Shakespeare's Works

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Shakespeare > Merchant of Venice
Shakespeare > Midsummer Night's Dream
Shakespeare > Twelfth Night

Shakespeare's Works

An examination of self-knowledge in William Shakespeare's plays.

1,520 words () | 6 sources | APA | 2002 Canada

Paper Summary:

Self-knowledge - the ability to understand rather than misunderstand an action, emotion, or situation - is one of the social values embedded in the works of William Shakespeare. This paper examines several examples of plays where the theme of self-knowledge was present, including "The Merchant of Venice", "Twelfth Night" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream".

From the Paper:

"As to whether these reminders of "social values" are an integral part of the works, or not, is rather irrelevant for the purpose of this thesis. For our concerns the fact that they exist at all is sufficient. Throughout the plays various messages are presented dealing with ethics, love, honor, and ambition, among others. Often, more than one message may be presented in a single work through different levels of emphasis and various subplots?. One major idea expressed almost as a constant in the great majority of Shakespeare's works is the idea of "self-knowledge," or more accurately the often lack thereof."