Main directions of the English Literature in the Early Middle ages

21. SHAKESPEARE'S TRAGEDIES AND HISTORICAL DRAMAS

Shakespeare is more closely related to his tragedies than to comedies.“ROMEO AND JULIET” is a tragedy based on “Romeus and Juliet”, a poem by the English author Arthur Brooke. It was first published in 1597 and first performed in 1596. Romeo and Juliet is a story of love and hate. It deals with two teen-aged lovers in Verona, Italy, who are caught in a bitter feud between their families, the Montagues and the Capulets. It is a story of two young people who fall in love at first sight, marry secretly because their families are bitter enemies, and die because each cannot bear to live without the other. It is also a story of two families whose hatred for each other drives a son and daughter to destruction. Only after they have lost their children the parents learn the folly of hatred and agree to end their feud. Love eventually conquers hate, but at a terrible cost.

In some of the tragedies, Shakespeare treats important ethical themes. “Othello”, for instance, shows us the conflict between the two moralities that have replaced medieval ideology (still strong, and represented in the play by Senator Brabantio. A new morality, the morality of the Renaissance, is reflected in Othello and Desdemona, who refuse to obey outworn rules and united by true love, unrestrained by social or racial prejudices. The other morality of the time, in reality utter immorality, is to be seen in the hateful figure of Iago. “Put money in the purse” is his motto. And falling under his influence, the noble Othello loses all the features that endeared him to us at the beginning of the play. This tragedy expresses the crisis of humanism: the Renaissance titans are no longer needed, and it is the Iagos who come to the top.

The first historical tetralogy was written in a monumental, and yet in a rather crude manner, there is no subtle psychology in it, man characters are painted all back or all white mostly all black). In the second historical tetralogy, which deal with an earlier period of English history (it consists of “Richard II”, the two parts of “Henry IV”, and “Henry V”). Shakespeare rose to the heights of his poetic and dramatic power. The theme of feudal decay is developed here with considerably greater finesse than in the first tetralogy. Probably the figures that embody the theme most vividly are to be seen in “Henry IV”. The first is Henry Percy, nicknamed Hotspur. All the feudal virtues are seen in him he is brave, straight forward, honourable, strong willed. Although his manners are rude and he is fiery-tempered and quarrel, some, we never doubt his honesty and his great ability as a warrior. Yet despite all this, Shakespeare shows Hotspur to be historically doomed; his participation in feudal civil wars brings disaster to the country, and his valour serves only to forward his personal ambition and make all his heroicThe first historical tetralogy was written in a monumental, and yet in a rather crude manner, there is no subtle psychology in it, man characters are painted all back or all white mostly all black). In the second historical tetralogy, which deal with an earlier period of English history (it consists of “Richard II”, the two parts of “Henry IV”, and “Henry V”). Shakespeare rose to the heights of his poetic and dramatic power. The theme of feudal decay is developed here with considerably greater finesse than in the first tetralogy. Probably the figures that embody the theme most vividly are to be seen in “Henry IV”. The first is Henry Percy, nicknamed Hotspur. All the feudal virtues are seen in him he is brave, straight forward, honourable, strong willed. Although his manners are rude and he is fiery-tempered and quarrel, some, we never doubt his honesty and his great ability as a warrior. Yet despite all this, Shakespeare shows Hotspur to be historically doomed; his participation in feudal civil wars brings disaster to the country, and his valour serves only to forward his personal ambition and make all his heroicdeeds fruitless. Another character in “Henry IV” is Sir John Falstaff, one of Shakespeare’s greatest creations.