Frost/Nixon: A Shakespearean Portrayal of Richard Nixon The play Frost/Nixon written by Peter Morgan describes the process of the famous interviews between talk show host David Frost and the recently resigned President Richard Nixon in 1977. This play illustrates what happened before, during and after the series of interviews by providing different perspectives from each character included in the play. Morgan’s portrayal of Richard Nixon subtlety dramatized the play and Nixon’s personalities. By displaying Nixon as an egotistical and insecure character, author Peter Morgan magnifies Nixon’s downfall and compares it as a Shakespearean tragedy. Richard Nixon is famous for his Watergate scandal, for it is the reason that leads to his resignation. Due to this scandal, he is given the nickname ‘crook.’ In his play, Morgan dramatizes the crook character in Nixon and portrays him as an egotistical and selfish person. Nixon moves back to California after his resignation, but he strives to move back to New York, “It’d be good to be back to where the action is. The hunger in my belly is still there. There are things to do. Books to write. Lectures…show more content… Much like Macbeth, whose ambition eventually led to his downfall and Hamlet, whose insecurities about his family matters drove him mad. Although Richard Nixon did not kill the previous president or seek revenge for his father, but with the reelection already in his hands, Nixon could have avoided the whole scandal by not conducting it. Just like Macbeth, Nixon’s insecurities about his position and his ambitions crafted his own downfall. Unlike most tragedies, however, Nixon’s tragedy did not end with his death, therefore he saw the chance for rehabilitation and redemption. Although Nixon never achieved the validation from the public he craved, his complexity and character overall earned himself a spot in the Shakespearean
