Morality Plays and their influence on Shakespeare Research Paper

Morality Plays and their influence on Shakespeare - Research Paper Example Depiction of medieval morality traditions is the hallmark of most of the Shakespearean traditions, whether tragedy or comedy. Morality is the dominant trait of the heroes in the works of Shakespeare, like Macbeth, Hamlet, Tempest, Twelfth Night, etc. The final outcomes/conclusion- of his dramas highlight a significant moral choice. With hard options left to the characters as for the moral order, the plots of his dramas attains new dimensions. How is the theme of morality explored in Shakespearean dramas and what techniques are used to show this? Some of his works are examined in this paper. Macbeth: Macbeth, a tragedy by Shakespeare (1992), has several violent incidents, with a strong undercurrent of morality relating to Macbeth’s violation of ethical norms prevailing in that era. Macbeth’s violation of the moral order with his pre-planned murder of Duncan indicates Shakespeare’s intricate representation of evil and the reaction to such deeds. Christian morality is put to severe test in this drama. In the initial stages of the drama, Macbeth is an honorable, brave soldier. But his encounters with witches cause a dent in his moral standards. It kindles the fire of ambition in him. His action of murder of King Duncan in order to enthrone himself as the King is a mean, evil action by moral standards. His loyalty is proved dubious. Initially he had set the highest standards of morality for him and his abidance in religious principles is total. One needs to read his soliloquy (I, IV, 12-28) to understand his clear-cut stand as to why he should not kill Duncan on three counts. He is "his kinsman," "his subject" and "his host." He pays highest tributes to his angelic qualities, which again indicates his inner moral inclinations. But the evil in Lady Macbeth intervenes to ill-advise Macbeth. She ridicules him that he is a coward, if he decides not to kill Macbeth. Macbeth is in a dilemma. As a soldier and as husband he does not desire to be labeled as a coward. His virtue and moral standards stand subjugated by his self-image and ambition. The moral dilemma doesn’t end with the murder of Duncan, but intensifies. He totally surrenders to the evil by challenging Fate and he kills Banquo and his descendants. One evil deed follows the other and he loses his power of discrimination and is engulfed in desire for power. His convictions are now â€Å"foul is fair and fair is foul," and thus he has become a morally bankrupt individual. In the end he pays the consequences for his immorality. Hamlet: The corrupted moralities in Hamlet’s moral choices have far-reaching consequences and ultimately lead to the devastation of the royal house of Denmark. The moral rule will not continue indefinitely, evil results follow in a time-bound manner. Every individual has to suffer the consequences in proportion to the intensity of such deeds. The negative vibrations generated by bad action will not go unpunished. The concept of reven ge is a pagan act that goes against the morality of Christianity. The approach of revenge with Hamlet’s order to kill Claudius by his father’s ghost is one such act. To commit this act, Hamlet goes through one of the worst moral dilemmas, and his fears about going to hell are genuine. Finally, Hamlet achieves his moral goal by exposing the guilt of Claudius

Are decisions made by universities directly affecting students Essay

Are decisions made by universities directly affecting students justiciable - Essay Example The key piece of legislation in NSW in respect to the Judicial Review of University academic decisions is the ADT, it is through this act it allows for unfair publicly decided decisions to be reviewed on the grounds of fairness and legitimacy. In fact this act is based on the commonwealth's, especially the English Legal System's, common law approach. It is not based on the merits of the case rather whether there has been a procedurally fair decision. Therefore if one wants to refer to case law it is best to refer to the binding precedents of case law from the Commonwealth. This will be discussed in the next section. There is one factor that this discussion needs to point out, which is under English Law Higher Education Institutions are legislated so that they are considered public institutions; however in Australia this is not the case so there is the problem of private v's public institutions which will be discussed in further in reference to national law. ... Ultimately, integrity in research requires leadership. If, in the wake of the Hall affair, our universities cannot ensure an enlightened and responsible ethos in their research enterprises they risk a loss of public confidence (Hall v UNSW [2003] NSWSC 669. These rules are a crux to limitations faced by private higher education institutions under Australian National Law, which will be discussed in the following section. Commonwealth System: Dicey's jurisprudential thought is central to the present system of constitutional and administrative law; it deals with the decision making process and the powers of parliament; the government; executive bodies; and the courts. The main theoretical concept that Dicey's theory hinges upon is that parliament is supreme; there is no authority within the British territories or extra-territorially that has more power than parliament. The courts cannot overturn statutes or parliamentary decisions as this would erode parliamentary sovereignty. However not all decisions made in the name of parliament may be legal, because the individual has not acted in accordance with the spirit of parliamentary decision of the statute enacted by parliament. Also executive decisions are delegated through the hierarchy to bureaucratic departments and agencies; as well as human error or bias resulting in unlawful decisions1. To counter this Dicey incorporated the concept of checks and balances into the legal and parliamentary system; whereby the judiciary can hear a case, concerning the decision of an executive body, which may be illegal or a breach of natural law; whereby judicial review is an essential demonstration of Dicey's rule of law which is creating a system