Friday, March 13, 2015

What other characters does Shakespeare use to advance the Hamlet theme that a hero in one subplot can be the villain in the other?One of the great...

In some sense, Antony in Julius Caesar (not in Antony and Cleopatra) is an example of a dual-natured character, not quite to the extent of Hamlet, but nonetheless, he plays the avenger of Caesar's assassination and certainly comes across as the hero after his funeral speech.  Later, though, in Act 4, he mercilessly plots the murders of over a hundred people, even family members, supposedly to get revenge for Caesar, but in actuality to get rid of competition.


Shylock, too, from The Merchant of Venice can be interpreted as a dual-natured character.  The audience must feel sympathy for him after the way he has been humiliated by Antonio and then eventually when everything he owns and cares about is ripped away from him.  After the court case, he comes across as a sort of tragic hero.  In contrast, Shylock seeks to cut out a pound of flesh from another human being which is definitely villainous desire.

No comments:

Post a Comment