Shakespeare Exam Notes 2

8/14/2019 Shakespeare Exam Notes 2

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OVERVIEW

Doctor Faustus: Christopher Marlowe

Faustus - The protagonist. Faustus is a brilliant sixteenth-century scholar from Wittenberg,

Germany, whose ambition for knowledge, wealth, and worldly might makes him willing to pay the

ultimate price—his soul—to Lucifer in exchange for supernatural powers.

Mephastophilis - A devil whom Faustus summons with his initial magical experiments.

Lucifer - The prince of devils, the ruler of hell, and Mephastophilis’s master.

Wagner - Faustus’s servant He uses his master’s books to learn how to summon devils & do

magic

Faustus makes a pact with Lucifer, if he gets service from Mephastophilis for 24 years and he

himself has powers then he will give his sole to Lucifer. The pact is agreed upon and Faustus

originally intended to gain all the knowledge possible in the world and gather riches from each

corner of the world but once he actually has the power he just does small little trickeries andgoes to see Nobles and tries to impress them.

Faustus: once he can do everything, he no longer wants to do anything. Instead, he traipses

around Europe, playing tricks on yokels and performing conjuring acts to impress various heads

of state. He uses his incredible gifts for what is essentially trifling entertainment. The fields of

possibility narrow gradually, as he visits ever more minor nobles and performs ever more

unimportant magic tricks, until the Faustus of the first few scenes is entirely swallowed up in

mediocrity.

Faustus’s tragic flaw is Hubris, excessive pride. Two angels, good and bad, appear to Faustus

giving him the chance to repent and revoke his oath to Lucifer. This is one of the largest faults of Faustus throughout the play: he is blind to his own salvation.

Macbeth: William Shakespeare

Macbeth - Macbeth is a Scottish general and the thane of Glamis who is led to wicked thoughts

by the prophecies of the three witches, especially after their prophecy that he will be made

thane of Cawdor comes true.

Lady Macbeth - Macbeth’s wife, a deeply ambitious woman who lusts for power and position.

The Three Witches - Three “black and midnight hags” who plot mischief against Macbeth using

charms, spells, and prophecies.

Banquo - The brave, noble general whose children, according to the witches’ prophecy, will

inherit the Scottish throne. He represents the path Macbeth could have taken but does not.

King Duncan - The good king of Scotland whom Macbeth, in his ambition for the crown, murders.

Macduff - A Scottish nobleman hostile to Macbeth’s kingship from the start. He eventually

becomes a leader of the crusade to unseat Macbeth.



Malcolm - The son of Duncan, whose restoration to the throne signals Scotland’s return to order

following Macbeth’s reign of terror.

The play begins with the brief appearance of a trio of witches and then moves to a military camp

where the Scottish King Duncan hears the news that his generals, Macbeth and Banquo, have

defeated two separate invading armies. Macbeth and Banquo encounter thrre witches as they

cross a moor. The witches prophesy that Macbeth will be made thane of Cawdor and eventuallyking of Scotland. They also prophesy that Banquo will beget a line of Scottish kings, although

Banquo will never be king himself. Macbeth and Banquo treat their prophecies skeptically until

some of King Duncan’s men come and to tell Macbeth that he has been named thane of Cawdor.

Lady Macbeth desires the kingship for him and wants him to murder Duncan in order to obtain it.

When She persuades him to kill the king that very night. He and Lady Macbeth plan to get

Duncan’s two chamberlains drunk so they will black out and they can blame the muder on them.

Fearful of the witches’ prophecy that Banquo’s heirs will seize the throne, Macbeth hires a group

of murderers to kill Banquo and his son Fleance but Fleance survives. He goes to see the witches

who tell him he must beware of Macduff, a Scottish nobleman who opposed Macbeth’s accession

to the throne; he is incapable of being harmed by any man born of woman; and he will be safeuntil Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane Castle. Macbeth is relieved and feels secure, because he

knows that all men are born of women and that forests cannot move.

Macduff’s family is murdered by Macbeth’s people when he flees to England and he vows

revenge. Lady Macbeth kills herself after she goes half insance, Macduff heads an army to defeat

Macbeth and his army cut limbs from Birnam Wood to protect themselves so the Birnam Wood is

advancing on Macbeth’s castle. Also Macbeth finds out Macduff was born through cesarean

therefore he was not born of a woman therefore he is able to kill Macbeth.

The Corrupting Power of Unchecked Ambition: the destruction wrought when ambition goes

unchecked by moral constraints finds its most powerful expression in the play’s two maincharacters. Macbeth is a courageous Scottish general who is not naturally inclined to commit evil

deeds, yet he deeply desires power and advancement. He kills Duncan against his better

judgment and afterward stews in guilt and paranoia. Toward the end of the play he descends into

a kind of frantic, boastful madness. Lady Macbeth, on the other hand, pursues her goals with

greater determination, yet she is less capable of withstanding the repercussions of her immoral

acts.

The Weather: As in other Shakespearean tragedies, Macbeth’s grotesque murder spree is

accompanied by a number of unnatural occurrences in the natural realm. From the thunder and

lightning that accompany the witches’ appearances to the terrible storms that rage on the night

of Duncan’s murder, these violations of the natural order reflect corruption in the moral and

political orders.

Hamlet: William Shakespeare

Hamlet: The prince of Denmark, and a student at the University of Wittenberg. At the beginning

of the play, Hamlet's father, King Hamlet, has recently died, and his mother, Queen Gertrude,

has married the new king, Hamlet's uncle Claudius.



Claudius: The king of Denmark, Hamlet's uncle. The villain of the play, Claudius is a calculating,

ambitious politician, adept at manipulating others for his own ends and willing to execute,

assassinate, or murder to stay in power.

Gertrude: The queen of Denmark, Hamlet's mother, recently married to Claudius.

Polonius: The Lord Chamberlain of Claudius's court, and the father of Laertes and Ophelia.

Horatio: Hamlet's close friend, who is loyal and helpful to Hamlet throughout the play. After

Hamlet's death, Horatio remains alive to tell Hamlet's story.

Ophelia: Polonius's daughter, a beautiful young woman with whom Hamlet has been in love. A

sweet and innocent young girl, Ophelia dutifully strives to obey her father and her brother. When

her father dies, her sanity unravels, and in her madness she paints a scathing picture of men.

The play, set in Denmark, recounts how Prince Hamlet exacts revenge on his uncle Claudius, who

has murdered Hamlet's father, the King, and then taken the throne and married Hamlet's

mother.

The Jew of Malta: Christopher Marlowe

The Jewish merchant in question, Barabas, is introduced as a man owning more wealth than all of

Malta. When Turkish ships arrive to demand tribute, however, Barabas's wealth is seized and he

is left penniless. Incensed, he begins a campaign to engineer the downfall of the Maltese

governor who robbed him. With the aid of his daughter, Abigail, he recovers some of his former

assets and buys a Turkish slave, Ithamore, who appears to hate Christians as much as Barabas.

Barabas then, in revenge for the robbery, uses his daughter's beauty to embitter the governor's

son and his friend against each other, leading to a duel in which they both die. When Abigail

learns of Barabas's role in the plot, she consigns herself to a nunnery, only to be poisoned (along

with all of the nuns) by Barabas and Ithamore for becoming a Christian. The two go on to kill acouple of friars who threaten to divulge their previous crimes. Ithamore himself, however, is

lured into disclosing his secrets and blackmailing Barabas by a beautiful prostitute and her

criminal friend. Barabas poisons all of them in revenge, but not before the governor is apprised

of his deeds. Barabas escapes execution by feigning death, and then helps an advancing Turkish

army to sack Malta, for which he is awarded governorship of the city. He then turns on the Turks,

allowing the Knights of Malta to kill the Turkish army. The Maltese, however, turn on Barabas and

kill him as they regain control of Malta.

5.5.47: Here Barabas actually addresses the audience, use of stage….

The Merchant of Venice:William Shakespeare

Volpone Ben Jonson—a comedy

Volpone - The protagonist of the play. Volpone's name means "The Fox" in Italian. He is lustful,

lecherous, and greedy for pleasure.



Mosca - Mosca is Volpone's parasite, a combination of his slave, his servant, his lackey, and his

surrogate child

Voltore - He is a lawyer by profession, and he is adept in the use of words and, by implication,

adept in deceit, something he proves during the course of the play.

Corvino - An extremely vicious and dishonorable character, Corvino is Celia's jealous husband.

Corbaccio - The third "carrion-bird" circling Volpone, Corbaccio is actually extremely old and ill

himself and is much more likely to die before Volpone.

Celia - The voice of goodness and religiosity in the play, Celia is the wife of Corvino, who is

extremely beautiful. She has a faith in God and sense of honor.

Bonario - Son of Corbaccio. He is an upright youth loyal to his father even when his father

perjures against him in court. He heroically rescues Celia from Volpone and represents bravery

honor

Takes place in Venice, Volpone is a Venetian nobleman and he has amassed his fortune through

dishonest means: he is a con artist. Soon, we see Volpone's latest con in action. For the last

three years, he has been attracting the interest of three legacy hunters: Voltore, a lawyer;Corbaccio, an old gentleman; and Corvino, a merchant—individuals interested in inheriting his

estate after he dies. Volpone is actually in excellent health and merely faking illness for the

purpose of collecting all those impressive "get-well" gifts. Mosca tells Corvino that Volpone

requires sex with a young woman to help revive him, and will be very grateful to whoever

provides the lady. Corvino offers Celia. Just before Corvino and Celia are due to arrive for this

tryst to take place, Corbaccio's son Bonario arrives to catch his father in the act of disinheriting

him. Mosca ushers him into a sideroom. Volpone is left alone with Celia, and after failing to

seduce her with promises of luxurious items and role-playing fantasies, attempts to rape her.

Bonario sees this, comes out of hiding and rescues Celia. However, in the ensuing courtroom

sequence, the truth is well-buried by the collusion of Mosca, Volpone and all three of the dupes.

Volpone disguises himself as an officer and announces that he has died and left all his wealth to

Mosca. This enrages Voltore, Corbaccio and Corvino, and everyone returns to court. Despite

Volpone's pleas, Mosca refuses to give up his wealthy new role, and Volpone is forced to reveal

all in order to save himself. He, Mosca, Voltore, Corbaccio and Corvino are punished.

A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream William Shakespeare---Romantic Comedy

Puck - Also known as Robin Goodfellow, Puck is Oberon’s jester, a mischievous fairy who delights

in playing pranks on mortals.

Oberon - The king of the fairies, Oberon is initially at odds with his wife, Titania, because she

refuses to relinquish control of a young Indian prince whom he wants for a knight. Oberon’s

desire for revenge on Titania leads him to send Puck to obtain the love-potion flower that creates

so much of the play’s confusion and farce.

Titania - The beautiful queen of the fairies, Titania resists the attempts of her husband, Oberon,

to make a knight of the young Indian prince that she has been given.

Lysander - A young man of Athens, in love with Hermia.

Demetrius - A young man of Athens, initially in love with Hermia and ultimately in love with

Helena.



Hermia - Egeus’s daughter, a young woman of Athens. Hermia is in love with Lysander and is a

childhood friend of Helena

Helena - A young woman of Athens, in love with Demetrius. Demetrius and Helena were once

betrothed, but when Demetrius met Helena’s friend Hermia, he fell in love with her and

abandoned Helena.

Egeus - Hermia’s father, who brings a complaint against his daughter to Theseus.

Theseus - The heroic duke of Athens, engaged to Hippolyta. Theseus represents power and order

throughout the play.

Hippolyta - The legendary queen of the Amazons, engaged to Theseus. Like Theseus, she

symbolizes order.

Nick Bottom - The overconfident weaver chosen to play Pyramus in the craftsmen’s play for

Theseus’s marriage celebration. Bottom is full of advice and self-confidence but frequently

makes silly mistakes and misuses language. His simultaneous nonchalance about the beautiful

Titania’s sudden love for him and unawareness of the fact that Puck has transformed his head

into that of an ass mark the pinnacle of his foolish arrogance.

Egeus wants Hermia to marry Demetrius but she loves Lysander so he takes her to go see

Thesus to tell him to put the full power of the law to tell Hermia she must listen to her father.

Hermia and Lysander plan to run away so they can be together, Helena tells Demetrius about it

because she loves him and he runs after them and she runs after him. Meanwhile, Oberon, king

of the fairies, and his queen, Titania, arrive in the forest outside Athens. Titania tells Oberon she

plans to stay there until after attending Theseus and Hippolyta's wedding. Oberon and Titania

are estranged because Titania refuses to give her Indian changeling to Oberon for use as his

"knight" or "henchman," since the child's mother was one of Titania's worshippers. Oberon seeks

to punish Titania's disobedience and recruits the mischievous Puck to help him apply a magical

juice from a flower called "love-in-idleness," which makes the victim fall in love with the first

living thing the person sees when they awaken. Having seen Demetrius act cruelly toward

Helena, Oberon orders Puck to spread some of the elixir on the eyelids of the young Athenian

man. Instead, Puck accidentally puts the juice on the eyes of Lysander, who then falls in love

with Helena.Then he puts it on Demetrius and then they both fall in love with Helena…

Henry IV Part 1 Willian Shakespeare

King Henry IV - The ruling king of England. He came to the throne through a civil war that

deposed the former king, Richard II.

Prince Harry - King Henry IV’s son, who will eventually become King Henry V. Though Harry

spends all his time hanging around highwaymen, robbers, and whores, he has secret plans to

transform himself into a noble prince, and his regal qualities emerge as the play unfolds.

Hotspur - The son and heir of the Earl of Northumberland and the nephew of the Earl of

Worcester. Hotspur’s real name is Henry Percy and he is a member of the powerful Percy family

of the North, which helped bring King Henry IV.

Sir John Falstaff - A fat old man between the ages of about fifty and sixty-five who hangs around

in taverns on the wrong side of London and makes his living as a thief, highwayman, and mooch.

Falstaff is Prince Harry’s closest friend and seems to act as a sort of mentor to him.



King Henry IV is having an unquiet reign. His personal disquiet at the means whereby he gained

the crown – by deposing Richard II –so he wants to go on crusades but can’t because he finds out

there is problems with Scotland and Wales. The Percy family helped Henry get into power and

they are now mad because they felt neglected by him since he came into power. Henry’s son

Harry does not behave like a royal should he hangs out with vagabonds… Hotspur is the main

person from the Percy family and he leads a team to try to dispose of Henry. Harry grows up and

leads an army against Hotspur. At the end Henry’s side wins. Hotspur is killed by Harry.

Much Ado About Nothing: William Shakespeare

Beatrice - Leonato’s niece and Hero’s cousin. Beatrice is “a pleasant-spirited lady” with a very

sharp tongue.

Benedick - An aristocratic soldier who has recently been fighting under Don Pedro, and a friend

of Don Pedro and Claudio. He loves Beatrice.

Claudio - A young soldier who has won great acclaim fighting under Don Pedro during the recent

wars. Claudio falls in love with Hero upon his return to Messina.

Hero - The beautiful young daughter of Leonato and the cousin of Beatrice. Hero is lovely,

gentle, and kind. She falls in love with Claudio when he falls for her

Don Pedro - An important nobleman from Aragon, sometimes referred to as “Prince.” Don Pedro

is a longtime friend of Leonato, Hero’s father.

Leonato - A respected, well-to-do, elderly noble at whose home, in Messina.

Don John - The illegitimate brother of Don Pedro; sometimes called “the Bastard.” Don John is

melancholy and sullen by nature, and he creates a dark scheme to ruin the happiness of others.

Leonato, a kindly, respectable nobleman, lives in Messina. Leonato shares his house with his

lovely young daughter, Hero, his playful, clever niece, Beatrice, and his elderly brother, Antonio.

Some of Leonato’s friends: Don Pedro, a prince, two fellow soldiers: Claudio, a well-respected

young nobleman, and Benedick, a clever man who constantly makes witty jokes, often at the

expense of his friends. Don John, Don Pedro’s illegitimate brother, is part of the crowd as well.

Don John is sullen and bitter, and makes trouble for the others. They all come to stay at his

place. Claudio falls in love with Hero and she with him. Don John being jealous of their happiness

makes a plan to make Claudio believe Hero betrayed him thus ruin their happiness. Claudio falls

for it and he rejects Hero at the alter. Meanwhile Beatrice and Benedick always make fun of each

other but they actually love each other and eventually they amdit it. Eventually the truth of

Hero’s innocence comes out and they all marry.

Troilus and Cressida Willian Shakespeare----Tragedy

Trojans

Troilus - A prince of Troy. The younger brother of Hector and Paris, he is a valiant warrior and an

honorable man. He is also desperately in love with Cressida.



Hector - A prince of Troy. The greatest warrior on the Trojan side--and matched in might only by

Achilles himself--he is a hero to his entire city and is respected even by his enemies.

Cressida- Calchas' daughter, she becomes Troilus's lover.

Pandarus - Cressida's uncle. He serves as a go-between for Troilus and Cressida, acting as a kind

of cheerful, bawdy pimp for his niece.

Aeneas- a commander

Andromache- Hector's wife

Antenor - A Trojan commander, he is exchanged for Cressida after his capture by the Greeks.

Calchas, a Trojan priest who is taking part with the Greeks

Alexander - servant to Cressida

Priam - King of Troy

Greeks

Agamemnon - The Greek general, and the elder brother of Menelaus.

Diomedes - A Greek commander who seduces Cressida.Achilles - The greatest of the Greek

warriors, he is also an arrogant, vicious thug, who refuses to fight in the war whenever his pride

is injured.

Ajax - A Greek warrior, he is as proud as Achilles, but less intelligent and less skilled in battle.

Thersites - A deformed slave serving Ajax who has a vicious, abusive tongue.

Nestor - The oldest of the Greek commanders, wise and talkative prince

Ulysses - One of the Greek commanders. A highly intelligent, even philosophical man, he isrenowned for his cunning.Menelaus, King of Sparta, brother to Agamemnon

Helen- wife to Menelaus, living with Paris

Patroclus - A Greek warrior. Achilles's best friend--and, it is suggested, his lover.

In the seventh year of the Trojan War, a Trojan prince named Troilus falls in love with Cressida,

the daughter of a Trojan priest who has defected to the Greek side. Troilus is assisted in his

pursuit of her by Pandarus, Cressida's uncle. In Troy, the sons of King Priam debate whether it is

worthwhile to continue the war--or whether they should return Helen to the Greeks and end the

struggle. Hector argues for peace, but he is won over by the impassioned Troilus, who wants to

continue the struggle. Achilles, the greatest Greek warrior, who refuses to fight until Patroclus

dies in battle.

The Winter’s Tale: William Shakespeare



The White Devil

Othello: William Shakespeare

Measure for Measure: William Shakespeare

King Lear: William Shakespeare

The Alchemist Ben Jonson

CONNECTIONS

THE GREAT CHAIN OF BEING

Among the most important of the continuities with the Classical period was the concept of the

Great Chain of Being. Its major premise was that every existing thing in the universe had its

"place" in a divinely planned hierarchical order, which was pictured as a chain vertically

extended. An object's "place" depended on the relative proportion of "spirit" and "matter" it

contained--the less "spirit" and the more "matter," the lower down it stood. At the bottom, for

example, stood various types of inanimate objects, such as metals, stones, and the four elements

(earth, water, air, fire). Higher up were various members of the vegetative class, like trees and

flowers. Then came animals, then humans and then angels. At the very top was God. Besides

universal orderliness, there was universal interdependence. This was implicit in the doctrine of

"correspondences," which held that different segments of the chain reflected other segments.

Thus if one bond was broken it would reverberate throughout. When things were properly

ordered, reason ruled the emotions, just as a king ruled his subjects, the parent ruled the child,

and the sun governed the planets. But when disorder was present in one realm, it was

correspondingly reflected in other realms. For example, in Shakespeare's King Lear, the

simultaneous disorder in family relationships and in the state (child ruling parent, subject ruling

king) is reflected in the disorder of Lear's mind (the loss of reason) as well as in the disorder of



nature (the raging storm). Lear even equates his loss of reason to "a tempest in my mind." Some

Renaissance writers were fascinated by the thought of going beyond boundaries set by the chain

of being. A major example was the title character of Christopher Marlowe's play Doctor Faustus.

Simultaneously displaying the grand spirit of human aspiration and the more questionable hunger

for superhuman powers, Faustus seems in the play to be both exalted and punished. Marlowe's

drama, in fact, has often been seen as the embodiment of Renaissance ambiguity in this regard,

suggesting both its fear of and its fascination with pushing beyond human limitations. In

Macbeth we see something similar too where thunder and lightning accompany the witches’

appearances to the terrible storms that rage on the night of Duncan’s murder, these violations of

the natural order reflect corruption in the moral and political orders.

TRAGIC HERO

In The Poetics Aristotle defines a tragic hero as a character who occupies a high status or

position and embodies nobility and virtue as part of his innate character. While great, the

tragic hero is not perfect and is therefore able to appear sympathetic to mortal audiences. Due

to this imperfection or flaw (hamartia), which is often pride or arrogance (hubris), the hero’s

downfall is somewhat his own fault, the result of free will rather than fate. However, the hero’s

fall is not completely fair because the punishment exceeds the crime. Prior to his end, the

tragic hero experiences a sense of self discovery and sorrow for his flaw and for the outcomes

it has produced.

RICHES AND THE ACQUISITION OF RICHES------GREED

The Jew of Malta

The Merchant of Venice

Volpone

REBIRTH



A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream

Henry 4, Part 1

Much Ado About Nothing

DISGUST

Troilus and Cressida

The Winter’s Tale

The White Devil

MACHIAVALIAN VILLAINS

Barabas from The Jew of Malta

Edmund from King Lear

Macbeth from Macbeth

Iago from Othelo



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Shakespeare Exam Notes 2