Author Archives: nmartinez1

Posts: 3 (archived below)
Comments: 3

The Winter’s Tale Finale

Posted on December 14, 2011 by nmartinez1

The finale of The Winter’s Tale reminded me of  act V in Much Ado about Nothing. In The Winter’s Tale, everyone except Paulina believed that Hermione was dead. Paulina presents a statue that looks exactly like Hermione would look now, if she were to be alive. To everyone’s surprise it is Hermione alive and well. Unfortunately there is no explanation as to why she was in hiding for the past sixteen years except to make Leontes suffer for his jealous illusions. In the beginning of this act, Leontes  is still in agony because of his wife’s and son’s death. Although he is motivated to move on, Paulina encourages him to continue in agony and makes him promise not to marry again. Hermione does not appear until Perdita returns to exempt her father from his suffering.

In Much Ado about Nothing, Hero is also believed to be dead. Once Claudio carries out with his punishment of writing a poem to her and agreeing to marry her cousin, Hero reveals herself. Hero and Hermione’s deaths are led by the false accusations against them. The reveal of their existence contributes to the order and happiness at the end of each play. They symbolize death and rebirth in both plays. Our current play started off with winter and two deaths and ends in spring with the return of Hermione and Perdita to Leontes.

Posted in Much Ado About Nothing, The Winter's Tale | 3 Comments

Women in Troilus and Cressida

Posted on November 10, 2011 by nmartinez1

I have to agree with many of the comments made so far, especially the one that characterizes the women in Shakespearean plays. In this particular play, Troilus and Cressida, women are portrayed as either a whore, crazy or hardly referred to at all in the text.

Andromache does not appear in the play until act V.  She is the wife of the greatest Trojan warrior, Hector. “Hath nothing been but shape and forms of slaughter” (5.3.12). In act V she implores Hector not to fight because she dreamed about his death. After a few lines we never hear from her again.

Cassandra is the Trojan princess and prophetess. She is portrayed as a crazy woman yet she warns her brothers of the fall of Troy, “Cry, cry! Troy burns, or else let Helen go” (2.2.112). She does not reappear until the final act, when she too warns Hector of his death. The Trojans fail to listen to her words and they lose their hero.

Helen is cause of the war between the Trojans and the Greek. She is represented as a whore in this play because she willingly leaves Menelaus for Paris. Diomedes calls both men fools to fight and destroy for her and for their glory. (4.1.54-56)

Cressida is also depicted as whore. At first she thinks highly of Hector then Pandarus opens her eyes to Troilus. She gives in to his seduction as she will give in to Diomedes. In act IV Ulysses degrades Cressida by stating that everyone must kiss her to welcome her. I believe this act was unfair to Cressida because there is nothing else she could have done about the kisses. Yet she is deemed as loose by Ulysses and he himself does not kiss her.

Posted in Troilus and Cressida | 4 Comments

Claudio and Hero’s Marriage

Posted on September 22, 2011 by nmartinez1

When Don John informs Claudio and Don Pedro about Hero’s infidelity, they do not hesitate to believe him. Don John has created a plan with Borachio, where Claudio
and Don Pedro quickly fall into the trap.  Through Borachio’s conclusion, we know that
Claudio and Don Pedro confused Margaret with Hero. It is very surprising and at
the same time disturbing how neither man took a moment to approach Hero that
same night at her balcony. The men must have been at a great distance to not
have noticed the differences in the women, in regards to their voice, language
and features. The men only wanted to believe what they had already been told.

Claudio seems to only care about what he can do to get back at Hero.  It is astonishing to note how quickly his love to her has become mere hatred.  It is difficult to understand his change of feelings after he publicly humiliates her at the altar. His actions symbolize his youth. Another individual, one that is mature and experienced would have probably handled the situation differently. The best way to have handled a similar situation would have been to approach Hero or her father Leonato in private. Hero deserved to have the
opportunity to defend herself.

Unfortunately for Hero, she has to go through a representation of death and rebirth to erase way the sin she was wrongly accused of.  The sin of adultery ruins her reputation and
that of her family. This process of death will allow Hero to be valued for the good qualities she should be remembered by. Her rebirth is a symbol for a new beginning. After all that has happened Hero marries Claudio because she truly loves him and realizes that their love was tested by a misunderstanding.

The ending of this play has a fairytale ending of happily ever after. In a discussion
from another English class, the majority of readers know how the ending of a text will end. However, recent studies show that readers are more intrigued to know how the characters and their drama get to that ending. It is more interesting for some people to read about finding the solution to the conflict rather than to read how happy everybody becomes.

Posted in Gender matters, Much Ado About Nothing | 1 Comment