Equivocation, or “playing double” is one of the most intricate and effective devices in any author’s toolkit, as effective use of it can completely change an audience’s perspective on the story and can flip the entire direction of the plot. Many authors, playwrights, and movie directors have attempted to use this tricky device, but few can truly master it. Throughout our Seventh grade year in English class, students have analyzed and enjoyed literature by some of the most successful and famous authors of all time, such as Edgar Allan Poe, William Shakespeare, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and have seen precise and masterful use of equivocation over and over in publications such as Macbeth, The Hound Of The Baskervilles, and “The Cask Of Amontillado”.
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One of the most essential aspect of the plot, equivocators are masterfully placed around the story and appear numerous times, helping the audience to comprehend the back-stabbing, double-crossing ways of Scotland in the Middle Ages. At the forefront of this display, readers can find the prophetic trio of witches, who also play an essential part in establishing the themes of madness, supernaturality, and the workings of the human mind throughout the play. During the play itself, the Witches make seven major prophecies to the Tragic Hero Macbeth. These prophecies, of course, are delivered in riddles, and appear to bring tidings of invincibility and status for Macbeth. Because of this, Macbeth becomes obsessed with the prophecies, and is ultimately lead to his demise by them. In this, Shakespeare use the witches to tell Macbeth small tidings of good, and riddles which he wrongly interprets. In this way, the Witches equivocate with Macbeth (and the audience) by stating a prophecy which sounds one way in literal terms, but actually has an entirely different meaning (such as the prophecy about Birnam Wood rising to Dunsinane …show more content…
In “The Cask OF Amontillado”, the narrator, Montresor, plans to exact retribution on his rival Fortunato by leading him into the family wine-cellar, where ultimately chains Fortunato to a stone wall and buries him alive. While Montresor's method of dealing with Fortunato may seem cruel and primitive, his way of luring him to his demise is a glorious example of the subtle power of equivocation. Montresor pretends to be friends with Fortunato, and hides all trace of his malicious intentions as he leads his victim through the winding vaults. Montressor also showcases the power of reverse psychology by repeatedly telling Fortunato that they should go back for the sake of Fortunato’s severe cough, aggravated by the Nitre covering the walls of the cellar. One of the greatest examples of Montressor “playing double” occurs when Fortunato makes a hand signal of the Masons, an exclusive society. Montresor replies to this by telling Fortunato that he is also a Mason, to which Fortunato replies “Impossible!”. It becomes clear that Montresor considers himself a Mason in literal terms in the context of a stonemason, which is evident in his method of disposing of Fortunato by burying him in the cellar inside a stone wall. Through this, Poe shows us
One of the most essential aspect of the plot, equivocators are masterfully placed around the story and appear numerous times, helping the audience to comprehend the back-stabbing, double-crossing ways of Scotland in the Middle Ages. At the forefront of this display, readers can find the prophetic trio of witches, who also play an essential part in establishing the themes of madness, supernaturality, and the workings of the human mind throughout the play. During the play itself, the Witches make seven major prophecies to the Tragic Hero Macbeth. These prophecies, of course, are delivered in riddles, and appear to bring tidings of invincibility and status for Macbeth. Because of this, Macbeth becomes obsessed with the prophecies, and is ultimately lead to his demise by them. In this, Shakespeare use the witches to tell Macbeth small tidings of good, and riddles which he wrongly interprets. In this way, the Witches equivocate with Macbeth (and the audience) by stating a prophecy which sounds one way in literal terms, but actually has an entirely different meaning (such as the prophecy about Birnam Wood rising to Dunsinane …show more content…
In “The Cask OF Amontillado”, the narrator, Montresor, plans to exact retribution on his rival Fortunato by leading him into the family wine-cellar, where ultimately chains Fortunato to a stone wall and buries him alive. While Montresor's method of dealing with Fortunato may seem cruel and primitive, his way of luring him to his demise is a glorious example of the subtle power of equivocation. Montresor pretends to be friends with Fortunato, and hides all trace of his malicious intentions as he leads his victim through the winding vaults. Montressor also showcases the power of reverse psychology by repeatedly telling Fortunato that they should go back for the sake of Fortunato’s severe cough, aggravated by the Nitre covering the walls of the cellar. One of the greatest examples of Montressor “playing double” occurs when Fortunato makes a hand signal of the Masons, an exclusive society. Montresor replies to this by telling Fortunato that he is also a Mason, to which Fortunato replies “Impossible!”. It becomes clear that Montresor considers himself a Mason in literal terms in the context of a stonemason, which is evident in his method of disposing of Fortunato by burying him in the cellar inside a stone wall. Through this, Poe shows us