to find not just a banquet, but a sentencing. Bruno, a rival German Pope is dragged in chains before Pope Adrian who humiliates him and tells him to “crouch before papal dignity” (3.1:903). Even though both these men share a faith, this does not result in any mercy on Pope Adrian’s part. This religious conflict would have resonated with an audience watching during the Reformation. Despite Bruno’s attempts to reason with him, Pope Adrian intends to depose the Holy Roman Emperor who elected him, declaring that “he grows too proud in his authority, / Lifting his lofty head above the clouds / And like a steeple overpeers the church. / But we’ll pull down his haughty insolence…” (3.1:942-945). The irony in Pope Adrian’s statement is he could well be describing himself. In fact, Pope Adrian continues on to self-arrogate directly by declaring his “seven-fold power from heaven, / To bind or loose, lock fast, condemn, or judge, / Resign, or seale, …show more content…
In addition, the Pope displays an appalling lack of deliberation that is generally good for powerful, political figures to possess. Furthermore, he goes on to resume the banquet with extreme nonchalance, which seems in poor taste after he had essentially ordered the deaths of three men. This depiction of the Pope reflects poorly on the Catholic church. Throughout both the A text and the B text, Marlowe consistently associates Catholicism with duplicity, ceremonial pomp and foolishness. However, it is through the B text that the hidden knife in Marlowe’s message reveals itself. The combination of both stupidity and power is a lethal one. Although Catholicism is morally and spiritually empty, Marlowe shows the ways in which it abuses the wealth of power it possesses whether by malicious, purposeful intention or, according to Protestant views, simply by virtue of its ignorance to its own sinful
He, much like his predecessor Pope Gregory, would aggravate the political leaders across Europe, but had much more successful and positive results for papal power. Innocent flexed his power through the pressure put on King John of England, King Philip Augustus of France, Aragon, and finally Otto of Brunswick. All of these significant rulers were either put in power because of the pope, or felt immense pressure from Innocent that eventually altered their actions in favor of the Catholic Church. Innocent’s career is what could be classified as encompassing the ultimate goal for the medieval church; exerting power over rulers while also maintaining their influence and respect among the common people.
Government of the medieval society was impacted greatly by the rise of the church. As time passed after Jesus’s crucifiction, preaching’s of his heroic sacrifice for human’s sins intrigued many people including leaders from different places. “In the latter part of the Middle Ages, the pope, as head of the church, had much influence over the king and total control of the clergy” (The Middle Ages). Knowing the belief that common folk had in Christianity, many leaders seemed to take advantage or work with religious role models like popes, bishops, priests, etc. for ways of taking control of people or simply being crowned emperor. In 800, Charlemagne “was crowned emperor by Pope Leo III on Christmas Day” (Charlemagne). The pope was appealed to Charlemagne (also known as Charles the Great) for protection against the Lombards. Though this appeared to be a mutual trade, it is interesting as to how Pope Leo III had the power to crown someone to be e...
Oedipus Rex, by the Greek playwright Sophocles, is, without a doubt, one of the greatest examples of dramatic irony. There are many instances where the audience knows so much more than the main characters, and Sophocles uses irony to point to Oedipus as Laius' murderer as well. Additionally, Oedipus is most definitely a tragic hero-he had a tragic flaw, namely that he was relentless and often rash in his search for the truth about Laius' death and his killer; this ultimately lead to Oedipus' own destruction. He also refuses to compromise or humble himself before others and stubbornly refuses to allow others to express different opinions from their own. Oedipus is so arrogant and self-confident that he challenges the will of the gods (hence, the entire basis of the play).
The Cask of Amontillado is a short tale of revenge, written by Edgar Allan Poe. The two main characters in the story are Montresor, who is the murderer, and Fortunato who plays a wine connoisseur and the victim. In this dark story, we can see a lot of irony, hate and revenge coming from the main character who has been planning this all along. In this essay I will analyze, examples of irony and foreshadowing used by the writer, symbols and themes, among other things. (Hasanbelliu)
In the Inferno we follow the journey of Dante as he wanders off the path of moral truth and into Hell. The Virgin Mary and Santa Lucia ask Beatrice, Dante’s deceased love, to send some help. Thus, Virgil comes to the rescue and essentially guides Dante through Hell and back to the mortal world from which he came. However, things begin to seem kind of odd. When reading the Inferno one may begin to question the way Dante describes Hell and the things that occur within, or even the things we have always believed about Hell. Despite the way it is described and well known in western civilization, Hell is not at all how we expect it to be because of Dante's use of irony throughout this poetic masterpiece.
She examines 6 popes between 1470-1530 who she claims lead in a way similar to politicians. They lost touch with the common people both emotionally and intellectually. A little known cleric led the revolution challenging papacy that culminated in the reformation of the church. In that context, Barbara outlines that the popes were venal, immoral, and their power politics was calamitous. The faithful were distressed by their leadership, which ignored all the protests and the signs that a revolt was coming. In the end, the papal constituency lost almost half of its followers to Protestants. Barbara says that these people were driven by the greed and the urge to create a family empire that would outlive them. This chapter sums up the essence of folly in these major failures, lack of a fixed policy, over extravagance, and the illusion that their rule was
In the story “The Cask of Amontillado”, the author uses lots of verbal irony to emphasize the evil intentions of Montresor.One of the examples of verbal irony in the story that he uses is “The cough’s a mere nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough.” and “true--true, I replied.” The effect of this irony is it that Montresor already knows how Fortunato will die.Another example of verbal irony used in the story was when they did a toast to each other. “I drink”, he said, to the buried that repose around us.”
Simple things such as rivalries or forced relationships can be the cause of the unlikely pairing of individuals allows for many different outcomes. Whether it is positive or negative, both parties are affected by this relationship. Within The King Rat, there is a prominent division between the prisoners. The prisoners either side with The King or they dread his existence. Peter Marlowe was one of the people who had a strong distaste for The King, yet the thrill of adventure brings them together. In the middle of a deal, Marlowe shows how little he cares for The Kings various businesses by bringing about a sarcastic response to his business proposition; “Well, it doesn't really have a literal translation. But, uh, roughly speaking, it means,
the play, it seemed that Othello was the only one who didn't know the truth.
Bevington, David M; Rasmussen, Eric. “Doctor Faustus A- and B- texts (1604, 1616): Christopher Marlowe and his collaborator and revisers.” Manchester, England: Manchester University Press. (1962). Academic Search Complete. Web. 5 Dec. 2013 (Bevington)
Marlowe reflects ambition in the character of Faustus to deter the audience from being ambitious, and over-reaching their place in the laws of the church. Marlowe uses symbols of religion to fill the play such as the use of the dark arts, angles, demons, God, the Devil, quotes from the bible, the symbol of blood, and the use of the seven sins. With the use of these icons he humou...
Oedipus is self-confident, intelligent and strong willed. Ironically these are the very traits which bring about his demise. Sophocles makes liberal use of irony throughout “Oedipus the King”. He creates various situations in which dramatic and verbal irony play key roles in the downfall of Oedipus. Dramatic irony depends on the audience’s knowing something that the character does not and verbal irony is presented when there is a contradiction between what a character says and what they mean. Both of these elements are used effectively to develop the tale of Oedipus.
Christopher Marlowe’s 14th century play “The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus” demonstrates not how the Devil can lead mankind to temptation, but how mankind through free-will can ultimately lead itself to suffering through sin. I believe that Marlowe heavily uses Christian doctrine through the actions of John Faustus in order to criticize those who do not partake in or see the seriousness of religion.
Chaucer's Irony - The Canterbury Tales Chaucer's Irony Irony is a vitally important part of The Canterbury Tales, and Chaucer's ingenious use of this literary device does a lot to provide this book with the classic status it enjoys even today. Chaucer has mastered the techniques required to skilfully put his points across and subtle irony and satire is particularly effective in making a point. The Canterbury Tales are well-known as an attack on the Church and its rôle in fourteenth century society. With the ambiguity introduced by the naïve and ignorant "Chaucer the pilgrim", the writer is able to make ironic attacks on characters and what they represent from a whole new angle. The differences in opinion of Chaucer the pilgrim and Chaucer the writer are much more than nuances - the two personas are very often diametrically opposed so as to cause effectual irony.
Snow, Edward A. "Marlowe's Doctor Faustus and the Ends of Desire." Two Renaissance Mythmakers: Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson. Ed. Alvin Kernan. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997. Print.