Macbeth: The Breakdown Of Character :: essays research papers

The two main characters in Shakespeares play, Macbeth, are Macbeth himself and his wife Lady Macbeth. Their marriage seems to be mainly unity of convenience for Lady Macbeth, plainly for Macbeth it is clearly more than that. He loves his wife, and she takes advantage of that for her own gain. She is continuously making him feel guilty, for being weak, and for not being satisfactory to give her a child, as is suggested by her quarrel, "I have given suck and know how tender tis to love the babe that milks me". She also challenges his manhood, done words such as, "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.", which loosely means, Be a man, and then I will admire you.Macbeth is originally a hero to Scotland, and a strong character. He is a Lord under the rule of King Duncan, and has no former to feel unhappy with his position. It is only after the prophecies of the Weird Sisters, that he begins t o long for the throne of Scotland, and even then needs Lady Macbeth to convince him to commit the murder.Lady Macbeth, on the other hand, begins as pure evil, and remains that way. She has previously been married, and is therefore presumed older and trickier than Macbeth. She appears to always be using him for her own gain, by using her femininity to lure him into doing the wrong thing, and in this way she persuades him to kill the king.When Macbeth hears the prophesies of his future, he appears to disregard them, but when he is made Thane of Cawdor (as foretold), he already is considering murdering the king "My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, shakes so my single state of man that function is smothered in surmise and nothing is but what is not.". It is perhaps for this reason that he writes to Lady Macbeth, as though prompting her for some persuasion for him to kill Duncan, and she later refers to this as his agreement on the murder"Nor time nor place did then adhere, and yet you would fox both" basically meaning that he was prepared to kill him before, and now he is too weak to go through with it.The breakdown of both characters is revealed through their soliloquies.

Formation of the Triple Alliance :: History

Formation of the Triple AllianceIn 1871 two new major states of Europe had been organizethe German Empire and the kingdom of Italy. The new German Empire, under the tump over of Otto von Bismarck, was steered carefully, always with an eye upon France, for the Franco-Prussian War (187071) had left France thirsting for revenge and for reco really of the lost provinces of Alsace and Lorraine. 2Germany had allied itself with Russia and Austria-Hungary in the Three Emperors League, but Austria-Hungary and Russia were not the best of friends, partly because they were at odds over the Balkans and partly because Russia represented the Pan-Slavic movement, whose program threatened the very existence of Austria-Hungary. The Treaty of San Stefano (1878), following the Russo-Turkish War, furthered the cause of Pan-Slavism through the creation of a large Bulgarian state and offended Austria-Hungary as well as corking Britain. A European conference (1878 see Berlin, Congress of), called to revi se the treaty, caused a sharp decline in the friendship between Russia on the one hand and Austria-Hungary and Germany on the other Bismarck formed (1879) a secret defensive alliancethe Dual Alliancewith Austria-Hungary. 3In 1882 Italy, angry at France in the first place because France had forestalled an Italian advance by occupying Tunis, signed another secret treaty, which bound it with Germany and Austria-Hungary. Thus was the Triple Alliance formed. It was periodically renewed until 1913. In 1882 Serbia joined the alliance, in effect, through a treaty with Austria-Hungary. Romania joined the group in 1883, and a powerful Central European bloc was created. Italy was from the first not so solidly bound to either of its allies as Germany and Austria-Hungary were to each other. Italy was in fact a rival of Austria-Hungary in the Balkans and particularly for control of the Adriatic moreover, there remained unsettled territorial problems (see irredentism). The Triple Alliance, howev er, turned diplomatic history into new channels. 4Formation of the Triple Entente The Three Emperors League died a slow death, but in 1890 its day was over Germany refused to renew its reinsurance treaty with Russia, and Russia in consequence sought a rapprochement with France. At the same time France, face to face with an increasingly powerful Germany and a hostile Central European combination, felt great need of an ally, and French diplomats began to make overtures to Russia for an agreement to counterbalance the Triple Alliance. French chief city aided Russian projects, especially the Trans-Siberian Railroad, and friendly diplomatic visits were exchanged.

A Woman Who Is a Person in Kate Chopins The Story of an Hour Essay

A Woman Who Is a Person in The Story of an Hour In her book, The Faces of Eve, Judith Fryer writes, In the finale year of the nineteenth century a woman succeeded where men had failed Kate Chopin created . . . a woman who is a person. Chopins short story, The Story of an Hour, openly portrays the true feelings of a woman who feels trapped inner her marriage. In the period in which she lived, there were only two alternatives for her to achieve the much desired personal freedom all she or her husband must die Chopins story was controversial from the beginning. It was rejected for publication by both Vogue and Century magazines as a threat to family and home. Vogue later published the story only after another of Chopins stories did well publicly. The Story of an Hour begins with Louise Mallard being gently informed of her husbands death in a train accident. Sister Josephine was careful not to upset Louise too greatly because of the latters heart trouble. Did Mrs. Mallard suffer fro m an actual physical ailment or an emotional, psychological trauma? I lean toward the second theory. Louise felt trapped inside her marriagehaving no personal freedomand the only way she could express this was through a physical illness. Mrs. Mallard weeps with sudden, wild abandonment and then disappears to be alone. Mrs. Mallards sister Josephine and Mr. Mallards friend Richards believe she needs to be alone in her grief. She retreats to a comfortable chair in front of an open windowa place the reader is led to believe she frequently spends time in. As physical exhaustion overtakes her, Mrs. Mallard can buoy do nothing but gaze at the scenes taking place outside the window. Strangely, the things she sees are not ... ... or her husband? Now that Louise had tasted freedom, she could not fag out the thought of returning to her dreary life. In the split second that she realized her husband was alive and any hope she had freedom was gone, Louises heart headstrong what must be done. He was alive, therefore she must die. Works Cited Ammons, Elizabeth. Conflicting Stories American Women Writers at the Turn of the Twentieth Century. NY Oxford UP, 1991. Chopin, Kate. The Story of an Hour. Rediscoveries American slight Stories by Women. 1832-1916. NY Penguin, 1994. Fields, Veni. Release. Ode to Friendship & Other Essays Student Writing at VWC. Ed. Connie Bellamy, 1998. Fryer, Judith. The Faces of Eve. New York Oxford UP, 1976. Jones, Anne Goodwyn. Tomorrow is Another Day The Woman Write in the South. 1859-1936. baton Rouge Louisiana State UP, 1981.