Suffering In Shakespeares Plays Essay - 1873 Words

Suffering In Shakespeares Plays How does suffering affect ones actions? Do different types of suffering affect one in different ways? This paper seeks to determine how William Shakespeares characters respond to various types of suffering. Suffering can be defined in two ways; physical suffering, in which the character is inflicted with physical pain and trauma, and emotional suffering, where the character suffers an emotional trauma or loss. In The Tempest, the physically traumatized characters, are Trinculo and Stephano. They are chased by dogs but their physical trauma has not induced any sign of remorse or guilt. Ferdinand, on the other hand, is overcome by emotional suffering at the quot;lossquot; of his son. In King Lear,†¦show more content†¦quot;The mistress which I serve quickens whats dead and makes my labors pleasure.quot; (Tempest, III, i, 6-7) Alonso, Sebastian, and Antonio, who are denounced as quot;men of sinquot; (Tempest, III,, iii, 53) are driven by Ariel into a frenzy of madness. Alonso is deeply affected, he believes the quot;deathquot; of his son to be punishment and he confesses his guilt and seeks to atone for it. He is purified through the trial and reconciled with Prospero at the plays end. Neither Antonio nor Sebastian, who are equally guilty, is affected in this way. They remain impenitent. Their incapacity for remorse is punished, Ariel suggests by a quot;ling ring perdition, worse than any death.quot; ( Tempest, III, iii, 77) Stephano, the Kings butler, and Trinculo, the jester, plot to overthrow Prospero. Their trial and suffering take form in a physical way. They are submerged in a horse pond and then hunted by Prosperos dogs. King Lear allows one to see how physical suffering can bring on emotional suffreing. This can be seen in the two main characters of each subplot. Lear, King of Brittain, is described as quot;a very foolish old man, fourscore and upward.quot; His fatal flaw of rashness causes his suffering. The Earl of Gloucester lacks Lears capacity for wrath but shares his fatal flaw of rashness. Like Lear, he is made to suffer greatly by his children before he gains true insight. Cordelia, LearsShow MoreRelatedThe Twelfth Night - Development of Themes889 Words   |  4 Pages’ Many say William Shakespeare is the most influential writer in all of English literature with works hailed by Elizabeth I, James I and literary luminaries such as Ben Jonson. Shakespeare wrote the critically acclaimed Twelfth Night in 1601 during the middle of his career. This play incorporates illusion, deception, disguises, madness and shows the extraordinary things that love with cause us to do. 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