Author Archives: asmit

Posts: 4 (archived below)
Comments: 5

The Winter’s Tale – Act IV and Disguise

Posted on December 12, 2011 by asmit

Act IV reminds me of previous plays we’ve read as it brings the heavy use of disguise and unknown identity. We see Perdita, whom nobody knows is actually a princess; Florizel, who hides the fact that he’s a prince and is going by “Doricles”; Autolycus in multiple disguises; and Polixenes, in disguise so no one see’s he’s the king.

Florizel as Doricles reminds me of The Taming of The Shrew, where Lucentio disguises himself as Cambio to gain access to Bianca. Also, Polixenes in disguise reminds me of Henry V, where Henry disguises himself in order to find out what people really think of him.

The use of disguise doesn’t seem to bring about much disaster here; it is the “Spring” (read: happier) part of the play after all. However, I wonder about whether it’s right for Florizel and Polixenes to be in disguises. There seems to be a recurring theme in Shakespeare of kings and noblemen disguising themselves as “lesser” men – and like we brought up in Henry V, is that really moral? And how do we judge its morality – if disguise is a means to a good end (as is what happens to Florizel), is it still moral, or is the very act of disguise – of leaders taking a peek on society without its knowing – immoral?

Posted in Henry V, The Taming of the Shrew, The Winter's Tale | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Group 8 – The Seacoast of Bohemia

Posted on December 5, 2011 by asmit

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6o-Gomq6vg

Posted in The Winter's Tale | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

“Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow…”

Posted on November 28, 2011 by asmit

Taking my own look at this highly scrutinized and famous speech – Macbeth’s response to hearing that Lady Macbeth is dead – I think that Macbeth’s level of despair at this point is beyond words (figuratively speaking). Regardless of whether or not we can point to his villainous nature and or “monster-like” behavior, what we see Macbeth experiencing hear is raw human suffering. Yes, he has killed his way to the throne and killed to keep himself there, but at this point I think Macbeth truly realizes the level of failure of all his actions. His effort hasn’t gotten him anything but pain and misery. His wife dead, his enemies advancing, his brief rule about to end – the realization of it all is simply too much for Macbeth to bear. I would argue that it’s not PTSD, per se, that causes Macbeth’s descent into madness, but rather his own realization of his systematic failure.

These lines contain some very nihilistic musings on the part of Macbeth, and while they’re interesting to analyze (with regard to what they say about the nature of a play, among other things), I’m not entirely sure whether or not they’re meant to be taken seriously. After all, even now when we’re driven to despair about something or another, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear something along the lines of “life sucks” and “what’s the point” – not because it’s true, but because we feel that much despair at that one point. For us, it usually gets better; for Macbeth, obviously not. The words he says, then, bring up a quite worrisome philosophical debate.

 

Posted in Macbeth | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Ulysses and Manipulation

Posted on November 2, 2011 by asmit

Ulysses is brilliant in manipulating Achilles in Act 3 Scene 3. Because of the way he treats Achilles, as well as other characters, we can see that he knows what he needs to say in order to get someone to go in the direction that he wants – whether it’s by fluffing up their ego, capitalizing on their worries, or bringing them down to shame.

If you’re a hero like Achilles, you want yourself to be remembered – you want your name to go down in history. What good is it, then, if no one remembers your deeds and your name is lost in the sands of time? Ulysses knows this, and takes advantage of this fact in order to manipulate Achilles. He tells Achilles, “Perseverance, dear my lord, / Keeps honor bright. To have done, is to hang / Quite out of fashion, like a rusty mail / In monumental mock’ry” (lines 150-153). In other words, Achilles must keep fighting in order to preserve his image as a hero and great warrior, but since he isn’t fighting, we will be useless – a remnant of the past, once great, but now rusty, like old armor. Ulysses’ speech is full of military metaphors – something he probably did on purpose since he knows Achilles would relate to them the most.

But Ulysses doesn’t stop at the metaphors: he knows Achilles is in love with a Trojan princess (one of Priam’s daughters), and uses that fact as blackmail against Achilles.

The final tactic that Ulysses uses to manipulate Achilles is telling him that “all the Greeks begin to worship Ajax” (3.3.181). This would clearly manipulate Achilles by making him jealous of Ajax. “Why is everyone worshipping this stupid oaf when I’m the real hero,” is something that comes to mind as what Achilles would think.

In this scene, Ulysses proves his reputation as a masterful tactician and manipulator by using the aforementioned methods to persuade Achilles to fight again.

Posted in Troilus and Cressida | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment