The clever technique Shakespeare uses allows al the characters to perceive Iago as ‘honest’ and quite pure and heavenly like. When all the while he is nothing but a lying serpent more like the devil than any heavenly like creature. At the start of act 2 scene 3 we see that Iago attempts to force Cassio into lecherous thoughts towards Desdemona. He is tempting Cassio into saying something he shouldn’t or something he may sooner regret. The key part of this however is that Iago is tempting Cassio, very like the devil himself tries to tempt us.
What does Malvolio's power fantasy look like? Well, it involves wearing fancy clothes, bossing around the servants, and playing moral cop to Sir Toby's bad guy. Malvolio seems to be punished as much for his moral haughtiness as for his social climbing fantasies, which makes him central to the play's concern with the dangers of social ambition. Modern audiences often find Malvolio to be a sympathetic figure. Sure, he's annoying and he gets what he deserves when Toby and company lock him up in a dark room and perform a mock exorcism, but Malvolio's circumstances make us uncomfortably aware of the sheer cruelty of treating a person like a madman for a few laughs.
"-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.
Jake Ryan Mr. Lynch ENC102 February 9, 2015 The Cask of Amontillado Literary Analysis “The Cask of Amontillado,” a thrilling and dark tale with underlying and discreet truths about not only the story itself but about revenge in the world humans pretend to prosper in. Deep within musky catacombs a unique and somewhat disturbing event takes place between two men who have a hidden rival between each other yet hide their emotion behind bedazzled hats and sparkling wines. The rivalry between the two is far from simple, they disguise hatred behind complements such as “How remarkably well you are looking to-day” (101) that the reader can almost hear the sarcastic tone crying from the pages. Not only are truths hidden from the characters within the story, but the finale of the story is shown slightly and hinted at throughout the reading to the audience in both spoken and unspoken words. The short story “The Cask of Amontillado,” written by Edgar Allen Poe in 1846, implements immensely detailed scenery, thick character relations, and foreshadows, all of which excite the audience into drawing their own inferences and wanting more of this vengeful tale.
We turn off the lights when watching scary movies, and when it’s time to go to bed, we secretly make sure the closet doors are shut. Fear keeps our hearts pumping and endorphins rushing, for it is an emotion that reminds us of our mortality. How ironic it is to experience more life in our fascination with death. The two legendary writers, Poe and King, have ruled the universe of death and horror with remarkable success, both gifted with the talent of introducing each reader to his or her own subconscious fears. Edgar Allan Poe and Stephen King are the masters of their craft, blessed- or perhaps cursed- with imaginations that set higher standards in the field of writing.
Evil in Beowulf, to illustrate the obvious contrast between good and evil and puts a spin on it by telling the story from Grendel’s point of view, ultimately connecting to the theme of Grendel’s need for community in Gardner’s work. In Beowulf, the author emphasizes the differences between Good and Evil by portraying the monsters as unstoppable forces, while most humans are depicted at the monsters’ mercy. An example of the theme Good vs. Evil in Beowulf is “So Hrothgar’s men lived happy in his hall Till the monster stirred, that demon, that fie, Grendel, who haunted the moors, the wild Marshes, and made his home in hell…” (Beowulf, Canto 1 Lines 101-104). This quote from Beowulf shows how the men in Herot are at peace until the monster, Grendel, ruins the serenity of the hall.
Claudius is the main antagonist in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. His manipulating trait confirms Hamlet’s view of his as a “smiling, damnéd villain”. His felonies are unforgivable sins done so to feed his ambition. He further proves his villainous nature with his lack of compassion and empathy. Claudius’ soul is “liméd” because he is evil.
“The words of the witches are fatal to the hero only because there is something in him which leaps at the sound of them; but they are at the same time the witness of forces which never cease to work in the world around him, and, on the instant of his surrender to them, entangle him inextricably in the web of Fate.” (AC Bradley) Discuss whether fate and the supernatural are to blame for Macbeth's tragic downfall Shakespeare's protagonist's whose fate is inextricably interwoven with the dark supernatural world of the Weird Sisters. This links to the Aristotelian view of tragedy; “as is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude; through pity and fear effecting the proper purgation of these emotions” (Poetics- Book 6.2). Indeed, this “metaphysical aid” is blamed for Macbeth’s tragic fall as, immediately presented to us in the play's eerie, tempestuous opening, they declare, “there to meet with Macbeth.” This would have elicited responses of “horrified sympathy and awe,” from the audience as the Witches’ dialogue suggests that they are singling him; mere mortal in whose life they intend to meddle. This makes him a tragic hero, who suffers at the hands of fate, and has little control over his destiny. That said, the playwright's juxtaposition of the supernatural with the initial portrayal of an individual at his highest peak firmly establishes the protagonist as “traditionally” heroic.
‘The White Devil is nothing more than a demonstration of imaginative ways to commit murder’ How do you comment on this judgement? In the White Devil, murderous plots and deadly scheming dominate the play, with the story revolving around the various motives and actions towards the murder of husbands, wives and brothers. However, to see the play as merely a vehicle for Webster’s fatal imaginings would be overly simplistic, and would overlook vast swathes of a play that, behind the murders, pivots on desire, love and intrigue, rather than plain bloodlust. The fact that the characters in the play are not designed to be consumed by murderous desires is apparent when Cornelia questions, ‘What? Because we are poor, shall we be vicious?’, illustrating clearly her belief that murder or violence is not the correct or dignified way of conducting oneself.
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.