CHOOSE 2 QUESTIONS FOR EACH PLAY AND WRITE THE ANSWERS IN YOUR STUDY

PORTFOLIO.

HAMLET
1) To what extent does Hamlet correspond to classical or medieval notions of tragedy? What (if
anything) is Hamlet's fatal flaw? Why does he hesitate to act after promising his father's ghost that he will
avenge his murder? Compare/contrast the protagonist's decisiveness and will to act in Macbeth.
Hamlet's tragic flaw is indeed his inability to act / indecisiveness. He promised to avenge his
father's death but he could not do it.

Hamlet had the chance to kill Claudius when he was in his chamber praying, but he kept making
excuses for why he could not kill him… Because Claudius was praying / awake and in a state
where he could possibly have grace from God and go to heaven. Hamlet tends to overthink
matters. Macbeth tends to act very quickly and rashly. Hamlet fulfills his promise to his father’s
ghost. Macbeth does not die as noble; he is considered a murderous tyrant by the end of the play

2. Note the various familial relationships in Hamlet . Compare and contrast the family unit of Polonius /
Laertes / Ophelia with Hamlet's relationships to the Ghost of Hamlet Sr., to Gertrude and to Claudius.
Like Hamlet, Laertes and Fortinbras are sons confronted with a father's death. To what extent do they
function as foils to Hamlet? What do they have in common? How do they differ?

There are two sets of fathers- Hamlet Sr., Claudius and Polonius. And there are two sets of
children that consist of Hamlet and Laertes/Ophelia.

Hamlet’s relationship to his father’s ghost contrasts to Laertes’s relationship with his father.
Polonius’s misunderstanding of Ophelia reflects Gertrude’s misunderstanding Hamlet.

Both Prince Fortinbras and Laertes have things in common with Hamlet, but they respond to
their circumstances in extremely different ways. Hamlet compares himself to Fortinbras and
swears to be more like him: "Witness this army of such mass and charge/ Led by a delicate and
tender prince,/ Whose spirit with divine ambition puff'd/ Makes mouths at the invisible event… O,
from this time forth,/ My thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth." All three are young men
associated with royal courts of Scandinavia and all three lose their fathers in violent and
interrelated ways.

Fortinbras intends to lead his men into battle no matter what. Laertes is not a prince and does not
like to spend his time in court. Hamlet does not wish to be involved in battles. He is a scholar and
also does not like to be at court

MACBETH
1) For Aristotle, Macbeth would not "count" as a tragedy, since Macbeth appears too evil to be a
proper tragic hero. But he does not begin the play as an evil character. Note statements
 concerning Macbeth's past, i.e. his role and reputation prior to the beginning of the play. What
has he accomplished, and how is he rewarded? What is King Duncan's opinion of him? Is it
justified? How fundamentally does Macbeth change in the course of the play? Pinpoint key
moments in his evolution from war hero to tyrant. Compare and contrast Shakespeare's
treatment of Henry's past in Henry V.
- Macbeth accomplished being an officer in the military and saving Malcolm’s life: Malcolm
says, “This is the sergeant, Who like a good and hardy soldier fought, ‘Gainst my
captivity. Hail, brave friend! Say to the king the knowledge of the broil As thou didst leave
it” (4).King Duncan thinks that Macbeth is a strong and brave soldier:
- King Duncan says that, “Ovalient cousin! Worthy gentleman” (5)! This a justified opinion
because Macbeth risked his life to save his friend’s life [who is King Duncan’s son].

- Macbeth begins the play as a valiant hero, but then ends up taking power as greed
and killing people. Malcolm says that, “This is the sergeant, Who like a good and hardy
soldier fought,‘Gainst my captivity. Hail, brave friend” (4)! Later, Macbeth kills Banquo: the
text says, “...th’ assassination Could trammel up the consequence” (21) and “To plague
the inventor: this even-handed justice Commends th’ ingredients of our poisoned chalice”
(21)

2) One of the Aristotelian principles of tragedy is that the hero's downfall is caused by a moral
weakness or flaw that inexorably leads him to his tragic destiny. In this respect, can Macbeth be
seen as an Aristotelian tragedy? What basic human flaws or weaknesses does Macbeth
display? How do they contribute to his downfall?
Yes, because he used his power to the throne as greed and killed numerous people; thus, it would
only make sense for Macbeth’s karma to catch up with him and for him to be killed in
return. Macbeth displays greed through trying to increase his power by any means. Macbeth
becomes a murderer and it destorys his mental stability

THE TEMPEST

4) And what about this Caliban? He is native to the island and claims to be its rightful ruler. He
welcomed the shipwrecked Prospero and the infant Miranda to his island, found them food and
drinking water, taught them to survive. He is sensitive to the beauty of Ariel's songs, and his own
speeches can be surprisingly poetic. Note the passages in which this side of Caliban is
expressed. Yet he is also presented as a monster, a "thing of darkness," the offspring of the witch
Sycorax and the Devil. He is said to be "ungrateful" to Prospero and Miranda, who have done
"everything" for him -- after all, they brought him civilization and language -- and he responded by
trying to rape Miranda! From Prospero's perspective (as well as Miranda's), this barbaric
ingratitude is sufficient justification for enslaving Caliban, causing him to be tormented by invisible
spirits which pinch him to keep him in line (note passages which express their point of view). But
from Caliban's perspective, Prospero is the ungrateful one, and a tyrant to boot. It was Caliban's
island before Prospero arrived there; it was Caliban who did "everything" for the newcomers --
after all, without him, they would have perished. What then could be more "natural" than the
union of Caliban, the island's only eligible bachelor, with Miranda, the only human
 female? (Who else is she supposed to marry -- her own father??) Consider the relative
merits of these two positions and perspectives and pay attention to the passages in which
they are expressed.

Some things to think about: the issue is larger than it may initially seem. The Tempest (1611) was
written at a time of exploration, discovery and intense interest in the native peoples of the "New
World" (a Native American was first exhibited in England as a curiosity early in the 16th century,
and by 1611 a community of free Blacks had been living in London for fifteen years). Europeans
approached the "New World" with a curious mixture of benevolence, condescension and greed.
The economic stakes were high: the raw materials of the "New World" (including native peoples --
Englishman had participated in the slave trade as early as the 1560s) represented untold wealth
for the countries that laid claim to them, and thus England began to vie with Spain and France for
colonial holdings. (Shakespeare was linked to the Earls of Southhampton and Pembroke, leaders
of the Virginia Company that sponsored a colonial expedition in 1609; published accounts of a
shipwreck on that expedition may have influenced The Tempest; see pp. 91-102 of the Signet
Classics text). Europeans tended to feel that there was a moral imperative behind their nascent
imperialism: they were after all bringing the Word to the Godless, Civilization to the savage, and
Culture to the ignorant (the analogies with Prospero's attitude toward Caliban are clear). On the
other hand, there was a current in Humanist thought that saw the "unspoiled" natives of the "New
World" as a foil for the corruption of Europe (much as pastoral poets use an idealized rural
society of shepherds to critique their own society, the city or the court). From this perspective,
natives of the "New World" represent a "natural" innocence which is superior to the moral decay
of Europe, a viewpoint famously formulated in the essay "Of the Cannibals" by the Frenchman
Montaigne. Shakespeare knew this essay in John Florio's 1603 translation (he paraphrases it in
Gonzalo's speech, II.i.148-173; compare pp. 137-139) -- and it is interesting to note that "Caliban"
is an anagram of "cannibal."

6) And what about Ariel? A spirit in the service of the magician Prospero, he is similar to the fairy
Puck who serves the Fairy King Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Note passages which
make clear these parallels. But there are essential differences. Consider e.g. the bonds that tie
them to their respective lords. Is their service offered willingly? Is it equally justifiable in
each case? (Service to one's king or rightful lord is considered to be part of the "natural
order" in Shakespeare's time. But is Prospero Ariel's rightful king?) On the other hand,
Prospero seems to feel genuine affection for Ariel, who for the most part serves him
cheerfully enough. What do we make of that relationship?
Ariel is a spirit who appears in William Shakespeare's play The Tempest. Ariel is bound to serve
the magician Prospero, who rescued him from the tree in which he was imprisoned by Sycorax,
the witch who previously inhabited the island. Prospero greets disobedience with a reminder that
he saved Ariel from Sycorax's spell, and with promises to grant Ariel his freedom. Ariel is
Prospero's eyes and ears throughout the play, using his magical abilities to cause the tempest in
Act One which gives the play its name, and to foil other characters' plots to bring down his
master.

Ariel’s name means Lion of God. Ariel may also be a simple play on the word "aerial". Scholars
have compared him to sprites depicted in other Elizabethan plays, and have managed to find
several similarities between them, but one thing which makes Ariel unique is the human edge and
personality given to him by Shakespeare.

Because the stage directions in The Tempest are so precise, critics and historians are better able
to see how this play may have originally been performed than with other Shakespeare plays.
Several of the scenes involving magic have clear instructions on how to create the illusion
required, causing critics to make connections and guesses as to exactly what sort of technology
would have been used in Shakespeare's troupe to stage Ariel's role in the play. Also, a line by Ariel
in Act IV allows scholars to ask if the original actor for Ariel also played the part of Ceres, due to a
shortage of boy actors.

Ariel is widely viewed as a male character, although this view has wavered over the years,
especially in the Restoration, when, for the most part, women played the role. Ariel has also been
involved, though lightly, in the debate over the colonialist nature of the play, as scholars have
tried to determine how he compares to the more rebellious Caliban in terms of service to the
European Prospero. Whenever Caliban desired not to obey the command of Prospero, Ariel would
persuade him to do the work, either by using magical powers or by using force.

TWELFTH NIGHT
1. Notice how Shakespeare uses different types of language -- prose, rhymed verse and blank
verse (unrhymed iambic pentameter, "Marlowe's Mighty Line") -- to differentiate between
characters (i.e. serious and comical; nobility and social climbers) or to create other effects
(increased solemnity or silliness; poetic effects; song). Be sensitive to the way in which the type of
language used adds to the meaning(s) Shakespeare is attempting to convey.
The language used by Shakespeare in his plays is in one of three forms: prose, rhymed iambic
pentameter verse or white verse, each of which is used to achieve specific effects.
Prose refers to ordinary speech without a regular pattern of accentual rhythm. The lines of the text
do not all have the same number of syllables nor is there any discernible pattern of emphases.
The white verse resembles prose in which the final words of the lines do not rhyme in any regular
pattern (although an occasional rhyming couplet can be found). Unlike prose, there is a
recognizable meter: most of the lines are in iambic pentameter, meaning they consist of ten
alternating syllables and unstressed syllables
The rhyme is often used for ritualistic or choral purposes and highly lyrical or judgmental
passages that give advice or point to a moral. The rhyme is used in songs (The Tempest), in
prologues, epilogues and choruses (Henry V's Chorus, Puck's epilogue), in masquerades (The
Tempest) and in parts-of-pieces pieces (Pyramus and Tisbe, in the Midsummer Night's Dream, the
mousetrap piece in Hamlet), where these imaginary performances are distinguished from the "real
world" of the play.
3.Twelfth Night dramatizes the seduction scenario we have noted as a common thread in much lyric
poetry of the Renaissance and early 17th century. There are six distinct sets of potential or actual
couples; three involve Olivia as the female object of desire; one has Olivia as the desiring female subject;
one has Viola as the desiring female subject; and one links the comic characters Sir Toby Belch and
Maria. Know the characters (by name!) in each of these potential or actual couples, and be aware of the
ways in which the characters and their real or imagined/potential love stories intersect and interact. Which
of the couples are parallel to each other? Which are contrasted? How much do the different lovers (and
love relationships) have in common? (e.g. equality or social inequity of the potential partners; motivation
for desired union--social climbing? "love at first sight"-style physical desire? true knowledge of another's
qualities and character?). How does Shakespeare use these parallel relationships and characters to unify
the play as a whole?
William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night One of the first lines in the play Twelfth Night reveals the
main theme of the play. Curio asks, “Will you go hunt, my lord? ” And Duke Orsino replies, “Why,
so I do, the noblest that I have. O, when mine eyes did see Olivia first, methought she purged the
air of pestilence; that instant was I turned into a hart, and my desires, like fell and cruel hounds,
e’er since pursue me. ” The Twelfth Night is all about hunting the “heart,” and seeking love. Love
and relationships rule in Illyria, and are the focus of each of the characters in Twelfth Night.
There are four types of love in Twelfth Night: Romantic love, friendly love, brotherly love, and self
love. Shakespeare also portrays all of the aspects of love: Love is painful, love is mad, love is
foolish, and love is sincere. The first character in the play is Duke Orsino. He seems to be madly,
passionately in love with Olivia, who does not return his love. He claims to be terribly heart-sick
and wrought with grief over Olivia. He mopes around his house, wallowing in sorrow. He does this
until the end of the play, where he quickly shifts affections when he learns that Cesario is really a
woman.
Orsino is not truly in love, but instead he is in love with the idea of being in love. He enjoys
indulging in his misery, and complaining of his aching heart. He likes that melancholy feeling that
comes from unrequited love. His love for Olivia is only superficial, and he comes across as being
very emotionally shallow. Orsino is only a likeable character because he relates in a much
different way to Viola. She brings out his real personality, showing that perhaps he is not quite as
self-indulgent as he seems. He only speaks to Olivia through a messenger, and he is afraid to truly
get close to a woman.
It is only through Viola’s disguise that he gets to know her, which wouldn’t have been possible if
he thought she was a female. Olivia’s character is very similar to Orsino’s. In the beginning, she is
in love with grief, locking herself away from the world to suffer from supposed sorrow. Olivia is as
fickle as Orsino, and she quickly sets aside her terrible grief when she meets Cesario. She falls
instantly in love with Viola as Cesario, and begins pining away for him, just like Orsino pines away
for her. She compares love to a plague, which is an excellent description of the love in Twelfth
Night.

HENRY V
1) What is the function of the Chorus? Why would such a figure appear in Henry V but not in MND?
At first view, the Chorus in Shakespeare'sHenry Vsimply seems to serve two main practical
purposes: to lead the audience through the play as regards content, and to form the audience's
view on the character of King Henry V himself.
The Chorus with his announcements, explanations, apologies, and appeals to the audience, while
itself not being part of the diegetic world, underscores the assumption that the Chorus,
represented by one single character, functions as a presenter of the play in general and of each
act in particular with the rather practical aim to lead the audience through several changes of time
and scene: "Carry them [the kings] here and there, jumping o'er times" (1.29).
But understanding that as a reason, or even as a justification for the existence of the Chorus
inHenry V, the question has to be raised why a chorus, which is after all rarely used in
Shakespeare's other plays, is used specifically in this play. There are numerous Shakespearean
plays in which a unifying authority would have been highly useful because of a complex structure
of the particular play in regard to time and setting such as inMacbeth,King Lear,orThe Merchant of
Venice, to mention just a few.
4) Consider the conflict between the public and the private in Henry V. In becoming king, did Henry lose
all affection for the companions of his youth? Or does he simply feel that, as king, he must sacrifice
private inclinations to public duty? Consider in this regard his rejection of Falstaff (which according to
Mistress Quickly causes the death of the old knight); his statements to and treatment of the traitors; the
hanging of Bardolph; his interactions with Bates, Court and Williams the night before the battle of
Agincourt; his "Ceremony" soliloquy; his famous speech to the troops before the battle of Agincourt; and
his wooing of Catherine. (She's his as part of the peace settlement. Why woo her?)

I would like to analyse the public and the private lives of the character Henry V, and to be more
specific I will try to answer the following question: in becoming king, did Henry lose all affection
for the companions of his youth or does he simply feel that, as king, he must sacrifice private
inclination to public duty? And in my attempt to find an explanation to this matter I will take into
consideration: his rejection of Falstaff, his statements to and treatment of the traitors, the hanging
of Bardolph, his famous speech to the troops before the battle of Agincourt, his wooing of
Catherine, and his ‘ceremony’ monologue.
We first ‘meet’ Falstaff in the first part of Henry IV, as the Prince Harry’s (the later Henry V) closest
friend among the crew of vagrants and other shady characters, as a sort of substitute father
figure. Falstaff is a worldly and fat old man who steals and lies for a living. Falstaff is also an
extraordinarily witty person who lives with great gusto. Harry claims that his spending time with
these men is actually part of a scheme on his part to impress the public when he eventually
changes his ways and adopts a more noble personality. King Henry is very disappointed in his
son; it is common knowledge that Harry, the heir to the throne, conducts himself in a manner
unbefitting royalty.
In the second part of Henry IV, the same old, fat, lazy, selfish, dishonest, corrupt, thieving,
manipulative, boastful, and lecherous man, now an army captain. He drinks in a London tavern
and travels around the countryside to recruit young men to serve the army in the upcoming
battles. Prince Hal, meanwhile, knowing that he will have to take the reins of power when his
father dies, has vowed to change his ways and become responsible. He has started to spend less
time with his old friends.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

1) 1) In which ways does Shakespeare use language (prose, blank verse and rhyme) to
differentiate between characters (i.e. fairies and mortals; nobility and rustics) or to create
other effects (increased solemnity or silliness; poetic effects).

The most important motif in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and one of the most important literary
techniques Shakespeare uses throughout the play, is that of contrast. This contrast is also
emphasized by the language of the characters. The language of the characters occurs in a mix:
the verse or poetry of the love-struck couples and the homespun–and often humorous-prose of
the bumbling tradesmen.
Prose is used whenever verse would seem bizarre: it is used for scenes of everyday life or for low
comedy: for example in the case of Bottom and his company, whereas rhyme is often used for
ritualistic or choral effects and for highly lyrical or sententious passages that give advice or point
to a moral. Rhyme is used in examples of bad verse and in plays-within-plays (in the case of
Pyramus and Thisbe). It is also used for many manifestations of the supernatural, in the case of
fairies. Finally, blank verse is employed in a wide range of situations because it comes close to
the natural speaking rhythms of English but raises it above the ordinary without sounding
artificial (unlike the "singsong" effect produced by dialogue in rhyme). Blank verse, as opposed
to prose, is used mainly for passionate, lofty or momentous occasions and for introspection; it
may suggest a refinement of character.

Because many of the main themes and motifs in A Midsummer Night’s Dream are very light, even
secondary to the overall sense of comedy and the dreamlike atmosphere, it is perhaps more
important to try to understand not what the play means but rather how Shakespeare creates its
mood. One technique that he uses is to embellish action with a wealth of finely wrought poetic
imagery, using language to work upon the imagination of the audience and thereby effect a kind of
magic upon the stage: “I must go seek some dewdrops here,” one fairy says, “And hang a pearl in
every cowslip’s ear” (II.i.14–15).
This technique extends even to the suggestive names of some of the characters, such as the
craftsmen Snug, Starveling, Quince, Flute, and Snout, and the fairies Cobweb, Mustardseed, Mote,
and Peaseblossom.

3. Acts I and V take place in the "real" world of Athens (by day), Acts II, III and IV in a
dream world, the woods outside the city (by night). Why does Shakespeare make use of
the two settings? How can each be characterized? Do they serve any symbolic purpose?
Who governs each world? What kinds of power are contrasted? Which is ultimately more
powerful? (Does one have an effect on - transform - the other?)

In the play is very evident the opposition between the town and the woods. The woods are a rich
symbolic place in literature : they are a going back to nature, a return to something which is
simple and unsophisticated. The wood is a place of freedom as opposed to the constraints of the
law of society, where one can break the rigidity of concentration of the city life. It is a beneficent
place where the spirit of rebirth and rejuvenation is to be found.
It is a place of fun, but also a dangerous place because it is kind of maze, a labyrinth where you
are likely to lose your way and yourself (it is nearly what happened to Titania). We are in the realm
of fantasy and imagination. This world is governed by fantastic creatures, by fairies with magical
powers, a world where everything is possible. An important element of the dream realm, as the
lovers come to realize upon waking in a daze, is that one is in control of neither oneself nor one’s
surroundings. In this way, the forest and fairies contribute to the lovers’ sense of their experience
as a dream, even though the action happens largely while they are awake. In this world, the
normal rules and operations of reality have been suspended: if the magical Titania can fall in love
with the ludicrous Bottom, anything can happen.
But the city is a place full of constraints of the law of the society, a place where Hermia and
Lysander can’t fulfill their love. This world is governed especially by Theseus and Hippolyta, who
belong solely to the nonmagical waking world, where you are in control of your own feelings and
actions.