Significance of death and sex to shakepeare Essay Example For Students

Significance of death and sex to shakepeare Essay What is the significance of two of the following to Shakespearean Drama: Death, Sin, and Sex? Refer to three plays. In this essay, I will consider Death and Sin in Shakespearean drama and I would like to look at three of Shakespeare’s tragic plays: â€Å"Hamlet†, â€Å"Othello† and â€Å"King Lear†. Shakespeare uses many themes in all his play that attract audiences throughout history. The things he wrote about are as relevant now as they were in his time. Death and Sin were issues that are always around. In his plays, Shakespeare could comment on these things and make audiences see things that they could not before. In Hamlet, we can see clear examples of Death and Sin as significant to Shakespearean drama. The first thing that points to both death and sin is the inclusion of a ghost in the play. The presence of a ghost became a conventional element to revenge tragedy, wherein the ghost would reveal why it was in purgatory and therefore haunting whomever it was haunting. The haunting was usually of someone in the same family who would then feel forced into revenging th e ghosts death, such as Hamlet was haunted by his father and subsequently killed Claudius, the murderer. Death in the form of a ghost was popular to revenge tragedy and was easily recognised by an audience. Shakespeare was aware of what his audience were looking for in a play and what would hold their interest and the supernatural seemed to hold great importance and interest in Elizabethan times. A recognised signal of something unnatural, the introduction of the ghost so early on in the play signifies straight away that something bad has happened and that a sin has been committed. Hamlet himself describes in Act Once scene one that Referring to the ghost of his father as being â€Å"in Arms†, his own first sighting of the Ghost sums up his moral dilemma in the play:â€Å"Be thou a spirit of health or goblin damn’d,Bring with thee airs from heaven or blasts from hell,Be thy intents wicked or charitable,†He casts doubt on the true intentions of the ghost, giving the audience the thought that perhaps the ghost is of ambiguous nature rather than just trapped in purgatory and seeking revenge. Hamlet fears this as he is by nature, a good tempered, philosophical character who, I believe, would be incapable of committing sin but knowing that the ghost is of his father, who Hamlet held up to be a God, if his father asked him to commit as sin, he would have no choice but to do so. This is ultimately his downfall. The ghost terrifies Hamlet with the thought of eternally haunting him if Hamlet does not obey the ghosts orders. The ghost then goes on to describe his murder in detail but we are never sure if the description is true or not. One of the lines that suggests the nature of the ghost is not just of revenge is line 3:â€Å"When I to sulph’rous and tormenting flamesThe description is reminiscent of a description of hell, where it is suggested the ghost must â€Å"live†. When the word â€Å"murder† is directly used, we are alerted to a sin having been committed. The description that follows is of how Claudius killed his brother by pouring poison into his ear. Whether this is metaphorical or actual is never disclosed. Claudius later admits to killing King Hamlet but does not say HOW he killed him. The Ghost also brings to our attention that Claudius is an â€Å"incestuous, adulterate beast,† (I.V.42) and that he seduced â€Å"my most seeming-virtuous queen.† (I.V.45) In basic terms, King Hamlet was killed by his brother, Claudius, to seduce the queen, then marry her and then take the throne. Incest, Murder and deceit; all sinful things. However, Hamlet is told not to take revenge on his mother, just his uncle. The Ghost is playing God with other peoples lives, which Hamlet questions. Why should Claudius face torture in this world and his mother face it in heaven? The ghost is strange and potentially sinful itself. Life Experiences in Farewell to Manzanar Essayâ€Å"King Lear† shows us a complicated line of events leading up to the death of the majority of the main characters. To put it in terms of sin and death, Lear sins against Cordelia who refuses to play Lears game in Act One Scene One. She says According to my bond, no more nor less.†He then banishes her, the truest daughter, from his kingdom and gives her nothing. Goneril, having been given half Lears land, turns on him, annoyed by his behaviour in her house and Lear then curses her. He goes to Regan, who turns against him and sides with her sister, and he calls her â€Å"unnatural†. Goneril and Regan have sinned against their father by not honouring him but Lear has sinned against them by choosing who loves him the most and then cursing them. In the sub-plot, Edmund has convinced his father that Edgar is evil (A lie, so therefore a sin) and Edgar has taken on the role of a beggar after being banished by his father. As a result of all the sin, Lear goes mad. Cordelia returns and proves to be the honest creature Lear banished her for and she protects him from her sisters. Ultimately, Cornwall is killed after plucking out Gloucester’s eyes, Cordelia is hung on the command of her sisters and Lear dies from a broken heart on realising that she is the most loving daughter he has. Regan poisons Goneril, Edgar kills Edmund and Regan kills herself on hearing of Edmunds death. Cordelia is the only one to have not been sinful, but truthful in her actions but all the other characters that die have committed a sin and been punished for it. In â€Å"King Lear†, the dramatic chain of events resulting in so many sinners’ deaths shows that cause and effect really does exist and that the two work together. Shakespeare was clever in the way he wove both elements into his plays. One didn’t seem to be able to exist without the other. I am not sure what audiences expected in Elizabethan times, but I am sure that entertainment was a vital element of expectation. Shakespeare wrote plays that reflected real life situations, such as that of Iagos jealousy, and showed what he believed would happen as his course of action continued. The anticipation of a play depends on its genre: tragedy, historical, comedy and so on. I believe death and sin are expectations for a tragic play, such as the ones I have looked at in this essay and I think that without them, the audience would be disappointed in the play. Bibliography: