Shakespeare Major Paper
Marissa Coe
EN 360 Shakespeare I
Major Paper
04/20/14
Throughout many of Shakespeare’s plays, one of the central themes with which he provides his readers is the topic of madness and insanity. In Karin S. Coddon’s, “Such Strange Desygns”: Madness, Subjectivity, and Treason in Hamlet and Elizabethan Culture, the author depicts the reasons behind the psychosis of Shakespeare’s characters and what led to their insanity. The author expresses insight for not only the themes of madness in Hamlet but also helps explain the aspect of madness in one Shakespeare’s other plays, Macbeth. Through her analysis, Coddon successfully offers her readers a deeper understanding of Shakespeare’s choice to portray his characters in this way and provides the causes and effects of insanity within his plays.
In the article, “Such Strange Desygns”: Madness, Subjectivity, and Treason in Hamlet and Elizabethan Culture, Karin. S. Coddon discusses the reasons behind true madness and what causes characters to fall into it. She uses the story of Essex, the son of Walter Devereux, the first Earl of Essex, and Lettice Knollys during the Elizabethan era in England. She uses Essex’s insanity to provide insight for character’s madness in Shakespeare plays. Her references and descriptions provide readers with a deeper understanding of other Shakespeare’s characters and what caused them to slip into madness within the play. All of Coddon’s ideas give explanation for not only in Shakespeare’s Hamlet but also Macbeth. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Hamlet himself is a difficult character to figure out. With his elegant intensity and reckless but cautious attitude, he is able to keep his readers entertained as the play progresses. Through his irrational decisions, emotional madness and admirable qualities, Hamlet becomes a character with whom readers will continuously empathize. Our first impression of Hamlet sets the tone for the entire play. We are brought to one of the beginning scenes where Hamlet is
EN 360 Shakespeare I
Major Paper
04/20/14
Throughout many of Shakespeare’s plays, one of the central themes with which he provides his readers is the topic of madness and insanity. In Karin S. Coddon’s, “Such Strange Desygns”: Madness, Subjectivity, and Treason in Hamlet and Elizabethan Culture, the author depicts the reasons behind the psychosis of Shakespeare’s characters and what led to their insanity. The author expresses insight for not only the themes of madness in Hamlet but also helps explain the aspect of madness in one Shakespeare’s other plays, Macbeth. Through her analysis, Coddon successfully offers her readers a deeper understanding of Shakespeare’s choice to portray his characters in this way and provides the causes and effects of insanity within his plays.
In the article, “Such Strange Desygns”: Madness, Subjectivity, and Treason in Hamlet and Elizabethan Culture, Karin. S. Coddon discusses the reasons behind true madness and what causes characters to fall into it. She uses the story of Essex, the son of Walter Devereux, the first Earl of Essex, and Lettice Knollys during the Elizabethan era in England. She uses Essex’s insanity to provide insight for character’s madness in Shakespeare plays. Her references and descriptions provide readers with a deeper understanding of other Shakespeare’s characters and what caused them to slip into madness within the play. All of Coddon’s ideas give explanation for not only in Shakespeare’s Hamlet but also Macbeth. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Hamlet himself is a difficult character to figure out. With his elegant intensity and reckless but cautious attitude, he is able to keep his readers entertained as the play progresses. Through his irrational decisions, emotional madness and admirable qualities, Hamlet becomes a character with whom readers will continuously empathize. Our first impression of Hamlet sets the tone for the entire play. We are brought to one of the beginning scenes where Hamlet is
Cited: Beier, A. L. "Vagrants and the social order in Elizabethan England." Past & Present 64.1 (1974): 3-29 Boston.Bedford/St.Martins, 1994. Print. Boston. Bedford/St.Martins, 1999. Print.