Shakespeare s Tragedies . A Course of Lectures on Dramatic Art and Literature. London: AMS Press, Inc., 1965. Steevens, George. Shakespeare, The Critical Heritage. Vol. 6. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1981. Wills, Gary. Lady Macbeth and Evil. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.
author states, “Moral evil is choice by which a person decides to be inhuman. I speak here not if a sin or defect – we all know sin and defects in our lives – but of the naked malice by which someone acts from a coldly hostile calculation.” Moral evil is the result of any negative event caused by the intentional action or inaction of a person. Examples of moral evil are cheating on one’s significant other and murder. Cheating on one’s significant other is considered a moral evil because it is not right
Pure Evil: Humanly Impossible In confidently stating that no human being, under any circumstances, would choose evil over goodness, Socrates believed that we are our souls. If a person is identified by their soul, then all actions he or she willingly performs are done so after carefully examining ones soul. Unless you look into your psyche, where lies the conscious self, you are not reflectively thinking. Socrates believed such a thing since he felt it was against human nature to desire
good conquering bad to structure their stories. This topic is frequently utilized because it relates to several different aspects of authentic life. All religions address this opposition; despite of any cultural beliefs. This theme of good surmounting evil is evident in various varieties of art forms. Today’s society desires a fairy tale ending in movies instead of a dramatic ending. In addition to movies, many musicians enthrall the idea of the dark side against the world of good, and compose pieces
The Importance of Caliban in William Shakespeare's The Tempest 'This thing of darkness, I must acknowledge mine.' Although many seem baffled by Shakespeare's The Tempest, the plot is not the target to be deciphered. We understand The Tempest through understanding the character of Caliban. Many works highlight the virtuous side of human nature, failing to acknowledge the darkness that lives within the hearts of all. The Tempest is not one of these works. This story realizes that it is impossible
the only ones that can save the world. The first novel, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is a novel generally focusing on uniting ¡§Middle Earth¡¨, a term used to describe the human world, to defeat the enemy forces of evil controlled by a character described as pure evil named NAME. The actions of one small hobbit name Frodo Baggins, a race similar to humans, that will in fact determine the outcome of who is triumphant; not the actions of the hundreds of thousands of soldiers protecting the
the vocabulary used by coleridge is of great importance. The five lines of the poem Kubla Khan sound like a chant or incantation, and help suggest mystery and supernatural themes of the poem. Another important theme of the poem is that of good versus evil. The vocabulary used throughout the poem helps convey these themes in images to the reader. In the first two lines, Coleridge describes the ‘pleasure dome’ in Xanadu. In Xanadu did Kubla Khan a stately pleasure dome decree Kubla Khan did not merely
of a black man within a white society. Stigmas and stereotypes are attached to the black characters of Aaron and Othello. Although each black character has a similar stigma, the characters are very different from one another. Aaron is portrayed as evil, conniving and malevolent, while Othello has none of these traits. Othello's fault lies in the fact that he is very gullible and easily led. Aaron within Titus Andronicus is a character that is both bound and not bound to his colour. Though his
Pure evil is like a cancerous plague that harms all those who come upon it. In the tragic play “Othello” by William Shakespeare, Iago is a character that represents pure evil – a malignant cancer to all those around him. His evil is exposed through his choice of words, his ability to manipulate people, and his opportunistic ways. First, Iago’s evil is shown through his choice of words that demonstrate his vulgarity and his sinister intentions. Iago’s language is extremely base and forward;
the good and evil sides of humanity. However, none of the characters represent pure evil or pure goodness. Even Melville’s description of Ahab, whom he repeatedly refers to monomaniacal, which suggests he is driven insane by one goal, is given a chance to be seen as a frail, sympathetic character. Ishmael represents the character with the most good out of the crew, though his survival is unclear because he never had a direct adversary to overcome. He has his moments when evil thoughts pervade
'This thing of darkness, I must acknowledge mine' It is impossible to understand The Tempest without first understanding the character of Caliban. Despite numerous novels and poems praising the virtuous, the pure and the good, everyone has within them a darker side of depravity and evil thoughts. This makes us human. What distinguishes between good and bad people, though, is the way in which this 'alter ego' manifests itself to both the rest of mankind and to oneself. Ostensibly, The Tempest
Progression from Evil to Good in Oresteia Aeschylus' use of darkness and light as a consistent image in the Oresteia depicts a progression from evil to good, disorder to order. In the Oresteia, there exists a situation among mortals that has gotten out of control; a cycle of death has arisen in the house of Atreus. There also exists a divine disorder within the story which, as the situation of the mortals, must be brought to resolution: the Furies, an older generation of gods, are in conflict
come true attempted to prevent it from happening. Lady Macbeth was also plagued by fear as made apparent by the constant washing of her hands while sleepwalking and her speech during her troublesome sleep. Her fulfillment by the direst cruelty and pure evil has worn off, leaving her somewhat of a basket case, ridden by fear and guilt as a result of her actions. After Macbeth kills Duncan, he is too scared to even carry the daggers back into the king’s chamber. When the king’s body is discovered, he
The Motivations of Iago in Othello Have you ever met a devil who does evil for his own sake? Iago in William Shakespeare's Othello could seem like he has good motives, but I feel that he uses them as his excuses. The first thing that I did was uncovered Iago's motives. Iago is the most controversial character in Othello. He is able to keep his true thoughts and motives from everyone. Are his motives only excuses for his actions? Iago pretends to have so many motives that they seem more like
I had endeavoured to form?” (Shelley, 42) In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein, who has spent two long years laboring in Ingolstadt to create this scientific marvel known only as “the monster,” wrongly assumes that his creation is pure evil. Frankenstein reaches this conclusion without even allowing the monster to demonstrate his kind heart. Eventually, the monster goes on a mass killing spree because of Victor’s detrimental psychological neglect. Victor’s neglect is caused by his hatred
Web of Deceit in Othello Shakespeare’s Othello portrays a process through which pure evil has an effect on love and morality. The character of Iago twists Othello into killing his wife, and eventually himself, through manipulating Othello’s trust and loyalty. Iago uses the handkerchief as a symbol through which Othello is convinced of Desdemona’s unfaithfulness. This handkerchief plays many roles throughout Othello. Because of the importance placed upon this object, the driving force of the play
The Evil of Grendel in Beowulf The story of Beowulf, written during Anglo-Saxon times, is a classic epic tale between good versus evil. It is a story that gives us insight into the values of the Anglo-Saxon people. The Anglo-Saxons glorified heroism and the conquering of evil. In the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf, the character of Grendel symbolically represents evil through his setting and heritage, his hateful attitude toward men, and his vicious acts of murder. Grendel's heritage and
standards of conduct and the violation of taboos, laws or moral codes" ("Christianity"). Obeying God was extremely important and was to be taken very seriously. If you sinned then you were saying and proving that you hated God. Sin was considered to be pure evil and if you sinned then you would have to face the consequences whatever they may be. The bigger the sin was the greater the consequence was. The medieval churches labeled their sins under two different types. The first type of sin, "Mortal sin
supernatural is used to an almost whimsical degree in A Midsummer's Night Dream and The Tempest. In both of these plays the supernatural does not assume an evil demeanor, though it does wreak havoc on the lives of those in its midst. Yet, the supernatural is connected more with a generic nature of chance than one that is pure evil as in Macbeth or pure "foul and most unnatural" as it is in Hamlet (Shakespeare 1078). In A Midsummer's Night Dream there is a great deal of mirth and whimsy and
of archangels ascribe creation. Enter Mephistopheles, and all semblance of seriousness is lost. Introduced as a demon, and arguably THE Devil, he is witty, cynical, and in general a caricature of what religionists throughout the ages have labeled pure evil. The Lord proceeds to give Mephistopheles permission to go to his "good servant" Faust,...