William Shakespeare wrote his play, Romeo and Juliet, to identify conflicts in the good and evils will we find in ourselves. Romeo and Juliet undergo challenges that test their undying love. These challenges take the form of poisons figuratively and literally. This constant battering of opposing forces causes the characters to be justifiably weary. As in a “The Boy who Cried Wolf” scenario, the characters of Romeo and Juliet have a reason to be feeling wary.
For instance, in the beginning of the play, the chorus admires and supports Oedipus but as the story progresses, they begin to question him. “Haughtiness and the high hand of disdain tempt and outrage God’s holy law; and any mortal who dares hold no immortal power in awe will be caught up in a net of pain.” (Sophocles 46) This perfectly expresses the moment when Oedipus begins to doubt the gods and the predetermined fates, the chorus rapidly queries him seeing as they are very religious and believing of the gods and for their leader not to be, ignites uncertainty within them. Moreover, after Oedipus’ fate is exposed, the chorus quickly changes its attitude once again. “I can not even look at you, poor ruined one, and i would speak, question, ponder, if I were able. No.
Similarly, in Romeo and Juliet, the audience is aware that Juliet has taken the sleeping potion but Romeo isn’t, and they also know that the letter Romeo receives isn 't the letter the Friar sent to him, rather a fraudulent one. The climax scene is also the death scene in Romeo and Juliet. Another scene in Romeo and Juliet is the Prologue as the audience know from the beginning that the protagonists’ fate is set to death; “A pair of star-cross 'd lovers take their life; Whose misadventur 'd piteous overthrows; Doth, with their death, bury their parents’ strife” (1. Prologue). The use of dramatic irony makes the audience feel more involved in the story even though they can predict the ending, the drama comes from how the ending is done and at what
The most evident demonstration of such intention in Oedipus can be found in the words of the chorus: “The oracles concerning Laius / are old and dim and men regard them not. / Apollo is nowhere clear in honor; God’s service / perishes” (Sophocles 1030-1033). These words reveal the concern that if the prophecy about Oedipus had turned false (or if people thought it was false), it would have undermined Greeks’ respect and fear of gods and their prophets. This is why Oedipus had to become a victim of fate in the story. Other proofs of this motivation being important for the play can be found in various dismissing remarks about prophecies the protagonist and Jocasta make: “Ha!
I heard the owl scream and the crickets cry”, which suggests the signs of anxiety. It also demonstrates how uneasy she is about the murder, and the sounds she is hearing are the inauspicious signs of punishment and death. Their relationship reaches a turning point when Lady Macbeth says, “My hands are of your colour, but I shame, To wear a heart so white” – Lady Macbeth is criticising her husband’s lack of manliness and composure. Prior to the murder of Duncan, Macbeth is a very affectionate and caring husband; however, towards the end of the play he transfigures into a tyrant, showing no sorrow, misery or emotion for her death, even though Macbeth is more than aware that she’d become a childish, yet ambitious
In many people’s eyes, it is seen that fate is something that one can not escape. In Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles, Oedipus gives a speech to the citizens of Thebes, about the murder of their previous leader, Laius. And in this speech, he explains the hardship that the murderer will have to eventually face. In Oedipus’s speech from Oedipus Rex, Sophocles uses the literary device of dramatic irony to develop the central idea that fate is destined to happen, and can possibly bring more intensified consequences when avoided. If one tries to escape their fate, the conflicts that occur can be more severe than they were supposed to be.
These traits include the hero’s tragic flaw, his position in society and his realization that his virtues had caused his demise. The tragic hero in Antigone is Creon, because he is a mature leader of society whose virtues (or flaws) cause his downfall. Creon is obdurate as he does not heed advice given from anyone during the majority of the play, he then finally follows the counsel that the Chorus Leader gives him near the end of the play. This is apparent during the argument between Haemon and Creon as Haemon tries to persuade him to listen to his subjects and change his opinions on the matter of Polyneices’ burial as well as the incarceration of Antigone. Creon disagrees strongly and becomes inflamed towards Haemon.
The repetition of king’s show how arrogant Ozymandias was, yet when compared to the crumbling ruins of his statue, the poet undermines him and shows that he did not last forever as he thought he would. The audience of the era twinkle’s on the effects it can have on people and how long it can last before the eternal truth (religion) conquers it. The modern audience zoom in on the irony of “Ozymandias” which cuts much deeper as the audience realizes that the forces of mortality and mutability, described brilliantly in the concluding lines, will erode and destroy all our
Although this is literally about of the murder of Caesar and Cassius’s power hunger, it hides the message of the plan to murder Queen Elizabeth (which was what was happening while Shakespeare was writing this play). This adds to the tone of the scene, along with the setting of a thunderstorm. The dual monologues show how passionate Cassius is about killing Caesar and gaining power that a sense of anger and slight desperation takes hold. Casca’s anxiety also adds to the uneasiness of the entire situation. Therefore, in entirety, the tone of the scene is stressed anger with hints of irony (as Cassius is trying to get Casca and Brutus on his side through angry monologues.
The Chorus acts as the narrator of the play, as well as the voice of the people of Thebes. In the beginning of the play, the Chorus declare their support for Creon's law regarding the dispoal of Antigone's brother, Polyneices' body. Initially, the Chorus seems weak, putting up with King Creon's ruthless and tyrannous commands. They also do not in any way contradict or question Creon's behavior, or show support to Antigone after she is punished by Creon. They even go as far as to accuse her of being inclined to trouble like her father after they discover she buried her brother, Polyneices.