Shakespeare?s 10 Things

1. Betrayal and revenge

2. Metaphors of death-King Lear, Merchant of Venice, Othello

3. Humor- A Midsummer Night's Dream, As You Like It

4. Pastoral settings- Ling Lear, A midnight Summer's Dream

5. Madness and insanity- Othello, Midnight Summer?s Dream, King Lear

6. Reversal- the main character falls from a high place

7. Letters- King Lear, Merchant of Venice

8. Things are not as they appear- King Lear, Merchant of Venice,

Midsummer Night?s Dream

9. The Father/Daughter Conflict-Midsummer, King Lear, Merchant of

Venice

10. Justice- King Lear, Merchant of Venice

The Father/Daughter Conflict-

In Midnight Summers Dream, Egeus commands Hermia, his daughter, to wed

Demetrius, whom she does not love. Against the advisement of the Duke

Theseus, who recommends that, ''To you your father should be as a god",

(Act I, Scene I, Line 48). Hermia wishes to marry Lysander. Egeus

threatens his daughter with the penalty of death or exile. In The

Merchant of Venice, Shylock?s daughter, Jessica, denies her faith and

steals from her father in order to marry Lorenzo, a man of whom she is

unequally yoked.

In King Lear, the title character, ruler of Britain, attempts to divide

his kingdom according to the profession of love by his three daughters:

Goneril, Regan and Cordelia. Goneril and Regan profess undying love

choosing the most melodic words, while Cordelia is speechless at the

task, stating:..........Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave

.....................My heart into my mouth: I love your majesty

.....................According to my bond; nor more nor less. (Lines

93-95)

King Lear becomes angry with Cordelia and banishes her. The other

daughters begin to treat him viciously, Goneril slapping him at one

point.

Letters-

Shakespeare uses letters as characters in the plays that serve to tie

key factors together for cohesion and clarity. In the Merchant of

Venice, Shakespeare uses a letter from Antonio to bring the culmination

of events to a head at the end of the play, setting the stage for the

courtroom scene. Antonio writes, "my ships have all miscarried"(314) He

tells his friend of his troubles and beckons him to come see him one

last time as he ultimately gives his life for his friend?s debt. If

Bassanio does not go to the court proceedings, then his wife Portia has

no cause to be in the court scene, which leads to Antonio?s

exoneration.

The letter also serves as a vehicle to let the audience know once again

that Shylock, ?The Jew? is the villain in the play. It is not by

accident that he is mentioned in the letter in this way.

In King Lear, Goneril plots to kill her husband through a letter to

Edmund delivered by Oswald. Edmund frames his brother Edgar with a

letter that appears to conspire to kill Gloucester, their father. It is

here that the audience sees how conniving and calculated Edmund really

is and there is no room for sympathy of the character.

Things are not as they appear-

Disguises are tools William Shakespeare uses to hide or mask inner and

outer appearances. In The Merchant of Venice, disguises are used

throughout the play by different characters for varied reasons. The

?lottery of the caskets? in Merchant of Venice is an excellent example

the theme; Things are not as they appear. Portia?s suitors must choose

from caskets of gold, silver, and lead in order to win her hand in

marriage. The choice of the lead casket not only wins the fair Portia,

but it is also indicate the suitor is intelligent and of substance: not

superficial and materialistic.

Raised as a Jew, Jessica disguises herself as a pageboy to cover up her

identity and embark on a forbidden marriage to Lorenzo, a Christian.

This act of defiance refuses her not only her religion, but also her

father, Shylock, a Jewish usurer. At the introduction of Jessica?s

character, the audience may be inclined to pity the daughter of the

main villain in the play, who is accused of greed and usury; however,

at a closer look, Jessica is found to embody the same greedy

characteristics, indicated by her theft of a precious ring given to her

father by her mother. While appearing meek and compliant, she is

assertive