June 10, 2015 (Week 16)
1. Hamlet
The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, often shortened to Hamlet, is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare at an uncertain date between 1599 and 1602. Set in the Kingdom of Denmark, the play dramatises the revenge Prince Hamlet is instructed to enact on his uncle Claudius. Claudius had murdered his own brother, Hamlet's father King Hamlet, and subsequently seized the throne, marrying his deceased brother's widow, Hamlet's mother Gertrude
→Ophelia depicts lady Ophelia's mysterious death by drowning. In the play, it is discussed by the gravediggers whether Ophelia's death was a suicide and whether or not she merits a Christian burial. (Artist: John Everett Millais 1852).
2. King Lear
This drama is one of the great tragedy themed plays by William Shakespeare. The themes of the play cover greed, betrayal, lust for power, and cruelty. The story of King Lear, an aging monarch who is headstrong old man who is blind to his weaknesses, decides to divide his kingdom amongst his three daughters, according to which one recites the best declaration of love. Goneril and Regan who are the selfish daughters of Lear who pretend to love him but later treat him cruelly. Cordelia who is the loyal and unselfish daughter. King Lear disowns Cordelia after confusing her honesty with insolence. The end of the play ends in death by various methods including poison and suicide. Cordelia dies and King Lear, now a broken man, also dies.
→"King Lear and the Fool in the Storm" by William Dyce (1806–1864)
3. Othello
This tightly constructed work revolves around four central characters: Othello, a Moorish general in the Venetian army; his beloved wife, Desdemona; his loyal lieutenant, Cassio; and his trusted but unfaithful ensign, Iago. Because of its varied and current themes of racism, love, jealousy, betrayal, revenge and repentance, Othello is still often performed in professional and community theatre alike and has been the basis for numerous operatic, film, and literary adaptations.
→Desdemona and Othello, by Antonio Muñoz Degrain
4. Macbeth
Macbeth is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy, and tells the story of a brave Scottish general named Macbeth who receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the throne for himself. He is then wracked with guilt and paranoia, and he soon becomes a tyrannical ruler as he is forced to commit more and more murders to protect himself from enmity and suspicion. The bloodbath and consequent civil war swiftly take Macbeth and Lady Macbeth into the realms of arrogance, madness, and death.
→Macbeth and Banquo encounter the witches for the first time
＊The Four Comedies
These include the adventures of four young Athenian lovers and a group of six amateur actors (mechanicals), who are controlled and manipulated by the fairies who inhabit the forest in which most of the play is set. The play is one of Shakespeare's most popular works for the stage and is widely performed across the world.
→A drawing of Puck, Titania and Bottom from Act III, Scene ii.
Though classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic scenes, and is best known for Shylock and the famous "Hath not a Jew eyes?"
→Title page of the first quarto of Merchant of Venice (1600)
By means of "noting" (which, in Shakespeare's day, sounded the same as "nothing," and which is gossip, rumour, and overhearing), Benedick and Beatrice are tricked into confessing their love for each other, and Claudio is tricked into rejecting Hero at the altar on the erroneous belief that she has been unfaithful. At the end, Benedick and Beatrice join forces to set things right, and the others join in a dance celebrating the marriages of the two couples.
→The first page of Much Ado About Nothing, printed in the Second Folio of 1632
Troilus and Cressida is set during the later years of the Trojan War, faithfully following the plotline of the Iliad from Achilles' refusal to participate in battle to Hector's death.
→Troilus and Cressida, Act V, Scene II. 1795 engraving by Luigi Schiavonetti after a painting of 1789 by Angelica Kauffman.