The Battle in Literature

William Shakespeare did not know it at the time, but when he wrote Romeo and Juliet anywhere between 1591-1595, he would be creating a story that would be studied for centuries to come. He created a story about a family rivalry between the Capulets and the Montagues that ran very deep. One child from both families falls in love with the other, and ultimately meet their demise in doing so.

The representation of good and evil in this story is not the Capulets versus the Montagues, although the Capulets would say that the Montagues were evil and vice versa. The good in this story was the love, adoration, and sheer devotion that Romeo and Juliet had for each other. The purity of their souls and hearts was the good in this play. The evil was the rivalry, the hate between the families. The hate stained any chance of Romeo and Juliet ever being able to live happily with each other, thus springing a series of events that would eventually lead to their deaths.

The Battle Told Through Mythology (Also, Archetypal Figures)

When people think of an epic battle between good and evil, often times (in America, at least), people think of the Christian and Jewish God triumphing over Satan or Lucifer.

According to the Bible, Lucifer was an angel in the sky until he questioned God's power, thinking that he could do a better job at creation and, overall, being God. So, Lucifer got greedy, and decided to test the waters of becoming more powerful than God. Until the hour of Satan's downfall, God thought him to beautiful. But Satan had been manipulative and "evil," attempting to take away God's power and keep it for himself. The attempt was unsuccessful. God smited him, and damned him beneath the earth. This was the beginning of evil and of hell.

Lucifer or Satan has depicted temptation, of greed and lust, envy and pride. Many times, the "Devil" as he is called is a symbol of the "evil" archetype. Whereas God is seen as the all-knowing and who guides us on the right path, therefore a "good" symbol.

Those who stray off of the "right path" to God are said to have given into the Devil's evil.

The Battle Shown in Poetry

"Universe" by Stephen Crane

A man said to the universe:
"Sir I exist!"
"However," replied the universe,
"The fact has not created in meA sense of obligation."

This poem can be interpreted as saying that good versus evil is just part of nature.

"The Tyger" by William Blake (1794) (The Songs of Experience)

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare sieze the fire?

And what shoulder, & what art.
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand? & what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears,
And watered heaven with their tears,
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the
Lamb make thee?

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

This poem coinsides with Blake's own, "The Lamb" from the Songs of Innocence.

Little Lamb, who made thee?
Dost thou know who made thee?
Gave thee life, and bid thee feed,
By the stream and o'er the mead;
Gave thee clothing of delight,
Softest clothing, woolly, bright;
Gave thee such a tender voice,
Making all the vales rejoice?
Little Lamb, who made thee?
Dost thou know who made thee?
Little Lamb, I'll tell thee,
Little Lamb, I'll tell thee.
He is called by thy name,
For He calls Himself a Lamb.
He is meek, and He is mild;
He became a little child.
I a child, and thou a lamb,
We are called by His name.
Little Lamb, God bless thee!
Little Lamb, God bless thee!

Blake is stating that the evil are the corrupt, that not one person is born evil, that people are made evil by experiences. Blake is insinuating that all people are born pure, immaculate, and good. The battle is with the experiences of the world, and what people take from them, which may make them evil if they so choose.

The Battle Expressed in Art

Art is a definite way of expressing one's self, and also a way of expressing theories and concepts. In the drawing shown here, drawn by "DemurWolf," it is showing a conflict between good and evil. The conflicting nature of one's righteous and selfless nature is met with the nature of greed and lust.

In the case of this particular drawing, the battle is not external, with a "bad" and "good" guy, but internal, with one's self. The battle is ongoing, permanent, and eternal; however, sometimes the battle can be with another being, and other times it can be with one's own nature.

The Battle Represented in Cinema

Movies depict two different people in their storylines generally: the evil, "bad" guy and the impeccable, "good" guy. But it is not just the people that make the battle; the battle is formed by concepts, objectives, and goals. For example, in the 1989 movie, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is about the quest for the Holy Grail.

The movie then becomes a battle between the Nazis and Indiana, trying to protect the "sacred" grail while trying to find it, and the Nazis trying to use it to become more powerful in the world. It was, one character said in the movie, "a race against evil."

Indiana and the people that believed that the Grail was real and holy, sacred and should be protected from the Nazis, are depicted as the "good" guys. The Nazis were depicted as the "bad" guys and were "evil."

However, there was also a struggle of faith in the movie, which is also representing the battle between the righteous and the devilish. Indiana Jones had difficulty believing at the start of the movie, believing only in fact and faith was just another thing his father pushed onto him. In order to retrieve the grail, he had to do a series of tasks that would ensure his faith to him.

There are many movies that are similar to The Last Crusade in that the concepts and objectives were evil and good. Nevertheless, the battle was still present, and eventually good triumphed over evil. The Last Crusade was just one example.