.... and gentle Bianca. In order to ensure Katherine is married, Baptista disallows Bianca to be espoused until Katherine is wed, forcing the many suitors to Bianca to find a mate for Katherine in order for them to vie for Bianca's love. Many critics of the play condemn it for the blatant sexist attitude it has toward women but closer examination of the play and the intricacies of its structure reveal that it is not merely a story of how men should 'put women in their place'. The play is a comedy about an assertive woman coping with how she is expected to act in the society of the late sixteenth century and of how one must obey the unwritten rules of a society to .....

.... is stripped of everything before he can realize the folly of his judgment. Reduced to a simple man, Lear is forced to learn the lessons that God's anointed is already supposed to know. This is the purpose of the secondary characters of King Lear; they serve to show the many complex facets of Lear's complex personality, as they force him to finally get in touch with his self-conscious. For example, the Fool, oddly enough, acts as the voice of reason for the out-of -touch King. He views events critically and thus seems to foreshadow situations that an ignorant Lear is completely oblivious to. This is evident in act 1, scene 1, when a prodding Fool asks t .....

.... tragic. Macbeth's courage and loyalty to Scotland have won him many praises and noble titles. Malcolm and his father, King Duncan, continue to praise the great fighter for being so brave. Because of Macbeth's great courage, he is awarded the title "Thane of Cawdor" by king Duncan. The darker side of Macbeth is also shown in his brutal way of killing his enemy in the battle, Macbeth's cold and violent side. We see here that Macbeth has no problem brutally killing someone in cold blood. Another aspect of Macbeth's darker side is shown in scene 3 of Act I when Macbeth believes the witches' prophesies and is determined to see them come true, while Banquo is som .....

.... and change of mood towards her come from shock. She can not believe Hamlet is speaking to her “ . . . with so much rudeness, which seems to be useless and wanton cruelty” (Eastman 181). Ophelia of course, has no idea of the state Hamlet is in. She probably figures his state of mind is caused by her obeying her father’s orders. For instance, Arthur Eastman states: “Hamlet vents upon Ophelia; it is his sense of outrage at Ophelia, that she could place obedience to her father before her love for him” (194). Hamlet does not understand her obedience to Polonius. Therefore, in the Nunnery Scene, Hamlet confesses to Ophelia that, “I loved you not” (3.1.117 .....

.... Claudius, the “incestuous beast”(Shakespeare 72) murdered him in the garden. The late King Hamlet urges his son to “Revenge his most foul and unnatural murder” (Shakespeare 72). This puts the play into full action and Hamlet puts his intelligence to work. He formulates a plan “to put an antic disposition on” (82) in order to move about the castle to get information about Claudius in order to avenge his father’s death. This is a truly ingenious plan in order for Hamlet to gain what he needs. He has made believers out of those around him that he is mad (when actually is not). Polonius says to Ophelia “That [rejected love from her] hath made him mad” (94 .....

.... A modern boy scout to say the least, but as the play unwinds, his actions and thoughts catch him and slowly turn him insane. Not to say that he was a crazed madman out of touch with reality as was Ophelia, but a man driven crazy by thought. Hamlet's behavior throughout the play, especially towards Ophelia is inconsistent. He jumps into Ophelia's grave, and fights with Laertes in her grave. He professes "I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers/Could not, with all their quantity of love,/ Make up my sum" [Act V, scene I, lines 250-253], during the fight with Laertes in Ophelia's grave, but he tells her that he never loved her, when she returns his letters .....

.... shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?" (Macbeth 1. 1. line 1). This is a good example of darkness imagery because when you think of the crashing thunder, lightning and rain, they all remind you of evil and ominous things. Later on the Sergeant is talking with Duncan and Malcolm when he states "Ship wrecking storms and direful thunders break" (1. 2. l26). Again this darkness imagery contributes to the ominous atmosphere of the play, having reference to thunder and dark storms. Finally, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are talking in the scene just before the murder of Banquo and Macbeth says "Light thickens, and the crow makes wing to th .....

.... This assumption in itself produces the very matter in question. Take for example Hamlet’s hesitation to kill the king. Hamlet believes that his desire to kill King Claudius is driven by his fathers’ demand for revenge. If this were true, Hamlet would kill Claudius the moment he has the chance, if not the moment he knows for sure that Claudius is guilty of murdering his father. Why does Hamlet hesitate? One must call into question what Hamlet holds to be true. If Hamlet’s given motivation for killing the king is legitimate, then Claudius should die at about Act 3. Because Hamlet’s actions do not correspond with his given reasoning, one is forced to look .....