He also tells the murderers that Banquo is blameworthy for their tragic, unhappy lives. After angering the murderers, Macbeth switches to a more sarcastic tone and manipulates the murderers so they will feel like they need to prove themselves men, worthy of Macbeth’s presence. By asking questions, Macbeth leaves a gap between him and the murderers and waits for them to fill it. He asks “Are you so gospeled/ To pray for this good man and for his issue/ Whose heavy hand hath bowed you to the grave/ And beggared yours forever? (3.1.98-101).
Nevertheless one murder didn't comfort him, he thinks he needs to secure his position. So he goes off and hires hit men to kill who he thinks is his enemy, the one who can take his power, Banqo. Soon enough he finds himself ordering the slaughter of a traitors family, which is when remorse never enters his thoughts. Macbeth’s greed and ambitions are the sheer motivators of his killings and that is evident throughout the journey of the play. As Shakespeare once wrote , “Fair is foul and foul is fair” (Act I, Sc.I, Line
On the hand, there lies Claudius. The reader has just learned that he was willing to kill his own brother to become king. Murder is a horrible thing, but killing your own brother for your own selfish needs is far beyond horrible. When learning this, in combination with feel bad for Hamlet, the reader is left hating Claudius for what he has done. Additionally, this is a very important scene in the play.
Dramatic irony occurs when the reader knows something that one of the characters does not. Such is the case in “The Cask of Amontillado” as the story begins with Montresor stating “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge”(510). This statement sets up dramatic irony throughout the story as the reader knows Montresor has sworn revenge on Forunato, while Fortunato believes they are still friends. This irony is evident through the whole story as Montresor pretends to be friends luring Fortunato to his cellar where he would eventually trap and kill him. The irony enhances the brutality of the murder as the reader knows throughout Montresor is planning some revenge while Fortunato believes he is going to sample his friends wine.
There is often one companion that the vigilante can seek help from and reaffirm their belief in doing the right thing; the side kick. The vigilante is a memorable archetype that relates to the audience in that is more realistic than a pure and just hero, and the emotions that one feels when one sees crimes going unpunished. The vigilante haunted by the past, morally ambiguous, sacrifices all relationships except for the side kick in order to bring punishment to the wicked. In Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Prince Hamlet is so determined to get his revenge for the murder of his father; he adopts the archetype of the vigilante. The beginning of the vigilante is a traumatic past.
Oedipus starts his own downfall by bringing in a prophet to discover what was causing the plague. He discovers the murderer of Laius must be killed or exiled from the land for the plague to halt. Oedipus now takes the situation into his own hands and is determined to find Laius’ murderer. He starts off with a speech asking his people if the murderer or anybody who knows the murderer would step forward and announce him or herself. If they responded the only punishment they would receive would be banishment from the kingdom.
Having realized the loss of his Queen, Macbeth fantasizes his own demise; his conscience wants justice for the sins he has committed, showing his guilt and remorse for what he’s done. Macbeth finally begins to understand the moral rights and wrongs in his
Revenge must begin with a motive. In the play Hamlet, Fortinbras and Hamlet both seek revenge for the death of their fathers. Hamlet desires revenge because he is ordered to do so. Also he develops a hated for the new marriage of his mother and Claudius. Old Hamlet informs his son that he was murdered by his brother.
False assumptions and lack of proof have led to horrific death of the innocent. The craving for revenge has always been a strong motive. In the short story “Cask of Amontillado” Edgar Allan Poe exposes the reader to the dark emotions of revenge through his use of diction, imagery, and plot in the story. Edgar Allan Poe used diction to present the reader with a broader view of revenge and clues on why Montresor wanted his revenge against Fortunato. Poe uses a grand choice of diction throughout the entire story, but there are some main points that need to be observed with a closer perspective to perhaps reveal and understand a deeper meaning.
Oedipus Rex is a Greek tragedy written by Sophocles about a man who tries to escape a prophecy from coming true but ends up fulfilling it instead. Oedipus, the protagonist, is destined to kill his father, Lauis and to marry his mother, Jocasta. Oedipus soon discovers that all this time he has been in denial and leads to his own destruction, gauging his eyes out. With this, Sophocles, knowing that his audience already knows the outcome of the play, uses that knowledge to create situations that involve verbal, dramatic, and situational irony that keep the audience on the edge and also to develop the characters in the play. Accordingly, this play sends a strong message of fate and free will to the audience.