Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare Essay - 3

Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare - Essay Example For the sake of this analysis, the focus will be on love and how it has been developed by the author in the development of the story. In evaluating love as a central theme in the story, the focus will be on the two characters who are deemed as the protagonists. The relationship between Cleopatra and Antony is one which is full of resilience. In spite of the fact that they face so many challenges in the course of their affair, their determination and resolve to overcome everything in the wake of what they face is quite admirable. At the time of the two, the societies constantly faced hardships in the form of conflicts and wars. However, the love that Cleopatra had for Antony was steadfast. In fact, the play depicts what can only be described as a perfect love which was only marred the by challenges that the two faced. The love story in lay seems to unify the characters. It should be noted that at The love that Cleopatra had for Antony is quite strong and emotive. In fact, the face of the conflict that is ongoing between the Egypt and Rome, it is the only thing which is common between the two warring sides. From the story, it is revealed that Cleopatra had decided to take her own life if she could not get her love. The irony in this case is that Cleopatra is a queen who reigns of Egypt. In fact, the love between the Queen and the man from Rome inspires what genuine and true love is. Looking back at the tragedies in the story, it is evident the only thing that seems to unify and symbolize togetherness among the warring sides is the genuineness of the love that is shared by the two. However, it should be noted that the feelings that people have when they are in love are affected by the prevailing factors. For instance, in the course of the war, Antony denounced his own country and men to embrace the love which was from a far land. However, the betrayal in the love story comes from the fact that Antony was a man who

Dostoevsky crime and punishment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Dostoevsky crime and punishment - Essay Example The wise saying goes—howsoever powerful may be the waves of an ocean their real nature is mere water! Once the crime is committed, a series of thought-currents related to the incidents begin to tax the brains of the perpetrator of the crime. They challenge his decision. In the introduction to the book it is observed, â€Å"†¦.it is precisely from such an attempt to grapple with the moral implications of the social and cultural realities of the day that Dostoevsky produced a work whose timeliness increases rather than diminishes with the years.†(Introduction vi†¦) All murders are not calculated. Most of them are done at the time when one is seized with spontaneous anger and loses the mental equilibrium. As a consequence, the murderer has a life-time to regret. Even after undergoing the legal punishment for the heinous act committed, the trace of that action remains within the portal of the mind. For every murder, it is possible to detail the negative and positive consequences. The consequences of murdering a known criminal, the doer of many dastardly acts, can not be compared to the murder a Professor by a student, who failed him in the paper. Utilitarianism intervenes in such cases and makes an attempt to differentiate between right and wrong by measuring a decision based on its calculated worth. Having murdered the landlady, Raskolnikov tries to reason out the positive benefits that her money would do to the society. But this is just wishful thinking. Murder is a murder and the one who does not have the capacity to give life, has no right t o stifle out any life. The one who understands the concept of utilitarianism in its true spirit, would find it difficult to accept and will resent the claim of Raskolnikov that his action of murdering the old woman can be accepted as morally right. A performer of the action can not be the judge of the merits/demerits of that action. One can’t be the lawyer and the judge for the