Abstract

The research has studied Shakespeare’s portrayal of war in his plays through the lenses of politics, ethics, honour, religion and law. Themes of war prevail in William Shakespeare’s historical, classical, and mythological plays as prevalent topics. The research has, therefore, purposively selected nine plays: Henry IV (part I and II), Henry V, Richard III, Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra, Troilus and Cressida and Coriolanus to provide an in-depth analysis of Shakespeare’s depiction of war. This study delved into the intricate portrayal of wars in Shakespeare's plays, examining the multifaceted dimensions and their impacts on society. It explored the roles of politics, ethics, honour, religion, and law in the occurrence of wars. The research analysed how politics contributed to wars and conflicts, the ethical considerations for the protagonists and antagonists, the influence of honour on central characters, the impact of religion on wars, and the role of law in conflict. By critically analysing these aspects, the study provided a comprehensive understanding of the overall impacts of wars on society as depicted in Shakespeare's plays. The research methodology of this study encompassed both exploratory and explanatory approaches. The exploratory aspect aimed to gain deeper insights into the subject by exploring an area with limited existing knowledge. Through extensive explorative reading, exegesis, literature analysis, including textual, content, and document analysis, the study revealed the causes, impacts on society, insights, thoughts, ideas, concepts, and philosophies, inherent in war in Shakespeare's plays. The explanatory aspect sought to clarify why and how this relationship existed. By employing a persuasive chain of authentic sources, the study established a logical sequence of evidence to support conclusions. Through an in-depth analysis of the texts, the study uncovered significant findings regarding the contributing factors to war, causes of war and the impact of war as depicted in Shakespearean plays. The study highlighted power politics, ethics, honour, religion, and the law as the main topics that frequently contributed to the causes of wars in Shakespearean plays. However, the reasons for the wars depicted in various plays varied, illustrating the complexity of interpersonal conflicts and the variety of historical settings in which the plays were set. This study examined significant wars and battles fought in the selected plays and it determined the underlying reasons of those conflicts according to the particular war. The study also explored the profound effects of war on individuals, societies, and military strategies as depicted in the plays. By delving into the intricate portrayals, the research uncovered valuable insights into the psychological and societal impacts of war. Finally, the findings highlighted the complexities of warfare and offered lessons learned by military leaders, drawing from the experiences and perspectives portrayed in Shakespeare's works. Different literary critics, military experts and historians previously studied a few aspects of militarism in Shakespeare but this study attempted to take a more holistic view of how the selected plays by Shakespeare have depicted war and the ultimate aftermath in the society. The researcher revealed the causes of war, its aftermath from Shakespeare’s treatment of war in his selected plays and also from his insights. The research showcased the importance of studying war in Shakespeare's plays in the introductory chapter and presented the research objectives along with background of the study, problem statement, rationale of the study, research questions, theoretical framework and significance of the study. In the second chapter, literature review established a foundation by examining existing scholarship on war in Shakespearean selected plays. In the third chapter, the methodology outlined the qualitative approach, combining exploratory and explanatory methods, and explained the data collection techniques. The subsequent chapters delved into the intricate relationships between politics, ethics, honour, religion, law, and wars in Shakespeare's plays. The final chapter explored the causes of wars and the impacts of wars on society including generated lessons and their universality, encompassing social, cultural, and psychological consequences. The conclusion highlighted the significance of the identified factors and the importance of conducting research on portrayal of war in Shakespearean plays. It emphasised the valuable insights of Shakespeare on war and lessons learnt by military leaders that contributed to new perspectives and the existing scholarship on war in literature. Finally, this study has put forwarded some recommendations and set the future directions of research on the same field.

Keywords: Shakespeare’s plays, portrayal of wars, politics, honour and ethics, religion, law