Play Essays

William Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth is an unfortunate one. Although Macbeth does take the actions that lead to his downfall, he is not fully responsible for his behavior. After encountering three witches who foretell the future for him, he desperately wants to believe what they say since everything they told him …

Hamlet and Ophelia are linked by many common characteristics, not the least of which is their madness. While Hamlet’s madness seems to be feigned, Ophelia is truly crazy. The odd thing about their predicament is that they each drive each other more fully into the depths of illness. One of …

When reading the works of two great writers, a person can find many similarities between them. The underlying themes of Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Sophocles Oedipus King excite the reader yet leave us with the desire of wanting more. There are significant similarities between Oedipus King and Hamlet, especially when it …

Romeo and Juliet was written by William Shakespeare and was first published in 1597, but the revised edition of 1599 is mainly used today. Shakespeare’s principal source for Romeo and Juliet was a poem by Arthur Brooke (1562) Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet so that it could be performed by …

A Midsummer Nights Dream can be compared with the play Romeo and Juliet. They both encompass many of the same themes of love. Love is prohibited, true, lustful, and desired. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream Lysander demonstrated the overriding theme of both plays, “The path of love never did run …

Youth sports programs have become the focal point of many family-oriented communities nationwide. Little League, sponsored sports programs and T-ball, are just three programs among thousands available for families and their children. The increased national interest in sports over the past two decades has promoted the increased endorsement of these …

Othello, The Moor of Venice, by William Shakespeare, is one of Shakespeare’s most well known tragedies. In the play, the many types of jealousy are explored through love hate and deceit. There are three main female characters, in Shakespeare’s Othello. Each of these women, Desdemona, Emilia and Bianca, has a …

When taking a close look at the Disney movie “The Lion King”, any one who has studied “Hamlet” can see the parallels between the two. The simple plot, a son’s revenge for his father’s death, is the basis for both stories. Simba bears many resemblances to Hamlet. Scar is, in …

The Greek philosopher Aristotle set forth the guidelines for a tragedy in his work Poetics. According to Aristotle, the tragic character in a tragedy is a person, not all good or bad, who begins in a rank of high degree and importance and then experiences a downfall due to a …

In Antigone, Ismene must decide between the will of the gods and the will of the state, life and death. On one hand, if she follows the benevolent will of the gods and buries her brother, Polyneices, she will be put to a humiliating death. On the other hand, she …