Dr Fautus's Essay

By Munirah Munawar Ali

Retrieved from

http://www.suite101.com/content/dr-faustus--critical-analysis-a282878

The Critical Analysis of Dr Fautus.

In 1531, two years before the birth of Elizabeth I, the skies over Western Europe exploded in atmospheric chaos. A yellow tailed comet crossed the sky followed by flags, fireballs, and flaming crosses. For the incredulous onlookers, "God and Satan were once again in mortal conflict, and, as never before, men's souls stood in jeopardy" (Smith 92).

Calvin and Loyola sparked the flames of the reformation that led to a permanent schism in Western Christendom. Erasmus and More helped advance the humanist movement, and by the time Henry VIII was declared "Supreme Head on Earth," the English Renaissance was in full swing. The gloom of the medieval past gave way to an energized, exciting and experimental period that proclaimed "all in doubt" (Smith 12).

The early modern period is distinguished by its zest for life, its desire for knowledge, and its celebration of the individual.While medieval citizens saw government as a necessary evil, by the 16th century, it had become a living organism with every section of society occupying their rightful place in the body politic. But had things really changed? Had the Elizabethans shed the anxiety and conflict of their medieval past?

The heroic tragedies of Marlowe and Shakespeare suggest that the cost of challenging the limits of human possibility often exacted a medieval price and the celebration of the self-fashioning man also resulted in social tension. The pursuit of wealth and knowledge changed the delicate class structure of Elizabethan England. Merchants and traders became wealthier and more powerful than the aristocracy; the guild system broke down, and masterless men lost their place in the social order. It is in this changing world that Marlowe's morality tale of Dr. Faustus is told.

Marlowe's hero, Dr. Faustus, is the quintessential Renaissance man; a lover of knowledge, beauty, and power, operating in a society that had not yet released its grip on the medieval contempt for the world. The 15th century's obsession with death, fear of devils and damnation are played out in Marlowe's tragedy, revealing the underlying misgivings of an excessive and immoderate age.

When first introduced to Faustus he is contemplating the wealth of his knowledge: from the philosophy of Aristotle, to Galen's medicine, Justinian law, and the Bible, Faustus dismisses them all. In a parody of this insatiable desire for new, practical knowledge, Faustus instead turns to magic as his new pursuit. And with true Renaissance conceit, claims "A sound magician is a demi-god"(I.i.62).

Faustus is confronted with two opposing forces, one representing the exciting, experimental and forward-looking world, the other embodying the fear and melancholy of the medieval past. The Good Angel attempts to instill the old morals of contrition, prayer and repentance on Faustus while the bad angel speaks for the spirit of the age: "No, Faustus, think of honour and of wealth" (II.i.22). Without a second thought,Faustus chooses magic and muses on the wealth he might conjure: "Indian for gold, ocean for orient pearl...pleasant fruits and princely delicates" (I.i.84-85).

The capricious and petty magic that Faustus practices is the paradox of the play. Why, with all his power, and a finite number of years in which to yield it, does he waste time gathering grapes? It is simply to consume knowledge and them dismiss it? It seems that Faustus's magic has no purpose except to provide pleasure. Despite his fantasies of accumulated wealth, Faustus does nothing with his power except spend his time in "pleasure and dalliance", followed by periods of fear and doubt.

Although he is at heart, a good man, Faustus has made the conscious choice to sell his soul and therefore, must pay God's price. "Where is mercy now?" he asks. Full of repentance and despair, Faustus calls for Helen "Whose sweet embracings may extinguish clear / Those thoughts that do dissuade me from my vow, / And keep mine oath I made to Lucifer" (V.i.94-96). Given one last chance at redemption, his passion for beauty seals his fate: "Come, Helen, come, give me my soul again. / Here will I dwell, for heaven is in these lips" (V.i.103-104).

Renaissance man would have empathized with Faustus but would have agreed that he went too far. The desire for new, practical knowledge, and the lust for riches and beauty did not include the complete denial of salvation and heaven. Orthodox Christianity still prevailed. Faustus threatened both social and religious structures; although he seemed to want to repent, he had passed the point of no return.

In the end of the play, Faustus is back in his study, having come full circle. He awaits the chosen hour but with his power gone, he cannot stop the march of time which is now his only hope: "Fair nature's eye, rise, rise again, and make / Perpetual day; or let this hour be but / A year, a month, a week, a natural day, / That Faustus may repent and save his soul" (V.i. 139-142).

In his last hour, Faustus tries to find God but cannot make the spiritual leap necessary for redemption. He has lost his faith and once again turns to the classical knowledge he once dismissed: "Ah, Pythagoras' metempsychosis, were that true, this soul should fly from me, and I be chang'd / Unto some brutish beast" (V.ii.175-177).For Faustus, as with Marlowe's other heros, it is the belief that the human potential to possess, own, use and destroy with liberty will eventually exact a heavy price. Marlowe's overreaching stars have no faith, and therefore, must fall victim to the medieval anxiety and ambivalence that lay just below the surface of their modern age.

Sources

Marlowe, Christopher. "Doctor Faustus". The Complete Plays and Poems. Ed. E.D. Pendry (London: Everyman, 1976), pp. 274-326.

Smith, Lacey Baldwin. The Elizabethan World (New York: American Heritage, 1967).

  

Women in Literature

By Munirah Munawar Ali

Retrieved from http://www.literature-study-online.com/essays/shakespeare_women.html

Shakespeare’s Treatment of Women in the Tragedies Hamlet, Othello and Anthony and Cleopatra

 by Liz Lewis

Shakespeare, it is claimed by many modern critics, was a feminist. Shapiro for example goes so far as to claim that Shakespeare was 'the noblest feminist of them all'. Although I am inclined to agree with McLuskie that as Shakespeare 'wrote for a male entertainment', it is historically incorrect to regard him as a feminist. I believe that Shakespeare because of his extraordinary genius for portraying human behaviour, necessarily depicted the condition of women within a patriarchal system and created women characters which in their richness, transcend the limitations of his time. In this essay I will explore chiefly Shakespeare's treatment of the three heroine's Ophelia, Desdemona and Cleopatra, of the tragedies Hamlet, Othello and Antony and Cleopatra, beginning with an exploration of Shakespeare's representation of the effects of a patriarchal system upon the characters.

Ophelia, it would seem, wholly at the mercy of the male figures within her life, is certainly a victim figure. Although it has been claimed by critics that Hamlet is unique amongst Shakespeare's tragic heroes for not being to blame for the tragedy of the play, if we are to consider the death of the heroine as part of this tragedy then surely we must question Hamlet's innocence. In his treatment of Ophelia, Hamlet oscillates between protests of undying love and cruelty such as his cold and accusing speech in the 'nunnery scene'. In short, Hamlet throughout the play uses Ophelia as a tool in his revenge plan.

To examine this culpability more deeply however, it could be suggested that it is Queen Gertrude's behaviour that has instigated Hamlet's unforgivable treatment of Ophelia: She transgresses the patriarchal bounds of femininity by marrying so soon after her husband's death and not remaining in passive grief and obedient devotion to his memory. This provides Hamlet with a model of women's inconstancy. His bitterness leads him to believe that all women are untrustworthy - 'Frailty thy name is woman' and as R. S. White puts it, Hamlet projects upon Ophelia the 'guilt and pollution' he believes exist in Gertrude's behaviour. However we view his culpability, Ophelia suffers as a result of Hamlet's patriarchal values of womanhood.

With regard to her father and brother, the two direct ruling male forces in her life, Ophelia is also very much a victim. Unquestioningly obeying their remonstrances against pursuing a relationship with Hamlet, she rejects his advances - which of course she believes to be genuine - and thus when he pretends to be mad she believes it to be her fault. Her speech reflects her deep and genuine sorrow:

And I of ladies, most deject and wretched
That sucked honey of his music vows ...
O woe is me.

Ophelia's feeling of guilt is reinforced by Polonius's insistence to King Claudius:

But Yet I do believe
The origin and commencement of this grief
Sprung from neglected love

Polonius's conviction, in which one can't help believing, stems from a mercenary desire to marry his daughter off to such an eligible husband as the prince of Denmark, rather than a genuine belief in his daughter's role in causing Hamlet's madness.

Thus when Hamlet murders her father, Ophelia enters a double realm of guilt, believing herself to be to blame for both Hamlet's madness and her father's death. As a result she becomes mad. Although at one level this decline into madness sets Ophelia up indisputably as a victim figure, on a deeper level perhaps her madness itself can be seen as Ophelia's active rejection of patriarchal restraint. Charney Maurice suggests that since within Renaissance drama madwomen were 'more strongly defined than madmen', and women's madness was 'interpreted as something specifically feminine', through depictions of madness dramatists were able to give women a chance to express their selfhood - 'make a forceful assertion of their being' - in a way which patriarchal conventions would otherwise have prevented.

In the later tragedy, Othello, it can also be argued that the tragedy occurs from adherence to patriarchal rules and stereotypes. Gayle Greene summarises this position in her claim that the tragedy of Othello stems from 'men's misunderstandings of women and women's inability to protect themselves from society's conception of them'. Certainly Desdemona's very much feminised qualities of passivity, softness and obedience are no match for Othello's masculine qualities of dominance, aggression and authority. After Othello in his jealousy has struck Desdemona and spoken harshly to her, she tells Iago, 'I am a child to chiding'. Protected by a system which makes women the weaker, dependent sex, Desdemona is unequipped to deal with such aggression; she is helpless against Othello. As Dreher puts it 'following conventional patterns of behaviour for wives and daughters, these women lose their autonomy and intimacy and do not achieve adulthood'. Desdemona thus retreats into childlike behaviour to escape from reality.

With regard to men's misunderstandings of women, Greene points out that Iago's manipulation of Othello - the cause of the tragedy - occurs only because of 'the views of women the moor already possessed'. This is certainly a convincing argument, for Othello all-too-easily accepts a stereotypical view of his wife based on the authority of a male voice. He loses sight of the real Desdemona, allowing every action of hers, once his suspicion is stimulated, to reaffirm this stereotypical conception of her.

At the close of the play Othello attempts to vindicate himself from intentional murder by claiming that he did nothing 'in malice', but is simply a man 'that loved not wisely but too well'. This speech illustrates the precarious position of love in a society submerged in stereotypes. Othello's excessive, 'unwise' love for Desdemona is tied up with his perception of her as representing perfect womanhood, and his underlying fear of her - endorsed by society - as whore. Like Hamlet, who tells Ophelia 'get thee to a nunnery' in order to protect her chastity and remove his fear of woman's infidelity, Othello too wishes to erase Desdemona's sexuality and potential for infidelity. His decision to kill her, he claims, is to prevent her from a further transgression - 'Yet she must die, else she'll betray more men'. As Iago's insinuations build, the gulf between this perception of Desdemona as angel and the fear of her as whore grows, leaving Othello in a void of confusion and doubt:

. . . By the world,
I think my wife be honest, and think she is not.
I think thou [Iago] art just, and then think thou art not.

In Othello's refusal to hear Desdemona's own protestations of innocence, Othello is very much a tragedy in which the female is subordinated by the male.

In Antony and Cleopatra, Shakespeare again explores the idea of the victim within a patriarchal society. However, in this play the gender roles are inverted and it is Antony who is the true victim. Stifled by the rules of the patriarchal society of Rome which expects him to retain a masculine side only, and not to adopt the feminine qualities of passion, emotion, and love, Antony's control over his life diminishes. Within such patriarchal confines the role of lover must be subordinate to the male's political role. After finding an extraordinary and powerful love with Cleopatra - which Shakespeare establishes to perfection - Antony is unable to accept the 'business first' principle of the patriarchal laws. Like the typical female heroine of a tragedy, Antony's plight escalates when he is rushed into an arranged marriage of convenience. He cannot remain away from Cleopatra and faithful to Octavia who symbolises Caesar and the power of Patriarchal Rome. He says 'though I make this marriage for my peace,/ I'th' East my pleasure lies'. Inevitably he returns to Egypt and Cleopatra, and causes a rift which can never again be cemented between himself and Caesar, which ultimately results in war.

The first words of the play, spoken by Philo, illustrate the growing condemnation of Antony's untraditional behaviour, which is not confined within the 'measure' of patriarchy: 'Nay but this dotage of our General's / O'erflows the measure'. The patriarchal males view Antony's devotion as shameful - 'His captain's heart ... become the bellows and the fan / To cool a gipsy's lust'. Surprisingly, in modern-day readings of the play, this attitude still exists: in W. Baker's view of the play - in my opinion a view grossly over simplified - 'throughout the play [Antony] is suffering from a disease, his passion for Cleopatra, which obsesses his mind and which causes him to desert his public responsibilities'. It is true that the play is ultimately concerned with the conflict between love and politics; Egypt and Rome; but to simply reject the former as wrong, is to miss the nuances of the play and succumb to a view of the polarities of masculine and feminine as separated and distinct, which the play itself undercuts.

Although Antony occasionally lapses into judging himself by the standards of the patriarchy - for example, towards the end of the play dejected and shamed by his diminished political power, he becomes jealous and irrational and claims that Cleopatra has emasculated him: 'O thy vile lady, / She has robbed me of my sword.' In the conflict between love and politics - love wins. Ultimately, Antony is not debased by his loss of power, but rather, through his love of Cleopatra envelops a manhood of stronger parameters - an 'alternative masculinity' as Woodbridge puts it. The end of the play can be seen as a tribute to love; a celebration rather than a downfall. Antony does not cease to be a valiant Roman by choosing Egypt over Rome; love over politics, but becomes vanquisher of himself in his suicide. By dying simultaneously in the Roman fashion, and with Cleopatra and for Cleopatra (he kills himself when he believes she is dead), Antony combines the two polarities which have been evident and separate throughout the play: the masculine Rome and the feminine Egypt.

Cleopatra's masculine qualities counterbalance the play, so Shakespeare provides us with a relationship of surprising equality. Neither Cleopatra nor the relationship can be stifled within the confines of the patriarchy of the seventeenth century. The distinctions between masculine and feminine are blurred - in a sense Antony and Cleopatra swap roles, continually embracing both their masculine and feminine selves and thus experiencing a full bonding of souls. As Woodbridge says, 'Antony and Cleopatra can cross gender boundaries without losing their sex roles as man or woman'. This swapping of gender roles is rather shockingly portrayed in the scene in which Cleopatra puts her 'tires and mantles on [Antony] whilst / [she] wore his sword Phillipan'. Shakespeare evidently recognises the existence of both masculine and feminine qualities within females and males.

Cleopatra, unlike Othello and Ophelia, is the dominating force of the play in terms of theme and also her personal presence. Novy claims that Antony and Cleopatra is the only tragedy that 'glorifies woman as actor'. Through his treatment of Cleopatra, Shakespeare provides us with a 'real' woman rather than a stereotype. Velma Richmond claims further that in Cleopatra we can find Shakespeare's 'finest embracing of the feminine'. Cleopatra through the combination of sexual and political power is a force to be reckoned with.

Cleopatra's sexuality, despite condemnation by the patriarchal men - she is referred to as 'strumpet' and 'whore' on various occasions throughout the play - is unhidden and unrestricted. Her sexual power over men is conveyed boldly, for example, in her descriptions of her former conquests 'great Pompey' and 'Broad-fronted Caesar'. Cleopatra's sexuality is not a thing to be locked up, as in Hamlet and Othello, but is celebrated as a positive force. Surprisingly, even Enobarbus, despite his patriarchal views, does on occasions present her as positively sexual, as his unforgettable description of her indicates:

Age cannot wither her,
Nor custom stale her infinite variety. Other women cloy
The appetites they feed, but she makes hungry
Where most she satisfies. For vilest things
Become themselves in her, that the holy priests
Bless she is riggish.

Refusing to adhere to the stereotypes of patriarchal society, Cleopatra transforms her natural sexuality into part of her power, rather than as a diminishing of her goodness.

So too, Cleopatra insists on fulfilling a political role against the wishes of the patriarchal men: when Enobarbus attempts to prevent her from doing so she replies in enraged determination:

A charge we bear i'th'war,
And as the president of my kingdom will
Appear there for a man. Speak not against it.
I will not stay behind.

Cleopatra thus forces her access into the male arena, where Ophelia and Desdemona do not - and cannot of course, in the same way, for in her status as a middle aged woman and Queen of Egypt, Cleopatra naturally has more freedom. She is not dependent upon anyone financially, as are Ophelia and Desdemona.

Ophelia, the dominated daughter, is completely dependent. Although a flash of her potential self-will shines through at the beginning of the play, when we learn that Ophelia has entertained Hamlet unchaperoned or without paternal consent, this is stifled very quickly by Polonius and Laertes - the double voice of the patriarchy - telling her that she is naive and that her behaviour is unsuitable. Ophelia, daunted by their claims that she has mistaken Hamlet's love, assumes that her father and brother necessarily know best and replies simply 'I will obey'. Shakespeare shows, however, that it is this obedience of Ophelia's that leads to her own destruction, and illustrates that when the guiding male is like the cynical Polonius or the unperceptive Laertes, the fate of the subordinate female is considerably threatened.

While Ophelia then, silently and obediently accepts the oppression of male power, turning her distress in upon herself in her madness, Desdemona does display some traces of a more Cleopatra-like self-assertion. In her choosing of Othello as her husband, she exercises her own desire, subverting the female role of passivity within the patriarch, and marries him without parental consent. This is a rather courageous act of will, which could have resulted in much strife. However, she handles the situation with a cleverness and a manipulation which outwits the male judges who listen to her. When her father questions her about her marriage she answers forcefully, first pacifying him and then justifying her disobedience on the very grounds of patriarchal obedience and duty:

. . . My noble father,
I do perceive here a divided duty.
To you I am bound, for life and education . . .
You are the lord of my duty,
I am hitherto your daughter. But here's my husband,
And so much duty as my mother showed
To you preferring you before her father,
So much I challenge that I may profess
Due to the Moor my lord.

Desdemona by her cleverness thus appears obedient in her disobedience.

Shakespeare shows Desdemona's behaviour in her relationship with Othello before the marriage to be slightly manipulative also. For Desdemona tells Othello in a very suggestive way after she has fallen in love with him, as Othello himself relates - 'if I had a friend that loved [me]/ I should but teach him how to tell [your] story,/ And that would woo [me]'. However, when she is married she slips into the role of the submissive wife. Obedient to Othello's every command, she says to Emilia - after Othello tells her peremptorily 'Get you to bed on th'instant' - 'we must not now displease him'. At this point Desdemona becomes more of a stereotype, her identity disappearing as Othello's jealousy becomes more defined. Her identity diminishes until she fits into the stereotype of the silent woman. Othello denies her right to a voice when he soliloquises 'Was this fair paper, this most goodly book,/ Made to write 'whore' upon?'

Obedience and silence were very much part of the patriarchal conception of femininity. A conception to which Cleopatra refuses to adhere. When Charmian traditionally suggests that the way to gain and retain Antony's love is to 'In each thing give him way; Cross him in nothing'. Cleopatra replies, 'Thou teachest like a fool, the way to lose him'. Far from being the silent woman, Cleopatra makes her voice heard whenever she wishes, challenging and meeting challenges. She mocks Antony and quarrels with him. Challenging him with a masculine aggression when they argue - 'I would I had thine inches. Thou shouldst know/ There were a heart in Egypt'. Spirited and passionate, such displays of assertion as her physical attack on the messenger informing her of Antony's marriage to Octavia, are a far cry from the passive silent role of the feminine in patriarchal society. In passionate disbelief and anger, she draws a knife on the messenger and strikes him with her bare hands. Charmian tries to pacify her by telling her 'Good madam keep yourself within yourself', but Cleopatra escapes the bounds of self-composure and the repression of self-hood. Her reaction when she feels herself wronged is in very stark contrast to the reactions of Ophelia and Desdemona.

Linda Baber explains that the relative weakness of the characters of Desdemona and Ophelia is due to artistic device, as opposed to Shakespeare's misrepresentation of womanhood. Baber claims that they are 'psychologically neutral characters who take on the coloration of the plays' moods'. Thus, their personalities are not fully developed. James Hill similarly says of the heroines of the tragedies that we are not shown 'their inner lives' or their 'inner conflicts'. However, in the case of Desdemona, I think it is a mistake not to recognise her as an active force within the play. As Brian Shaffer suggests Othello's punishment of Desdemona becomes the crime itself, subverting the domestic tragedy of the Elizabethan stage. These tragedies traditionally involve the process of marriage; 'disintegration' and then punishment and death. The conception of woman's inferiority to man in these tragedies is undercut by Shakespeare for he shows Desdemona to be the virtuous character who is finally vindicated.

Desdemona's goodness furthermore is not simply passive or weak but an act of will. Her refusal to blame Othello for his terrible treatment of her, when he suspects her of betrayal, must not be viewed as simple subservience but as a self-willed refusal to accept a bad opinion of the husband she has chosen. When he is behaving deplorably towards her she refuses to acknowledge his identity - 'My lord is not my lord,' she says 'nor should I know him / Were he in favour as in humour altered'. She stands by her acceptance of her love for him as something sacred, with a martyr-like determination: she tells Emilia 'his unkindness may defeat my life, / But never taint my love.' She thus obeys her own heart rather than patriarchal rules, extending this determination through to death, so that with her last breath - when Emilia asks 'who hath done this deed?' she can reply 'Nobody, I myself'. Othello's conviction that even upon dying she lies by claiming this self-death bears witness to the whole tragedy of the play, Othello's inability to see beneath the surface of stereotypical conceptions of femininity. By claiming this death for herself she re-affirms her self-hood. Metaphorically then she dies for her love which cannot be tainted, not from Othello's hands. In Hamlet too, Ophelia's death can perhaps be seen as an act of assertion and escape from the confining patriarchal world.

Unsurprisingly though, it is through the character of Cleopatra that Shakespeare really depicts death as an assertion of self-hood and an act of defiance to the patriarchal laws. Cleopatra's death becomes an act of triumph over Caesar - the representative of patriarchal Rome. On finding her dead, one of his guards says, 'Caesar's beguiled'. Through death Cleopatra not only transcends the world of oppression and fate, but embraces her death as a positive act rather than as an act of negation:

My desolation does begin to make a better life
. . . And it is great
To do that thing that ends all other deeds,
Which shackles accidents and bolts up change

Cleopatra combines feminine and masculine qualities through her death. With her resolution to take on the masculine quality of rationality and firmness and courage she wills, 'I have nothing of woman in me. Now from head to foot/ I am marble constant'. She rejects her feminine qualities of water and the changeability of the moon and transforms herself into 'air and fire'. So too she embraces Antony's masculinity and the world of Rome by dying in 'the true Roman Fashion'. Yet through her death, Shakespeare depicts her as enacting the strength of womanhood by converting death into an image of both sensuality and motherhood. The pain of death is bitter-sweet and sensual 'as a lover's pinch,/which hurts and is desired' and the asp, the vehicle of death is a 'baby at [her] breast,/That sucks the nurse asleep'. Through death she is reborn and even the stern patriarchal Caesar is forced to admit to her bravery, and to the undeniable nobility and royalty of the woman who 'Took her own way'. Through his representation of womanhood, especially in the character of Cleopatra, Shakespeare indeed does transcend the stereotypes of his own time.

Bibliography
Baker, W. Brodie's notes ed. Graham Handily
Colin, Philip C. Shakespeare and Feminist Criticism 1991

My essay

By:MUNIRAH BINTI MUNAWAR ALI

There are themes that correlate between two of Shakespeare’s famous plays; Othello and The Winter’s Tale. Both plays are about the two main female figures, Desdemona and Hermione being treated in an undeserved state of affairs. By having the same story line, both plays appeared to have same themes; discrimination on gender, power abuse, issue of adulteress and jealousy.

Discrimination of gender is a situation where females are seen as “the Others” in community. Furthermore, females in these two plays, Desdemona and Hermione have been discriminated in an unfair setting. If readers can view this issue from different point-of-view,  it shows the depiction of women in that era. The reason why women in that period were considered as “the Others” because women usually glimpse as an object to satisfy men’s desires. Refer to Othello’s text Act 3 Scene III Line 183-186;

“ ’Tis not to make me jealous To say my wife is fair, feeds well, loves company, Is free of speech, sings, plays, and dances well; Where virtue is, these are more virtuous”.            

Critically read and observe the 32 words in dialogue above. Shakespeare has depicts in detail the physical vision of Desdemona [fair, feeds well, free of speech, sings, plays and dances well] and this is the basis for Othello to fall in love with Desdemona. In Othello, Shakespeare used literary words to give a  picture of Desdemona for readers to imagine it. Another example of women as “the Others” is the conversation between Emilia and Desdemona. This conversation has portrayed the position of women in that period. Refer to Act 3 Scene 4 Line 105-107;

“They are all but stomachs, and we all but food; They eat us hungerly, and when they are full, They belch us.”

On the other hand, in The Winter’s Tale, even though Hermione is a daughter of the Emperor of Russia, but she is still being treated in an unjust situation whereby the charge made by her husband caused her to be sent to prison straight away without any trial. All this happened due to patriarchal system which governed during Elizabethan era. According to Dobie (2009), patriarchal is creating an imbalance of power that marginalizes women and their work. The lines below depict the discrimination which happened in The Winter’s Tale.  Refer Act 3 Scene II Line 124-126

“The Emperor of Russia was my father. O that he were alive, and here beholding His daughter’s trial!”  

Nonetheless, there is still a criteria where one can salute upon Hermione as a female who lived in patriarchal society. Even though she is sad, but she still has the courage to face her beast husband. Refer to Act 2 Scene I Line 129-133;

“I am not prone to weeping- as our sex commonly are- the want of which vain dew perchance shall dry you pities…”  

Next theme is the abuse of power. In both plays, as we can see the importance of the  male figures, Leontes and Othello who abuses power infinitely. In Othello, when Cassio was drunk after he won the attack from  the Turks, Othello strips away Cassio’s position as lieutenant without having any trial first. The same situation of power abuse also applies in The Winter’s Tale but in different context. Hermione has been accused as whore and the Majesty who happened to be her husband, Leontes King of Sicilia send Hermione to prison without having any trial too.  Refer to Act 2 Scene II Line 92-94; “But be’t known, From him that has most cause to grieve it should be, She’s an adultress”.

Third theme which correlates between these two plays is the issue of adulteress. Even though both plays have the same issue, but Shakespeare stages it in different style. In Othello, the sensation on the issue of adulteress appears in Act 4 Scene II, Othello accuses Desdemona as a whore;

Line 71-72 : “ Was this fair paper, this most goodly book, Made to write ‘whore’ upon?”

Line 84 : “ Are not you a strumpet? ”

Line 89: “What, not a whore?”

The protagonist Othello used different tactics and manipulation of words in order to get Desdemona’s confession upon the accusation of having an affair with Cassio. However, Desdemona denies the accusation because she did not have any affair with Cassio, the lieutenant. Othello was angry and cannot control his anger anymore which has caused him to suffocate Desdemona to death.

In The Winter’s Tale, the female protagonist Hermione has been accused as adulteress and commits adultery with Polixeness, her husband’s good friend. Refer Act 2 Scene II Line 92-94; “But be’t known, From him that has most cause to grieve it should be, She’s an adultress”.

The final theme in both plays is jealousy whereby the readers can notice it throughout the whole play. In Othello, the jealousy aura is scorching especially in Act 3 Scene III when Iago manipulating Othello by accusing Cassio was having affair with Othello sweet-heart, Desdemona. Refer to Line 94 till Line 238. These lines show that Iago is using strong words such as “O, beware, my lord, of jealousy! It is the green-eyed monster, which doth mock…”.

Furthermore, Iago too added few more words in the same conversation to support his prompt upon the naïve Othello in order to make Othello consider and believe his words, “That cuckold lives in bliss Who certain of his fate, loves not his wronger; ”.  These are the few words actually that strengthens Othello’s believe that actually Desdemona is having affair with the lieutenant, Michael Cassio. 

While in another play The Winter’s Tale, jealousy scene took place in the beginning of the story, Act 1 Scene II whereby Leontes, the King of Sicilia misunderstood the conversation between his wife, Hermione and his close friend Polixeness, King of Bohemia, refer to line 100-103;

“Th’ offences we have made you do we’ll answer If you first sinned with us and that with us You did continue fault, and that you slipped not With any but with us”.

 In conclusion, the themes of discrimination of gender, power abuse, the issue of adulteress and jealousy have brought these plays; Othello and The Winter’s Tale as Shakespeare’s famous plays.      

       

REFERENCES

Bate, J. & Rasmussen, E. (2009). The Winter’s Tale. United States of America:

Modern Library.

Dobie, B,A. (2009). An Introduction to Literary Criticism: Theory Into Practice.

United States of America: Wadsworth Cengage Learning:

Shakespeare, W & Snodgrass, E. (2008). Othello. United States of America:

Wiley Publishing INC:

           

The Winter's Tale (Theme Analysis)

By Munirah Munawar Ali

retrieved from http://www.novelguide.com/thewinter'stale/themeanalysis.html

Youth and Age One theme is the power of youth to regenerate age. For example, it is the young people, Perdita and Florizel, who effect the reconciliation between the old kings, Leontes and Polixenes. This theme is struck in the very first scene, in which Camillo comments that young Mamilius is such a promising prince that he makes "old hearts fresh." (See also Polixenes' comments, Act 1, scene 2, lines 170-71.) Mamilius of course does not live to fulfill his promise, but Perdita does. There is a sense of human life renewing itself through the cycle of generations. Forgiveness and Reconciliation The importance of forgiveness and reconciliation is another theme in the last plays of Shakespeare. Hermoine forgives Leontes the wrong he inflicted on her, and they are finally reconciled. Polixenes forgives Leontes. Leontes must also try to forgive himself. Supernatural Intervention Supernatural or improbable events often feature in the Shakespearean romances. In The Winter's Tale, the god Apollo intervenes, through the oracle, when Leontes is blind to the truth and bent on injustice. The "resurrection" of Hermoine is also presented as a supernatural event, a miracle. Paulina is anxious to avoid any implication that she is bringing Hermoine back to life by the use of magical arts. Shakespeare's concern is not to produce a trick by magic, but to demonstrate in a symbolic way the power of life to regenerate itself. Nobility of Woman  Another theme of the romances, prominent in The Winter's Tale, is the nobility, purity and resoluteness of woman. These qualities are embodied in Hermoine, who is not only beyond reproach in her duties as queen, but also endures false accusation and condemnation with great dignity. Paulina is steadfast, loyal and persistent, and Perdita is the embodiment of the   innocent regenerative power of nature. In no other play by Shakespeare does he present as many women of such admirable qualities. They stand in contrast to the appalling conduct of Leontes and, in Act 4, of Polixenes, who performs a function similar to that of Leontes in the first two acts. Man's belligerence and even madness is therefore contrasted with woman's quiet strength. Nature and the Perpetual Renewal of Life Perhaps the main theme is the triumph of life, as expressed through nature's perpetual powers of renewal. This is the "great creating nature" (Act 4, scene 4, line 89) that is shown in all its variety in the great sheep-shearing scene. The rhythms of nature are reflected in the structure of the play. The first three acts are tragic (decay; winter), the last two comic (rebirth and growth; summer). The two moods meet in the Old Shepherd, as he discovers the babe Perdita at the same time that Clown witnesses the death of Antigonus: "Now bless thyself: thou met'st with things dying, I with things new-born" (Act 3, scene 3, lines 112-13). The structure of the play suggests that human life will be healed by nature and time, just as spring always returns to the earth. What time takes away it will ultimately restore. The miraculous return of Hermoine (no one ever explains where she has been all those years) is simply part of the symbolic message that life has infinite restorative powers. Just as Perdita can be found, so can Hermoine be restored.

Characters in The Winter's Tale

By Munirah Munawar Ali

Shakespeare, W. (2009). The Winter’s Tale. United States of America:

          Modern Library Paperback Edition.

Leontes                 - King of Sicilia

Hermione             - his queen

Mamilius              - their son, a child

Perdita                  - their daughter

Camilo                 - lords at the Sicilian court

Antigonus            - lords at the Sicilian court

Cleomenes            - lords at the Sicilian court

Dion                     - lords at the Sicilian court

Paulina                 - a lady, wife of Antigonus

Emilia                   - a lady attending upon Hermione

Polixeness            - King of Bohemia

Florizel                 - his son

Archidamus                   - a lord of Bohemia

Old Shepherd       - reputed father of Perdita

Clown                  - his son

Autolycus             - a rogue, formerly in the service of Prince Florizel

A mariner, a jailer, other Lords, Gentlemen, Servants.

Time, as chorus.

Shepherds and shepherdesses including Mopsa and Dorcas.

characters in Othello

By Munirah Munawar Ali

Shakespeare, W& Snodgrass, M.E. (2008). Shakespeare on the double, Othello.

          United States of America: Wiley Publishing

i) Othello

§  A Moor, a general in the defense forces of the city-state of Venice.

§  He is a military man with a reputation for courage in battle and good judgment in military matters.

§  Othello falls in love and marries Desdemona, but during the campaign against the Turks, Iago tricks Othello into believing that his wife has been unfaithful with his lieutenant, Cassio.

ii) Iago

§  Othello’s flag bearer, hoped for promotion but Othello passed over him in favor of Cassio, so Iago works revenge on them both.

§  When finally cornered and charged with his wickedness, Iago refuses to speak or to repent or explain his action. Lodovico puts Cassio in charge of Iago’s torture.

iii) Desdemona

§  A noble Venetian lady, daughter of the widower Brabantio. She organizes her life intelligently and shows courage, love and loyalty in following her husband into danger.

§  To her surprise, he turns sour and spiteful, accuses her adultery and slaps her in public.

§  When she realizes he is about to kill her, she can feel only despair and grief. She dies declaring her love to him, Othello.

iv) Brabantio

§  A Venetian senator, Desdemona’s father. He is outraged at his daughter’s elopement with a Moorish general.

§  He demands Othello’s imprisonment for bewitching Desdemona. He can do nothing once the marriage has taken place and the Venetian Senate has accepted it.

§  He warns Othello that Desdemona is a clever deceiver, Brabantio dies in grief.

v) Roderigo

§  A Venetian nobleman in love with Desdemona. He has more money than sense and pays Iago to court Desdemona. Iago playing on Roderigo’s hopes and gullibility continues to help himself to Roderigo’s money.

§   To ensure his silence, Iago involves Roderigo in an attack on Cassio, for which Roderigo pays with his life after Iago stabs him.

vi) Cassio

§  Othellos’s lieutenant in the Venetian defense forces. Cassio accompanied Othello as his friend when he was courting Desdemona.

§  Cassio is popular, well-spoken, lively and trusting but easily inebriated by wine.

§  Iago eventually convinces Othello that Cassio is Desdemona’s paramour.

§  Appointed governor of Cyprus after Othello’s death, Cassio superintends Iago’s torture.

vii) Bianca

§  A prostitute, in love with Cassio. She is skilled in needlework and agrees to copy the handkerchief  that Cassio gives her.

§   She throws it back at him, believing it is token of his new love.

viii) Emilia

§  Desdemona’s lady in waiting and Iago’s wife. She knows Iago better than anybody and suspects his actions and motives.

§  She does not realize until too late that the wicked person who has poisoned Othello against Desdemona is Iago her own husband.

x) The Duke of Venice.

§  The leader of the governing body of the city-state of Venice. The Duke appoints Othello to lead the forces defending Venice against the Turkish attack on Cyprus.

§  In the uproar over Othello’s elopement  with Desdemona, a senator’s daughter, the Duke urges Brabantio to accept the marriage.

xi) Gratiano

§  Desdemona’s uncle. He and Lodovico find Cassio wounded after Roderigo stabs him in the drunken brawl.

§  Gratiano reports Brabantio’s death in grief. As the only family survivor, Gratiano inherits Othello’s property.

xii) Lodovico

§  A Venetian ambassador. He witnesses Othello slapping Desdemona. After her murder, Lodovico takes charge and gives Othello’s property to Gratiano.

§  The ambassador questions Othello and Cassio together, thus revealing the truth.

xiii) Montano

§  Othello’s predecessor as the Governor of Cyprus. He is Othello’s friend and loyal supporter. Cassio wounds the ex-governor in a street brawl.