By presenting Claudius as the unfaithful serpent, it gives readers the connotation that he is evil, betraying and loathsome, correlating to the ghost’s and Hamlet’s feelings. Moreover, the serpent pattern of imagery is weaved in the ghost’s description of the poison- “swift as quicksilver it courses
Corruption in Hamlet is represented as a chain of events starting with greed; spreading by manipulation through unquestioning loyalty thus corruption manifests itself as tragic revenge. For example, right at the beginning of the play, the idea of corruption arises through the quotation of, “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” In this declarative, the word “something” is ambiguous and makes the audience question what Marcellus could be referring to. Although, there can be a few interpretations of how the state is “rotten”. An example of the rottenness in Denmark could be the death of King Hamlet. We find out that it was Claudius who killed King Hamlet and stole his crown and his wife.
Bosola, the spy villain calls this world a "sensible hell" which implies a paradoxical state of being and evil generates evil and there is no mutual reciprocity of good and evil. To substantiate his caustic views Webster uses stark, poignant images of misery and hardships ("I am armed gainst misery") blood-lust, the digging up of graves by Ferdinand and cupping glasses. What is common in all these images is that there is a sense of mystery, secrecy and devilish nuances. He has also dealt with the themes of incest, lycanthropy and madness as subtexts to his main plot structure. He can be contrasted with Shakespeare in his work "The Italian Werewolf" where the wolf frequently appears on stage.
Human Hypocrisy : A Tale of Two Cities Charles Dickens, in his novel, A Tale Of Two Cities, vividly captures the lives of the people before and during French Revolution. Dickens uses this novel to illustrate the dark hypocrisies ever present in humans. The commoners, in trying to seek vengeance and justice, exhibit the same negative characteristics as the rich they damn. The mass executions of the aristocracy, the assassination of Marquis Evremonde, the justice system and Dickens’ final thoughts about the subject through the narrator, all contribute to this dark theme of escalating violence when following the path of vengeance. Dickens examines the irony and hypocrisy, in the French Revolution, through the cruel and violent mass execution of the aristocracy, carried out by the commoners, in retaliation to the cruel and violent capital punishments imposed by the aristocracy on them.
Loneliness puts The Monster in a mentally unstable position. He believes that he is a monster for the reason being he was created by one. In comparison, Othello’s betrayal is demonstrated throughout the play, but especially through Iago when he confesses to the audience his plan to manipulate and destroy Othello’s love life with Desdemona. Although Othello trusts Iago with anything, Iago hates the “Moor” and is willing to do anything to destroy him. Iago feels that the best way to do so is by manipulating Othello telling him that his wife is cheating on him with Cassio, who Iago coincidently hates as well.
Iago is often classified as the embodiment of pure evil to the farthest extent capable of being reached by human. Both Claudius and Iago plot against, torture, and cause the downfall of other characters in their respective stories to create and upkeep a boastful reputation. Both characters know that what they are doing is considerably wrong, but only Claudius feels any remorse for his crimes. They both recognize in soliloquy what they are doing and even discuss with themselves further planning. Iago manipulates all the crucial components of his plot with ease, while Claudius on the other hand is discontent and unhappy with the events taking place.
This line reveals Antony’s hatred towards blood, especially since it is Caesar’s. The presence of blood angers him because the sight of it reminds him of Caesar’s murderers, Brutus, Cassius, Casca and the rest of the conspirators. He does not think Caesar, an accomplished and well-respected man, deserves to die. Therefore, he accuses the conspirators of shedding the valuable blood of a prestigious man. Antony prophesies that Caesar’s death will plunge Italy into chaos, which is an example of violent imagery.
In Measure for Measure, a leader corrupts the legal system for his own benefit. Vienna is being lead by Angelo, a name reflecting 'bad angel', and the city has been outraged due to his corrupt ways. The play is based around the court case of Claudio and the injustice delivered to him by the corrupt leader for a crime that some would consider being trivial. Claudio had made love to his fiancée prior to their marriage. At this time in Vienna, this was a crime punishable by death and Angelo was quick to pounce on this fact, sending Claudio to gaol and sentencing him to death.
The monster’s selflessness, compassionless and human qualities are lost as he is filled with hatred and revenge towards his creator and all mankind. This build up of revenge is seen in the lines “ more deeply did I feel the spirit of revenge enkindled in my heart” and “ misery made me a fiend” These feelings and emotions are the driving force that causes the creation to become monstrous and a ‘fiend’. The menace and fear Shelley creates Frankenstein are inflicted on by the creation, written imagery is used to describe his hideous stature and is seen in the lines “ something so scaring and unearthly in his ugliness” These dark and fearful aspects used are reflective of the gothic nature of texts also written during this period in time, the nightmarish and suspenseful scenes established in the pursuit sequence over the frozen wasteland infer the gothic context. The similarities between the inflictions of the isolation, abandonment and
Byronic heroes were used to describe Lord Byron by his jilted lover, Lady Caroline. She would describe him as “mad, bad and dangerous to know” (Wikipedia). The term reflects a flawed character and has some of the same characteristics of a Gothic character, with more of Byron’s “negative” characteristics thrown into the mix. Such character istics would include: bipolar, hates social norms, outcast, sexuality (homosexual, prostitute), cynical, loner, and self-destructive (Wikipedia). The features of Gothic fiction are both psychological and physical.