Sanity And Rebellion In Emily Dickinson's Much Madness Is Divinest Sense

In both plays, the most prominent overarching theme is “appearances versus reality.” Both protagonists attempt to utilize deception for their own personal gain, and it leaves the reader to wonder what can be trusted. In life, humans often face similar problems, as most people put on masks for the world while hiding their true intentions and personalities. Another idea is also referenced in these plays, as Macbeth’s dying speech contains the phrase: “Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player/ That struts and frets his hour upon the stage/ And then is heard no more” (V, v, 24-26). The main idea of Macbeth’s quote is extremely melancholy, as he arrives at the conclusion that life is a tale that signifies absolutely nothing. This statement, though it may be hard for humans to accept, is a beacon of Truth.

Depending on the perspective, this could be seen as something Rochester echoes in Jane Eyre, ‘Bertha Mason is mad; and she came of a mad family;—idiots and maniacs of three generations!’ (249). The second reading of madness is one more commonly explored in literature as a theme to emphasize the devastating effects of losing one’s identity or past. In Colonialism and Cultural Identity, Hogan writes about how identity is separated into two parts according to Lacan theory: practical identity and reflective identity. Practical identity, Hogan writes, is ordinary, habitual, or confident individual action, but individual action interwoven with other individual actions, including those of others (83). In conjunction with practical identity is reflective identity.

They treat the white characters, Irvin and Sturdyvant, with disdain throughout the play, especially Ma Rainey. There is a clear relationship between Ma Rainey 's Black Bottom and Aristotle 's definition of what a tragedy is. Ma Rainey 's Black Bottom is a tragic play because there is a plot with an issue in it that holds magnitude to it, along with incidents that arouse pity and fear into the audience that yields a reaction of catharsis of these emotions, and there is a tragic hero within the story. Aristotle defines a tragedy as an "imitation of an action that is serious and also, as having magnitude, complete in itself... in a

Social norms can cause individuals hysteria and make them feel left out which causes them to break apart from society. Both Edgar Allen Poe and Jon Krakauer use different instances of conflict and foreshadowing to achieve a similar idea of the negative aspects of society. Society can cause individuals to think differently and cause them to make decisions whether they are good or bad. Edgar Allen Poe and Jon Krakauer illustrate internal conflict in differing ways. In his short story, “The Fall of the House of Usher,” Edgar Allen Poe uses conflict to show how Rodrick isolation from society shows his effort to be himself despite living with illnesses.

Including Ophelia’s insanity provided a gateway from oppression in a different perspective thus, empowering the feelings and emotions of the woman. Ophelia was formed as a tool to be exploited to the advantage of others but, became transformed into a symbol of beautiful psychotic madness, Ophelia’s last

However, due to the satirical nature of this poem, one can see that Hardy does not fully agree with the restrictions that have been placed on women by society during the Victorian era. The belief of society was that women who had sex out of wedlock were ruined; although, the poem demonstrates how deviating from the values of a society can present options that would not have been available otherwise. This is evident within the tone and title of the poem. “The Ruined Maid” has a conversational tone which suggests

“Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou has a theme of rebellion, using metaphors, similes, and irony. Her nonchalant attitude about the way she is perceived by society, shows rebellion. She sticks up for why she is the way she is and is basically telling the audience to deal with it, whether they like it or not. “This poem's main message is about people's prejudice

Introduction Sonnet 130 is considered to be in the group of poems addressing the so called ‘Dark Lady’, who the speaker hates, loves and lusts for simultaneously. In the Sonnet Shakespeare characterizes the Dark Lady’s appearance with metaphors, which are extraordinarily out of character for the Petrarchan traditions. Instead of lauding the unavailable mistress in the highest terms, as the Petrarchan tradition dictates, Sonnet 130 humorously mocks those traditions by ‘placing innovative pressure upon the limits of metaphoricity’ (Callaghan, 56). This paper briefly engages with Shakespeare’s witty criticism of the Petrarchan traditions and mainly focuses on the different notion of love that Shakespeare portrays in this Sonnet. In contrast to the clichéd way of declaring one’s love to the beloved, which mainly consisted of lauding the object of affection, Shakespeare compares the mistress to a number of beauties of nature - but always against her favour.

In fact, by using an inner and limited point of view, the writer analyses in depth the psychology of the perverse and contradictory protagonists of his stories and exposes a kind of madness that induces readers to think of them as unreliable narrators. For instance, in works such as “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Black Cat” , the narrators attempt to prove their sanity providing a rational explanation of their actions and portraying their crimes as excusable. However, their inability to question their own abnormal behaviour, as well as their irrational fixations, are signs of their lack of sanity. This aspect is evident in “The Tell-Tale Heart”, the story of a man who murders an old man he lives with and hides the dismembered pieces of his corpse under his bedroom’s floor. However, when the police question him about the scream heard by a neighbour, he is pervaded by such a sense

Being an Absurdist, Albee believed that illusions often generate a false content for a person’s life and hence, should be abandoned ("Edward Albee: Who 's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"). The reference to Woolf is probably aimed at evoking the darkness and chaos, hidden behind seemingly stable relationships as depicted by Woolf in her novels and Albee also wants to convey that there are always different versions of reality. Albee’s jingle is significant in each character’s life and portrays the deep fear that each of them has in confronting the harsh realities in their lives. Honey, the seemingly devoted wife of Nick, is one such character that is terrified of