Transcendence Of Corruption In Human Nature By William Shakespeare

The main plot in the play “A Man For All Seasons” by Robert Bolt is corruption, more specifically political corruption. While the play focuses heavily on the social demise, and moral strength of the character Thomas More. It also covers the inverse process with other characters, such as; Richard Rich, Thomas Cromwell, and the king of England Henry VIII. In the play Thomas More stands as a beacon of selfhood and virtue, while the other three men used manipulation and disloyalty, to gain wealth and power, no matter what the consequences may be.

People’s actions result from their nature and their situation in life. Through hardships and triumphs, and person’s morality may change to adapt to their new reality. Through the filter of their morality, people may make different choices depending upon their situation in life. In the 17th century tragedy Macbeth, William Shakespeare uses time to demonstrate how circumstances influence people’s actions. Life’s circumstances can contribute to the corruptness or the virtue of a person’s heart.

In the story Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, the “star-crossed” lovers took their life in an unfortunate series of events. Romeo, Juliet, and Friar Lawrence were all involved with the death of Romeo and Juliet. Romeo was impetuous and did not try to find the cause of Juliet’s “death”. Friar Lawrence was also unknowing of the future, but still gave an extremely important message, one that would define life and death, into the someone else’s hands. Certain actions, such as finding out about the Capulet party was fate. Although many events were caused by the lovers’ immaturity and impulsiveness, fate was the major cause for their deaths.

Shakespeare's Approach Toward Modern Societal Flaws Shakespeare’s As You Like It coveys many societal issues that the modern world continues to face. The play reveals these societal flaws and how they affected the life of those living in the Elizabethan Era. Throughout this play we are presented with the issues within dominants institutions such as political, cultural and sexual, problems- while looking at the Elizabethan Era, transcendentalism and Gender roles, that we deal with in the modern world both similarly or perhaps slightly different.

Prince Hamlet is not insane. Though at times his actions make one question whether or not that statement is true, Hamlet is only trying to cope with the harsh reality of his father’s ghost appearing to him, asking for him to seek revenge on his behalf. With so much being asked of Hamlet it’s reasonable why he feels and expresses himself the way he does. Everyone copes with harsh situations differently and its human nature to respond exactly how Hamlet has, by finding the miniscule amount of hope within a tragedy. If Hamlet was truly insane his friends and family members would have detected this way before any family incident had occurred not after his date of death. Although everyone in this play is truly convinced of this, he is simply pretending in order to successfully revenge his father’s death and execute his elaborate plans.

Many authors have had a lasting impact because of their literary work. During the Elizabethan time period, William Shakespeare began his remarkable career as a playwright changing/impacting blank. William Shakespeare’s life and work transcends time because of their relative relatability.

In all situations, blame points its finger at many people. In most cases however, only one person possesses true responsibility. In Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, teenagers Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, the son and daughter of long-time rival families fall desperately in love with each other at first sight. By fate, Romeo gets exiled from his hometown Verona, and Juliet’s father forces her to marry someone other than her husband Romeo just after their secret marriage. Once Romeo moves to Mantua, a miscommunication causes both lovers to take their lives, ending the tragic story as well as the family feud. The blame for the deaths of star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet, cannot be traced back to one person; however, the blame for the tragedy traces back to three major figures.

In The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, the unfortunate events, and ultimately the untimely deaths of the main characters are caused by the feuding of the Montagues and the Capulets. They are at fault because they are constantly fighting with each other both physically and verbally. The feud prevents Romeo from asking Juliet to marry him with their parent’s knowledge. Their parents’ fighting also encouraged Romeo and Juliet to do some pretty risky things so that they can still see each other!

Lying and deception have been present throughout all of human history. People lie about who they are, what they think, etc. Over the centuries the reasons for lying have stayed the same. When lying and deceiving people have always looked for some kind of reward, it can be money, fame or simply to avoid conflict. However, the methods we use to lie have changed with the creation of the internet. Even though, Shakespeare’s time period had very different views on lying that those today, his book, The Taming of the Shrews, was written to teach us that even though lying is an integral part of ourselves, we must not use it to take advantage of others.

The Break with Rome was a process that began around the early 1500’s and is still in play to this day. Many historians studying the topic believe that the causes leading up to the Break with Rome were too complex and that they are of a nature that cannot be listed if you wanted to comprehensively analyze the ultimate cause of the Break with Rome. Thus leading to the causes being described as more of a process through a series of causes and not so much an ’event’. There are many debated causes of the Break between historians that argue over their validity and importance as to whether or not the cause was actually real and had big enough motives behind it to lead on to such a bigger event. The main causes that have been debated over for century’s are: the inability of Catherine of Aragon to provide a male Heir for King Henry that he so desperately desired to have, the love obsession with Anne Boleyn that historians believe subsequently led on to Henry wanting to annul his marriage with Catherine with means such as a Leviticus testament from the bible, Pope Clement VII’s refusal to grant the annulment for Henry and the fact that Charles V, Catherine’s nephew may have had a role in it and Henry’s increasing want and desire in his conquest for power and money. All of these causes are believed by many historians to have played a vital role in the process that led to the Break with Rome in 1533. Following the Break there were many consequences as a result, which a few still

The basic plotline of Hamlet and The Glass Menagerie reflect the corruption induced by the absence of fathers, while at the same time revealing the corruption that is a result of separation from the Heavenly Father. In both works, the central conflict is caused by a father who is no longer present, and the means of his absence point to the original cause of human corruption in the Garden of Eden. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the conflict arises when King Hamlet’s brother Claudius murders him while he is asleep in a garden. Notably, Claudius birthed the narrative’s corruption by pouring poison into King Hamlet’s ear, similar to how biblical corruption was brought about through Eve’s ear that heard the temptation of the serpent.

Philippians 2:4 says, “Do no merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others” (New American Standard Bible). God warns His people to turn from their selfish ways and be more concerned with the well being of others instead of only being concerned with one’s self. However, selfishness has been a sin that the human race has struggled with since the beginning of time. Shakespeare shows this age-old struggle with many characters in Othello. Racism is a way of life that can be used negatively to tear people down. Although race is not something that can be controlled, or managed throughout history it has been a characteristic used to harshly label people and used to make others feel inferior because of the color of their skin. Racism is used prevalently in Othello. Some characters in Othello driven by their selfish, sinful nature employ different types of racist language in an effort to degrade the main character and appear superior while others remain confident in themselves and refrain from racist behavior.

In William Shakespeare’s play King Lear, similar to most of his pieces, he manages to build an intricate storyline, weaving in and out of the good and bad of human nature. Shakespeare also highlights the development of identity in results to hardship and utilizes characters, such as Lear the protagonist to create emphasis. Lear, who is ridden with a naïve and un-insightful personality plunges himself head first into an avoidable misfortune leads him to the loss of his kingship, his relationship with his daughters and eventually his mind. However, through the endurance of these adverse experiences and burdening inner conflict he gains a new perspective as well as a new-found wisdom that transforms his identity for the better.

A tragic flaw is a deficiency in a person that brings them sorrow and misery. A high percentage of individuals have some type of tragic flaw that earns them misery, wether it be a relatively small issue like being a tad lazy, or something bigger like showing open contempt for others. Both these flaws are a detriment to individuals and will hinder them in their lives. In the play, Hamlet there are a number of characters that have tragic flaws, including Gertrude and her inability to be loyal and Polonius and his meddling in affairs of others. The character with a tragic flaw that is portrayed most vividly by William Shakespeare is Hamlet. Hamlet’s tragic flaw is his tendency to overthink scenarios and decisions, while procrastinating any real action, which leads in part to his eventual murder.

Throughout William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, themes of rottenness and corruption are shown as the state of Denmark deteriorates when King Hamlet is murdered by his brother, Claudius. Hamlet Jr. knows of Claudius’ rotten deed, and spends a majority of the play conspiring to kill Claudius. In one of Hamlet’s many soliloquies, he states, “Tis an unweeded garden / That grows to seed”(i.ii.139). The “unweeded garden” begins with Claudius, and eventually corrupts Denmark as a country. Hamlet attempts to weed the growing garden of corruption to restore Denmark’s glory, but ultimately becomes a weed himself due to the nefarious acts he commits.