The "monstrous" characters in this are presumably darker of skin, owing to the origin story of Caliban's parentage as well as the general idea of an "Island People." Historically, this lines up with colonization of Europe, even the colonization of the United States, with worry of running into "Indians." All of this really "others" all of the indigenous people to this mystical island, and portrays them as savages.

I think this line from Benedick goes well with Swetnam's argument of women. Even if she is beautiful, she is not worth it as she will bring ruin to him, especially with an even more curt tongue than most women. According to Swetnam, a woman's ability to speak is often what he finds the most repulsive, because she will always be irrationally angry and chiding. This is exactly how Benedick seems to view Beatrice in this moment.

The way Leonato words "made defeat of her virginity" makes it sound more like a conquest in battle than a night of romantic love. Although women were typically seen as conquests, Claudio does not want to be perceived as a sexual conquerer, especially not in front of the pure Hero. Therefore, this is a double insult, insinuating not only that Hero and Claudio sinned, but that lust took over from their true love.

This whole scene is a great example of Hero as a character. He lines are all so eloquent and proper, representing how sweet she is, inside and out. She marks the most proper and devoted female character yet, who never defends herself, and has no agency. She is a stark contrast to Beatrice, and is the perfect White Woman.

This line is important because it represents the dichotomy between the immortals and the mortals. While the mortal lovers are completely wrapped up in the romance and emotions, the magical creatures are less serious and more comedic. This shows how foolish mortal love can be, and how silly humans are as a whole.

Hermia's response to Theseus is interesting as it reveals her to be slightly stronger and have more agency than other female characters we have discussed. She basically says that she would rather die a virgin than marry a man she does not love. However, in this society she will probably not be allowed to leave with her life after such "insolence" in the face of the sexist rulings of the men around her.

Egeus is making the statement that as a father in Athens, his daughter is his property, and if does not consent to the marriage, she will either marry who he chooses (Demetrius) or have her killed. This is so interesting as he was complaining about her becoming more stubborn, and then proceeds to voice the most stubborn opinion yet. Basically, even though this is a comedy, women cannot, under any condition, have their own agency or they will face the consequences - death.

Cordelia is a great example of the White Woman archetype. She loves and respects and obeys with grace and virtue. The fact the Lear cannot see this, obvious as it is with her expressions of love and innocence, proves him to be blind with age and power. He has only ever known false love, and does not recognize its true form, which is a sad commentary on leaders. In the end, Cordelia is punished for her virtue as a sacrifice to the chaotic evil force of the world.

This tragic ending is especially so, as all the fault and conflict seemed to resolve itself before the end. Lear seems to die of sadness at the loss of his daughter, but also in his last words he refutes her death anyway. He seems to be seeing her as he dies. This could show the connection between his blindness for her good and love, and his blindness in death as his body quits rather than accept her fate.

Lear seems to feel guilt for the wrongs he has done his daughter, Cordelia. After denouncing her as his daughter, he know uses the same word and symbol to refer to elements of a tempest. He also does not wish these elements unwell. He deserves their wrath, and presents himself a servant. The writing of these also show how kingly and valant he attempts to remain, even in a storm. He speaks in a very loud and poetic way.

Othello's death can be seen as an act of defiance against the system. In the modern US, black men are constantly accused and punished for violent crimes they did not even commit. With Othello he did commit it, but he also takes justice into his own hands and decides to kill himself. This kind of autonomy marks Othello as unequal to others in his position.

The line is also a classic statement of tragic irony. With his last breath he again laments a love he could not possibly have truly cared for, otherwise she would not be dead. The ease by which Iago manipulated him is a stark contrast to the autonomy he gains as a Moor by being high ranking in the military.

Iago's form of manipulation is incredibly ironic, though only to the omniscient audience. He lies easily with every word, and seems to find pleasure in his evil. This call again into question the reasoning behind Iago's evil tendencies. Not only is he a paragon of dramatic fuel, but he represents a chaotic being that is both racist and sexist. This makes me wonder whether or not Shakespeare was meaningfully forging a connection between a chaotically evil entity and race/gender issues. By allowing Iago to act as the most hateful character, you can only assume the written criticism of the world to despise racism and sexism, as it is the catalyst of tragedy.

Obviously using "Turk" is an insult to the supposed "villains" of this story, as they were recently enemies in battle. However, this line could also be viewed through a post-colonial lens, as Iago is clearly a racist character, and opposes "otherness" as we see in his interactions with Othello, "the Moor." However, this line is also extremely sexist, or, if "otherness" is applied to anyone outside of the majority (women), then this is simply an extended play on Iago's hatred for "others."

He is suggesting that women rise to play, as in their housewivery is unimportant, and not where they truly find their purpose. The bedroom, however, is where women are truly meant to be. Women's real contribution to society is having sex with men, according to Iago of course.

I find the wording here interesting, particularly the use of "sacrifice." What is he sacrificing? Her life for the purification of the world? Is the sacrifice the fact that he must murder in order to do so? Or, is the sacrifice more personal to him, losing one that he once treasured so, to regain his own honor and possibly happiness? Either way, the real comment is founded in Othello's momentary loss of confidence in his own plan, as he obviously still has some feelings for Desdemona. However, she is worthless as a "whore" and has made a mockery of him, and therefore she must die.

Here, Iago shows the blatant lack of respect he seems to have for women in general, to insult his own wife so publicly. What is really interesting to me, however, is how the men in the play carry on respecting him as a trustworthy person, even though he can clearly speak ill of people without provocation. It shows how lowly women were regarded during the time. Even more interesting is the fact that so much drama can arise from something (women) disregard so much in other senses. This shows how objectified they are as trophies instead of people.

Katherine is seemingly the last pawn in Henry's complete conquer of France. She asked him how she could love such an enemy of her country, and he returned with the idea that he is actually a friend. Him saying this in English, then French, is a way for him to secure this idea. He can literally speak her language, and uses that as a reason for her to be with him, even though he refuses to continue speaking French, as if to stay on her side. He must show that he is better than her in some way, and only speaking French to show he is a "friend" is a way of accomplishing this.

Henry has made sure the world sees him as an awe-inspiring leader and warrior. However, I think this monologue is chalked full of irony. These four lines in particular are a good example, as they are so gruesome and full of murderous intent, yet about killing innocent and weak women and children. The irony comes from: 1) It's not hard to kill the weak and undefended, why is it something to brag about? 2) The fact that this war is based on "god's will," as if Jesus, arguably the first documented hippie, would appreciate this in his and his father's name.

To me, this speech is simply mocking the masculine-warrior-king complex as well as the intentions of the church.

Shakespeare seems to love adding these little humorous lines in, especially after a long, dark monologue. The funny, ironic tones are common in the play, and most of his others, but the short, concise line delivered after a long and dramatic one is a cool dichotomous style that adds to the performance, and relives tension, or shows a clash of characters personalities.

Throughout this set of poems, it seems as though there is less of a respect for the subject than that of the subject within the "beautiful youth" set. Most likely this is due to sexism, albeit perpetuated by the standards of the time, but still not gone today. This idea that he is wronged by a woman getting with another man, but still calls the other man kind, and he himself is clearly promiscuous too. Ripe with double standards.

Shakespeare’s repetition of the idea that youth and beauty die with age is mirrored heavily in modern culture. Makeup and botox and plastic surgeries are all ways in which people attempt to hide or correct their flaws, and the societal obsession with covering wrinkles and preserving youth is one that dates back thousands of years. This all stems from the inherent fear of death most humans have, or deeper still, fear of the unknown. Though it’s possible Shakespeare is merely pining a surface level attraction, it seems as though the speaker of the poem is reflecting their own fear of loss on the loss of beauty in another.

This sonnet, much akin to others, revolves around the extended metaphor of time as beauty, posed as the rising and setting of the sun. This is used to reiterate Shakespeare’s clear fancy with the “fair youth,” or, more accurately, the “fair youth’s” good looks. Though we discussed these ideas in class, what we have not yet considered is the highly problematic nature of Shakespeare’s obsession with the youth. The issue lies in the fact that this purported lover was just that - a youth. In this sonnet, the world looks up to admire the glory of the rising and shining sun. However, as the poem progresses, time takes the sun across the sky, eventually extinguishing it’s beauty, and the onlookers lose interest by evening. Shakespeare uses this universalist conceit to express the youth’s beauty fading as he ages. Since his beauty begins as the sun first emerges, the implication is that the subject is found attractive by the author from a very young age. Did someone say paedophile? A second allusion to this is Will’s clear obsession with procreation. Not only was using the word “son” a clever piece of word play within the metaphor, but Shakespeare expresses the only way for the youth to find admiration in his unattractive age is to father a child. This keening for rebirth of one he finds beautiful is a clear ode to his own perverted desires.