Explore the ways Shakespeare and Dicken

Explore the ways Shakespeare and Dickens present human weakness in the texts you have studied.

In the play Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare presents human weakness through the characters. At the start of the play Shakespeare presents the theme of love, which is shown through the character Romeo. Romeo is portrayed as a confused boy yearning for Rosaline’s love. His unrequited love clouds his mind and his judgment. However, later on, when Romeo becomes devoted to Juliet he becomes more of a man. This is shown through his wiliness to ignore Tybalt rude remarks. ‘… excuse the appertaining rage’.
At the beginning of act 1 Romeo also comes across as being melancholy; this emotion is presented through Shakespeare’s use of oxymorons. ‘Feather of lead, bright smoke’. This shows that love has taken control of his mind destroying all common sense within. Shakespeare shows the audience here that Romeo's love is full of confusion.
Shakespeare presents Romeo as an indecisive character. He swears his love for Rosaline and then Juliet in a short space of time therefore showing Romeo is a character whose weakness is beauty.
In act 1 scene 5 Shakespeare presents Romeo’s love for Juliet in a religious way. ‘This holy shine’. The conversation between these two characters is a collection of Christian metaphors written in the style of a sonnet. Furthermore the use of ‘holy’ shows that Romeo’s and Juliet’s love is pure and innocent.
Throughout the play the themes of love and hate are continually contrasted against each other. Shakespeare uses this technique as a way to send the audience on an emotional roller coaster. Through Tybalt we can see that Romeo's love for Juliet triggers Tybalt's weaknesses. This comes across; through the way Shakespeare uses Tybalt to portray feelings of hate, against Romeo’s feelings of love.
Shakespeare also uses the language technique alliteration to present Tybalt’s anger. ‘Patience perforce’ the sound of the word shows us how angry Tybalt is; It is like he is spitting out the words. This shows the audience that Tybalt is blinded by his love for hate. Also that he acts without thinking of the consequences, another of his weaknesses.
Tybalt is a very violent character, who has a passion for violence. He is also aggressive and hot tempted which, results in him acting before thinking. One of Tybalt’s weaknesses. At the end of act 1, ‘Fetch me my rapier.’ Shakespeare shows that not thinking before you act can lead to bad consequences. Furthermore that violence leads to people getting hurt and death.
Tybalt comes across as a barrier between Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare gives us this impression as every time they are together, Tybalt is also there. ‘… a villain is a guest.’ Tybalt continually calls Romeo a villain, showing he is going to cause trouble. As a result it leads the audience to the inevitable ending, death. The word villain may also give the impression that Romeo is not trustful. As shown when he forgets Rosaline for a more beautiful girl, Juliet.
This is similar to Miss Havisham. As if she had not raised Estella, in such a way as she did, Estella would have been able to love Pip. In a way the weakness of both characters are enforced in some way by the contracting characters in the story. This is shown though the way Tybalt affects Romeo and Juliet's love.
Overall Tybalt's weaknesses are his in ability to think in a different way. He is a one-dimensional character that can only think of hate and nothing else. Similarly in the novel, Pip thinks of loving Estella and nothing else.
Dickens presents human weakness through a longer time period than Shakespeare. He shows how factors from one childhood can affect someone in the future. He also refers that if you can notice your weakness, you can be forgiven. ‘I meant to save her from misery like my own.’
Dickens uses Pip to show love as a human weakness. ‘You wait here. You boy’. Estella consistently treats him as a dog. For example; when she pushes him out the gate. Even though Estella acts horribly towards Pip, he still comments on her beauty. The use of boy gives the impression that Pip is not worth a name, as he is of a lower class. In addition, the use of boy shows that Estella, being socially superior to Pip, is keeping him in his place.
Estella is portrayed as cold, cynical and manipulative towards Pip. However, despite all this Pip does not hate her. This is because Pip believe one day Estella will learn to love him. He is blinded by his childish idealism of love, similarly to Romeo; they both have high hopes for love. The writers, both Shakespeare and Dickens show that idealism is a weakness. Also that love doesn’t follow the path you intend it to, that it doesn’t live up to your expectations.

Estella treats Pip with disagreement, even though ironically she is lower born than Pip. Dickens shows that Pip is more respectable than Estella, who has been grown up in a higher-class society. The writer presents to the readers that if Estella had grown up in a lower class society, it might have been better for her.
Estella acts superior and snobbish although she is not happy. Miss Havisham lives her life through Estella, destroying her ability to express emotion, Estella’s weakness. Again, Dickens shows the reader that being with Miss Havisham will eventually destroy Estella. He also shows that one’s happiness isn’t connected to one’s social position.
Later on in the novel Pip becomes greedy and spendthrift. But, despite all this he still retains the reader’s sympathy. As he notices his weakness and seeks remission, as Miss Havisham does to him. ‘I had successes in becoming a snob.’ Pip changes and only thinks of himself and his position. However, when his riches are lost Pip becomes aware of his foolishness.
Dickens shows that events in a characters life can make them a better being. ‘I have been bent and broken’. Estella’s painful marriage to Drummle leads her to understand how she treated Pip. So, as a result she becomes softer. Furthermore we may say that perhaps being hurt by Drummle did Estella good. The reader may also get the impression that being hurt can be a good human weakness as it allows us to evolve it to something better.
Modern characters share the same weaknesses as Dickens did. In Smallville, Clark like Pip is obsessed with a girl out of his reach. Lana dislikes Clark for various reasons and marries Lex, a man Clark hates. Lana ends up being hurt by Lex and realises how she has behaved toward Clark.
To conclude I believe Shakespeare and Dickens have used feelings to present human weakness. By using feelings such as love and hate, the writers have shown us how one character can be the cause of another’s weakness.