William Shakespeare Essay Examples - Argumentative Topics for Research Papers

Essays on The Most Famous Plays

Macbeth

Lady Macbeth Banquo King Duncan

Romeo and Juliet

Hamlet

Ophelia Gertrude Laertes

Othello

Desdemona Iago Renaissance

A Midsummer Night's Dream

The Issues of Race in William Shakespeare’s Plays

This dissertation provides a critical discussion of the issues of race in such William Shakespeare’s plays as The Tempest, Titus Andronicus and Othello. Analysing the context, in which these plays are created, and applying to such theoretical tools as the qualitative research method and the social constructionist approach, the research evaluates different perceptions of race through the principal characters of the plays and investigates in depth various critical views. The received results reveal that William Shakespeare interprets the issues of […]

Central Idea of Revenge in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet

In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, several themes within the play comprise it’s story line and ultimately holds major influences on the plot. Conflict underlies almost every scene and is reinforced by the central idea of revenge. Several characters attempt to entice their enemies and even lead them to their own death through schemeful acts of manipulation. The idea of revenge is first presented when Shakespeare creates conflict with Hamlet and Claudius which leads to a series of betrayals, treachery and deception. […]

The Theme of Fate in William Shakespeare’s Play Hamlet

Hamlet has to work out his own salvation in fear and trembling; he has to make a moral decision, in a complex situation where he cannot rely on cut-and-dried moral principles, or on the conventional code of the society in which he lives; and on his choice depend the fate of the people he loves and the fate of the kingdom to which he is the rightful heir. The emphasis on ambiguity in the play, and the absence of overt […]

Much Ado about Nothing by Shakespeare

Much Ado About Nothing is a play that was originally written by Shakespeare and was eventually turned into a hit movie in 1993 by Kenneth Branagh. It features two main characters that are shown deeply throughout the movie, Benedick and Beatrice. These two are shown from the beginning to have feelings for one another, and everyone can see that except themselves. Branagh portrays both Benedick and Beatrice as uncapable of love, never to be married, and jokesters. Everyone sees Benedick […]

Analysis of the Film Simba – Pride and Life

William Shakespeare was one of the most influential English writers during the 15th and 16th century. The works of Shakespeare consisted of tragedy, poetry, historical, and comedy. During his life, Shakespeare had written hundreds of poems, quotes that are used to date, and over 30 + plays. Since then these plays have been remade into movies during the recent 20th and 21st centuries. Shakespeare even managed to create almost 3,000 words and phrases to the English language, words that continue […]

Analysis of the Role of Women in Macbeth

The Plot of Macbeth would have never advanced if the prophecy given by the witches did not make Macbeth eager to take power away from Duncan and become king himself. Many of Shakespeare’s female characters have also been eager to obtain power, however, attaining power was not as casual as it was for men. Women were not thrust into leadership roles as easily as men were; they had to seek them out Andronicus are all examples of women who took […]

Role of Women in Shakespeare’s “Much Ado about Nothing”

For my milestone I chose the theme of the “(stereotypical) role of women” and “Much Ado About Nothing” as my Shakespearean play. My reason for choosing the theme “role of women,” personally is because I identify as a feminist, and I gravitate toward anything that distinguishes characters and individuals from the female stereotype. My initial reason for choosing, “Much Ado About Nothing” is because I’ve been wanting to read it. My other primary is because I knew, just by watching […]

Fate and Destiny in Romeo and Juliet

It would seem outrageous to fake your own death, just so you could marry a person, right? Well if your familiar with the story of Romeo and Juliet then you know what I am talking about, if not, read the first sentence. The psychology behind a person willing to do something would be, to say the least, intriguing, right? “The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet” was a play written by the famous playwright William Shakespeare. The play is set in […]

Romeo and Juliet Compare and Contrast

They say that one of the best tips for authors is to write what you know, and William Shakespeare, a world-renowned poet-playwright, was no stranger to this. He lived in a vivid, bustling world with a rich culture; traditional, yet ever-changing. During his lifetime in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, he experienced a multitude of events, beliefs, and unique people that inspired him to write. Some of the beliefs people had during the time were the idea that […]

Romeo and Juliet: Thesis

Hook: Imagine having true love at 12-15 years old only to die four days later, this is the plot to the famous Romeo and Juliet. However, there are more factors that played a role in their deaths than most know. Background Information: This play was written in the 16th Century when Europe was very unsanitary, and had plague. Many people hardly made contact with each other because it was so bad, but in the play many intimate interactions take place; […]

Romeo and Juliet Examples of True Love

In today’s society, women are viewed as strong and independent people. They hold high powered positions, are leaders in government and take care of their families and homes. In the play Romeo and Juliet, the actions of Juliet as she moves throughout the story strongly suggest that she is becoming a strong , mature, and independent woman who controls her own life. First, Juliet shows that she is strong and independent when she tells her father that she won’t marry […]

Romeo and Juliet Argumentative

Shakespeare in love is based on a fictional account of the literary life of William Shakespeare in the process of casting for Romeo and Juliet. William wrote his plays and sonnets based on events surrounding love, its celebration, and its tragedies. A re-imagination of what may have been happening in his life when he was penning those plays forms the basis of the play by John Madden. The year was 1593 when Shakespeare was still struggling to come up with […]

Ambition and Power in Macbeth

Macbeth is a play written in 1606 by William Shakespeare and set in 11th century Scotland. The main protagonist is an honourable man at the beginning, however driven with ambition, he shows his true nature. With the influence of Lady Macbeth, Macbeth is turned into a monster, with no feelings of guilt and remorse for his own actions. Throughout Macbeth, Shakespeare portrays how Macbeth is transformed from being a loyal commander to a deceitful man in pursuit of his own […]

What is the Purpose of the Appearance and Speech of the Messenger in Scene

Who might have sent this messenger? In Macbeth act 4, the motivation behind the appearance and discourse of the envoy in act four, scene two is to caution Lady Macduff that she is in great danger and should escape her home as soon as possible with her family. While Shakespeare does not expressly advise the crowd who sent the messenger, one can infer that a partner of Macduff and somebody contradicted to Macbeth sent him to secure Lady Macduff and […]

“Merchant of Venice” (mercy)

In Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, we encounter a mercantile city that, in the laws of its’ charter, allows all (native/insider and non-native/outsider alike) to function and interact in the name of stable commerce. The ways in which the laws and contracts of the play are upheld and manipulated show the gap between what is de jure (a state of affairs that is officially sanctioned by the law), what is de facto (a state of affairs that is true in fact, […]

Ophelia’s Madness

Toward the start of the play, Ophelia as observed as an extremely charming and well mannered character. Ophelia is overpowered with her dad’s passing, as she goes into the room singing garbage tunes, which depict mental disintegration. She is appeared to be extremely harmed and upset, she sings a melody about how her dad is ‘dead and gone’. From the earliest starting point, Ophelia keeps on being saved all through the scene, she doesn’t appear to be frantic, be that […]

Why Romeo and Juliet is a Tragedy

“Romeo and Juliet” is considered by the vast majority to be Shakespeare’s most awful work. Two youngsters kick the bucket for their affection for one another – what can be more cleaner, heartfelt and awful than that. In any case, is it really that straightforward? What does really make the play so grievous? Before we can talk about the shocking parts of Romeo and Juliet, we should initially comprehend the importance of the term ‘misfortune’. The Chambers Dictionary characterizes misfortune […]

Compare and Contrast Hamlet and Laertes

Laertes is a person in William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet. He is a child to Polonius. The two characters, Hamlet and Laertes, foster differentiating characters. There are various examinations and differences huge inside various issues, as tended to by various authors.Bennett lays on the reality of portrayal of Polonius an exhortation to Laertes. Waters Bennett expresses that Polonius was not deserving of regard in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. As to different characters, I believe that Hamlet’s and Laertes’ disparities are very obvious as […]

Humanism in Hamlet

Despite the fact that Shakespeare has been perceived as one of the eminent dramatists who composed dependent on humanist qualities, his mentality to the Renaissance humanism creators was not one-dimensional. Shakespeare has communicated incredulity in regards to the Renaissance humanists’ prevalent view that a man was able to do essentially anything and was divine. He likewise condemned the Renaissance humanists’ discussions and failure to come to understanding in regards to the importance of specific things. Above all else, in his […]

Is Macbeth Responsible for his own Downfall

In Shakespeare’s misfortune, Macbeth, he portrays the ascent and defeat of the eponymous hero, Macbeth. The content outlines that there is no sole individual to fault for Macbeth’s defeat however various purposes behind Macbeth’s destruction. Macbeth is just somewhat liable for his own ruin for his possible defeat because of Macduff. Macbeth is driven by the predictions given by the witches and this is sustained with the control of Lady Macbeth and Macbeth’s own ‘vaulting desires’. These are factors which […]

Death in Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet’s decisions ultimately lead to their deaths. There are many factors that need to be considered when examining the reason for their deaths. The time period’s gender roles are a big factor, as well as the people and surroundings of Romeo and Juliet. Women’s expectations then are very different than those of today. Same for the men; they had different expectations than nowadays. The surroundings of Romeo and Juliet and the way they were raised can also affect […]

“Romeo and Juliet”: Fate or Choice

Jim Morrison once said, “Love cannot save you from your own fate.” This connects to the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare because, although Romeo and Juliet’s love was strong, it didn’t stop them from reaching their ultimate fate: an premature death. In the play, Shakespeare shows that fate is an unstoppable force that cannot be changed and uses foreshadowing in order to describe their fate. The characters think that they are deciding their own future, but no matter […]

Romeo and Juliet Rhetorical Analysis

Romeo and Juliet: the world’s greatest love story, or at least that’s what people think, but with further investigating, come to find that Romeo and Juliet were anything but two star crossed lovers bound to be together. Not only was Romeo still going through the heartbreak of his last so-called loving not reciprocating the same emotion, but was also under constant stress for being so emotional, and being teased by his friends for not “manning up” and getting over his […]

Hamlet and Ophelia’s Promising Relationship

Throughout the Shakespearean tragedy, Hamlet, the main character’s words and actions seem to portray his two-sidedness when it comes to his relationship with Ophelia. At first, he loves her, then doesn’t want anything to do with her, but after she dies, he claims to have been infatuated with her all along. His sudden changes in personality leave the readers wondering whether his love for Ophelia is true, or if she is simply an object used to fulfill his physical wishes. […]

Weather in ‘Macbeth’ and ‘Julius Caesar’

Weather during Shakespeare’s time was different how we understand weather today. Weather was believed to be controlled by God or evil spirts. The witches were believed to cause the bad weather to happen. Shakespeare utilizes bad weather to describe what is happening in the plays. For example, stormy weather was associated with the death of Julius Caesar. Weather is just one of the many supernatural events that Shakespeare incorporates into his plays. In Julius Caesar, a series of strange supernatural […]

How does Lady Macbeth Influence Macbeth’s Decision?

In the play Macbeth by Shakespeare, Shakespeare shows how guilt from one’s actions can consume and destroy humans through the changes in the character of Lady Macbeth throughout the play. Lady Macbeth, who changes throughout the play as the result of guilt, starts of the play encouraging Macbeth to eliminate his conscience. As the play progresses she ends up fully consumed in her own guilt. At the beginning of the play, when trying to convince Macbeth to kill Duncan, she […]

Macbeth’s Character Change

From one demonstration to the next, the peruser can perceive how the fundamental character changes. All through the dramatization, Macbeth’s aspirations wind up doing him more damage and bringing evil. How does Macbeth’s character change all through the play? paper. The creator presents Macbeth as a courageous aristocrat. At (Act 1 Scene 1) Macbeth is introduced as a man that is revered and appreciated by many individuals, including the King. As per the creator, he is likewise a resilient man. […]

Why shouldn’t Friar Laurence be Punished?

When looking at someone’s character, people can see the same trait in two completely different lights. While some view a trait as a strength, others see it as a weakness. In William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, traits like this run rampant. Despite coming from feuding families, Romeo and Juliet fall in love. They go to Friar Lawrence for help, hoping that he will help them get married. He agrees, fully committing his time and energy into this […]

Who’s to Blame? Friar Lawrence or Parents?

“I will stay with you, [and] make it to the other side like lovers do” (Don’t Give Up on Me by Andy Grammar). When Romeo and Juliet first saw each other, they knew that their love was more powerful than anything else in the world. Therefore, when it came to life or death, life wasn’t an option. They knew that in the end, life had no purpose if they couldn’t spend it with the love of their life. The two […]

Macbeth and her Role

Racist and sexist acts were always around and ongoing during Queen Elizabeth I time. Even knowing this, Shakespeare made Macbeth and granted the women involved power. All of the women in Macbeth which were the Witches and Lady Macbeth made a big change in the outcome of the play. This is shown when they all together made Macbeth into a new person and made him turn to the dark side throughout the story. Through the play, Shakespeare introduces Lady Macbeth […]

About William Shakespeare
Born : April 1564, Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom
Died : April 23, 1616, Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom
Spouse : Anne Hathaway (m. 1582–1616)
Children : Hamnet Shakespeare, Susanna Hall, Judith Quiney
Siblings : Joan Shakespeare, Edmund Shakespeare, MORE

Essays on William Shakespeare

Essays on The Most Famous Plays