Order or Chaos?

I find all of the connections that can be made between each of the four plays interesting. Although there are many themes in each of the story that support that plot alone, many of those same themes or ideas are also a major part of the other plays also. Chaos vs. Order is one of those themes because of the way that everything plays out within the plays. Twelfth Night struggles with the idea of Chaos vs. Order because Viola is in the situation that she needs to “move up in society” and disguises herself as her brother to do so. This causes a chain of events in which a tangled web of lies is woven, becoming more complicated as the play goes on until it is all unveiled at the end of the play. In Macbeth, Chaos vs. Order plays a part because of the fight for power. The order is in when Duncan is king and begins to turn into chaos when Lady Macbeth assembles the plan to kill Duncan. Once this plan is executed, constant chaos is circulating throughout the play around many characters being blamed for the crime. In Othello, the play beings in chaos with the idea that a black man is married to a white woman and the entire order of what is “socially right” is put aside. One can argue that due to this detail alone and the fact that Othello strangles his own wife for a lie that was told by a valued “friend” chaos is never resolved to become order. In Measure to Measure, Chaos vs. Order plays a part with the Dukes character and the actions that he takes. Along with Chaos vs. Order, there is also the idea of Utopia vs. Dystopia, Social Status, and public vs. private that could be argued to be ideas that are present in each of the plays.

Nichol Forbes
English 142B
Discussion 1E
Ian Hoak