The entire final scene from Act I of Romeo & Juliet plays out like a carefully crafted dramatic symphony, its deep meaning heavily imbued with passion. This is true mystical theatre, fulfilling the ultimate purpose behind the esoteric art of the mystery play—a play enacted as a form of initiation, where the spiritual message is transmitted to…
Shakespeare begins Romeo and Juliet with a Prologue summarizing the entire play: Chorus. Two households both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene From ancient grudge, break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life;…
The reason for the long swearing ritual in Hamlet, occurring after the ghost had already given an adequate account of his murder, has previously puzzled critics. It is certainly not needed to move forward the play’s action. However, if we understand the effect of the ghost’s injunction on Hamlet, the reason for this scene is…
The reason for Hamlet’s delay in his revenge has haunted critics for four centuries. Different authors have presented differing reasons for the delay, which, in itself, raises another question concerning this puzzling aspect of the play: Why does Shakespeare give so much prominence to the delay without clearly presenting the reason for it? The answer…
Important evidence that Shakespeare does intend to convey sage messages in his plays can be found in Act I Scene 2 of Much Ado About Nothing. This short scene focuses on an error by Antonio’s man overhearing the conversation between the Prince and Claudio—he mistakenly concludes that the Prince himself seeks the hand of Hero. This…
All of Shakespeare’s plays have cohesive unity. What this means is that every part of every scene in a Shakespearean play contributes to its central meaning. There are no extraneous scenes. All the scenes either present the main action, or are part of the thematic resonance on the main theme, or are focused allegorical scenes…
Discussions on the mystical art of Shakespeare, and how he uses the three techniques of cohesive unity, thematic resonance and focused allegorical scenes to convey his meaning, can be found at this Facebook site: The Mystical Art of Shakespeare.
Did Shakespeare write a sexist play? There is good evidence he did not. The evidence comes from the thematic resonance in The Taming of the Shrew that echoes relentlessly from start to finish. Let us take a closer look. In practically all his plays, Shakespeare conveys his meaning through three unique techniques: cohesive unity, thematic resonance, and…
The real value of a Shakespearean play is that its meaning is conveyed through our emotional involvement in the drama. Shakespeare conveys the meaning of his plays by making us live through them. The message of a Shakespearean play is not conveyed intellectually; it is experienced. To truly imbibe the message of a Shakespearean play,…
While many view The Comedy of Errors as an early farce by the bard, Shakespeare injects it with an astonishing new dimension. He frames the entire play within two scenes quite foreign to the genre. These scenes grimly focus on a man being condemned to die for merely being a “Syracusian.” Thus, with almost alarming artistic originality,…