By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
Henry V is one of Shakespeare’s most popular and widely studied history plays; indeed, along with Richard III, it is perhaps the best-known. But critics are divided over how we should view Henry V the play – and Henry V the character. Before we offer an analysis of the play, it might be worth briefly recapping the plot.
Sir Toby Belch, Olivia’s uncle, is a hard-drinking partygoer whose joie de vivre and high spirits stand in stark opposition to the character of Malvolio in Shakespeare’s play. But he is no fool. Although Sir Toby speaks highly of Sir Andrew, claiming he can speak many languages, we quickly learn that Sir Andrew is an ill-educated fool who would rather spend his time watching bear-baiting than mastering ‘tongues’ or languages. It becomes clear that
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
Of all Shakespeare’s comedies, Twelfth Night is perhaps the most perfect: the most technically and structurally accomplished, the most unified in terms of its wordplay and themes and characters, and the most profound. Beneath all of the cross-dressing and mistaken identities, Twelfth Night probes some deep truths about the nature of love.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
For the influential Shakespeare critic G. Wilson Knight, Timon of Athens was the most remarkable of Shakespeare’s tragedies. Yet for most readers and critics of William Shakespeare’s work, there’s no getting away from the fact that the general view is that Timon of Athens is one of the least satisfying, successful, or ‘great’ of all of Shakespeare’s tragic plays.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
Of all Shakespeare’s plays, Timon of Athens is perhaps the most easy to summarise in terms of its plot; certainly it’s up there in the top five of his plays with the simplest plot which can be summarised in just a few sentences. So we’ll keep the following plot summary brief.