There is an absence of guilt on the part of the narrators in ‘Havisham’ and ‘My Last Duchess’, with guilt being more apportioned to others. For example, we have already seen that the Duke in My Last Duchess thought his wife may have been guilty of an indiscretion. However in Cousin Kate, Rossetti more directly presents the emotion of guilt over her relationship with the Lord through the use of oxymorons. This is first evidenced in the second stanza ‘To lead a shameless shameful life’. It could be argued that shame arises as the narrator realsies that as an unmarried mother, she would have been a seen by Victorian society as an dishonorable woman. This is exmplified by the narrator being referred to an ‘outcast thing’. This is also evident
from the imagery and language used in the second stanza. The stark contrast between ‘dove’ and ‘unclean thing’ highlights that she was at first pure but has become tainted by her affair. Linking back to Macbeth, Rossetti similarly uses uncleanliness as a metaphor for guilt. In the final stanza of Cousin Kate, there is presentation of the narrator’s guilt through a second oxymoron ‘My fair-haired son, my shame, my pride’. This juxtaposition is evidenced in the relationship with her son, proud on one hand but also shameful on the other. To conclude, it can be evidenced that the writers use a range of techniques to emphasise and present emotions in characters relationships including language, imagery, structure, form and tone. These presentations are key to character development and enable the audience to interpret the range of emotions displayed, identify with characters, evaluate events and formulate opinions and ideas. We have seen that there is evidence of both contrasting and similar presentations of the emotions explored and analysed. It can also be demonstrated that the presentation and interpretation of emotions in characters relationships are influenced by a range of contexts including social, historical and political. We have also seen how these contexts help the audience to understand how certain emotions arise. Power has been a key theme running through all pieces of writing, with an examination of traditional male and female roles and how power has been an influential factor in the range and impact of the emotions felt. We have seen that this is particularly evident during times when society was governed by clear-cut social structures, norms, and stereotypes, especially those that govern the women of this era.
There is no doubt that Miss. Strangeworth is not an easy person to deal with, let alone live with, and although her character is fictional, there are many people with the same personality. We can tell quite easily that she is a very meticulous woman, with a lot of perfectionist tendencies, a few of which are to nitpick people’s lives and make sure that even the most minute detail is up to her standards. I know of someone with these attributes and as difficult as they are to deal with, with their list of requirements to be met and their eagle-eye for detail in even the smallest things, they mean the best, and are always trying to help, despite the possible repercussions.
For someone to feel guilt for something they did is truly a horrible feeling. It is something that will carry on with that person for the rest of his life. In James Hurst's "Scarlet Ibis" Brother, the main character, feels that terrible guilt towards the way he treated his younger brother Doodle. Brother since the beginning let his pride take over and make Doodle do things that were almost impossible to learn in his condition. The story tells about two brothers growing up together and how the older brother let his pride push his handicapped brother a little to far. Brother is guilty for letting his pride get in the way of what was right and wrong. Also for letting his pride hurt someone he loves, his baby brother Doodle.
In the well known book The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, it discusses the theme of deception within a numerous number of characters. This theme can be explained in Chapter 20 “The Minister in a Maze” Hawthorne wrote “ No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be true”. I believe this quote means, within this book there are individuals that seem to be one person but end up being a totally different person, those individuals can only be that different person for a period of time before someone out..Within this quote the two characters who certainly explain this quote are Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth. The major characters
Guilt is the inevitable consequence that comes along after committing a crime and is a feeling that can paralyze and tear one’s soul away. However, it is evident that an individual’s feelings of guilt are linked to what they believe is right or wrong. In Robertson Davies Fifth Business, guilt is a principal theme in the novel and its effects have a major toll on the lives and mental state of many characters. Throughout the novel, it is apparent that the values and morals instilled within childhood shape an individual’s personality, as exhibited by the different ways the characters within the novel respond when faced with feelings of guilt. The literary elements Davies utilizes in the passage, from pages fifteen to sixteen, introduce the theme of guilt and display the contrast in how
In the story of the Scarlet Letter, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale possesses more guilt and fear than any other character portrayed within this fascinating book by Nathaniel Hawthorne. There are many examples that make this theory evident: by him putting off his confession about his act of passion, it results in a woman being punished and set apart from the rest of civilization, all while dealing with his moral obligations as a pastor and finally comparing him to the other major male character within the story. Even with his abundant knowledge of what is right and wrong, Dimmesdale attempts to rationalize his mistakes and reason to himself throughout the story that what he is doing is best for everyone. Is this a only a sign of just fear or hypocrisy
...ve for these characters was fated to be unattainable and deceiving. The attempt to seek out such represents a temptation that is pointless to pursue because the simple variable of change is unavoidable. This patriarchal society's denial to this truth is a cruel deception that, in both poems, victimizes women. The deception is maintained in the fairy-tale folklores of romantic poetry that Goblin Market and The Prince's Progress imitate, both literally and suggestively. Rossetti’s narratives illustrate a complex of immediate gratification, especially with the incorporation of romantic ideas, and they highlight that the fulfillment of these delights, however brief, leads to certain betrayal and disappointment. In this way, Rossetti oddly criticizes the romantic ideas in traditional literature while presenting a review of the beliefs fundamental to those ideas.
In Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Macbeth hears a prophecy which makes him believe murdering the king is the only way to fulfil said prophecy, shortly after another prophecy causes him to think he is invincible, this inevitably leads to many bad choices that lead to his death. Shakespeare uses symbols such as a dagger, blood, and hallucinations to show that guilt can haunt a person forever when one abandons their morals.(TH) Shakespeare first shows this with the use of a dagger. Before actually going through with the murder of King Duncan, Macbeth sees, “...A dagger of the mind, a false creation...” (Shakespeare 2.1.38), because he already feels guilty for abandoning his morals and plotting to murder Duncan, who he used to be loyal to.(TS) Although Macbeth has killed many people in battle, this would be the first time he murders someone that is innocent, which is why he feels such overwhelming guilt.
In My Last Duchess, Robert Browning uses voice to create a sinister tone by the use of words he chooses for the Duke of Ferrara to use in his dramatic monologue. The Duke is an arrogant, selfish man who loves the arts. He introduces his deceased wife, as “That’s my last Duchess, painted on the wall,” he says as if he owned her. The Duke was not happy when she participated in things that that he did not provide her with, she didn’t bow down to his aristocratic ways and this displeased him to a great extent. Then nonchalantly, he tells the ambassador that “I gave commands, Then all smiles stopped together.’ This is the dukes sinister way of confessing he had her murdered.
A rose who is not afraid to bear her thorns, Miss Maudie Atkinson from Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is condemned by Maycomb County to a life of living on the outskirts. In this fast paced novel, Miss Maudie is a constant flow of sage wisdom and smart comments. This character even utters the novel’s root quote: “Your father’s right. Mockingbirds don’t do a thing but make music for us to enjoy” (119). While she is a minor character, Miss Maudie is a constant catalyst to the overall story.
may not be all that he claims to be- the use of the word ‘My’ is very
The characters of My Last Duchess and Porphyria’s Lover each speak as if the woman he loves is still alive, which neither woman is. My Last Duchess is a man speaking to another, telling him of his late wife, whose picture hangs on the wall. He talks of her traits and how she blushes, though she no longer lives. This perhaps represents that he hasn’t completely come to terms with the fact that he is alone. Throughout the poem, he seems to almost blame her, though the reader does not know what for; perhaps for leaving him alone. The speaker of Porphyria’s Lover is much more direct than the man in the previous poem. He speaks directly to the reader, and tells of his girl. He first describes her in a way that makes her seem like she doesn’t care about him. She comes in from a stormy nights an...
(1.2.84-86) For they are actions that a man might play; But I have that within which passeth show, These but the trappings and the suits of woe. (1)
Anne Bradstreet’s creative ability was hindered due to her gender’s value in society. Molly Farrell investigates the political obstacles that Anne Bradstreet and Phillis Wheatley had to overcome in order to become successful writers. “Bradstreet here becomes a cunning navigator of intense external pressures as well as a disarming poetic performer who creates room for future women writer to navigate publication” [395]. She struggled to have her writing properly published and respected so she would attempt to make it politically accepted my men. Fortunately, according to Jane Donahue, others “finding sources of strength in their femaleness and inspired by achievements of other women, have asserted themselves confidently” [300]. Anne Bradstreet
A dramatic monologue is defined as a poem in which a single character is speaking to a person or persons- usually about an important topic. The purpose of most dramatic monologues is to provide the reader with an overall or intimate view of the character’s personality. A great poet can use punctuation and rhythm to make the poem appear as if it were an actual conversation. Robert Browning, known as the father of the dramatic monologue, does this in his poem, “My Last Duchess.'; The Duke of Ferrara, the speaker in “My Last Duchess,'; is portrayed as a jealous, arrogant man who is very controlling over his wife.
The great poet Robert Browning, who created the poems My Last Duchess and Porphyria’s lover, had an interesting taste for speakers of his poems. He seems to be fond of violent, sexual and eccentric people to narrate his intriguing poems. In his poem Porphyira’s Lover, a dramatic monologue, a man in a cottage talks of a woman who brings cheer to his house when she appears out of the storm outside. When the man realizes the moment won’t last, he kills her by strangulation and lays her by his side. In his other poem, The Last Duchess, The Duke of Ferrara is the speaker of the poem, and tells us he is entertaining an emissary who has come to negotiate the Duke's marriage to the daughter of another powerful family. You soon realize when reading the poem that he killed his former wife The Duchess and speaks of her poor behavior despite all of her fortunes. Through out both of these poems Browning’s genius choice in speakers is very prevalent and the similarities and differences between the speakers are striking.