Act 1, Scene 1 Hamlet opens on the battlements of the castle at Elsinore, in Denmark, where the guard is being changed. Bernardo and Marcellus, accompanied by Horatio, come to relieve Francisco. The first words spoken, ‘‘Who’s there?’’ a nervous inquiry by Bernardo indicating suspicion and the need to find something out, set the tone…
Tag: The United Kingdom
Coriolanus – Analysis – Essay
After his candidacy has been approved by the plebeians and he is about to assume the office of Roman consul, when the two tribunes of the people challenge him and rescind the people’s vote, Coriolanus, furious that he is being made to bow to what he believes is an illegitimate authority says, [M]y soul aches …
Coriolanus – Historical Context – Setting
King James’s Attempts to Assert Absolute and Unitary Power In Shakespeare’s time, some members of the nobility believed that King James was attempting to assert his absolute power as governing monarch and was determined to undermine their rights, such as had been won in 1215 through the Magna Carta, in which King John surrendered some…
Coriolanus – Literary Devices – Imagery
Animal Imagery Running through Coriolanus are images of animals. When Aufidius calls him ‘‘boy,’’ Coriolanus responds that he, Aufidius, is a false hound and that he, Coriolanus, has been like an eagle who has attacked the Volscians as if they were doves in a dovecote. The Roman tribunes compare Coriolanus to a wolf and the…
Coriolanus – Themes
The Conflict between Honor and Loyalty The concepts of honor and loyalty usually seem to be interconnected. Loyalty to one’s family, to one’s country, to one’s core values seems to be the mark of honor. It is a mark of dishonor to betray family, country, and core values. In Coriolanus, however, rather than being interconnected,…
Coriolanus – Characters
Menenius Agrippa Menenius is an aged patrician. He opposes the demands of the people for grain or political power. Nevertheless, he attempts to remain a gentleman in his confrontations with them. He is a friend of Coriolanus, but is rebuffed by him when he pleads with him to spare Rome. Tullus Aufidius Aufidius is the…
Coriolanus – Act Wise Summary
Act 1, Scene 1 Coriolanus opens with a revolt of the plebeians in ancient Rome. They are out in the streets shouting for bread and the death of Caius Marcius, whom they blame for being the cause of their suffering. They accuse the patricians, members of the upper class, of hoarding the grain for themselves….
The Comedy Of Errors – Explained – Essay
(In the following excerpt, McDonald first surveys previous criticism on the play regarding its classification as a farce and its position in Shakespeare’s canon. He notes that critics have tended to ‘‘elevate’’ the play above the ‘‘vulgar’’ level of farce in explaining its meaning (although its farcical elements are obvious) because it is sometimes perceived…
The Comedy Of Errors – Analysis
(This essay argues that The Comedy of Errors is unusual among Shakespeare’s plays because of the way in which specific locations in the play are related to the transformations of characters. The critic analyzes settings such as the Centaur Inn or the Phoenix Tavern by comparing them to Antipholus of Syracuse, his twin brother Antipholus…
The Comedy Of Errors – Historical Background – Setting
Room and Board In general, aspects of the historical situation at the time of Shakespeare’s writing his play, and the historical period in which the play takes place, bear little relation to the plot. That is, in what was quite possibly his first dramatic effort, Shakespeare seemed to have been executing a sort of exercise…