scholarly journals SUPERNATURALISM AND MYSTICISM IN WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S PLAY HAMLET

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-85
Author(s):  
Muharrani Nurmalasari ◽  
Ruly Adha
Keyword(s):  
William Shakespeare ◽  
Julius Caesar ◽  
Merchant Of Venice ◽  
Romeo And Juliet ◽  
Literary Works ◽  
The Merchant Of Venice ◽  
The World

William Shakespeare is the greatest dramatist in the world. He has produced a lot of literary works especially play or drama. Some of his plays still exist until now such as Julius Caesar, Hamlet, The Merchant of Venice, etc. Even, one of his plays Romeo and Juliet has been translated into several languages in the world. He produces two types of plays, namely comedy which usually talks about love and tragedy which talks about sadness. In tragedy plays, Shakespeare always puts supernatural and mystical elements such as in Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Hamlet, etc. The supernatural and mysticism elements are usually marked by the appearance of apparition, witch, fairy, etc, and the elements can determine the fate of main characters. This article tries to describe how Shakespeare puts supernatural and mystical elements in one of his tragedy plays Hamlet.

scholarly journals Shakespeare and Botswana Politics in 2014

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-78
Author(s):  
Daniel Koketso
Keyword(s):  
Julius Caesar ◽  
Power Dynamics ◽  
Merchant Of Venice ◽  
Human Relations ◽  
Romeo And Juliet ◽  
New Words ◽  
The Merchant Of Venice ◽  
Political Events ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
General Elections

Shakespeare’s influence cannot be confined by subject, theme, spatial and/or temporal setting. His works transcend disciplines and geographical identity. He is a linguist, a psychiatrist, ecologist and a political, social and economic commentator. Three thousand new words and phrases all first appeared in print in Shakespeare’s plays. Through Shylock’s resolve on three thousand ducats repayment, readers of The Merchant of Venice learn about the dangers of a cash nexus on human relations. The major tragedies and tragicomedies impart knowledge about politics at both national and family levels. Julius Caesar; Macbeth; King Lear; Othello, and Romeo and Juliet each touches on the important aspect of power dynamics in the private and public spheres. This paper considers some of the major political events in the build-up to the 2014 Botswana general elections and compares them to Shakespeare’s political intrigue in Julius Caesar. The paper concludes that there is credibility in Oscar Wilde’s argument in his 1889 essay ‘The Decay of Lying,’ that "Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life" (Wilde, 1889, p. 11).

scholarly journals Deconstruction of the Construction: Derridean Study of Selected Shakespeare’s Comedies

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 90-120
Author(s):  
Seyyedeh Zahra Nozen ◽  
Pegah Sheikhalipour
Keyword(s):  
William Shakespeare ◽  
The Other ◽  
Literary Texts ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Merchant Of Venice ◽  
Twelfth Night ◽  
The Merchant Of Venice ◽  
As You Like It ◽  
Historical Figure ◽  
The One

Since it was first introduced by Jacques Derrida in the late 1960s, deconstruction, as a method of reading, has been applied to literary texts by critics to reveal the hidden messages of texts and provide opportunities to rethink textual and cultural norms and conventions. While the western tradition has always prioritized tragedy over comedy due to its elegance and graveness, this research tends to focus on comedy as an entity in itself. Tragedy, especially in the Shakespearean sense of the word, has been considered by critics as a “construction” that is well-wrought and perfect in nature. Comedy, on the other hand, is notable for laughing at the laughable and mocking the unfit. Put differently, there has always been a latent, freewheeling “deconstruction” within comedy, especially the Shakespearean. There is, thus, an attempt here to prove, on the one hand, how comedy can be put forth not as an inferior genre but as a supplement to tragedy and, on the other, how comedy moves toward deconstruction and how it tends to subvert or deconstruct the constructions. Investigating a selection of Shakespeare’s comedies including As You Like It, The Merchant of Venice, and Twelfth Night, this study compares and contrasts Shakespearean comedy in light of some Derridean concepts. Along with it, Shakespearean ideas and concepts which are interconnected with those of Derrida are introduced and are buttressed through some meticulously chosen excerpts. Bearing in mind that Derrida is in a habit of deconstructing the so-called established creeds, Shakespeare’s texts are exposed to a deconstructive reading to examine how deceptively simple ideas are dealt with in his selected comedies. Also, as numerous enigmas have for years revolved around the personality of William Shakespeare, this study also aims to take up certain critical idioms of the Derridean canon, elaborate on them and then relate them to the selected plays from the Shakespearean oeuvre in order to disclose some personal aspects of Shakespeare’s personality as a historical figure.

scholarly journals Religion and violence: Shutup Shylock!

2018 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaco Beyers
Keyword(s):  
William Shakespeare ◽  
Human Nature ◽  
The Other ◽  
Human Response ◽  
Merchant Of Venice ◽  
The Merchant Of Venice ◽  
Unique Identity ◽  
Religious Differences

Violence is not only because of religious differences. Violence is part of human nature. While expressing and living a unique identity, people may experience animosity from ‘the other’ in society. The natural human response upon infliction is retaliation. To this effect, the play of William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, is taken as an example of conflict in society because of social, financial and religious differences. From the plot in the play, it is deduced that violent actions beget violent responses. The Dutch philosopher, Hans Achterhuis, provides valuable information so as to provide perspectives on violence in society. Achterhuis suggests that instead of seeking the absence of violence in society, one should rather seek how to differ responsible and peaceful from one another. Violence cannot be ignored or eradicated. Violence can however be tamed by fighting with one another peacefully. Society is in need of volunteers who will act as powerful buffers between conflicting societies, thus preventing differences becoming reasons for violence.

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