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6 1 In act 2, scene 2 of The Merchant of Venice , Launcelot Gobbo is conflicted regarding whether to run from Shylock, or continue working for him. Shakespeare expresses this internal conflict by describing the conscience on one side and a fiend on the other (at his elbow). This is an image which has found its place in popular culture over the years (an angel on one shoulder and a devil on another). But did Shakespeare get it from somewhere? Are there earlier (literary, biblical, cultural etc) sources for this device? william-shakespeare literary-device the-merchant-of-venice share | improve this question edited Dec 20 '18 at 3:47