Alexandre Dumas was a well-known author who appeared about two centuries after William Shakespeare, whom he studied well. In fact, connections of literary elements, symbolisms and themes can be found between his works and those of Shakespeare. However, Shakespeare was a playwright and Dumas a novelist. In this article, some of the aforementioned similarities will be revealed and evaluated to you; more precisely, they will be located between The Count of Monte Cristo and any work of Shakespeare. Perhaps the most obvious usage appears at the end of The Count of Monte Cristo when Valentine is "poisoned" to appear dead, but in reality is then hidden. on the island of Monte Cristo to wait for Maximillian. In this scenario, Maximillian is a lot like Romeo and Valentine is like Juliet.₁ Maximillian, believing his love to be dead, wants to kill himself, but when the Count gives him the poison to keep his promise, it only knocks him out. He then wakes up seeing Valentine and, of course, he is in a state of shock, but happiness. "It's Shakespeare's happy version of Romeo and Juliet, where the lovers live happily ever after in each other's arms - the ending we always want..."₁ Unfortunately, Romeo arrives before Juliet woke up and, believing her to be dead, committed suicide with a deadly poison. So, as you can see, the use of poisons can deceive the eye, causing death, or its image, in order to create a tragic or comic effect. The use of poisons works well in both books, but Dumas had many other uses for them throughout. his novel. However, his book turned out very nicely and had a happy ending. In Romeo and Juliet, this allows the play to take its tragic turn, and being a play, these dramatic moments seem better...... middle of paper ......risto." Jiffynotes.com . The Gale Group, Inc., 2004. Web. May 8, 2010. Bibliography Shmoop Editorial Team. “The Symbolism, Imagery, and Allegory of the Count of Monte Cristo.” Web. Aubrey, Brian, Emily A. McDermott, and Robert Stowell. “The Count of Monte Cristo.” Alexandre Dumas. , beyond the grave - Telegraph." Telegraph.co.uk.I Np, May 11, 2008. Web May 8, 2010. McSpadden, J. Walker. "Introduction to the Count of Monte Cristo." Np, nd Web. 4 May 2010. Dumas, Alexandre and Lowell Bair The Count of Monte Cristo New York: Bantam, 1988. Shakespeare, William Romeo and Juliet Ed. New York: Pocket Books, 1992. Print..