Today's Date:
April 04, 2025
The Symbol of the Moon in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by Shakespeare
The moon is symbolic and takes on many meanings in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by William Shakespeare. As this essay on symbols in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” seeks to point out, it is not simply part of the background →
A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Analysis of Lines 5-20 of the Epilogue
The last lines spoken by Puck near the end of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by William Shakespeare in the Epilogue (lines 5-20) are particularly striking both in terms of language and of overall meaning in the play. The purpose of →
Analysis of the “To Be or Not to Be” Soliloquy in Hamlet by William Shakespeare
The meaning of the “to be or not to be” speech in Shakespeare’s Hamlet has been given numerous interpretations, each of which are textually, historically, or otherwise based. In general, while Hamlet’s famous “to be or not to be” soliloquy →
Perceptions of the Ghost in Shakespeare’s Hamlet
Throughout Hamlet, both the reader and the title character are drawn into the complex question of whether or not the ghost of Hamlet’s father is a spirit sent to tempt and destroy Hamlet or if it is truly his father who has →
Full Character Analysis of Hamlet
One of the many talents of the playwright William Shakespeare was that he broke the limiting mold of the one-dimensional character by representing characters in all of their human complexity. Hamlet, for example, is a compelling character because he is →
Shakespeare’s Hamlet as a Tragic Hero
Is Hamlet a tragic hero? In many senses, Hamlet is the quintessential tragic hero. Not only does he begin with the noblest motivations (to punish his father’s murderer) but by the end, his situation is do dire that the only →
The Power of Words & Language in Hamlet and Othello by William Shakespeare
In two of Shakespeare’s plays, Hamlet and Othello, the power of words helps drive the central action of the plots. While there are different motivations for characters to employ the power of words and language in both Hamlet and Othello , the result is generally the same. First →
Poem Analysis of “Fra Lippo Lippi” by Robert Browning: The Theme & Meaning of Celibacy
Throughout the poem, “Fra Lippo Lippi” Browning seems to be engaging in a dialogue with the Church regarding celibacy—both in the artistic and sexual sense. The feelings of the poem’s narrator can easily be seen as Browning’s own critique and →
The Role of Nature in Transcendental Poetry: Emerson, Thoreau & Whitman
Other essays and articles in the Literature Archives related to this topic include : Transcendentalism and the Poetry of Walt Whitman • Comparison of the Poets Walt Whitman and Ruben Dario • Analysis and Summary of “Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau • Persistent Themes in the →
The Significance of the Reference to Philomel in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by Shakespeare
Other essays and articles in the Literature Archives related to this topic include : The Significance of the Play Within a Play Structure of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream • The Friendships of Women in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by Shakespeare • A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Analysis of Lines →
