Worldwide, the plays of William Shakespeare are read and appreciated in and out of classrooms. Often, the plays The Taming of the Shrew and The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare are referred to as perfect examples of comedy and tragedy, respectively. There are multiple similarities and differences between these stories from the inclusion of dramatic irony. The use of dramatic irony has certain effects on the separate plays as a whole. By including this literary device in the plotlines, the conflict, characters, and tensions are built. In The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet and The Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare’s use of dramatic irony is crucial to building conflict. In both plays, Shakespeare’s use of dramatic irony shows …show more content…
In both plays parents experience the death of their children. In Romeo and Juliet, when Juliet’s apparent death reaches Lord Capulet, he is very emotional and in such a shock that it takes him a moment to even say anything. After he realizes that she is stiff and cold he laments, “Death lies on her like an untimely frost, upon the sweetest flower of all the field”(Act 4, Scene 5, Line 29). This is different than how we saw him in scenes before, with him threatening Juliet if she did not go through with the marriage to Paris. This dramatic irony helps us see a new side of Capulet as a character, as someone who truly loves his beautiful daughter. The irony in The Taming of the Shrew elicits a different reaction from Vincento, the father of Lucentio. When Vincentio is confronted by Traino, who is introducing himself to others as Lucentio, he goes into a fit of rage. He immediately starts attacking Traino threatening to put him in jail, “Lucentio! O, he hath murd'red his master! Lay hold on him, I charge you, in the Duke's name. O, my son, my son! Tell…”(Act 5, Scene 1, Line 2424). He believes the servant that he has raised since he was a child has betrayed his family and he wants to put him in jail and punish him. Shakespeare using irony to show the reactions of characters …show more content…
In The Taming of the Shrew, as the three pursuiters of Bianca fight over who should marry her, Lucentio secretly tutors Bianca and they fall in love. While Lucentio’s servant knows of this plan, the other pursuiters are left in the dark and quarreling without true reasoning, stating offers such as “If I may have your daughter to wife, I’ll leave her houses three or four as good” (2.1). This dramatic irony of unknown love creates fighting and tension between characters that, while it does not cause serious plot twist, builds the conflict. The suitors are oblivious to the fact Bianca is already in love, and continue to fight over who should court her even though the negotiations end up to be pointless. Similar secret love is seen in Romeo and Juliet. As Tybalt challenges Romeo to a fight, Romeo responds “Tybalt, the reason that I have to love thee doth much excuse the appertaining rage to such a greeting… I do protest I never injured thee, but love thee better than thou canst devise till thou shalt know the reason of my love” (2.1.57-65). Here, Romeo refuses to fight Tybalt because he is secretly in love with Juliet and does not want to hurt her family. Tybalt doesn’t know this, creating dramatic irony and resulting in conflict and death. In the cases of both Lucentio and Romeo two
Tybalt is a very vengeful character. When tybalt and Mercutio fight, Mercutio gets stabbed and dies which will cause Romeo go crazy. “Why the devil come you between us? I was hurt under your arm.”(3.1.70) with these words, Romeo feels guilty about his best friend's death, that was mainly caused because Romeo denied fighting Tybalt.
Hamlet is a well known novel by author, William Shakespeare. The novel contains many literary techniques. There are a few key literary elements that stand out more than others in Shakespeare's Hamlet. This paper will evaluate three different literary elements found in the novel. Three key elements include; simile, dramatic irony and climax.
In addition to Juliet’s parents, Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin, instigated a fight between himself and Romeo. This is what caused Romeo to be banished from Verona to Mantua. This is what started Juliet wanting to leave Verona to be with Romeo in Mantua. This started Romeo not finding out about Juliet faking her death and then awakening to go be with Romeo. Tybalt is an instigator, troublemaker, and fighter, and a reader may label him as unforgiving. If he would have found out about Romeo and Juliet he might have disagreed with both of them. If one were to wondered when Romeo and Tybalt fought, one would find it in Act three Scene one. In lines sixty-nine through seventy-three, Romeo confesses to Tybalt that they are in fact related and Romeo is married to Juliet. Tybalt did not even catch on to what Romeo was talking about. Tybalt comes off as arrogant. In some ways Romeo and Tybalt are very
King Lear and Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, are two plays that reveal similar thematic elements, yet possess fundamentally different plot structures. Driven by the suffering and rage of two complementary characters, both plays suggest injustice through ‘good’, but ultimately flawed characters. This shared overarching theme is, however, conveyed differently within each of the works, as one employs two mainly disparate plot threads, while the other relies more heavily on the interaction between the two central plots. Yet the ultimate purpose of this dualism remains the same within both King Lear and Hamlet, in that Shakespeare’s use of the double plot illuminates the tragic elements within both plays, emphasizing core injustices through
Susan Snyder once said that comedy is “the ground from which, or against which, tragedy develops… comedy and tragedy function as polar opposites, or as two sides of the same coin.” (Snyder. Print). The prototypical comic clash between blocking father and youthful beaus, which underlies the activities of numerous Shakespearean comedies, illuminates one strand of the activity of Hamlet: the relationship between Polonius, Ophelia and the Prince. Also unmistakable in different tragedies, such as Romeo and Juliet and
Romeo and Tybalt fight each other and they exchange a conversation in which they say,” Now, Tybalt, take the ‘villain’ back again that late thou gavest me; for Mercutio’s soul is but a little way above our heads, staying for thine to keep him company: either thou, or I, or both, must go with him. Thou, wretched boy, that didst consort him here, shalt with him hence. This shall determine that. [They fight; Tybalt falls]” (Shakespeare, III.i.46). When Mercutio was slain by Tybalt, Romeo chose to stay and try to get revenge for Mercutio’s death. At the time, Romeo was already Tybalt’s kinsman because he and Juliet were already married, and Romeo could have left the scene and let the law do it’s job with Tybalt. However, Romeo was only infatuated with Juliet, and as a result, only realized the impact of his actions after he had killed Tybalt. In addition, Juliet decides to follow Friar Laurence’s plan, in which he tells her to “for no pulse shall keep his native progress, but surcease: no warmth, no breath, shall testify thou livest; … Shall Romeo by my letters know our drift; and hither shall he come” and he and I will watch thy waking, and that very night shall Romeo bear thee hence to Mantua” (Shakespeare, IV.ii.70). Friar Laurence instructs Juliet to take this vial that will fake her death, while he sends a letter to Romeo telling him of this,
In the Shakespearian play: The Taming of the Shrew, deception is one of the major concepts. A tangled web is created in the play through deception of character behavior and the change between clothing and class. Most of the deception in the play have particular motives behind them and create dramatic irony. Shakespeare has used dramatic irony to create a comedic play.
Act one, scene two of the Taming of the Shrew, demonstrates how men would do anything for the girl they want to have as their own to love. In this second scene, Hortensio and Gremio had already planned to find a husband for Katherina, thinking that the fact that she is very rich would help make the task easier. Meanwhile, Lucentio and Tranio decided to also make up a plan that allowed Lucentio to be with Bianca. Tranio then discovered that Luciento could become a tutor for her. Thinking that since he is also quite intelligent, he would pass for a schoolmaster, but then they realized that someone would have to pretend to be Lucientio since he is the son of a well known merchant and there were people who were already expecting him once he arrived to Verona.
Throughout history the gender roles in marriage and in society have been ever changing. Women have been given more opportunity outside of the house such as finding a proper job, and men have been able to express more ‘feminine’ interests such as cooking, and most importantly, they marry for love, not because of their families. In Romeo and Juliet and Taming of Shrew, Shakespeare shows how both men and women impact the standards of a perfect marriage during the time period. The plays Romeo and Juliet and Taming of the Shrew were both set in the 1590’s and demonstrate the similar leadership roles of the man in the marriage, but each story shows how a women’s personality and the families of the two lovers can affect the marriage for better or
Lucentio's treatment of Tranio is reflected in his treatment of Bianca and their role as man and woman. Lucentio never hits Bianca or mistreats her in anyway, but spends the play wooing her and showing her his love. However, Bianca does not completely mimic Tranio's obedience in her role as wife to Lucentio. Though Bianca is not as stubborn willed and shrewish as her sister, Katherine, she does not obey her husband when he calls her to him. Biondello comes back to Lucentio to report: "Sir, my mistress sends you word that she is busy and she cannot come." [7] This action is in direct contradiction with An Homily on the State of Matrimony which states: "Let not therefore the woman be too busy to call for the duty of her husband where she should be ready to perform her own, for that is not worthy any great commendation." [8] Though Lucentio is consistent with his role as master and husband. His relationship with Tranio differs slightly from Bianca, Tranio's servant hood more apparent and selfless.
At first glance inside Shakespeare’s, Taming of the Shrew, one would perceive it to be a farce in which crude and slapstick humor is used to compose the play. This is shown through the use of comedic injuries, edgy humor, and a shallow storyline. Also, Robert Heilmann describes a farce as “people [characters] as if they lack, largely or totally, the physical, emotional, intellectual, and moral sensitivity that we think of as ‘normal.’’ Although this is how it appears, a deeper analysis of the plot and characters will make one soon realize that this play has more depth and meaning than first thought. One main way one can tell that this play is a farce is through the development of dynamic characters. One major character that proves that Taming
In Aristotle’s Poetics, he discusses the elements that are involved in making a great tragedy, specifically. His methods have been followed by many a playwright, even if they do not decide this consciously. Shakespeare is somewhat of an outlier, generally defying much of the traditional rules set forth. Even so, Shakespeare’s plays can still show signs of Aristotle’s elements, and his methods can provide a deeper reading into plot, character, thought (theme), diction, song, and spectacle. By analyzing Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, using Aristotle’s six elements and his definition of a turning point, one is able to uncover Hamlet’s false madness and see that his true intentions are set on revenge.
In particular, the use of dramatic irony creates a climax within the story as conflict arises from the existence of such irony. Thus, this revelation is creates a major change in the dynamic relationship between the play and audience. In contrast to the first person narrator where the reader has a passive role with interpreting the
Shakespeare has used this tool to add more tragedy to the play. I will investigate the nature of this irony. Also, I will investigate the types of conflict that play a major part in the play
Hamlet, a revenge tragedy, scripted by William Shakespeare in 1603, is a tale of a murder, secrets and lies. The tragedy places the protagonist Hamlet, with the challenge of avenging his Father, King Hamlet’s death. Shakespeare develops a range of techniques to influence the audience’s perception and understanding towards the production’s main themes of revenge betrayal and death. Effective techniques present within the play is the utilisation of symbolism, imagery and soliloquies. These literary devices provide great perception into the characters and storyline. The prevailing utilisation of imagery throughout the play, along with the continuous reinforcements which accentuates the connection between the King and country. The support of literary devices, enable Shakespeare to develop the plays themes and influence the audience to comprehend the deeper meaning and greater complexity within Hamlet.