Is sicklied a'er with the pale cast of thought;

And enterprises of great pitch and moment,

With this regard, their currents turn awry,

And lose the name of action.

Glossary

To be or not to be — should 1 endure my sorrows or take the king's life — and so inevitably lose mine? should 1 kill myself? slings and arrows — ail the things that attack us; No — nothing; to say — if it is true; flesh is heir to — we are born to suffer; consummation — perfect conclusion; devoutly — sincerely; perchance — perhaps (poetic);

Ay, there's the rub — Yes, that's where the problem is; shuffled of this mortal coil -»- shaken off the turmoil of our pre­sent life; give us pause — make us hesitate; respect — consideration;

makes calamity of so long life — makes disaster last so long (or that make$ such a long life disastrous?);

whips and scorns of time — insults of this world; contumely — humiliating behaviour; pangs of despised love — pain when love is not valued; law's delay delays caused by legal processes; insolence of office — rudeness shown by those in positions of authority;

spurns that patient merit of the unworthy takes — insults which

good and quiet people take from those who are unworthy; his quietus make — settle his account (release him from life); bare bodkin — only a dagger; fardels — burdens (archaic);

But that the dread puzzles the will — if the fear. «. didn't make

us uncertain; bourn — boundary (archaic); conscience — being aware; native hue — natural colour; sicklied o'er with — weakened by; cast — colour;

pitch and moment — importance;

With this regard, their currents torn awry — when considered like this their forward movement is diverted.

2. Understanding and interpretation:

• Read the lines *To be . .\ end them". How could you sum­marise Hamlet's problem?

• Explain what you think Hamlet could be referring to. in:

a) No more;

b) 'tis a consummation.

• Read the lines ' To sleep'... so long life* and complete the fol­lowing. The problem is not dying but...

• Read the lines Who would fardels . . . name of action'. What does Hamlet mean by *Thus conscience does make cowards of us аІП

Щ OTHELLO

A general summary

Othello, a noble black Moor (North African) has spent his life as a soldier and become a general in the army of Venice, Italy. He marries Desdemona, a beautiful Venetian girl much younger than himself. Almost immediately after the marriage, Othello is ordered to Cyprus, where Desdemona joins him. Othello's villainous aid, lago, hates the Moor as. he doesn't get the post of lieutenant in Othello's army. He is jealous of the success of his rival, Cassio. As a way of gaining his revenge, he decides to 'poison 'Othello's mind with lies about Desdemona's infidelity.

lago quickly convinces Othello* that Desdemona has been unfaithful. He achieves his goal by taking advantage of Othello's inse­curjty over his colour, age, and lack of sophistication. Othello believes lago, whom he thinks is 'honest', and after seeing Cassio with Desdemona's handkerchief, he is persuaded to change his atti­tude to his wife. He now thinks of her as a prostitute, and of him­self as a disgraced and deceived husband. He decides to seek revenge for his indignity, and he murders Desdemona believing that her death is a just reward for the crime she has committed. But after having killed her, he is made realize the nature of the mistake he has made. He stabs himself and dies.

Commentary

This play is Shakespeare's most straightforward tragedy. The action moves rapidly, and the language is simple and direct, like the main characters. "Othello" is a tragedy of personal tensions, of love and hatred, and of jealousy and impatience. What finally does Othello's death tell us? The justice that he enacted upon Desdemona he turns upon himself in an act which requires great courage. Thus, he comes to some understanding of how 'good and evil' are balanced in the world and how Man can overcome his deficiencies. Othello's death is therefore a kind of lesson. He shows that Man can triumph over evil which enslaves him, but the price of that triumph is death.

Othello. Othello is, perhaps, one of Shakespeare's most unusual tragic heroes,-a combination of opposites in that he is a 'black' man with a 'perfect soul'. Central to his character then, is what he might call an inversion of the relationship between body and soul. So long as his ''perfectsoul'rules his actions, then he is the 'noble Moor', but once he falls victim to his passions, then the relationship between the two is inverted.

Generally, the Othello of the first two acts is a character of impressive dignity and presence, well-able to command and pos­sessing the kind of charisma which diverts our attention from the ambiguous circumstances of his marriage. But as he succumbs to the passion of jealousy, based as it is upon suspicion, his rational pow­ers are so perverted that his own view of himself changes. His black face becomes a badge or emblem of his sullied reputation, as the author now sets out to explore the full dramatic ambiguity of the soul/body paradox which we observed earlier. His blackness, the defi­ciencies of his speech, and a debilitating sense of his own age, now replace our earlier positive view of him. During the middle part of the play, after lago has begun to work on him what Othello says about himself should be treated with extreme caution, since we know that he is deluded. Lodovico reminds us of his former 'noble nature', and 'solid virtue', as a way of keeping before us the Othello of the first two acts of the play but it is not until after the murder of Desdemona, when the truth begins to emerge, that the pendulum begins to swing back. Horrified though, we are at the extravagance of Othello's reactions to Iago's insinuations, his attempts to justify

Desdemona's murder arouse in us a measure of sympathy, partly because we have been privileged to see how it has come about.

Though not entirely to blame, he does assume full responsibili­ty for his action as he proceeds to exact from himself the terrible penalty that he now realises he has wrongfully imposed upon Desdemona. His final speech, measured and dignified, recaptures the modesty and directness of his earlier utterances. Moreover, his enact­ment of a part of his personal history, upon which his claim to nobil­ity rests, contributes to our sense of him as a tragic hero, torn vio­lently between opposed view-points, and reconciling them only at the cost of his own life.

Desdemona. She does embody the principle of 'good'm the play, but Shakespeare takes care to provide her with certain human touch­es which fill out her character.

Despite Iago's insinuations, and Othello's later attacks upon her, she remains the most consistent character in the play, although the ambiguous circumstances of her marriage open her actions to the possibility of misinterpretation.

When Desdemona appears to speak for herself, we are immedi­ately aware of a woman, mature in judgement, perceptive, and in full control of her faculties. She outlines her 'duty' both to her father and to her husband, and she is clear and positive about her reasons for having decided to marry Othello. We are impressed too by the faith she inspires in her husband, who responds to Brabantio's churlish allegation that she may be more deceitful than Othello realizes, with the comment: "My life upon her faith". The public demonstration of Desdemona's virtues is balanced by a more' covert undermining of them as lago undertakes to instruct Roderigo in what he claims are the habits of Venetian women. But we must remember that more than any other character in the play, she has a thorough knowledge of 'goodness'. There is, of course, a sense in which all 'good' in the play seems naive in the face of Iago's cynical and reductive outlook. The point is that Desdemona's openness is made to seem tactless, and in a curious way, childish, in a situation in which it is a quality no longer to be valued. She preserves her integrity for us with her request to Cassio to "Stay and hear me speak", and even her excuse for not being able to produce her handkerchief cannot be considered as deceit. Perhaps the final evidence for her consistent devotion comes when at the point of death, she takes full blame for Othello's action: "Nobody, / myself, farewelF'.

lago. lago is probably the most sophisticated of a long line of Shakespearean villains. The author sought to create more than sim­ply an embodiment of evil, designed merely as a counterbalance to the moral values attributed to Desdemona. Iago's lies are plausible, and there is a grain of truth in his evaluation of experience, but he fools everybody, and his lies are nonetheless lies.

lago is unquestionably evil, but Shakespeare complicates the pic­ture by attributing to him a series of motives for wanting to destroy Othello.

35

curity over his colour, age, and lack of sophistication. Othello believes lago, whom he thinks is 'honest, and after seeing Cassio with Desdemona's handkerchief, he is persuaded to change his atti­tude to his wife. He now thinks of her as a prostitute, and of him­self as a disgraced and deceived husband.. He decides to seek revenge for his indignity, and he murders Desdemona believing that her death is a just reward for the crime she has committed. But after having killed her, he is made realize the nature of the mistake he has made. He stabs himself and dies.

Commentary

This play is Shakespeare's most straightforward tragedy. The action moves rapidly, and the language is simple and direct, like the main characters. "Othello" is a tragedy of personal tensions, of love and hatred, and of jealousy and impatience. What finally does Othello's death tell us? The justice that he enacted upon Desdemona he turns upon himself in an act which requires great courage. Thus, he comes to some understanding of how 'good and evit are balanced in the world and how Man can overcome his deficiencies. Othello's death is therefore a kind of lesson. He shows that Man can triumph over evil which enslaves him, but the price of that triumph is death.

Othello. Othello is, perhaps, one of Shakespeare's most unusual tragic heroes,-a combination of opposites in that he is a * black' man with a 'perfect soul'. Central to his character then, is what he might call an inversion of the relationship between body and soul. So long as his 'perfect soul'rules his actions, then he is the * noble Moor\ but once he falls victim to his passions, then the relationship between the two is inverted.

Generally, the Othello of the first two acts is a character of impressive dignity and presence, well-able to command and pos­sessing the kind of charisma which diverts our attention from the ambiguous circumstances of his marriage. But as he succumbs to the passion of jealousy, based as it is цроп suspicion, his rational pow­ers are so perverted that his own view "of himself changes. His black face becomes a badge or emblem of his sullied reputation, as the author now sets out to explore the fijll dramatic ambiguity of the soul/body paradox which we observed earlier. His blackness, the defi­ciencies of his speech, and a debilitating sense of his own age, now replace our earlier positive view of him. During the middle part of the play, after lago has begun to work on him what Othello says about himself should be treated with extreme caution, since we know that he is deluded. Lodovico reminds us of his former 'noble nature \ and 'solid virtueJ, as a way of keeping before us the Othello of the first two acts of the play but it is not until after the murder of Desdemona, when the truth begins to emerge, that the pendulum begins to swing back. Horrified though, we are at the extravagance of Othello's reactions to Iago's insinuations, his attempts to justify

Desdemona's murder arouse in us a measure of sympathy, partly because we have been privileged to see how it has come about.

Though not entirely to blame, he does assume full responsibili­ty for his action as he proceeds to exact from himself the terrible penalty that he now realises he has wrongfully imposed upon Desdemona. His final speech, measured and dignified, recaptures the modesty and directness of his earlier utterances. Moreover, his enact­ment of a part of his personal history, upon which his claim to nobil­ity rests, contributes to our sense of him as a tragic hero, torn vio­lently between opposed view-points, and reconciling them only at the cost of his own life.

Desdemona. She does embody the principle of'good'in the play, but Shakespeare takes care to provide her with certain human touch­es which fill out her character.

Despite Iago's insinuations, and Othello's later attacks upon her, she remains the most consistent character in the play, although the ambiguous circumstances of her marriage open her actions to the possibility of misinterpretation.

When Desdemona appears to speak for herself, we are immedi­ately aware of a woman, mature in judgement, perceptive, and in full control of her faculties. She outlines her 'duty 'both to her father and to her husband, and she is clear and positive about her reasons for having decided to marry Othello. We are impressed too by the faith she inspires in her husband, who responds to Brabantio's churlish allegation that she may be more deceitful than Othello realizes, with the comment: "My life upon her faith". The public demonstration of Desdemona's virtues is balanced by a more' covert undermining of them as lago undertakes to instruct Roderigo in what he claims are the habits of Venetian women. But we must remember that more than any other character in the play, she has a thorough knowledge of 'goodness*. There is, of course, a sense in which all ''good' in the play seems naive in the face of Iago's cynical and reductive outlook. The point is that Desdemona's openness is made to seem tactless, and in a curious way, childish, in a situation in which it is a quality no longer to be valued. She preserves her integrity for us with her request to Cassio to "Stay and hear me speak", and even her excuse for not being able to produce her handkerchief cannot be considered as deceit. Perhaps the final evidence for her consistent devotion comes when at the point of death, she takes full blame for Othello's action: "Nobody, I myself fareweir.

lago. lago is probably the most sophisticated of a long line of Shakespearean villains. The author sought to create more than sim­ply an embodiment of evil, designed merely as a counterbalance to the moral values attributed to Desdemona. Iago's lies are plausible, and there is a grain of truth in his evaluation of experience, but he fools everybody, and his lies are nonetheless lies.

lago is unquestionably evil, but Shakespeare complicates the pic­ture by attributing to him a series of motives for wanting to destroy Othello.

36

The main motive that lago advances for his disloyalty to Othello concerns his failure to obtain the post of lieutenant which has gone to Cassio. lago's motives revolve around the twin poles of greed and envy. This provision of motives gives the author's villainy a plausi­bility which we cannot examine closely; It is not surprising that once lago's plots are revealed, he refuses to explain them: "Demand me nothing, what you know, you know". Perhaps all that we can really say of iago is that he exists, (n a frightened retort after Othello stabs him he observes maliciously, aI bleed, Sir, but not kill'(T\ and even after the hero lies dead, lago still remains, observing the tragic results of his devilish handiwork. .

ASSIGNMENT

Hold discussions on the points:

• What do you consider to be the significance of Othello's death at the end of the play? Does it achieve anything?

• Is Desdemona's character too good to be true?

• What are the main characteristics of Othello's love for Desdemona?

• In what ways might "Othello" be considered a "revenge" play?

Щ KING LEAR

A general summary

The main plot concerns Lear, an aged king of ancient Britain. He prepares to divide his kingdom among his three daughters — Regan, Goneril and Cordelia. Lear becomes angry with Cordelia, his youngest daughter, refuses to flatter him to gain her portion of the kingdom. Lear rashly disinherits her. He also exiles his trusted advis­er, Kent, for supporting Cordelia.

Regan and Goneril soon show their ingratitude. They deprive Lear of his servants and finally force him to spend a night outdoors during, a storm accompanied only by his jester, called the Fool. Lear's mind begins to snap under the strain. But as he approaches madness, he finally sees his errors and selfishness. Cordelia, who had been living in France, returns to Britain and finds the king insane. Lear recovers his sanity and recognizes her. Armies raised by the wicked sisters capture Lear and Cordelia, who is put to death. Meanwhile, Goneril has poisoned Regan in a bitter quarrel over a man they both love and then killed herself. Order is finally restored in the kingdom. But Lear dies of a broken heart as he kneels over the body of Cordelia.

Shakespeare skilfully wove a subplot into the main story of Lear and his daughters. Gloucester, a nobleman in Lear's court, makes the mistake of banishing his faithful son, Edgar, and trust­ing his-wicked son, Edmund. Edmund soon betrays his.father, who is blinded by Regan's husband. Edgar discovers his blind father and comforts him. Gloucester realizes his errors and espe­cially his lack of concern for people less fortunate thaft himself. He then dies.

Commentary