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Author Archives: Djenane Desrosiers
Posts: 3 (archived below)
Comments: 10
Prophecies in tragedies
I was certain I was not the only one who had realized that the first prophecy was a set up for the entire plot. The storyline in Macbeth would not have moved pass act 1 scene 2 if Macbeth and Banquo had not eavesdropped on the three witches’ gathering. Unlike the other prophecies in act 4, the very first one is a self fulfilling prophecy. Macbeth did not sit back and wait to name King, he took charge of the matter. Similar to Oedipus the King, he meddled with his fate and that probably caused his downfall. I can’t help but wonder if the prophecy caused the actions or the actions were to be predicted. In both Macbeth and Oedipus the King the revelations seem to provoke the actions especially in Macbeth where the witches appear to be maleficent and may have orchestrated his despair. Prophecies in tragedies are ambiguous which would also explain why our tragic heroes have falling to their death so ironically. Macbeth was not told how he would be King? Nor was he to know that MacDuff “was from his mother’s womb/untimely ripped” (5.8.19-20). No wonder Macbeth thought he was invincible. One thing for sure, knowing what the future has in store for us can be very dangerous.
Henry V and his multiple personalities
From the moment Professor Berggren explained to us how Harry or should I say Henry V altered his behavior from vagabond to true royal model seemingly overnight I thought there was something odd about his personality only to be proven right. He takes on a different role depending on who is speaking to or the situation he is in.
He pretends to be merciful in Act 2 scene 2 when he finds out about the treachery of his officers. But he is shown as heartless in Act 4 scene 7 when he commits a war crime by ordering the war prisoners to death. He is brutal in his war speech in act 3 scene 1 yet inspiring in act 4 scene 1. He is harsh on the people of England when he speaks of them in private in act 4 scene1 but empathetic of them when he speaks to his cousin in act 4 scene 3. Then we have the smooth talking arguably deceitful Henry V in act 5 scene 2 as he tries to woo Katherine.
We only see a sliver of the real Henry V and how he is truly feeling when he is alone and does not have to put on a mask. I can’t say I don’t like what I see under the mask because I know we all wear them in our modern society. Henry V being faced with greater responsibilities has many more faces than we do. Shakespeare captures his different faces well among his emotions.
Posted in Henry V
Tagged brutal, deceitful, emotions, empathetic, feeling, harsh, heartless, Henry V, merciful, personality, role
4 Comments
The irony of it all
The addition of the induction introduces us to a frame story with no narrator, where the story within the story is the main attraction hence the intentional title The Taming of the Shrew. As with his other comedies, Shakespeare uses the same comedic formula: a ruse, role changes in status and possibly gender, and a dupe. These characteristics would not be complete without the mess of a twist we all call irony which keeps the audience amused, and ties the comedic attributes together. Furthermore, the awareness of a trickery only strengthens the point of the irony as Grumio says, “to beguile the old folks, how the young folks lay their heads together!” Young or old, the characters are being made a fool by someone who is being fooled by someone else. It appears that by the end of this charade the characters will be none the wiser. The irony of it all keeps the story moving forward.
