1. Personifying Love:
In the beginning, love might be envisioned as a happy and uniting power in Shakespearean romantic comedies. However, as conflicts and obstacles arise, personifying love as fickle, merciless, or even cruel signals a shift to tragedy. This change of emotion reflects the characters' growing uncertainty and impending difficulties.
2. Fate's Personification:
Shakespeare frequently uses personification to depict fate or destiny as forces that are beyond human control. The narrative can change, particularly when the fate or other outside powers' actions become a major conflict point in the plot. This shift underscores the sense of hopelessness that frequently emerges in tragedies.
3. Personifying Death:
To indicate the inevitability and finality of disaster, Shakespeare uses the technique of personifying death. The tragedy in the plot frequently culminates in death, which may take various shapes including sickness, violence, or even spiritual dissolution. This characterization increases the sense of mortality.
4. **Personification of nature in a romantic comedy often depicts nature as peaceful, harmonious, and supporting. However, in tragedy, nature can become harsh, unyielding, and hostile. This change shows the emotional change the characters go through as well as the plot's darker atmosphere.
5. Personifying Time:
Shakespeare uses time personification to represent fleeting moments, fading beauty, and the inescapable development of events. This device emphasizes the sense of urgency and the tragic hero's powerlessness to reverse the inexorable passing of time.
Examples from specific Shakespearean plays:
1. * Love and Tragedy in Romeo and Juliet: Love initially appears to bind Romeo and Juliet together in unwavering devotion, but as obstacles surface and their choices become more dramatic, the once-loving love gradually transforms into a force that drives their demise.
2. Fate's Personification in Macbeth: The witches represent fate and foretell Macbeth's future. Their prophetic visions entrap Macbeth in a web of ambition, greed, and bloodshed. The turning point in the plot and Macbeth's irreversible fate are denoted by this personification of fate.
3. Death Personification in Hamlet: The presence of death itself is frequently alluded to in the form of the Ghost of Hamlet's father. The Ghost's desire for vengeance sets off a chain of tragic events that result in Hamlet's descent into madness and despair.
4. Nature's Personification in "The Tempest": Prospero's magic abilities give him control over the natural elements in the play. Nature changes from the peaceful haven of his island in Act I to an angry force that mirrors his own emotional upheaval.
5. Time's Personification in "The Winter's Tale": Leontes' envy and suspicion over Hermione's purity have terrible effects for both his kingdom and his relationships. When Leontes learns the fact and tries to make amends, time has passed and the story has taken a somber turn.
Shakespeare's mastery of personification creates a deep immersion into the drama, heightens emotional effects, and symbolizes larger existential themes. This method emphasizes major plot turns, highlighting a shift from the early optimism and love of romance to the dark themes and tragic events in Shakespearean literature.