Are there earlier incidences than Merchant of Venice of an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other?
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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
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edited Dec 20 '18 at 3:47
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