Compare And Contrast Hamlet And Twelfth Night - 1162 Words

From Hilarity to Tragedy in Shakespeare: How Hamlet and Twelfth Night Compare By Zawadi Bunzigiye William Shakespeare wrote plays covering the breadth of human experience. They seem to have transcended the restraints of age because of the universal themes that they contain. His body of his work is comprised of genres of plays varying from tragedies to comedies. Of them, Hamlet and Twelfth Night are perfect examples of both. A comparison between them would be of interest because their common points demonstrate that, however differing their genres are, Shakespeare’s plays essentially illustrate what it is to be human. That is because body imagery, critique of mainstream thought and social integration could serve as a basis for their†¦show more content†¦Using these two methods, Shakespeare keeps his portrayals of the extremes of human emotion balanced. Equally important, both Hamlet and Twelfth Night present some critique of upheld tradition in two distinct ways: Hamlet positions itself against it and Twelfth Night’s premise demands it. Critique of the status quo is at the core of the Twelfth Night. It is said that Queen Elizabeth I’s controversial reign at the time informed the play’s content. She, in fact, used to like to invite theater companies to her palaces against public opinion (SparkNotes Editors) and saw a performance of the play in question (SparkNotes Editors). In her medieval England, people met the idea of a female monarch with hostility (Castor), because there had never been one until her ascent to the throne. Ergo, the challenge to tradition that was Queen Elizabeth I’s reign most likely to lead the discussion of gender roles in Twelfth Night. In Hamlet, there is no analytic thinking on the traditional themes prevailing in the play. Much of Hamlet revolves around the idea that the disorder of universe leads to generally grave disrepair. This is according to The Great Chain of Being, which was an explicit and distinct hierarchy of life within the Elizabethan universe from Shakespeare’s time (TES). It dictated that, of all the creatures under the Moon, Man was at the very top. A clear sign of fear of this hierarchy isShow MoreRelatedWomen in William Shakespeare’s Plays Essay2376 Words   |  10 PagesElizabethan belief was that women lacked character, particularly in the case of love.   Some considered â€Å"women’s love [was] very variable and not lasting† (Bates 13).   Shakespeare alludes to this belief in Twelfth Night when â€Å"Viola also laments that Olivia cold fall in love with Cesario so easily; she compares women’s hearts to sealing wax in an apt metaphor, and notes how the ‘proper false’ leaves a lasting impression in their hearts† (Bates 11).   Orsino, as the frustrated suitor laments â€Å"that women areRead More Comparing the Love of Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night and the Bible4838 Words   |  20 Pagesovercome by tragic fate. His star-crossed lovers are so madly in love with each other that they cannot live without being together. (RJ Prologue, 6) By contrast, in Twelfth Night the characters are so fickle that they switch love interests in the span of a few lines. By comparing the true love of Romeo and Juliet with the shallow love of Twelfth Night, it becomes clear that Shakespeare agrees with the Biblical assessment of love.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is necessary, of course, to begin by explaining whatRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Sonnets : The Greatest Of All Love Poems1465 Words   |  6 Pages these works have remained a popular subject in the world of literature for centuries to come. â€Å"Shakespeare has completely dominated the English-speaking state over the last four hundred years.† When thinking of Shakespeare, his famous plays such Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet are usually the first to come to mind. However, very few people realize he was also one of the most significant writers of all time. â€Å"He [Shakespeare] was the most admired writer in the country by the time he was thirty and theRead MoreTypes Of Poetry : A Poem Which Deals With Religious Themes, Love, Tragedy, Domestic Crimes, Essay2495 Words   |  10 Pageshundred and ninety-nine, with elephants dancing and clowns cart wheeling and tigers leaping through rings of fire. The time had come to step back, leave the main tent, go buy some popcorn and a Coke, bliss out, cool down.† (Dean Koontz, Seize the Night. Bantam, 1999) 19. Metonymy: Substituting the name of something for its attribute or whatever it is associated with. Example- When we use the name â€Å"Washington D.C† we are talking about the U.S’ political hot seat by referring to the political capital