also differ. Bassanio succeeds with his intent, but Shylock fails. Focusing on the before mentioned plots, one may draw some conclusions concerning the reasons of success and failure in this play.

First performed in 1613, ‘The Duchess of Malfi’ is a timeless and tragic piece of literature which explores both the conflict of good and evil within Jacobean society and the underlying corruption which inhabited the courts and government of James I. Webster particularly uses the setting of this Machiavellian Italian court to offer a direct political and social commentary on the abuse of power within the era and the hypocrisy of the church. Heavily influenced by Webster’s skeptical and forward-thinking views on religion, ‘The Duchess of Malfi’ also explores the inequalities within society through the Duchess and the misogynistic world in which she dwells. Characterisation and symbolism plays a critical role in execution of expressing Webster’s views; focusing on the bleak idea of evil being an innate force within the world and good being something hidden.