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Definition of Motif
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the central themes of a book... read full definition
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the... read full definition
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of... read full definition
Act 3, Scene 4
Explanation and Analysis—Snakes:
A motif that runs throughout the play is the language of snakes and serpents. In particular, De Flores, who is both physically unattractive and highly deceitful, is consistently described through references to snakes. When De Flores pressures Beatrice into sleeping with him in exchange for his murder of Alonzo, she responds:
Vengeance begins;
Murder I see is followed by more sins.
Was my creation in the womb so cursed,
It must engender with a viper first?
Here, Beatrice recognizes her error in making a deal with the depraved De Flores, wondering aloud if she was “cursed” in the womb to be born only through conception with a “viper.” Later, when confessing her misdeeds to Alsemero, she again describes De Flores in the language of snakes:
BEATRICE : A bloody one; –
I have kissed poison for’t, stroked a serpent;
That thing of hate, worthy in my esteem
Of no better employment, and him most worthy
To be so employed, I caused to murder
That innocent Piracquo, having no
Better means than that worst, to assure
Yourself to me.
In metaphorical language, she describes her deal with De Flores as having “stroked a serpent,” language with strong sexual undertones that hints at the sexual nature of her relationship to De Flores. In all of these instances, references to snakes recall the role of the snake as the “betrayer” of man in the Biblical story of Adam and Eve.
Act 5, Scene 3
Explanation and Analysis—Snakes:
A motif that runs throughout the play is the language of snakes and serpents. In particular, De Flores, who is both physically unattractive and highly deceitful, is consistently described through references to snakes. When De Flores pressures Beatrice into sleeping with him in exchange for his murder of Alonzo, she responds:
Vengeance begins;
Murder I see is followed by more sins.
Was my creation in the womb so cursed,
It must engender with a viper first?
Here, Beatrice recognizes her error in making a deal with the depraved De Flores, wondering aloud if she was “cursed” in the womb to be born only through conception with a “viper.” Later, when confessing her misdeeds to Alsemero, she again describes De Flores in the language of snakes:
BEATRICE : A bloody one; –
I have kissed poison for’t, stroked a serpent;
That thing of hate, worthy in my esteem
Of no better employment, and him most worthy
To be so employed, I caused to murder
That innocent Piracquo, having no
Better means than that worst, to assure
Yourself to me.
In metaphorical language, she describes her deal with De Flores as having “stroked a serpent,” language with strong sexual undertones that hints at the sexual nature of her relationship to De Flores. In all of these instances, references to snakes recall the role of the snake as the “betrayer” of man in the Biblical story of Adam and Eve.
