Further Research and Ideas

A Rakes Progress - by William Hogarth. 1732-33 A series of 8 paintings. Depicting the life Tom Rakewell, and how he followed a path of
vice and self-destruction after inheriting a fortune from his father. The paintings are in the following order: 1.The Heir 2. The levee 3. The orgy 4. The arrest 5. The marriage 6. The gaming house 7. The prison 8. The madhouse The titles of the paintings are pretty self explanatory. In The Madhouse The character Tom Rakewell has completely descended into madness. I feel like this could link in with my character; within the story he could cave into madness, with something to finally trigger it. I think that the alcohol could be a good reason, so maybe he staggers into a cellar looking for more booze (gin?) so the poisoning of the gin could trigger it. (Maybe he picks up a poison bottle mistaking it for alcohol?) The Madness Developing Ideas The dream sequence could be his decay into madness, like an alice in wonderland style drop into a world. This could include him falling towards something, like falling through an empty grave that hes been digging, and drop onto the see-saw-like platform. The seesaw platform could be made up of:

-bottles -barrels -gravestones -tools e.g. Spade, shovel -watches

Etc. The seesaw should be metaphorical, so it could represent the gravediggers descent into madness:- He could be seen walking across objects which make up the seesaw mechanism. - He could be struggling to stand and keep his balance, or trying to grab something on the other end but keeps missing, or cant reach. -If its alcohol hes chasing, it could be that its a giant bottle, the bottle falls and smashes, and he sees his reection in the liquid: maybe a monstrous gure? -It could be cofns rising from the ground, and he could be balancing on one and it swings upright to reveal himself in the future if he carries on drinking. (A Christmas Carol/Scrooge style) Resolution Im not sure how to resolve the story. I thought perhaps if going ahead with the drinking story: He could see his reection/see his future and realise that he needs to stop or he will die, and smashes the bottles or something along those lines. He could actually die, if going ahead with the idea of him picking up the poisonous bottle by mistake. (The twist could be that the audience doesnt learn about the poisonous bottle until the very end, when it is too late).