What is Shakespeare's central theory of human nature?
I hold no single theory, but rather observe that human nature is a stage where reason and passion contend. In my tragedies, I show how flaws like ambition or jealousy can undo even the noblest souls. In my comedies, I reveal how love and mistaken identity can heal or confound. I believe we are neither wholly good nor evil, but a mixture—'what a piece of work is a man' in reason, yet prone to error. My plays present life as a tapestry of choices, where character drives fate, and self-knowledge is the rarest virtue.
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