.... both Lady Macduff and her son. The witches are also responsible for this murder, because once again, the witches put ideas in his head. Although the witches can be held responsible for the murder of King Duncan, Lady Macduff and her son, they cannot be held responsible for the murder of Banquo. The witches only speak of Banquo when Macbeth meets with them for the second time and Act 4, Scene 1, after Banquo has already been killed. This murder is the complete responsibility of Macbeth, because the witches had absolutely nothing to do with it and it was only Macbeth's o .....

.... Hamlet had suspected her of aiding in the killing of King Hamlet. That will be discussed later. Her character is the one character in the play that I believe does not develop but rather stays identical to the scene in which she is introduced(Act I, scene II). She is shown to be a quiet, "stand by your man" type individual who is easily influenced. This is my belief because in the second scene of the play, Hamlet is shown to be crushed by his mother's hasty remarriage. If marriage within the family was common in the days of Shakespeare, then this is understandable, but, in a .....

.... raised in seclusion. Fortunately, they were wrong. The speech that Nell gave in the courtroom proved that she had developed intellectually. While the language that she used was different, Nell still gave a good list of very abstract ideas that someone who is mentally retarded could not possibly comprehend. Nell understood why she was different saying that she was raised in a small world and knew small things unlike the large things found in the city of Charlotte, N.C. This proved that Nell was very capable of living by herself and taking care of herself. 3) The e .....

.... speech when he says, "our late dear brother's death" (Shakespeare I219). However, this is not how Claudius truly feels about his brothers death, for Claudius is the one who murders elder Hamlet. We see the proof of this in Claudius' soliloquy when he appears to be praying; "O, my offence is rank, it smells to heaven./It hath the primal eldest curse upon't/A brother's murder" (Shakespeare III336-38). Another love which Claudius fakes is the love he has towards his nephew and stepson, Hamlet. In his first speech to his court Claudius tells Hamlet not to leave for .....

.... or unusual events in Macbeth occur under a cloak of darkness. The murders, Lady Macbeth's sleepwalking, and the appearance of the witches all take place at night. Lady Macbeth's sleepwalking scene is the epitome of the light/darkness symbol. She once craved the darkness but now carries a candle to dispel it. The line, "She has light by her continually; 'tis her command." (V. i. 19), symbolizes Lady Macbeth's fear of darkness or evil. The image of blood plays an important role in the event of Duncan's murder. It represents Macbeth's guilt and shame about the horrific c .....

.... Opelia answers a question posed by Polonius by which she replied that she had told Hamlet that she could not see or communicate with him any more. Her father makes reference to Hamlet's madness once again by proclaiming that what his daughter said, "... hath made him (Hamlet) mad." (Act 2 Scene 2 line 123). The argument of whether Hamlet is insane because of his love for Ophelia is often debated, but a more confusing and complex situation is the struggle within Hamlet's mind. His personal struggle is revealed to the audience in scene one of the third act. In this s .....

.... compelling the audience to react accordingly. Hamlet is just one of the many central characters in Shakespeare's plays who have fallen "victim of his own strength" (652). Magnitude is another element in tragedy, found mainly in characterization. During the Elizabethan and Greek era, tragedies revolved around people of great importance as opposed to other ages where the protagonists were ordinary men of inconsequential titles ("Tragedy" 306). Hamlet, being a typical tragedy, evolves itself in the noble realms of Denmark where he, the prince of Denmark, was usurped of his thr .....

.... work, such as the TV sitcoms like "Sister, Sister." Something that surprised me in the play was Adriana's character. She was insecure and portrayed the typical damsel in distress. She was completely dependent on her husband and this fact alone made the play somewhat out of date. Shakespeare is said to be "not of an age, but for all times," but Adriana's character, in my opinion, would not fit in to the modern world. I feel the most important part of the play is the message it conveys and should be used as a moral today. The whole play is based on family members who are t .....