Deliberately using human reason to corrupt others leads to betrayal, condemnation, and silence. Dante Alighieri uses his Divine Comedie, The Inferno, to portray the sins man commits in life and the punishments man deserves. In the early circles of Hell, the persons damned are able to speak and express emotions. Cantos four through eight contain sinners who threatened social order and could not control their desires. Dante expresses his opinion of sins when he places the lustful, the avarice-filled, and the panderers in upper Hell.
Charles Lamb states that Malvolio “becomes comic by accident”. His criticism portrays Malvolio as a tragic character. Lamb describes Malvolio’s dialect as “that of a gentleman, and a man of education.” Predisposed with Malvolio’s dialect and seemingly noble manner is hubris which leads to his downfall in the play. In Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’, Malvolio is not a tragic character but, the fool of the play in that he is a scapegoat for mockery and entertainment. Aristotle in ‘Poetics’ defined comedy as “an imitation of inferior people-not, however, with respect to every kind of defect; the laughable species of what is disgraceful.
Sidney continues the cynical thought by quoting, “band of all evils”. This continues to establish his despise towards desire itself by calling it the devils trail. The speaker wanted people to recognize that its not the fulfilling feeling someone retracts from desire but more of the glimmering repeal. It is conveyed through poetic devices that indicate a sour approach regarding “desire” by Sidney. Therefore, when alliteration
For example when Benvilio says “I do but keep the peace.” To which tybalt replies “…peace? I hate the word. As I hate hell, all montagues and thee.” Tybalt clearly expresses his anger towards the montagues by comparing them to hell. The word “hell” is very powerful and is used to insult the montagues. To be compared to hell in those days would have been extremely bad, because hell is the ultimate punishment and there is nothing worse than hell.
Lastly, Pearl’s abandonment from her father and isolation from society brings about the evil she demonstrates. Arguably, the Puritanical conception of sin confuses these main characters’ knowledge of the nature of evil. Hester and Dimmesdale’s adultery leads to Chillingworth’s transformation into a sinister being as he attempts to impose Puritanical evil on them. For example, Chillingworth’s idea of evil, influenced by the Puritans, helps him decide how to punish the lovers explaining, "I [will leave] thee to the scarlet letter. If that [has] not avenged me, I can do no more!"
Antonio enters the stage “like an idiot” and from that point retains his “mad guise” until finally he abandons the illusion of madness, telling Isabella to “cast no eye upon this change”. The verb “eye” links with the theme of deception explored throughout this tragic play, with De Flores explaining “I can see his brother’s wounds fresh bleeding in his eyes”. Here, it can be claimed that the “eye” represents ones inner soul and inner crimes and passions. This idea is principal to the tragic element of the play, as a majority of the characters “true” selves hide behind veneers of truth, questionably symbolised through the consistent switching between the two plots, creating an idea of a reality and an illusion, seen in the “fools and madmen”
The three have very different views but the use of extended metaphors to describe them unifies them. Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, depicts life to be many things but nothing is more significant when Macbeth says life “is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury signifying nothing.” This extended metaphor reinforces the notion that life is random and has no relevance at all to anything. The outlook to life is very depressed because the character, Macbeth believes life only leads, “to dusty death,” His life was good but just got worse and worse so Shakespeare uses an extended metaphor to characterize not only Macbeth, but how life is viewed by him. Extended metaphors are very useful for authors for it allows them to interpret things and helps the reader understand what they are trying to get across. Mother to Son, by Langston Hughes is an extended metaphor describing life to be difficult and full of struggles, but they must be tackled head on.
Macbeth is a tragic hero who is undone by his own ambition and secret desire to become king. This is the tragic flaw, or hamartia, that results in his final doom. The irony of this tragic flaw is that Macbeth recognises himself the impact that his ambition is having upon him and almost predicts how it could all end badly in his soliloquy in Act I scene 7: I have no spur To prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting ambition which o'erleaps itself And falls on th'other. Macbeth is a character that not only has his tragic flaw but also allows himself, at least initially, to be dominated and influenced by his wife. This is one area in which perhaps Macbeth as a tragic hero is distinct, as in other cases, such as Julius Caesar, he ignores his wife's advice.
There is an argument to suggest that Mephistopheles is a tragic character himself, however, and not just a way of furthering Faustus’ plight throughout the play. Tragic figures are defined as ‘someone of consequence who have been led into catastrophe by a fatal flaw or error of judgement’, and Mephistopheles fits this description. He was an angel, living in Heaven, and has lost everything due to an alliance with Lucifer. He describes himself as an ‘unhappy spirit’, and this emphasises the fall from grace he once had. In the more orthodox view of his character, this then acts as a warning to Faustus, one of course Faustus ignores.
Virgil’s influence on Dante’s Inferno Virgil’s influence on Dante’s Inferno An excellent poet in his own right Dante greatly admired the success and personal character of Virgil. Virgil is an interesting character greatly influences Dante as a poet and as the main character in the Inferno. In the Inferno, Dante turned the poet Virgil into the guiding character that was to be responsible for teaching and leading him along his pilgrimage through hell. Throughout the Inferno there are specific situations that demonstrates Virgil’s influence among Dante, as a poet and, as the main character. There are also other specific situations that demonstrate Virgil’s ignorance of Catholicism, which relates to his placement in hell.