Betrayal and Loyalty in Shakespeare's plays

The tweet that I have composed from the perspective of Mark Antony uses pathos, logos and ethos.In the tweet, when Antony says: “You were all fooled by ‘honorable’ Brutus…”, it may make one feel belittled or angry that they allowed someone like Brutus to fool them or make them feel less intelligent, or even incapable of forming their own thoughts and opinions. One may feel guilty that they betrayed someone such as Caesar, who was made out by Antony to be dedicated to their country. Loyalty is an important theme to the Romans, as displayed several times by the conspirators. Throughout the play, they expressed that their actions were for the good of Rome, even though they risked al lot. The Roman citizens would not want to betray the idea of

In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, one must read the text closely to track the shifting motivations and loyalties of each character as the play progresses. An important factor that must be kept in mind while reading is the degree of loyalty, in other words, the degree to which characters act out of a motivation to help others. Throughout the play, each character's current degree of loyalty to others is clearly exhibited by words or behavior – this holds true for the characters of Brutus, Cassius, Antony, Portia, and Calpurnia. The focus on loyalty is critical because before the play ends an even-handed justice is meted out to a number of people who fail to live up to an expected standard of

Within the play, Antony’s loyalty and love for Caesar is the main factor for all his future decisions. After the Caesar is stabbed Antony, in private, proclaims, “Cry ‘Havoc,’ and let slip the dogs of war, / That this foul deed shall smell above the earth / With carrion men, groaning for burial” (III.i.272-275). Within The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Antony is extremely close with Caesar and views him as a father.The reader understands the depth of love that Antony has for Caesar and views a glimpse into his inner conflicts.. All of Antony’s decisions are driven on emotion; however, he is still able to think clearly and plan, where most individuals can not.

How has your critical engagement with Hamlet helped shape your understanding of loyalty and authority? Authors of the revenge tragedy genre often deliver similar forms of formatting and construction in order to perceive the audience’s full attention. An example of this is William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, in which he extensively uses varying themes and concepts to impose the story of his lead character, Hamlet through a revenge tragedy drama. The period in which Shakespeare writes reflects the plays outcomes, nature and morals, in a way which shape the text in its own unique way.

Cleopatra develops as a character during this sequence, becoming more sensible and less melodramatic in response to trivial problems. In Act III, Scene 7, Enobarbus tells Cleopatra not to be involved in the battle itself, saying that:

One of the most obvious ways to interpret the scenes where Ophelia and Gertrude receive advice is to use Feminist criticism.  First, it is important to note that the playwright is male.  Clearly, the author's sex could influence the portrayal of women in the play.  Next, examining the role of women within the play, including any stereotypical representations, is key to a Feminist reading.  Finally, looking for feminine imagery will enhance the understanding gained from this approach to Hamlet.

Loyalty is something most every person finds honorable in another person. However, what if that loyalty becomes divided, and ends up becoming betrayal? William Shakespeare eloquently depicts this quandary in Julius Caesar. Brutus was considered one of the most honorable men in Rome, both by the people and himself. But what if his idea of honor is actually a true sign of betrayal? That much is up to the reader to decide. Shakespeare expresses loyalty multiple times throughout Julius Caesar between Caesar and Brutus, Brutus to the people of Rome, and still the people of Rome to Caesar, which all directly cause the final outcome of the play.

The representation of human behavior, emotions and experiences become often seen explicitly in literature. William Shakespeare, one of the famous authors that describe the human experience beautifully. Shakespeare, known for Macbeth, Hamlet and Romeo & Juliet, captures raw human emotion, actions and behavior. Throughout all of his pieces, Shakespeare touches on love, honor, bravery, sacrifice and even death. In his pieces, he develops heavily flawed characters and puts challenges that they sometimes can’t win. The complexity of his characters, their challenges and more importantly their growth explains why Shakespeare’s literature has become a crucial classic for everyone to read at least once in their lives. One of his most relevant plays,

There is no denying that Shakespeare is a definitive playwright. He has presented us with classic works that have set the precedent for drama and the theatre. Among Shakespeare’s more notable plays are his tragedies. In the tragedy his protagonists are often given flaws in their character and hence, are suitably named tragic heroes. The downfall of these protagonists is often a result of their own character flaws and unfortunately, they suffer a doomed and unhappy ending. While the tragic hero is flawed they must also be honorable and worthy of the audience’s understanding and sympathy. On a quest for righteousness the tragic hero often goes through immense suffering which is why the audience can feel bad for him. For the most

In one instance, he is the rancorous war hero whom Caesar eulogizes and fears. Almost immediately after that, he surrenders his military designation by foolishly allowing Cleopatra to establish his course of action. As his Roman friends, even the faithful Enobarbus desert him, Antony feels that he has, without a doubt, lost himself in old age, and he resolves to salvage his dignified individuality by killing his self. Originally, this act may emerge to be a victory of motive over fervour, of Western consciousness over Eastern ones, but the play is not as straightforward as that.

Deliberately falsifying information for personal gain causing an ensuing conflict is a motif clearly contrived within William Shakespeare’s tragedy Antony and Cleopatra. Deception is represented within the protagonist, the queen of Egypt, Cleopatra, a tempting seductress who has a false relationship with Antony only for personal motives. Within the play Cleopatra fabricates illnesses, deceives Antony’s love through her betrayal at sea and likens Caesar to a god, Antony’s enemy, all to achieve attention and advance politically. Created in 1606 during the Elizabethan era the characters within the play are based on an imaginary and partially real concept of historical characters. Shakespeare showcases Cleopatra as a woman unlike many of the time, holding power over man. In the visual representation a mask, ships on a stormy sea and a serpent are used to represent the act of deception. Antony’s fatal attraction to the queen, and Cleopatra’s hidden desires bind the two together to create a falsified love on public display that is fueled by deception.

In scene 5 of act 1, Shakespeare concludes the exposition of the play, showing Cleopatra in Egypt without Antony, allowing us to see a different side to her. As the scene begins we see Cleopatra asking for mandragora to drink so that she may ‘ sleep out this great gap of time’ while Antony is away .she is lonely and bored without him, craving oblivion which contrasts greatly with the sense of urgency to take action in Rome, in the previous scene. She then converses with mardian, her eunuch; of Antony that he too like her is would be occupied with thoughts of love if he was not ’unseminar’d’. when mardian mentions ‘what Venus did to mars’ , reminded of her own great love Cleopatra bursts into a speech filled with ecstasy and longing for Antony.

Enobarbus speaks the truth. Wilson Knight states Enobarbus often sees the truth whilst his superiors blunder at cross-purposes. His opinions are spoken bluntly and sometimes at inappropriate times and sometimes caustic. He joins in with the crowd both in Rome and Egypt. He first appears in the play with the soothsayer, enjoying the company of Cleopatra’s maids showing the audience that he can fit into both geographical parts of the play with ease and confidence. Although he is portrayed as a professional soldier he enjoys pleasure too, “Most of our fortunes be drunk to bed” he is sociable and humorous and when he sees Cleopatra coming he jokes “hush here come Antony.” Although he enjoys a drink he is serious when he is needed for military duty and takes the view work before pleasure keeping within the Roman ideas of conduct. Wilson Knight states “Enobarbus is the moral centre of the play and through him shows that loyalty and the power of love overshadows common sense and logical reasoning”.

In terms of betrayal, at one point or another, almost every character in the play betrays their country, ethics or relationship. Antony, in a desperate attempt to mend ties with his Roman roots and form an alliance with Caesar, enters into marriage with Caesar's sister Octavia, however after some time he ends up going back to Cleopatra. She, on the other hand, abandons Antony twice during battle and deceives him. When caesar's messenger, Thidias, tells her that Caesar is willing to show

In the play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, Marc Antony changes dramatically throughout the play. In the beginning of the play, he is very a very good friend of Caesar, and he watches out for him. Antony is very loyal to Caesar and makes him happy. The conspirators saw that Caesar was getting too much power, and they had to take him down, in order to keep the republic of Rome strong. After Caesar’s death, Antony becomes intelligent, angry, and strong.