The Shakespearean tragedy Hamlet can be considered one of Shakespeare’s most complex works. Hamlet features a range of themes including revenge and corruption; however, it is through critical analysis that the greatest understanding of the text can be found. Because of the theme of insanity in Hamlet, a popular critical lens associated with the text is the psychoanalytic lens. Using the psychoanalytic lens, the reader examines the psychology of the characters and author through the author’s choices in creative writing. Analysis of Hamlet using this criticism reveals the mental states of the characters, especially Hamlet.
In the play Hamlet, Shakespeare uses the theme of corruption to metaphorically represent the deterioration of each Character’s physiological well being and state of mind when exposed to corruption that ends in death. The theme of corruption plays a role by instating the traits of death and mortality within each of the characters, both by choice and from exterior occurrences. Through the portrayal of Hamlet, a man who is obsessed with death, Shakespeare uses this obsession to explore both Hamlet's desire for revenge and his need for certainty when corruption disrupts the natural balance of order in his kingdom. In the process, Hamlet explores the many hardships that are bestowed upon him in order to reflect on the many characteristics that are associated with the exposure to corruption which lead to mortality. Hamlet becomes obsessed with the idea of death within the play, and as the story unfolds further, he begins to analyze death from multiple perspectives than ever before.
“How do you respond to the view that the monster is Frankenstein’s double, representing the evil side of his character?” In Gothic literature, the double is often used explore the dark and extreme sides of humanity, which often creates a sense of horror and fear of the unknown, which links to Freud’s theory of the uncanny and the darker side of humanity that we both recognise and fear. In Frankenstein, it can be argued that Victor and the creature represent two sides of the same character, not only through their actions and behaviour, but also from a psychoanalytical perspective. Contrastingly, we can also at times see that the monster is in fact good and moral and therefore cannot possibly be Victor’s evil double. Throughout the novel, they are inextricably linked by their isolation and terrible crimes against humanity and morality. However, they also appear to be linked psychologically.
In the two plays, mental illness affects the way characters think and behave. In King Lear, insanity occupies a central place in the play. Unlike other Renaissance dramatists, who used maddness for comic effect, Shakespeare seems intent on a serious portrayal of madness in King Lear. Presenting mental illness through Lear as a cruel disease, where the victim lives in torment, when at this time most people’s attitudes towards madness where unsympathetic and harsh. Whereas, in Cat on Hot Tin Roof mental illness is present in the form of alcoholism and depression.
Murnau, 1922). When the demonic somnambulist Cesare creeps into Lil Dagover's bedchamber, director Robert Wiene was exploiting a fear common to us all. The sleeping woman is utterly helpless. She is carried off into the expressionist labyrinth that Wiene used to symbolize the darkest torments of the human mind and soul. A beautiful woman is carried off by evil, a play on the Beauty and the Beast themes that would become so popular in horror films.
The elements of the plague where, horrific, skin crawling, and killed with no remorse. It represents life and death, a few ways. There are a few reasons why this story represents life, and death. The first reason this story is allegorical, is the seven rooms. The red and black room should represent death because black represents death, evil and mystery.
"-Sun Tzu's Art of War. Deception is one of the main tactics used by dark forces in both Macbeth and Dr Faustus. Sun Tzu advocates luring enemies into a false sense of security. In Macbeth, the witches do lure Macbeth into a false sense of security by equivocating that is, by using ambiguous phrases which may mislead a person. Their equivocation can be clearly seen in the opening scene, where they juxtapose contrasting words in the same lines.
Ideas about death constantly recur in much of the imagery in Hamlet, not only in order to depict the character development and convey Hamlet’s true emotions to the audience, but also to serve as a metaphorical message on a larger scale. For instance, the imagery of death is utilized to help comprehend the depression Hamlet feels in his first soliloquy about suicide: “O that this too sullied flesh would melt, thaw, and resolve itself into a dew (Act 1, Scene 2),” followed by his comparison of the world to an unweeded garden. This is the first time that Hamlet unleashes his thoughts on the situation and creates a visualization of death. Hamlet thus communicates with the audience putting strong emphasis on his desire not to exist in this world anymore. An image of Hamlet’s dying body is produced, followed by a picture of a beautiful garden corrupted by disastrous weeds that will destroy the good life.
In "The Wasp Factory" Frank Cauldhame and his brother Eric, behave in an erratic and dangerous manner; harming animals, and committing acts of murder. Both John Fowles and Iain Banks use the concept of the implied reader, in which the two principal protagonists of each novel "speak to" a specific reader in mind in an attempt to have the story interpreted in a particular way. This essay will explore the representation of such behaviour, as well as the idea of misogyny, misanthropy and witchcraft; which all can be described as "psychopathic." Both principal male protagonists Frank in "The Wasp Factory" and Frederick in "The Collector" present a disturbing initial impression in the opening to the novels. At the beginning of "The Collector" little is known of the male protagonist, if anything Frederick appears quite normal, if a bit bland.
The narrator in The Black Cat is revealed when the cry of his cat is heard within the “tomb”. Rather than admitting to his crime and expressing shame, the narrator blames the “hideous beast” for “seducing” him into bloody murder. The narrator’s calmness preceding the police visit, his incapability of accepting his actions as a crime and their consequences and his inability to show remorse concludes the narrator would have committed the murder even if the policemen were “at the elbow” confirming his insanity. The narrator in The Tell-Tale Heart experiences a different moral transition when his crime is revealed, implying his feelings of guilt and understanding that his actions may now be met with consequences. With ethical judgement, the narrator must be held accountable for he is not insane, but instead a severely morally corrupted murderer.