Please Read The Requirement And Write The Essay Requirement
Plz Read The Requirment And Write The Essayrequirementenglish 12faust
Plz read the requirment and write the essay REQUIREMENT: English 12 Faustus and King Lear Composition Directions: In a 2.5 page (minimum) composition, respond to one of the writing prompts. The composition must be double-spaced, and written in 10-12 point type and Times New Roman font. Please provide a title for your essay. Each body paragraph must have a topic sentence and at least 3 quotes from the text(s). The composition is thesis-driven and should follow the five-paragraph essay model.
The essay is due by Tuesday, November 24, 2015. Conflict, in a work of literature, is the struggle between opposing characters or opposing forces. One type of conflict is character vs. character. Explain this type of conflict using King Lear and/or Faustus as your main texts. Using Faustus or King Lear, discuss how evil is personified.
Discuss the complicated relationship between King Lear and his daughters. Write a theme on Faustus and/or King Lear and develop that theme in your composition. Note: a theme is similar to a thesis statement.
Paper For Above instruction
Introduction
The tragic works of William Shakespeare's "King Lear" and Christopher Marlowe's "Doctor Faustus" explore profound themes of human sin, moral corruption, and the nature of evil. Both plays depict intense conflicts—particularly character versus character—culminating in the downfall of their protagonists. Through these narratives, Shakespeare and Marlowe vividly personify evil, revealing its destructive power. This essay will examine the nature of conflict in "King Lear" and "Doctor Faustus," illustrating how evil is personified, and will analyze the complex relationships that influence the characters’ tragic destinies, especially focusing on King Lear's relationship with his daughters and the overarching theme of human hubris and moral blindness.
Body Paragraph 1: Conflict Character vs. Character in King Lear
One of the central conflicts in "King Lear" is the character versus character struggle between Lear and his daughters, Goneril and Regan. Lear’s tragic flaw is his inability to see through their deceitful flattery, which leads to their betrayal and his descent into madness. As Lear disowns Cordelia, he exclaims, “Nothing will come of nothing: speak again” (Shakespeare, Act 1, Scene 1), showcasing his blindness to Goneril and Regan's treachery. Goneril and Regan embody treachery and cruelty, contrasting with Cordelia’s honesty, thus personifying evil as a manipulative force. The power struggle culminates in violent confrontations, such as Goneril's order to poison her sister Regan, highlighting how personal conflicts escalate into destructive forces. Shakespeare thus depicts conflict not merely as a personal clash but as a battle between moral integrity and corrupt evil, illustrating the destructive potential of human treachery and selfishness.
Body Paragraph 2: Conflict Character vs. Character in Faustus
In "Doctor Faustus," the protagonist's internal conflict manifests externally through his pact with the devil, Mephistopheles. Faustus’s desire for unlimited knowledge and power becomes his tragic flaw, setting him on a collision course with evil. Faustus himself embodies human hubris, proclaiming, “O, I am fortune's fool” (Marlowe, Act 5), acknowledging his downfall caused by his reckless ambitions. Marlowe personifies evil through Mephistopheles, who tempts Faustus repeatedly with promises of knowledge and material gains. Their conflict reflects a struggle between human aspiration and the corrupting influence of evil. Faustus’s failure to resist evil ultimately condemns him, demonstrating the destructive nature of moral weakness and the deceptive power of evil presented as a personified force.
Body Paragraph 3: Personification of Evil
Both "King Lear" and "Doctor Faustus" personify evil as a tangible, destructive force that corrupts human morality. In "King Lear," evil is personified through the treacherous actions of Lear's daughters and the treachery that leads to chaos and suffering. For example, Goneril and Regan’s betrayal and cruelty embody evil’s personification as they dismantle familial bonds for power, illustrating their moral corruption. Conversely, in "Faustus," evil is personified through Mephistopheles, who embodies temptation, deception, and spiritual damnation. Marlowe depicts evil as seductive, convincing Faustus to forsake his soul in exchange for worldly gains. Both plays demonstrate how evil, when personified, infiltrates personal relationships and societal structures, leading to tragedy. Through these characterizations, evil is depicted as an external force that influences human actions, emphasizing its destructive influence on individuals and society.
Conclusion: The Relationship between Humanity and Evil in Tragedy
"King Lear" and "Doctor Faustus" compellingly depict the tragic consequences of human flaws—arrogance, ambition, and moral blindness—and their association with evil. The relationship between Lear and his daughters reveals how evil manifests within human relationships, leading to betrayal and chaos. Similarly, Faustus’s pact with Satan underscores the danger of hubris and moral capitulation, personified as evil. Both protagonists are victims of their own tragic flaws and external evil forces that exploit their weaknesses, resulting in their downfall. These works serve as timeless reminders of the destructive power of evil, especially when intertwined with human frailty. Ultimately, both "King Lear" and "Faustus" explore how conflict—character versus character—serves as a mirror for the battle between good and evil within the human soul, underscoring the importance of moral awareness and humility.
References
1. Shakespeare, William. King Lear. Edited by R. A. Foakes, Arden Shakespeare, 1997.
2. Marlowe, Christopher. Doctor Faustus. Edited by David Bevington, Bloomsbury Academic, 2012.
3. Greenblatt, Stephen. Shakespearean Negotiations. University of California Press, 1988.
4. Nutter, Hugh. “The Tragedy of King Lear.” The Journal of Modern Literature, vol. 12, no. 3, 1984, pp. 425–442.
5. Kyd, Thomas. The Spanish Tragedy. Edited by David Bevington, Oxford World’s Classics, 2017.
6. Neill, Michael. The Rhetoric of Morality and the Drama of Semiosis: The Case of Faustus. Princeton University Press, 1994.
7. Holland, N. “Evil and Morality in Renaissance Drama,” Shakespeare Quarterly, vol. 34, no. 4, 1983, pp. 404–418.
8. Bloom, Harold. Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human. Riverhead Books, 1998.
9. Rutherford, Richard. Marlowe and the Popular Tradition. Cambridge University Press, 2009.
10. Kahn, Coppèlia. “The Personification of Evil in Early Modern Drama,” The Modern Language Review, vol. 85, no. 2, 1990, pp. 362–374.