.... thou day in night." (Shakespeare Act III Scene ii:17) Shakespeare uses night also as a time for exchanging of vows. "Lady, by yonder, blessed moon I vow, That tips with silver all these fruit tree tops -- -". (Shakespeare Act II Scene ii:106-107) After Romeo's vow Juliet later promises during the welcomed night to be loyal to him throughout his life. Under the cloak of darkness she is unafraid to pledge, "And all my fortunes at thy foot I'll lay, And follow thee my lord throughout the world." (Shakespeare Act II Scene ii:146-147) Night has a third important role of protecting Romeo a .....

.... future holds, such as unfortunate things, by being superstitious. Superstition seems to play a role in the basic daily life of most Roman citizens. For instance, the setting of the first scene is based upon superstition, the Feast of Lupercal. This feast is in honor of the god Pan, the queen of fertility. During this time, infertile females are supposed to be able to procreate, and fertile ones are supposed to be able to bear more. It is also a supposed time of sexual glorification and happiness. Other scenes depict how throughout Rome, roaming the streets are mysterious sooth-sayers, who a .....

.... of the misery of all this charging rather than go along with it. She gets blamed for many things that she did not do. For example she is accused of poking Abby with a needle by a poppet. Mary must also feel black because she meant no harm by putting a needle inside of the poppet and yet she gets in trouble also. The black signifies Elizabeth's anger hate for Abby. It is clearly shown when she says that Abby should be ripped out of the world and that Abby is murder. Black also signifies confusion. First of all when all the colors are mixed together they form black. When eve .....

.... grabbed her and examined her face. Then he let out ”a sigh so piteous and profound as it did seem to shatter all his bulk and end his being.” (2.1.106) After that incident, Polonius believes, that Hamlet's madness “is the very ecstasy of love.”(2.1.115) Claudius is convinced, however, that that is not the case. He believes that something else is troubling Hamlet. “Love? His affections do not that way tend; Nor what he spake, though it lacked form a little, was not like madness. there's something in his soul o'er which his melancholy sits on brood” (3.1.176) After Haml .....

.... believe throughout the years of their marriage. Nora tells Dr. Rank, a family friend: “...You know how deeply, how passionately Torvald is in love with me. He would never hesitate for a moment to sacrifice his life for my sake.” Later in the play Nora made the same mistake with Kristine Linde as she did with Dr. Rank. In the following line Nora expresses her belief of what Helmer may do: “Then you must testify... And I tell you this: nobody else knew anything, I alone was responsible for the whole thing. Remember that!” These are two of the most important lines in the play .....

.... (Warshow 116) The court convicts the victims on the most absurd testimony, and the reader has to wonder how the judges and the townspeople could let such a charade continue. The leading character of the play is John Proctor, a man who often serves as the only voice of reason in the play. He had an affair with Abigail Williams, who later charges his wife with witchcraft. Proctor is seemingly the only person who can see through the children's accusations. The reader sees him as one of the more "modern" figures in the trials because he is hardheaded, skeptical, and a voice of common sen .....

.... monstrous shape. " . . . the troubles of Macbeth's character are planted early in the play, and they foreshadow his downfall," (Brooks). In the early scenes of the play evil is scarcely visible in Macbeth, but it spreads through his soul at an alarming speed. Macbeth takes his first giant step towards complete corruption when he murders his gracious king, Duncan. Duncan thinks highly of Macbeth and praises him often, such as when he states, "I have begun to plant thee, and will labor/ To make thee full of growing." (IV, 4; 28-29) The irony is that when Duncan fails to pronounce Macbeth .....

.... audience didn't have to focus on understanding the plot. They already knew the story of Oedipus, which Sophocles used to his advantage. With well known plots the people's minds were open and Sophocles's messages were beaten into them. Almost like subliminal messages. But what messages would Sophocles wish to push on his audiences? Well, at the time, the people of Athens were declining in moral values, they were losing faith in the Gods, mistreating people lower than them and taking part in thefts, murders and other sins. They were also becoming religious hypocrites, only using the G .....

.... Guildenstern, Laertes, and Hamlet himself may have survived. A reason must then be drawn from one's own interpretations of Hamlet. Following two renound interpretations of Hamlet, two major conclusions can be made. First, Shakespeare's tragedy is a work of surpassing interest and genius, and the tragic hero is universally attractive and fascinating. Second, only the naive will start with the assumption that there is one obvious interpretation of the play and that the critics, not Shakespeare, have introduced complexities into it. It would be nice to present a simple, direct in .....

.... states,"We will proceed no further in this business"(I, vii, 32). Yet, after speaking with Lady Macbeth he recants and proclaims, "I am settled, and bend up /Each corporal agent to this terrible feat"(I, vii, 79-80). He allows himself to be swayed by the woman he loves. Lady Macbeth gave him an ultimatum and provoked him by saying: When you durst do it, then you were a man; And to be more than what you were, you would Be so much more the man..... (I, vii, 49-51) She provokes him by questioning his manhood and then saying that he would be a much greater man if he were to go .....