Advantages: Repays close and repeated reading. Disadvantages: Nothing major
I've always found it interesting to look at the political and historical setting of Shakespeare's plays - it can sometimes give a different insight into a play, giving it greater depth. The most obvious example of this, to me, is the appearance of Macbeth ...
Advantages: Like most Shakespeare, stick at it and you'll enjoy it Disadvantages: A little slow to get into, depending on how well you grasp Shakespeare's work
(This is a piece of writing I did about "Antony and Cleopatra" earlier this year, and I believe it will make as a good an a opinion as anything else I could write now.)
Throughout “Antony and Cleopatra”, issues of loyalty and betrayal are p ...
Advantages: It is a very good historical play written by Shakespeare Disadvantages: Need to read "Julius Ceasar" to really understand the play
Whilst reading Antony and Cleopatra during my AS-Level studies I found that I could not place the play in either Romantic Tragedy or Tragedy. A tradegy is defined in English Literature as the downfall of a single character in the play and is usually o ...
Advantages: This is one of Shakespeares first efforts at tragedy and makes us question whether or not we pity the hero. Disadvantages: It is unclear whether or not Shakespeare wanted us to experience feelings of katharsis when seeing Antony's actions.
In classical terms, a play must have certain features for it to be a tragedy. This is called “tragic theory”. Tragic theory dictates that, in order for a play to be a tragedy, it must fulfil specific criteria. There must be a tragic hero; some ...
Advantages: story, historical significance, strong female character Disadvantages: none
The most exciting female character Shakespeare ever created. Although Ant and Cleo isn't considered one of the 'great tragedies' (Hamlet, Othello, Lear, and Macbeth) it certainly has plenty to recommend it, not least some extraordinary language. The centr ...
