His intention in lampooning was for his audience to enjoy the irony and sarcasm of his work while criticizing the foolish view of the upper class. During the time play’s release, many critics wrote about their opinions of the play. Some critics saw his work as a fantasy, others said it was burlesque, but there were also critics who understood Wilde’s purpose for writing this play (Kohl 272). For instance, Norbert Kohl said, “He is made to laugh at the hollow superficiality hidden behind the mask of earnestness, and to mock the rich facade…” (Kohl 272). Khol clearly understood that Wilde’s purpose of writing The Importance of Being Earnest was to publicly and comically criticize the rich.
Despite the several flaws found through John Proctor's role in Arthur Miller's, "The Crucible" my analysis of Proctor's character reasons him to be a good man in the end. Within the play, John Proctor analyzes his past actions, realizing that his affair with Abigail Williams, deeply wounds his connection with his wife, Elizabeth Proctor. It is explained within the story by the author, that John Proctor's strong personality stems from his guilt. The speaker states, "He is a sinner, a sinner not only against the moral fashion of the time but against his own vision of decent conduct" (Miller, 255).
It’s a phony. I could puke every time I hear it” (9). Most people probably would not notice such a tiny aspect in the conversation, but this word is a red flag to Holden. Holden picks up that Mr. Spencer does not usually use this word, and he is only using it to impress him in this situation. His criticism of his acquaintances shows that he emits a persona that he is better than everyone else, and no one is immune to his criticism.
Oftentimes, worthless pride gets the best of people, and they are faced with conflicts far bigger than their inflated hubris. A wise man Teiresias, from Sophocles’ play “Antigone” stated that, “All men make mistakes, but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong, and repairs the evil: The only crime is pride.” this quote represents the fact that despite having a lot of confidence, too much confidence will undeniably lead to insecurity. In the play, “Antigone” there are several characters who let pride overtake them, and tragically, that pride ends up leading to their downfall. Out of the many prideful characters in “Antigone”, King Creon inevitably had the worst fate when it came to his prideful demeanor. He was a narcissistic king, and because he was, he eventually lost everything he once had.
BETTER A WITTY FOOL THAN A FOOLISH WIT A CRITICAL EXPLORATION OF FESTE In the view of many who have read and/or watched the play “TWELFTH NIGHT” by Shakespeare Feste is indeed the wittiest, most influential, diverse and misunderstood character in the play. Feste is first portrayed as a fool in both dress and attitude, however, we later discover that he is the wisest man of the lot and foolishness is only his guise. Far from being just a fool, Feste implores the use of erudite English and discernment and thus is able to present the audience with a higher knowledge of the plot than that presented by the other characters in the play. Disguise plays a pivotal role in the development of “TWELFTH NIGHT”, it is used to generate confusion and internal conflict and therefore adds to the audience’s overall enjoyment. My penciled sketch depicts the various manifestations of Feste.
The tragedy of Othello written by William Shakespeare presents the main character Othello as a respectable, honorable, and dignified man. However, because of his insecurities and good nature he is easily taken advantage of and manipulated by his alleged friends. Shakespeare is known for his exceptional ability to compose plays full of deceit, revenge, and jealousy. Jealousy is an underlying theme throughout the tragedy and has been represented by many of the main characters, such as Iago, Roderigo, and Othello. The topic of jealousy will ultimately lead to the demise of many characters throughout the tragedy.
The characters that Malvolio is troubled with are of a higher class, and typically hold more power than he had. That being said, the apparent division and maltreatment present between himself and the other characters cannot be fully laid upon those who mistreat him. Malvolio was looked at as an unpleasant, foreign, and humorless man in comparison to the other characters who foil, or put emphasis on his negative qualities. Maria, Olivia’s housemaid, describes Malvolio as “sometimes a kind of puritan” (Shakespeare, 2.3.140). This is a harsh division as Sir Toby, a kinsman to Olivia (who is a countess), is often inebriated, an activity that Malvolio never participates in.
Beneath his high class physicality, Lear struggles to maintain his confidence within himself because he depends on the constant admiration from others to feel content with who he is. One who leads with counterfeit beliefs and unstable values is bound for failure. Shakespeare designed this playwright to display the tragedy of a King who slowly goes mad, however in order to reach sanity sometimes one must go completely out of their mind to gain the wisdom in telling the difference. (David Bevington 1988)
The play demonstrates to us how great transforms into abhorrent in the mind boggling character of Othello, who ends up being in excess of a casualty of Iago's bad behaviors yet in addition a character who is both good and evil. In Shakespeare's play evil isn't something total. Malicious and or evil exhibits itself as an alternate quality with every person, maybe the moment that a man overlooks moral limits and offers approach to impulses past his or her
Although, the effect of those memories may not be to the same extreme extent as on Hamlet, purpose relies strongly on memory. In the play, Hamlet stated, “Purpose is but a slave to memory” (3.2.176). Memory drives action, which is seen in the play how the memory of Hamlet’s father and, addition to the lack of memory of the other characters, guide Hamlet’s journey into madness. Not only does the word slave enforce the idea of being under the domain of something (OED), but it also indicates a lack of control. And this may relate to why Hamlet professed his madness as the sperate entity, because he lacks the control over it.