#1

   Shakespeare's Hamlet is written during a time in which reason has begun to triumph over superstition.  The ghost of Old King Hamlet appears to men on the night watch, when they see this apparition, one of the men, Horatio says: "In what particular thought to work I know not/ But in gross and scope mine opinion/ This bodes some strange eruption to our state" (I.I.78-80).   This reaction is conflicted, the men know what they have seen yet they not that reason says it cannot be.  This consternation reflects the changing time of Shakespeare's day.  As scholars gained more worldly wisdom, superstition seemed false.  Yet the old practices and folklore were things that people still wanted to hold onto.  In Hamlet, Shakespeare shows that either reason or superstition will triumph in the end.  Whichever one triumphs determines the ends of all who are in the story.  Reason is rational, superstition is the irrational that is justified within a person's mind.  It will be young Hamlet's challenge to choose the rational or irrational in avenging his father's death.

#7

    The protagonist Othello, of Shakespeare’s Othello, is a tragic hero in one of the purest forms.  What bring about Othello’s demise are his tragic flaws.  Othello arguably has a multitude of flaws from his trust in others to jealousy.  His most prominent flaw towards the end of his life is his steadfastness and confidence in his beliefs.  Just before killing his wife, Desdemona, Othello cries,

            “Othello: It is the cause, it is the cause, my soul.

              Let me not name it to you, you chaste stars.

              It is the cause…

               Yet she must die, else she’ll betray more men” (V.II.1-6).

Here Othello makes it clear that he cannot compromise the deed he plans to commit neither can he contemplate it because of the moral weight that it carries within him.  Othello believes that killing Desdemona is a moral and good thing to do.  In preparing for the murder he repeats that it is a cause.  His repetition of “the cause” emphasizes that his deed is something in which he strongly believes in.  He will not allow himself to rethink it because he is steadfast in his belief.  Yet in reality, Othello plans to shed innocent blood.  His moral crusade is directed in the wrong direction.  The woman he wishes to kill has done him no wrong and would never betray any man save her own father.  Had Othello not been so steadfast in his belief he may have mulled over the subject and found out the truth.  Othello’s steadfastness allows him to kill Desdemona.  In the end when he realizes that he is wrong he must in turn kill himself.  Throughout the story Othello is confident and steadfast from his belief in Othello’s honesty to his trust that the nobles of Venice will do him no harm because of his love for Desdemona.  This seemingly virtuous quality only demotes Othello.  It allows him to be easily manipulated and deceived.  With the correction of this trait Othello could have avoided jealousy, doubt in his wife’s faithfulness and in the end the murder of a loved one.  Such is the tragedy of a tragic hero. 

#6

       Shakespeare's Othello, is written in a time where females have no rights.  They are seen as a lower subset to men.  They are looked upon as not having the same passions or tendencies as men and when they do show such needs and desires, for example: sexual desires, they are castigated and looked upon as despicable.  This is why Emilia's statement on the desires of women is so out of the ordinary and can be looked upon as modern.  After being asked by Desdemona whether or not women are ever unfaithful towards their husbands, Emilia responds with,
             "Emilia: Yes, a dozen...[But I do think it is their husbands' faults If wives do fall...Let husbands know
              Their wives have sense like them.  They see, and smell,  And have their palates both for sweet and
              sour, As husbands have.  What is it that they do When they change us for others?  Is it sport?
              I think it is.  And doth affection breed it?  I think it doth. Is 't frailty that thus errs?  It is so too.  And
              have not we affections,  Desires for sport, and frailty, as men have?  Then let them use us well.  Else
              let them know,  The ills we do, their ills instruct us so" (IV.III. 95-115).
Here Emilia claims that women and men are equal in their desires.  Emilia says that women are motivated to commit adultery in the same way that men are.  In addition, Emilia claims that a woman who acts in infidelity against her husband is spurred to it by her husband.  She further warns that men must be treat their wives well if they wish for  them to remain faithful.  Emilia's thoughts are ahead of her time.  She promotes good and equal treatment in marriage, something unheard of during her era.  Also Emilia recognizes that not all women are the coy and innocent beings society makes them out to be, rather they are human filled with all of the same desires as men.
      Desdemona's response is one that speaks for the thinking of the time period:
       "Desdemona: (God) me such uses send, Not to pick bad from bad, but by bad mend" (IV.III.116-117).
Desdemona aspires to the cult of domesticity, customary of her time period.  She wants to be a proper housewife no matter if her husband mistreats her or casts her off.  She does not believe in blaming a man for turning to infidelity.  Instead she believes it a woman's duty to hold true to her husband, this belief is also reflected in her initial disbelief at Emilia's answer when she says,
         "Desdemona: I do not think there is any such woman" (IV.III.94).
Desdemona's view of women contrasts Emilia's and reflects the contrast that women of Emilia and Desdemona's day battled against.  They were constrained to domesticity and fidelity to their husbands by society, in reality many sought freedom in all arenas and often felt driven to it because of mistreatment from their husbands.