Question 1: What is the
relationship between
Shakespearean Tragedy and
truth?
• Shakespearean tragedies are realistic in most books, with only a
few that don’t seem to fit in with reality. One book that doesn’t
quite fit this theme is Macbeth due to the presence of witches and
magical prophecies and ghosts.
•The actions of the characters in the books is very realistic. The
characters usually stick to common morals and act according to
their personality. The actions of Macbeth, Othello, and Romeo all
are realistic and are believable. (Shakespeare, Macbeth)
Question 2: What truths are best
communicated through the
Shakespearean Tragedy genre?
•
One truth that is shown in Shakespearean tragedies are that all actions have consequences,
weather good or bad. This truth is evident in Macbeth, when Macbeth murders the king of
Scotland and Macduff’s family, he must endure the consequences of his actions, which happens
to be death at the vengeful hands of Malcolm, the kings son. (Shakespeare, Macbeth)
•
Another truth is that love can be the main cause in violence and death. This truth is shown in
Romeo and Juliet when Romeo, enraged by the death of his friend, kills Tybalt. It is also shown
towards the ending of the book when Romeo kills himself when he learns of Juliet's death. His
love for Mercrutio was so strong that he killed his brother in law. His love for Juliet was so strong
that he killed himself to spare him of a life without his one true love. (Shakespeare, Romeo and
Juliet)
Question 3: How do various
Shakespearean tragedies' plots relate to
each other?
•
Many of Shakespeare's tragedies introduce the main character, have the main
character initiate some action that is immoral or seen by the other characters in the
book as immoral, then the rest of the book is usually filled with that character
enduring the consequences.
•
This is shown in Romeo and Juliet when Romeo falls in love with Juliet and the two
do things behind their parents backs. Since the two families are feuding this is seen
as immoral or wrong due to the circumstances. Eventually Juliet and Romeo die due
to problems created by a plan to continue seeing each other. (Shakespeare, Romeo
and Juliet)
•
This is also shown in Macbeth. Macbeth kills the King of Scotland so that he can
become the king and fulfill the witches prophecy, which is immoral. He then goes on
other killings to insure that he becomes the king of Scotland. He hires thugs to kill
Banquo and his son. Macduff’s castle is seized and his family are killed. Macduff and
the late kings son vow revenge and ultimately kill Macbeth. (Shakespeare, Macbeth)
Question 4:How do various
Shakespearean tragedies' characters
relate to real world people?
Shakespeare’s Macbeth-Real world Macbeth:
Shakespeare’s Macbeth killed the king of Scotland, leads a tyrannous rule, and is eventually killed by
Malcolm, the late Scottish king’s son. He is disliked by his nobles and is more useful on the
battlefield than on the throne. (Shakespeare Appreciated, W.F. Howes LTD)
The real Macbeth, King of Scotland, did actually kill and succeed the King of Scotland. While he did
rule Scotland well, imposing law and Christianity, he was eventually killed by the late king’s son
Malcolm. (BBC History, Macbeth, King of Scotland)
Othello Racism:
See question 5
Question 5: How do various
Shakespearean characters’ actions relate
to the actions of real world people?
• See question four
• During the 1960’s, Racism was common throughout the
south. Many whites were prejudiced against African
Americans. Many African Americans and others were
killed due to this hatred.
• This racism is evident in Shakespeare’s Othello. Iago
despises “the moor” and seeks revenge not only due to
his racism, but also because Othello “stole” his job from
Iago. (Shakespeare, Othello)
• Iago then creates an elaborate plan to destroy Othello
and others are dragged into it and end up dying.
Question: How does Shakespeare use
setting to show the tragic nature of the
situations in his books?
•
Many of Shakespeare's books use weather to show the tragic nature of a
situation.
•
One example of Shakespeare using the setting and environment to show
the tragic nature of a situation is in Macbeth. During the night of King
Duncan's murder, it is dark and stormy. The same also is shown in the
prophecy of the witches, which is greeted by thunder and lightning.
(Shakespeare, Macbeth)
•
Another example of weather is the weather that is present with the death of
Julius Caesar in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. (Shakespeare, Julius
Caesar)
Question 7: What literary elements does
Shakespeare use to demonstrate the
tragic nature of the situations throughout
his books.
•
Shakespeare uses dramatic irony and foreshadowing to show how tragic a
situation is or is going to be. One example of this is in Othello, when Iago
says, “For daws to peck at: I am not what I am.” (Shakespeare, Othello,
Scene 1 Act 1) This shows that Iago is the antagonist in the book and uses
a false façade to implement his plan. Only the reader knows of Iago’s
actions and his side in the story.
•
Shakespeare's’ use of dramatic irony is also used in Romeo and Juliet.
When Friar John is late on bringing Romeo the news of Juliet's death, which
happens to be fake. Romeo does not know this, and therefore he kills
himself. (Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare@MIT.org)
Question 8: How do the authors of Shakespearean
Literature (Mainly William Shakespeare) hook
readers?
• William Shakespeare is one of the few authors that can
fully show and explain the range of human emotion.
Many of his passages and quotes from his books are still
famous today. (Why Study Shakespeare, Shakespeare
online)
• Many quotes that appear to be cliché were actually
brought about by Shakespeare's genius. Some
examples include “It’s Greek to me” and “It’s high time”
and also “To be in a pickle” or “Tounge tied” which are all
from Shakespeare. (The Story of English, 145)
Works cited
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Annotated Works Consulted
Appignanesi, Richard, Ryuta Osada, and William Shakespeare. Othello . New York: Amulet Books, 2009. Print. Being the original book, I believe this
will be one of my most reliable sources. It will be a good source for quotes and plot synopsis.
Charles, Billy Joel ft. Ray. "SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides." SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb.
2011. <http://www.sparknotes.com/>. This website will be mainly used to review motifs and symbols in various Shakespearean books. I believe it is a
decently reliable source.
"Encyclopedia - Britannica Online Encyclopedia." Encyclopedia - Britannica Online Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2011.
<http://www.britannica.com/>. This website will be used to find plot twists and irony throughout Othello and Macbeth. Being an encyclopedia, I believe it
will be a creditable source.
Fewins, Duncan. "Shakespeare Words “ How to Understand Shakespeare Words." Shakespeare – Free Shakespeare Resources for Students and
Teachers. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2011. <http://shakespeare.about.com/od/teachingshakespeare/a/shakespeare_words.htm>. This website will be used
to decipher Shakespeare’s various quotes within his books. I have looked at many sites of the same manner and this one seems to be the most reliable.
"Macbeth: Entire Play ." The Complete Works of William Shakespeare . N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2011. <http://shakespeare.mit.edu/macbeth/full.html>.
This is the play format of Macbeth. This will be a helpful source by showing who said what. This being from MIT, I believe it is a creditable source.
"Othello: Entire Play ." The Complete Works of William Shakespeare . N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2011. <http://shakespeare.mit.edu/othello/full.html>. This
will be used to find who said what in Othello. Being from MIT, it should be reliable.
"Othello (work by Shakespeare) -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia." Encyclopedia - Britannica Online Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2011.
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/434636/Othello>. This website will be used to find symbols throughout Othello. Being an encyclopedia, I
believe this is a creditable source.
"Romeo and Juliet: Entire Play ." The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2011.
<http://shakespeare.mit.edu/romeo_juliet/full.html>. This will be used to find who said what in Romeo and Juliet. Being from MIT, it should be reliable.
"Shakespeare Online." Shakespeare Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2011. <http://www.shakespeare-online.com/>. This website will be used to tie
together all of the books I am using as resources. This website has many relations that I can cite in my research and is reliable.
Shakespeare, William, and Eugene M. Waith. The tragedy of Macbeth; . [Rev. ed. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1954. Print. Being the original
book, I believe this will be one of my most reliable sources for quotes and plot on the book Macbeth.
Shakespeare, William, and Richard Hosley. The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet; . [Rev. ed. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1954. Print. Being the
original book,
I believe this will be one of my most reliable sources. I will use this for quotes and plot for Romeo and Juliet.
"The Complete Works of William Shakespeare ." The Complete Works of William Shakespeare . N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2011.
<http://shakespeare.mit.edu/>. This website will be used to tie together various works of Shakespeare. Being from MIT, it should be reliable as a
source.
"The Tragedies of William Shakespeare." Thinkquest. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2011. <library.thinkquest.org/17467/>. This website will be used to
compare and contrast Shakespeare’s various novels. This is a decently creditable website.
"WorldCat Genres." WorldCat.org: The World's Largest Library Catalog. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2011. <http://www.worldcat.org/genres/>. This website
was provided by the teacher and was used to narrow my options in genres. I believe it is creditable because it was provided by the teacher.
MLA formatting by BibMe.org.